from heads unworthy [ANGIE] ●

[Isidor Faust]

He was tired, which wasn’t all together uncommon, really. He was involved in a lot of extracurricular activities, even if only a few of them were controlled by the school. He found it easier to refer to everything he did after school hours as such a thing. He was asked less questions in that way. Not to say that Isidor was really involved in anything that he technically shouldn’t be, but it had become a habit back in Germany, and he saw no need to break it now. Perhaps he would be graduated from school before he got into all of the things he wanted to, but in case he wasn’t it was a good habit to stay in.

As the last ball was placed on the rack, the blonde stepped back and shook his hands out a bit. He had volunteered to stay late and put everything up. Not because he wanted to, he didn’t want to at all, but because it kept up a good image for him. It made the coach have positive thoughts toward him, and everyone else was just happy to not have to do it. It wasn’t like it was hard. It was basically just putting everything in the appropriate spots. All the actual cleaning would be done later by the janitorial staff. In fact, it was a good way to clear his mind after practice anyway.

His blue gaze traveled over the gym once again, making sure that he hadn’t forgotten everything. Nothing seemed to be out of place, which was good enough for him and everyone else. He was just supposed to pick up the obvious things, after all. He stretched his arms over his head absently, twisting a bit to try and get his back to pop. It felt tight. But no matter which way he turned, it refused to pop or release any of its tension. He sighed softly, allowing his arms to fall back to his sides once again.

He moved from the gym fluidly thereafter in the direction of the boys’ locker room. He had already changed, but he still needed to pick up his things. His concentration lapsed on the walk that he knew so well, so he wouldn’t notice as the door to the girls’ locker room was opened and that tiny girl stepped out. In fact, he would almost walk right into her – and unbeknownst to him meet her in a similar way that he had met her younger sister – but he managed to stop just short of her, a small noise of surprise falling from his lips. He looked down at the brunette. “Angelique.” He placed her. One of the younger cheerleaders. “You startled me.” He stated, smiling warmly as he took a step back so there was a more comfortable distance between them.

--
Angelique Rosstillo

[Angelique Rosstillo]

The newest member of the cheerleading squad was going above and beyond to try to catch up to the others. Angelique Claire Rosstillo had much to prove, and no time to prepare. She knew she'd caught a lucky break landing a spot on the squad. There were only so many spots, and dozens of girls trying out. But the squad needed a talented, but small and light, girl to be the top of their pyramid routine. Angie was perfect for the job, but she did not want to be there just for the one routine. She needed to learn them all and in a hurry. The state-wide championships were coming up, and Angie couldn't bear to be the weak link. The captain of the squad balked at Angie's insistence on being allowed to compete. Angie promised to learn and perfect all of their routines. There was skepticism from the team, but Angie convinced them to give her a shot. Angie would put in her best effort, as she did in everything.

Angie was at every practice and event. And she often stayed late to practice even more. This was another late day for her, and she'd just finished showering. There was so much to do. She had to get to the mall. She hadn't eaten since lunch four hours prior, and she'd promised her twin help with homework.

She just had so much on her mind that she wasn't even paying attention to where she was going. Angelique was tapping away at her phone as she tried to text Jackie about what she was doing. She pulled open the locker room door and was in the process of pushing unruly hair behind her ear, when she almost walked right into someone. She just caught a blurred glimpse of him from the corner of her eye that would have been too late. Lucky for her, he stopped short before she hit him. She was usually careful, but who would be here this late? All the sports teams had finished practice a while ago.

A gasp and squeak of surprise would escape her at the exact moment as a small sound of mutual surprise would come from the other person. She visually jumped as reflex of her martial arts training kicked in. The bag containing her uniform fell out of her hand along with her iPhone which clattered to the floor, as her hands came up and she stepped into a defensive stance. It was only for a second before she saw who it was and returned to a normal stance. Her hands came up to cover her mouth.

"Oh my gosh! I'm so sorry." She apologized right away. She was looking straight at him, but the boy was tall. She was looking at his chest. Her head slowly tilted up, and violet eyes would soon meet blue ones. Blond locks and perfect features of the boy would be recognized immediately. Her name spoken by him had her blushing. 'He knows my name!' She mentally gushed at herself. I mean, she'd only been with the squad a little over a month, but who didn't know Isidor Faust?

Angie looked to stared at the handsome boy. She couldn't pull her eyes away. 'he said my name' She thought to herself. Her heart seemed to want to beat its way out of her chest. Her name. He'd used her whole first name. But what now? The whole squad talked about how cute he was. All the girls had their eye on him. I mean, yeah, there were lots of cute guys, but few were as coveted. So what was she supposed to do next?

"I wasn't looking. It was my fault" She said quickly thereafter. She blushed further realizing she was staring and looked away. "I didn't think there was anyone else here" she offered in explanation.

Isidor Faust

[Isidor Faust]

The smaller girl did not recover from their almost run-in quite as gracefully as he did. Her bag and phone came clattering out of her hand, and in the almost deafening silence that had preceded the noise, it seemed overly loud to him. It was all he could do not to flinch, both from the noise and the stance she had taken. Isidor was not afraid of the girl, not at all, but that stance made him feel defensive. A reflex from a life he no longer lived, one that he forced back as he kept that perfect good-natured smile on his face. Angelique did not need to start questioning why he would respond in such a way. No, Izzy had the reputation of being a gentlemen, and he wasn’t about to spoil it because she startled him a bit.

As the apology fell from her lips, he shook his head slowly. “Please, that is not necessary.” He told her, his deep tones soft. “I was not paying as much attention as I should have been myself.” He went on to explain, waving off her explanation with a rapid hand movement. The blush that stained her cheeks was, of course, noticed by him. His blue gaze was sharp even as his features were soft and calm. It was one thing he had trouble hiding, the intense way that he perceived everything around himself. Most people grew used to it in time, and perhaps she would as well. Despite the fact that he was older than her, Isidor wasn’t opposed to being her friend. No, the blonde would be friends with literally anyone.

In the seconds following his explanation, the blonde would fall into a crouch as he retrieved the things she had dropped on the floor. Any stray items would be stuffed back into the bag quickly, not giving himself any time to look them over (even if he wanted to) as that would be rude. Thereafter, he would rise once again. The bag and phone would be handed over carefully. “I hope it is not broken, it looks expensive.” He stated, inclining his head toward the phone. He couldn’t help but notice just how much taller he was than the girl. He liked it. She wasn’t as short as Cailyn, though. He wasn’t quite sure if he’d ever seen anyone quite as short as the little blonde girl.

--
Angelique Rosstillo

[Angelique Rosstillo]

His actions and words surprised her. Angies eyes studied him, even as her mouth popped open slightly as she tried to make sense of the boy before her. He was being polite, well spoken, and waving off her apology and explanation as a non-issue. He even took some of the fault upon himself. It confirmed the rumors of the boy who was also a gentleman. It was what made him the top of the list of desirable guys.

But then there were his eyes. So sharp in contrast to all else, she could not understand. It was like a smile that did not reach the eyes. Like there was something else... Something she should be cautious about. But what, exactly? His reputation was flawless. And then it hit her. A memory of an anime she watched recently where there was a guy who was nice over all, but had something with the eyes that made people think he was a delinquent. Angie smiled then. She'd not let something like that bother her. She was going to concentrate on the facts and actions.

"Oh, I guess we're both equally at fault then" She conceded at his insistence. Why argue? Even though she was sure that it was more her fault than his. She totally had her eyes on her phone and was texting her twin. If he hadn't stopped first, she would have collided with him for sure. In fact, she was surprised that she didn't knock him out with the door when she shoved it open with her foot. How careless of her. Then again, if not for that, she wouldn't be talking to the cutest guy in school.

She was snapped out of her train of thought rather suddenly when Isidor crouched to retrieve her things. Panic set in. The color drained from her face. Her 'things' included her bra and panties that she didn't know if they had also spilled out of her unzipped gym bag. "No, wait. I'll get..." She blurted out while trying to crouch and get her things herself. But it was too late. He'd shoved everything back in her bag. It was all so quick. He didn't look to have time to have noticed anything, but that did not stop Angie from blushing in embarrassment.

He stood and carefully reached out to hand her her bag and phone. She stared at him. Her eyes locked with his. She was ready to die if he smirked or laughed or made any comments to the fact that she'd worn a thong. 'They're comfortable for practice, ok? Regular underwear rides up anyway!' She mentally defended herself. There was no need to voice her thoughts, however. Other than sharp eyes, he was cool and calm and had a regular smile. He even showed concern over the condition of her phone.

"T-thank you. That was very sweet of you" She said after taking a breath she did not know she'd been holding. She set her bag down and pushed the power button on her iphone. The cracked mess that faced her when the screen lit up was disappointing. Not because it was broken, but because she wouldn't be able to immediately call Jackie and tell her she'd run into Isidore... literally!. She touched the screen to see if it still responded to touch, and found it frozen.

"Siri, tell Jackie my phone broke" Angie said in a clear voice. Nothing.

She sighed and dropped the phone into her still open bag. "Another one bites the dust" She mumbled as a half hearted joke. Angie managed a smile, but it was obvious she was disappointed. She'd have a new one by tomorrow, and the cost of the latest iphone was really not an issue, but she hated that she'd have to spend forever getting the new phone up-to-speed. She'd have to re-install all her apps, and get everything set up the way she wanted. Darn it! And worst of all, she would miss out on getting his number. She would kick herself later for not thinking she could just write it down.

Isidor Faust

[Isidor Faust]

The girl before him seemed… so very normal. Not that it was a bad thing, it was a good thing, really, but he felt he could predict her actions. Her blush as he handed her bag over didn’t surprise him at all. Whether or not he looked, Isidor was well aware of what had probably been in that bag. She had her change of clothes in it, after all. Really, he would have had no qualms about going through her bag if she wasn’t standing there, but since she was, that changed everything. It was unlikely that she had anything interesting in it anyway. Either way, the blush that stained her cheeks definitely brought out her eyes quite a bit – she was pretty.

“It was no problem.” He told her, smiling warmly as he tilted his head to the side. Concern appeared on his features as he watched her press that button on her phone. Shattered. He had expected as much. Phones weren’t very durable, especially if they didn’t have a case. She didn’t seem quite as upset over it as she should have been, though. But if he remembered correctly, he was pretty sure her family was rather well off. She could likely afford a replacement. Either that or she simply didn’t care about having a phone. That seemed unlikely to him. Most of his peers couldn’t go without them.

His hand moved automatically to his pocket as his own phone was fished forward. It was an iPhone as well, but an older model. His aunt and uncle said there were better things to spend money on than new phones, and he actually agreed whole-heartedly with them on that issue. The phone was unlocked and he held it out to her thereafter. “You are free to use my phone to contact…. Jackie? If you need to.” He smiled once again, though the questioning tone around the name ‘Jackie’ would make it obvious that he was curious about who Jackie might be.

--
Angelique Rosstillo

[Angelique Rosstillo]

It was no use. Even as she played with her phone to asses the damage, Isidor was smiling at her the whole time. The tilt to his head, like the cutest of puppies, melted her heart. She couldn't rid her cheeks of the blush, even as she tried to concentrate on being disappointed that her phone was totaled. It was an epic failure. She was trying her best to calm down and just be normal, but her body was not listening. Her eyes kept wandering their way back to his, even as she tried desperately to look at anything else.



'What the hell is wrong with me!' She scolded herself. She was not overly shy normally. She'd done dozens of pageants in the past, so she was used to being under pressure and in front of a crowd. She talked with boys in her class all the time without this overreaction. Was it because she was off balance due to him possibly seeing her underwear? It wasn't like she was wearing them and nothing else. And even then, what difference was there between underwear and a string bikini or any other two piece?



Angie tried to recover with her little joke, but was it too little too late? His hand had moved to his pocket while she dropped her phone into her bag. It came back with his own iphone, be it a few generations older than hers. She watched his fingers glide over the glass to unlock the phone, and her eyes were drawn away from his hand as he spoke. They locked with his once more, even as her own hand reached out automatically to take his phone. Her hand gently made contact with his and stopped. Damn it! Before she could think, her breath caught. Her cheeks blushed anew and the second of pause minus well have been an eternity.

'Wake up, stupid! What is WRONG with you!!!'

She took his phone, but could not help but feel cheated. His hand was warm. Soft, yet not so. It was not unlike her big brother's hands. But there was something more. Something that intrigued her somehow. She wanted to keep hold of that hand. This was all so new that her head was spinning to make sense of it all.



What was all this?... A crush?..... Could it be? It was the only thing that made sense. But how could she be sure? She’d not crushed on anyone before. Things were happening so fast. If she just had a minute to sort it all out, but that luxury would not be an option. She had to say something before things got awkward.



"It's sweet of your to offer, Thank you." She replied as she tried to normalize the situation. "Jackie is my sister." She said in answer to his obvious interest in the name. “We’re twins, actually. Her hair is a bit shorter.” She added. Angie wondered if he’d already seen Jacquelin and maybe mistook one for the other already at a distance.



Angie was not really thinking when she dialed. The phone she'd dropped in her bag lit up but made no sound. The light caught her eye and she looked down to realize she'd dialed herself instead of her sister. She giggled in spite of herself, even as she thought of playing it off. "Silly me." she said and smiled at him. Was is really a mistake? It was hard for people to tell the twins apart at times, but her dialing herself?... She now had his number, after all. It was actually a good thing!. It was something she might have done on purpose if she was thinking clearly. Or maybe she was, after all?.



Angie hit "add to contacts" on his phone and quickly wrote "Angie" with a heart next to it before saving her number to it. She smiled, hoping he didn't see or if he did, didn't mind, and then dialed Jackie. "If you'll excuse me..." She asked him as it rang. She turned away and walked just a few paces away. She didn't care if he heard, she just didn't want him to see her face as she spoke.



It was a short conversation, but she couldn't help her voice going up an octave or two as she hushed her twin's reaction when she identified herself and explained that it was Isidor's phone. She explained about her own phone and that she was fine and to text the others so that no one worried about her when she did not respond or pick up her phone. Angie promised to go straight to the store and but a new one. There was no way she was waiting for the insurance to mail one to her, even if it was next day air.



Jackie was getting excited, and in return Angie was also. She had no idea if he could hear her twin on the other end, and It was getting hard to keep her voice from reflecting this, and so she insisted she had to go and said “I promise” to Jackie asking to know every detail when Angie got home.


Isidor Faust
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