Nice Day for a Run (Markos)

[Chloe Annalise Keller]

Chloe left her dorm, and headed off campus. She wanted to go to the park, and run to get in better shape. Not that she was in bad shape, she enjoyed running before her mother had shipped her off to St. Helena's academy. But now she was on the cross country team, it would be very different than just running by herself because she liked it. It wouldn't be just when she felt like it, because she felt like it. She walked at a brisk pace, enjoying the warmth of the sun on her skin, headphones on her ears allowing her to tune out the world around her. Her ponytail bounced as she moved, and she was glad she had used a headband to keep her bangs off her face.

When she arrived at the park, she was happy to see it wasn't too overly crowded, though there were others out enjoying the beautiful weather. She picked a path to use, and started running, turning up the volume a bit on her iPod. The smell of flowers filled her nose, and she allowed herself to smile sightly. Everything seemed so peaceful here, so calm, and together. Like she wanted her life to be. Well, really be. It appeared that way to most, in fact, she knew most people upon first glace at her did not think she belonged at a place like St. Helena's. She seemed to have it all together, to be the perfect daughter. Maybe she did, maybe she didn't, the jury was still out on that one. Being at the school had its perks though, she had her brothers here with her, she didn't have to wonder when they'd be moving again, or who her Mom's next boyfriend would be. She could focus on what she was good at. School. A part of her worried what colleges would think when they saw St. Helena's as her high school. Would they take her? Would they think she was some nut job?

She was pulled from her thoughts suddenly, when she felt pain. ”Ah!” she screamed suddenly, stopping, pulling her headphones off as she looked down at her foot. Why her? Was it really that wrong of her to want to be good at something other than school? She hobbled over to the side of the path. It hurt, but she could put weight on it at least. Chloe lowered herself to a sitting position, her leg out in front of her. Why did her brothers seem to have all the athletic ability, and all she did was run and got hurt? Especially Jaysin and Skylar. Was it so wrong to not want to be just known as someone who was good at academics? Tears welled in her eyes, a few slowly streaming down her face, though not just from the pain. ”Dammit! she said trying to figure out which brother she should she call for help. She didn't want them thinking she was a baby. She hit call and waited as it rang, and went to voicemail. “Skylar, it's Cissy. I'm down at the park. I was running, and I'm pretty sure I hurt my ankle. I'm sure your laughing when you hear that, but it's not funny Sky! Call me back, okay?” she said sighing softly, and ended the call, not having noticed someone approached. Now she would have to try Parker or Sin, she thought sniffling, looking down at her phone, preparing to call the next brother. She didn't want to have to walk back alone.

timeline:August 23, 4:00pm

outfit

[Markos James Rhyder]

[atrb=border,0,true][atrb=style, width: 500px; border: #000000 8px solid; background-color: #000000; background-image: url(http://a-little-wicked.com/SpooksRandom/InTheDark/MarkosWallpaper.png);] [atrb=width,450] "hello darkness my old friend i've come to talk with you again" It was a good day for a little run. He'd been back at St. Helena's for just under two weeks. He had since confessed his love to the boy he'd had a crush on for over a year and started to make friends with his reclusive roommate who spoke almost as much as Izzy, which wasn't much if you weren't him. He shook his head slightly at the thought, though Izzy was having tutoring sessions with another student and Markos thought it was a good opportunity while Izzy was otherwise occupied to do something else. So he'd decided to go for a run, he had to keep in shape for Soccer after all, so he'd donned a pair of running shorts, his running shirts, an a tank top. Grabbing his MP3 player, he headed to the Park. Cranking the volume on his player all the way up, he began his run on, paying little heed to others who passed him on their runs or just having a little walk around the Park. Playing loudly in his ear, his favorite music with a good beat he could get lost in. Hello! Hello! On the TV, in your face, on radio-oh. It's a riot, it's a riot, they so no-oh. You are frantic, don't you panic, let it go-oh. We are, we are, we are - In the cities, on the streets around the globe-oh. They turn everything you love into verbot-oh. From the cradle to the grave, part of the show-oh. We are, we are, we are - Radio hysteria. Hello! The end is near. Hello! We're still standing here. The future's just begun on the darkside of the sun. His lips closed, he lost himself in the music, counting his breaths and breathing in time with his steps as he jogged. It wasn't difficult, a rhythm he'd built up long ago in middle school when he'd first gone out for sports. Soccer was a lot of running and being active, he had to keep up his stamina. If he let himself fall back, then there was always the temptation to fall into the steroids again. He had to keep telling himself that he didn't need them. He was a good player even without the aid of drugs. Though there was always that voice in the back of his head that said the drugs made him a great player. It gave him the extra boost. He shook his head, forcing the thoughts from his head and just let himself be lost in the road. His eyes remained on the pavement in front of him until he noticed that the girl who was slightly ahead of him who he'd been gaining on was suddenly slowing and hobbling off the path. He frowned, slowing himself down as well, watching as she sat down on the grass with her leg in front of her. He frowned, stopping near her and walking over. He reached up, pulling his earbuds from his ear and the music in his head vanished as he tucked them into his pocket with the player itself. She was cussing and then obviously calling someone on her phone. She looked vaguely familiar to him, though it was possible she went to the high school nearby. He may have seen her in the crowds at some of the sporting events. Though he approached her warily. "Hey, you alright?" he asked, shifting to kneel beside of her. "I'm Markos, couldn't help but notice your ankle looked like it rolled on you. Can you put weight on it at all or no?" he asked. Reaching out, he paused. "Can I take a look at it? I'm no medic, but I do know what some of the injuries look like. Having played sports for a while, its kind of hard not to know what some common injuries are, like strains, sprains, and breaks." He offered her a smile. "What's your name? You look a bit familiar, do you go to the high school here?" A casual enough question... right? He was trying to get her mind off of her ankle so he could get a look at it without causing her to much discomfort. tag: chloe | outfit: here | words: 716

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[Chloe Annalise Keller]

Chloe startled slightly, inhaling sharply, when she heard a voice right by her, her phone falling into her lap. ”I...” she started, then she made the mistake of looking over at him, not realizing he'd he kneeling right next to her. Oh. My. God. Wow. Of course, it would be just her luck to hurt herself while she was out running, and have some really hot guy stop to help her. Anyone else, would have probably been all flirty. She would have been, she knew, if she had not been sober. But, she was, sadly completely without any drugs or alcohol in her system. She looked down quickly, listening to him talk, a slight blush creeping up on her cheeks. If ever she wished she'd left her hair down while running, now was the time. Then she'd be able to somewhat hide behind it. This was so embarrassing. It was one thing to need to ask her brothers for help, to appear weak in front of them, even Sin, but this stranger? She was sweaty, and disgusting. Not to mention she'd been crying, she remembered, hastily trying to wipe away the tears, as it dawned on her. God, she was probably all splotchy. Why couldn't she just be invisible?

Why couldn't Skylar have answered his phone? Then she could have just nicely told him that her brother was on the way, but thanks anyway. And then beat herself up over her lameness when she was alone in her dorm. He stopped talking. Oh, God. That meant she really should say something didn't it? She was raised not to be rude. Well, raised probably was not the right word, but semantics. She'd been taught not to be rude, though certainly not by the woman she called 'Mom' or her sperm donor, as she liked to call the man who was biologically her father. Crap! She mentally kicked herself, say something to the hot guy, um Markos, was it?

She let out a breath she hadn't even been aware she'd been holding. Inhaling deeply, she looked up at him, feeling her blush deepen, and licked her lips before speaking, “I-I think I sprained it or something, I'm not sure really. I was just running and then it hurt,” She said realizing how stupid it sounded only after the words had left her mouth. She took a breath and continued, ” I just tried to call one of my brothers, but of course he's not picking up his phone. I think, I can walk on it, I mean, I don't think it's broken or anything,” she said then glanced at her ankle which was swelling. It5 looked painful, and she wasn't even touching it, much less walking on it. She knew she did not have a high pain tolerance, but was too embarrassed to say that to this guy, something her family would know.

”Um, okay, she said softly. Better him poke at it than her, she thought. She gave him a shy smile of her own, then bit her lip slightly in anticipation for the pain. She hated pain. I'm Chloe. Chloe Keller. I just started...I'm a Freshman...at St. Helena's” she said, the last part coming out in a whisper. Chloe looked down, suddenly finding her hands very interesting. She didn't want to see the look on his face. The look that she got at home when she'd told people where she'd be going to school. Next would probably come some comment about how she seemed so normal. What was a girl like her doing at a school like that? She wouldn't blame him if she left, probably thinking she was some psycho now.

[Markos James Rhyder]

[atrb=border,0,true][atrb=style, width: 500px; border: #000000 8px solid; background-color: #000000; background-image: url(http://a-little-wicked.com/SpooksRandom/InTheDark/MarkosWallpaper.png);] [atrb=width,450] "hello darkness my old friend i've come to talk with you again" Markos smiled at the girl, taking note of her blush though playing it off as if he noticed nothing. Izzy blushed a lot, it was something he was used to, and while it was kind of endearing, it only made the person more embarassed when attention was called to the fact that they looked embarassed. He kept his attention focused instead on her ankle, lightly gripping the underside of her calf as she stated she thought she might have sprained it, because it had just started hurting. "Well, a sprain is when your joint becomes a bit disaligned and you burst the capillaries and lymphatic veins around it, causing fluid to fill the area around the joint. So its really hard to move it or put any kind of weight on it without a great amount of pain. Sprains are actually more painful than breaking something." He looked up at her as she stated she'd tried to call one of her brothers but he hadn't answered his phone. "It might not be wise to try walking on it. If it is a sprain, walking on it would only make it worse..." he pointed out before reconsidering. "Actually, any injury would be made worse by agrivating it..." He offered a small smile before she finally agreed to let him touch it. Reaching down, he gripped the heel of her foot and slowly lifted it and her leg, slowly rotating the other's ankle and waiting for her reactions. "Mm... its not broken... but I don't think its a sprain either. Here... feel the area," he said, inviting her to touch her ankle. "With the backs of your fingers," he moved the backs of his own fingers over her ankle. "When you sprain something, it'll be warm to the touch. It's swelling, yes... but its not warm. I think you strained something, pulled a muscle or a tendon, I don't know which. You'll probably have to go see a doctor and get like a brace or something at least. And a pair of crutches." He finally looked up at her face, smiling at her. Though as she introduced herself, he held out his right hand. "Nice to meet you, Chloe," he stated though as she stated she was a freshman at St. Helena's, he arched a brow. "Well then, that's certainly interesting. I'm a junior at St. Helena's," he stated, smiling slightly. He chuckled, shifting back onto his heels. "Well, at least I know now where I'm taking you too..." He shifted over beside of her, getting to his feet and offering his hand. "Here, let me help you up. Just pull, don't put any weight on that foot if you can help it," he said simply before he took her hands and pulled her upwards. "Now, since its a bit of a walk back to St. Helena's, and you really should have that foot elevated as quickly as possible... you hopping around, even with me supporting your weight, would take to long." With that, he bent, placing one arm beneath her knees and the other around her torso beneath her arms and lifted her up, bridal style, into his arms and began to walk. "We'll get you to the infirmary, and Dr. Snighrig or the nurse can take a look at your ankle." Another smile offered down to the girl as he walked. tag: chloe | outfit: here | words: 601

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[Chloe Annalise Keller]

Wow. Was hot guy...Markos, going to be a doctor? Because that sure sounded all doctor-y to her. Lymphatic? Capillaries? Just nod, just nod, she thought to herself. Chloe nodded her head some. Thankfully, he hadn't noticed her blushing. Okay, he probably noticed, really, how could he not? At least he was nice about it, knowing if Markos had commented on it she probably would have turned bright red like a tomato. So not what she needed. She nodded again, when he said that walking on it would only make it worse. It made sense. So hopefully she could get a hold of Parker or Jaysin to help her back. When he took hold of her foot, she squeezed her eyes shut, her hands closing into fists, expecting the pain to increase from what it was. ”Ow,.. ow,... ow! she said starting soft and getting louder. ”Okay, I think I should have told you before that I do not like pain. Not that anyone probably likes pain, but I really don't. Seriously, my brothers make fun of me. I don't like needles either,” she babbled and added, “ or blood. Especially blood. I tend to pass out.” She forced herself to open her eyes. I'm going to shut up now,” she said blushing. Why did she have to go on like some idiot? He did not probably care about her being a baby when it came to pain, or her hatred of other medical stuff. When he told her to feel her ankle, it dawned on her that her hands were still clenched. Opening them, she followed his instructions, noticing that it was not warm. As much as she could,anyway. Her hands were cool. Probably a lack of blood flow from the squeezing, her stress, the fact that he was hot, and making her blush. All of the above.

A brace? Crutches? Oy, great! Way to start off her freshman year of high school with a bang. She sighed softly and said, ”I guess that's what I get for not stretching before running.”Chloe gave him a shy smile, liking the way her name sounded on his lips. And that smile. For a second she for got to be polite and reply. ”You too, Markos,” she said extending out her hand to shake his, trying to keep her nerves in control. Chloe raised an eyebrow at him when he said he was a junior at St. Helena's. Well, so much for flirting, not that she was really flirting. More so making an ass of herself. But, no worries now because what would an upperclassmen, a hot upperclassman like Markos see in her? Emphasis on the hot. At least he was a good distraction from the pain. Part of her wanted to ask why he was at St. Helena's, but she didn't, for a few reasons. Chloe did not want to seem nosy, she hardly knew him. He didn't seem like a psycho, and she didn't want to judge him like so many people judged her. He'd had opportunity to hurt her, and he hadn't so she had to be somewhat safe. Not to mention, she knew from the places she grew up sickos were everywhere and anywhere. And, if she asked him, it would give him the green light to ask her.

She nodded, shoving her cell into her pack, before extending her hands, and taking his. Chloe pulled herself up, trying to keep her weight off her foot like he'd said too. She grimaced slightly, as some weight went to her injured foot, before she got fully upright. Chloe stood, using Markos to help her keep her balance. A very girly squeal came from her lips as he lifted her, she had not been expecting that at all. Holy muscle. Okay, now she was probably bright red. She could feel the heat in her cheeks. And that wasn't the only thing she felt. He felt like solid muscle through the fabric that separated their bodies, probably had a six pack too. She wouldn't mind a six pack right about now. The kind with alcohol. How was she supposed to form coherent thoughts like this?! Where was she even supposed to put her hands? Didn't people usually put one arm around the other persons neck to help, when carried like this? Not that he needed help, clearly. His biceps were well over twice the size of her own. Look someplace else other than his bicep, she chastised herself. He made her feel small. Not that that took a lot. She was only about 5'5” and she knew she was slightly underweight. He must work out like everyday, she thought.

It barely even registered to her that he had spoken, she'd been so lost in her own thoughts. Was he really going to carry her all the way back to the school? ”um, Markos?” she said uncertainly as she fidgeted with her hands. Looking up at him after a few seconds, she continued, ”You really don't need to do this. I-I mean you could just set me down, um, I'm fine just waiting until one of my brothers can come. It probably wouldn't uh be that long. Would it make that big of a deal for my ankle? I-I- I don't want to inconvenience you.” He probably had much better things he wanted to do than help some little Freshman. Someone he didn't even know.

(a post length record for me! )

[Markos James Rhyder]

[atrb=border,0,true][atrb=style, width: 500px; border: #000000 8px solid; background-color: #000000; background-image: url(http://a-little-wicked.com/SpooksRandom/InTheDark/MarkosWallpaper.png);] [atrb=width,450] "hello darkness my old friend i've come to talk with you again" Markos offered the girl a small smile to try and ease the pain she was quite obviously in. "No sane person likes pain, Chloe." Which excluded some of the nutjobs at St. Helena's who got high off of that shit. Shifting her weight slightly as they walk, he gave a soft laugh as she stated it was probably what she got for not stretching. "Ah, I never stretch before I run... you probably just stepped wrong or something, nothing that could have been prevented by stretching," he stated easily. "And don't look so impressed, you know... I only know about this kind of thing because I'm in sports so I see a lot of injuries like this. I play soccer and basketball, so watching someone roll their ankle like you did is unfortunately a common occurance." He offered a small smile. "That, and I want to be an athletic trainer when I grow up." He smiled a bit at the girl then. "Nah," he stated as she told him that he didn't need to help her, that she could wait for her brothers. "I'm already here. Why make them come all the way out here when I'm already here?" he asked, arching an eyebrow slightly. "That doesn't even make any kind of sense, really. Unless you don't want my help, I guess..." He shrugged a bit as she stated she didn't want to inconvienience him. "You're not. I'm happy to help." He smiled slightly down at her as they walked, and while he could definitely feel her weight, he knew that he could get her as far as St. Helena's at least until he could get help on campus from a guard or something. "So, tell me about yourself. I know you're a freshman and what school you go to..." he started, looking forward once more so he didn't trip on anything or risk falling with her in his arms. "You were out running today, are you training for something? Some sports team or... do you just enjoy being in shape?" he asked absently, wondering if she might be on the track and field team or maybe the girls soccer team. Or hell, she could be a damn cheerleader for all he knew. Soccer didn't have cheerleaders, he didn't see why football got cheerleaders and basketball got cheerleaders by soccer didn't. It made little sense. Maybe it was because football and basketball were american sports and soccer was originally from Europe. That could be it. He looked back down at her with a faint smile before looking forward again. "Me, I'm on the soccer team... and come spring, I'll be in basketball." At least he hoped. He'd played basketball at his old school though hadn't gotten a chance to here before he'd been pulled out by his parents. He offered a small smile to the other as he watched her out of the corner of his eye. "If you are an athelete, your coach might not be to happy with you once the doctor is done with you, you'll be out of commision for a couple of weeks at least..." He clicked his tongue slightly at the knowledge. tag: chloe | outfit: here | words: 568

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[Chloe Annalise Keller]

Wow. He seemed to have all of his shit together. What was he doing at St. Helena's? Why was he there? She knew looks could be deceiving, but still. He wanted to be an athletic trainer. Well that was cool. Other than knowing she wanted to go to college, Chloe had no real idea what she wanted to be when she grew up. It tended to fluctuate day to day. Sometimes it was a reporter. Other days it was to own her own business, but what, again she had no clue. The list went on and on.

She shifted slightly in his arms, moving so she could put her arm around his neck. It felt awkward having her arm that was against him, just resting down, and to be honest had kind of been squishing it. This way her arm felt better stretched out, and it didn't hurt that it gave her an excuse to touch him. Okay, her arm was around the back of his neck, it wasn't anything really flirtatious. But it was contact, and she would take what she could get. Being so close to him, she could smell him, and for a guy who had been running, he didn't smell bad. At all. It took her a second to realize he had asked her a question. ”Oh, um,” she said trying to focus her mind on forming words, not on how he smelled. ”I just joined the cross country team. Never really did a sport before, but I figured...” she shrugged her shoulders as best she could. Clearly her decision to join a team had been a stupid one. ”I'm not the athletic one in my family,” she said looking up at Markos with a small smile.

”Oh,” she said trying to think of how to best say this. ”Then you're going to met my brothers, two of them anyway. Well, they're my half brothers, really.” she said pausing slightly before continuing, ”We have different ...We have the same mom.” she said, unable to say the word Dad. None of the men deserved that title as far as she was concerned. ”I apologize for anything they do, or say...I mean you seem like a nice guy and everything. Jaysin and Skylar are...something,” Skylar and Jaysin despite being identical twins, had polar opposite personalities. Jaysin just got on her nerves with his attitude. Skylar was sometimes too happy for her. But they were family. The men in her mother's life may come and go, faster than the seasons changed, but her brothers were always there for her She nodded, ”Yeah, I don't know what Coach Evans is going to think. We hardly even got started,” She was not looking forward to telling her coach they had just started the season, and she was going to not be able to run for a few weeks. That was not a good way to start she thought,sighing softly.

[Markos James Rhyder]

[atrb=border,0,true][atrb=style, width: 500px; border: #000000 8px solid; background-color: #000000; background-image: url(http://a-little-wicked.com/SpooksRandom/InTheDark/MarkosWallpaper.png);] [atrb=width,450] "hello darkness my old friend i've come to talk with you again" Markos wasn't sure what to take of her silence as they walked, though her shifting of putting her hand around his neck and shoulders was infinitely more comfortable for himself as well, without her shoulder digging into his chest. He looked back down at her briefly as she spoke about joining the cross country team and he nodded. It made sense, he supposed. Though it was kind of ironic that she was on a team that running was most of what they did, and she had injured herself running. Yes, it would definitely be a while before she was ready to compete in tournaments. "Well it never hurts to try. At least you're trying new things, that's always good to do. And just beacuse you haven't been athletic in the past doesn't mean you can't be on a team doing something you like to do. You're young yet, you'll get better with time." After all, he didn't become a good soccer player overnight. When she stated that he would get to meet two of her brothers, he gave her an interested look. "You have more than two brothers?" he asked, wondering how that went. He only had a sister, he'd always wondered what it would be like to have a brother. His sister was definitely not the type of person he was generally close to. She was a bit snobby for him, one of those girls that was popular, and while he'd been popular too, he didn't flaunt it nor was he rude or cruel to those who were not. He was popular just because he was a good athelete and because he was good-looking, no other reason. While he liked to be admired for his skills on the team, he was rather not fond of people liking him just because he was attractive. When the other actually apologized in advance for her brothers, he laughed. "Aw, now I'm sure they're not all that bad. I'm sure they're perfectly fine." He offered a smile towards her. "They probably just give you a hard time because you're their sister. I know that I like to give my sister a hard time," he stated truthfully. In fact, it seemed like his goal in life before he'd come to St. Helena's. Well that, and to play professional soccer. Jason and Skylar, hm? He couldn't help but be a bit intrigued by the name Skylar. It was a different kind of name... especially for a guy. When she piped up about Coach Evans, Markos smiled. "I'm sure your Coach will understand. Accidents happen, after all," he stated as they approached the front gate that would allow them access to St. Helena's. "I don't know which of the doctors is on call today, but I'm sure whichever one is will be perfectly fine." Of course, it could be that neither doctor was there at present time and only the nurse was present. But it wasn't a major injury, just one that needed to be wrapped, maybe a few pain pills... if the girl in his arms wasn't an addict, of course. He didn't know what the medical staff did when it came to things like that, otherwise they'd have addicts deliberately hurting themselves just for their fix. All rather shady, to be honest. tag: chloe | outfit: here | words: 711

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