Realistic or Modern Mad House.

[SirDerpingtonIV]

Suddenly, a guy in a bright green t-shirt and jeans burst into the room right behind Jamie, from a door that was clearly there. "Hey kids wanna see a dead body?!" Kurt shouted, as he looked around, at all the orphans he'd be spending his miserable days along side. He knew the HeadMistress personally, and that was the only reason he was dragged to this festering shithole. In fact, he knew her a little too personal for his tastes. She was his long long whatever-the-fuck, and was rather annoying. But there was probably food here, that was good. He noticed one boy looking at another, making some prickish face. He didn't hear what was said, but he wasn't entirely stupid. He strolled up to Jamie, leaning on a counter next to him. "Hey there, fucknugget," Kurt casually addressed him.

 

[ChronosDesine]

Aaron blinked at Jamie. The name rang a bell in his head. A vague bell, but still an alarming one. ''I'm sorry. I don't know who you're talking about'' Aaron sat down and started thinking. The bell in his head just got louder and louder. Until he fully remembered the name. Weird name.





But even though he remembered the name. He couldn't remember the person. Or why he knew the name.

 

[spectro]

Jamie looked over at the kid who had just walked in. He looked familiar. "Ah, Kurt." He smiled, remembering her was the Headmistresses Godson. "And why, exactly have you graced our presence once again?" He grinned and then looked over at Aaron. Crap. I forgot his name. He decided to change the subject. "Oh, nevermind Mayor." He smirked. He decided he would get him alone and interrogate him about the Sacred Heart.

 

[ChronosDesine]

Aaron raised a eyebrow. ''Sure'' Said Aaron. Why remind me of someone if it doesn't matter? According to the clock the bus wouldn't be there until ten minutes from now. He didn't want to stand outside on his own so he decided to just walk with the others to the bus stop. Because he should try to do everything at least once. And that included interacting with the other orphans.

 

[SirDerpingtonIV]

"Jamie," Kurt said, remembering the asshole in front of him now. He decided to ignore Jamie's remark, and insult Jamie instead, "Soooooo, old friend, you still as much as an imbecile as always?" he asked, a smirk on his face. He thouroughly enjoyed being an asshole to people, and he knew that Jamie deserved it more than any of the other kids here.

 

[Pine]

Nick went about his business, making a small noise of acknowledgment when Aaron made his morning debut, the likes of which were probably beneath anyone's notice. Finally having unearthed the waffles from out of the freezer, his body relatively chilled from leaving the door open, he pulled them out and kicked the door shut with his heel. He made his way back over to the counter where the toaster was, running his free hand along his other arm in an effort to smooth down the hairs that had begun to stand erect, goose bumps coursing along the skin.


Just as Nick had set the box down on the counter, his full attention was arrested by Jamie upon hearing his name, no longer bothering to pretend that he wasn't warily watching the other boy's movements from the moment he abandoned his plaything. How am I? I'm standing right here, why don't you just fucking ask me? What's with these people? And anyway, why ask him? His irritated pondering was interrupted, however, by the grandiose entrance of another boy, the likes of which he had never seen. Dead body? Is he referencing Michael, is he serious... what? He remained silent, turning back to his waffles, as he didn't want to make a fool out of himself in case he misinterpreted the other boy's words, which seemed very likely already.


The boy had neatly placed two of the waffles parallel to each other and tugged the button on the side down, which sprung back up to a point after he released his hold on it. Nick leaned against the counter and propped his elbow on the edge as he waited for the toaster to heat, concealing the majority of a nasty smirk behind his hand as he appraised the new boy curiously. He felt a bit of satisfaction in the churlish manner the boy addressed Jamie with, unconsciously hoping beyond hope that his intentions were spiteful and the duo weren't just making friendly banter. He seemed rather plain in appearance, casual choice of clothing by all means, and not making any obvious attempts to stand out with his hair or other bodily features. Nick was, however, somewhat puzzled by the familiarity that they use to speak to each other. They named each other, so they obviously weren't strangers, but Jamie's words suggested Kurt was not around here all too frequently, and the other boy's response was less than relevant to the topic. So, then, had he been an orphan here all along, but he had just stayed hidden? The notion seemed ridiculous, but it was his best guess for the time being, unless they had been acquainted through school, but that, too, seemed rather unlikely.

 

[spectro]

"Of course!" Jamie threw up his hands up in joy. "It's my natural nature." He smiled. "How about you?" He went back to sit with Jodie, making her blush and giggle as he touched her knee under the table.





"So," Fliss smiled as the kid came back to the table, a waitress behind him holding a plate and a large milkshake cup. The waitress looked at her and smiled. "Are you the Mother?" Fliss shook her head immediately. She didn't know whether to be offended by the fact that she had been thought of as older than she was. Was it a good thing? She pushed the thought away as the waitress smiled again and walked away. "What's your name?" Fliss smiled, sweetly. "Lucas." He was leaning his cheek on his hand, obviously trying to conceal the bruise. "That's a nice name." Fliss wondered if he was an orphan. Perhaps he was. Still, she just wanted to know where he had gotten the bruise. She pointed to the bridge of her nose at the slightly bruised skin. "See, if you tell me where you got yours, I'll tell you where I got mine." The little boy leaned forward and considered the offer. "You first." Obviously he was going to be hard to crack. "Okay." Fliss tried to make up a story. She thought she would have had more time than this. "Well, I was walking my dog one day, and a man was trying to steal an old lady's hand bag. I stopped him, and we had an epic fight. I won, and the lady got her bag back." She smiled. "You?" He leaned back again. "The baseball at school flew into my face, because I'm not good at sport-" His head turned. A woman with bags under her eyes and a twisted bun of curly hair topped on her head walked in. "Mommy!" He got up and ran up to her. Flis grinned and stood up. She knew she could leave. Her suspicions were unconfirmed and she smiled as they embraced. She missed that. Tears filled her eyes, but she blinked them away and walked past them, leaving the waffles behind, uneaten.


When she got back to TNLC, she sat on the bench just next to the front door. There wasn't much for her to do inside, and she liked it outside. It wasn't too cold, or too warm. It was just right. A small amount of cloud to block out the sun. She put her hands behind her head and sighed with relief.

 

[Pine]

See, Jamie, you're being sarcastic about that, but it's really just the truth. Nick's smirk dissolved, cupping the whole of his mouth in his hand as he turned to give the other boy a pointed look, the sound of Jodie's giggling filling the room. She hasn't even said a word since I've been in here, like a common whore. Forget this other kid, if I'm here another second, I think I might just puke. As if on cue, the toaster launched the waffles back into the air, allowing him to tear his gaze away. He removed himself from the counter and, glancing at his watch, swore under his breath. The boy plucked the two waffles from the toaster and stuck one in his mouth before jogging up the stairs.


Upon entering his room, his was somewhat puzzled by the sight of Isadore still asleep. But wasn't the... The sight of flashing lights drew his attention, the wholly inaccurate time of 3:42 showing in block letters. How did that even happen? Nick breathed a sigh through his nose, making a note to fix that later. He went over to the side of the other boy's bed, finally tearing a bite off of the waffle. With both of his hands occupied with either waffle, he lifted his leg to nudge Isadore in a rough approximation of a side. "Wakey wakey, the sun's coming up," he intoned around a mouthful of waffle before swallowing.


Putting his leg down, Nick then tossed the other waffle onto the back of his roommate's head. "Look, I even made you breakfast!" The boy turned away to gather his backpack off the floor. "'Wow Nick, you're just, like, the best roommate ever!' I know, don't remind me. I might get a swelled head." Nick slung his backpack over his shoulder and took another bite of the waffle, the likes of which made a satisfying crunch in spite of the overall bland taste of a plain waffle. "By the way, once you've gotten off your ass, I've got something to show you." He swallowed, pausing thoughtfully, before turning back to Isadore. "Is there any particular soda that you like?"

 

[spectro]

(8 hour time skip)


The Headmistress looked through the pile of letters in her hand. Most of them were bills, advertisements or personal letters. She flicked through, bored, until she came across a letter for Nicholas Johnson. She raised her eyebrows. The kids never got mail. I mean, why would they? Orphans have no one. She laughed but decided to call Nicholas to her office.


She walked upstairs and followed the disgusting smell of toaster waffles. The Headmistress was never one for sweet things. She knocked on a door where she heard voices coming from and waiting slightly impatiently for someone to answer.





Fliss jumped out of her nap. She realised it was almost 5 o'clock. He cheeks were freezing. How had she fallen asleep? She guessed because the wind was so soothing.


The air was seeping into her coat and she got up and rubbed her hands together. She opened up the door and saw the headmistress walk up the stairs. She squinted at the sight of her, not knowing if she was seeing things, considering the Headmistress barely left her room, or her office. Fliss shrugged off her coat and followed after her to her room.

 

[Pine]

Nick's attention was drawn from the matter at hand when there was the distinct sound of knocking on the door. And who could that be? He briefly considered ignoring it, but in the end, he stuffed the remains of the waffle in his mouth and slid the backpack onto the floor, dusting his palms as he went to open the door. Upon opening it, his eyebrows furrowed in confusion. Who the hell is she? She doesn't look too old, why is her hair white? She's not albino, otherwise her skin would be freakishly pale or something. It's not dyed, because when people dye their hair white, it looks kinda' gray and... cobweb like, I guess. Fake. Maybe she actually is old and... plastic surgery? Ew.


The boy blinked, realizing he had been spending a little too long speculating over the reasoning behind her hair color. Nick made exaggerated chewing motions then, in an effort to make his silent staring more excusable. Yes, I was just chewing. That's all. Not just finding you out for the old fart you really are, nope. The boy covered his mouth then before he spoke, as there was still a sufficient amount of food in his mouth. "Um... yeah?"

 

[spectro]

"Are you Nicholas Johnson?" she looked down her nose at him. He was considerably smaller than her, though, everyone was. Why is he staring at me? The snotty nose little brat!





Fliss sneaked past the Headmistress and smiled at Nick behind her, trying to make him laugh n her presence, although she knew nothing she did was going to amuse him. She put her finger on lip saying 'sh' as she did and walked off to her bedroom, to get ready for her meal.

 

[Pine]

Nick swallowed then. "Yes, ma'am." Oh, but she doesn't look too happy. Oh, is this that headmistress chick or whatever? Jamie hasn't gone into his room yet, so... I haven't done anything wrong, right? His gaze flickered away at the sight of movement behind her, if only to be peering at the sight of Felicity sneaking behind this titan of a woman. Nick quirked an eyebrow but said nothing, instead looking back at the woman before him.

 

[spectro]

"I have this for you." She handed him the letter. "I hope it is important, I had to leave my office for it." She held the limp piece of paper.

 

[Pine]

Nick's overall look of bewilderment turned pointed at that moment, somewhat irritated that she was complaining about such a simple task. His eyes turned down to the envelope that was curling between her fingers. "You have legs. Maybe you should use them more." The boy's eyes widened as he looked back up at her, realizing he had said that out loud. Shit. Bad idea. "Thanks a bunch," he blurted then as if it could possibly cover up his mistake, snatching the letter from her and slamming the door in her face, twisting the door knob into a locked position before she had the chance to react.

 

[spectro]

"You ungrateful piece of-" She went red with anger, but the door slammed in her face and clicked to lock. She sighed and touched her head. A headache was starting to come on. She turned around and started back down the stairs.

 

[Pine]

Nick flattened his back against the door, staring wide-eyed at the wall parallel. I really need to learn to keep my mouth shut. He couldn't even begin to imagine the repercussions for what he had just done. Well... so far... nothing. Nick tried to brush off the incident with a nervous chuckle which, if it helped at all, he couldn't tell. He peeled himself from off of the door before recalling the whole point of that exchange. Nick looked down at his hands, flipping the letter over as he slowly made his way back to his bed. It actually felt rather hefty, the envelope puffed out from what was presumably multiple papers. He was somewhat at a loss for what it could be, assuming that it was something regarding work or even junk mail. However, upon him actually reading the face of the envelope, his eyes widened and he stopped right at the side of his bed.


He recognized everything instantly. The sloppy hand-writing, Cranberry Drive, and especially the clock tower illustrated on the stamp, the likes of which was set somewhat crooked in the corner - it all alerted him that this was someone he was very familiar with. Nick seated himself on the edge of his bed slowly and precariously, all conversation from before forgotten, the envelope spread out between his two hands commanding his full, undivided attention. Blackburne, Blackburne... It dawned on him, making his eyes widen even further, before he proceeded to dig his thumb into the corner of the flap and rip open the top. How could I have even forgotten for a second? Nick pulled the papers a little too quickly, the edges brushing up against the inside of the envelope making an almost ripping sound. He discarded the envelope onto the floor carelessly, flattening the letter out in his hands to the best of his abilities, though it was still a little creased where it had been folded, and the boy had to stretch the papers out by either corner before he could read them.

Spoiler

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Nick had not even moved past the second page when he burst into laughter. He attempted to quiet himself to a reasonable degree, chuckling a quiet, "What?" to himself at intervals. Why did I even expect something else from him? Nick had his hand cupped over his mouth in an effort to stifle his chortling by the end of it. Of course he would do that. There probably wasn't anything to even really update him on, except basic gossip, but unless it was complaining about someone, that was never on Orion's agenda. The aorta was a nice touch.


While it was plenty amusing, Nick felt a faint closing in his chest, a longing to go return to the small town. This had been the last thing he was expecting. After no one had texted him, there had been moments that he was sure that everyone in Fairtown had forgotten about him, but he should have known better. If Orion had ever tried to text him, it must have been when his phone had been broken. Then again, it must have taken a while for the letter cross over however many states.


It took Nick a moment, still scanning through all the pages, to recall that he wasn't alone in the room. He looked back over at Isadore, the smile still faintly on his lips, laughing any time he recalled a particular thing from the letter - particularly the crack that he actually liked the other boy's hair, which he made a point to regularly inform him of how absolutely ridiculous it was. "Wanna' read this?" He flicked the corner of the papers to straighten them out and halfheartedly extended it out to his roommate. "There was this kid, Orion, where I lived, and he was pretty much my best friend. Weird as hell. I mean, he's been dying his hair pink for as long as I've known him. He, like, always said shit like this... and I'm totally blaming the texting thing on you, by the way," he said with a chuckle.

 

[spectro]

Fliss sat on her bed, staring into the wardrobe opposite to her. She had nothing to wear. I mean, she had her bloody dress that she kept as a reminder to never get into a cab with a strange man at the wheel, although, that would probably mean she wouldn't be able to go anywhere. She stood up and closed the doors of her wardrobe, collapsing onto her bed with a sigh. And then a knock. St her door. She hoped it was important, she was in the middle of a crisis here.


"Why aren't you ready?" It was Jodie, looking rather pretty. She wore a black dress that was plain, but as she moved towards her desk, Jodie noticed a large skull design on the back. "I have nothing to wear." Jodie fiddled with the jewellery box on her desk. "Why didn't you say so?" She slammed the box shut and walked towards Fliss. She grabbed hold of her wrists and pulled her into an upright position. She began dragging her towards the door, and Fliss didn't have the energy to hesitate. "I've got just the dress." She said, a little excitement was sparking in her voice.


Fliss looked into the mirror. There was still work to be done. Her hair was curly and knotted in places. She looked at her dress. It was all right; a simple pattern design and a not-too-revealing length. She liked it. Besides, she had nothing else to wear. She ran a hand through her curls and looked at Jodie with a gratifying smile. "Thanks." She began to walk out but as stopped by a voice. "Do you think Jamie is a nice guy? I mean, I know he isn't nice, but is he worth my time." Fliss stopped, the memory of that night-"No, he isn't worth anyone's time." And she continued to walk out of the room.


When Fliss had put on her make up, her outfit was complete. She didn't need much, just a little to cover up her acne scars and the bruise on her nose along with a small bit of lip gloss. She had fitted her hair into a bow and slipped on a pair of black flats. She fell back onto her bed and stared down at her watch. It was half past 6. She needed time to go by faster than it was, she needed it to be time. She decided to wait downstairs, but as she walked down the steps, the Headmistress was waiting at the bottom. She was grinning and as Fliss reached the bottom, she spoke. "I hope your meal is to your liking. The car is waiting outside. I will call the other children."


"It's not a cab is it-"


"Of Lord no, it's a limousine." She turned and walked up the stairs as if ordering a limousine was any normal mundane task. Fliss almost shouted after her, to ask her why she was being so kind, but the thought of it made her dizzy. She hadn't eaten her breakfast and it was a mistake. All of her body groaned for energy, but she shook it off and stood at the door, not wanting to get into the car by herself-after last time.

Spoiler

 
The Headmistress trudged up the stairs and stood in the middle of the corridor.


"It's time to go, children." She smiled, knowing that calling them children would annoy them.

 

[spectro]

Jamie got out of the kitchen as quickly as he could, escaping from the tedious red haired girl. He walked down the corridor and laughed as he walked passed Nicks room, hoping that he was going to attend Felicity's birthday meal, so that they would be able to finish their fight. He pushed open the door of his bedroom and bang-


He yelped as a blast of some sort shot him off his feet and a burning sensation caked his ankles. He looked down and saw his jeans had caught fire. He squealed and took them off as quickly as he could, throwing them onto the corridor and stamping on them. His ears were ringing with a beeping sound and was completely bewildered by what was happening. He put his hands over his ears to see if he truly was hearing this beeping sound, but he wasn't. It was simply his ears imploding inside of his head. He shook the sound away and instantly looked to Nick's door.


Still in his boxers, sprinted towards Nicks door and burst it open within three hard shoves with his shoulders. He fell to the floor but scrambled to his feet in second, pouncing on Nick, throwing him to the ground, ignoring his roommate and holding his victim to the ground. "YOU COULD HAVE KILLED ME YOU IMBECILE!" He spat, looking down at Nick, his hands wrapped around his throat, slowly tightening.

 

[Pine]

Still caught in his nostalgia from home and the thought of his old friends, it took him a moment to discern what could have been the blasting sound in the hallway, the likes of which had startled him enough to drop the papers onto the ground, scattering as they floated away from each other. However, the instant Nick realized what had happened, the fact that it had worked at the sound of Jamie's startled cries made him burst into an uncontrollable fit of laughter, falling back onto the comforter as he clutched his stomach, guffawed at the ceiling. He couldn't even be too disappointed that he had missed seeing it himself, as he had expected, but he would have at least liked to have shown Isadore, but unfortunately he would just have to settle with explaining it to him later and possibly including him in future pranks.


Nick was still caught in a fit of chortling when Jamie began to ram the door. He hadn't expected it to work that well, just scare the other boy a bit, but after lifting his head to the sight of Jamie nose diving straight into the carpet, he threw his had back, laughing all the louder. He wasn't too surprised when he felt the other boy's hands clamping down on his shoulders and throw him onto the ground, and he managed to quiet down to chuckling then, but he was still to wrapped up in his own delight to stop completely up until Jamie wrapped his hands around his throat.


Nick's laughter cut off abruptly, his eyes opening once more to the sight of the other boy snarling down at him, an eyelid being brought up as spittle flew into it. He only then noticed that Jamie was only in his boxers. That was only four poppers, they should have only startled him, nothing serious, right? the thought managed to break through his mind. Without another moment of hesitation, he placed his hands together to slip his arms in between Jamie's own two arms and clasped his hands on his head, fingers digging into his scalp and spreading his elbows so as to loosen the other boy's choking hold on him. Not acting on his hold on the other boy for the time being he drew his knee up to his chest and drove a powerful kick into Jamie's abdomen.

 

[spectro]

Jamie rolled back, the punch absorbed into his abdomen. He crunched up but caught his breath and punch Nick straight in the jaw when he was still on the floor. He stood up and coughed, kicking Nick in the side. His shins were a little burnt from the 'explosion' but that wasn't the point. It was the fact that he had surprised him; no one ever surprised him. It was always him doing the spontaneous acts of idiocy. He looked down at himself and realised he was in his boxers. "You know what, screw this." He spat on the floor next to Nick. "Do anything again, I'll make you sorry you ever met me." He walked out, pantless.





Fliss walked up the stairs, hearing the sound of an explosion. How convenient, it was her birthday, something had to go wrong. She got onto the landing and blushed at the sight of Jamie in his underwear. He didn't notice her, and she sneaked past him to see the sight of Nick and Isadore's bedroom door almost knocked off it's hinges. She saw a pair of legs flat on the floor behind it, and she walked into the room. "What the hell-" Nick was on the floor. "You two, again? Can you not manage to just ignore each other, I mean, at least until we come up with a reliable plan to," She coughed, "Get rid of him." She stood, a hand on her hip.

 

[Trignome]

He couldn't trust himself to speak. And so he sat there on his bed, contemplatively chewing the hat his roommate had given him. Said roommate was currently being strangled by Nose-ring. From an outsider's vantage point, it seemed as if Isadore was casually watching the ensuing fight, not at all concerned with the fact that the two boys on the floor were beating each other up. Oh, but he was concerned. Very concerned. Would I be able to find any hydrogen peroxide here? I might have to buy it. As he finished his hat, Isadore stared impassively at Nose-ring as the boy spat on the floor and stormed out of the room.


Sighing, Isadore slid off his bed and bent down to pick up the sheets of paper that had scattered on the floor. Nick wanted me to read this? It looks like a 3 year old sent him a letter. His attention was drawn to the peculiar abstractions that were scribbled on nearly every page. As he placed the stack neatly on Nick's bed, Isadore tilted his eyebrow and read the caption of what appeared to be the image of an exploding person. Homo...splode? Homosplode, really. He mentally cringed at the forced phrasing. That's the worst portmanteau I've ever seen. Not wanting to read any more of his roommate's letter, he shook his head bemusedly and turned around to look down at Nick, who was still on the floor. In any case, I need to know...Isadore tilted his head to one side as he studied his roommate's neck. Some redness, no bruising yet. The finger marks aren't defined, and his jugular vein and adam's apple weren't targeted...He smiled. Good. It'll be easy. "Hey, Nick...do you know if there's a first aid kit in the house?"


Just at that moment, Fliss walked into the room. Isadore would have said something about knocking first, but the door wasn't in the state to be knocked. Privacy is priceless in a house full of hormonal brats. Though, as usual, Fliss hadn't yet noticed he was even in the room. Instead, she addressed Nick, who was still lying on the floor. "You two, again? Can you not manage to just ignore each other, I mean, at least until we come up with a reliable plan to," She coughed exaggeratedly, "Get rid of him." Then she stood there, a hand on her hip that gave her short figure the appearance of a stubborn child.


He couldn't help but snort derisively when he heard the girl's pretentious remark. Really? You have a plan to 'get rid of him'? Well, what a surprise, so do I. Except...Isadore smiled humorlessly at Fliss...My method will be permanent. Raising a hand in mock greeting, he waved over at the midget standing in the doorway.


"Hello, Flossy."


He fluttered his eyelashes together and adopted a girlish tone. "Oh, hi Isadore! I didn't see you there. It's almost like my mind is constantly preoccupied with your roommate, whom I happen to obviously not have a crush for."


Then, he shrugged and laughed casually. "That's totally fine. And how are you today?"


"Well, I came into your room without asking because I wanted to tell Nick about how I'm plotting to get rid of the only guy that's shown any romantic interest in me."


"Oh, really? Great. I'm just going to sit over here, pretending that I'm not listening to you two scheming." Isadore made a little hand-phone gesture as he walked over to his desk and sat down. "Call me if you need anything."

 

[Pine]

With Jamie having managed to free himself from his grip, Nick relaxed his arms against his face to block the punch. His idea for his next move having been trashed by the other boy removing his head from Nick's palms as he had, he fumbled as to what precisely to do, consequently leaving his side wide open to be kicked, but said attack felt weak compared to his own kick - or at least that was how Nick had perceived it. The only good blows this guy could land were the ones he sneaked in. He's too pussy to even stay for the good part of a fight. Largely unscathed from the short quarrel, and with Jamie threatening him while he was on the ground, he couldn't help but start laughing again. He hoped it humiliated him. The poppers... oh my God he's not wearing pants, that's priceless.


He quieted a little when Isadore spoke up, giving a small, "Hm?" at his roommate's inquiry, not able to process why he would even ask that before Felicity entered, staring down at him critically. Again? Would you rather I have just stood by and let him rape you the other day? However, when she coughed and oh so cryptically suggested they have a plan, as though they were plotting a murder, he turned over on his side, sputtering in even more laughter, only provoked further by Isadore's mimicking of her voice until- Nick forced himself to swallow back his laughter, but in his state of euphoria, it was increasingly difficult. Oh, right, Isadore keeps suggesting we... ugh. Not a good idea. Any other day, fine, joke, but not today.


He tried to distract Felicity from getting too angry or offended by Isadore's comments. Except she'll just be even more pissed off if I start laughing. Nick hopped to his feet, smiling easily. "Ah, let's not worry about that today, okay?" I'm not planning on getting rid of him, I already told you. This is too much fun. "Just a fun little prank, I'm fine." He allowed himself a small chuckle, as it was becoming rather painful to hold it back, and perhaps then it seemed less callous of him to do so after those comments. Nick walked over to the desk where a book lay, crudely concealed behind wrapping paper. He swiped it off the desk and tossed it in her direction. The Adventures of Tom Sawyer... probably something she had to read in school, but it was the best thing he could think of aside from something cliche like flowers, which would send all kinds of wrong signals her way.

 

[spectro]

Fliss squinted at Isadore as he pretended to have a conversation with her. Before she could react, Nick got up and said, "Lets not worry about that today, okay?" He handed her a rectangular package and she accepted. She smiled at the wrapping paper, which was actually pretty neat. "Thanks," She ran her finger underneath the fold of the wrapping paper and tore it open. The Adventures of Tom Sawyer. Not a book she had heard of, but she was open to any form of reading. She looked back up at Nick, "You didn't have to-" She coughed, "I know that's a cliche saying, but nonetheless, thank you." She about to leave but them she remembered-"And after what just happened, don't feel obliged to attend my dinner. But if you do wish to come, he can come." She nodded to Isadore without making eye contact, "Not that he would want to come anyway." She smiled and finally left the room, a crumpled piece of wrapping paper in her hand and the book she had received. She walked to her room and put it on her night stand.

 

[kibou]

Caelum climbed out of the van, pulling both his bag of clothes and backpack of few possessions off the seat next to him, and putting his backpack on his shoulder to carry. He was the last one to be dropped off on this particular trip, and all the other kids were either still back at Asariel waiting to be dropped off, or were already dropped off at other orphanages. Obviously, they couldn't just unload a whole home's worth of kids at one place, so they'd found a number of suitable places for the kids to go. And Caelum was the only one being sent here, to the New Life Centre.


He didn't mind a whole lot that he was the only one, as when he first arrived at Asariel he'd still been in shock over the sudden deaths of his parents, and hadn't talked to anybody or made many friends in the first few months. Then a couple wanted to adopt his younger sister, and he was torn apart from the only family he had left. So no, he didn't mind coming here alone. He'd had no one in the first place.


The sound of tires moving over the ground distracted him, and Caelum glanced back at the light red van with its colorful lettering and horrible smiley stick-figure drawings as it started to drive away, and then figuring he'd better go inside soon, proceeded with a excited but nervous heart to open the doors without any hands by awkwardly shoving his body against them, and walked into a nicely lit room.


What immediately came to his attention was a large, comfy looking sofa, t.v., and stairs. But what stood out most was something he didn't see, rather, something that wasn't there, but was supposed to be there. There were no people.


Not exactly sure where he was supposed to go or do, he stopped in the middle of the space and looked around for someone, anyone to tell him where to go or what to do.

 

[Pine]

Nick smiled, somewhat pleased, but as he gradually became hyper aware of Isadore's presence, he recalled the reason he had wanted to give the present to her in private. Well, the only thing I really know about you is that you like to read. That was my favorite book growing up, and it gets better every time I read it, so I thought you might enjoy it. The boy's ears burned red, increasingly embarrassed by how corny it all sounded, leading him to choke on his words and continue to hold a grin. "Um..." He chuckled lightly, though a little uneasy at that point. "It's no problem at all." The statement was applicable to the majority of what she said, but what was that about Isadore not wanting to come? Was that sullen, angry, what? Did he even know a good adjective to describe it? Confused and flustered, he breathed another nervous laugh as she made her exit.


Nick looked back over to Isadore, attempting to read his roommate in that brief moment with little success, his efforts being hampered by his distracted mind, as per typical. He tried to avoid whatever comments Isadore might muster up about his behavior, or whatever he would take from that incident. Nick brushed his fingers over his neck. He had managed to prevent Jamie from clamping too hard around his throat, so there was not too much discomfort when he swallowed. If he went to Felicity's birthday party, that would just enunciate how unperturbed he was by the other boy's assault, if Jamie even had enough brain cells to make such an elaborate conclusion.


"Well, anyway." Nick approached the door to assess the damage, his smile turning somewhat more relaxed as the color drained from his ears. "That's what I was gonna' show you. I had rigged a few poppers outside his room." He heaved a wistful sigh. "Too bad we missed it." The wood of the door was splintered around the doorknob, and he had his doubts that locking it would work anymore. He twisted the knob. It was unlocked. "But... this was an unexpected side affect so... sorry about that. I'll fix it." And how the hell I'll do that, I have no idea. Nick grabbed hold of the knob and hoisted the door up, aligning the hinges where they had been hanging unnaturally, though still attached. The door managed to slide into place, but the mechanism of the doorknob rattled where the wood was damaged. He initially felt somewhat dismayed at the lack of privacy to come, but then again, people barged into their room all the time. His smile took on a somewhat cold twinge. "It's a shame that idiot didn't dislocate his shoulder."


He took a step back and looked over to his bed, about to pick up the compilation of papers again, but it was already stacked neatly on the plainly colored comforter. "So... I guess that thing's starting now. You don't have to come, but I mean... food." Nick chortled softly to himself, but he began to feel his embarrassment churn in his gut, so he spat out the rest of what he needed to say. "She's never had a good birthday, apparently, so I figured... y'know..." The blood was rushing to his ears again, and he couldn't bother to get out the rest of his statement, especially considering Isadore's incessant endorsement of a relationship between the two of them. I want to make it special. "I mean, it's not like I have anything better to do. That's all." Nick pretended to still be interested in the door, rather than looking over at his roommate.