Brain v. Brawn

@ diamond sword
Izzy knew she would be questioned in the morning by her mother but she would think about that later. As they drove down the road she was tempted to roll the window down but didn't think that Everett would like that very much.

As he pulled up to his home she got out and shut the door behind her and followed him inside. "Yes. Most girls now days are quite stupid and very annoying." She said with a nod as the door shut behind them.

"I would have to say mine would lean more towards horror or sci-fi. My grandfather has always been a western fan though, so I have seen and enjoy many movies such as Butch Cassidy." She explained looking around the house before finding her way towards the living room and taking a seat on the couch.

"Your glasses. You should wear them more often. They shape your face quite well." She stated and saw him standing. "Well let us get on with the marathon. I'm a bit excited." She said grinning a little.

"Your grandpa sounds like a pretty cool guy," Everett said with a wide grin. He was just about to point her in the direction of the living room when she found it on her own. He stepped into the room after her, glancing at the screen when she complimented his glasses. Subconsciously, he reached up and adjusted them.

"I never wear them because when I was little I got teased an awful lot because of them," he admitted as he joined her on the couch. "But thank you," he smiled as he spoke.

"As you should be," Everett said. He clicked play on the remote and reached over her to grab the blanket he had discarded earlier. He pulled it across both of them, but then noticed there was something missing and paused the movie again. He looked at her with a goofy smile. "You like popcorn, Izzy?"

@ diamond sword
Kicking her shoes off she brought her feet and legs on to the couch, crossing them Indian style.

"Oh I get teased often but I choose to ignore it due to the fact that I know that my impeccable intelligence sometimes annoy people." She replied. "Oh and you are welcome." She grinned.

At the mention of popcorn she grinned and nodded. "Oh I love popcorn. It's amazing actually. Did you know most popcorn comes in two basic shapes when it's popped: snowflake and mushroom. Snowflake is used in movie theaters and ballparks because it looks and pops bigger. Mushroom is used for candy confections because it doesn't crumble." She explained with a smile. "Come on!" She said standing up and grabbing his hand before pulling him towards the kitchen.

"No I didn't know-" He started saying, but he was cut short by her yanking him into the kitchen. He laughed and squeezed her hand, opening the pantry and pulling out the popcorn package. He tossed it into the microwave and pressed the popcorn button, watching the slow rotation begin.

Everett looked at Izzy, grinning at her wonderment over popcorn. He let go of her hand to take his varsity jacket off and lay it over one of the chairs at the kitchen table. Underneath he was wearing a plain blue v-neck. The microwave beeped and he swung open the door, pulling out the popcorn bag and shaking it. "Did you know the ones that don't pop are called spinsters?"

He got a bowl from the cabinet and poured the popcorn in. Tucking the bowl under his arm habitually, he grabbed her hand and gently tugged her back to the couch, grinning.

@ diamond sword
"Why stay in your school clothes once you are home? Sweats and t shirts are quite comfortable indeed." She explained followed by a nod, something she did often.

"No I did not know that. Quite interesting." She grinned but she had just lied. She had known that little fact but she felt the need to let him have it this time. This didn't happen often with her so it was a bit strange.

Once the bowl was done she felt herself being tugged back towards the living room and she grinned and plopped back down, pulling her feet once again into the Indian style position.

"I don't find much uncomfortable," he realized aloud. Everett didn't pay much attention to how his clothes felt, so he could pretty much wear whatever and be perfectly fine.

Everett glanced at her legs. "How in the world.." He murmured, flashing her a smile as he tried to bend his legs into the same position. He chuckled and gave up, picking the blanket up off the floor where it had been tossed.

He draped it over himself before thinking about her, but then he realized she was probably a little cold too. He offered the corner to her as he set the bowl of popcorn on his lap. He tossed a few pieces of popcorn into his mouth and pressed play on the movie. "After this, we could watch a horror movie if you wanted," he offered. Everett was aware most people thought westerns were bland and too old fashioned. "My brother's super into horror, so we have a whole collection."

@ diamond sword
"I am vertically challenged making my legs quite short so this is not difficult for me in the least bit. You however are a bit tall so don't even try." She said with a small laugh.

She then tugged the blanket towards her, covering her legs. She then grabbed some popcorn, tossing them one by one into the air an catching them in her mouth with a grin.

"Oh that would be great. However I can sense you really enjoy these westerns so we can stick to these for tonight. But another time would be extremely amazing." She chirped with a smile before turning her attention towards the show.

Everett took two pieces of popcorn and threw them up, catching both. "A horror movie night? Brilliant," he said before stuffing some popcorn in his mouth quite ungracefully. "I do like westerns," he affirmed. "Westerns and war movies," he added. There was something perfect about a film that came right out of history.

He fell silent, getting into the movie. He shifted into the blanket and got comfortable, purposefully leaning far back into the couch so that Izzy hardly had a choice but to lean on him a little. Etta Place and Butch were riding bikes when the front door burst open. Everett tensed as his dad walked in.

Everett's dad eyed him and Izzy as he walked through the house. "What's the score, Ev?" he asked loudly, assuming that they were watching some game. When Everett didn't respond right away his dad marched into the room and squinted at the tv. "What the hell are you watching, some antique film? You know, the game's on channel 237 in HD..."

"Its Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid, dad," Everett sighed. His dad turned around and glared at Izzy.

"Who's this?" He said with a snort. Everett opened his mouth to answer but his dad spoke again. "Replacing Kayla with another slutty cheerleader girl already?"

"Fuck off," Everett growled as he jumped up, knocking popcorn everywhere.

@ diamond sword
"Very brilliant." Izzy agreed with a smile. "Oh movies of those sorts are quite nice. I love them, especially if it is centered around more facts than fiction. They can be quite great." She nodded.

When he leaned back, she felt her body shift and she was leaning on him a bit but she didn't care too much. "Do not be a blanket hog Everett." She teased tugging the blanket a bit for herself.

When she heard the sound of a door opening she looked him. "Parents?" She asked him curiously but was confirmed as right when she heard the voice.

"Oh." She said softly when she felt Everett jump up, knocking the popcorn all over the floor. "Sir I am no slut nor do I cheerleader. I don't much get that sport but I will not go in detail on that at the moment." She spoke followed by a nod.

"I do feel however that I may have invade your home and I do apologize." She said before standing. "I will just leave now. Thank you for inviting me over Everett. I had quite a good time." She said, forcing a small smile before going towards the door.

Everett followed her to the door, snatching his varsity jacket from the table. His dad called after him. "Why are you wearing those geeky glasses?" Everett bit his lip hard enough for it to bleed.

Thoughts raced through his head and swarmed his heart. It was so overwhelming he wished he could just turn his brain off. Sometimes, Everett lost control of himself, and the years he'd spent teaching himself not to over think things became void.

He released his lip from his teeth, opened the door, and they walked outside. "I'll drive you home," he said plainly, throwing on his jacket. He got into his car and slouched into the seat, pulling down the mirror and staring at himself through his glasses. Slowly he closed the mirror, looking over at Izzy in the passenger seat.

He reached over, taking her hand and squeezing it gently. "I'm sorry," he murmured, searching her face. "I knew he was coming I should have warned you because I knew he was going to give me shit and then he wasn't just a dick to me he was a dick to you and you aren't slutty and you are so smart and..." he trailed off of his rant as he backed out of the driveway and he slammed the car into drive. "Other kids have never made fun of me for my glasses," he explained. "My dad hates them," he muttered.

Everett gripped the wheel tightly and regained composure.

Izzy had made it outside but soon heard someone behind her and identified it as Everett when he said he would drive her home. Glancing over at him she could almost feel the emotion he felt, it was projecting off of him terribly. The way his dad treated him reminded her of how her parents were in general. Not much love for their child.

"It is okay Everett." She spoke softly and squeezed his hand. Izzy had never been very good t comforting people but she knew she at least had to try. Emotion was not an easy thing for izzy, a reason she enjoyed hiding behind her facts and intelligence. "Just stop for a moment." She said softly, motioning for him to pull over and just stop for a bit. She then turned to him, looking at him in the eyes.

"I know how it feels for a parent to criticize their child more than anyone else. It is not easy. I also know that you can not, in anyway, control another person actions so you do not need to apologize for your father. I am fine." She spoke searching his eyes. "Just do not let him get to you no matter how hard it is. Never lose yourself." She finished firmly and wiped a bit of blood off his lip.

Something then began to poke at her. She had lost herself long ago, avoiding emotion, only focusing on facts and school. Though she loved all of it and really enjoyed her facts, there was more to her than that, something Everett had been unraveling a little bit.

Everett slowly pulled the car over. Traffic whizzed past them, the sun's last streaks of light were fading. He took his glasses off and tossed them onto the dashboard. He turned to face Izzy, even though he couldn't see her in much detail. As soon as he looked at her, he was able to relax. He normally hardly reacted to his dads insults, but tonight his dad had stepped across the line and insulted Izzy.

"It's not so much that he criticizes me," Everett paused, "It's more like hates me. And idolizes my brother," he murmured. "I don't think he wanted a second kid," Everett shut up because he identified that he was being whiny.

Everett parted his lips as Izzy wiped away the blood, studying her expression. He could see something in her face that he hadn't seen there before, but he couldn't quite put a finger on it. He excused this because he had just met her, but he couldn't help but wonder what she was thinking. She seemed distracted, and sad.

"You know how it feels?" He asked softly.

@ diamond sword
Izzy listened carefully a traffic passed but this was only background noise. Straightening herself a bit she shook her head.

"He does not hate you. You say he idolizes your brother, that means he only hates the fact that you are something different. You are not your brother and if I may say, I don't think you want to be. He hates the fact that you aren't his vision of a perfect son but that is okay. No one is perfect and we all have our own enemies that try to change us and break us down." She spoke with a soft tone, staring at him as the moon began to illuminate the sky.

When he asked her about herself she froze but eventually spoke, but not many words.

"Oh, yes I do know that feeling in particular but I am not one to indulge in talking about myself so I will not burden you with details." She said with a shy, quiet laugh, breaking his eye contact. You could tell that the question made her a bit uncomfortable, because her extensive vocabulary kicked in more than usual.

"I think you could be a therapist," Everett said in attempt to lighten the mood. He watched the stars slowly become visible as the sky darkened around them. "But honestly you could probably be whatever the hell you put your mind to,"

Everett saw her tense, look away. He heard her laugh, her nervous words. "If you don't want to talk about it you definitely don't have to," he said, rubbing the back of her hand with his thumb. "But it certainly wouldn't be a burden to listen," he assured her. He reached onto the dashboard and retrieved his glasses, sliding them back onto his face. He looked back at Izzy. "I'm dead serious," he whispered as he started the car. "You can talk to me."

Turning his attention to the road, soon they were on her street. He slowed as they approached her house. "Do you want to go home?" He asked. He knew he wasn't going home right away. He was going for a drive, or maybe he would go treat himself to some ice cream. He needed to avoid his dad at least until his mom got home. She was always able to cool both him and his dad off.

@ diamond sword
"Oh really now? I do not believe that is so true." Izzy replied with a small smile looking back at him. "As could you. I know you could." She spoke smiling.

When he spoke again, Izzy took a moment just to take in his words. No one ever made much effort to speak to her, much less give her the chance to open up to them. Because of this, not many know what goes on inside the magnificent head of Isabelle Emerson.

"Thank you Everett. That is quite sweet. The same thing goes for you," She began," you can talk to me as well. You said yourself I could be a therapist." She spoke with a small, light hearted smile.

After that a silence draped over them, but not an uncomfortable one. It was the nice kind. The kind that only happened with someone that, even in silence, a nice conversation seemed to be taking place. Once they neared her house Izzy frowned but soon wiped it away before glancing at Everett when he spoke.

"Not exactly at the moment. However I know I must go at some point. As to why are you asking?" She questioned him, her head tilting to the side a slight bit.

Everett pulled into her driveway and parked the car, looking over at her. She gave him feelings that he couldn't quite explain based off of past experiences. "I'm not going home for a while still," He said slowly. "I mean you'd understand why I don't want to," he chuckled bitterly.

He ran his hand through his hair and adjusted his glasses. He was actually getting pretty tired but it didn't show. He was grateful that he had decided to text her earlier. Everett wasn't sure what they would do if she agreed to stick around. Probably just drive around. Going to McDonalds and picking up a shake suddenly seemed kind of trashy.

He shifted in his seat and flashed her a grin before turning away and looking at her house. A light turned on, the front door opened and a woman figure stood in the light.

"I guess if you didn't want to go home either we could," Everett paused, searching for the word. "Procrastinate?" He glanced at Izzy. "But you'd better choose quickly," he said, looking back at the lady in the door.

@ diamond sword
Izzy watched as he pulled into her drive and suddenly felt her stomach ache. She hadn't even told her mother where she was going and Izzy had already put her in a bad mood with her 'attitude'. With her hands in her lap, she nervously popped her knuckles.

"I say we procrastinate. That idea sounds extremely delightful at this time. Let us go please." She stated quickly, a few words running together but they could still be distinguished.

As they pulled out of her driveway and was back on the road, she visibly relaxed and let out a small sigh of relief. She would really feel this later but for now, she would enjoy herself. Something she hasn't let herself experience in far too long.

Glancing out the window Izzy watched everything pass and, as she was earlier, was tempted to feel the breeze. Glancing over at Everett he paused a moment but soon spoke. "Do you mind if I roll the window down just a bit? If you rather me not do this I will understand completely." She questioned with a small nod at the end and then waited for his answer. The nerves her mother brought were still visible but were fading bit by bit.

Everett backed out of the driveway as soon as she said the word. He almost felt her nervousness for her, the way she was acting. He looked over at her as she sighed, and raised his eyebrow, but decided not to say anything about it. If she wanted to tell him about her home life, she would.

He grinned at her question. "Do you mind if I roll the windows down a lot?" He didn't even wait for her response and rolled both windows down with the driver controls. The gentle air filled the car and played with their hair. Suddenly he knew exactly where to go. He turned, and turned again, until he found the street he was looking for, where the speed limit was sixty but it was still only two lanes. He looked at Izzy. "If at any time you feel uncomfortable with my driving ability tell me, okay?"

With that, they were soaring. The rush of air whipped around inside his shirt and the car whipped around the curves in the road. He was confident that there would be nobody else, and he was right. Everett operated the machine smoothly.

He didn't have an exact destination in mind at first, but then he realized the perfect place to go. "Izzy, do you like drive-in theaters?"

@ diamond sword
Izzy's head bobbed up and down, her eyes practically glowing with excitement. As the wind was let in all her nerves went out the window. She even put her hand outside the window, the breeze flowing over her hand calmly.

As he spoke and the at sped up, a few nerves returned. She wasn't nervous of his driving exactly but this happened every time she was in a vehicle. It brought back a few not so good memories for her. However after a moment she relaxed once more, a smile lighting up her features, her gray green eyes sparkling under the moon light.

At the mention of a drive-in theater her smile brightened. "Oh yes I have a love for those. My brother used to take me to them when I was much younger." She nodded. She didn't enjoy thinking of her brother because it always brought a swirl of memories and flash backs that used to bring Izzy to tears though now she just pretended they didn't exist.

Everett grinned. "Well, I've got something to show you then," he said as he slowed down and peeled onto a side road. He realized that she was remarkably pretty in the moonlight. "I'll bet you'll love it."

As he continued driving the roads got progressively worse. The car, filled with the fresh scent of nature, rocked in and out of potholes constantly. "When drive-ins were in peak popularity," Everett began as he peered past his headlights, trying to remember where the entrance was, "some dorks tried to make a tent so that they would work in the daytime," he said as he laughed lightly. He finally remembered where to get in, and soon the car left the roads altogether. Everett drove into what looked like a field.

"Check it out," he said, pointing out her window at the abandoned concession stand. It was complete with broken neon lights and faded signs informing which radio station to turn to. In front of the car was a massive white wall, shielded from the world by trees that had partially invaded the lot. He stopped the car and relaxed into his seat, looking out the windows at the forgotten drive-in theater.

"I love this place," he said softly, admiring all the wildflowers in his headlights, swaying in the wind. It was all so incredibly nostaglic.

He pulled the lever and tilted his chair back partially, closing his eyes. "So you have an older brother too?"