#copeland x chester

[exmcrtis]

"like kellin quinn's daughter, yes. though i'm older than her, so technically we're both just named after the band." copeland flashed chet an almost devilish smirk, but a slow blush was creeping up onto her cheeks. she'd never been this bold with anyone before, and there was a nagging voice in the back of her mind that told her that going home with him wouldn't be the worst thing in the world. she jumped down from her seat, pausing arguably too close to chet. "walk me home and maybe you'll find out."

"Aren't you cute?" His usually condescending tone was replaced with something that closely resembled sincerity. "Copeland. Li-" he cut himself off, not really wanting to admit the only reason it was familiar to him was because of the band Sleeping with Sirens. "Well, Copeland, I have great news for you. If you play your cards right, you could very well see me on my knees. Ideally, though, not in a place like this. You seem like someone who would prefer a little more privacy than this place provides." Chet quirked an eyebrow. "Unless I misread you and you want me to take on that challenge."

[exmcrtis]

who are you, copeland? that was a question she wished she could answer. but after years of living beneath the shadow of someone who controlled her and hurt her, copeland barely knew herself. she thought she'd given into chet in a moment of weakness, but maybe it was just her trying to figure herself out. either way, she couldn't help but press closer to him, the voice in the back of her mind suddenly having nothing to say.

"just because i want it doesn't mean i should. you'll just break me at the end of the day, and i've had enough of that for one lifetime." finally, cope pulled herself away from chet, taking a few steps back and crossing her arms loosely over her middle. "i'm sorry, but you'll have to find someone new to play with."

"It's the opposite, actually," Chet thought it was hilarious that she thought so. "It's not interesting when people give me what I want. You're interesting because you're quiet, and I didn't expect you to give in, but you did. You now want absolutely nothing to do with me, which means I misread you the other day at the bar. And that's extremely interesting to me. Who are you, Copeland?" He did feel pleased that she hadn't pulled away yet, and tested his luck with placing a hand on her hip. "Need? Maybe not. Want? That's more the vibe I'm getting."

[exmcrtis]

"i like to keep people on their toes as often as i possibly can. obviously it's working." copeland smirked to herself,taking another sip of her drink as she settled in to hear his best attempt. the liquid was nearly spit back in her cup, however, a giggle following it shortly after as she shook her head. "alright, alright. i've heard enough stupid pickup lines now, so i suppose i can give you my name. it's a shame, though. you would've looked good down on your knees." clearing her throat, copeland turned her full attention to chet, her smile more of a smirk at this point. "copeland."

"Well aren't you full of surprises," Chet murmured. "I didn't expect you to be so bold." He paused to wrack his brain for something that might catch her attention. "If not, what, I need to get on my knees and beg you for it? I can think of other uses of my talents instead of begging." He flashed her a quick wink. "Well my alternate line would have been to come up and say you were a talented thief for being able to steal my heart from across the room."

[exmcrtis]

he was making this difficult, and copeland was ready to fall for it. and yet there was that nagging voice in the back of her mind --- the one that sounded oddly like saint --- that was telling her to run. but would chester let her. that was the better question.

"i'm only interesting to you because i gave you exactly what you wanted when you wanted it." it was said bluntly, her hand still against his chest despite her better judgement. maybe chester was a lesson that copeland needed to learn the hard way, as if she hadn't already done that once or twice or ten times in her life. "just because it happened once doesn't mean it needs to happen again."

"Well, as long as you're playing my nurse, I'm sure I'll feel better in no time," the grin was impossible to wipe from his face, and Chet like he was three steps ahead again - just how he liked it. However, as Copeland shifted into him, he thought he might have gotten in over his head, and watched her with a puzzled look.

He wanted to protest, and ask what she took him for - however, it was pretty abundant she was having something akin to regrets. He weighed the pros and cons before speaking up again. "I don't know Cope, you seem pretty interesting to me; not like there was anything wrong with what happened. You had fun, I had fun. It's already happened. Why not keep having fun?"

[exmcrtis]

it took everything in copeland to hold back her smile as he spoke again. most people assumed she didn't have the balls to call people out, and maybe that was one of her best traits. she was quiet and took everything in, and she was good at reading people. chet seemed like an overly confident person that was always given his way, and that didn't necessarily put her off. in fact, she wanted to know more.

"try a better line," she said simply, reaching forward for the drink he'd ordered her. "if you do a good job, you can have my name. if not, well..."

It's not that Chet never got called out; it's that Copeland seemed far too quiet to ever do something like that. So as he went to grab them both a drink, the last thing he expected was for her to seem so completely unphased by him when he returned. That, he hadn't predicted.

"Sometimes," not lately, but that wasn't the point. "Oh please, I'm not going to try to pick up multiple girls in one that. That's just bad manners. I was raised better than that." He had been raised better than all of this, but I digress. "It usually at least gets me a name, though. Or are you saying I need to try a better line?"

[exmcrtis]

"my apologies. i'll be sure to find you a first aid kit so i can patch up the injuries i just caused you." her lips broke into a smile then, a laugh stifled behind her teeth as she tried to keep a cool expression. banter with chet was easy, and maybe that's what the biggest problem was. she didn't want it to be easy.

"listen," she muttered, a hand shifting to press against his chest, forcing him to stay exactly where he was. "i know you won't believe me, but i don't usually do that kind of stuff. i don't take people home with me and jump into bed with them. i don't know what got into me that night, but it's not going to happen again, okay? so i suggest you try to find a new plaything. someone more interesting, maybe?"

"Wow, you wound me, Copeland." Chet quirked an eyebrow. He'd definitely gotten worse reactions to being seen, so it didn't particularly bother him, but he hadn't thought they'd had an awful time together. In fact, it seemed like they both had a lot of fun.

"Yes, that would be what gave me that impression." He mused, taking a half step closer to her. "Your attitude certainly did. Here I thought we had a ton of fun, and I'm getting the cold shoulder. Or are you just embarrassed my cheesy lines worked and you told me explicitly you'd like to see me on my knees?"

[exmcrtis]

she knew she looked like an easy target. she spent most of her time alone, her head buried in her journal or whatever book called out to her in the library that day. but that didn't mean copeland was incapable of seeing past anyone's bullshit, and as the man sat next to her, an almost curious expression colored her features. he did this with people often, and she could tell that it often worked in his favor. perhaps playing along for a moment or two wouldn't be the worst thing in the world. "sure, a drink would be great. order me anything; i'm not too picky and tend to nurse them anyway."

she shifted in her chair to face him, doing her best to keep her expression cool as she listened to him talk. it felt like he loved the sound of his own voice, but she didn't mind. admittedly, he had a nice voice. "i--- does that pickup line usually work in your favor?" it came out before she could stop it, her hands falling to her lap and her shoulders falling to a slouch. "surely i'm not the first girl you've said that to this week --- or maybe i'm not even the first girl you've said that to today. i don't know how you live your life."

Her deer in the headlights look confirmed that he had, in fact, clocked her correctly. She was quiet, a wallflower who didn't often get singled out, let alone in a crowd like this. He offered her another coy smile before taking the seat she offered, shaking his head a little. "I find that hard to believe. It feels like you're just trying to keep me hanging on the edge of my seat." He paused for a moment before gesturing back to the bar. "Did you want a drink? I'd be happy to get you one." With the ration cards he had swiped from Beto earlier that week.

"I got ahead of myself," another warm smile, and he could feel her eyes on him. "I'm Chester. You can call me Chet though, if you'd like. I haven't been here that long, but I definitely would have remembered you if I'd seen you around before tonight. I wouldn't be surprised if your name is just as beautiful as you are."

[exmcrtis]

avoiding wasn't the right word for what copeland was doing with chet. instead, she liked to think of it as a very intense game of hide-and-seek, but she didn't want to be sought out and she'd been doing a great job of winning thus far. copeland knew she was taking a chance when she decided to pay a visit to the lake, but in her mind she deserved to have a little fun, too.

"oh, god." fun over. with a sigh, copeland turned to meet chet's gaze, finding it hard not to flush beneath his attention. part of her liked it, but she didn't want him to know that. "what gave you that impression? was it my obvious efforts of not interacting with you?" and yet she had to fight back a smile, her head cocking to the side as her eyes gave him a full-body sweep. "i didn't say it was bad."

closed event starter for @exmcrtis (copeland)

Chet was a betting man, and he was fairly confident that ever since their encounter at the bar, Copeland was doing everything in her power to avoid him. As much as you could, anyway, in a town like this, and he was intrigued. Nothing about her made any sense, and usually he was the one playing the avoiding game.

"Hey, stranger," he had finally managed to catch up to her, that annoying Cheshire cat grin on his face, feeling victorious. "I feel like you've been avoiding me. That night couldn't have been that bad, was it?"

[exmcrtis]

reading people wasn't copeland's strong suit. she kept her circle small, sticking to saint like her life depended on it. in fact, her life did depend on it in some sick, twisted way. but because of her lack of friends, copeland was often too nice to everyone she met. people already assumed that she was anti-social, so she didn't want them to think she was unfriendly on top of it. that was the only reason she'd been at the sasquatch, even if she hadn't been sitting beside anyone. it was just so she could be around people.

copeland didn't realize he was talking to her at first. she'd been doodling in her notebook, dark black lines being traced and retraced until she'd heard a voice beside her. "hm?" she muttered, looking up with a curious expression, head turning to see if he'd been speaking to someone else. when she realized he hadn't been, she blushed deeply. "oh, uhm, yeah. i guess i am." her mouth went dry and she shifted, gesturing towards the chair beside her. "you can join me, if you want. fair warning: the conversation will be dull."

closed starter for @exmcrtis (copeland) location: the sasquatch

If there was one thing Chester was really good at, it was reading people. Manipulating them was a very close second, but the two talents went hand in hand. You had to make sure you could pin point some one who wouldn't push back. The minute he laid eyes on Copeland, he knew that things in this hell town would get interesting. Sure, he couldn't try to leech every penny out of her, but he was bored, and there were few things he enjoyed doing as much as toying with someone just because he could, and then discarding them when he was done.

"Don't tell me you're here all by yourself?" He had put on his most charming grin as he approached her, though she looked like someone who might faint if a guy even smiled at her. "A pretty girl like you?"