Long time, no see! [Reserved-Soph & Chase]

"Wow!" Soph gasped, smiling. "I didn't realise that the waves could be so powerful on a day like today." She smiled.
I guess they remind me of Leon. Powerful and totally scary at one point...but the next, calm and cool. Stupid, I guess that's what he'd call it... She thought a little sadly.
Turning around, she sat on the sand, picking up her sketch book and pencil. Absentmindely, she flicked through it. Random sketch after random sketch...Leon, Raven, Charl, herself, Raven's cat, Natt, Genna...
"Hmm...that was a long time ago," Soph muttered, peering at the card-board backing. On it was a note, from a while ago. "And that's what sparked a change."

After a particularly long, weary day at the store, Chase found himself gravitiating to the most peaceful place he could think of- the beach. He didn't expect anyone else to be there, and that was part of the appeal.

However, it was clear as soon as he approached the landing that he wasn't alone. "Hello?" he called out when he saw a figure sitting, alone, on the beach. It looked like a young lady, though he couldn't be entirely sure. He walked slowly up to her, crossing his hands over his chest as he did so.

Soph turned her head at the sound of a voice. Someone was walking towards her. She scanned the person and recognised them after a few seconds.
"Oh, hey Chase!" She waved, tucking the pencil behind her ear.
Um, another voice inside Soph's head said. The sketch pad?
"Oh yeah! The book!" She exclaimed, turning back to it. After studying the message once more, frowning, Soph snapped the pad shut and twisted back around. "Never again," she decided firmly, sounding more like a small child than her normal self. Remembering that she wasn't alone, she looked up. "You look pretty tired. How are doing?"

Chase blinked. "Soph!" he said, surprised. "Hey! It's been a while. Where've you been?" He sat down on the sand next to her, noting the sketchbook in her hand. "What were you drawing?" he asked, curious. In response to her question, he shook his head, laughed lightly, and said, "I'm doing okay. Pretty well, actually. How are you?"

Soph waved a hand airily. "Well, you know. Around. I'm not the best person to answer that." She scowled briefly, out to the ocean, as if Leon was standing there. "Dragged from place to place...whatever goes through my parents minds?" Like I'd really want to know when it comes to the matter that is Leon. She laughed herself now.
The next question was both easy and hard to answer. "Drawing? Oh, nothing," Soph answered quickly, hoping Chase wouldn't notice the sudden speed in her reply. "Just, um...looking back at stuff that's all."
And the last question. She breathed out, counted to three and smiled once more. "I'm good, thanks. So...what have you been doing?"

Chase nodded. "Leon is...your brother, right?" he asked slowly, making sure he was correct in his assumption. He didn't think he had ever met Leon, though he was better with faces than names. If he saw the boy, he'd know. He stole another quick glance at the cover of her sketchbook, but it was clear to him that she'd rather not discuss it. Girls were touchy creatures when it came to their privacy. He had learned that the hard way.

"I've been working a lot," he said honestly. He grinned, and rubbed his neck with his hand. "A-actually, I'm leaving myself in a little while. I have a business trip to go to. But that's not for another few hours." He shrugged. "Other than that...well, you know."

Soph shook her head. "Faces, not names, right? No, Leon is my cousin. Twice as annoying as my brothers...well, mostly. I'll allow him that," she smiled weakly, rolling her eyes. "Maybe if I say nice and honest stuff about him, he won't be so..." She didn't finish her sentance with words, she just sighed, her mouth twitching a little as if to fight off laughter.
The next thing Chase said sparked sudden curiousity in Soph. "No, I don't know exactly," she said, a mischevious smirk lighting up her face. "But I'm willing to guess. And I think my guess will be accurate." She put down her pad and put her hands up to her head, a look of mock concentration on her face. "Remember to keep in touch with the girl, okay?"

Chase smiled. "Ah, cousins. I have a few, myself. The best kind are the ones you can entertain and have fun with for a while, and send them off when they get annoying. That's pretty bad, though, isn't it?" He listened as Soph hazarded a guess, and laughed. "I will," he promised. "You're pretty good at this. Or am I just that easy to read?" He propped his head up on his fists and looked out at the ocean.

Soph smirked, feeling both smug and surprised. One part of her wanted to say-"See, I was right!" Another part wanted to say-"Huh? I got it right?"
"How confusing," she said outloud, giggling a little. "But that's okay." She relaxed out of her 'fortune teller' pose. "That's good. And sweet too. The world would be an awful place without love and friendship and family." Soph twriled a lock of her hair around her finger.
"Hmm...I guess you're sort of easy to read. But I don't know you well enough to say that fully yet. Right now, though," she continued, glancing at Chase. "You look...pre-occupied. Just tell me if I say or ask too much."

Chase nodded in agreement. "The world is kind of a lonely place as it is." A stiff breeze whipped by them, and he readjusted his glasses, pushing a stray lock of hair out of his eyes. "She's...great. You'd like her," he admitted. But he didn't want to be rude, so he didn't begin a long tirade of singing Mia's praises. "I guess a little more than 'not much' happened while you were gone." He grinned, and laid back on the sand. "Oh, no, you're fine," he said, waving his hand passively. "I like talking to you. Ask me any question, say anything. Conversation is good for the soul."

"That's cool. But seriously, why wouldn't she be nice? I know you enough to say you wouldn't date a jerk, to be blunt," Soph smiled. "I'd like to meet her one day. I'm getting used to becoming a little more open minded when it comes to meeting new people. I don't really like hiding away anyways. There's only so much I can stand in my house."
She breathed out, almost deflating like a balloon. "Yeah, lots of stuff happened. Leon coming was major. He throws a lot of things out of balance. Let's just say I've been a lot of places I don't think I would've if he hadn't shown." Soph thought about it for a second. "It's good and bad."

Chase smiled. "Ha, then you know me pretty well. And she's the farthest thing from a jerk." He folded his hands behind his head. "You'll have to come with me one day, to meet her. Or just to hang out. I haven't seen you in...I don't even know how long." He paused, and added, "You don't have to hide in your house. You're friendly enough; you can make friends like-" he snapped his fingers "-that." He sat up, brushing sand off of his shirt. "It was easy enough with me, right?" He grinned. "Kidding. But seriously. You and your cousin should head over sometime. I'd like to meet the famous - infamous, maybe? - Leon."

"That's weird. A lot of people say that. Maybe he should have a fan club? Or not. I don't know if he'd appriciate my sense of humor sometimes..." Soph trailed off, shrugging. "A lot of the people that want to meet him are girls. Huh, and he tells me not to hang out with guys? Bad idea. When he acts like that, it seems like he's my dad or something. Maybe he should be an actor..."
Jerking out of possible careers for Leon, she cast back. "Yeah. I suppose it is easy to make friends. Though I always seem to meet people when I'm doing something stupid. Like falling asleep and pianos and stuff." Soph laughed at her own past. It was crazy but true.

Chase grinned. "Sounds like the entire population of guys I went to high school with," he remarked. "Though I doubt very seriously there are as many acting opportunities here as there were in my hometown, and even there, they were scarce." He pretended to think, then shrugged jokingly. "I guess if someone needed commercial advertising...? After all, if he's as popular as you make him out to be, he should live it up."

He remembered something, something about the day he had met Soph, and snapped his fingers. "That reminds me. I found an old keyboard somewhere within the boxes of crap that remain to be unpacked, and wondered if you wanted it?" He smirked. "That way, you wouldn't need to commit a misdemeanor to play piano."

Soph rolled her eyes. "I'm sure he would do it. But he needs to concentrate on other things first." She sighed, shaking her head. "When it comes to certain things, he's too proud! I'll shut up about Leon now. It's kinda starting to annoy me..."
What's new? She thought, smiling again.

"A key-board?" She questioned, choosing to ignore the teasing. "That sounds...interesting. Although I don't know where to begin. I've never been that musical. But I'd give it a go, sure!"