Toes in the Sand (Emily)

[jayden anthony bradly]

Jayden walked up to the edge of the sand. Beach wasn't all that new but it had been a while since he had been here last. He saw a lot of people. He was feeling a bit nervous as he stepped onto the beach. He would feel much more at home on a tennis court. Why was he out on the beach again? Oh right, running on sand was better than running on pavement. It would be more of a workout if he ran on the sand. Plus he could always go swimming or something after. Maybe. Probably not.

He could feel his skin beginning to crawl as he stood there, so he popped his head phones on and took off next to the ocean, looking at all the people on the beach as he went mind bouncing through a million little things. He spent a little to long looking at a couple out on the beach and he knew this when he turned his eyes back to his path and saw a girl with a camera standing almost right in front of him. As he was about to run her over he tried to put on the breaks and managed not to actually hit her. Instead, he ended up on his ass in front of her.

[emily kate welsh]

Emily had come to like taking pictures on the beach, especially very early in the morning. There were always very few people around, and those that were on the beach didn't notice her snapping pictures of them. Emily liked taking pictures anonymously. It was when people were their most honest with her.

She had been taking pictures on the beach for nearly four hours by now, and the sand was beginning to fill with families and beach towels. Deciding it was time to go, Emily took a few last pictures and was beginning to put her camera away when some boy ended up sprawled across her feet. She was never sure what to do around boys, and now there was one who had literally fallen at her feet. Chewing her lip in confusion and anxiety, she watched him for a moment before shakily holding out her hand.

[jayden anthony bradly]

Jayden saw a hand come towards him from his position on the ground. He reached up and took it, mostly out of courtesy. Thats what you were supposed to do right? Society said you took a hand reaching down to pull you up. Or maybe you weren't supposed to. Anyways, he did so and used to to lever himself up off the ground. When he stood up he brushed the sand off his ass. He looked over at the face of the girl who he had almost knock over and blushed. He had never really been around a pretty girl before. He had seen pictures of fancy girls with loads of makeup but this girl seemed to outshine them. By a lot.

When Jayden tried to apologize for running her over all that came out was a strangled, squeaking sound of some sort that he was pretty sure he would never be able to own up to. Beating himself up on the inside for his brilliant words he tried again. "I am so so sorry for almost running you over" he said, blushing even harder. "Um.. My name is Jayden." He stuck his hand out towards her, feeling like his face was as red as a tomato. Which would be awful because if tomato's get to hot they explode. BUT ANYWAYS he kept his hand out, hoping that she would take it and he would look less pathetic.

[emily kate welsh]

Emily wasn't expecting to help him up. Truthfully, she wasn't sure exactly what she was expecting when she held her hand out, but now he was lifting himself up with her assistance and there was nothing more for her to do. She managed to keep her balance and hold onto her camera all at the same time, which was quite a feat.

Thinking the moment was over and she was free, Emily put her camera back in her bag and looked up. She blinked in confusion when she saw his hand sticking out and realized that he had introduced himself and she was expected to reply. Oh God, why does this keep happening to me?!

Blushing furiously, she managed to grasp his hand and shake it without it feeling like shaking hands with a fish. Once again, she was expected to provide her name and, once again, she was looking like an idiot by not responding quickly. What if this kid thought she didn't know her own name? Of course she knew her name. What sort of idiot didn't know their name?

Her mind was pondering this for a few seconds before she realized that she needed to actually speak. She finally managed to get her throat working enough to squeak out "Em-Emily."

[jayden anthony bradly]

Jayden blushed even harder (if that was possible) when she reached out and shook hand. He flopped it up and down, feeling like a failure when Jayden realized that he hadn't shook her hand to a level that he had been raised to uphold. Then when he heard her name, it was like a revelation. Or at least, that's what he figured it was like that. He had never had one before.

"Um..... You wouldn't happen to go to Orange Island University, would you?"

[emily kate welsh]

Emily blinked and her creeper radar began buzzing wildly. How in the heck did this guy know where she went to school? Did he know her or something? Maybe he was stalking her and this whole tumbling-over-the-sand thing was just an act. He really wanted to take her home and kill her, and she would be another tragic name on Orange Island's police bulletin.

Taking a little comfort in knowing Avery (who seemed like an attack dog when called upon) was within reach on her cell phone, Emily chewed her lip for a moment before deciding on a reply. She employed one of her father's evasive interview techniques. Though she hated doing anything like him, she had to admit this one time it came in handy.

"Why?" she asked, not answering his question.

[jayden anthony bradly]

When he got his question out, Jayden felt his blush start to recede just a little bit. That was good because he felt like he probably looked like he had a sunburn. He hadn't even been out in the sun without heavy sunscreen because he couldn't stand the itching of a healing sunburn on top of the feeling of his skin being to tight.

At the question Emily posed, the blush that had been going away flared back with a passion. He looked down at his feet, shuffling in place. "I... Um... was just hoping that maybe we could hang out on campus some time. And if you, ya know, go to the University, same as me, then we could maybe hang out between classes? But, only if you wanted too."

[emily kate welsh]

Emily wanted to crawl into a hole and die. Why did awkward situations keep happening to her? She was lucky to find Lily and Juliette, who she clung to and helped with the whole socializing thing. Being seventeen and in a brand new place, Emily had a very hard time talking to people she didn't know. She had grown up with the exact same circle of friends, so this had never been a problem at home.

She pondered how to answer Jayden. She couldn't tell him the truth, that he scared her and she had no idea who he was, so how was she to know that he wouldn't rape her and hide her body? So now the question was what to say now. This was a delicate situation and she didn't want to hurt his feelings.

Eventually, she settled on a small smile and a shrug. "I'm a freshman," she said softly, as if this would be a reason for him not to speak to her any longer.

[jayden anthony bradly]

Jayden waited anxiously for Emily's answer. She was super pretty and he really wanted the chance to get to know her. He wondered if she had a boyfriend, but knew that asking would seem SUPER creepy.

When Emily said that she was a freshman, Jayden brightened up and his blush started to recede again. "Really? So am I!" Meeting another freshman was awesome, especially when the one he met with this pretty! As two freshmen that meant that they were sort of on the same level. They were both first year students and they were probably about the same age which meant that Emily might be more willing to hang out with him than she would be if there was a large age gap.

Jayden decided to try to learn more about this girl. "What are you trying to get a degree in?"

[emily kate welsh]

Emily had been sure that the word "freshman" would have scared Jayden off. Now, though, she realized that she would probably see him quite often since they were the same year. She wondered if she should tell him that she was only seventeen, and decided that saying that would too obviously reveal her anxiety.

Emily was still surprised that he had asked about her degree. She didn't quite remember the typical group of questions that people asked when meeting. "Um...ph-photography."

[jayden anthony bradly]

Jayden wasn't surprised to find out the girl with a camera in her hand wanted to major in photography. But he bet that she was awesome at it. She was probably awesome at a lot of other things. Jayden wanted to find out what those things were but even he felt icky about asking that sort of question. It would be to invasive.

So his next question was "What type of pictures do you like to take?" Because there had to be more than one type right? There had to be. If there wasn't he was so screwed. PLUS it wasn't a question that he found too invasive.

[emily kate welsh]

Emily shifted a little bit, still anxious. She had grown up hiding and being ashamed of her photography, taught that it was a waste of time and something to keep quiet. Now she had people who were actually interested in what she was doing, and it was a bit nerve-wracking. She really disliked sharing her talent with people she didn't know, but she knew it was something she had to get over if she was ever going to be a professional.

Clutching the strap of her bag with both hands, Emily forced herself to stop staring at the ground and very slowly raised her eyes. She couldn't handle looking into the boy's eyes just yet, so she settled on looking at Jayden's nose. "Mmostly people," she said, voice still soft and unsure.

She then realized she hadn't asked him anything. Great. Now he thought she was a braggart and rude. Trying quickly to remedy this, she blurted out "What is your major?"

[jayden anthony bradly]

She liked to photograph people. That was awesome! He was a person! He could totally offer himself up for her to take pictures of! But wait. If he said that it would probably make him look very conceited and full of himself. Perhaps at some point he could offer but at the moment it was probably best to wait.

Jayden would be happy to listen to Emily talk about herself all day. Even though he was starting to bounce a bit in place with the energy he had been planning to get out with his run he was kind of glad that he had almost run Emily down. When Emily asked him what he was majoring in, Jayden sort of shrunk. Nobody at home cared what he got a degree in but even he knew that History was a little weird. He highly doubted that Emily would find it interesting.

Looking down at his feet again he said, "I am majoring in History." Jayden tried to give Emily a sheepish grin, but it came out much more pathetic than he wanted as he said, "I like knowing about the past. Old cultures interest me. How they began, how they evolved, and what caused them to end."

[emily kate welsh]

Grateful that the attention had shifted from her to him, Emily nodded and toyed with her necklace. She had never had an interest in history, partly because her father rambled on about it and politics often. She had always been more interested in books, writing, and of course art.

"What do you want to do when you graduate?" she asked softly, making sure the focus stayed on him and off of her. The less she could talk about herself, the better.

[jayden anthony bradly]

Jayden took a few moments to think of how to answer Emily's question in the least painful way possible. His family always had the implied commitment that he was born to become a socialite and waste money until he got married and then he was supposed to have one or two children who would grow up to waste money themselves. Truthfully, he wanted to teach and continue learning history.

Deciding to go with a safe answer that would hopefully not make him sound to weird he said, "I'm not really sure what I'm going to do yet." Jayden grinned at Emily, "Besides, I have time to decide anyways, at least as long as it takes to get a degree, right?"

"What about you? What do you want to do with a photography degree?"