Good Graces, Bad Influence //Azi//

[dean jackson starr]

"I'm perfectly fine" Dean said, which he knew to be a complete and total lie. His head was killing him. Just how much did he drink last night? Not that he would even know the answer. Either way, what Dean knew was that he liked whatever happened last night, even if it was a tad bit blurry in his memory.
He figured he might as well get out of the room before Piper started someone or Tom said something that would provoke punching. With that, he took the aspirin, swallowed it dry, and retreated after Azi, bottle still in hand.

Piper rolled her eyes before turning to Tom "Excuse them, nasty hangovers," she said sheepishly.
Tom looked over to the half empty bottle of champagne, "Says the girl who probably spent the night drinking bubbly by herself."
"What else do I do around here anyways when I'm not making music?"
"Ummm... you're usually out being that sexy little socialite I once knew" Tom said. He paused, "And maybe loved..."
"Hey it didn't work then, it won't work now, don't bother asking." Piper's mood suddenly swung from trying to make amends to a little more on the hostile side.
"Woah now Pie, I just want to know why you ran away."

[azrael murphy devlin]

The dark haired woman simply arched an eyebrow as Dean followed her out, never moving from her spot against her truck. The dogs stampeded up the hill towards their master, giving him all the love and affection he could garner as she flicked her cigarette butt off into the street where it bounced once in a shower of glowing embers and then rolled off, going out in a few seconds. Azrael was somewhat amused and someone confused as to why he came out here, especially since there had been almost no reason for him to come out.

She quirked an eyebrow as she shoved her hands on her pockets, almost shrugging as she watched him come closer to her. Azrael shifted some, reaching up a hand to pull her hair around her shoulder, combing her fingers through the long strands. It was as close as she would get to a nervous gesture, fiddling with her hair. She honestly didn’t know what to say or what to do now that she was alone with him and not having to be menacing to Tom. Azrael simply shifted her gaze to the long black strands in her hands and without thinking too much about it began braiding it into a fishtail design. It took the longest and was the most complicated, offering something to work on.

[dean jackson starr]

Dean wasn't exactly sure why he had come out, but what he did know was that the bottle of aspirin in his hand gave him an excuse and something to say. He probably just wanted to get away from the drama, or maybe he just wanted to be near Azi. The dull pounding of his headache muffled any ability to tell any of it apart.

The pile of dogs was something he was used to, as his hands moved from dog to dog. They were always around, not that he'd mind. HIs eyes fell on Azi, the pretty tomboy that probably just needed a confidence boost. Dean really couldn't wrap his mind around that concept all too well.
"Brought you some aspirin, thought maybe your heard would be killing you." he said, offering the bottle and trying to be as awkward as most people would feel. Dean was pretty much conditioned to not care about awkward, especially since being under public scrutiny all the time.

[azrael murphy devlin]

Azi smiled lightly at Dean, thanking him with a nod of her head. She was thankful for his graciousness and she accepted the bottle, tapping out two pills before handing it back and knocking the pills back dry. It wasn’t the first time she’d woken up with a hangover, but it was the first time she’d ever slept with someone. He’d stolen her first kiss, her virginity and was supposedly now her boyfriend. She just didn’t know anything anymore, and wasn’t quite sure what had all gone down last night that had made her sleep with him or what was going on in his brain as to why he even wanted to date her. He was right, they knew nothing about each other.

Dark eyes watched him as she shoved her hands back into her pockets, her hair draped over one shoulder and spilling down, long enough for her to sit on if she wasn’t careful. Her gaze eventually dropped as she dug into her pockets and pulled out the keys to her truck, unlocking the passenger side door and climbing in, sitting with her feet outside and hanging down. Opening up the glove box, she pulled out a hairtie and a brush and, pulling her hair in front of her, she began the task of working the brush through the long, thick strands. It always took her a good twenty minutes to work all the knots out from a regular night, but this might have taken longer since they’d been a bit…busy.

She stayed silent for a while before looking up at him, delicately working the brush through the ends of her hair as she watched his reaction to her next question. “…so why me, Dean?”

[dean jackson starr]

Dean watched her, mesmerized by the pretty hair, it was like a silk sheet. Why? He wasn't actually sure, and part of it was the dull pounding of the headache that seemed to muffle his thoughts. Really what did he know about this girl? Oh right, she was awesome, beautiful, driven, an amazing rock climber, loves dogs, super nice, but a badass at the same time. It was all so sexy as far as he was concerned.

"Because... Because you're a girl that is completely different from any other girl I've ever met. You're not silly or ditzy or any of those things that other girls always try so hard to be. You're natural and confident, and you can hold your own ground. You don't try to hang off my arm, you're right next to me. You're just so incredible! I just really like you, it's that simple." Dean blurted out, knowing he probably sounded like a love struck puppy, but he really didn't have any other way to put it. Love was too strong a word, at least for now it was.
"And you always have your guard up, why'd you choose me?" It was true, when he had first met, there wasn't much interest. He was just the new neighbor's visiting brother right? But now what was this?

[azrael murphy devlin]

Azi was a bit taken aback by the answer. She hadn't expected it at all much less the candid phrasing of how and why he liked her. In all honesty she hadn't given it much thought until he'd shown up at the lake. That day had been a catalyst for change, and she'd had fun without trying to really win or prove that she could handle herself. People either treated her like a boy or were condescending towards her and hated how she was good at what she did. Dean didn't and just respected the fact that she was good without trying to test the limits, unlike her brothers.

Maybe that was what had drawn her to him, how unlike everyone she'd grown up with he was. Dean could hold his own against her outdoors, but he didn't know where she came from, and that wasn't something she ever wanted to tall about. If she was lucky, he wouldn't push the issue.

"In all honesty, did you really think about anything the first time you met me?" She asked with slight amusement as she worked the brush through the knots in her hair. "But to answer your question, it's because you accept me and don't try to push me into a box that suits you. You don't treat me like I'm a boy or simply pat my hand and ask when I'm going to grow up and stop being a tomboy and act like a girl," she said, her voice growing bitter at the end as she remembered how her father lamented that for looking like her mother, she would never act a lady or be a proper one until she stopped this 'phase'.

[dean jackson starr]

Not the answer Dean was expecting, then again he wasn't sure what to expect, he had just thrown the question out. "And that's another reason I like you so much, because you're not afraid to be yourself. Don't ever change that, because the day you start dressing up for ladies' tea parties will be a day we will have some issues." The last part was a bit more of a tease, but Dean was serious. It was completely baffling why women would do such things. Growing up with two sisters, he was always in confusion.

He'd never admit to it but when he was a little kid his sisters would convince him to play dress up in their pretend games. No one would ever hear those stories and live. And never again would he wear pearls and a pink feathered bonnet. Those girls would scream and cry until he played with them, and he'd be lonely without them considering the neighborhood was mostly little girls and not too many little boys at the time.

[azrael murphy devlin]

Shaking her head some, she wore an amused look on her face as she continued to work the brush through her hair. She wasn't kidding when she told people it took her twenty minutes to just brush her hair, though usually it went a lot faster when it was wet. The previous night's events hadn't helped any, and she quieted down just thinking about it for a moment before shaking it off with a violent tug of the brush through a nasty knot. Her face contorted into a slightly pained expression before she blinked rapidly, willing it to go back to normal. Shrugging a shoulder at his answer, she accepted it as it was, not wanting to press too much into things.

Rolling her eyes at him, she shook her head in amusement, a slight sound of laughter escaping. "Yeah, and if I do, we're going to have a huge fucking problem. I have never worn a dress in my life nor do I plan on doing so at all. You have older..." and with that she stopped, not wanting to complete the sentence. She hadn't seen or spoken to the rest of her family since she turned eighteen, the day she left home. She was unwilling to tell anyone that, letting them instead just think she hatched out of an egg or something. Better that way and it left a lot of things covered with a patch that she was unwilling to replace.

"You can just be glad I don't wear them," she finished, violently yanking the brush through her hair instead of the gentler strokes she'd been using previously. "And I don't drink tea. So that's two strikes."

[dean jackson starr]

"Good! This means I'll never have to dress up to go out with you right?" Dean said, hope glimmering in his facial expression. All his life whenever he was going out, it usually meant a suit or something. Those model girls always needed him to look all "perfect" Not that he'd care, he stayed on the other side of the camera anyways.

Then he heard the words "don't drink tea." Dean blinked, "Wait... does that include sweet tea?" he asked. Sweet tea, the staple of the southern diet. As far as Dean knew, people who didn't like sweet tea didn't exist. Especially his grandmother's homemade sweet tea, that stuff was super sweet and full of flavor. It was right up there with his Nana's fried chicken.

[azrael murphy devlin]

Azi laughed, shaking her head as she watched him. "Yes, it means exactly that. However, ground rule number one is no pictures," she said, giving him a flat look. She hated pictures of herself, reminding her of what she looked like. It was why she never checked the mirrors, didn't pay attention to them. Azi figured that if she set that rule now, he wouldn't question why.

She grinned some and nodded. Poor kid was about to have his world turned topsy turvy. "Yup. Nor do I eat any meat. I'm vegetarian. Almost vegan," she said with a laugh. She did drink beer, but nothing with animal products were able to be digested. She got violently sick off of it within a matter of moments and was stuck for the next day in bed.

[dean jackson starr]

No pictures? If Dean had underestimated what he was getting himself into, that would be an understatement. Then again, it was better than those model girls that wanted pictures taken every second every where they went. That one he might be able to live with. Plus, she had dogs, he could take pictures of the dogs right?

"Wait... people can live without fried chicken?" Dean was utterly baffled when he blurted it out. After the few months he spent living in Chicago, he finally got it through his thick head that people can go for more than a few weeks without sweet tea, but fried chicken, that was a bit of a shocker. He knew that Piper was super picky about her fried chicken, but she still ate fried chicken sometimes. Then again, how many vegetarians were there in his neck of the woods?

[azrael murphy devlin]

Azi chuckled, resisting the urge to reach over and pat his head, much like a puppy. She was careful to keep her gaze on his face or at his feet as well, avoiding looking directly at him. She shrugged her shoulders again, watching as he looked as if she'd said the world was over tomorrow. "I've made it twenty years without fried chicken. And sex and kissing," she said with a shrug, casual as if she was discussing the weather. "Well, the latter part until you showed up."

She didn't really know why she said it, but she did, almost no real feeling behind it. Smiling faintly, she shook her head as she finished brushing her hair, leaning back to put the brush away in her glove box. She ran her fingers through it, sorting the strands by touch, never once using a mirror. She simply closed her eyes for a moment, going by feel and practice of years of doing the same routine and letting that guide her hands, concentration focused on her fingers now, rather than conversation.

[dean jackson starr]

"Woah- wait, no sex and kissing either? But who wouldn't want to kiss you?" Dean was only getting more confused, and he didn't have any alcohol to blame it on. His mind still wasn't quite wrapped around the concept of vegetarians. Those were as common as unicorns for all he knew, and he ain't seen any unicorns before.

This girl really was something different. "Well I hope I really mean something to you then..." he said, rather sheepishly. It was a bit of a stun for him, not that they hadn't been piling on.

[azrael murphy devlin]

Azrael shrugged and smiled some, her fingers flying through the braid as she wove the hair down into the same pattern she always did. Laughing a bit as she finished the braid, she tied it off and let it drape over her shoulder and trail down, past her feet from her perch into her truck. "A lot of people don't exactly get along with me nor do they have any inclination to do anything of the sort. They think of me as one of the guys," she finished as she spread her hands wide with a shrug.

She watched him and shrugged her shoulders as she blinked slowly, thinking about the last question. She honestly didn't know how to handle it, so she shut up and began toying with her lighter, twirling it between calloused fingers. She wasn't sure what to make of it or him or what the hell he wanted from her. But those were best kept to herself for now.

[dean jackson starr]

"I still don't get why you say that. I've hardly met anyone as sane as you are!" Dean paused for a second, "Well if you speak them crazy talks of not like sweet tea and fried chicken, but other than that..." This girl made sense; that's what he cared about.

Dean would never understand women, he had given up trying to be honest. Everything Piper did was utterly baffling. He never knew the appeal of rainbow colored nails, how anyone would be able to climb or do anything in a dress, or why they would wear sky high heels and then complain all night about them. All Dean knew about women was how to make them look even more amazing on camera, oh and how to please the majority of them.

As for the one standing in front of him, he just couldn't quite read her, at all. It was different, much more challenging, and all the more intriguing. Now really, what was this? What was he thinking? Sleeping with a girl that doesn't even live in the south? Not to mention Piper would probably kill him in a heartbeat if he ever said he was going to move to Alpine Falls.