Can't stop the rain (open)

[Annabelle Hennessy]

Anna laughed harder at his arguement. "That's the side I always take." She responded once she'd made herself stop laughing a few moments later. "I guess we'll have to find something else to argue about." She gave him a small smile, amazed that she could still laugh even though she still felt crushed inside. She tried to think of something clever to engage him in converstation, not wanting to be alone again just yet. She looked around, the books surrounding her giving her a weak conversation starter. "So hows the reading going?"

[Chase Firebrand]

Chase arched an eyebrow at Anna; that was pretty weak. But he went with it, since he didn't exactly have anything better. "I haven't really read anything since before the masquerade," he said. He realized he'd just gone straight toward the dangerous, but went on. "Last thing I read was a Muggle comic book that it turns out was a movie or something." At least he thought that movie was the word she'd used. He could hardly keep some of the words straight.

[Annabelle Hennessy]

Annabelle blushed slightly at the mention of the masquerade, but since he didn't persue the topic, she was thankful to avoid it. She clung to his last words as if they were a rope pulling her off a cliff. "Which one? I don't read comics, but if it was made into a movie, I've probably seen it." She had grown up in a house full of movie addicts, and they had rubbed off on her.

[Chase Firebrand]

The corner of Chase's lips rose into the shadow of a smirk. "The Matrix," he said. If it was as famous a movie as Dru had made it out to be, Anna would easily make the connection between the comic book and his costume. Chase's eyes flared scarlet at the edges in pure mischief at having brought the topic back to the masquerade again. "There were some of those Muggle pictures that don't move in the back, and I used them as reference." He hadn't even known it was a movie until Dru had told him. But then, how would he have known?

[Annabelle Hennessy]

Anna's cheeks turned a crimson she knew she couldn't hide. She averted her eyes, unable to look at his as she remembered what had happened between them. She wondered if he purposely brought the topic up, but remembered that she was the one to ask about the last book he'd read. "I recognised the costume right away, it was well done. But, I didn't know it was a comic too." She added the last bit in a hopeless attempt to keep the conversation where she was comfortable.

[Chase Firebrand]

"A series of them," Chase said, his eyes pausing on Anna's blush, then slipping uncontrolled down to her lips. He knew what she was thinking about, and his mind followed suit; that kiss had been amazing. Chase enjoyed winning the game, but there had been something about kissing her that made it more. He'd been completely in control. Of her and the kiss, at least. As for himself, it had been a battle.

"Where did you get your costume from?" Chase asked, looking at Anna and remembering what she had worn that night. She'd been temptation and danger rolled into one, but only on the surface. Underneath it all, she'd been the fluttering, blushing girl standing in front of him.

[Annabelle Hennessy]

"I wanted something different. Most girls always dress up like princesses, or renaissance with the big dresses. I had to find something unique." Annabelle licked her lips, remembering the details of her night in that costume. She focused on a painting of a cottage over Chase’s left shoulder to avoid eye contact. Although her motives for the costume were to be adventurous, she had put quite a bit of thought behind it. "I decided to go with something muggle, but I wanted it to be different then my norm. I wanted to, for once, be able to be bold, and forget about what others would think. Goth is a subculture, that most people misrepresent as rebellious violent teen deviants that dress and act dark and brooding. The stereotype fit my needs, so I capitalized on it.”

[Chase Firebrand]

Chase paused just a moment, watching her, then pushed away from the counter, a slow, almost lazy motion as he narrowed the space between them. "You were bold," he said, letting his voice drop to a low rumble. The talk of the masquerade had shifted Chase's current goal from innocent conversation. He was thinking of the game now, just for a bit, just enough to entertain them both. He wondered if he'd have any success without the courage her costume had given her. "You don't need a mask to rebel," he said.

[Annabelle Hennessy]

Annabelle shook her head and unconsciously took a step away from his approaching form. Glancing at his face, she could tell that something in the moment had changed and it put her on edge. "No, I'm not like that. That wasn't me, it was an act for fun. Why would I want to rebel?" Even as the words spilled from her mouth, she wondered if they were completely true anymore. The thought quickly left her mind, as her attention was completely absorbed by the threat before her.

[Chase Firebrand]

Chase could feel Anna's nerves, but they did nothing to give him pause. Normally, a reaction like that would have slowed him, gentled him, but he'd dealt with Anna before, and he knew that there was no weaving around her defenses; the only path was through them. "It was fun," Chase said, stopping close enough to Anna to freeze her. The sense of power was intoxicating. "It was you I kissed that night, you, deep beneath the layers of overthinking everything." He leaned, just slightly, tilting his head to the side as one hand lifted her chin. "Isn't it fun rebelling against thought, just letting yourself feel for a minute or two?"

[Annabelle Hennessy]

Anna shook her head, weakly trying and failing to get away from his grasp. It had been easy to think of him as nothing but a friend when he was clear across the room and they were distracted by conversation. But now that his fingers were upon her face and his body so close, it was impossible to think of anything but the memory of his hands touching her like no other had.

[Chase Firebrand]

Chase leaned closer to Anna, dangerously close. "You're lying," he whispered. He knew it had been good for her, that she'd enjoyed forgetting herself. He'd felt it in the warm press of her body and her arms twined around his neck. Chase didn't wait for Anna to argue, didn't give her a chance to think. He closed the last distance between them, his lips brushing hers, then fitting against them as his hands slid lightly around her body.

[Annabelle Hennessy]

Confusion flashed in her eyes briefly as Anna wondered what she'd lied about, not able to think clearly enough to follow the conversation. Before she could form a question, he was on her. She was frozen by his attention, what little of her mind that was still functioning told her to stop but her body tingled at his touch. Although she didn't think she moved, her lips parted in silent assent.

[Chase Firebrand]

Chase coaxed, not an easy task when everything about the girl in his arms begged to be dominated. Her costume at the masquerade--the gothic dominatrix--had been incredibly ironic. Chase had never enjoyed pushing where he wasn't wanted, but Anna's protests were weak and poorly feigned. She wanted this, he'd felt it every time, and knowing she couldn't resist, knowing she wanted him more than she wanted whatever sense of propriety told her to hold back, was undeniably tempting. Chase tempted Anna now, the smooth motion of his tongue teasing against hers. She'd frozen, no less than he'd expected, and now he wanted to melt her.

[Annabelle Hennessy]

Anna once again lost herself to Chase's embrace. Her body acted out of pure natural instinct with him. If she'd been able to think about her actions, she'd have felt wanton as she gave in, reaching up and running her hands through his gorgeous wavy locks. She leaned her body against his, letting herself get caught up in the sensation of the kiss.