With new feeling comes new sketches...(Open)

[Jax~the~painter]

Gnawing on the end of one of her many battered, wooden paintbrushes, Jax stared down at the drawing she had been working on for the past hour. She sat back in her chair and still continued to gaze at it. She turned her grey eyes to the window to her right and watched as the people past by. Her eyes then trailed to the display case inside the cafe she was seated in. There sat so many beautiful pastries. She quickly tore her eyes away before she had the impulse to buy them all and scarf them down. She was a sugar-holic. It was what kept her going.

She looked back down at her drawing. It was not sketched out in anger or hatred like the majority of her drawings were. She had become so angsty thanks to all the commotion about Kira. She cringed at merely thinking of that killer. All of the attention he was getting made her ill. She wished there was somewhere she could go without hearing that name. Kira.

The feeling that this sketch seemed to portray was...different. Much different. It was a feeling she hadn't felt since she had been at Wammy's House. She never thought it would come back. Usually her past memories at that house came only in flashes. Almost like an old movie. Slowly, she closed her eyes, trying to remember what caused that feeling. She squeezed her eyes shut and tried desperately...

[amtrum]

Mathew was currently looking at the selection of pastries, all of them looked good to him. His stomach would rumble urging him to hurry up. Obeying his stomach he would pick out a one that had been calling to him topped with chocolate and filled with cream. Paying the woman behind the counter he would look around at the busy establishment trying to find a place to sit. That was when he saw it, not an empty table but something better. A table with a cute girl, which was always nice in his eyes. He would walk up to her flashing her his best smile before pulling out a seat.

"Do you mind if I sit here? Most of the other tables are full." He would say with an upbeat casual tone that was hindered only by a small yawn. He was obviously tired, bags under his eyes suggested that he wasn't sleeping well, but with Exams going on that wasn't too unusual for a kid his age.

Besides the bags he was an attractive enough young man. Slightly messy brown hair, green eyes that seemed to sparkle even in their current dulled state. He was wearing a nice light pink dress shirt with a black tie tucked in to a Gray sweater vest. Nice black slacks with a leather belt completed the outfit. He was obviously from a well to do family by his clothing, though nothing that was too rich. He wouldn't sit down though unless she gave him the ok. If she did then he would take a seat across from her setting down his food as he did so.

[Jax~the~painter]

All she could remember was...stained glass and...What was that sound? Was it...bells? Yes. The sound of bells clanging away. They were heard throughout the house...and...and...A sweet smell. What was that smell? Images and sounds would tickle her mind, but only for a moment. Only for a moment could she remember that place she tried to call home.

Her thoughts and jumbled memories were interrupted when she heard a man speak. Her eyes popped open and she looked up at the man standing in front of her. No doubt he was the one who had just spoken since there was no one else around that seemed to be speaking to her at the moment. The first thing that caught her eye was his shirt. Pink. How lovely. The color pink always was a good omen according to her. She adjusted her glasses and smiled up at him.

"Uh sure! No problem." she said as she took her sketchpad off of the table.

"This place seems to be popular. I usually can't even sit in here since it's always so crowded. " she said, hoping she wouldn't get nervous and babble on about something stupid.

[amtrum]

He would smile at her again kindly as he took his seat and set down his food. One wouldn't be able to tell by looking at him that just the other day he had been outside of the city tourturing a cat for hours as he skinned it alive. Looking at his playful eyes one wouldn't be able to guess that he was filled with a self loathing that made him wish sometimes that Kira could see him and peer in to his soul and judge him pure or impure. He knew deep down he needed to find Kira somehow. He needed to be judged by him. That was the only way to know if he truly deserved to live. She wouldn't know any of that though, no one would. He kept that locked up in the deepest, darkest corners of his heart, Mathew himself wasn't even fully aware that he felt this way yet.

"Thanks, yeah this place can get really busy. My name is Mathew." He would say as he extended his hand to her for her to shake waiting for her to tell him her name in return.

He would take note of her sketch pad as she moved it from the table and like any boy that was around a girl he would pretend to be interested in it. It wasn't that he wasn't interested in Art, but if there was a girl involved he found himself interested in most things.

"You draw?" He would ask stating the obvious as he picked up his pastry and took a bite of the chocolaty goodness being careful not to spill cream on his vest or shirt. "Can I see?" He would ask assuming she answered along the lines of yes she does draw.

[Jax~the~painter]

Her ghostly grey eyes scanned over the man as he sat down. He seemed like a very well-to-do kind of man. But that assumption was only based on his clothes and appearance. Although, he had dark circles under his eyes and she knew that denoted he was sleep deprived. But why was he? Her mind began to work out scenerios as to why he was. Perhaps a student? A doctor? Hmmmm. She didn't know. She also kind of didn't want to know. She had such a bad habit of assuming the worst of people. Oh well.

She smiled and very lightly shook his hand. "Very nice to meet you. I am D." she said as she put her hands back in her lap.

She hardly ever gave out her real name. Actually, she couldn't remember that last time she did. She felt that these days it was important to not give out your real name. Kiracould be anyone and anywhere. She most certainly didn't want him knowing her real name.

She blinked at him when he asked about her drawings. She wasn't protective of them persay...but she always wanted to paint them first and not let anyone see the rough sketch. The final outcome was always better than the sketch.

She fidgetted a bit with the sketchpad. "I am kinda weird about letting people see my sketches. I end up painting them and thats what I want people to see. I want people to see the finished product." she explained with a smile.

[amtrum]

He would blink in slight surprise at hearing her introduce herself in such a fashion. Surely it was not normal for someone to be named after a letter. The only person that he had heard of that had done that was L. The guy that was trying to find Kira and put him to so called justice. Even though Kira was the one dispensing true justice to the world, ridding it of the scum of the world. Serial Killers, rapists, mobsters, and the like. He admired that L was trying to stop what he saw as a monster but he just couldn't accept Kira as a monster.

"D? You mean like that L guy? The one trying to stop Kira?" He would ask trying to make sure he was understanding it correctly. "Or Dee as in short for Dee Dee or something like that?" Hr would continue on just having trouble believing someone would actually refer to them self as a letter.

A slight disappointed look would cross his face when she explained that she didn't want to show him her drawing since it wasn't done. He understood of course. He would assume it was an artist thing since he knew some artists who were also like that, writers too. So he would accept her answer and not push the drawing topic.

"Well thats fine I was just curious is all. I can't say I am an art buff myself but I do take an interest in people and what they do. It is always nice to see what people are good at." He would say with a small laugh as he leaned back in his chair getting comfortable as he flicked his bangs out of his eyes with his right hand.

"So do you go to school still?" He would ask before following it up with an explanation for his question. "I just got done with an all night study session myself. My parents are determined for me to get top of my class this year." He would say with a sigh followed by a light chuckle. He was trying to keep things light. He wanted to see if she was any fun, and if she was maybe he would see if she wanted to catch a movie or something. He was always up for having fun with a pretty girl after all.

[Jax~the~painter]

Jax was used to this particular question and reaction to her alias. Her carefulness came from the years she had spent at Wammy's House. Kira was not at large then, but the children there were always taught to be wary of everyone. No matter who they were, they had been taught to use an alias if they felt they couldn't trust the person. Jax didn't feel she could trust him. And there wasn't any ryhme or reason to it. She just met him. Therefore, she couldn't trust him just yet, it at all.

She shrugged. "I guess you could say it's a nickname. Just a name I like to be called. But it's funny you bring up L. Alot of people who first meet me ask me the same question. In all honesty, I admire him greatly. I think what he is doing is honorable. But enough about that..."

She smiled as he talked about his take on art and about other artists he knew. It was nice that he wasn't pressuring her to show him. Heaven knows alot of potential buyers sometimes demanded to see the rough sketch. It was pointless to her. Why want to see the sketch when they were there to buy the painting?

When he asked her about school, she turned a bit pale. The memories of her school days made her a bit nervous. It was all a long story...

She shook her head. "No. I went to art school for awhile and graduated. I mostly focused on ballet and painting. My career is set on painting, but I dance when I can." she said.

[amtrum]

He would nod when she said she admired L. He could honestly respect that even if he didn't agree with it. He would bite his tongue about commenting on Kira since she dismissed the topic in a way that made it clear to him that she didn't want to talk about it, and lord knows Kira is NOT a topic you force on people. Espcecially someone that uses a letter like L. For all he knew she could be connected to L and if showed himself to be a Kira supporter it could put him under suspicion. And that was not something he wanted. Not because he had a connection with Kira other then his admiration for the man, or at least he assumed it was a man. Just like people called God a he he pictured Kira as a male. He just didn't want to have to deal with police following him around, who would?

"Well dancing is a lot of fun. I am not a half bad dancer myself. I can waltz pretty good, and I have been known to go out to the clubs now and then. Though, I really do prefer the more classical forms of dancing." He would say honestly. There was just something beautiful about the waltz to him.

"Still, Art school must have been nice since that is where your heart is. I am studying to follow in my Father's footsteps. So I am taking classes with computers. My Father always said that computers were the future." He would say with a small chuckle. His Father had a real passion for computers, something that he tried to drill in to Mathew's head all his life. Going on and on about how Computers have changed the world, and how much money was in it. Both were true of course but it wasn't his passion. Right now he found himself drawn to justice. Not the court system though, but Kira. True Justice.

"Do you hit the clubs or anything?" He would ask with a grin as he leaned forward a bit resting his right arm on the table. "I mean you have that whole bubblegum Lolita look thing going on with the pink hair and whatnot." He would say feeling a bit more energy then he had before he sat down with her. He was forgetting about the lack of sleep and getting in to the conversation a bit more now.

"Don't worry I am not making fun of you." He would add in with a laugh in case she was used to getting a hard time about it. "I think it looks good. And I was thinking. If you were up to it maybe we could go dancing or something sometime. I mean you like to dance, I like to dance. It could be fun." He would say casually. He didn't want to come off as too pushy. He was trying to give off the vibe of nonchalant. He wanted to go out with her and have a good time, but if it didn't happen he wouldn't be crushed, after all they had just met. But, it never hurt to ask, for if one doesn't ask one will not receive. That was how he saw it.

[Jax~the~painter]

Jax almost sighed with relief, but she held it back. The topic of Kira was much too heavy to discuss with him at the moment. They had just met. Besides, not alot of people supported L anymore. The public seemed to think he was getting no where with the investigation. But she believed in him. With all the other cases he had solved, this one would probably be no different. She naturally assumed everyone she met supported Kira. She felt most people did only because they feared him. And that to her was wrong. Therefore, Kira could never be true justice.

Clubs? He went to clubs? Strange...He didn't strike her as the type that went to clubs. Though she had a pretty skewed vision of the people who frequented clubs. Shady type of characters...Drug dealers...Harlots...She was a very stereotypical view on night clubs and it's inhabitants.

She nodded as he went on about how he was studying computers and his father's view on what he should do with his life. She was used to parents pushing their opinions and thoughts onto their offspring. Jax herself never experianced it. But she knew that it happened quite often in Japan.

"I am actually pretty bad with computers." she said with a small giggle. "All I know how to do is get on the web and do research." she said.

She laughed when he said bubblegum lolita. She had been labeled as alot of things, but never that. She took it as a compliment, which seemed to be the way he meant it.

"Ha! Why thank you. And no, I have never been in a club in my life. But...Perhaps we could go together...That might be fun." she replied as she blushed lightly.

Jax was not used to men asking her out at all. Even if it wasn't a date. And she certainly wasn't used to men saying she looked good either. She usually was called interesting or odd. It was kind of a nice change.

[amtrum]

He would let out a small chuckle when she said she wasn't good with computers, he was actually quite good thanks to his father's pushing. He was able to keep his files very well protected with fake files as decoys for anyone that tried to hack him. His personal virus protection was stellar, and he has even toyed around with making a few viruses himself, though he has never set one out. Mostly he made them to see if he could do it.

"Well I can't draw to save my life, so I think that makes us even." He would teasingly.

His smile would brighten when she agreed to go to a club with him. Confirmation that his way at looking at things were right. After all if he hadn't have asked then they likely would have gone on their separate ways after this brief encounter. Two strangers who crossed paths for but a moment. But now this gave them an opportunity to be more, friends, enemies, lovers. It was impossible to see the future and those were only a few of very broad categories that might be used to describe their possible future relationship, should they even develop one.

"Really? You have never been? Well I know a few good ones. Not the trashy slum ones. Pretty clean for the most part. I think that you will have a lot of fun."

He said confident that he was correct. After all she liked dancing and what better place to do it in then a club? The only thing that he really had to figure out next was the when and how to set it up. Would they just meet? Or would she give him her number? Or a number he could reach her at? He was hoping for some kind of number personally, so that if they had a good time tonight they could go out again another night. He just wasn't sure if that was how it was going to go down since she wouldn't even give him her name.

"Well it is still a bit too early to go clubbing yet. So that leaves us with a few options that I will leave up to you." He would say before taking another bite of his cream filled treat. "The first option is you giving me your number and me giving you mine and we can decide where to meet up later. The second option is picking a time and place to meet up now. Or if you want, we can take a walk or something and enjoy the day before we go out." He would say still grinning with excitement for tonight. It was just the thing to take his mind off his stress and shame over what he was slowly becoming. He tended to feel less compelled to commit acts of Sadism on animals when he was happy.

He knew it would take more then going out for an evening to stop himself, but if he could push it away again for a while at least, he might be able to get some decent sleep again. That alone would be a blessing, he couldn't remember the last time he had a night of sleep that wasn't interrupted by at least one nightmare.

[Jax~the~painter]

Jax let out a small laugh when he stated they were even due to his lack of drawing skills. She never really considered that drawing was a skill. Everyone could draw. She never looked at someone's drawing and compared it to someone else's and said one was better. She felt that everyone had a different style and that made them unique. And she liked unique. Obviously.

She felt a little more comfortable about the idea of going to a club with him after he explained that he knew of some nice ones. Of course when she thought of clubs, she thought of slummy, digusting ones. Leave it to her to always think of the worst, no matter what it was.

"Nope, never been. Although it does sound like fun. I will be honest and tell you that when I think of clubs, I think of the slums. But that's just me." she said with a nervous laugh.

As he listed the options they had, a few made her a bit nervous. Never had Jax been asked for her number. It really wasn't a big deal in the real world, but to Jax, it was a big deal. She wasn't used to people taking a liking to her unless the were a potential buyer of some of her art. Those were people who understood atleast why she was so odd. Other people outside the art world never seemed to get it, so it was strange that he seemed to understand it or not really care how odd she was.

"Hmmm. Let's see. How about we go out and enjoy what's left of the day and then we can go to a club. After that, we will see about me giving you my number, stud." she said with a small grin.

She wanted to get to know him a little better. To make sure he wasn't some kind of crazed murderer or something like that. Plus, it didn't help that Jax was programmed to never trust anyone unless they proved themselves in some way to be trustworthy.

[amtrum]

He would laugh when she called him stud. He never really thought of himself as a stud. But it was nice to see that she was being playful. It showed that she had a sense of humor, that was good. He liked a girl that could make him laugh, and that he could make laugh. Though of course when looking at girls appearance was also important. They had to be cute of course, but an interesting look was ok if they could pull it off. And so far he liked her little bubblegum Gothic Lolita look.

"I think spending the day with you might be good. Who knows I might not want to get involved. You could even be Kira for all I know." He would say jokingly. He wasn't a criminal, at least not a real one that Kira would go after as far as he was concerned. He has stolen things now and then of course, bubble gum when he was a kid, and now and then he did take a few bucks in quarters off of his dad's night stand, but what kid hadn't done something?

But once again the subject of Kira would only be brushed. After all it was a topic that was on everyone's tongues, it was only natural to joke about it a little bit. Sometimes the only way to cope with something was to make light of it, and support him or not it was a stressful topic. And even Mathew had to admit, it was scary, but at least it was someone just that had that kind of power. If power like that was freely available, if the military got it, governments, terrorists. That was the truly scary thought.

He would pop the rest of his pastry in to his mouth chewing it quickly before clapping his hands and leaning forward with a smile on his face before speaking.

"Well then what shall we do? What kind of a girl are you? I was thinking about DDR or something like that. Do you play video games?" He would ask curiously, after all he didn't mind taking charge but he wasn't about to drive her away by forcing her to do something she didn't want to do.

[Jax~the~painter]

She was relieved when he laughed. She had taken a chance calling him stud. She would expect most guys to look at her funny. But the fact that he laughed made her relax a little bit. She could joke with him and that was good. Especially because she was very sarcastic and playful once she felt comfortable with someone. She had a good feeling about him. He seemed different than most guys.

Her eyes widened a bit as he joked about her being Kira. It wasn't a subject she took lightly. She felt her blood boil as she merely thought about that murderer. She felt the urge to glare and make a snappy retort, but she bit it back. He was only joking. And she loved jokes...However...Jokes about Kira didn't usually suit her tastes.

She bit her lip and nodded. "Right...But I can assure you I'm not. Besides, I believe Kira to be a man." she said.

She would not go on about her theories on Kira. It was much too heavy of a subject at the moment. And she didn't want to be brought down by the subject either. Perhaps once they were better aquainted, they could share their views. But until then, she would only say a few things.

Her eyes lit up when he mentioned DDR. She was a pro on that machine! Since she was a dancer, it seemed only natural for her to take a liking to it. She had been in competitions and won a few times. She was addicted to DDR like she was to sugar.

She clapped her hands together excidedly. "I absolutely love DDR! I totally rock at it! I am a total gamer. Usually people are able to tell just from my appearance." she said with a small giggle.

[amtrum]

"You know... thats interesting because I figured Kira was a man too. I mean no offense to your gender. But it just seems like something a guy would do before a girl would... But, this probably isn't the best topic."

He would say brushing it off again. He wasn't here to bring her down. He thought there was potential here with her. If nothing else they could have a good time. The fact that she seemed to be keen on the idea of DDR was a major plus. He wasn't a pro but he did like it a lot. He liked to dance and he liked video games. It was an awesome combination in his opinion.

"Well I am glad to hear that you like DDR. So I am thinking we can hit the Arcade for a bit, maybe grab something to eat and drink afterwards and see where we go from there?" He would offer.

As for the food and drink he was thinking real food and not sweets. Something with some substance. Maybe a nice restaurant or something. Or even a quick burger. He wasn't that picky.

[Jax~the~painter]

Jax nodded as he made clear that maybe it wasn't the best time to talk about Kira. She had a small, distinct feeling that Mathew was a supporter. Now, she knew people who were and didn't have any problem with it. She felt they were free to believe and support what they wanted. But she would never truly understand how or why. She supported L. She had to. It was the only thing that made sense to her.

She smiled, clearing her head of the whole thing and focused on what there were going to do next. She was glad that he liked to dance. In her experiance, not many guys did. It was a nice change.

She smiled. "The arcade sounds great. But I hope you know, I am totally going to whip you on DDR." she said with a playful wink.

She loved to challenge guys. They usually took her on, totally convinced they could beat a girl. But she almost always won. She didn't believe in the whole letting them win to spare their manly feelings. If they couldn't win, that wasn't her fault.