Happens for a [r.eason]//Blair

[mudfang]

Blair continued to stare, heart beating faster when he turned to look at her. She smiled, a small and modest smile. It was rare for her to be like this, all happy and bubbly. But, she was. She knew she would be around him. Maybe that's why she liked him so much. She couldn't really tell how she felt about him. She had never been this close to someone before. Well, not since her parents had died.

The modest smile grew much wider when she heard Evan's answer. She turned to face him, her legs crossed. Her legs were almost touching the toes of his boots. "Good." she murmered. She hoped he could hear her. She got a little louder, but just a touch. "Because I would say I liked you, too."

She heard hooves behind her, and a nose brushed her hair. Turning around, she almost bumped into Indie's graying muzzle. She rubbed the mare lightly, laughing. It almost seemed that she liked to ruin moments like this. After a few seconds though, Indie walked off, in the direction of what looked like a patch of clovers. Blair turned her attention back to Evan. She rested her elbows on her knees, searching his eyes.

She was looking for something, anything to tell her he wasn't lying. Anything to tell her she could believe him. She wasn't experienced in trusting people. She was used to knowing someone for a year and moving on. Luckily, she had stayed with her current foster parents for quite awhile. No one wanted a bipolar sixteen year old. But, her foster parents loved her. Before that day, she thought they were the only ones who could.

[beautifulxxlie091]

"That is a good thing" He said, a smile blooming on his lips.Evan smiled at Indie as she came up behind Blair as if topping to say hello. Glancing towards Highwire Evan made sure his gelding was still standing there, he was, his head low to the ground, eyes half shut, half asleep. Evan smiled and laughed a little at the gelding who had seemed so high strung.

Evan liked it when she smiled, it made him smile, a good feeling inside. He twirled his silver stud in his lip as he looked at it. Twirl, twirl, twirl, twirl... He stooped himself when he realized he had been doing it consistently. He glanced down at the small watch on his wrist, the watch he always wore. The time read 1:34, it'd only been about a half an hour, it had seemed like so much longer.

Evan's blue grey eyes held no emotion usually. It was hard for him to express his feelings, he'd been keeping them bottled so long and it just seemed longer with Jake gone. And again he brought himself back to his brother. But his brother had left one thing behind with him when he left, his dog Zelda, who was currently in Evan's car back at the barn.

Zelda was another thing that Evan cherished, she was one thing he had left of his brother. Evan was pretty sure that as he thought about this his eyes glazed over with pain, or maybe fright. It seemed to be the strongest emotion that showed through him. He used to think it was all he could feel towards humans, pain and fright, until today.

[mudfang]

Blair reached up a hand to touch the band of her head. She made a strange face. "She got grass in my hair..." she laughed softly. "Lovely." Her hand came back to her lap and she noticed Evan was twirling his lip ring. She looked at his watch. Only half and hour.

She began to get nervous again, and she picked up a flower. She pulled off each of the little petals individually, counting them. Five, six, seven, eight... The little flower was petal-less and barren before she got over her nerves. She started picking at her boots again. She happened to look up.

She hadn't seen that much pain on a face since her foster parents lost their baby. Did Evan loose something? She didn't want to pry, or make him feel uncomfortable. This day seemed to be filled with long, uncomfortable silences. "Are you okay?" she asked hesitantly. "You don't have to tell me what's wrong if you don't want to."

(bleh =P that was crappy)

[beautifulxxlie091]

Evan snapped out of his own thought's and looked at Blair's nervous face. His stomach flipped when she asked if he was ok, he knew she wanted to know, if he would tell her. Would he? He wanted to but he wasn't sure if he could. Ofcourse he could. If he wanted to. He did. He took a deep breath and turned to look at Highwire.

"I'm ok. Most of the time" He said as he plucked at the grass by his side. "It's just when I think about my twin brother." The last sentence broke off as Evan took a shuddering breath. He closed his eyes and tried to calm his breathing as he sorted his thoughts. How much could he tell her? The words had never come from his mouth, only in his mind.

"He died" He said evenly and turned back to Blair. "Almost a year ago" He said, looking her in the eye. It was all he could do, he was trusting her, someone he met only a few hours ago yet someone who he could talk to. "And he died because of me."

He kept his eyes on Blair, not trusting himself to stop talking if he looked away. "It's a much longer story but that's the gist of things" He tried to smile, but it didn't work. Evan looked up at Highwire who was looking at him now. The big gelding didn't move but held the gaze with Evan. When Evan looked away, back at Blair, he heard the gelding go back to grazing.

"And that's what I meant by hurt." He summed up pretty quickly. "My brother died in my arms and it was my fault" And now Evan had to look away because he could feel the moisture building up in his eyes. He blinked furiously to keep it from overflowing onto his face. He'd never told anyone that, never said anything like that. He barely spoke to other people as it is.

[mudfang]

Blair didn't look away that time. She held his gaze steedily, never looking away. Occasionally she didn't blink for a few seconds. She could feel the tears lining up, waiting for release. She didn't try to blink them away. It wasn't really what he was saying that made them come. It was the look on his face, now blurred by the tears.

Again, she found herself wanting to reach out to him. Maybe it was because she knew how he felt. Maybe it was because, eleven years ago, when she learned that her parents were gone forever, she didn't have a shoulder to cry on. She layed awake every night, her pillow wet where tears had slipped from her eyes. She would cry herself to sleep.

This time, she didn't even hesitate. Without a sound, she moved closer to Evan. He was looking away from her, but she didn't care. She wrapped her arms around his neck, like she would never let go. Now she felt a drop of moisture sliding down her cheek. He parents had always told her that silence was a good thing.

A million things ran through her head at once. Why was she sitting here, in a clearing, her arms around some guy she had only met hours earlier? Why, when it seemed she could never be close to anyone again, was she here, crying over some guy that she barely knew? She had no clue in the world, but she was.

[beautifulxxlie091]

Evan was surprised when Blair wrapped her arms around him but even more surprised when he hugged her back. A tear fell down his face slowly, landing atop Blair's head. He swiped the next one from his cheek before it made it's way down his face. He'd never really had sympathy from anyone, well he had, but he had pushed them away. Yet this time, he didn't want to push her away.

Evan swiped away a few more tears from his cheeks before stopping all together and just holding onto Blair. He had never really been consoled and just sitting here, in the middle of the woods, for the first time he felt like things would actually be ok. He didn't break the silence, it was actually comforting in some unfathomable way.

The wind blew through silently, sweeiping Evan's hair upwards a little at the tips and it settled in the middle of the his face. He didn't reach up to move it to the side, didn't try to move it, he didn't move. Highwire snorted and shook his head as he moved towards Evan and Blair slowly. The gelding sniffed Evan's cheek and nudged his face a little. He smiled as the gelding sniffed at Blair's head and moved on to the side to graze about five feet away from the two.

The wind blew again and when Evan looked up at the sky through now clearing eyes, the clouds were dark and looming. The air smelt of rain, the good kind of sweet smelling air. Evan didn't want this to end but he also didn't want to be stuck in the rain. "Thank you" He whispered, breaking the silence finally. "I needed that." Evan took his arms off of Blair reluctantly.

"It looks like rain, maybe we should get back to the barn" Evan said, barely above the whisper.


OOC:// sorry for any mispellings, my spell check isn't working

[mudfang]

Blair could sense the horse behind her, but didn't move. She was surprised, and almost flinched when she felt Evan's arms around her. She stopped herself, though. She didn't want to ruin it by being oversensitive. She didn't look when Highwire sniffed her. She just stayed there, her tears stopped, holding on to Evan like she was falling. In a strange, metaphoric way, she was. Her eyes were closed tightly, as if looking down would just make her fall faster. She hoped she hadn't scared him too much. She acted without thinking at times.

She didn't object when he pulled away, but she wanted to. She could smell the rain in the air, though. "I needed it, too." she said, barely above a whisper. She sniffled, wiping off her cheeks. Blair imagined that her eyes were red and puffy, but she didn't mind. She didn't wear mascara, so that wasn't an issue. She never wore mascara. Alot of people told her that she should, but at least she had perfect make-up after a situation like this.

Blair nodded. "Yeah, we, ugh, should." She was blushing a touch. She realized for the first time that she was almost sitting in Evan's lap. She scooted back a touch, blushing more now. She looked into the sky, seeing how dark it was. She liked the rain, actually. But, she didn't say anything.

She hesitated before standing up and brushing dirt off her pants. She didn't want it to end. She wanted to sit there, by that tree, with Evan. Hours? Days? Forever? It didn't really matter.

Indie lifted her head, a twig sticking from her mouth. One of the stirrups on her saddle had fell down, and was now hanging at her side. The bit would be a nightmare to clean. Indie walked a few steps closer to them. She shook herself, and her saddle twisted a bit to the side. The mare looked pretty goofy now, all sideways and dirty. Blair smiled a bit.

[beautifulxxlie091]

Evan stood up and brushed his pants off in unison with Blair. The wind blew threw once again and Evan sucked in a breath, he loved the smell of rain in the air. Highwire was full attention now, watching Evans' every move. Evan smiled towards the gelding and walked up to him. Highwire stayed put until Evan grabbed his reins.

"Good boy" He said tot he gelding as he brought the stirrups down, Highwire standing there perfectly. Sometimes Evan wondered why the horse acted up when he did and why he could be such an angel sometimes. Evan went around to Highwire's right side and pulled the stirrup down just like the other.

In a sudden the thunder cracked above and Highwire threw his head up in surprise. He threw up his head and side stepped away. Evan held onto his reins as the horse threw his fit over the loud noise. "Whoa" He said gently as the horse stood, alert like something was going to jump out at him. Evan stroked the gelding, telling him it was ok.

As soon as the gelding had calmed down a bit, Evan put his foot in the stirrup and mounted. Highwire wasn't as calm as he had been but he wasn't going to bolt either, Evan knew that much. Evan adjusted himself in the saddle and looked over at Blair. He watched her with her horse. The bond between Indie and her was apparent just by watching them.

[mudfang]

Blair looked over at Highwire when he spooked. She glanced back at Indie. The mare had barely moved. She had been through earthquakes, and still didn't even wake up. Blair stroked her horse's muzzle, just in case. She walked over and unbuckled her girth, adjusting her saddle so that it was centered on Indie's back. She buckled the girth back and pulled the one stirrup down and the other the rest of the way down. The reins went over Indie's head, and Blair mounted with no problem.

After she had her feet in the stirrups, and was comfortable, she looked over at Evan. She smiled, weird on her still slightly puffy. "Ready to go?" she asked, somewhat cheerfully. She had recovered from her little episode. Now she was wondering if she had forgotten to take her pill that morning or something. No... she had taken it, she was sure.

Maybe it was him. He was the antidote to her pills. But, that was a bad thing. Too bad she didn't care. "Will he be alright?" Blair asked, referring to Highwire. She was trying to get her mind off of the negative things, but it just added more horrible thoughts into her head. She had a way of making herself think bad things.

[beautifulxxlie091]

"Yeah let's go" Evan said and started Highwire forward. The gelding was alert after the first thunder crack but he didn't try anything else. Evan turned towards Blair, a smile now on his face like nothing ad ever happened. Even by telling her just that little bit of information and have her show that kind of sympathy had given Evan a sense of peace. Of course, he still had a lot in his heart and his mind, and the memories and pictures would never go away, but just that little bit helped.

When she asked about Highwire, Evan looked down at the horse beneath him as if contemplating it himself "He'll be fine" Evan said as he pulled at a few loose hairs of Highwire's poorly braided mane. "He won't do anything as long as he doesn't scare to much but the thunder won't do that, he was just taken by surprise earlier" And Evan hoped he was right.

Now that he was on Highwire, Evan's loose hair was annoying him. He brushed it aside a few times until it stayed in place as it was supposed to be. The wind blew through the trees, thats when Evan felt the first rain drop. It landed on his arm and soon it was raining. It wasn't a down pour, it was just sprinkling, and it actually felt good against the rather sticky summer weather.

Evan smiled as he looked up at the sky, the dark clouds were still looming and seemed ominous but the rain felt nice. Highwire didn't mind the rain, he loved water and acted like a fool when in water, especially swimming. Evan didn't realize how long they had been riding on the trail in silence until the outskirts of the trail and the beginning of Pinewood came into view.

The rain still fell lightly but the raindrops were getting larger and it was falling faster. He suspected it would begin to downpour soon, if not now. Evan had left the windows in his car down an inch or two for Zelda, his Pharaoh hound, which meant the seats would most likely be wet. "Do you have a way home from the sables?" Evan asked as they neared the end of the trail, "That is, if your planning on leaving after this..." He let his voice trail off.

[mudfang]

Blair rode in the silence, enjoying the quiet. It gave her a chance to look around a bit and get used to the trail. She had a feeling she would be riding there alot. She could feel the rain, and her pants had darker spots all over them. Indie was quietly walking, but Blair kept her feet planted firmly in the stirrups, her hands grasping the reins tightly.

She was glad to hear that Highwire would be okay. She knew she would still be concerned for Evan, but eventually she brushed it off, like a raindrop that had fallen on her cheek. Her face had returned to it's normal color, and her eyes weren't swelled anymore. She looked exactly like she did when she had entered the woods, only there was still a peice of grass in her hair.

She sighed when they reached the stables. It wasn't a sad sigh, but it wasn't a happy sigh, either. She patted Indie on the neck. The old mare had taken the new surroundings quite well. As far as she knew, Indie had never been on a trail with another horse. Not many people want to ride alone with Blair. They thought she might go crazy or something in the middle of their ride.

She felt better now. Happier, even. Her heart had stopped jumping up into her throat every time Evan looked at her. She was relaxed now, slumping slightly in her saddle. Indie's mane wasn't quite wet, it was almost water-proof. There were drops clinging to it, and Indie shook herself. Blair giggled a little bit.

Blair spotted Evan's dog and smiled. She loved dogs. She wasn't allowed to have one, though, because of Missy, her foster mother's cat. She had a goldfish, though. Evan had spoken, but Blair hadn't noticed until three or four seconds later, caught up in her own thoughts. "Ugh... no. I normally walk." she glanced up. "It doesn't look like the rain will be too bad, though." She didn't want to invite herself to a ride. It would be rude.

[beautifulxxlie091]

"Well you never know" He commented "I have my car, if you want a ride home" He offered, looking her way, a small smile touching his features. Ge glanced at his car as they neared the barn, Zelda was curled up in the passengers seat as usual. "But I do have a dog" He said, he didn't know if she liked them or not.

As they neared the barn Evan stopped Highwire and dismounted. He pulled the reins over the geldings head and led him into the barn. He couldn't help but notice the braids were mangled and falling out, he had to take them out before leaving the barn. Evan stopped at the cross ties where he hooked Highwire. Highwire stood in the ties correctly and offered no fight.

Evan pulled the saddle and saddle pad off of the geldings back and set it on the bench, content on taking the braids out at the moment. He began taking the braids out one by one, he didn't plan on putting them back in anytime soon. He wasn't sure why he had in the first place but he had.

As Evan neared the end of the mane, Highwire stood patiently, much to Evan's relief. Once all the little braids were out, Evan set to work on combing the mane that now needed to be washed. The mane wasn't to bad, a few tangles but nothing bad. He took the soft brush and began on Highwire's face before switching brushes to begin on the horses body.

OOC://that is a really bad post, sorry, no muse.And sorry it took me so long to get back to this thread, my computer crashed.

[mudfang]

Blair shrugged, smiling. "I don't mind dogs." Actually, she liked dogs alot. But her foster mom's stupid fur ball of a cat crushed her hopes of getting one. She frowned now, biting her bottom lip. She had kept the cat out of her room, hoping Lennon, her goldfish, wouldn't be eaten. In her rush, she had forgotten to close the door. She remained hopeful though. Maybe the cat got drugged or something.

She dismounted Indie and rolled up her stirrups. She pulled the reins over the mare's ears and patted her neck before she led her into the barn. Since Evan had the cross ties, she just led the mare into an empty stall to untack her. She pulled the bridle off, and Indie shook her head. Blair unbuckled the girth on one side and pulled the saddle and saddle pad off of Indie. She took the bridle, saddle pad, and saddle outside of the stall, placing each on the correct hook or stand. She grabbed Indie's bright green bucket out of the tack room, trying to hurry. She saw Evan undoing Highwire's mane. She smiled and walked back to the stall where Indie was standing quietly.

She groomed Indie in silence. She picked out her hooves and polished them. Indie was enjoying the attention. Blair combed her mane, and for some reason, she felt the need to clip it. She grabbed her scissors and started trimming. Normally she kept Indie's mane long, but she trimmed it rather short. It was about half-way down the mare's neck, just long enough to be netted. For a finishing touch, Blair sprayed fly spray on the mare, so she wouldn't be irritated. Her boots clicked against the cement as she walked down the isle to the tack room again. In a few seconds, she was back in the stall with Indie, buckling her thin sheet. Indie loved the rain. She haltered the mare, buckling her bright red halter before hooking the matching lead rope to it. After opening the stall door she led Indie out to the pastures.

The old mare nickered as soon as she was outside, feeling the rain on her neck and tapping against her sheet. Blair ran, Indie trotting slowly beside her. She opened a pasture gate and unbuckled Indie's halter, letting the mare loosing to gallop happily around the big pasture. Smiling, Blair made her way back to the stable, picking up her saddle and taking it back to the tack room.

OOC://No problem. I'm just really bored right now... Alot more muse than usual.

[beautifulxxlie091]

Evan shoved the handful of little elastics in his jeans pocket as he put his grooming supplies back into his bucket. He placed the grooming bucket on the bench outside Highwires stall as he clipped the lead to the geldings leather halter. The leather on the halter was worn, of many uses and the black lead rope was well past it's days too. He had forgotten his new lead at the house, for the second day in a row. When the cross ties came off, Highwire became alive. His head went up in the air and he stepped forward at once.

"Calm down" Evan told him as he turned the gelding around to lead him to the stall. Evan opened the stall and led the gelding in, Highwire went right in. He grabbed a few hay strands left and munched carefully. Evan unhooked the lead and left the stall, locking it. He hung the lead and went to fetch his tack. The bridle lay on top of the saddle, the saddle pad on top of the bridle. He grabbed it all and walked towards the tack room. As he walked in and turned the small corner he nearly ran right into Blair. He felt his cheeks get red, when did that ever happen? He ducked away, embarrassed now. "Sorry" he said as he placed the saddle down and took care of the rest of his tack.

As he left the tack room he smoothed his messy hair, hoping it wasn't a ball of frizz as it usually got when tampered with. Usually he wouldn't really care about it, what was this girl doing to him? He didn't care. He passed Highwires stall as he made his way to his car, Zelda needed to be let out before he left. She'd be a flurry of dog fur if he tried to get in the car with her in there, not being out in the short time. Her pent up energy would be ruckus, especially if Blair came with him.

When he opened the door, Zelda popped her head up and untangled her long legs. Evan grabbed her leash and clipped it on before the dog made a jump out. "Hey girl" He said as she jumped out and Evan shut the door. She jumped up at him a few times before getting a flick in the nose, she knew better anyways, it was jut her first time here. The two inch red collar stuck out against her almost orange coat color. Evan had the collar specially made, silver barbed wire ran around the collar and her name was embroidered into the collar. She shook once until she saw the barn, then she quivered with excitement.

Evan led her to the barn quietly, he kept a short leash on her, she didn't want him to scare anyone if there was anyone there besides him and Blair, he didn't think there was but just in case. Highwire whinnied in response to seeing Evan again, Zelda was used to the big black gelding but the horse didn't like the dog being around Evan. Zelda was getting the attention not him. Highwire snorted at the dog and Evan only laughed. He pulled Zelda forward in an attempt to find Blair.

[mudfang]

Blair tried to hide her embarassed smile when Evan bumped into her. She sighed, patting her saddle again before leaving the tack room. She sat on a bench, her legs crossed. Her thoughts were buzzing like bees. "I hope he's a good driver... What would my foster parents think of him? Do I smell bad? Oh God, my hair looks awful."

She began running her fingers through the strait parts of her hair. Her boot was rapidly tapping against the concrete floor of the barn. She could feel a part of them moving seperatly. It was time to ask Mrs. Loveless for a new pair. She frowned, knowing that having the smell of dog on her would upset the woman. It was definatly not helping her desperate attempt to get on her foster mom's good side, that's for sure.

Her sunglasses were in her back pocket, but she decided not to put them on. She started scratching at a piece of stuck dirt on her knee. She hadn't even gotten it off when she heard a car door. She looked up, seeing Evan and his big dog. Again she focused on the dirt stuck to her skinny jeans.

She pulled her attention from her skinny jeans again as she heard Evan enter the barn. She stood and walked toward him, a new smile on her face. She frowned. She probably smelled like cat. For the second time that day, she found herself cursing that stupid feline. Her hands dug into her pockets and she looked down at her boots. "Ready to go?" she asked quietly.