Tuesday March 25th 2008
Who: Dante and Erin What: Saying Hello Where: Hallway in fron ot Erin's room, then the grounds When: Tuesday night Rating: R for language
After leaving Nox's apartment, Dante had broken into Lloyd's office because he knew where it was and knew that Lloyd would forgive him for the intrusion. Besides, all he needed was a marker. He wasn't even gonna keep it. So after the break in Dante made his way to the girls' dorms, trying to look like he fit in but he didn't. Far from it. He was actually nervous and he couldn't even convince himself that he wasn't. Little sparks kept falling from his fingertips. He hated that he couldn't control his abilities as well as he used to. He didn't want Erin to see him weak. But he had to see her. He'd just disappeared last time and he didn't expect to ever see her again, but he had to come back. And if Roger told him to go, then he needed to go and never come back. So before Roger could potentially banish him, there were people he needed to see.
Rounding the corner to the wing Erin lived in, Dante spotted a dark haired beauty making her way down the hall coming toward him. It was her. He stopped, staring, heart leaping into his throat. Shit, oh fuck. He wasn't ready for this. His shirt was a wrinkled mess from being stuffed carelessly into a leather bag, his jeans dusty and wearing thin. Although he'd showered at Nox's place, he still had a five o'clock shadow. But he needed to relax, because if she saw him nervous he'd never live it down. If she even wanted to see him ever again. Leaning against the wall, Dante folded his arms, putting that cocky smirk on his face. "Hey, sexy," he said coyly.
Erin was on her way back from the pharmacy. She enjoyed being able to leave campus for these small errands; being a minor would have irritated her more than dealing with them. She wore a thin rain coat and her hair was pulled into a low tail at the nape of her neck. Obviously she had not been trying to impress anyone at Walgreens; her makeup was minimal, her eyeliner was a little smudged, and she had just vanilla chapstick on and nothing more. She wore jeans and dress sneakers, and beneath the now open black trench, a trim, well designed hoodie over a lace-hemmed tanktop. Relaxed. That was how she looked.
Until she realized some strange man was in her hallway. The female wing's hallway. A large, rumpled man who she had never seen before and who was calling her sexy. She paused, keys in her hand, a foot from her door.
"Who the hell are you?" she snapped, her accent sharp. Where was security? Who was he?
---
Security was a joke, even security would admit it. Well, one member of security might. Dante could easily bypass those losers anyway. What Dante had been going for was confusion for Erin, but she looked suprised and something else... was it fear? Shit. Of course she was on edge. He was a total stranger to her. But still, this made for a good segway.
Pushing off the wall, the smirk fading a little, Dante approached the ice demon, but didn't get close enough that she could take a swing at him. Looking into her eyes, hesitating, Dante grabbed the hem of his shirt, lifting it to expose his stomach.
Erin Hi.
---
Erin straightened her back like a two by four as he approached. What was he doing? What was he thinking of doing? She was already gathering power, ready to slam him with a full blast of raw force if he so much as raised a finger, but... then he was going for his shirt. What. The. Fuck. she thought, gray eyes narrowing into slits. A pervert? Really? She was going to freeze his.....
Suddenly all the blood left her face, rendering her impossibly paler than before, and the magic she'd gathered dissipated into the air, leaving a greasy feeling on her skin as it withered away into nothing. When she spoke, her voice was hard. The temperature in the hallway dropped a few degrees.
"Who are you? Tell me, or I'm going to call security. Or I'll just freeze your privates off."
---
Ah, Erin. She could always be counted on to attack where it would hurt most. And frozen testicles hurt more then anything. Dropping his shirt, Dante looked into her eyes, expression sincere. Fuck she was beautiful. Fuck, why the hell had he just let himself think that? He chanced another step closer to her, because she looked wholly freaked out because she was imagining the impossible but it was here, staring her in the face.
"You look less slutty than normal."
---
Her plastic bag of hairspray, bodywash, and peanut M&Ms fell to the ground abruptly. She stared, her expressions morphing slowly, one into the other, fear, anger, confusion, and lastly disbelief.
After her gaze had studied the features of this man's face, she met his eyes, hard. "No," she said, the corner of her lips turning up up ever so slightly. It couldn't be. No. What? No. One hand still held her keys, up, doing nothing, while the other arm hung there uselessly.
"No..."
---
"Yeah." Pretty much, that summed it up. Yes. It was impossible to believe, maybe infuriating, but here he was, alive (pretty much) and well (mostly). At least now she knew who he was, even if her brain couldn't register it yet. He felt safer moving closer to her, so he did, tentatively reaching out to take the keys from her hand. His own hands were shaking, an unfortunate side effect of having emotions he couldn't control just yet. Roger had been a better filter then he'd ever imagined.
"I... Erin, I'm..." Shit, so much to say, so little desire to say it. He wasn't going to get choked up right now because it was weak and Erin couldn't see him weak. Swallowing, he tried again. "I mean, it's... ugh, whatever. Hi."
---
She didn't pull her hand away, but she did watch his own hand -- whose hand? his hand? --- gently take her keys away. He had her keys. Dante did. Dante did?
"...Hi," she said, slowly lifting her chin to stare at him. He was...taller? Broader? Both? She didn't know. He was darker in complexion and in colour; his hair was darker, he was different.. not bad.. different. It wasn't the face she knew. Then...that had never been his face. Had it.
She passed her tongue over suddenly dry lips, their faces close, her eyes wide as they jumped over these new features. She was speechless. Surprise.
---
Haha, she was totally checking him out. Dante stood where he was, letting Erin's eyes scan over his new body. It was incredibly amazing what he had been through, a miracle he was standing here now. No wonder she was staring at him the way she was. He had expected more of this from Nox, although Erin's eyes over him was definitely giving a different reaction than if Nox's had been.
"It's kinda cool," he admitted, answering a question she hadn't asked yet. No doubt she wanted to know what this experience was like. She was still staring, and now he was starting to get nervous. Why the fuck wasn't she talking? "Can you just fucking talk now? Say something, anything, hit me or whatever, just... quit staring like that." He was getting nervous and he didn't know why.
---
She seemed to consider this for a moment before her hand slapped him straight across the face. Palm itching, she snatched her keys back. "You didn't say goodbye."
---
Ow, mother fucker! Dante recoiled, putting a hand to his face. "Shit, bitch!" he snapped. He had told her to hit him, had expected it, but still! Hurt like a motherfucker. "Of course I didn't say goodbye! When the fuck have I ever done what you wanted me to?" It was like she didn't know him at all. He grabbed her keys again, not for any purpose but because he kinda wanted to piss her off. That had really fucking hurt.
---
She seethed, but knew attempting to get her keys back would be a bad idea. He'd probably hold them over her in a stupid game of keep away. That was how mature HE was. "Yes, but, if there was one.. " she stopped talking abruptly, her eyes flickering away from rage to pain, and then to somewhere in the middle. A line formed between her dark eyebrows.
"I don't .. " she looked down at her dropped bag, then back up to him. "I thought you were... you know."
---
Maybe he'd hang them over her head, because he was a total dick like that. Or maybe he'd toss them down the hallway just so she had to go get them and he could watch her bend over. But right now, he just held them tight in his grasp. She was struggling, he could see it. She didn't want to admit something to him. He studied her closely, eyes scanning her face, her posture, her shoulders, her neck, the perfect whiteness of her skin...
"I'm not." Obviously. Real fucking smooth, idiot. "I mean I kinda am, but... well vampires kinda are, right?" That was a joke. It was pathetic.
---
She did not understand it was a joke, as none of this as funny. What did he meant? Her forehead wrinkled a little. He had felt warm, though, hadn't he? Or just warmer than her? Which was not saying much. Her bag forgotten, she frowned delicately. "I don't understand," she admitted, and it hurt her but she felt no need to lie.
"You're.. whose body is this?"
---
Oh God, the look she was giving him. Why could no one see any humor in this? Probably because there was not a damn thing funny about this. With a sigh, Dante resigned to answer questions. He owed it to her. "I dunno," he said with an easy shrug, taking a half step back so get some space between them. The fact that he could smell her natural scent from here wasn't gonna be condusive to conversation. "He's just... well he's me. At least, now he is. I am." It was unnatural to be talking about your own body this way.
"I don't know who he was," he said. "But he died. And now he's me. I'm me, Erin. This is my body and my face, and... and stop looking like that!" He sounded a bit hysterical, his voice cracking. But he couldn't take her eyes anymore.
---
"It's just.. it's .." she gestured to her own face, vaguely. "Processing. That's all. You look older... but a good sort of older." She finally bent with her knees to retrieve her bag, then stood up again, threading her tiny hand through the handles. Jo was bound to be in by now. She didn't want to invite him in. She didn't want to go in without him, though. She had so many questions.
She couldn't stop staring either, her eyes wide, curious, and still just a bit scared.
---
Jesus Christ, he really had not been ready for this. What was he supposed to say? Obviously 'hi' hadn't packed quite enough punch. And he didn't want to explain the how to her, or the when or where or any of that. What he wanted to do was... licking his lips, Dante stepped toward her again, putting his hands on her shoulders, gripping her arms. She had every right to be scared, this was terrifying. And if this didn't get a smack, he'd be damned suprised.
He kissed her.
---
So damned vulnerable and delicate. She felt like a sugar flower in his arms, and he was warm, and she was going to melt, or break, whichever. She shuddered when their lips touched, but then she tried to pull away, however reluctantly. "I can't," she breathed, her hands going to his chest. His new chest. Different chest. Her fingers splayed as she subtly searched for a heartbeat, something to solidify this.
"I need a ..moment." Delicate, ugh. She was angry with herself. He was going to eviscerate her.
---
"Uh huh." Well, this sure hurt a fuck of a lot worse then the slap to the face. Of course the shudder (to him) was repulsion. Why wouldn't she be? He was a walking corpse. Her hand was on his chest, looking for a heartbeat. She wouldn't find one. She might feel the bump of a scar, though, running long down his chest. The skin was human warm but there wasn't a pulse, no heartbeat, just a low buzz of electrical current.
Dante stepped back, away from Erin's cool hand, away from her body. It was clear he was struggling with emotion, his face threatening to crack its indifference. A small bolt leapt from his hand to the wall, and Dante looked down at it like it was the coming of the apocolypse. "Shit," he whispered, taking another step away from her. Breathing deeply, he focused on the breath, keeping his eyes cast down. This was so fucking embarassing.
---
Her hands lingered as he stepped out of reach, before she dropped them, one gripping the Walgreens bag. Then the electrical spark richocheted off the wall. That.. was familiar. It comforted her, despite the fact it threatened her sleek hair. One side of her pretty mouth turned up, before she realized he was... embarrassed? Really? Her comforted expression vanished, and she rocked forward, closer, but couldn't lift her foot to step toward him.
"Do you want to go somewhere quiet?" she said, unable to hear herself, almost.
---
The noise level of where didn't matter, just so long as it wasn't in here. "Outside," he said softly, clenching his fists. Erin's keys dug into his palm. Ah, fuck, her keys were still in his hand. Slipping them into his pocket, Dante started striding off down the hall, hoping she would follow. He had to get out of here. Leaving Roger meant losing control, it meant having to figure out his energies in a whole new body, in a whole new way. So far things went haywire when he got emotional and apparently he was doing just that.
The lights flickered as they walked, the panic in him rising. Since when did he panic? Since when did something like a small blow to the ego affect him this much? He hated this. His freedom was coming at a higher and higher price, and he didn't think he'd ever get it under wraps. "Fuck, fuck," he muttered, hands clenched at his sides, pace quickening. He just needed to get outside before shit went down.
---
She could feel the anxiety roiling off him; she didn't need flickering lights to tell that he was unsettled. She walked at a quick pace, following him, looking around at the pulsating electricity around them. He was going to blow a circuit. Literally and figuratively. When he muttered a profanity under his breath she blinked. He was rattled. Did Dante get rattled? Why were his abilities so out of whack? He usually had relatively good control, unless supremely angry. Did this body have something to do with it? It had to. Dante didn't get so flustered so easily.
Maybe now he does, he's been through a lot. Suddenly she reached out, and, knowing full well it might have caused a rather unpleasant sensation in her forearm, she put her hand on the small of his back. She wanted to comfort him and thought that this was the best way she could placate him without embarrassing him further. Her fingers kneaded a little, then she gave a compassionate rub.
---
Dante normally had complete control over himself. But now his energies worked differently. They didn't flow through him, they fueled him. And he hadn't found how that balance worked yet. Plus, he was feelign all his emotions, not just rtaking over the unstable angry ones. He didn't have Roger anymore to feel shame, love, happiness. All the sissy emotions. Dante was stuck with them, and he wasn't doing so hot with them.
The touch was unexpected. He held his breath a second, reigning in the electricity, silently berating himself into not zapping the hell out of Erin. He arched his back away from her hand, and just in time- a wave of electricity washed over his skin, a harsh pulse exuding from him. If she'd still been touching him, she'd have been one sorry ice princess. "Don't," he pleaded (fuck now he was pleading?), moving faster. Almost outside now, almost to safety.
Cold air never felt so soothing. Down the steps, onto the grounds, Dante fell to his knees, fingers gripping the crunchy dead grass. Finally he could let go, dumping electricity into the ground, singing the area around him.
---
She had suspected that she would feel the jolt, and sure enough, at the touch her entire arm vibrated uncomfortably. She gave him the touch she wanted but needed to pull away sharply with a soft hiss, just as he pulled away from her. His tone hurt her; should she have not done that? No, because it fucking hurt, she thought, cradling her hand against her chest. She massaged her palm and fingers with her other hand, brows furrowed as he sped up the pace. Good thing she had put on sneakers earlier.
The cold air was refreshing to her as well, for different reasons, and she was comfortable again. Still kneading her hand she watched, aghast, as he fell to his knees. Just as her lips parted to ask if he was alright, the stench of burned foliage hit her nostrils. Huh. She watched, half scared, half interested. This was new. All of it.. new. Though.. it was still Dante, wasn't it?
Still holding her tingling hand, she waited for him to look up, her eyebrows high, expectant.
---
It was kind of like throwing up. It hurt, it came from deep in your gut, and you would swear up and down that it would never end. That's how he felt right then, though he only fed out his electricity for about thirty seconds. Finally it did end, and he felt exhausted, his body dropping forward, his forehead resting in the dirt. "Mother fucker," he cursed loudly, staying as he was a moment. Now he felt dizzy. The alchemist had said he was pushing himself too hard, that this body needed to adapt to functioning again. Of course Dante hadn't listened.
Finally, taking in a deep breath, Dante pushed himself upright, sitting on his heels. So much for not showing weakness.
---
Her laugh was mirthless, more nervous and sad than amused. Short, soft. "So.. different. Everything's different."
She stepped closer, put out a hand, but her palm hovered over his shoulder. She wouldn't touch him. She wasn't sure if it was safe. "Sorry, y'alright?"
---
Okay? Definitely not. he was not okay at all. "Yeah fine," he assured her, running a hand over his face. He didn't blame her for not touching him. He was unpredictable and evidently repulsive and too weird for her. He hadn't really thought about how she'd view the new him, but this made sense. Why wouldn't she be totally creeped out? Seeing this body before Dante had inhabited it had creeped him out too.
After another moment he got to his feet, taking his usual cocky stance like everything was fine. But something was missing from it. It wasn't genuine. His eyes said it all, and right now they said he was knocked down a few pegs. "So," he said, faking casualness, "just had to... overload. Y'know. Shit happens."
---
She shivered. "Ah." Disappointment crossed her features when he put on a nonchalant expression. He was going to choose now to be an ass? While she was still holding her buzzed hand, fingers flexing. Perhaps he feels bad, she thought, watching him with a careful, intense gaze.
"I realize I'm staring. I'm sorry. Don't take offense... I can't comprehend... "
She gave her hand one last squeeze before letting her arm drop, her fist clenching and unclenching. "Glad you're not.. you know." Dead.
---
"Stare all you want," he offered, an attempt and brash. "Don't care. I'm pretty impressive." The fact that he wasn't "you know" was a testament to that.
"Did you... like... wanna ask about it, or...?" If she was gonna stare, and if it kept them from talking about what had just happened, then Dante would be more then willing to answer any questions.
---
"Well... yes," she admitted, her lip pushing forward, "but if you don't think you want to talk about it right now... it can wait. You're here. That's a large answer to a number of my questions." She rubbed at her neck, realizing she had been so tense she was now stiff all over. "Did you just.. did you come straight here? Were you planning to stay, for whatever reason?"
To get help with the powers you obviously forgot how to use.
---
Obviously Erin was uncomfortable, and Dante was too. He didn't especially want to talk about it, but it was either that or stand there in weird silence while his brain screamed at him to just fucking kiss her again and have her shove him away. Besides, she deserved truth.
"Well... no," he said after a moment's pause. "I wasn't gonna come back. I didn't want to. I just... had to." Dante cleared his throat, not inclined to really expand on that. "I started driving west first, get as far from here as possible. Changed my mind, and I'm here now. So." His eyes scanned her body, dropped down to the ground, looked her over again. He missed her. Fuck. He had missed her and now he was admitting it to himself. "That's all," he concluded, like he'd explained anything whatsoever.
---
She didn't shrink under his gaze, even if she wondered what, precisely, he was looking at. In fact, she stood up a little straighter, smoothing her clammy palms on her hips, the plastic bag noisily whipping in the cool night breeze. She bit her lower lip. "Right." He hadn't explained a damn thing! What did he mean 'that's all?!' How infuriating was that! He was gonna go, but then he didn't. Boom. He could have written a bloody manifesto, Jesus.
She was quiet for a moment, rubbing her hands and knees together like she was cold, when in reality she couldn't be, before gesturing to her own face with a circular motion. "I like it." She smiled, her eyes moving quickly, from his own, to his chin, to his cheeks, to his gaze again. She looked nervous because she was nervous.
---
She was being really twitchy. What was her deal? She probably wasn't cold, she was practically made of ice. Maybe she just felt as awkward as Dante felt right now. Biting his lips, Dante shrugged a little. She liked his face. Well... good start, right? At least she was getting used to it. Better to adapt to the pretty stuff before seeing the ugly. Like the autopsy scar.
"Yeah, it's the prettiest mug in the morgue," he said with half a smile. "Or, was."
---
Her face screwed up, and for the first time, she showed distaste. "You don't need to go out of your way to make me uncomfortable because you are," she said, not pulling any punches. "I'm flustered. I can't hide it. You show up at my door after sending a cryptic message on Roger's bare stomach, and now it's a new face, new body, new... situation.." she said, looking down at the damaged ground.
When she looked up again, she was clearly annoyed, but to whom, it was unclear. "You don't have a heartbeat. You used an alchemist, then? Just your brain? Dead man's body?" She swallowed. "Roger..." she trailed off, though now her fingers reached up to trace a line over her hair, to the back of her skull, displaying where Roger's scar had been.
---
"Well shit, and here's the bitch," he said curtly, glad that at least she wasn't looking at him with that delicate expression he didn't know how to handle anymore. He could deal with the angry Erin. "Excuse me for not taking your feelings of being creeped the hell out into consideration. I've been through a lot of shit." And then, she had to mention Roger. Dante's shoulders visibly slumped. He knew how Roger looked. Dante had been the one to carry the man into his mother's house, laid him down on the couch, stared at him one achingly long second before turning and walking away.
"Yeah. I know." He leaned down a bit, showing her that he had a scar almost identical to Roger's. "I was there too."
---
Her hand raised, but then went back down. "When I touched Roger, he got angry."
---
Crossing his arms, Dante frowned. "Maybe because your hands are freezing." That probably wasn't it. Dante didn't know what it was. Roger rarely got mad. But maybe Roger was suffering like Dante was, only opposite. Maybe his emotions were screwed up too. Looking at the patch of burtn grass, Dante kicked at a few blackened blades with his toe. "Part of his brain is in me," he said softly. "And mine's in him."
---
That made sense. "He.. reminded me of you. I was .. curt, to him, because you weren't there. I was probably wrong. I haven't seen him since, though." She licked her lips, moving closer to him, trying to close the distance between them slowly. "I'm not... 'creeped the hell out,' " she said, putting on an American accent when she mocked the words he had chosen. "Just .. like I said. Flustered." She pushed her hands into the pocket of her jacket. Were they that bloody cold all the time?
"Have you seen him? Talked to him?"
---
Dante shook his head, unable to meet her gaze. Looking at her brought about too many conflicting emotions he couldn't contain. "No. I can't see him. Not yet. I had to... well. If he wants me to go, I will. He belongs here. So I'm just letting people know I'm..." He paused, then finally said the one thing neither of them would say. "Alive."
---
There was silence, except for the outside noises of nature, the wind, and the noise of her plastic bag being battered by the wind. Her ponytail flew sideways. "Where are you staying?"
---
He was staying with Nox, kind of. But the smirk returned to his mouth, a mysterious allure falling over his rugged features. "Staying with a male prostitute," he said mirthfully. "The guy keeps me up late with all his sex noises, but his blowjobs are to die for."
---
"Ahhh," she said, her eyes lighting up a little. Levity. That was good! "So thaaaat's the part of Roger's brain you got." The gay part. A bad joke, but a joke nonetheless. She grinned and reached out to lightly punch his shoulder.
---
"Wh.... no!" Dante took it as a personal affront. "Hell no!" He did not like guys, never had. He accepted the punch though, kind of glad for the contact because then at least she wasn't completely disgusted with the whole 'dead guy' thing. A step in the right direction. He took a casual step toward her, reaching into his pocket to pull out her keys. "Don't act like such a twat, or you don't get these back. And you don't look like yourself enough to stay outside your room for the rest of your life. You got no makeup on, you're dressed like someone who isn't a celebrity prostitute... it's amazing I even recognized you." He held the keys up, jingling them just out of her reach.
---
Her teasing grin slowly vanished as he continued speaking, the words "twat" and "celebrity prostitute" standing out like icebergs in tumultuous waves. Such an idiot! He was such a man. His concerns about his own validity were insane; he was just as much of an ass as any full blown man, conceptual being in a corpse or not! Her eyes darkened and she felt her jaw tense, her forehead furrow, before she could stop it.
She wanted to call him names, to freeze his fingers until he had to let go of her keys. She could do it. She could probably knock him down with barely any effort, considering how woozy he had looked moments ago. Suddenly she reached out, still very much a demon, with reflexes too quick for her very much human form, and grabbed his shirt front. She twisted her fingers in the wrinkled cotton of his tee shirt and pulled his face closer.
"I missed you too, asshole."
Then she kissed him.
---
Well... huh. Dante hadn't had time to react before Erin was on him, grabbing him and man handling him roughly. Now it was his turn to be shocked. He froze, not moving, not returning the kiss for a few seconds. But finally his chopped up brain caught up with the situation, and he returned the kiss eagerly, placing his hands on her hips. She was chilly, and her scales were obvious under her clothes, or maybe he just knew to feel for them. Whatever the reason, it was comforting. He pulled her body closer to his, pressing into her, melting a little and moaning softly.
And then he sparked, skin buzzing. Fucker. "Whoa," he murmured, pulling his mouth back a minute. Evidently, the parts of him he hadn't been too sure of before were in fine working order. And over eager, it seemed. "Just... can you... hang on a sec..."
---
She didn't know why she'd kissed him. She had missed him too, sure. As a friend. Perhaps because he'd already kissed her a few times, now, and she would hate for him to think he had the patent on surprising her with his mouth. No way. Maybe it was because his comment about her being creeped the hell out spoke volumes, and part of her cared that he not assume she was disgusted. She had been with vampires, and with demons -- they had interesting hearts as well. Whatever was thrumming inside Dante... she was alright with it, because it still helped him be Dante.
At least, she was okay with it, until it sparked at her mouth. She pulled away when he did, her hand snaking up between their close torsos, bare fingertips on her lips. That was.. interesting. She blinked up at him, her ears still replaying that soft, tiny noise he'd just made. Steam rose off the back of her neck, where she had been starting to warm up. "Ehm," she said, wondering if her cheeks were as coloured as they felt. "Yes," she said, in response to his question. She rubbed at her lower lip with her ring finger, then smiled a little, avoiding his gaze.
---
He felt like a ridiculous teenager. Coming into Roger's life at nineteen had avoided these awkward moments pretty efficiently. But just like walking, speaking and feeling, this was apparently something else Dante would need to learn to master all on his own. He had always been awesome in this department before, and now he was shaking and vibrating and losing his cool very much against his will.
"I didn't mean to... y'know, shock you. Things are kinda just... this body's got a mind of its own." He attempted a cute smile, not an expression he wore often so it barely suited him.
---
Her smile was genuine, and not placating, or belittling. "I suppose I should take that as a compliment, then," she said, not quite moving away from him. She kept the bagged arm down, so that the plastic bag wasn't between them -- though now she was wishing she had left it in he room -- but her other arm was up, and she was resting her palm on his chest. What was inside there? What was the hum? Just electricity, coursing through him?
---
He laughed, softly, embarassed. "I guess." She hadn't moved away, she hadn't stepped back. Didn't seem to want to either. Pushign his luck, Dante leaned down toward her again, lips brushing hers softly. "I did miss you," he admitted, first time spoken aloud, before he pressed their lips together again. It was soft enough that maybe she hadn't heard it at all, and if she asked later, he'd lie.
---
A half second before their lips touched, she wondered if she would be shocked again. A half second after that, she no longer cared. Eventually the stupid bag was dropped, abandoned on the cold ground between them, and she wrapped both arms around his neck. No, not too much taller. Bigger, though. Which was fine. Roger had been kind of scrawny, anyway.
Her lips warmed up, then the rest of her. This felt good. She didn't know why, or how, but it just...did. It was exciting. A whole new sort of exciting she was not familiar with. Her darkly painted fingertips reached up, grazing the back of his neck softly before her hand moved up to caress the back of his head, forgetting about the scar he'd shown her just a few minutes ago.
---
Dante didn't know who it was that Erin warmed up, since her heart was carved from pure glacial ice, but stranger miracles had occurred. He was living proof. More proof, this wasn't how he'd thought this evening would go. Hoped, maybe, secretly, but never expected. Her nails on his neck sent a shock coursing right through him, luckily nothing strong enough to cause pain to Erin but enough she'd definitely notice. His damn body was completely giving him away, from the buzzing of his fingers to the hardness growing down south.
Oh, mother fucker. Awkward teen indeed. Loathe to the idea that Erin might think she could excite him so easily, Dante shifted away from her a bit, pushing his tongue past her lips as a means of distraction.
---
The shock did make her jump a little, their lips momentarily parting as she breathed warm hair across his chin, but then she kissed him again, obviously content to push past the awkwardness of a little random electric humming. He'd spooned her when she was freezing, after all. Compromise? Really? He's not THAT good of a kisser, Erin. Dante's tongue dipped into her mouth, hot against hers, and her train of thought completely derailed.
She let out a quiet, muffled sound of enjoyment into the kiss, her thumb grazing his temple.
---
Oh, shit. Her little moan sent a tingle right through him, kicking up the vibrations. Inside, Dante's internal currents were manic, pulsing and waning and jolting all over the place. His right arm was tensing stiffly and his knees were threatening to give way. Stupid fucking body, work damnit! It was like riding a malfunctioning machine. Some parts were in overdrive and some were shorting out.
Panting through his nose, the golem/elemental/former demon wrapped his arms around Erin to draw her nearer, forgetting that perhaps encompassing her in vibrations might be uncomfortable, or that his erection was straining hard between them. He was all Id, full of want and need and desires with no filter. His fingers gripped into the fabric of her clothing like a needy child, keeping her close, trying to get every inch of her body to touch his.
---
She let out a little gasp as he pulled her closer, being laid up against his sturdy frame, now wracked with throbbing sensations of the electrical kind. The other throbbing sensation, which was much lower, bothered her little; she liked it. His electricity, however, proved to be too distracting after a while. It made her teeth rattle as she tried to kiss him, her fingers moving from his head to his shoulders as she tried to steady herself.
When she couldn't take it anymore, she pulled her face and chest away from him, she felt the freezing air outside mix with the warmth created between their torsos and did shiver once again. "I can't.." she said, her voice strained. She gripped his arms. "It's starting to hurt," she explained, quietly, wishing this would just blow over. She didn't seem to blame him, or pity him, but there was no telling if he would interpret it that way.
---
When Erin pulled away it felt like life force being ripped from him. Kissing someone had never been this intense before, and he wasn't sure why. Even kissing Welsey, when he'd been utterly convinced he was in love with the guy, hadn't been like this, hadn't been so needy. It had to be the brain messed up. Dante needed to get this shit under wraps. But he was distracted a bit, because more important then the emotional crap going on was the physical. He was actually hurting her.
"Oh," he said, immediately releasing Erin and stepping back, shoving his hands in his pockets. Her keys were gripped in his hands, jangling against one another as his limbs continued shaking. "Yeah, shit. Of course." Moron. Most people couldn't handle being shaken like that. If Erin had been an infant in his arms, she'd be dead. He tried to act cool about it, but obviously it bothered him. He hated this.
"Just as well, I guess. Was getting bored anyway." He turned from her and started back toward the school, the cold air sweeping around him like a cloak. The absence of Erin's body made everything chillier in a most ironic fashion.