▲ Bʟɪɴᴋ ᴀɴᴅ Yᴏᴜ'ʟʟ Mɪss Mᴇ {Pʀɪᴠᴀᴛᴇ}

working on a response, I promise

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Fortunately, the smell of freshly made popcorn directed them straight to the concession stand a good walk away from the truck. Unfortunately it had also attracted a large line of people with similar interests. Jamie had grabbed the umbrella before they'd wandered off and now used it to defend her from the rain. Part of him wished he could put it down and just will her to stay dry, but that wouldn't be good for either of them. She wouldn't be safe and if nothing else, she'd probably be incredibly freaked out. It wasn't the smartest way to go about sharing his powers with her, that was for sure. I'd stop the wind and rain for you... Geez, that stupid cheesy movie was rubbing off on his subconscious.

Mentally shaking himself, James led her to the back of the line where they began the long wait. "So, how're you enjoying the movie so far?" he asked after a moment of habitually scanning the area for anything that might pose an unsuspecting threat. When he'd deemed the surrounding area safe he turned his attention back to her. "Sorry about the rain, but other than that, this place is pretty rad." Smiling at her, he hoped she was having a good time.

The line inched forward and Jamie got a weird feeling in his stomach that someone was watching them. He didn't see anyone when he looked around, but the back of his neck tingled and he couldn't shake the feeling. Last time he'd ignored that feeling in his gut he'd ended up with his head being slammed into the side of his truck and Victoire had been snatched away from him. She could have been hurt... especially if Aleksandre had actually been more of a villain and less of a stupid, teenager who thought he was in love. Regardless, it wasn't like he could tell Victoire about this feeling he had without making her worry. This time around he'd just have to be more diligent.

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I swear I'm trying, man... I'm working 20 hours a week, going to classes, doing homework, trying to uphold some semblance of a social life, and I'm just struggling. I'm sorry I'm not always able to get right back to you, but I promise I'm not going to abandon you. I promise I'm trying.

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As the rain picked up a bit, James moved a little closer to Victoire, protecting her with the umbrella as much as possible while subtly using his powers to keep her dry. If he could've warmed her up, he would've done whatever it took to do that. Unfortunately, that wasn't really his forte. He could heat bodies of water, or small amounts, but he couldn't change the temperature of the weather or anything like that. Instead, he had a more classic idea. Nudging her a bit, he grinned. "I think I have a jacket in the truck. It's pretty thick so it might keep you warm once we get back." He knew she wouldn't ask for anything, but he had something to offer and he wanted her to be content.

The line inched forward and the back of Jamie's neck prickled uncomfortably. Casually he brought his hand up to rub the sensitive skin at the nape of his neck as he looked around again. He had little doubt now that someone was watching him, if not both of them, and a bad feeling was bubbling in his stomach. It bothered him that someone could be stalking them even in a crowded environment. Usually people like that were dangerous. And then there was the fact that he wasn't Tsunami right now. He was James Hamilton, so if someone was watching him, the implications of that on their own weren't favorable.

"I can't believe this line is so long," he commented, feeling antsy as he casually stared over the heads of the other people in line. He'd always been so tall for his age, a factor that tended to help a lot. At first he'd been nervous people would be able to tell it was him under the mask, based off his voice, his height, and his body type, but most of the time people were just grateful or too busy trying to not get arrested. Only one bad guy he'd ever faced had learned his secret identity and he was gone. It had been a terrible cost, but the one and only person who could've used the information had been dead for thirteen years. "Any idea what you might want when we get up there?"

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You're fine, and I swear I'm not trying to be harsh or anything, I'm just really tired and stressed. I'm sorry if I came across as mean. That wasn't my intention.

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James tried to act natural, but the prickling on the back of his neck was very distracting. Still, he put on a smile at her question and shrugged. "Nah, I don't get too cold, usually." I can will my body temperature to rise to keep me warm. He wanted to explain himself for some reason, but bit his tongue. How crazy could he be? "Don't you worry about me, V." He gave her another subtle wink, hoping he wasn't overdoing it with the light displays of affection. Besides, with her standing so close to him now, he could almost believe she felt the same. As the conversation turned to snack foods, he laughed a little. "No rush, obviously." He gestured at the line. "We might be here a while."

It was in that moment, someone came up from behind the young quarterback and firmly placed to hands squarely on his shoulders. The boy was taller and broader than Jamie, which was really saying something, and though he had a smile on his face, it seemed to be hiding something much darker. "What do we have here? If it isn't James Hamilton, the little show pony of Castlebrook High. What're you doing out of your little kingdom?" Pulling himself free, James turned on the boy, intentionally placing himself between Victoire and the small gang of guys that not stood parallel to the snack line. He tried to keep the aggression out of his stance, but it was difficult when he realized who he was staring down.

"Stoney Marshall. Last I checked, I'm good to go wherever I want. What about you? Say... how's your Parole Officer?" The smile slipped off the other boy's face faster than James expected but he held his ground. "You're a little punk, Hamilton. Stupid too, running your mouth in places you don't belong." Taking another step forward, he loomed over Jamie and the young quarterback had to look up a little to keep from staring straight into his chest. "This is my turf and little pretty boy, perfect arm, smart mouth quarterbacks ain't welcome here." James stepped back, slowly ushering Victoire to do the same. His face distorted for a second as if he were deep in thought. "Huh... Guess that explains why your team sucks so much."

The fist had flown faster than expected, but Jamie was still quicker than the oaf in front of him. Lurching backwards and dragging Victoire with him safely, the young man barely managed to avoid getting clocked straight upside the head. Throwing the opened umbrella straight into the larger boy's face, temporarily distracting him and his crew, James turned on his heel immediately and shouted "Run!" before taking off, gripping Victoire's hand tightly as he took off. Rain pelted his face and arms, quickly dousing his white shirt, hugging it tightly to his body and flattening his blonde hair to his forehead. In his chest his heart was already pounding, propelling him forward fast, away from the danger. Now this was familiar. Somewhere behind him he could hear the boys as they began the chase, but he had no intention of getting caught tonight.

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Okay, so my thought on that particular topic is that this "big bad" I have in mind finally arrives, maybe while James and Victoire are hanging out in the city. The big bad already knows James's secret identity because he's the one who killed James's mentor and almost killed James before. Anyway, with James pretty sure he's going to die this time around in the fight, he starts to leave, no excuse, just "I have to go..." and Victoire tries to stop him and he kisses her for the first time there and says he loves her before turning and running off to fight. Then I was thinking Victoire could realize that James was saying goodbye in that action and finally break out of the state of fear she'd been in to avoid using her powers and suits up to join him.

Idk how much of that makes sense or if you're interested in it at all, but that was kind of where I was planning on going with it. Also I'll probably try to write a response either tonight or sometime tomorrow. I promise I'm not trying to put this off or intentionally take forever, I just don't get on the computer much during the week anymore and I hate posting mobile. ^_^

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You're not rushing me at all! I just wanted to let you know why I'm not on as much!

Also, glad you like the potential plot ^_^

Also also, this is roughly what James's mask looks like except blue

And his hair his blonde

And he looks a lot less angry ^_^_^

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Sorry, I'm the worst! I came home this weekend so I haven't been able to find the time to respond ^_^" Hope you had a good trip this weekend, yourself ~

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James sprinted as fast as he could without completely dragging Victoire behind him. She was keeping up surprisingly well, but he didn't want to speed up too much and trip her or something. It helped, of course, too, that Stoney and the other thugs he'd been with weren't nearly as fast as the two teens and in seemingly no time at all, they'd lost them, leaving the entire park a good distance away. When Jamie finally felt like they were safely out of harm's way, he slowed his pace to a stop. Normally, such a burst of energy wouldn't have worn him out too much. He had great stamina built up, between workouts with his dad, football, and the whole super hero gig, so sprints weren't ever all that bad. Now, however, he was still recovering from getting shot through the side, getting beat up by his dad, and his fight with Aleksandre. As a result, he couldn't help but double over, lungs heaving as he tried to catch his breath.

Letting go of Victoire's hand, Jamie tried to compose himself again, hoping he didn't look as pathetic as he felt. Nonetheless, when he finally straightened up again, he had a huge smile on his face. "That was exciting, wasn't it?" He let out a heavy laugh, still breathing hard as he shook his head. "I'm sorry you got caught up in all of that. Stoney Marshall's a punk who thinks he owns Charlottesville because he's a mediocre quarterback. Truth is he gets himself in more trouble than he can handle and takes out his anger on people he thinks he can take in a fight." The smile still rested on his lips as he closed his eyes and shook his head, water dislodging from his light blonde hair and running in streaks down his face. "I shoulda known he'd be out here tonight causing trouble."

Suddenly it occurred to James that they were completely exposed to the elements, freezing rain beating down on them and soaking them both to the core. James could have easily dried them both off completely, but that would've, again, been a poor choice to make in this moment. Instead, he let his expression soften as he looked sympathetically at Victoire. "Sorry I lost the umbrella. You've got to be freezing to death." He wished there was something he could offer her right now, but there was nothing he could think to do without giving away just who and what he was. So, instead, he decided it might be better to just get out of the rain. "We should head back to the truck. I have another umbrella and my jacket back there anyway. And maybe we should just forgo the snack thing and get dinner on the way home, huh? Does that sound okay to you?" Looking down at her, he offered a friendly smile, trying not to focus too hard on how beaufitul she looked, even soaked to the bone. Her clothes hugged her figure nicely and even with her hair plastered to her face as the rain continued to douse them, he couldn't help but feel the deepest urge to lean in and just close the gap between them. But he didn't. He stayed where he was, too scared to make a move that might ruin everything. The fear of losing her was too much for him to take this chance right now, even if it was the perfect moment. Waiting for her to answer his question instead, he offered his hand to her instead, wanting to at least be close to her as they walked back towards civilization.

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It was as if a weight was lifted off his shoulders as Victoire took his hand and smiled up at him again. Her smile could cure all the world's ailments and it certainly helped him feel better about losing the umbrella. It bothered him a little that Stoney and his goons had been so comfortable approaching him in an open crowd of witnesses, but he tried not to dwell on it. With her fingers intertwined through his own, it wasn't hard to keep his mind focused on the more important things in his life. Looking down at her, he smiled again before they began to walk back towards the truck. As they moved, he attempted to focus his powers a bit to soften the blow of the rain on her so that she maybe wouldn't be quite as drenched. He couldn't do much without being ridiculously obvious, but while the rain pelted him relentlessly, it did seem to lighten up over Victoire's head.

As they got closer to the truck again, Jamie noticed the dent in the door where his head had hit a few nights earlier and frowned a bit. His mind wandered back to the handful of pain medication he'd swallowed before heading out here with his friends in hopes of warding off the migraine for at least long enough to have a good time. The little burn marks around his eyes had mostly healed, thankfully, though when the scabs had fallen away, they'd left what looked like white freckles surrounding the ocean blue orbs. Still determined not to let anything ruin the night, however, he dispelled the thoughts from his mind and pressed forward until they were at the truck again. For what was probably the first time since they'd left, Dodge looked up curiously.

"Dude, you look like a drowned cat. What the heck happened?" James rolled his eyes at the commentary before firmly resting his hands on Victoire's waist and lifting her effortlessly back into the truck. There was a slight twinge in his side from the gunshot wound that was still healing as well as some residual soreness from fighting Aleksandre, but he didn't let the discomfort show. Once she was up and under the tarp again, he climbed up next to her and shook his head like a dog, hoping to splash Dodge and Whitney. The loud protests that came from the back of the bed of the truck indicated he'd accomplished his goal. Feeling a bit of dizziness in his head, however, he decided to stop messing around and just try and settle in to enjoy the movie again. That was when he remembered the jacket he'd promised Victoire. "Crap. Wait a sec." Jumping back down, he jogged around to the back of the truck and claimed his large, warm Letterman jacket from the back seat before making his way back around and tossing it onto the blanket before climbing out of the rain again. Once he was out of the water's way, he carefully lifted the fabric over Victoire's shoulders. "As promised."