.::Another Beautiful Day::.

[Forrest Ezekiel Andrews]

Forrest sniffled and rubbed his nose. "N-nope...I'm fine. Thanks though," he murmured. The brunette took note of the slight change in Claire's voice. And her reaction from before seemed different as well.

"Are...are you okay?" he asked quite hesitantly, since he wasn't sure if he was imagining the changes that Claire had shown. All the while, his heart was still beating wildly as ever...though it started to ring just a tad bit louder.

[Sorry the post is short. My brain's kinda...scattered.]

[/center]

[Clarity Wright]

Claire straightened up just slightly. Her head was spinning slightly with an array of new thoughts. She was confused, she wanted to tell him what she was thinking, and she was dying to know what he thought of her. Yet, though her mind was forming the right things to say, her lips wouldn't cooperate with her. Instead of saying what she wanted, she could only muster out, "I'm fine."
'No you idiot,' she told herself. 'Everything happens for a reason. You just happened to look up to see him struggle with his jacket and fall? You just happened to walk over and ask him if he was alright? He just happened to tell him his name? You guys just happened to be talking to each other? No... All things happen for a reason.' Her mind was working wildly. 'This happened for a reason.'
Claire glanced back up into his face, brown eyes now searching his face. She wanted to know what was it about him that made her drawn to him and why she was starting to feel this way.

[Forrest Ezekiel Andrews]

Forrest gulped inaudibly and breathed softly. This foreign feeling...this feeling that he couldn't explain but it felt so /right/...what was it? And suddenly, his mind reoccured back to a time when he met his brother's fiance. He had asked her, somewhat bluntly..."how do you know if you're in love?"

You know it well...when you know it. That's what I believe in. When I first met your brother...my heart thumped so wildly, I couldn't control it. I felt somewhat dizzy and had butterflies in my stomach. But even so, I think that he and I were meant together. Forrest checked into it. Heart thumping wildly? Check. Feeling dizzy? Check! Butterflies in his stomach...definitely check. So....he was in /love/?!

But what about Claire? Could she have felt the same as he did? The same heart-thumping experience? Summoning up courage, he had to ask.

"H-Hey..." he paused and took a deep breath. "W-What's that feeling when you feel your heart is racing and you have butterflies in your stomach...? And...well...you thinkofsomeone differently than you did...before?" the words came out slightly jumbled and he blushed in embarrassment.

[/center]

[Clarity Wright]

Claire was slightly startled when he spoke so quickly, but she didn't shy away from him. What he said... She was waiting for it. She knew what it was, but could it be possible for both of them to feel it? Looking into his eyes earlier stole her breath, she felt the wings of the butterflies pushing her against her stomach, and her heart was thumping so badly she felt it in her ears.
'You know when its right,' she told herself, glancing at him. Normally, she thought little of guys. Even of the ones she dated... But Forrest... Forrest was different. He was different cause she wasn't thinking little of him. She wanted to know more about him. To really know him... To care for him. 'It could take days, weeks, months, or years to find that one person. It took years to find him and just an instant to know...'
After a second she realized she didn't give an answer right away. She took a deep breath, saying the words that left her mouth slowly. "Its... Love," she whispered softly, feeling a rush of heat touch her cheeks as she blushed immensely, glancing down at the green grass below them.

[Forrest Ezekiel Andrews]

It was silent. A minute of silence as Forrest froze to even register what had come out of her mouth. His heart was thumping steadily as ever, his ears burning as well as his cheeks which at this point had turned a healthy shade of dark red.

"I...c-could it..." the words couldn't come out. He was shocked...surprised...but more than that, he felt a burst of happiness. Like a wild storm of passion and swirling emotions, Forrest blushed even further.

"W...W-We're in...love?" His voice came out barely above a veiled whisper.

[/center]

[Clarity Wright]

Claire continued staring at the ground, gaze focused on nothing as she became engrossed in her thoughts once more.
Yeah, its true, she told some of the guys she dated she loved them. But it was only cause they told her first, and she felt obliged to tell them she felt the same, even though she really didn't. But this... This situation wasn't like the others. They weren't dating, but she felt something strong for him. She felt the need to be by his side, to be there when no one else would, to let him know he'll never be alone.
The girl bit down on her tongue slightly, though she was emitting a charming little smile as she done so. She wasn't afraid of this anymore. She was actually quiet ecstatic!
"Its...highly possible," she whispered, taking her gaze off the ground and bringing it back to his eyes.
"Forrest... I told you what I thought of your first impression and what I think of you... May I know what you think of me?" She moved closer to him as she spoke, eyes focused intently on him.

[Forrest Ezekiel Andrews]

As she moved in closer, Forrest could definitely hear his heart pound against him...was it even possible that it was growing louder? The butterflies had never left him in his stomach as the brunette gulped.

"I-uh....I...w-well, truthfully speaking..." he paused and bit his bottom lip. "I thought you were...well very kind. I-I mean since well we were strangers moments ago and you helped me out." His processing words came out much more smoothly than his other comments. "And that...you were assuring me alot so...I felt relieved. So, you seemed very sincere to me." Forrest looked away, slightly embarrassed and somewhat shy.

[/center]

[Clarity Wright]

The girl stepped back slightly as she took in his words. After a few moments, she smiled a beaming smile, feeling some relief flow through her. Honestly, she was a little scared as to what he might say. But, he seemed to have taking a liking to her much like she did to him.
Claire stepped even closer to him, looking down at his hands. Slowly, she allowed one of her hands to reach out to one of his, which she gingerly touched. After a moment longer, she softly took grip of his hand, holding it loosely.
"Thank you," she whispered, looking back at his face. "I'm glad to know what you think of me now."

[Forrest Ezekiel Andrews]

Forrest broke his gaze away from the ground as he felt a soft hand on his. He looked up in surprise but smiled softly. "U-Um...yeah! You're welcome," he murmured. The teen didn't sounds as meek or jumpy as before but the overwhelming feeling was still there. With his other hand-that wasn't grasping her hand- Forrest ran it through his hair.

So then...what now? he thought since it was his first time to well...socialize with a girl this much.

[/center]

[Clarity Wright]

She felt peace inside of her, and an unmistakable feeling of joy as she looked at Forrest. He still seemed nervous, but it didn't seem as bad as it was before. Besides, it was adorable to her. 'So... I'm glad I decided to come to the park today,' she thought with amusement. Her plans originally were to stay home and work on wall of photos, but her mother insisted that she go out to get some fresh air. 'Thanks mom.'
Another warm breeze started up through the park again. Claire's hair swirled gently around her, but did not move before her face again, so she ignored it this time, allowing her gaze to lift up slightly to look at the clear sky above them.
"So," she started up, looking back to him. "What do you like to do for fun?"

[Forrest Ezekiel Andrews]

Forrest sniffled a couple more times before he smiled. As the wind gently whispered across, the brunette couldn't help but admire Claire even more. He loved the way her hair swirled as if it were dancing in rhythm with the breeze. He felt content and was exceptionally grateful of his mom to force him out to the park. He grinned to himself and the realized that she had asked a question.

"Ah! Well...I go surfboarding," he replied.

[/center]

[Clarity Wright]

"Surfboarding?"
She crinkled her nose slightly, as if to show she was disproving it. But after a second, she gave a light, airy laugh.
"I tried that a few times before. My friend and her siblings surf. They took me out to the beach a few times to try and learn."Claire's face shifted to make her look as she was in pain, indicating just how /wonderful/ her experience was.
"The first time I was behind my friend, trying to follow her out of the break. This huge wave came and she jumped off her board to get out of the way... I wasn't paying any attention, so I got struck and my friend's board hit me in the side of the head, gashing the back of my ear."
The girl let out a deep sigh, shrugging her shoulders. "I gave a few more tries, but my surfboard kept beating me up. So I decided I'd stick to the shore and take pictures of people surfing. Apparently I wasn't made to surf." She grinned, pushing her free hand through her hair as she finished her little story.
"How long have you been surfing?"

[Forrest Ezekiel Andrews]

Forrest pouted at her first reaction. But then after her change, he grinned sheepishly. Listening to her story somewhat intently, Forrest cringed delicately as he heard about Claire's injury. "Ouch. That sounds really painful," he murmured. "Are you alright? It doesn't hurt now...does it?" he asked worriedly. He grinned after her question.

"Uh well...I haven't been surfboarding long so...I suck. /Really/ bad."

[/center]

[Clarity Wright]

"Oh I'm fine," she laughed, pushing aside her hair to show her left ear more clearly. "It's still intact," she said jokingly, allowing her hair to drop back over it. "There was a mark there for a while, but its gone now."
She caught the change of tone in his voice when he asked her if it hurt now. A quick blush fell over her features. 'He was worried,' she thought to herself. 'That's really sweet.'
When he replied back to her question, she really held back a laugh.
"I'm /positive/ you surf way better then me."

[Forrest Ezekiel Andrews]

Forrest grinned and let out a soft sigh of relief. "That's good," he replied. The brunette bit his bottom lip, a clear sign that he was doubtful. "Er...well...no. At least you can swim to a wave. I fell off right when I was on the board. Quite embarrassing actually," he murmured and recalled to his memory when his friends laughed at him. He frowned. "It wasn't even funny," he muttered under his breath.

[/center]