the little things;; {Tara!}

[Easton Xavier McKinney]

Easton pulled his '08 Dodge Ram into a space in a nearly full parking lot for the board walk, shoving a black billfold deep into his front pocket. Pulling down his white tee that had flown up revealing a muscled stomach the male closed the truck door, locking it and also shoving the keys into his pocket. Walking slowly toward the boardwalk the young male was glad he'd chosen tan shorts for the day instead of his usual jeans. The wind was the only thing making the warm spring day tolerable, something he was willing to be happy about. Approaching the boardwalk Easton managed to evade most of the 'money mongers' as he'd so dubbed them from convincing him to buy little trinkets for outrageous prices.

The wind blew the young man's semi-conservative locks into his dark eyes, causing him to reach a tanned hand up to push the offensive pieces away. Drawing in a breath of sweet foods that rested in little carts along the boardwalk he strode without much purpose down the planks, dark hues taking in all the common sights the boardwalk had to offer a viewer. Kids chased each other, weaving in and out of their loving parents' legs and darting in between large masses of people stopped at the various venu's along the boardwalk. Salty air was a relaxing scent to Easton as he gave in to the temptation and approached a side shoppe where an elderly man and woman sat, patiently awaiting people to come and browse their wears.

Easton's dark gaze caught upon a beautiful glowing seashell inside a simple tin cannister with sand from the beach surrounding it. Moving closer to analyze the trinket Easton briefly allowed himself to think of his deceased mother, and how she would have loved the seashell and it's beauty. The elderly man spoke up to him, announcing the price of the shell but went on ignored by Easton as his dark hues studied the simple thing with high interest. Seagulls assulted nearby people who'd chanced feeding the flying beasts and drew Easton's attention from the seashell as he observed the family of four screeching and throwing their food at the seagulls who'd clearly won the fight. It was clear they were tourists because they'd not only fed the damnable birds but also had camera's strapped about their necks. An amused expression lit the male's features as he once more drew his attention back to the shell.

[Tara Elisha Dean]

OUTFIT

Tara liked the beach, the boardwalk, the surf and the sand, the sunshine... She took a deep breath before taking off at a running speed down the length of the boardwalk. She dodged past kids with ice cream cones and tourists fighting seagulls, she ran right to the edge of the dock, teetering on the edge. She had intended to throw herself into the water, but at the last minute, she held back. Her brown hair whipped around her as she stood with half her shoes off the wood, hanging in the air. Suspended in the pre jump moment.

And then, she took a step back and casually placed her hands in her back pockets. A few people around her were staring but she didn't much care. She thought about jumping now, just since now no one was expecting it. But considering she was trying not to piss off too many people today, she held back, making her way away from the edge so that she didn't have to think about a refreshing dip. The smell of the ocean got covered in pretzels and popcorn, the sound of vendors and gulls chattering around her.

Tara sighed and went over to a stall that had one of those shoot the ducks games. Worth a try, right? She handed him her money and picked up the gun, aiming for the little target. She missed. "Dammit!" She said loudly, biting her lip and trying again. A bell went off and she grinned.

Bullseye.

[Easton Xavier McKinney]

Easton decided with several moments hesitation to purchase the shell. Placing the wrapped package in his pocket and turning from the venu a smile cascaded upon his lips as he observed a female near his age running down the boardwalk before stopping and turning away. It was visible relief written across other viewers features that cause the dark haired male to smile. Easton's dark hues followed the young woman as she made her way to a shooting game, his curiousity compelling him to approach her at the game.

"I think you just gave several people heart palpations."

Grinning at the woman Easton extended a large hand in greeting as his gaze traveled momentarily to the duck game, taking in that she had indeed gotten a bullseye.

"On that note, remind me to never piss you off. I'm Easton."

He purposely refrained from giving out his last name, it was meaningless information as far as he was concerned. The young woman seemed normal enough to him, and was clearly not that shy or didn't give a hoot as to what others thought of her or her actions. Easton usually preferred to blend in with the crowds of people but he couldn't deny he was slightly amused by her antics. Drawing pause to his racing thoughts the dark haired male calmly awaited her response, fairly certain it would draw a smile from him.

[Tara Elisha Dean]

She realized the guy was talking to her. Tara just laughed at his comment about heart palpitations, her mother always said she'd give someone a heart attack some day and it would probably be her. She took one hand off the gun and reached across herself to shake his hand, which was rather formal but it was better than leaving him hanging. "I'm Teddy." She said. Tara never really went by Tara, family and school maybe, but is her BMX circles and with friends she was always Ted or Teddy. Tara Elisha Dean, TED, it lent it self to it, plus it was more her style. Tara made her think of the figure skater Tara Lapinski, and she certainly wasn't a glittery skater.

"And yeah, probably a good idea." Tara added with a laugh. She raised the gun, she needed to hit 2 more to win a prize. She could talk and aim, probably. She bit her lip and tilted her head to the side, squinting before releasing the trigger, the bell went off again. "One more and I get a prize." She informed him happily.

Tara then noticed he was holding something, but she had a timer on the game so she couldn't look long. "Whatcha got there?" She asked, never one to beat around the bush.

[Easton Xavier McKinney]

Easton could easily be considered old fashioned, he much preferred a handshake to more obnoxious gestures such as giving someone the bird as a hello. He couldn't quiet fathom as to why someone would take that pleasantly but maybe it was just him missing the memo. Dark brows rose slightly at the sound of her name, Teddy. It fit her in his mind set. She appeared lively enough and was obviously highly charismatic, and admirable trait. Releasing her palm from his much larger one Easton offered up a wolfish grin as the girl continued speaking, immediately beginning to enjoy her presence.

Dark hues silently observed as she continued to beat the poor target with bullseyes, and once more reminded himself to never piss her off. Women were easily angered and while he didn't typically mind setting off several females, Teddy seemed to be one he'd want to avoid annoying. As she asked about the package Easton offered a shrug, pulling the tin out and showing her the glowing seashell. It seemed a bit ridiculous to him that he was showing a stranger the shell but she was likeable enough and he hardly figured she'd be one to make harsh comments. Then again, he could be wrong.

"Its a um..present for someone."

So he wasn't going to tell Teddy that the present was indeed for his bestfriend and longtime crush, Echo, but he figured that information didn't matter. Letting out a breath Easton closed the tin and stuffed it in his pocket.

"I think you should go ahead and win your prize before you forfeit."

Charming grin spread across his lips as he spoke easily to the female, completely at ease with their surroundings and conversation. Running a hand through his mop of brown locks Easton failed to come up with anything witty to add to the conversation, instead giving time for the girl to reply to his own words.

[Tara Elisha Dean]

Teddy just bit her lip and nodded when he said it was a present. It was pretty. Maybe a girl? But she didn't have time to mull it over much. With a third and final bang, a little bell went off and the man behind the counter announced that they had a winner. Tara pumped her fist into the air. "Hell yes!" She said grinning, handing back the fake gun. She looked at the prizes and contemplated them, finally decided on a good sized, plush purple teddy bear. She collected teddy bears, purely because she went by teddy and it was a fun thing to do. She pulled a sharpie out of her back pocket and wrote the date on the tag, along with duck game: boardwalk. She liked to keep track.

"So, Easton was it?" Teddy checked, but she was reasonably good with names. "Whose the shell for? A girl?" She asked with twinkling eyes, she loved gossip... well, more she loved knowing things about people. Didn't matter that she didn't know him well yet. That sort of thing never stopped Tara from getting right to the point. She didn't know the meaning of delicately doing anything.

Tara hugged the bear to her chest, chin propped up on its head, looking past Easton at the water. the ocean was a beautiful thing.

[Easton Xavier McKinney]

Easton let out a small laugh as she claimed her prize, a purple teddy bear. He himself could hardly remember the last time he'd gotten a stuffed animal, not that it really mattered he'd long outgrown his stuffed animal phase but girls always seemed to like them no matter the age. He curiously watched her as she wrote on the tag and easily concluded she must collect the stuffed animals, as he'd first guessed. As she spoke to him Easton nodded his head, a slight blush heating his cheeks.

"Yea..my best friend, Echo Sanders."

It wouldn't suprise him if Teddy knew of Echo, they both appeared highly social so he figured in a town this small it wouldn't be too much of a coincidence for them to know each other. Plus it wasn't like Echo was a common name at all. Turning his dark gaze to the ocean he stared at the rolling waves, it was comforting to someone who'd inhabited Bellville their whole life to watch the endless coming and going of the waves as they beat down on each other. Shifting his gaze back to Teddy he offered a smirk before speaking up again.

"I'm glad you didn't jump. Because then I would've had to have gotten soaking wet to save you from Jaws or some monsterous crab down there."

[Tara Elisha Dean]

Teddy grinned. Ah ha! A girl, sure a friend but he was blushing. Guys who blushed were so adorable. But she'd refrain from pinching his cheeks or something.

Echo Sanders... "Yeah I think I've her a few times, not sure..." Tara knew a lot of people. Not like Echo was a common name, but she couldn't be sure if she knew it or had just heard it around. Plus, with all the traveling she did for her BMX tours it was hard to say where anyone she knew lived. So if she did know an Echo, who knew if she was from around here.

Teddy laughed. "You wouldn't have had to save me, I'd have just climbed back out of the water." She said with a little shake of her head. Tara had purely been contemplating a quick dip. "Besides, hasn't been a shark attack here in years." Tara laughed, but she was up to date on her facts. Sometimes she went surfing and she would check about sharks in the area and where they liked to hang out--if they did at all.