Catchup Before Dodgeball

Who: Alexis and Peyton
Where: Gym Class
When: 6th Hour

"How are things with you and Isaac?" Alexis asked, propping her foot up on the bench to tie her shoe. Gym class had become the place to catch up with Peyton, no matter what activity they were doing. She did realize some sports made it harder to converse, though even dodgeball would work, so long as they got out first.

Peyton glanced at Alexis while she pulled her hair back into a ponytail. "Really good, actually." And she didn't mind saying that loud enough for anyone to overhear. "Honestly, I think it's going to take a lot more than a stupid rumor to cause any real problems." She sat down on the bench next to wear Alexis was tying her shoe and bent over to tie her own. "How's the dance thing going?"

"Good," Alexis smiled. True or false, Alexis knew it was easy to let rumors wreck havoc on relationships, and she was glad to hear that Peyton and Isaac were getting through it just fine. "I figured you knew better than to believe anything that starts from a mysterious source. The dance thing's going well, I think. I'm just waiting for them to post who made the team, though Breezy and Lily assured me I should have a spot."

"I don't doubt it," Peyton replied with a grin before she stood up and tugged her t-shirt down. "I actually talked to Lily the other day. She seems nice... apparently she wants to do like, choreography and stuff for a living, so I give it a year before she's taken over the whole dance team. In a good way," she added. "I'll have to come watch you guys perform or something."

"She is an amazing dancer," Alexis said, remembering how she'd been impressed with Lily's try out performance. "She's actually been schooled in dance and can make up her own routines. I'm not really there; I just copy what other people can do," she laughed. Maybe after she had a little more experience, she'd be better at choreography. "Someone said we perform at the hockey games and the basketball games. Do you ever go to any of those?"

"Oh my god, I can't dance at all let alone make up my own stuff. I can't even copy," Peyton laughed. She motioned for Alexis to follow her as they both seemed ready for a fun game of getting slapped in the gut by a large rubber ball. Dodgeball was always a good time. "I haven't been to any hockey games. I have gone to quite a few basketball games though. Isaac plays so... but yeah, I've seen the dancers perform. Are you nervous about that?"

"A little," Alexis said. "Mostly cause I'll have an audience." She wasn't sure how many people came to the hockey games, but she knew the players themselves would be there. That was plenty to make her nervous. "Do you know Kyle Denner?" she asked, hoping not to sound overly curious. All questions like that were, though, but she could hope it didn't come off that way. "He plays for the hockey team."

Peyton knew what it was like to perform in front of people. Okay, wait, no she didn't. But she knew what it was like to think about it, and that alone made her want to vomit and hide. So she got where Alexis was coming from. Peyton glanced at Alexis curiously. "Kyle Denner? Yeah, I know him. Well, we're not like, close friends, but I know him well enough. Why?" Girl asking about a boy - there were only a few reasons behind that, but Peyton wasn't sure if she was interested, or the guy had been a dick to her.

"He sits next to me in Chemistry," Alexis said, though that wasn't why she was asking. It was just... information... to stall the real reason. "He asked me to the circus tonight, and then to Kavin's party. I guess I'm just... fishing for information," she smiled. "I don't know him real well, and he seems nice, but should I be carrying pepper spray in my purse?" While she wasn't really serious, Alexis also realized she had no idea what a high school relationship might actually mean. What was expected of her? What did a guy like Kyle expect of her?

"Oh!" Well, if Thom was dating Chrissy, Peyton didn't blame the girl for moving on. She knew how much it sucked to see a guy you liked dating someone else. "Kyle's cool! From what I know. He's sort of confined to his group of friends from what I've seen. Gabe Winters and like, Kavin and stuff. I've only ever talked to him because he's friends with my brother. Ah..." Fishing for information. What did she know about Kyle? Peyton wracked her brain. She didn't want to say Kyle dated a lot, because that'd give off the wrong impression. "He's nice, kind of silly? Oh! And he was in a pretty bad car accident like a year or so ago and has trouble talking sometimes. Tyler told me he gets pissed off if people point it out, or try to help so... I guess that's something to know."

While Alexis hadn't completely lost interest in Thom, she struggled to think anything would ever come of it. He was dating Chrissy, and even if everyone thought it was weird for him, it seemed to be a fact. She wasn't going to waste her time pining over a taken guy, especially one she'd only talked to twice. Maybe if she saw him again... but there was Kyle, who'd actually shown interest. And asked her out on a date! It was hard to stay interested in Thom when Kyle was so much more real a possibility to her, though she was fairly certain if they talked again she'd still be a babbling idiot. "So a lot of the people from Gabe's party last weekend," Alexis said, now feeling even more fortunate that she'd gone with Peyton. At least she knew names and faces of that crowd, even if they didn't really know her. "That's not something I would bring up," Alexis said, surprised to hear of the car accident. She never would have pointed out someone's struggle with speaking, but she really hadn't noticed it with Kyle. Now that she knew, she probably would though. "But silly can be good," she smiled. "I think I like silly."

"Yeah, I think so. Thom and Isaac's band are playing again too." Which, while Peyton always loved watching him play, she felt kind of bummed about. She'd like for someone to have a party where the band wasn't playing so she could spend the night having fun with her boyfriend. "I'm sure you'll have fun with him. He's cute," Peyton added with a small smile. And the complete opposite of Thom, personality wise. At least Peyton thought so. "Though be careful, he might actually encourage dancing on the table type behavior."

"If you ever see me climbing up on a table, please pull me down," Alexis laughed. "It'd be better than letting me accidentally take out people when I fall." How horribly embarrassing would that be? Shoes tied, Alexis stood and took a deep breath. "So, think you're ready to spend the next thirty minutes trying not to get hit by a red rubber ball?" she asked with a small smirk. Oh, the joys of high school gym class.

"Hey, if you look like you're having fun, who am I to stop you?" Peyton countered with a smile. Maybe she ought to drink and dance with Alexis. Peyton never drank at parties to get drunk but hell... senior year, right? "And yes, I'm definitely ready for some dodgeball. I say we get hit early and then go sit on the wall and do nothing for the rest of class."

"I just don't wanna have too much fun, if you know what I mean," Alexis snickered. "If something exciting happens, I wanna remember it the next day." Like a real kiss, on a real date. God, she felt like a pre-teen hoping a boy might ask her to dance. If only she'd made an effort before now, maybe she wouldn't be sixteen and never been kissed. Not that she was expecting a kiss or anything-- just a date was good enough! "Sounds like a plan to me!" There was no loss of participation points for getting out, was there?

Peyton nodded. "I definitely get what you mean. Though if something embarrassing happens, you probably wouldn't want to remember that." She grinned and opened the door from the locker room into the gymnasium where people were getting ready to play. "I'll corner you at the party and see how it's going and everything." She sighed when she spotted the big red rubber balls. Thank god Isaac wasn't seeing her in a gym uniform getting pounded by balls - wow, he'd love that sentence too. She nudged Alexis. "Let's get this over with."