some guys think they can't be winners

[beanchaointe]

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[beanchaointe]

[As time passes, Lydia's played less hard to get.

Not to the point of giving it all away - though she's certainly been tempted - but she's enjoyed Damon's company. She's enjoyed the time they've spent together. And she's about eighty percent convinced that being with him probably wouldn't resemble some of the bad moves she's made in the past.

But she's also enjoyed making him work for it, playing the edge of too much and not enough and hoping that he doesn't get too frustrated in the process. So far, he hasn't been strung too far along, but she knows that it's a very fine line she's walking.

Pausing in front of cross-section between the games, the food and the rides, she turns back to face him, keeping her hand in his.]

Food first or rides first?

[Because yes, Lydia Martin does enough carnival rides. She wore her hair up expressly for this purpose so she can still look cute while the rides worked against her.]

[unforgivably]

( Damon has dated before. He's dated with more complications and competing affections and half-affections and even non-affections. He's fought back from a completely erased memory, so a little hard-to-get is downright pedestrian. And while it's not welcome, it's not unpleasant. He's never hated the chase. He just knows Lydia is a woman worth more than the chase.

And, carnivals have not done them kindly. Them being the denizens of Mystic Falls, and, yes, Damon.

But, Damon is 100% himself and he won't hide it. Lydia has probably done her research. )

You know the last time I was at the carnival, I was brainwashed by a siren and attacked everyone I love. ( Happy memories? Despite his flippancy, he's dressed impeccably and done up like Damon Salvatore would be (Nat 20), but fashion has never been his problem. Right, the question. ) Rides before food.

[beanchaointe]

You Mystic Falls folks really don't do anything halfway, do you?

[Not that Beacon Hills does either.

Either way, rides it is. She turns towards that portion of the midway, scanning over their options before pointing to the most appealing option.]

Bumper cars?

[You don't start with the Ferris wheel. You work your way up.]

[unforgivably]

Not town events, not almost massacres.

( Said as nonchalantly as it doesn't sound as he peruses around them, too.

But, that, that he likes. )

Sure. Can't do too much damage in a plastic car. ( He leans down. ) Not that I'm looking to do damage.

[beanchaointe]

[She smirks at that, before guiding them towards that line.]

A harmless way of blowing off some steam, in my opinion. There are worse ways for people to spend their ill-focused aggression.

[unforgivably]

What makes their aggression ill-focused?

( Damon has had ill-focused and zeroed-in aggression, but he'd like to follow the hypothetical as they step into line. )

[beanchaointe]

Generally they're commandeered by teenagers. Their existence is ninety percent aggression in a non-productive direction.

[Or at least that's been her experience, especially when it comes to supernatural teenagers.]

[unforgivably]

And, they never get anywhere. There are no point values, no victors. Just circles and bumps. In cars.

( His dryness gives away that though he's disparaging the practice, he's still interested, especially with Lydia. )

I am rusty, you might be surprised how easy it is to pin me to one place.

[beanchaointe]

[She smirks.]

Are you saying you wouldn't mind being pinned down?

[That question is a bit more flirty. Is she talking about bumper cars or is she talking about something else?]

[unforgivably]

Oh, I never mind.

( He leans close, both of them in line, lowering his voice so the impressionable can't hear. )

[beanchaointe]

[She glances up at him and grins.]

Duly noted.

[And the line moves another inch closer. They'll likely board the next round of cars.]

I've always appreciated that in a man.

[unforgivably]

I have also been known to do the pinning.

( If she was wondering.

Oh, their turn. Damon doesn't quite fit into the car, as most grown males don't, but he manages. His (8) makes reorienting himself inside a bumper car a joke. Has he ever been inside a bumper car? Maybe in the 90's? Why is he going in a circle? )

[beanchaointe]

[Lydia's not managing to do much better (9) but that tends to be the point of bumper cars? No one is the deftest of hands when these things are held together by magnets and screws.

But she does manage to get close enough that she glances off his side with a smirk.]

[unforgivably]

That's only one.

( But, another middle schooler comes careening into his side with the deftness of a professional bumper, before cheering and heading off again. He tries again, to bump Lydia... (4) )

[beanchaointe]

[Lydia manages to gain enough control over the car to zip away before he can get her (17). She flashes him a grin in return before she manages to shoot down the side of the pin, out of reach of him.

For now.]

[unforgivably]

( The narration leaves the natural (1) to your devices, as Damon is somehow that football playing AWOL soldier from 1864. )

[beanchaointe]

[The path clears, and Damon starts to zoom after her, before he gets cut off at the pass by another teen trying to zip through the same space. Then, when he starts to get free, he's hit by car number two. Then, a very unfortunate car number three cuts off his last means of escape.

He can probably hear his date for the evening laughing on the other side of the field, before there's a small eep! as someone t-bones her across the way (9).]

[unforgivably]

( How. RUDE. Teenagers. Damon responds with a (16) to try and save some face, and to go after the set of dimples who hit Lydia. )

[beanchaointe]

[Damon manages to collide with them, glancing off the side of their car as they try to make their escape (17). But when he does catch up with Lydia, she doesn't seem that bothered.

In fact, she almost seems like she's having a good time.]

Nice of you to join us.

[unforgivably]

( Playfully, he tries bumping her next. (5) )

[beanchaointe]

[She smirks as she lets him, and it jolts her back a few inches. Then she glances back to the remaining cars.]

We could either work together or not. Up to you.

[unforgivably]

( Right. )

Let's team up. Give these kids something to cry about.

[beanchaointe]

[She grins at his response before nodding and zipping off to slam into as many teenagers as she can, catching one on the side (17) as they try to evade her (13).]

[unforgivably]

( Getting the hang of it, Damon has renewed purpose (14) in his next targets! )

[beanchaointe]

[At least he's finally getting into the swing of things. They manage to bounce off a few more teenagers before the cars come to a stop, and they're given the signal to move on to the next phase of their evening.

Lydia climbs out and moves to join Damon at his car with a smile.]

Have fun?