[Opposite Plot] Pre-Play

[forhawkeye]

Everywhere I went, people stared; I could feel their eyes trailing me all day long, as though they were paparazzi for the utterly unimportant. Much to my chagrin, changing into an unassuming outfit of a purple plaid shirt and a pair of ratty jeans hadn't convinced a single person to look elsewhere. I felt uncomfortable in my own skin and, as the day dragged slowly on, I wondered how I ever could have gone around in head-to-toe purple Kevlar. I was a freak among freaks.

I left Geometry in a hurry, my notes and things hugged tightly to my chest. My cheeks flushed a light pink as I walked past Ryan Atwood, and I gladly hid behind my curtain of dull black hair as to avoid making eye contact. I'd sat in stony silence for the duration of the lecture, replaying the stupid fight I'd picked with him only a few weeks prior. Luckily it was the only class I shared with him, which meant I wouldn't have to see him again until at least Saturday. I had never been more grateful to have class on the weekend.

Though it was well past six o'clock when class ended, I couldn't bear the thought of returning to the Compound for supper. The kitchen was always crowded at this hour and I'd had enough of being the center of attention for one day. Instead I trudged back to my hut, eyes downcast, trying to avoid the gaze of any potential onlookers. Unfortunately, in the act of trying so desperately to be ignored, I ended up walking right into someone.

"S-sorry," I apologized quickly, and I looked up with an expression of mild horror, a hand coming up to cover my gaping mouth.

Comments

[asinglechange.livejournal.com]

Well, this is new.

Alice tilts her head, wrinkling her nose in a perfectly ambiable way as she tries to figure out what exactly is different about Kate. It's weird, but it's probably just homesickness. "No biggie. I mean, I half walked into you as well, didn't I?"

[faithanbegorrah.livejournal.com]

"You're alright, lass, don't worry your pretty little head about it," Terry says, feeling the urge to rub her shoulder or pat her arm to console her. She doesn't want to upset the poor girl, especially since she doesn't know her all that well. "Are ye okay?"

[forhawkeye]

Alice was one of the few people I knew to be shorter than me, but that didn't make her any less intimidating. Her black hair was much more lustrous than my own and worn in short, spikey style I never could have managed. Her eyes sparkled like the darkest of sapphires and her voice, oh, her voice! Her voice was like music and wind chimes and light. Compared to her, I was a Neanderthal, lumbering away through life.

"Yes, but I should have been more careful," I said, unwilling to let her take any of the blame when the incident had so clearly been my fault. I quickly looked around us. I hoped no one saw what had happened, though knowing my luck, I wouldn't have been surprised. "God, I'm such a klutz. Are you alright?"

[forhawkeye]

Looking up at Siryn, I couldn't help but feel horribly inadequate. Where my coloring was dull and dark and plain, hers was bright and fiery and breathtaking. She looked like some flaming-haired goddess straight out of a Renaissance painting and her eyes were like the living embodiment of her homeland, Ireland. In the face of so much history, suddenly being a New Yorker didn't seem all that interesting.

"Of course," I said, nodding glumly. I could never be anything more than okay, after all. Being okay was my state of being, my lot in life. I was cursed to be ordinary in every way. "Are you sure I didn't hurt you? I can be such a klutz."

[waltsnothereman.livejournal.com]

"Oof!" Wanda exclaimed, taking a few stumbling steps before regaining her balance and noticing that it was Kate. "Oh, please," she said with a laugh once she'd confirmed that, yup, everything was still where it all should be. "No biggie! Going anywhere interesting?" God, she hoped the answer was yes. The whole stupid island seemed even more boring than usual today, and that was saying something.

[sink-nor-swim.livejournal.com]

Had it been up to Mikal, she wouldn't have even left the hut. There was no telling what could have been out there lurking in the jungle, and even if she made it to the Compound in one piece, she'd never been comfortable in that building; it was so cold and so full of people that there was no way for her to trust it.

Eventually, though, going out became a necessity, and she regretted it immediately, fully convinced with every step she took that it would be her last and she would wind up dead again. She shouldn't have just been wandering alone, anyway. For all she knew, going out and doing something that led to her getting killed would be considered a suicide again. She'd have rather died than go back to that place.

...or not.

The last thing she'd wanted was to draw attention to herself, but she had been certain that the noise she heard from behind her was some vicious creature, ready to spring out and attack. Instinctively, she'd turned to look over her shoulder, and in doing so, had found herself running straight into Kate.

"Oh!" she breathed, eyes widening, a step away from filling with tears. "Oh, my gosh, Kate, that's - it was completely my fault, I am so, so sorry." Hesitantly, with one trembling hand, she reached out to lay her fingers gently on Kate's shoulder, not wanting to intrude if she wasn't welcome to. "Are you okay? You aren't hurt or anything, are you? God, I'm so stupid."

[forhawkeye]

Wanda was everything I was not. Her hair was white like the Arctic from which she hailed and her pale skin was as flawless as freshly fallen snow. She was tall and slim and tended to make feel horribly inadequate. Unfortunately, she was far from the only one.

"No, of course not," I replied, shaking my head. Interesting places were bound to be teeming with people and the last thing I wanted to do was subject myself to their judging gazes.

[forhawkeye]

I couldn't understand why Mikal's mysterious, dark brown eyes shone with unshed tears. What could she possibly have to cry about? She was exotic and beautiful, like a rare and elegant flower plucked from the land of the dead, given a second chance at life. If she cried, I was surely doomed. I glanced at her hand in amazement, shocked that she would touch a freak like me.

"No, of course not!" I exclaimed, eager to take all the blame. It was only what I deserved, after all. People like me were made to take the blame. It left the perfect free to worry about other, more important things. "I was worried about you. I practically ran you over."

[faithanbegorrah.livejournal.com]

"I told ye, I'm fine, lass." Terry brushes some barely there dirt off her skirt. It's a very new find, something completely different from all that awful black and green in her wardrobe. Honestly, who would go about in something like that willingly?

"Would ye like to walk with me?" she asks, hooking an arm in Kate's and giving her no choice either way. "Honestly, I cannae get enough of this place, especially after all that awful city noise in New York."

[sink-nor-swim.livejournal.com]

"Only because I wasn't paying attention," Mikal insisted, unable to help looking guilty at Kate's persistence on taking the blame. Someone like Kate -- a bona fide superhero, back home -- shouldn't have had to worry about things like that when she herself was the one wandering around like an idiot. "I mean, really, it was just a stupid -"

There the noise came again, though, a rustling in the bushes, and instinctively, she moved closer to Kate until she could stand behind her, hunched down a little bit. "Did you hear that?" she asked, her voice hushed. She couldn't risk giving away their position, not if whatever it was didn't know they were there. "What is it? Do you think it's something dangerous?"

[forhawkeye]

I made a sound similar to a dying duck, as she hooked her arm through mine. I was shocked beyond belief. Would I like to walk with her? The question that should have been asked was why would she want to walk with me? I nodded mutely in agreement, hoping to delay her inevitable reaction of disgust once she realized just who she was touching.

[faithanbegorrah.livejournal.com]

Terry keeps talking, oblivious to any discomfort Kate may have.

"Have ye ever walked in the orchards? And not just passing through on the path, but beneath the trees-- it's beautiful there, reminds me a bit of Cassidy Keep, though we had a sight more in the way of gardens and grass."

She brings her free hand up to keep the floppy hat on her head from flying off when the wind picks up just a bit. "What about ye, Kate? Ye lived in New York, aye?"

[forhawkeye]

When Mikal moved to stand behind me, I stuck an arm out to protect her. After all, I wouldn't be able to handle anything happening to her and that alone was enough for me trust trained instinct, even though it came from the kind of life where questionable wardrobe choices were a requirement. Unfortunately, I had left all of my weapons back at the hut. Walking around armed had seemed like an invitation for oglers.

"It can't be a dinosaur," I assured her in a low voice. "But that's not to say it couldn't be something else."

[throw-it-off.livejournal.com]

Something was wrong. Nate wasn't sure what, but he was sure about that. Remy was acting high, he was still trying to convince himself that Chuck was pulling his leg, and Serena was acting... well, like Blair which was plenty unnerving. He felt like his head was spinning even though he knew he was still normal.

Normal didn't mean he was watching where he was going though, and he managed to plow right into someone who all but squeaked an apology. "No, no," he said quickly. "It's my... Kate? What's wrong?" She looked so frightened, so not like Kate, that he immediately assumed something was wrong, ignoring the obvious answer.

[forhawkeye]

Nate Archibald was the most beautiful man I had ever met. He was considerably taller than I was, meaning I had to tilt my head backwards just to get even a glimpse of his perfect face. His sapphire eyes glittered in the low light of the gloaming and suddenly he was all I could see. All of my worries simply melted away with one short glance.

"Nothing," I said, shaking my head emphatically. "Not now that you're here."

I couldn't look away from him, so dazzled was I by his presence alone. I lifted my hands as though to hug him, but then thought better of it, chagrined by my own surprising forwardness.

"Is it alright if I...?" I asked, staring at him hopefully.

[throw-it-off.livejournal.com]

He almost forgave the odd answer because, if something had been wrong, he was just glad that it was okay now. Only his mere presence had never fixed anything, as far as he knew, and that was the last thing he expected his superhero girlfriend to say since he was pretty sure she could kick his ass with one hand tied behind her back.

And then there was the question.

"..If you what?" he asked, frowning, not following at all. This was all just too weird.

[forhawkeye]

"Forget about it," I said quickly, lowering my hands. I reluctantly tore my eyes away from his unparalleled good looks, his full pouting lips, his cheekbones that could cut the hardest of diamond. "It's stupid. I don't even know why I thought you'd let me."

[forhawkeye]

"My entire life," I confirmed, not having been interesting enough to have lived anywhere else. I'd traveled, of course, but that could never compare to truly living abroad.

[throw-it-off.livejournal.com]

"Let you what?" Nate pressed, still confused. "Kate, are you sure you're okay?" he asked, setting his hands on her shoulders to squeeze gently. "I think things are, you know... weird again." He didn't have boobs again, but he would have preferred that at this rate.

[forhawkeye]

"Touch you," I informed him sullenly. At his next words, however, my lower lip began to tremble, even as my heart sped up from the weight of his hands on my shoulders. "You think I'm some sort of freak, don't you?"

[throw-it-off.livejournal.com]

"What? No!" he sputtered, solidly rejecting the idea. "You can touch me if you want, Kate. That's how the whole boyfriend-girlfriend thing works, you know?"

She did know. Something was wrong here. Seriously wrong.

[asinglechange.livejournal.com]

Arching an eyebrow, Alice felt the prickling in the back of her mind that something was off, but she has zero idea of what it is. Maybe it's just her imagination running off with the dish and the spoon.

"Totally golden. See?" She holds up her hands, displaying elbows that are in perfect condition and smiles. "In one piece. Are you feeling okay, Kate? It was just a little stumble."

[forhawkeye]

"Oh," I said, though I brightened up a little at the thought. Considering that permission of a sort, I hesitantly wrapped my arms around his waist and rested my cheek against his immaculately sculpted chest. "You smell good," I murmured without thinking, and immediately I felt my face burn with embarrassment.

[forhawkeye]

"You think I'm a freak, don't you?" I said, eyes wide with hurt as I realized that must be what she was hinting at. I wasn't surprised, of course, as I'd long thought it myself, but it didn't make it hurt any less.

[throw-it-off.livejournal.com]

"Uh thanks," he answered quickly. His own arms went around her, because just then he kind of needed a little assurance too. "Kate did anything... happen that I don't know about? Do we need to talk about something?" It would really, really suck if he chalked up some relationship problem to the island being weird, and would probably come back to bite him in the ass later.