gonna put on my old blue jeans. (open)

[charlotte natalie hayes]

YOU’VE GOT ME CAUGHT
IN ALL THIS MESS.
(i guess we can blame it on the rain)

[/size]


When Charlotte stepped into the barn she felt at home. There were piles of hay between the stalls and a few horses had poked their heads over the doors for a look. Her favorite was a black one, about average size, very gentle, named Mollie. She had come dressed for riding, although she wasn’t entirely sure she wanted to today. Either way she had a comfy tank top, long jeans, and a great pair of boots. She could just borrow a helmet from the school tack room…if she wanted.

But it was just so hot today. The barn was still pretty warm, even if there was some shade from the hot sun. Inside the tack room was a fan, though. She might have to go grab a saddle and bridle just to be in front of it for a few minutes.

A few other horses had appeared when they noticed she was inside and Charlotte giggled, going around to give each horse a small handful of hay.

“Silly, spoiled ponies. You’re too cute not to get any hay but gosh, I hope nobody catches me,” she said. Charlotte smiled and went over to Mollie, patting her on the nose. She loved the feeling of it, soft and sort of fuzzy. Different from the rest of her hair.

“Know what, I’mma ride you. I’ll be right back!” she said. It was probably silly to be talking to a horse but oh well. She ran into the tack room and grabbed Mollie’s bridle, slinging it over her shoulder and going to the saddles. She picked out a western one and walked back out into the barn. For now she hung the saddle over a railing and grabbed a lead rope for Mollie. She clipped it to the halter and led her to the middle of the barn, tying her to a hook where she could tack up.

First she did the saddle, putting on the saddle pad before the actual saddle. She knew just how tight the girth should be by now so she wasn’t fooled by how Mollie puffed out her stomach a bit. After that was done, she just put on the bridle and then ran back into the tack room for a helmet.

When she had put that on and buckled the chinstrap, she untied Mollie and headed out into the riding ring. There was a mounting block and she stopped Mollie next to it, holding the reins over the pommel and climbing up. With that, she started to trot around the ring.

TELL ME DOES SHE
LOOK AT YOU THE WAY I DO
(try to understand the words you say
and the way you move)

word count: 424
tagged: open.
notes: pretty good for a first post.
made by MADDIE, song is blame it on the rain – he is we.

[/blockquote][/font]

[allen william shaw]

I've forgot what it feels like
To feel normal

To be normal.

[/i]
[/font]

If there's one thing Allen knew, it's to stay far away from his cousin, Blake. Though at times she had gotten him out of a mess, today she was in a foul mood, and taking it out on anybody that got in her path. The term "One Man Wrecking Machine" did not get past Blake. This takes us to Allen now, who was trying to hide from her random acts of violence.

His shoes slapped against the grass, and the wind brushed back his bangs. The boy briefly looked back to see if she followed, paranoia getting the best of him. Allen hid behind the horse stable, sure Blake wouldn't follow him here. Then again, Blake wouldn't follow him any where. She was just trying to get him to back off, it was a shame Allen didn't get the first few hints. It was a bit of his own fault he was now in this situation.

Though Allen had been at this school for a while, he had never been down this way. I mean, he didn't even like horses all that much. Why would he spend time being around him then? Allen was hoping that maybe he'd outrun the bad feelings, and could go back to the safety of his dorm.

Today had been less then exciting. It was something Allen had gotten used to from years of experience. This was the most exciting thing he's done in the past few weeks, and that was just sad. Allen peered around the corner, hoping not to be spotted by any of the kids who happened to be hanging around. He's heard a few rumors about bad things happening around here, mostly because the teachers didn't bother to really be on the look out here.

This was the kind of place 'Old Blake' would belong, because being a hardcore royal would mean you'd have to do some crazy stuff to belong, or so that's how Allen thought about it. The whole location appeared to be empty. This sent a wave of relief through Allen, and he slid down the side of the barn to sit on the grass. His breathing has slowed, and his pounding heart had calmed down again. His eyes slid shut, but not daring to fall asleep in this place. What if a horse stepped on his face? [/center]

[charlotte natalie hayes]

YOU’VE GOT ME CAUGHT
IN ALL THIS MESS.
(i guess we can blame it on the rain)

[/size]


Charlotte trotted for a while, going in smooth circles around the ring. Posting neatly, watching Mollie’s hooves for a few minutes to get the rhythm right. Up, down, up, down. Over and over again until she barely had to pay attention to what she was doing. It was relaxing, very quiet outside too because not a lot of people came back this way. After a while of this she decided to speed up a bit and started cantering. It was pretty hot outside so she didn’t go for long, just getting a little exercise for Mollie and then slowing back down to a trot for a few minutes, and then finally a comfortable walk.

“Good girl, maybe I should walk you around outside for a while,” she said.

She smiled and rode up to the gate, leaning over to unlatch it again. They left the ring and Charlotte started to walk her around the barn. She had almost gone all the way around when she saw someone sitting down against the wall. She saw they were a boy and Charlotte rode up to him, pulling Mollie to a start.

“Hello there,” she said, smiling. “What are you doing out here in the heat? You could at least sit inside the barn.”

Mollie pawed the ground while Charlotte leaned back comfortably. She didn’t know why this guy was sitting out here, in the hot sun and doing nothing. It was pretty dull outside, there was nothing going on. Aside from that, it was cooler in the sahde inside the barn. Not everyone liked the smell but Charlotte didn’t mind and she liked being around all of the horses.

“And um…I’m Charlotte, by the way. I dunno if I’ve seen you before or not, what’s your name? Maybe we’ve had a class together or something?”

Charlotte stood up in the saddle, slipping one foot out and swinging her leg over the back. She dropped down to the ground and slipped the reins over the pommel, holding them nearer the bit. She wanted to get closer to the ground to talk to this guy and then maybe ride for a few more minutes later.

TELL ME DOES SHE
LOOK AT YOU THE WAY I DO
(try to understand the words you say
and the way you move)

word count: 361
tagged: allen.
notes: sorry it took so long.
made by MADDIE, song is blame it on the rain – he is we.

[/blockquote][/font]

[allen william shaw]

Allen's eyes wondered from the horse to the girl. As she spoke his wondered how long he had been here, and how badly he sort of checked out. His eyes fluttered closed and open, the words sinking into his head. His tired head found it hard to understand exactly what she had been saying.

"Oh, uh..." Allen hadn't thought of the barn. It had been extremely warm out, but he had ceased to realize that until she mentioned it. Allen must have looked like some sort of druggie, out here all alone and looking like some sort of creeper. "Barn?" The word came out of his mouth before he could stop it. Great, now he looked like a idiot.

Slowly, he got up from his position, and chewed the side of his cheek. The girl was quite pretty, and Allen always had a problem with talking to pretty girls. He counted to ten in his head, three times. His counting had passed quickly, and the seconds dragged on for what felt like forever.

"I'm Allen, and I don't think we have a class together." He finally answered, his head swimming with countless thoughts. God, he was such a teenage boy. Oh, thank god Blake wasn't here to see him trip over himself. He would have never lived it down. Then again, why is he thinking about Blake anyways. "I'm sort of invisible here, people I have classes with don't really recognize me anyways. Sometimes my mom forgets about me." He lamely joked, blushing slightly. "Sorry, didn't mean to distract you or anything."

Not that he was doing anything wrong out here, but he felt the feeling of guilty fall over him. Why was he hiding here again? Maybe it had been a mistake. Especially since this girl had stopped to talk to him. Maybe if he sneaked away all would be undone. To be a disturbance was not his objective anyways.

"I'm hiding from somebody." He dumbly said, brushing the bangs out of his face. They always annoyed him, but he disliked haircuts. Anyways, it always gave him something to do when he was in an awkward conversation such as this.

[charlotte natalie hayes]

YOU’VE GOT ME CAUGHT
IN ALL THIS MESS.
(i guess we can blame it on the rain)

[/size]


“You aren’t distracting me. I just got tired or riding around in a big patch of dirt. Might go back in the ring…you wanna come?” she asked. “There’s helmets in there and I can help you tack up a horse. Who are you hiding from?”

Charlotte smiled and pulled her helmet off, hanging it over the pommel like she had with the reins. She shook her head around, getting rid of the icky feeling she had from wearing the big, sweaty helmet. It was warm and she couldn’t wait for September and October when it would cool down and be easier to wear the helmet while she rode.

The boy looked a little awkward but he seemed nice enough. Then again they didn’t really know each other, and he had hardly said word. At least this Allen wasn’t angry at her for coming over to talk. But he hadn’t been doing anything, he was just sitting there, probably completely spaced out. It was hard to tell; being on top of a horse wasn’t a very good angle to be looking at.

“My horse’s name is Mollie…er, she isn’t my horse, but I like to ride her. She’s really good, pretty steady even when you’re going fast,” Charlotte said.

Allen still looked awkward and she didn’t understand the whole ‘didn’t mean to distract you’ thing. Seeing as she easily could have just ridden right by him and completely ignored his presence. But if he was just sitting there, there was a good chance he was lonely and would like someone to talk to. Unless he just wanted to be alone, but he didn’t say that. Most people are nice enough not to say that even if it’s how they feel…

Either way, Charlotte had wanted to come and say hi just because it’s not every day you meet a potential new friend or something. Or just someone to talk to and maybe ride with a little. It never hurts to try. Maybe he would like to go ride with her for a while, although if he was just sitting out here rather than face a few friendly horses and sit in the shade, maybe he didn’t like them. You’re way over thinking this.

TELL ME DOES SHE
LOOK AT YOU THE WAY I DO
(try to understand the words you say
and the way you move)

word count: 372
tagged: allen.
notes: blah, i apologize for taking so long…again.
made by MADDIE, song is blame it on the rain – he is we.

[/blockquote][/font]

[allen william shaw]

"You want me to ride a horse?" He asked, motioning to himself. His back slid up the wall once more, and he felt a bit panicky now. Riding a horse? That would be crazy for a guy like Allen, after all he did sort of have two left feet, and wasn't very graceful. Getting a horse would most likely result in falling on his face and breaking a bone, there was no advantages in trying this. Allen shook his head, wishing that he was hid anywhere else then here.

"Who am I hiding from?" Allen gulped, the thought of Blake made him feel a tad guilty. "Uh, just this girl. She's pretty crazy, don't know if you know her or anything. I was just trying to outrun her, I doubt she followed me here." Allen rushed through his explanation, still a bit out of breath. Wow, he was out of shape. Next time, Allen was sure to pick a closer place with less of a smell.

"As for riding a horse? Not a good idea. I've never even touched a horse, and you don't want me dragging you behind anyways. I can just watch from here." Allen replied casually, his response was a lot more calmer and less rushed through. His heart didn't feel like it would blow up anymore, and Allen could now appreciate the sunny day he ceased to notice before, while he was hiding.

"That's a cool horse though, I think Mollie is a great name, I guess." Allen shrugged his shoulder, and smiled slightly. His fingers gripped at his pockets. "Then again, I've never really named anything in my life. Well, I named my fish...Fosh. I mispronounced fish, but I was 4." Allen rambled on, that fish honestly didn't last long either.

Slowly his bod motions became the sure sign of feeling comfortable, his shoulders were no longer tense and the flush he had gotten from running was no longer showing upon his face. Jace looked at the stable he had been leaning on, and unconsciously ran his hand over the rough wood. At least it was nice and warm out today, or he would have been in a lot of trouble.