GOING DOWN [OPEN]

[MELROSE DIANNA CAMBRIDGE]

Today was her day off. Well, in her book it was a day off. She was taking a break from practice to let her body get some rest before hitting it hard again the next day. Her body rested on a couch in the large living area of the tent. In her hand was a book, her eyes moving across the pages as the indulged in the book. Although, she couldn’t stop her mind from wandering back to her current routine. There was so much work she needed to do to it, so much she needed to clean up. Her body itched to get back to the practice tent and climb up the silk waiting for her, but Melrose reminded herself that this was her day off. She was going to let her body relax as much as possible before putting it under rigorous trials again.

Her eyes returned to the book, reading the lines one by one. It was silly really. She had taken a break from the silk book she had been reading to switch to a romance novel. Romance? Love? Affection? Those words were foreign to her mind and her tongue when she said them. Melrose had never experienced any of those things before, but she wondered what they would be like. The book made them sound so wonderful, making Melrose desire to feel such things. She wasn’t sure if she would ever find such a connection here in the circus. There was only a small bit of hope that was telling her it was possible, but logic over ran her heart. It always did.

Closing the book, Melrose rubbed her eyes. She was unaware of what time it was, but she found that regardless reading made her tired. Setting the book beside the other on the floor, she settled down into the couch more, resting her head against a pillow before closing her eyes. At one moment her eyes opened, unsure of how long she had been asleep or if she had been for that matter. A shiver ran through her, and she found that she was suddenly curled up into a ball rather than stretched out like she was originally. With a frustrated sigh she reached up for the blanket draped along the back of the couch.

Again she got comfortable, but at this point she was already awake again. Shifting on the couch she sat up, wrapping the blanket around herself as she reached down for the books again. Taking both in on hand, she set one next to her before going back to the romance novel. Melrose couldn’t remember how she came to own this books. Her eyes closed as she thought back. Oh yes... She went to the coffee shop for a small cup of joe, when someone randomly gave her the book, simply explaining that she would enjoy it and she could keep it. That was all he said to her, but since then she had to book. Opening her eyes, she returned to the book and continued reading.

[ZANE RORY TEAK]

Zane wasn't exactly sure when he decided to take up an interest in the pretty little silk aerialist he'd see every once in a while. Boredom was at the root of it, like many of his ventures. While Zane, for the most part, couldn't really stand people, they sure could be interesting with a little push in the right direction. They usually proved to react in ways contrary to his assuming and admittedly all-knowing attitude. The exact point in the last few weeks when he'd decided to test the lovely Melrose Cambridge was impossible to pin down, but he'd been letting himself take a detour to see what book she was reading, who she spent her time with... He was almost disgusted with himself at the conclusion -- almost. She was quiet, and sweet, and innocent, somehow. Well, he wasn't Sherlock Holmes, but it seemed quite obvious to him that she was far from experienced. The way she kept to herself, seemingly distrusting of the people around her, the way she looked at the daredevils with that slight apprehensiveness. No, making her fall in love wouldn't be easy, but it would be simple, and the lack of challenge there was slightly dishonorable in his rather twisted mind. But it was her reaction to his deception he was looking forward to, and that sealed the deal. I'm looking to create fire, he thought as he walked, searching for her.

To his advantage, he didn't think he'd done or said anything particularly twisted/cruel/rudely sarcastic in front of her. He was usually quiet in large groups. To his disadvantage, rumors were sure to spread the moment he got close. But -- ah, there she was. Reading a romance novel with a blanket wrapped around her shoulders. Her hair was slightly ruffled at the side s if she had been laying on her side and a second book rested next to her. At the sight of her, he automatically slipped into character. He suddenly didn't know what to do with his hands. His black t-shirt became less of a mysterious choice and more of a whatever choice. His confident stance became awkward and he looked at the book in her hands.

"Did you finish that silk technique book already?" he asked suddenly. "I mean, 'cause now you've got..." he stepped forward and glanced at the title of book quickly. "... 'Breakfast Bars For Two' but the other book was really long --" he stopped himself and scratched the back of his neck with a meek smile. "This conversation starts a lot better in my head," he admitted weakly. He hoped she would laugh -- although awkward, funny guy was just one of the few characters he had lined up as Melrose's potential dream guy.

[MELROSE DIANNA CAMBRIDGE]

Melrose was engrossed in her book, her eyes moving across the page. She pulled the blanket tighter around herself, trying to keep the cold out. She was so lost in the book she didn’t even hear someone come in. She remain in the world of her book until she heard a voice. Slowly the book in her hands lowered and the boy came into view. She had seen him before, but didn’t know him all that well. From what Melrose could remember, he was a magician of sorts but never actually paid attention to what he was doing. His skin was quite fair with dark, almost black hair on top of his head. The one feature she did notice were his stunning blue eyes. The thing that made her most nervous was the fact that a boy was talking to her.

Boys weren’t her forte, and the fact that one was now talking to her made her body flush with heat of nervousness and embarrassment. Her tongue suddenly tied into knots as he asked her about the book sitting beside her. Chewing on her lip she debated on whether to answer the boy in front of her. She wanted to be left alone, but she wondered that if she didn’t talk to him that he might never go away. Her eyes pulled away from the boy to look at the book. “I uh, I’ve actually read it several times.” She spoke softly, retreating to the safety of her book again. Melrose could see him examining her book, again chewing on her lip.

She listened to him talk a little more, feeling just as embarrassed as he seemed to be feeling. When he stopped she looked at him from behind the book. He seemed just as awkward as she was around others, which she found strange in this circus. Most people here couldn’t wait to say something to someone else, but he seemed different. “Oh, um, don’t worry about it. It happens to all of us.” Melrose didn’t know what else to say. Two awkward people in a room together, Melrose had never really experienced this before. Her teeth remained sank into her bottom lip as she returned to hid behind her book. This was such a strange thing going on. Melrose didn’t know what to do in all honesty. She figured she would just go along until she couldn’t anymore.

[ZANE RORY TEAK]

"Oh, right... Must be a good book, then," he said lamely, not really expecting a response. He shifted slightly in his stance, noticing that she wasn't that interested in talking with him at the moment, or perhaps anyone. Must be some good romance novel. That was alright. A short first meeting would actually be helpful to the nice guy facade -- plus he had to set up for a magician mattinee show tomorrow afternoon. He just had to show an interest now, make her curious, and then challenge her to challenge herself and come on a date with him. Not really a date, even, maybe just coffee. Introducing himself would be a good start anyways..

"Um... I'm Zane, one of the magicians," he smiled warmly, his hand still at his neck. "I just, uh, noticed your performance last weekend... I thought I would mention... you're really quite spectacular." Zane wondered whether leaving a flower would be too much. She kept going back behind her book, hiding he supposed, and he decided against it. Establish a second chance of contact, that was his goal here. Smiling a lot, that was the means.

"I -- the audience couldn't take their eyes off you." He felt his face going red at the slip, and for a moment even he was convinced of his own bashfulness. Just this was enough to entertain him for weeks. He wondered how many false personalities he could be able to sustain within the same community and for how long. The thought occurred to him, as it often did, that trying something like that was rather sick -- a self imposed multiple personality disorder of sorts. It hardly ever phased him, but was always a somewhat startling realization. For the moment he would stick with this little flower.

[MELROSE DIANNA CAMBRIDGE]

Melrose did her best to ignore the boy behind her book, but he wasn’t budging. Either he could get the message, or he wanted something from her, which would have been a first. Most people just left Melrose alone to mind her own business, but this boy... He was persistent in talking to her. Okay so he wasn’t really persistent, but it was more than usual for Melrose. She nodded her head at his comment about her book. It was a good, but mostly it was a reminder for her to use proper technique and how not to hurt herself when out there before people. She didn’t want to have any accidents on stage.

“Um... I’m Zane, one of the magicians. I just, uh, noticed your performance last weekend... I thought I would mention... you’re really quite spectacular.”

This compliment made Melrose blush furiously. At this she peeked out from behind her book again. Intently she watched the boy, or Zane as he introduced himself to her. She got the usual good job occasionally, but no one had actually ever said something so wonderful to her. “Oh... uh... Thank you. I’m glad you were able to see the performance.” Her voice was a little shaky, her breathing catching in her throat. Wait, he said something else didn’t he? Oh that’s right, he introduced himself to her. She wasn’t sure if he knew who she was, but rather than be rude Melrose decided to be polite. “Nice to meet you Zane.” she told him in a quite voice. “I’m Melrose. I’m part of the silk aerialist group, but I guess you already knew that.” She mentioned with a deeper blush, suddenly feeling awkward.

“I -- the audience couldn’t take their eyes off you.”

Again Melrose could feel her body flushing with heat, the blanket around her suddenly seeming much more stuffy than normal. Setting the book down a moment she pulled the blanket from around her shoulders, but even with the blanket gone she knew that her face was still flushed a deep pink while her body pulsed heat. “Oh...well, I never really notice, but I’m glad to know that.” A hand reached up, suddenly feeling the ruffled hair on the side of her head, suddenly feeling embarrassed. Quickly she ran a hand through her long chocolate locks, smoothing out her hair before letting her eyes fall to the floor.

“I’ve seen what a magician does.” She confessed, ashamed. “I feel awful saying that, but I just never have time to see what magicians do in the show.”