Chatty Chatty Mouth

[Michael Miller]

There was no gossip queen at Bellefonte, no one who had some anonymous blog to share all the dirty secrets of people to the enjoyment of everyone else. If there ever was a competition however, Michael would likely try for the crown or, at the very least, befriend whoever won it. The boy loved gossips. There was nothing more exciting than a good scandal, except maybe living one. But Michael’s life was rather quiet right now. Quiet in his standards, that is. He had no boy toy at the moment. This made him pretty excited at the whispers of anything potentially juicy. He just so happened to have caused whispers of this kind.

He was pretty sure Erika was alone in her room. Unless she kept a manservant chained in her bathroom, he didn’t hear anything indicating she was with someone at the moment. Michael was not all that interested in walking in on his roommate in the middle of some action but he was also too excited to really care. Plus he never had much patience. So he barged in, opening the door to her room as though it was not her personal space at all. And, as only greeting, this: “You’re lucky I like you or else I’d be so angry at you right now.”

He walked into the room, not bothered whether she was busy or not. He was more focused on finding a place to sit, ready to take the bed if need be or whatever furniture she might have in there. “What do I hear? You may be involved in the best story we’ve got so far this year and you’ve been keeping it a secret from me, you’re best guy friend?” Exaggerating much? No doubt, but Michael never pretended to be subtle. He was too busy putting his hand on his chest and saying “I’m hurt,” with the required expression to really care anyway.

TAG: Erika Bellefonte

[Erika Bellefonte]

Erika didn't bother look up as the door to her room opened. There was only two people in her life that didn't knock: Ellen and Michael. It didn't take her long to figure which of the two it was, though, as Michael immediately spoke up. "Is that so?" she mused. She was sitting in front of her desk, legs propped up in the chair with her. She let him finish his rant before she finally spun her chair around, brown eyes narrowing in confusion.

"What are you talking about?" she asked. She had to actually think it through; she couldn't remember doing anything out of the ordinary. In fact, she hadn't done anything that would warrant being part of any kind of story, had she? Was there something she was missing?

[Michael Miller]

Maybe Michael needed to learn some manners but Erika barely even flinch as he walked in without her permission. If she wanted him out, she certainly was not showing him the right way. She even sounded amused at his greeting, totally unaffected. It was obvious she didn’t take this threat very seriously, or maybe she didn’t really mind whether he liked her or not. Luckily for her, it took more than that for Michael to ditch a friend. Especially a friend so influent.

Michael made sure she was looking at him before he could tell her anything more. He was pretty sure of what he heard, now to say it was the truth... At the same time, it was Erika, and he knew how she could be like. So he was ready to believe that, if it was not true yet, it could easily be sometime soon. She seemed surprised though that she could be the target of some gossip going around. At first, he remained silent, stared at her. Whether it was real or not was not the point here. But it did make him hesitate for a second and consider just how possible that was. Then he remembered who he was talking about. She likely just didn't see it as worth gossiping about. “They say you’ve gotten pretty close to a teacher here,” he explained.

He waited a moment, to see her reaction. It would tell him a lot. But, unable to hold it in for very long, he had to add “Are you really hitting on a teacher? I get some are pretty hot but... You’re not going to fall in love again, are you?” Hey, as the one who risked hearing them doing things in her room, he believed he was entitled to know. Not that he’d stop her, he could hardly do that with his own behaviour, but he preferred to have some sort of code. Like this he could listen to some music or something.

[Erika Bellefonte]

Immediate surprise colored the brunette's brown eyes. Brows furrowed as she stared dumbfounded at the boy in front of her. "Excuse me?" she asked. She couldn't remember getting close to any teachers? At least, not in a way that could be considered inappropriate. Then again, it didn't need to be for gossip to be started. Being who she was, it seemed as if she got into the spotlight more than what she wanted to be.

Falling in love again? Well, that was hardly the way Erika would put her love life. Shaking her head, she put her phone down and pursed her lips. Hands folded in her lap as she mulled it over for a moment. "Well," she drawled. "I'd like to know as much as you do - I mean, that teacher would have to be seriously hot for me to risk running into the gossip mill." Michael knew exactly how much she hated being in the spotlight. "I wonder if he has nice eyes..."

Of course she couldn't take him or the rumor seriously. As far as she was considered, she'd done absolutely nothing wrong. Had she?

[Michael Miller]

Erika showed surprise at his words. Was it genuine, or just her way to get out of it without telling him anything? He knew he could do something like that if he didn’t want to talk about something he did. So Michael shrugged. “I know, silly isn’t it? But then I thought how much you like to banter and maybe you’ve found someone who enjoyed nearly as much as you do...” He was not ready to give up just yet.

It was also his opinion that Erika was terrible at being alone. He couldn’t throw the stone at her, he believed he was the same as well, but he generally left the boys in the lover’s category and didn't try to upgrade him into the boyfriend one. She was pretending there was no teacher however and it made him wonder, just for a bit, if she was serious. Could it really be just a rumour? Maybe they mistook him. At the same time, she had that tone that made him believe she may very well be playing him right now. “You’re going to pretend you’ve never flirted with a teacher. Come on! Even I hit on the staff before.” Like that was a reference! But he certainly could not believe she never found at least one teacher or staff member dreamy. There were some pretty specimen in there. And not all of them were above thirty.

He sighed. She didn't intend to help him here. “So you’re saying nothing happened with anyone, is that it? Can life here really be that boring they have to make up stuff?”

[Erika Bellefonte]

"I sincerely doubt that," Erika snorted with a roll of her eyes. She had been out of the business for a long time and truthfully, the young brunette hadn't really been serious about anyone. All her dating experience had been more for show than anything else and she didn't really see that changing anytime soon. It was hard falling in love and being serious when most people only wished to date her because of her last name.

Then again, she supposed that went for her friends too and she wasn't exactly lacking in that department. Maybe she was too naive.

"Well, flirting is different though," she argued. "And innocent," she quickly added before Michael could throw a remark at her. "But no, I've not been sneaking around with someone." She wondered briefly who had started that rumor, but decided it wasn't something she wished to waste her energy on.

"If you want drama, why not start some yourself?" she suggested, clearly amused with his obvious disappointment.

[Michael Miller]

“You sincerely doubt you found someone or that there’s another person who like to do it as much as you do?” he asked. He wasn’t stupid, he guessed what she meant, but if she nothing good to offer him he could at the very least have some fun at her expense. Still, he was not here just to make fun of her, that would be cruel out of a friend, even a friend like himself. He waved his hand in a dismissive way. “You’ll find soon enough. There’s practically a line of people by the door waiting to have a shot at you. I can’t believe there isn’t at least one in the bunch that isn’t worthy of attention.” Michael was more the kind to go after them so if there ever was a line like this for him, he went through it a long time ago and found a few ones to play with at best. None proved to be good boyfriend material. Unless that one was on him. But he never bothered to stop and think about it.

A smirk showed up as she brought up flirting. Now they were talking! He was about to comment on that but she had to add she had not been out with anybody, teacher or no. “But you’ve been flirting,” he claimed, since she brought this up. “Oh please, tell me you have and it was great, things are so boring lately!” The holidays brought some fun to him but things started slow this year and Michael wasn’t very good with slow. He didn’t have enough patience for that.

He laughed at her suggestion. “Hey, I spent the holidays enjoying some kitchen guy but coming from me, that’s not something worth mentioning. Plus he got it was just for the holidays so I guess the drama ended when it started.” He shrugged at that. In truth, he was annoyed about it. He never meant for it to go further than that but he had wished the guy tried to cling onto him a little more than that. He robbed him of the joy to say it was nothing but a fling.

[Erika Bellefonte]

Raising her eyebrows, the brunette chuckled. "Guess that's still yet to see," she mused. His next words caused a frown to pass over the brunette's features. She knew all too well about the attention her surname usually awakened among the opposite sex (and even sometimes the same), but she had always struggled finding the truly honest ones among them. She knew for a fact that she and Michael likely wouldn't have been friends hadn't it been for her last name - or the fact that they shared the same dorm, but she had already come to terms with that. At least he treated her with honesty. "Neither can I," she replied silently.

A chuckle fell from the telekinetics lips and she shrugged. "Who knows?" That was all she would say about it. She too, could play games and it was oh so amusing to watch Michael being curious.

"if all else fails," she began, pursing her lips. "I have three very cute brothers for you to stalk." She wasn't all too keen about her baby sister dating quite yet, but her brothers had proved to be able to take care of themselves. 

[Michael Miller]

A mischievous grin appeared on Michael’s features. She was getting interesting. “Does that mean I have the right to assume anything in my head?” It was probably unsafe, especially if you added to it how much Michael loved gossip. But he also considered he would be the best placed to know if she ever fell in love with someone, as he shared a dorm with her and would see changes in her. At the very least, he would be able to tell if she snuck anyone in or didn't come to sleep. He’d protect her should some zealous staff came around at that time but he’d still know.

He barely paid attention to her frown. Hell, if he had her name, he would have done a lot more than what he was doing right now. But perhaps Michael was more in denial than she was about his romantic nature. Anyway, the frown lasted only for a short while before she went back to her playful self. He groaned in pain at her teasing. She had to be teasing for saying such a thing. He wanted details and he had a vague reply that may or may not mean the rumours were true. “You do realise I’ll just assume you’ve been flirting and everything, right?” he asked her. She’d likely not care. Just like she probably wouldn’t care if people talked about it. Or pretend she didn't care which, to Michael, was just as boring.

He laughed as she brought up her brothers. “Like I ever waited for your permission to go there,” he let out. Now, he didn’t imply he did anything with them, but Michael wouldn’t have bothered to ask for Erika’s permission before flirting with any of her brothers. They were old enough to know what they were doing. “Anyway, I’m kind of having a treat right now. Perhaps. It’s just... I guess it’ll depend how bad I can turn this good boy.” He shrugged. Michael wasn’t very good with the whole dating and waiting thing.

[Erika Bellefonte]

"No," she said with ease and offered Michael an overly-innocent grin. She knew all too well that Michael would assume regardless of her telling him no. He was rather headstrong, she'd come to notice and he was drawn towards drama and flare like a moth to the flames. She didn't really mind it. Michael had always been something of a breath of fresh air.

Pouting, she reached forward to place her hand at the top of his head. Ruffling his hair playfully, Erika placed a kiss on his forehead. "Aren't my answers satisfactory?" she asked, mock horror spreading across her face. "I best work on that then." She leaned back against the chair, resting her head against the back of her hand. Was she going to keep teasing? Well, at least for a little while longer. She found it amusing that Michael came to her for gossip. She probably had the least interesting life of all of them.

At least in her eyes.

Offering Michael a nod at that, she agreed. He didn't need her permission, nor would she ever expect him to. Unless it was her underage baby sister, but he wouldn't be interested her. Michael shared his own piece of juicy details then, and Erika turned her attention to him once more. "One day you'll come to learn that the good guys are the ones that truly matter."

[Michael Miller]

“Aww. That is just cruel,” Michael retorted, taking the most pained tone someone teasing can have. It wasn’t like she could prevent him from thinking stuff up. As reality rarely came close to fiction, he’d stick with it knowing there was a fifty percent chance nothing was true in it. “Still, how long as it been since your last boyfriend?” he asked, more serious this time. Michael considered it was easy to tell when she was in love. He was certain he could find it out in her behaviour. If that failed, seeing a guy coming over to their dorm was a good indicator too.

Michael pulled his head off of her hand. She was messing with him. While it did keep him entertained, it also irritated him a bit. Michael loved teasing people and messing up with them but, as so many people do, he didn’t enjoy receiving the same treatment. There was also the fact that she was having too much fun, making him believe she was not trying to cover something up and that sucked. Why couldn’t she be a proper royal and make the best scandals around here? “You do,” he simply said in return.

At least Michael had something, although small. He didn’t think it was worth much. He danced with a guy and flirted. Call it a Friday night. “And it’s your great knowledge in relationship that allows you to say that?” he asked with sarcasm. She always claimed to have an uninteresting life and not to be dating much. Michael shrugged. “I don’t mind good and he can carry my books while we walk but I’ve passed the point where I blush holding my crush’s hand.” Could a good guy be interesting? He was not sure.

[Erika Bellefonte]

Once again, the brunette's eyes was riddled in a furrow. She had given up any ideas or aspects of boyfriends. "Last year of high school," she said with a shrug. None of her boyfriends had been serious. Sex had never been involved. In fact, barely any physical contact had been involved. Looking back, most of her run ins with guys had been for the sake of normalcy and facades.

Then again, it wasn't as if the brunette was capable of connecting with anyone on a deep, emotional level. She had a long record of pushing people away before things got too serious.

A sad smile formed on her lips, "I think that's exactly what allows me to say it." She shook her head then, hair falling into her face. She made an attempt to blow it away before lifting her hand to move it behind her ear. "I think you confuse good with meek," she stated simply.

[Michael Miller]

Michael knew that it had been a while since he had a boyfriend, as in a guy he was in a relationship with. But, since then, he had a few lovers, who really didn't count as boyfriends since he only slept with them. In truth, he couldn’t remember having been in a serious relationship before. He was only mildly surprised that Erika was the same. “You lasted this long? I don’t know how you did it,” he let out. Because if he was not surprised she didn’t have a boyfriend in this long, he figured she also didn't get some casual hookups either and that, he didn’t understand. Michael needed some kind of physical contact with a guy and if he couldn’t get it from a boyfriend, he found it through other means.

She had to be joking if she didn’t date for this long. “Look at you, you great love master,” he joked. It wasn’t really important though. As he told her, whatever she may know about love wouldn’t help him with the boy he found. Michael needed the proximity they had when they danced. He was not sure he could get it, but maybe he could get some naughty streak out of him. Or at least something that would make him want to do more than carry his books while they walk together. He shook his head at her comment. “No, good. As in chivalrous, gentleman-like guy that would open doors for you, carry your bag and not want to kiss you until you two are serious and no sex before... well I hope not before marriage but you get the idea.” All this got him thinking. His eyes narrowed in the process. “In other words, good for you, if it wasn’t he was playing for my team.”

Michael seemed lost in his thoughts again for a few seconds before sighing deeply. “Seriously, you’ve got to explain to me what you guys have against physical contact. You want to wait before jumping into bed, I get it, but what’s so wrong with being physically close?” This really bothered him.

[Erika Bellefonte]

The telekinetic offered him a sheepish smile. "Well, I'm a virgin, remember? I don't know what I'm missing yet," she teased him. She wasn't about to blame or fault anyone for finding flings interesting. Heck, she had preferred them until only a few years ago. Now, though, now she was bored of them. She didn't see the point in seeking out something that wouldn't mean anything.

Chuckling softly, the young brunette shook her head. "Okay, okay, I get your point." She threw her hands up in defeat. Even with minimum experience, she could understand why Michael thought the way he did. She didn't think she'd find a guy like that interesting either. She needed a challenge and she assumed Michael was the same way. At least to some degree.

His question had the brunette pausing, brows furrowing as she contemplated his words. "Well..." she shrugged. "It's not that I have anything against it, per say," she continued, eyes narrowing slightly. She wasn't quite sure how to respond. She wasn't even sure if she actually had a response. "I guess I'm just not ready?" she tried, shrugging helplessly.

[Michael Miller]

Michael couldn’t say he remembered it until she pointed it out. “Ah yeah, forgot about that. Kind of hard to believe when you’re not the one saying that.” No doubt she had a line of guys, and certainly even a few girls, ready to educate her on that part and show her, as she said, what she had been missing out on. “You’re the kind who wants to wait for the right person, is it? Can’t say I judge you but I don’t get it too much. But, if you think about it, I guess that’s what I did for my first time too. Just can’t say it was all that great, but that never stopped me afterwards.” He shrugged at that. It wasn’t as though his first time was the reason for him to go after casual things now. No one could make him believe otherwise.

Michael was a bit like Erika, he wanted something with a deeper meaning than a simple fling. He just didn’t want to be alone while looking for that. Or something like that, Michael hated thinking too much about this stuff. It tended to get depressing too fast. Still, if getting someone serious meant to take things slow, he was not sure he could do that. Ever since he came to Bellefonte, he never tried to hide who he was and what he wanted, and when he wanted it. Taking his time was something he had yet to learn and he was too impatient to be good at it.

A lot of people could have been embarrassed or offended by his question. He was asking to learn more about her on a personal level. At the same time, he didn’t care much about her opinion in particular, he just wanted to understand something so different from his point of view. The answer was kind of disappointing. It was like waiting for a gem of advice and end up with something from a fortune cookie. He sighed at it. “So what, you need to know everything about a guy and feel really good with him to do it?” Now it was his time to narrow his eyes and fall into contemplation as he tried to find a way to express himself. “I need to see if it works on a physical level to try getting involved emotionally, is it so wrong?”