As some of you may know, Peanut and I are crazy about Roleplaying, and it's clear, since this is the second one on this site that belongs to us. And we aren't even done with the first one! Regardless, that won't stop us from starting this new roleplay, Rude Awakening!

 

Kinda dark and mysterious title, eh?

 

As stated in the title, this RP is one on one, no exceptions. Please refrain from posting in the RP. Instead, follow us on this new journey!

 

Peanut, my amazing friend, let's begin!

Lightning placed her hands on the bar beneath her, arching an eyebrow at Riku. "You going to offer me some help or just stand there?" she asked him. She did wonder though if he was going to make her jump. She wasn't like him; she didn't have experience with this type of thing. In a way, she wished she did, just because she had the personality of a warrior. Or so she thought.

Riku released a small "hmph" before moving a few steps over, closer to the punching bag. "Slide over and lower yourself from the rafter," he instructed. "Then climb down the chain." That was the easiest route he could think of other than jumping, and that would have been too dangerous for Lightning. The last thing he wanted was for her to get hurt.

Lightning looked further down the rafters and blinked when she saw something. A small pair of eyes glowed in the dim lighting. Ignoring Riku's advice, she swung herself so that she was just hanging onto the rafter with her hands and dangling. "You've got rats," she said. At least the rat was far away, but still, she hated those things. She wanted to get down from here, now.

"Only one, and he likes heights," Riku said in the gym's defense. If it was just one rat, it wasn't that big of a deal. At least to him, but it seemed that Lightning was concerned. "A girl like you afraid of rats, Light?" He was taunting her now, looking up at her from where he stood just below. She could face abuse but was scared of a harmless pest?

Lightning's eyes narrowed as she looked down at Riku. "If only the ceiling was a little lower," she said. "Then I'd be low enough to kick you." So what if she didn't like rats? The eyes creeped her out. Like they were spawn of Satan, or something freaky like that. Either way, Riku shouldn't have been letting a rat live in his gym.

Riku chuckled lowly, shaking his head a little as he glanced at the ground. But then he looked back up at his companion. "Well, c'mon then," he encouraged her. "Get down from there." She couldn't hang there all night, he was sure. In fact, he doubted she could hang there for very long at all, even if she was stronger than most girls her age.

Lightning reached for the chain of the punching bag as response, grabbing onto it tightly with her left hand. She was hesitant to let go of the rafter though. Too hesitant. She lost her grip with that hand and dropped a foot or two, though her tight grasp on the chain kept her from falling to the ground. She grunted at the metal digging into her palm, trying to figure out exactly how to get out of this position. And how to do it quickly.

Riku's smile disappeared when Lightning fell a bit, his eyes widening slightly. "Easy," he told her gently. She wasn't too high off the ground now, so she could easily fall the rest of the way and land on her feet...if she wasn't creeped out enough. Riku glanced up and saw the rat advancing down the rafter, and he prayed Lightning wouldn't look up and see it. It was closer than it had been before, and only moving farther down.

Lightning glanced down at Riku and saw that he looked a bit panicked. Definitely too scared for just her dropping two feet. She looked up when she heard a soft noise, and her eyes widened when she saw that the rat was close and staring her down. Before she could ask Riku where to go next, she was already going to her next destination: the ground. She grunted and let go of the bag, hoping to land gently on her feet.

Riku moved without thinking, making an effort to catch Lightning as she fell. He nearly caught her, but not in his arms; he fell to the ground instead, landing on his back while weight lingered on top of him. Opening his eyes, he realized it was Lightning who landed on him from her fall. She may have knocked the wind out of him, but the position was enough to do that anyway.

Lightning grunted when she fell onto Riku, having seen him move. What had he been thinking, getting in her way like that? She probably would have been okay. That had been painful. She kept her eyes shut for a few moments and then opened them, realizing that her head was against Riku's chest. She didn't just land on part of him; she landed completely on top of him.

Riku looked down at Lightning, since her head was on his chest. He furrowed his eyebrows, trying to get his breathing back. "...You okay?" he managed, though his voice was a little hoarse from the lack of air. He took a majority of the fall, but he was sure she felt something too. But...he felt something other than the pain from the fall; he felt something better than that. Toward the girl on top of him.

Edited July 26, 201213 yr by Forever Love

"Yeah," Lightning said, staying put out of pure shock. She couldn't deny that she liked being close to Riku, since she did have a crush on him, but she was too surprised to be in this position to think about it too deeply. That was both good and bad, since it kept her from feeling too awkward. "You?" It seemed like a dumb question; obviously having her fall on top of him wasn't a pleasant experience. She was just thankful that he wasn't teasing her for it right off the bat.

Edited July 26, 201213 yr by Peanut

Riku's eyebrows remained furrowed as he looked at Lightning, frozen in place. "...Yeah," he answered, his voice soft for more reasons than one. The fact that the wind was knocked out of him had something to do with it, but so did their close proximity. He lifted a hand without thought, setting it on her waist. How long had it been since he'd had this kind of contact with another girl? A good while, at least.

Edited July 26, 201213 yr by Forever Love

Lightning glanced down at Riku's hand on her waist, the touch natural but not necessary for their position. Again, Riku was going above and beyond when it came to affection. Was he just a flirt, or was there something more? She glanced up at his face, blushing and realizing that she still hadn't moved off of him. And that she didn't really want to.

Riku made eye contact with Lightning, and he couldn't help but smile a little when he caught her cheeks flush. "Are you blushing?" he asked, his hand remaining where it was. Lightning never blushed. Of that he was certain.

"No," Lightning said dumbly. "You're just hot." And that heat is making my cheeks flushed. She meant "hot" temperature-wise, but knowing Riku, he would twist her words to use them against her. She was caught off guard to be in this position after all, yet she stayed in it and Riku was encouraging her to. This wasn't something that people who were just friends did.

Riku lifted an eyebrow at the words, and he viewed them as a compliment, not the other way around. "You too," he commented with a smirk, slightly teasing Lightning as his hand moved along her side a little. He didn't even care about being on the floor anymore, since the girl on top of him was capturing his attention. Riku meant what he said with the "hot" factor; Lightning was attractive, and he told her as much before when he mentioned her beauty. But like this--confident, strong, yet still blushing? "Hot" didn't exactly do her justice.

Edited July 26, 201213 yr by Forever Love

Lightning's cheeks remained flushed as she lifted a fist and lightly brought it down on Riku's chest. It was to scold him for teasing her like that when he knew perfectly well what she meant. "You should know," she muttered. "A lot of girls don't like being called 'hot'. Most girls prefer things like 'beautiful.'" Of course, she wasn't "most girls". Any compliments were rare for her to receive. Or accept.

Riku grunted ever so slightly at the hit, but still listened to Lightning's words. "I've called you beautiful before," he told her, his eyes on her flushed cheeks before locating her blue orbs. "You nearly choked." That wasn't one of his best moments, but it was something.

"Yeah, well," Lightning murmured, avoiding eye contact. "Hard to accept compliments like that when you don't believe them." Now, if this conversation was done, they probably should have been getting off the floor. Was there some challenge they could do to distract themselves?

Edited July 26, 201213 yr by Peanut

Riku's small smile disappeared at that. "Lightning," he said softly. She couldn't think like that... He lifted his other hand, placing it on the side of her head so she could possibly look at him. She had to have known she was beautiful; a lot of people thought she was now that they saw her in magazines and in the news. He had heard it himself.

"Beauty is a quality of the heart," Lightning said, feeling Riku's warm hand against her equally warm cheek as she kept her gaze on his chest. "Whoever has inward beauty reflects it on the outside. It's possible to be ugly on the inside and pretty on the outside." She couldn't even list three things she liked about herself personality wise.

Riku's eyebrows furrowed as he gazed at the girl above him. "Are you saying you think you're ugly on the inside?" he asked her, voice soft. She couldn't possibly think that. Lightning was genuine and caring, especially when it came to Serah. That much he knew.

Yes, Lightning thought silently. The fact that she didn't respond verbally should have been the answer to Riku's question. She wasn't...right. She buried her emotions and only showed ones that made her look tough--She was too guarded to be considered beautiful. Too emotionless. She lowered her head and set it on Riku's chest, looking across him to the punching bag instead of answering him. Yes Riku. I'm ugly inside.