time is racing slow it down (Hallie)

[Kyle Atkins]

Kyle walked into the common room, exhasted from the day. He noticed that Hallie still seemed to be out of it. He felt bad for her. She appeared to have wanted to be picked. Sure, some people might not have supported her, but Kyle would have.

Sinking down on the couch, he rubbed his eyes. He was sort of tired, but he wasn't ready to go to sleep. Kyle reached down to his bag and pulled a book and started to read.

[Hallie Monroe]

Hallie walked very slowly, her head hung low. She wasn't moving at her usual frantic, chaotic pace, that always caused her to trip or fall or do something hopelessly clumsy. As a result, she was actually able to walk along without falling.

She barely even noticed Kyle as she went to flop down on one of the couches. Yes, she knew she should be happy for Regina. But why was Regina so much better a candidate than she was? They were both equal in skills and knowledge, and in clumsiness. Some of the older boys called them the Trip Twins. So why was Regina better than Hallie?

She let out a loud sigh and looked up at Kyle. He was one of the few boys that didn't make fun of her. Sometimes she didn't know what to make of him. She expected to be made fun of, especially by boys. But Kyle was too nice and she didn't know how to handle that.

[Kyle Atkins]

Kyle started to become absorbed in his book, and didn't notice Hallie sit down on the couch. He did feel that someone had sat down, but he didn't bother to look up for the moment. Herbology was not his best subject. He would get his plants mixed up from time to time, and he hoped that if he read his book, then it would help him try and get them straight.

Hearing a loud sigh, he looked up from his page and then in the direction the sound came from. Kyle noticed Hallie. He gave her a smile, but he knew that she was still sad. In a way, he could understand, but if she didn't put herself down so much, then maybe she wouldn't be that way.

"Hi Hallie," he said marking his page. "How was your day?"

[Hallie Monroe]

Hallie sighed again as Kyle talked to her. "Hey, Kyle," she said, her voice sounding resigned. "It's pretty cool about Regina, huh? I didn't even know she'd put her name in."

By the tone of her voice, it was clear she didn't think it was "cool" at all. Regina was her best friend and she should have been happy for her, but she wasn't. She was too busy feeling sorry for herself.

[Kyle Atkins]

Kyle gave Hallie a look that said that he didn't believe her. "I guess," he replied. He didn't really see the point in going into dangerous tasks like that just to have people know that you did it. All you get would be glory and money. Kyle thought that throwing your life at risk just for those two things were not worth it. If it had a strong meaning behind it, then maybe.

"I didn't know she did either. But things happen for a reason I suppose." He studied her for a moment. Change of topic might be nice for Hallie. He didn't like seeing her mope about. "So, Hallie, would you care to help me with Herbology anytime soon?"

[Hallie Monroe]

Hallie was relieved for the change of subject. She didn't want to think about the tournament, or Regina, at all right now. Herbology wasn't her best subject, but she liked the new professor, and thought maybe she could do better this year than she had in the past. If they kept working on mundane plants, maybe she'd finally make it through the term without getting pricked, stabbed, or bitten by a plant.

"Yeah, no problem," she said. "Did you work on your report yet? On the mundane plant? I have some good source books I could show you." Then she frowned slightly, remembering the ceremony. "I do hope Professor Black is OK, though. Did you see her at the ceremony? She looked like she'd just lost her best friend." It didn't even occur to Hallie that her interpretation was colored through her own feelings about Regina's selection to participate in the tournament.

[Kyle Atkins]

"I'm attempting to start working on it, but I don't really know where to look. The books I've looked through haven't helped me any," he said. A smile spread across his face as she mentioned she had books. "So, someone has been holding out," Kyle playful teased her. Of course, if he did tease her, he was careful about what it was. He didn't want to say the wrong thing and have her upset with him. "That would be nice of you. Maybe it will help me finish the project sooner, with your help of course. I'm not asking you to do my project, just help me get it started."

Kyle frowned at the mention of Professor Black. "Yeah, I did see her. I think she will be alright though. She seems like a strong woman, and it seems like she has pretty good friends to get her through. And Hallie? You should try talking to Regina, or if she tries talking to you, let her. You never know what would happen. You two used to be insepreatable. She could be feeling the same way you are." The topic went back to Regina, and Kyle was going to try and steer it away again.

"Sorry 'bout that. Anyway, there's a question I have been meaning to ask you. I was going to ask yesterday, but I noticed that you were busy, so I didn't ask." Kyle became a little nervous and fiddled with his thumbs.

[Hallie Monroe]

Hallie grinned. "Oh, you know me. I practically have half the library up in my room. Anything you need, I probably have it. You just have to ask."

At the mention of Regina, Hallie frowned slightly. "I know... you're right. It's not really her fault... I just... I really wanted a chance to prove I'm more than just a clumsy, mousy little bookworm. I probably would have embarassed myself, anyway, but still... I just wish I could be better than I am, you know? Not so clumsy, not so..." She trailed off in a sigh. Kyle didn't need to hear any of this. "Anyway, I guess if she tries to talk to me, I'll listen."

She was still distracted with thoughts of Regina and what she would say to her, when Kyle mentioned that he had to ask her something. "Oh, sure... go ahead. You can ask me anything, you know that."

[Kyle Atkins]

Kyle didn't see Hallie as some clumsy or mousy girl. He could see past that, but he didn't think that Hallie could. She needed to believe in herself. "You are more than a clumsy, mousy, bookworm," Kyle said using her words. "You just have to think of yourself better than what you think you are."

Satisfied with her answer about talking to Regina, Kyle grew quiet. His fiddling with his thumbs didn't stop, and his eyes couldn't quite reach Hallie's for a second. "Um," he began. Looking upward, he seemed a little bit more nervous, but he wanted her to know that he was serious. "I was just wondering if, you would um, accompany me to the dance," he said a little nervously and lightly biting on his bottom lip.

[Hallie Monroe]

Hallie was stunned for a moment. Kyle was asking her to the dance? Couldn't he find someone better than her? She didn't even realize that he was actually nervous, as if there was actually a chance she'd say no. That was crazy, of course, because Hallie had fully expected that she would end up going alone and staring pathetically at Ivan the whole time. So to have Kyle ask was an unexpected surprise. Even if he was just asking her as a friend (which she was sure he was doing), at least she'd have a date.

"Sure, I'll go with you," she said, smiling shyly. "I mean, if you find someone better that you'd rather go with, I'll understand... but I'd like to go with you."

[Kyle Atkins]

A smile appeared on Kyle's face as Hallie said yes. He couldn't have been happier at the moment. "I'm not going to find anyone better than you Hallie," said Kyle trying to give her courage. "I thought about it before I asked and I came to the conclusion that I wanted to go with you instead of anyone else. I figured that we could have fun and you could open up a little more."

His nervousness calmed down a little bit, but he could have sworen that his heart was still racing. Now, the Yule Ball was probably going to be the highlight of his year, at least he hoped it would be something like that.

[Hallie Monroe]

Hallie smiled shyly. "Well, if you really do want to go with me, I suppose I should warn you, I'm not a good dancer. In fact, I'm terrible at it. I have no rhythm, and I lose my balance a lot. But if you don't mind those things, we'll have fun. I could maybe manage a slow dance or two... but I might step on your toes."

She was making excuses, she realized, trying to talk him out of taking her. She didn't really know why she was doing that, except that she couldn't understand why he wanted to go with her. Kyle was cute, he could have chosen any girl. Why her? Was he blind?

[Kyle Atkins]

"I bet that you're better than you think you are," he said. "Besides, I wouldn't mind if you stepped on my toes. It wouldn't bother me." Kyle was doing his best to help Hallie see that there was more to her than what she thought. He saw it. He saw that she was beautiful, and graceful. Of course, on the outside, it wasn't apparent yet, but he saw through the outside and into the inside.

"We'll have a lot of fun despite what happens whenever we dance. I promise. You'll have to most fun that you've had in a long time. Promise."

[Hallie Monroe]

Hallie thought he was giving her far too much credit. Everyone knew she was a walking disaster area, and she didn't know why he was trying to convince her otherwise. But she also didn't want to argue with him. "Well, OK, then," she said, smiling. "I don't actually have a lot of fun most of the time, so I'll look forward to you showing me what it's like."

[Kyle Atkins]

Kyle was relieved that Hallie wasn't trying to talk him out of anything. "We'll make all those people who have picked on you regret it, because I have a feeling that you'll be better than the rest of them." He smiled with his dimples showing. "Of course we could have fun even before the dance if you want. I'm sure that we could do something that is fun."

He thought for a moment and grinned. "So, Hallie, tell me, are you ticklish anywhere?"

[Hallie Monroe]

Hallie was in the middle of trying to think of fun things they could do together and at first didn't quite hear the question. Fun, for Hallie, was possibly a little different from other people's ideas of fun. She thought reading was fun, and while there was certainly nothing wrong with that, it wasn't exactly an activity that was meant to be shared, unless you were five years old.

"Ticklish?" she repeated as the question finally registered. She giggled. "Actually, yes! Terribly so!" It was one of the secrets Charlotte knew about her, and she had always tortured her with it when they were younger.

[Kyle Atkins]

Kyle laughed. "Alright. I'll keep that in mind for when you're least suspecting it." He gave her a michevious grin. Kyle would wait for a moment when it seemed that Hallie was sad to possibly tickle her until she smiled or he could hear her laugh.

"What do you like to do for fun Hallie? I'm sure that there is something you really enjoy doing. Plus, I know that there is something you wish you could do. What is it?"

[Hallie Monroe]

"Fun?" Hallie repeated. She didn't really think of herself as the "fun" type. She thought reading was fun, but that wasn't exactly a group activity. "I mostly just enjoy reading. And sometimes... I like to write. Stories and stuff like that. It's dorky, I know... but I like to be taken away from my everyday life." She smiled wryly. "But I do have a secret. There is one thing I've always wished I could do."

[Kyle Atkins]

"Dorky? I don't think it's dorky. I think it's pretty neat that you do those things. Not many people like to write." Of course, Kyle never thought that Hallie was dorky. Everything she did was cute in a 'Hallie' type of way, even her tripping. Although, he did try to help her not trip when he could. He knew that Hallie was probably tired of tripping all the time and having the majority of the people just stare at her.

"Oh really," he said with interest. "What would that be?"

[Hallie Monroe]

Hallie let out a nervous giggle. She had never really admitted this to anyone else, not even her parents. It always seemed so completely out of reach to an awkward, clumsy girl like herself. "You're going to think it's stupid," she said. "I mean... the idea is silly, really. At least for me. I mean, I can barely even walk on a perfectly flat surface, how am I going to ice skate?"