Meet me halfway. (Open)

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WHEN YOU'RE AT THE END OF THE ROAD & YOU LOST ALL SENSE OF CONTROL ,
& your thoughts have taken their toll

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Well, he couldn't exactly ride so he was stuck wandering around with not much to do. His crutches carried him awkwardly through the town, he winced with each step. He remembered when he was younger and the need to have crutches when he saw others with them, but now he hated the contraptions. They bit into his hands and under arm painfully, causing more discomfort than the broken leg. A small sigh escaped his pursed lips, his shoulder was shouting at him as it always did when he was on the move. He couldn't believe that after two years it was still in agony. A deep growl rumbled in his chest, frustration marring his handsome features. He wished he'd never fallen off that damn horse the first time. Deep down, he knew it wasn't his fault. The horse had spooked at something, which his father insisted a rival had caused, and thrown him straight off their back and into the side of the arena. There was no way he was going to come out of that unscathed. Shuddering slightly at the though, he continued on his way towards the Cafe, not really looking where he was going. It was only a matter of time before something happened. His shoulder caught on one of the lamp posts, causing a flash of pain to mar his handsome features. He winced visibly, reaching up to rub his painful shoulder tentatively. Of course it would be the one that was still sort of healing. Gritting his teeth, he forced himself to continue toward the nearest Cafe, knowing at least there he would be able to sit and rest his protesting injuries for a while.

Leaning against the door, he managed to push it open awkwardly. He heard someone get up behind him, and then place a hand on his arm and open the door a little wider. Shooting a grateful look in the person's direction, a slight flush swept over his cheeks when he realized it was a female. A pretty one at that. Smiling shyly at her, he continued into the cafe with little problems. He carried himself carefully over to the counter, deciding to at least order something so it looked like he came here for more than to just rest his leg. The crutches were an automatic attention drawer, he could feel eyes swiping over his lean frame from every direction. Again, pink dusted his cheeks, and he ducked his head away from the attention. Finally it was his turn at the counter. Smiling warmly at the male behind the counter, he listed off an order of a orange juice (has always been his favorite drink) and a chocolate chip cookie. He wasn't sure why he picked the cookie, maybe he was more hungry than he thought. As if to confirm this fact, his stomach began to rumble. He chuckled quietly, as did a few people behind him.

Now with his orange juice tucked under his arm, it was in a bottle, and his cookie clasped protectively in his hand, he hobbled over to the empty table in the far corner, next to the window. He placed down the food and drink before slipping one of the crutches from his arms. Sliding that beneath the table on the far side, so that nobody could trip on it, he sat himself down and repeated the gesture with the other crutch. A sigh of contentment left his lips as he sat, his leg instantly stopped aching. His shoulder was still painful though, and he rubbed it carefully to try and ease it. It didn't work, so he gave up. He knew he'd have to go and get his painkillers before the pain subsided, and he'd left them in his room. Reaching out with his good hand, he picked up the orange juice and unscrewed the lid. Taking a thirsty gulp of it, his nose scrunched up a little as the sharp citrus taste danced across his taste buds. As much as he loved orange juice, he'd never get used to that. Placing it back down on the table, making sure to put the lid back on too as there was no doubt he'd tip it otherwise, he reached out for the cookie. Breaking it in half, he chewed on it happily. Content that his stomach was now filling, he let his mind stray to horses. He still had three and a half weeks before his plaster would come off. And the doctor would no doubt tell him to keep off the horses for a few weeks after that. It wouldn't happen though, he was on strict orders from his father to get on the horse as soon as the plaster was off. He frowned deeply, staring intently at the table without seeing anything. He still had to get a horse, but it just wasn't appealing to him as it used to. This thought made him very sad indeed.

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Lael was hungry. Not wanting to face her dorm buddies and not willing to put up with her own cooking drove her to seek out the local cafe. She was just learning her way around, so she observed her surroundings while she leisurely made her way in the general direction of where she knew the cafe was. She had gotten directions from a complete stranger, and she knew better than to trust her completely. She hadn't been extremely sure of herself, probably new to town also. Lael smiled and shook her head, hoping they both knew at least a little of what they were talking about.

Her dark hair flitted behind her as a breeze swept by. She looked up, wondering if the high, fluffy clouds were debating rain. She certainly wasn't dressed for it, or even prepared. Her hands were shoved into a cream jacket, layered nicely over a chocolate brown tank top. Her eyes nearly matched the color to the dot, and thus why it was her favorite tank top. It layered nicely over a pair of dark-wash jeans, bootleg, none of that 'skinny jeans' stuff for her. In fact, she didn't, and didn't thing she ever would, wear or own a pair of the things. Flare hadn't been so bad, but she really didn't like the skinny jeans the country was infatuated with. Of course, she had her own sense of style, and usually it didn't match up with those around her. Which made finding clothes hard to find, but her parents gave her a rather generous allowance. At least they still did that, despite their displeasure about the path she was steering her life on.

She gave herself a mental shake, choosing instead to think upon where she was trying to go. She had reached where she thought the cafe was, only to find it was about a block ahead. She gave a silent sigh of relief, thanking her parents for unwittingly sticking her in a rather small town. Or maybe that was how it had been planned, so that not as many people could see her 'fawning over your horses,' as her parents had put it.

As she approached, a guy with crutches was doing his best to get in, but she could tell he needed a bit of help, even if he didn't think so himself. She jogged that last couple of feet, grabbing the door for him and gently laying a hand on his shoulder so he would know he could go right in. She followed him, eyes sweeping over the menu as she decided what she wanted. Her eyes fell upon her favorite muffin, and she kicked herself. The last thing she needed was a lemon poppy seed muffin, but now that she had seen it, she wasn't going to get it out of her mind until she had it. She could at least just get a water, the healthy option there, but she still wished she had the willpower to steer herself away from the muffin. Not that she wanted to bad enough to build up that willpower, but whatever. She tried to be healthy.

If the guy had felt he was being looked at because of his crutches and cast on the leg, she felt even more conspicuous as she ordered in her thick British accent. Or well, to her, her normal sounding voice and all of their accents. She thanked the cashier, ducking away as fast as she could at his appraising look. Looking around, she saw the guy on crutches settling in at a window table. Her favorite spot was at the window, and she decided to buck her normal quiet ways and go over to chat with him. She made her way over and sat in the chair across from him, noticing him rub his shoulder. Must have been some accident or fall to put him in such pain, with the leg and the shoulder.

So, what happened to your leg? Her question was said with friendly curiosity, but with enough meekness he could easily duck out of it if he wished. She wasn't a very pushy person, and she knew if some stranger walked up to her and asked her a random question, she may or may not want to answer it either. She opened her water and took a long drink, capping it as she set it on the table and waited for his answer. She tried to be attentive, but the muffin that sat in front of her was too tantalizing, and she began to carefully peel away the paper to get to it's warm inside.

[Sync]

WHEN YOU'RE AT THE END OF THE ROAD & YOU LOST ALL SENSE OF CONTROL ,
& your thoughts have taken their toll

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He'd been so engrossed in his thoughts that he hadn't heard her approach. He looked up when the scrape of the chair sounded across the tiled floor, his expression one of utter surprise. It was the girl who'd helped him into the cafe. A slight smile hinted at his lips, all thoughts of horses gone. He watched as her oracles graced his massaging hand and plastered leg, he could sense the questions coming. A good hearted chuckle left him as she asked the question he'd guessed she would. He wasn't angered, he didn't care that she asked him. It was perfectly understandable, there weren't many other people hobbling around on crutches. He noted the British lilt in her vocals, but payed little to no more attention to that. "Playing the daredevil role and got on my friends gelding, who has a few... anger issues. He threw me and voilà, broken leg." he chuckled, oracles sparkling at the memory. In fact, he'd been extremely proud when he'd fallen, he'd lasted longer on the horse than anyone else ever had before.

"Oh, and before you ask, the shoulder wasn't from that. I got thrown two years ago while competing, messed up my shoulder pretty bad." he told her seriously, before smiling once again. The thing about Finn was that he was so easy going, that talking about the accidents didn't bother him at all. She could fire as many questions as she wanted at him, there wouldn't be a flinch unless she mentioned parents. But even then, he'd still answer. He watched as she eyed her muffin hungrily, causing a smile to lift at his lips. He was holding the remaining part of his cookie in mid air, it had all but been forgotten about since she sat down. Another thought struck him, he didn't know her name. "I'm Finn by the way. Finn Brady." he offered in hope that she would respond with her own name. He didn't offer out his hand for her to shake. One reason being that she was absorbed in the lemony treat sat in front of her. Another being that the only hand he would be able to use would cause him pain in his shoulder to stretch over.

He realized that he'd been filling the silence unnecessarily, the silence around them as he thought of what to say next was comfortable. This was a rarity for him, usually chatter was all he did with company. He'd since finished the cookie, placing the serviette back on the wooden table and taking another sip from his juice. He was interested to find out where exactly in Britain she was from. He knew that many believed that England was the soul country in Britain, but his mother would never have him be one of those. The proud Irish woman made sure Finn knew pretty much every European country, and he'd competed there a few times in various places such as Germany, France, England, Wales and of course, Ireland. Many family holidays had also took place there. His attention snapped back to the girl in front of him, a brow cocked in interest as the next words left his lips. "So you obviously attend the academy, do you mind me asking where you came here from? And also, how long have you been here?" he smiled warmly, as if to encourage her to answer his questioning. Very much the people person, he liked to learn things about his company. This female interested him, and he wasn't sure why yet.

As she answered him, he let his eyes carefully glide across her pretty form. Her dark locks framed very feminine features. Her skin was pale, but it suited the gentle air to her. She came across as shy, but curious. He liked that. It looked as if he'd already began to make a friend. He liked the fact that she wasn't absorbed in the stupid fashion trends that seemed to be sweeping the country at the moment. He, for one, didn't get the appeal of those legging things and 'long' shirts that all the girls were wearing at the moment. In fact, those shirts barely passed their lower back. Fashion confused him thoroughly. Leaning back on his chair, satisfied with what he'd pulled away from her appearance, he focused all of his attention back on what she was saying, where as it had been half and half when he was looking over her.

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She smiled at his description of what he had been doing, having played that role before herself. But for some odd reason that was forever beyond her, she hadn't gotten seriously hurt yet. Yet being the key word there, mind you. She typically tried to be careful and safe, but there were just some things you had to do. Or at least try, and then figure out that that's not something you really want to be doing, because despite popular belief, the ground is quite hard. She had fallen more times than she could count, thus the startling discovery, but it had been quite awhile since her last fall.

She smiled as he explained the shoulder too, without her having to ask. She was surprised to find that it was from a different accident. While she seemed to be accident resistant, he seemed to be accident prone. Or, maybe just more daring than Lael let herself be. I think I've probably managed to pick some calmer horses than you, judging by your injuries and my lack thereof. she stated, amusement coloring her voice. Either that, she added to herself, she just had a way of knowing her and her horse's limits a bit better than he.

But she certainly hadn't been at either accident, and couldn't place the blame on him. He introduced himself, and she felt obliged to answer in turn. Good to meet you, Finn. I'm Lael Winters, and you are welcome to call me Lael. Wait... maybe she had been at his shoulder accident. Roughly about two years ago, when she was still the pet student of a well-known trainer in Germany, she had witnessed a nasty fall featuring someone roughly Finn's description on a powerful black horse. It was a complicated course, and the stud had finally gotten fed up and wrenched his rider off. It had been her turn next, so she hadn't been able to see if he was okay or not, but he had gotten a major shoulder injury and had to go to the hospital. Wait, were you in Germany when you got that shoulder injury?

As she waited in suspense for his answer, she took a small bite of the muffin. As usual, it was moist and lemony to perfection. It wasn't long until she had taken another bite, then another. She had to force herself to stop so she could answer his question. She swallowed, and then answered with a smile. No, I don't mind at all. I came here directly from Germany, although I grew up in England and that's where my parents still live. Why am I here and they are there? They don't like me riding horses, and would prefer it if I stuck to more, at this she set down the muffin and drew quotes in the air, "ladylike" pursuits. She rolled her eyes, momentarily unhappy with her parents. But as with most of her emotions, within a couple more seconds her face was smooth and didn't show her inner turmoil over her parent's disdain of her and her actions.

She began to pick at her muffin again, unable to stay unhappy with her parents while she had something infinitely more satisfying sitting her in front of her. She picked it up again, resuming her process of taking small bites to savor the flavor and make it last longer. She took the opportunity to briefly watch Finn. It was obvious the shoulder pained him, but he was curious about her, as she with him, and was managing to ignore the pain for the moment. He was actually quite handsome, something she hadn't been allowing herself to notice. A strong jawline, close cropped hair, and a crooked smile completed the look, and she had to look away before she blushed, giving away her thoughts.

ooc- Ahaha, random connection. If the way I described it doesn't match what happened in your head, feel free to have him say no. C: The idea just popped into my head when I saw he had shown in Germany, and she had resided there for awhile. C: