slow motion {thyssen}

[juliette eliza bloom]

outfit!

Juliette was taking a leisurely stroll after turning in her mid-term essay early. It being due near Halloween had been what inspired her to work even faster and she had been expecting this to be the case for everyone--however, when she'd walked into her professor's office to hand him her paper, he seemed surprised that anyone would turn it in days early. Glad to have gotten it out of the way so that she was free to relax on the holiday, Juliette had just shrugged and wished him well before leaving and starting the long trek back to her dorm.

It was sort of breezy out, though in the sun, it was still warm, so Juliette tried to keep to the shade. There were a lot of games going on when she walked by the green--frisbee, football, soccer, etc--but that wasn't unusual, especially for such a nice day. There were also a lot of girls tanning and Juliette tried to make her away around those without missing one and tripping over her. This led her to be walking mostly in the bushes, which was fine because it kept her from walking through games and interrupting them.

She was almost to the end of the green when she heard a shout. Looking to her left, she saw a soccer ball headed straight for her. She leapt back with a small shriek, raising her hands like an alarmed mouse--as though they would protect her should the soccer ball decide to defy physics and head for her face again. It did not, however, and merely embedded itself in the bush next to her. She breathed in relief and her shoulders relaxed.

[thyssen spencer preuss]

Unlike Juliette Bloom, of whom he was only peripherally aware at the best of times, knowing only that she was rushing as a Tri-Delt, Thyssen Preuss was blissfully putting off several mid-term assignments by pursuing his favorite pass-time. It was an informal, three to a side shirts vs skins game, and with the space the group had managed to mark out with borrowed safety cones,there was plenty of grass for the flashier players to do their thing, while keeping the game intimate enough for some demanding physical play as well. The latter was Thyssens style, and he was racing along side a guy whose name he thought was Tony, when a crossing pass meant for the other game came arcing their way.. Thyssen was closer, but the pass was hot, one hopping off the grass at a low angle that was destined for Tony's calf, Thyssen dropped to a slide and kicked it away by the skin of his sneaker.

His side cheered, Tony's groused, and Thyssen, seeing beyond the fact that his move had redirected the ball off the makeshift pitch, called out to the familiar looking girl who was minding her own business in the bushes. She must have heard him because she startled and jumped back, hands raised as if to ward off the ball. It thumped harmlessly into the hedge, and after popping out of his slide, Thyssen headed her way with a casual wave to his co-slackers, laughing off their cat calls.

He, if the point were to be belabored, was on the 'skins' team, and so was wearing nothing more than his worn in athletic shoes, ankle socks and a pair of black jogging shorts. He was comfortable with the attire, or his lack thereof, and not all of the girls stretched out nearby were there for the Southerly Exposure. His hair was damp from sweat and a shade darker for it and his chest likewise shone from exertion. As he approached the girl, still unable to place or name her, but increasingly certain that they had met before, he called out.

“Sorry about that.” He began, crossing the last few feet to the hedge silently before deftly retrieving the ball and half-turning to throw it back 'in' to the field. “Kind of got away from us.” Shaking his head to try and get sweat off his brow before just skidding it away with one hand, Thyssen settled both on his waist and exhaled heavily. “Plenty of grass out here.” He commented with wry offhandedness. “Or are you trying to hide over here in the shrubs?” If the girl didn't reply immediately he'd follow up with, “Have we met?” If she did, well, you know the saying about bridges and their crossing?

[juliette eliza bloom]

Juliette was easily flustered, especially by bulky soccer players walking over to her half-naked and shiny with sweat. She averted her eyes--politely, of course--and tried not to flush too pink while she smiled awkwardly in greeting. "As soccer balls often do," she agreed with a nod. She was glad he didn't offer his hand or anything--if he did, she was too polite to refuse a handshake, but she really did not relish the idea of touching his sweat.

"Well," she said, warming up to the idea of talking even if she still was looking a few inches to the left of his face. "I was trying to walk by--you know, without interrupting anyone's game." She brushed some hair behind her ears, glancing over at the soccer game on hold while one of their skin players was talking to her. "Apparently, your game was just waiting for me to interrupt it."

She tried to push down her natural urge to offer a handshake and instead clasped her hands behind her back. "I think so, but I'm sorry--I don't remember your name. I'm Juliette. It's nice to meet you again." She vaguely knew what his name was, but she didn't want to be wrong because, if she remembered correctly, it was pretty unique.

[thyssen spencer preuss]

“That's right!” Thyssen said, a little more exuberantly than he intended. “Wherefore art thou and all that.” He grinned at his own cleverness. Of the many things Thyssen Preuss was, a student of Shakespeare he wasn't. Still, there wasn't a person who didn't know Romeo and Juliet. Or at least not many.

“Thyssen.” he offered amiably. “Thyssen Preuss.” No matter how it was spelled, his name sounded quite simple. Tyson Price. Was how it sounded, and how he pronounced it. But it gave everyone, professors, fellow students and hostess's fits. He like it immensely. It suited him. He continued by saying, “We probably saw each other at a rush event didn't we?” Just then, Tony, or someone else but it sounded like Tony, called for him to rejoin the game. Thyssen ignored the calls until they became insistent, focusing instead on Juliet.

“No thanks guys.” He said, half turning back. “Toss me my shirt? I need to study anyway.” There were the expected complaints and mutters, especially from Tony, but in the end someone coughed up Thyssen's T-shirt and he pulled it on, tossing his head and rolling his shoulders to settle it.

“So,” He said to his female companion after a second. “How about a coffee?” Though he had begged off on studying, none of the guys had taken him seriously. Lindsey did all his studying for him, and she was caught up through the end of the week. She was also Tony's sister, and he watched Thyssen go with venomous interest.

[juliette eliza bloom]

Juliette was used to having Shakespeare quoted at her--she hadn't yet decided which was worse, being remembered in this manner or not being remembered at all. Still, she smiled and nodded at Thyssen's attempt. "Exactly. Now you'll never forget." Probably. When he said his own name, she snapped her fingers. "Right. But it's spelled differently isn't it?" The only way she would have known this would be if she saw it on a nametag and it made a lot of sense for them to have seen each other at Rush event anyway, so she nodded. "Yes, I think so. Delta Kappa Epsilon?"

She paused when someone called his name, prepared to make a hasty--but always polite--retreat. She had her hands clasped in front of her and her weight shifted to the left of her feet, but then Thyssen was putting a shirt on and it didn't look like she would be retreating, so she shifted back--a hardly noticeable movement since it wasn't like she had much weight to shift.

"I thought you needed to study?" she asked, wrinkling her brow. For a few seconds, his sweaty, soccer-playing self had been redeemed, but now she felt a bit like she'd been fooled, even though he hadn't been excusing himself to her. She couldn't not answer, though--that would have been rude and possibly a little awkward. To give herself an excuse for not answering right away, she pulled out her phone and checked the time. "Oh, yes, coffee sounds nice." She smiled.