Now you see them, now you don't (R-M?)(Reserved)

[Spritz]

Some people said that I had a gift. Some people thought I was a freak. Some people were frightened, and some people didn't believe me. They thought it was a hoax, that I was making this all up. The sounds, the sights, the voices... but how could I be? I didn't know what it was. I doubted that it was a gift, nor was it a punishment. It was just... there. This was the way I was. I had accepted that a long time ago, after years of fighting to get the voices out of my head. They never went away. My dad had me see a doctor, who prescribed anti-psychotic medication. Apparently, I was borderline crazy. I tried it, and I prayed that it would work, but it didn't. I lied to him, I told him that the voices, the shadows were gone.. but they weren't. I've started flushing the pills down the toilet. They didn't help me. I don't need help. I don't need help from anyone. 


 "Miss Huchess, can you answer my question?" My attention jumped back onto Mr Hughes, who was frowning at me from under his great white caterpillar eyebrows. His suspenders were barely holding up his trousers and his great big belly was hanging over the front of them. I frowned and shook my head, my darkly lined eyes dropping to my graffiti covered desk. I didn't answer the teacher, just glanced down to my empty sheet of history notes I was supposed to be filling out. "Miss Huchess, I suggest you pay attention, or you'll be spending the rest of your day waiting in the office." I wish. I just nodded. 

He went back to lecturing and my attention quickly died. I picked up my dull pencil and scratched tiredly at the note sheet, filling the white paper with thin grey lines. A tingling, lingering feeling started crawling on my skin and the hair on the back of my neck stood up. A shiver went through my spine and my eyes shot up, scanning the classroom. All I saw was the usual group of students, heads on their desks, blearily trying to take notes but failing to do so as the teacher scratched on the chalkboard. 

Then I saw him. He must have been watching me all of class. His blonde hair and bright blue eyes were so different from my shaggy head of black hair and dark eyes lined with black liner. I could tell that he was.. one of the dead by how perfect he seemed to be. After they die, they have a certain glow about them that distinctly stood out from all of the other people around me. The little boy stood in the corner of the classroom, staring at me with his big blue eyes. I tried to ignore him, push him out of my thoughts and keep him from entering my head. Unfortunately, the dead do whatever they want with me, whenever they want it, and I didn't really have a choice. 

Tommy, go away. I'm in school, please, I can't get into trouble again!
I glanced at the boy, my brother. He grinned at me and his blue eyes sparkled. I was glad that he was happy. Some days, he wasn't so cheerful. Suddenly, he was in the empty desk right beside me. Nobody ever sat by me, so there was always room to have a visitor. Tommy didn't say a word, and I was glad He just giggled a bit. It was distracting to have another voice inside your head instead of your own. He sat next to me the rest of the American Studies class and as soon as the bell rang, he vanished. Visits like these weren't so bad. In fact, I loved seeing my little brother. In this aspect, I did feel like I had a gift. After he had died, my parents had been devistated. They would never see him again. And me? He visited me almost every day. He was my rock, the thing I held onto when all else failed, the only stable thing in my life that I could count on.

I shoved the papers from my desk into my backpack and slung it over my shoulder, waiting until the rest of the students fleed the class before I left. I didn't enjoy pushing and shoving to get out into the hallway. The less contact with people I had, the better. 
"Abigail-" I cringed as he called me by my full name. Ace is better. Ace is shorter. I shoved my hands shoved into the pockets of my black skinny jeans. "I know it's hard to concentrate, but you need to try harder. You don't need another failed test on your report card." I nodded.  "I will." "You say that, but I doubt anythings going to improve. You need to shape up. The way your headed you aren't going to get anywhere in life." The words stung a little. I narrowed my eyes and looked down at my feet, my dirty shoelace untied. I didn't bother fixing it. "Sure." I spun around, planning on making a determined exit, but instead I crashed into the hard chest of a guy who had been waiting behind me to talk to the teacher.  He grunted in surprise and then I tripped over my damn shoelace, stumbling right into Mr Hughes's desk and then onto the floor as papers flew everywhere. 

The boy leaned down and grabbed my arm, trying to help me up. I tried to avoid his touch but it was too late. His fingers closed around my skinny forearm and I could feel tingles racing down my skin and into his hand. After I've been visited, the energy from the visitor mixes with mine. The boys eyes grew wide, staring into mine and his jaw dropped slightly in shock. I could feel  thick, shuddering energy pulsing between us, our skin growing hot on contact. I gasped. In a second, it was over. He jerked slightly and dropped my arm and I picked myself up from off the floor. He'd felt it. He'd felt Tommy's energy on me. Shit. That wasn't supposed to happen. I didn't say a word, only ran past him and out the door as fast as I could, and I could feel his eyes on me. As I fled into the hall, I could hear Tommy's laughter from somewhere in the midst of people as he followed me to my next class. 

[Greed]

            Brent chewed his eraser, his cheek pressed against his palm in a bored fashion. His eyes were focused on the board and the teacher, but his mind was everywhere – anywhere – else. He wasn’t one of those kids. Not really. He just found classes boring. He did well in school, straight A’s with the occasional B, but he just could never focus in class. He hated sitting in a classroom and listen to a teacher drone on and on and on. If you can’t do, teach, right? He felt bad for teachers, in a sense. They were stuck with delinquents all day long, teaching the same thing over and over and over. Didn’t it ever get boring? If Brent was a teacher, he knew he’d get bored as hell within the first period. Oh wait. He already did. And he didn’t even teach. No matter how interesting he found the subject, he couldn’t pay attention in class. It was like it was some sort of disorder. An imaginary disorder that made being interested in class impossible. If that was an actual disorder, he supposed everyone would have it. Brent shook his head a bit and went to tapping the tip of his pencil on his empty notebook. He always had these types of ‘conversations’ with himself during class time. There was hardly anything else to do, anyways. Brent was brought back to reality when he heard the teacher talking to that girl again. He didn’t say (think, really) ‘girl’ in a bad way. She was just…different. Really different. Ever since he’d first laid eyes on her he’d known there was something special about her. Special was loosely used, however. He wasn’t sure if her being different was a good thing or a bad thing. She kept to herself most of the time, and he rarely ever got to talk to her. He’d never made the attempt to talk to her, either, he mused. Even when he’d had the chance, he always avoided her. It wasn’t necessarily peer pressure, but that probably had a little bit to do with it. It didn’t seem like many people talked to her. He himself didn’t have many friends to begin with, but his small circle of friends was all he needed, he’d decided.

 

            She didn’t seem to be the kind to pay attention in class much, either. Or maybe he was jumping to conclusions. Either way, if anything, that was something they had in common. So they weren’t totally estranged from each other. Otherwise…they were on different sides of the universe. Sometimes he wondered what went through her head. To him, whenever they’d made eye contact, she’d always had a faraway look in her eyes, like she was there, but not completely. Like she was looking at someone just over his shoulder, talking to them through visual communication instead of verbal. It was a bit uncanny sometimes, but he’d never really bothered about it too much. Best not to fret over things he’d never know. And there his mind went again. Wandering to places it usually wouldn’t go if he had something to do at home. If he’d had something – anything – else to do besides sit there and listen to the monotonous tone of their teacher as he continued to drone on after reprimanding Abigail. Or Ace. Most people called her Ace. Brent turned his attention to ‘Ace’ for a second. She seemed distracted…like she was talking to people in her head. That’s ridiculous, Brent, Brent thought with a roll of his eyes, People our age don’t have imaginary friends to talk to anymore. Why do you think these things sometimes? I swear, I’m going insane… Brent sighed and went back to tapping his eraser on his notebook until class ended, fighting off a yawn and the urge to lay his head down and sleep.

 

Brent finally let out a yawn just as the bell rang and stretched as he got up, slinging his back over his shoulder and waiting as everyone trailed out of the classroom. He hated being shoved through the doorways and out into the hallway. Plus, he wanted to talk to the teacher first. There was something he wanted to straighten out before the quarter ended, which wouldn’t be all too far away. His mother hadn’t stopped giving him hell about it since it’d happened. For no other reason than to get her off of his back, he decided he’d finally talk to his teacher about it. However, the teacher was more occupied with the girl again. She just seems to be everywhere I go, doesn’t she? I suppose… Brent shook his head, I really am going insane. We go to the same damn school for God’s sake. Of course she’s ‘everywhere I go.’ Brent was brought out of his thoughts by the girl crashing into him. He grunted and stumbled back a few paces before shaking his head once he’d gotten over the initial surprise. Brent blinked and leaned forward, his arm gently closing around the girl’s arm to help pull her to her feet. All of a sudden, he got a strange feeling in his hand that one usually gets when they try to wake up their foot after it’s fallen asleep. His jaw dropped as their touching sin grew hot suddenly, nearly unbearable. He quickly jerked his hand away, staring at her in shock. What the hell just happened!? He thought, taking a step back and making sure to keep his distance when she ran out of the door.

 

“Mr. McAllister?” the teacher asked. “What do you need?”

 

Brent shook his head, “Never mind, Mr. Hughes…I’ll talk to you tomorrow.” Brent gathered up a few of the papers on the floor and handed them back to his teacher before heading out of the classroom. He could feel a headache coming on, and he was completely dumbfounded about what had just happened. What had just happened? He’d never felt anything like that before. Ever. It was definitely unlike anything he’d ever felt or ever thought he’d feel. He couldn’t even describe it properly. It was like, just for a second, he was a completely different person. Feeling a completely different person. That wasn’t normal. What the heck had gone wrong? Brent knew he rarely ever talked to her…but right now, he had to find out what the hell just happened. That was too weird to just let go of so quickly. He didn’t actually know what class she had next, but he’d find her. He had to. With a new determination, Brent headed out of the classroom and down the hallway to find Ace.

 

[ I know this isn’t too good…sorry for that xD I'm getting back into the swing of things, slowly. My muse needs to return to me! D: I miss it... ]

 

[Spritz]

I should start taking the pills. How could she even think about it! But… what if that boy had felt something, what if he could tell… what she could see. As much as she hated to admit it to herself, the pills had made the visitors seem to go away for a little while. The visits she got were far and in between and rarely when she needed to concentrate, like now, when she was in school. There was a fine line that Ace realized she would have to cross, at one time or another. She loved seeing Tommy. When she was alone, or when she was sad, he was there to sit beside her and hold her hand until she felt better. But how could she see her parents mourning his death, and not be able to do anything about it? They didn’t believe her. They’d sent her to a therapist, then another, who told her she was crazy for thinking such things existed. But the thing was, Ace knew that these visions were real. She knew that Tommy, though he was dead, he was there, he was there always, always watching over her.

How could she keep these feelings inside? I cant… I cant concentrate, I need to get out of here. I need to get out! The girls mind was racing, as she was bumped and jostled down the hallway in the thick stream of high school students rushing to their next classes. Rounding a corner, the teen was slammed into one of the metal lockers as a group of jocks pushed their way through the crowd, throwing her aside like she meant nothing. Help me… I need help- As the usual bustle of the hallways started to clear, Ace kept her head low and ducked into the girls bathroom. It was empty, and she breathed a sigh of relief, slipping into one of the stalls and slowly sinking down the wall.

With her head resting in her hands, Ace tried to calm her racing heart. She didn’t know what had happened, or what had gotten her so upset, but she needed to get her shit together. The sound of a child’s laughter in the distance made her raise her head, her eyes bleary. She could see him. The sight made a shiver of fear run down her spine and her body stiffened. The little blonde boy, running through the grass and holding a kite over his head, praying the wind would take it into the air.. His face was utterly blissful, so happy, and he let out a yell of excitement as the wind swept through the park, catching the kite and making it soar into the air.

Ace couldn’t tear her eyes away from the sight as the world seemed to change around her. The hard bathroom floor under her changed into soft green grass and the sanitized smell changed into a gentle breeze heavy with spring fragrance. The stalls were gone, replaced with tall trees that were lush with green leaves, and she watched the boy playing. He held onto the kite’s string with all his might, his light blue eyes twinkling with excitement as he watched his kite soaring high. Another gust of wind came, harder this time, and the sudden tug on the kite made the little boy drop the string. He chased after it, trying to catch it in the grass, not paying attention to where he was going. Ace’s breath caught in her throat, and she felt her eyes grow wide with fear. She’d never experienced something as real as this vision seemed to be. A twisting sense of horror and guilt tore at her insides as she tried to tear her eyes away from the scene, tried to call out, tried to scream his name- but her voice was gone and all that could be heard was his laughter.

The boy chased the string right into the road. He bent down and grabbed it, his face beaming with excitement and his blonde hair a ruffled mess from the wind. He held it up proudly, his little chubby hands clenched tight around it once again as the kite soared in the sky. “Look, Ace, I caught it! It’s flying! I did it!”

Ace screamed. She tried to cover her eyes, tried to run, but she was frozen in the spot, helpless. The truck whipped around the corner of the road, the driver swerving, totally distracted and not watching the road. The blonde haired boy turned at the sound of the vehicle approaching, his blue eyes growing wide with fear and horror, his little hands unclenching from around the string as he tried to run, tried to get out of the way- but it was too late. His muffled scream of pain, along with the screeching and collision of the truck was the last thing the girl heard before she was torn from the vision, collapsing against the cold bathroom wall as tears ran down her cheeks.

Abby…
Ace’s head snapped up, and in the corner of the bathroom she saw Tommy. His face was solom and his blue eyes looked restless, confused, hurt. He stepped closer to her, as a bright red trickle of blood started running down his forehead. Why…  She could hear his gentle, young voice in her head, and she reached out to him, crawling across the floor to his image. “Please, Tommy, don’t go! I’m so sorry, I’m so, so sorry-“ Ace sobbed out loud, tears streaming down her cheeks. The trickle of blood slowly turned into a stream, and it dripped off his chin, staining his shirt with red drops. Blood soaked through his shirt from his chest and his blue eyes bore into hers, filled with pain and suffering. Why didn’t you save me?

Then he vanished. Ace collapsed onto the floor, unaware that her sobs and screams could be heard if someone were to be standing in the empty halls outside. She curled up, her hands over her head, tears flowing. “Don’t go..” She whimpered, “Don’t leave me… I’m so sorry.." She felt the sickening feeling of loss take over her body. She experienced it all over again, Tommy's death, the way he had fallen, dead, onto the pavement of the road. Her head exploded with pain and darkness closed in and she slumped onto the ground, slipping into unconsciousness. 

(Maybe Brent hears her screaming and comes to investigate? ): This post is so sad..)

[Greed]

Brent sighed as he traveled around the school, doing his best to find where she’d gotten off to. The campus was hardly a place where he could lose her so easily. Seriously. He should be able to find her with relative ease, considering she should be headed to class. She probably ran off somewhere ridiculous, though, he suspected. After all…what had just happened undoubtedly rattled her as much as it had rattled him. Or at least…he hoped it did. It would help him feel a little bit better about having freaked out so much, even if he hadn’t shown it on the outside very much. Or at all. But whatever. That wasn’t important. What was important was finding Ace and getting her to tell him what the hell had happened. And he wouldn’t stop pressing her for details until he felt he had all the information. He couldn’t help but wonder if that was a bit overboard… and if that would be cruel to her… but he felt he deserved answers more (he was definitely being a bit selfish, wasn’t he?). Brent let out another sigh, this time more exaggerated, as he slowed his jog to a steady walk. She wasn’t where he thought he’d find her. Nowhere near any of the classrooms, from what he’d been able to deduct. Where did you go, Ace? He wondered silently, running a hand through his somewhat shaggy black hair. This place isn’t that big. He shook his head and headed to his locker, managing to stuff his backpack in it, slamming the door shut (he had no doubt that the next time he opened that locker his bag was going to come crashing out onto him – knowing his luck he’d probably forget this and open his locker without thinking). Brent was already fed up of trying to find Ace to get answers from her. After all…he did want to get to class, whether he’d pay attention or not. He’d rather not get a tardy for not showing up because he’d chased some…some girl. 

Great. There he went again with the whole ‘girl’ thing. What was wrong with him? He wasn’t really a sexist bastard, honest. He had a heart. He was just a bit peeved at the moment. Most people wouldn’t link being peeved with being a sexist bastard…so maybe he’d defeated his own argument. With another, aggravated grunt, he moved away from his locker, strolling down the hallways, getting weird looks from the other students. One even stopped him and asked him what the hell he thought he was doing. He had just shrugged and said he was ‘out for a stroll.’ The student had looked at him like he was downright nuts and continued on their way. Good thing that student didn’t know his name, even. That was good. Very good. He didn’t need someone spreading rumors that ‘Brent McAllister is a nutcase.’ That wouldn’t make his day any better, and right now, his day wasn’t shaping up to be very good anyways. It seemed like forever he continued walking, even after the bell rang (at which point he was forced to be extra careful so no teachers or staff members saw him), searching for Ace. Where had she gone off to? Brent was just beginning to wonder if she’d gone into the girls’ locker room or something when he heard a scream that scared him near out of his mind. He braced himself against the wall and caught his breath for a moment before straightening. The sound had come from the girls’ restroom. Just perfect.

Brent moved forward and stopped outside the girls’ bathroom door and knocked on it lightly, knowing if anyone passed by it was going to be seriously difficult to explain. Let’s just pray that doesn’t happen. “Ace? Ace are you in there?” He bit his lip and stood outside the bathroom door, shifting his weight from foot to foot, unsure of whether or not to go in. He really hoped there wasn’t anyone else in there…but he supposed with the noise Ace was making, she was alone. Brent groaned and slapped the butt of his palm to his forehead. “A-Ace, I’m coming in there,” he said, a bit shakily. He felt like he was going into the girls’ locker room to steal unmentionables. Fantastic. He pushed open the door with his shoulder and glanced around. The first thing he noticed was how clean the girls’ restroom was compared to the mens’…but that really wasn’t the point right now (seriously, was he ADD?). Brent looked around again before noticing a figure slumped down on the ground in one of the stalls. “Ace! What the hell are you doing?! It’s not…” Brent paused, squatting down and looking underneath the stall. Her eyes were closed. Brent panicked for a second, the impossibility of her being dead crossing through his mind once before he centered himself. He quickly went over to the stall door and played around with it a bit before eventually just crawling under the stall door and unlocking it that way, uncomfortably cramped with Ace in there, too. The stalls were definitely meant for one person only. Probably intentionally made like that, for you know, well, certain reasons. Brent wondered if he should take Ace to the nurse’s office, but first decided to see if he could wake her up himself. With hardly any difficulty, he gently picked up Ace (who was much lighter than he’d expected; not saying he thought she’d been fat) and rested her against the wall. He then got up and went to the sink, turning on the faucet and putting some water in his hand, as much as it could hold without it spilling out, and went back over to Ace. He dipped his fingers in the water and flicked some on the teen’s face, hoping she’d wake up. If not, he’d just have to carry her to the nurse’s office… Which, again, would require a significant amount of explaining. 

 

[ That reply was 999 words. Really?? XD ]

[Spritz]

Ace’s cheek rested against the cool bathroom floor. Her hair was a mess and her dark clothes were rumpled, her dark makeup smeared under her eyes from her tears, which had dried on her face. Her chest barely moved up and down with her breathing and with her pale skin, one might think she was dead. Lost in a world of nightmares, Ace wasn’t in her body. Tommy, come back. Please, come back, I have to tell you something. Tommy, tommy, where are you… She could hear her own voice calling out for him as she pushed through the hazy darkness, trying to find him. There was nothing there. She felt cold, lonely, life less. Had she lost him? Had she lost him forever? She couldn’t say goodbye, she wouldn’t let him leave her. Ironic as it seemed, he was one thing that was keeping her sane. Even though he was the ghost of her dead six year old brother, who, according to her parents, didn’t exist.

Ace stirred slightly as her limp, light body was propped up against the wall. She didn’t want to leave, she wanted to stay here! This warm, inviting, fuzzy blackness, it gave her an escape from the rest of the world. The world she didn’t care about living in anymore. Something cold and wet splashed on the girls face and she flinched slightly, eyes squeezed shut. She moaned in pain as she started to come to, trying to hold on to the blackness but feeling it slipping away from her. Suddenly she gasped, her eyes flying open, her body stiffening and almost jumping forward, as she cried out. “Tommy!” Disoriented, in pain and confused, the girl looked up see a familiar face staring down at her. She shrank back from the boy, her head pounding in absolute pain, her eyes wide with fear and hatred. “Get away from me, you asshole!”

Ace tried to get to her feet, but her legs collapsed from under her and she fell against the boy, then scrambled to get away from him, too. As her bare skin touched his, a chilling, yet extremely hot shock made her stiffen, then she tore herself away and back onto the cold bathroom floor. Tommy’s energy surged with hers and there was nothing she could do to stop it. Then her eyes widened even further as a little blonde boy slipped out the bathroom door. Tommy. She needed to follow him, she needed to find out what was happening, why… why she had seen that horrible vision. She needed to talk with him, assure him that she loved him and most of all, she needed to admit to what she had done. She’d killed him. And if this boy could feel… if he could feel Tommy’s presence, that was even more of a reason to get the hell out of here.

“Leave me alone- go away.” Ace hissed out under her breath, glaring at the guy from where she was on the bathroom floor. “Get the fuck away.”

[Greed]

Brent smiled a little bit when Ace stirred. What happened next was a total surprise to him. He fell back off of his knees onto his bum, the water that was in his hand splashing onto the leg of his jeans. He cursed under his breath a bit but wiped his hand off on the other side of his jeans regardless. She looked like a cat who was about to pounce on him. Wildcat. The term seemed to fit her to a T. Maybe he’d just call her Wildcat from now on. Maybe not to her face, but that was definitely her new nickname in his mind. He couldn’t help but wonder if that was a slight bit derogatory, but…it didn’t matter. He wasn’t going to purposefully say it out loud. That would end badly, he had a feeling. When she called him an asshole he stiffened and his gaze darkened, “Excuse me, but I think I’ve saved you a lot of embarrassment and questioning by waking you up rather than letting someone find you passed out on the bathroom floor. Don’t call me that.” He supposed something had probably scared her (God knows what) and she was just on edge (it seemed she was always on edge) but he honestly wasn’t going to tolerate being called an asshole when he just came in here to help. Sure, there were people in the world like her that did things like that, but still. He didn’t want her to be one of those people, if only for this second in time. Damn, Wildcat, he thought to himself, I definitely picked the correct nickname for you.

Brent watched as Ace tried to get to her feet but failed and fell on him. He grunted slightly and was about to get her off when she did so herself, their skin brushing again. A similar feeling to the one he’d had earlier came again and he frowned, his expression remaining dark and un-amused. He was going to get his answers now. At first he supposed she could’ve gotten away with saying ‘oh you’re just feeling things’ or something like that, but it was strange enough that when it happened twice that excuse wasn’t going to work. He was getting his answers now even if he had to use a little bit of force. He ignored her when she told him to leave her alone and instead straightened. “What the hell was that?” he snapped, his foul mood erasing his line of decency a little bit. “Who are you? Don’t give me some answer that will ‘let you off the hook,’ because that was not normal and I want answers. I deserve answers, damn it, and I’m going to get them!” Brent glared at Ace and looked over his shoulder when it seemed she’d seen something, but turned around again to look at Ace. There was something wrong with her. He was sure of that, now. Maybe it wasn’t bad, but she sure as hell was making it seem that way. If she could just be cooperative this wouldn’t last longer more than five minutes, but he highly doubted she was going to suddenly turn into Little Ms. Sunshine for him and answer all of his questions like a good girl. Hardly. The thought was enough to make him laugh. He managed to hold it back, knowing it’d look really weird in this situation (and he was in a girls’ bathroom, for God’s sake!). Brent let out a quiet sigh and ran a hand through his hair, “Seriously,” he said, this time more quietly, “This isn’t normal. What’s going on? What are you seeing that I’m not? What are you feeling that I’m not?”

 

[ That was short. Sorry. ]

[Spritz]

Ace just stared at the kid. "You really think I care about embarrasing myself? Save yourself some trouble and just get out of here. It's one thing seeing me on the floor and another thing entirely seeing you here too. People might get the wrong kind of ideas." The girl smugly crossed her arms over her chest, trying to ignore the fierce headache that was pounding at her temples. It wasn't surprising that the guy pressed her for answers. If she'd have been in his situation, she'd probably be doing the same thing. It was.. it was hard to explain to somebody what she could see. Ace had only ever told one person besides her parents and that hadn't gone over so smoothly. Of course, it was probably going to be hard to convince anyone that she was sane, and if anything they'd just think she was doped up on acid. 

"You deserve answers? Excuse me, but you're the one that's cornering me in the girls bathroom right now. I haven't done anything to you. What's your deal?" Ace narrowed her eyes and slowly got to her feet, leaning against the wall for support as she heard blood rushing in her ears. She didn't even know this kid, not even his name. The girl very vaguely remembered when he asked her what was for lunch but that was pretty much the extent of what they had ever said to each other. So now, suddenly, why was he so interested? "How the fuck did you even know I was in here? Seriously, kid, you have to get your shit together. It's not every day a guy just waltzes into the ladies restroom for no reason and finds me unconscious on the floor. And you know what, its none of your damn business why I was that way anyway. I'd appreciate it if you just left me the hell alone." 

"I'm not feeling a damn thing except for a fucking headache." Ace glared at him, leaning down to collect the papers and textbooks that had fallen out of her backpack when she hit the floor. She shoved them in, not caring whether or not they were crumpled. The girl dug around in the front of the bag and pulled out a bottle of aspirin, opening it and dumping four pills into her hand. She popped them into her mouth and swallowed them dry, then tossed the book bag over her shoulder. "You should get back to class. Thanks for the help." Ace gave a very exaggerated smile and lightly punched him on the shoulder, faining tolerance for him.

"See you around." She ducked around him and unlocked the bathroom stall door, then paused and turned back, chewing her lip piercing slightly. "A little advice, make sure the principal doesn't see you sneaking out of here. And if you dont want your reputation ruined, don't let anyone see you sneaking out after me. For all anyone cares I'm a dirty little whore. Rumors spread quick around here. Take care, punk." She grinned and then turned around, heading towards the bathroom door.

[Greed]

“Well you know, considering most people talk about you behind your back to begin with I didn’t think you’d need any more reason for people to do it,” he said in an annoyed tone. He hadn’t really meant for that to come out but she was just acting like an ungrateful little bitch (yeah, he was totally a sexist bastard). He rolled his eyes when she said people might get the wrong ideas. Hell, he’d gone out with the head of the cheerleading squad for a week and ended up breaking up with her because people thought all the ever did was ‘physical activities.’ That’d really ticked him off. Bethany, although head of the cheerleading squad, wasn’t as stuck up as people made her seem. She really was sweet. Brent just didn’t want to deal with people assuming things about her just because he was going out. It’d been a mutual decision in the end, but… People. He hated them sometimes. And to be completely honest, Ace was quickly making her way to the ‘People I Could Live Without’ list. Not that he actually had one of those…He sighed a little bit when she continued on her lovely ‘I’m Such a Lady’ rant. “Hell yes I deserve answers. You’re the—” Brent stopped. He had been about to say something incredibly disrespectful. “I’m not cornering you in the bathroom, thanks,” he said angrily, using one arm to gesture to the free space around him that she could walk through without a problem, “You’re the one who’s too scared to face a teenage boy like a grown woman and is cowering the back of the bathroom like I’m going to slit your throat or something.”

Brent rolled his eyes at her, “I knew you were in here because you were screaming and crying. It’s amazing that I’m the only one that happened to hear you. And my shit is together, thanks. You’re the one who comes running into the girls’ bathroom screaming and crying and then passes out. That’s what I call not ‘having your shit together.’ Maybe you should think before you open that pretty little mouth of yours.” Brent sighed and shook his head, plopping down on the floor completely and resting against the wall. “You’re giving me a headache,” he said pointedly. He couldn’t help but chuckle a bit when she said all she was feeling as a headache, too. He looked over at her and chose to ignore her glare, watching her as she dug around for her things. He didn’t really care to help her this time. She wasn’t a very pleasant person to be around. He got to his feet slowly and let out an exaggerated sigh. Gotta love the women in the world like Wildcat. They were the only ones that truly provided a little bit of variety. “I really don’t care much for reputation,” he said waving his hand dismissively. “It’s highly overrated.”

Brent let her walk past him, ignoring the fact she called him a ‘punk,’ which isn’t what he would usually be called, nor tolerate being called. With a sigh, he said, “Next time you tell someone they don’t deserve to be told something, think about what the hell they’ve experienced because of you, whether it be indirectly or not. I deserve answers, whether your high and mighty self realizes it or not, and I plan on getting those answers sooner or later. Maybe the girls’ bathroom isn’t the best place to have this discussion…but really. I want the answers. It happened twice, and I know you’re playing dumb. So, damn it, tell me. Maybe not now, but get used to the fact that you are going to tell me sooner or later.” Brent shook his head and stuffed his thumbs in his pockets, “I’ll see you around,” he said, waiting for her to leave so he could come out a minute or two later to make sure no suspicion was raised, if he was even caught. He was determined not to be, though. That would require a lot of explaining he didn’t want to give. Brent grimaced. What a great day he was having. He was so going home after this.

 

[ … t hat was bad. ]

[Spritz]

Ace ‘s hand rested on the handle of the door, her over sized checkered hoodie falling off one shoulder and her hair a ruffled mess. “Excuse me?” She didn't like the way he was talking to her, not one bit. “I liked you better when you were silent, you know. The talking doesn't really suit you.  In fact, I honestly don’t like one thing about you. Thanks for being all heroic and-“ Ace spun around incredulously and waved her hands in the air, mimicking him,  lowering her voice to make fun of his.“Oh, someones screaming, I must save them, its my duty.” Ace snorted and raised an eyebrow, throwing her  hands  up.

 “So you experienced something, did you. What, exactly, was that?” She really didn't like this kid. It was so much better to just.. not talk to people. This was what happened every time. She was just too different to fit in. Tommy’s visits left her too vulnerable and there was no way she’d ever be able to act normal when she was so far from it. What was up his butt? Why couldn't he just forget she’d ever touch him and move on with his day? For a minute, she debated telling him the truth. Oh, I can talk to dead people. What you felt was just a dead person. Oh, I see dead people too. You want me to look someone up for you? Nope, it was too risky. Especially because with what he had felt, and with what she had felt, it made too much sense. He might actually believe it and she really couldn't handle that either. 


Ace was pissed off. She strode purposefully towards him, eyes glittering with an expression that looked a lot like hate. It probably was. Ace shoved him against the wall, her face inches from his and her jaw clenched together tightly. She dropped her book bag and smacked her hand against his neck, a little rougher then necessary. “Feel anything? Anything strange, maybe?” Tommy’s energy was gone, he wasn't anywhere in the room. Hopefully he was far from here, because the risk she was taking was big. If he came back while she was touching Brent, she had a feeling it would be bad. Very bad. Then it would have happened a third time and there was no way of explaining without telling the truth. Something confused her though. Never in her life had she met someone with the ability to feel the energy. If he could feel, did that mean he could see as well? The thought was all too confusing and she didn’t like it.

"No, I didn't think so. You know why?" She glared spitefully at him, standing on her tiptoes to get close to his face. "It's cause your delusional. Spell it out for me." The girl let him go and stood back, scooping her backpack off the floor. "There are no answers to get, buddy. Let's just get one thing straight. I don't like you, and you obviously don't like me either. I think we should definitely just go our separate ways and agree that whatever you think is going on between you and me never happened. Do that and I won't tell anyone that you talked to me. I wouldn't want to ruin your reputation with my apparent... scum. Deal? " Ace crossed her arms over her chest and leaned back against the counter, watching him closely. Hopefully her little show would put him back into his place, and he would just forget that anything had ever happened. Hopefully. If it didn't, she didn't know what else to do that would scare him away.

[Greed]

“Well sorry for actually being the first kid in the school to think that maybe you’d need someone to help you,” Brent snapped back, “Either that makes me somewhat of a good person or it makes me an idiot. According to you, it makes me an asshole. Where the hell did you get your logic from?” Brent clenched his jaw, ignoring her comments. She obviously wasn’t the kind of person who cared much for other people, even if they were trying to help. Perhaps Brent himself could’ve at least been a little bit nicer about the whole thing, but she’d definitely gone past the point of no return with him. There was no way in hell that he was going to be nice to someone who thought he was an asshole for trying to help. He didn’t know what her deal was, and he was honestly getting to the point where he’d rather have his life remain a complete mystery than have to speak another word to her. They obviously were from polar sides of the world. Wonderful. “I don’t know,” Brent said impatiently, “Why the hell would I come talk to you if I did? If I did I’m beginning to have the strangest I’d tell someone you need to see a professional about whatever the hell is up with…” Brent waved his hand up and down, motioning to her as a whole, “This.” Brent let out a quiet sigh. He wasn’t usually such a jerk. Most of the time he was actually a pretty good guy. Nice. Fun to be around. But she just rubbed him the wrong way. He could already tell they’d never be close friends. It just wasn’t possible when one person had the ability to get you so riled up you ended up turning into a complete douche. How great was that?

He grimaced when she walked towards him, her eyes filled with hate. Great. First time we’ve actually had a ‘conversation’  and you already hate me. Good thing the feeling’s slowly growing mutual, Wildcat. He made a small sound of discontent when she shoved him against the wall. He really wanted to smack her upside the head for that, but he wasn’t going to hit a woman, no matter how annoying she was. No matter how much he hated her. What…a…bitch. He reached a hand up and rubbed the side of his neck a little when she smacked it. “The only thing strange around here anymore,” Brent said through gritted teeth, “is you.” He knew he’d felt something the first two times. Why it hadn’t happened this time, he couldn’t tell, but he knew he’d felt something the first two times. It was strange enough that he knew he couldn’t have imagined it. It just wasn’t natural. He couldn’t stand this chick. He rolled his eyes when she continued her tirade of unnecessary lip-flapping. He’d much rather be facedesking in class, trying to stay awake. He stiffened when she called him delusional, “Me? I’m delusional? This is coming from the girl who always looks like she’s talking to her imaginary friends, even during the middle of class. Because that’s just what every kid our age does, right? Because it’s so normal.” He nearly pushed her head down to get her to stand back on her feet and get away from his face, but decided against it. There were lots of things he’d like to do and say to her right now, but at least he was using slight discretion, even if it wasn’t that much. He rolled his eyes at her miniature ‘threat.’

“Oh, okay, so I’ve been talking to a complete lunatic,” he said, “That’s hardly going to ruin my reputation. You tell people I’ve been talking to you, if I wanted to, I can really back up the fact you are insane. Screaming in the girls’ bathroom and randomly passing out afterwards. You can tell whoever you want that I’ve been talking to you. Either they’re not going to believe you or they’re all going to learn sooner or later that their guesses about you being completely off your rocker was one hundred perfect true.” He smirked and crossed his arms, “Your move, Wildcat.” He said, not caring he’d used his little mental nickname for her. He was more pissed than he’d ever been in his entire life. 

[Spritz]

Oh my fucking god. Huh. And her parents wondered why she didn't have many friends. Scratch that... any friends. Except for dead people. Can I count those? Probably not. Saying you were friends with dead people didn't do much for your mental health now did it. Ace and Brent were two totally different people.
 
 Honestly, Ace just wanted to get out of there. Inwardly she was still trying to deal with the fact she'd just seen her brother get killed- again, and instead of being able to deal with it her own way, she was stuck in a room with a lunatic who had it in for her. So she pissed him off? Good. She wanted to get under his skin in any way possible, to drive him mad with frustration. 

But as it turned out, he was just as good at pissing her off too. She wanted to scream, to throw something, break something, get the fucking hell out of there. Why didn’t she? Wouldn’t it be easy to turn around and walk away?  Instead of doing all that though, Ace seethed, her jaw clenched and her knuckles white as her hands balled into fists at her sides, trying to keep herself together. She tilted her head to the side, inwardly screaming, and fell quiet. And if looks could kill, Brent would be dead. But then she’d just have to deal with his ghost too. “I want to punch you so bad right now.”


When he started talking about imaginary friends, Ace snapped. That was it, that was all she could take. The stress of trying to stay normal, trying to get attention off of her and trying to deal with her brothers death was too much, and now here was this shithead on top of it all who was convinced he knew everything. “You think you’re all that? Well listen hear you little bitch, I’ll tell you the fucking truth.” Ace leaned closer to him, her eyes blazing and her body tensed. Her voice dropped low and she hissed out between her teeth, only an inch away from his face. “I talk to my murdered six year old brother during class. He was hit by a truck and it was my fault. Fucking deal with it.”

Ace heard laughter again and her eyes closed for an instant. She felt a small ghastly hand in hers, slipping into her own as a gentle voice soothed her. Ace… it’ll be okay. “In fact, he’s with us right now.”

With those last words, Ace spun around and pushed the bathroom door open, leaving Brent in the bathroom. She stormed down the hallway, ignoring a teacher as he went off on her about not being in class, brushing him off and walking right past him. She was headed towards the double glass doors, fishing her keys out of her pocket, furious. I’m getting out of this fucking hell hole.

[Greed]

[ Head’s up – this is shorter. It’s 12:40am (when I’m writing this right now) and I’m kind of forcing this upon myself xD But I knew I had 6 roleplays to respond to so I decided to get with the program and start replying. Oh. And I added in something by accident about a bus (kinda like a truck I suppose) without realizing it and decided to leave it in xD (yeah I wrote this afterwards…I’m weird) ]

           

Brent watched Ace’s body language change ever so slightly. It was way more than obvious that she wanted to be anywhere but here. He couldn’t help but feel a little bit satisfied with himself. He felt the same way, to be honest, but at least he knew he was getting somewhere. Maybe if he poked and prodded just enough she’d give him the damn answers he wanted to hear. How could she say he didn’t deserve answers? Damn bitch, you’re the reason why I followed you into the women’s restroom. Can’t I just have the answers? Is it really that hard to say ‘oh yeah – insert reason here? Ugh. I’d rather be hit by a bus than be here having you push me around like I’m a ragdoll. No wonder you don’t have any friends. Brent couldn’t help but smirk when she said that she wanted to punch him, “Yeah, I’d like to do the same to you, except I’m not allowed – scratch that, supposed – to hit girls.” Brent gave a quick and sarcastic smirk before rolling his eyes. He really hated her. A lot. The look she was giving him, though, said all too clearly that she would love to wring his neck, too. How fun. He was sure if they weren’t in the school she’d beat him to a bloody pulp. Not that he was weak, but he wouldn’t lay a finger against her. He did follow the ‘guy code’ and wouldn’t hit a girl no matter who she was. Unless she had a gun. That was his only exception. He could deal with a knife. Thankfully, though, she didn’t seem to have either of those, so he was good.

Brent didn’t let a sliver of emotion pass across his face as she snapped at him about how she was going to tell him the truth. “’Bout time,” he growled under his breath, meeting her fiery gaze with one just as blazing of his own. He rose a brow when she said she talked to her ‘murdered six year old brother’ and said his being hit by a truck was her fault. How is something like that your fault, Ace? What the hell is wrong with you? Perhaps I was just trying to be an ass earlier when I said you needed professional help, but if you think your brother being hit by a truck is your fault you really do need professional assistance. Unless you were the one driving it…which I highly doubt. Brent shook his head. “You’re saying you talk to dead people?” Brent asked quietly, not really intending to receive an answer. I always knew you were different. I don’t know what’s scarier… the fact that you think you talk to dead people…or the fact that I actually believe you. Brent shook his head and let out a deep breath when she left the bathroom. He ran a hand through his hair and looked in the mirror real quick. “C’mon, McAllister. Gotta get out of the women’s restroom before you get caught in here…”

Brent, after waiting for a few minutes, headed out of the bathroom and made sure no teachers were around before making his way to his locker (and thankfully he remembered his precariously positioned backpack). Was it true she talked to…dead people? That was just fucking crazy. That shouldn’t be possible. And even though he knew ghosts broke every scientific law there was, why did he believe her? Was he insane, too? Did some of her insanity rub off on him within the ten minutes they were having a catfight in the girls’ restroom (yeah, that was going to be a story he told his children…)? He’d always noticed something different about her. Everyone did. So…maybe it wasn’t such an insane idea after all. It all made sense, really. The random looks in class…the standoffish behavior, the shocking heat when they had touched earlier – twice. Brent stepped back as his backpack fell out of his locker and onto the ground with a thud before picking it up, slamming his locker, disregarding nearby classes, and slinging it over his shoulder. Well, Ace, I don’t know whether I should feel bad for you and apologize, or to tell everyone you really are a nutcase… But for some reason I feel like telling everyone you’re a nutcase is only going to make things worse. 

[Spritz]

"Excuse me, Miss Hutchess!"
Ace grimaced at the sound of the high pitched, angry sounding male voice from behind her. It was a scratchy kind of sound that made you think that the man had been smoking and breathing in helium his entire life. If it had just been a man on the street or in a store Ace wouldn't have given a flying fuck and she would have ignored him. But, she didn't have a choice. She wished she could keep strolling incredulously towards the wide glass doors that were only a few yards away, symbolizing freedom out of this hellhole. The principals chubby warm hand landed on her arm and the short man spun her around, his black eyes glittering with anger. Ace felt her face heat up and stood up straighter, cocking her head dubiously to the side as if she was doing nothing wrong. She was horrible at playing innocent. By the looks of her, with her spiked hair, piercings, and clothing style, even the most gracious person would have his doubts about her.

"This is a school day, Abigail!"

Ace winced and looked away from him, hating that he called her by her full first name. Her heart twisted a little in pain. Only Tommy could call her that. Only him.

"Yes, I know."

Ace tried to keep her voice calm. She was still pissed off about the incident in the bathroom and just needed to get out of the school. It was hard to deal everything she had weighing on her shoulders right now. The Principal looked like an angry child, having to glare up into Ace's face. She was a good foot taller then him, standing at about 5'9 and it appeared that he was stomping his feet, shuffling from side to side as he started yapping about rules, regulations... the whole shebang. Ace had heard this speech many times already. It was boring.

"You [i]know[/i] what the rules are, Abigail! We've gone over this dozens of times! If you continue to skip classes, you will not only be required to attend an hour of detention after school, but I have the ability to hold you a back a year! You will have to [i]re[/i]take all the classes you are already [i]re[/i]taking!"

His voice was even higher now, and he stood on his tiptoes to gape Ace in the face.
His breath stank like stale coffee and reeked like onions. She had to hold back a gag and turn her face away from him a little to avoid the full on blast of the stench coming from his mouth.

"You are coming with me young lady, and we will have to call your parents about this! It's time we have a serious talk with them, face to face, about your attendance record."

With his chubby fingers still squeezed tightly around Ace's arm, she was spun away from the front doors and marched furiously to the office, catching the eyes of quite a few students who were watching through the open classroom doors with grins on their faces. The girl's worn converse squeaked aggravatingly on the buffed floor and the principal winced, his free hand clapping to his ears.

"My god, Abigail, stop behaving like a toddler!"

Ace's face broke into a grin and she yanked her arm away from him, rubbing it incredulously. "And you stop man handling me!" The muscles in the principals face squished up and he pointed to the office, his finger shaking slightly. "We're having a serious talk!"

Ace sighed. "Yes, you said that already. No need to repeat yourself." Her lips quirked into a grin and she strode into the office, nodding to the secretary, Patty. With how many hours she'd spent in this room, they'd grown to know each other. Patty gave a quick, daring wave and a face of apology behind the principals back, shrugging her shoulders and mouthing 'good luck' to the teenager.

It was then that Ace saw Brent in the hallway, scooping up his backpack from the ground. He looked like he was ready to ditch too. Ace was never usually one to get people into trouble, but for Brent, she could definitely make an exception. If she had to sit here in the office, miserably for a few hours, he should, too.

"What about him?"

Abigail gave Brent a look through the open office doors, her darkly lined eyes unreadable and cold. "You'd better check where he's going. After all, you don't need your prize student skipping out on his biology class."

[Greed]

Brent was ready to just scream. He was pretty pissed about everything. Right now, he wouldn’t mind going over to her locker – wherever it was – and writing a whole bunch of shit all over it. Fortunately for her, he was more mature than that. Not mature enough not to seriously consider it, but mature enough not to do it. Besides, what would that do to his reputation if someone saw him madly scribbling all over the freak’s locker? Not that he cared much for his reputation. If she said something about him nobody would listen to her. After all, who had ever seen the two of them hang out, even once? No one. Therefore, everyone would chalk her up to being a liar and a prick. So, if she said anything verbally he didn’t care. But if someone caught him acting like a three-year-old writing nonsense on her locker…? Yeah. That was a completely different matter, and honestly, he didn’t want that to go on his ‘permanent record,’ whether it be the real one or the one that was his reputation only. Oh well. Brent’s hand was still on his locker as he took in a deep, centering breath. He really needed to pull his shit together. Who cares if he’d dealt with her in a slightly unreasonable fashion? He sure as hell didn’t. She wasn’t his problem – nor her babysitter. If she talked to ghosts, great! Fun. Brent faltered. What the heck was he saying!? Nobody talked to ghosts! Ghosts weren’t even supposed to be real! She had to be completely fucking bonkers. No way. Just. No. Way.

Brent headed towards the school doors, his backpack haphazardly slung over his right shoulder as he walked with his hands shoved in his pockets. He paused when he felt like someone was staring at him. He turned around and looked down the hallway first before peering into each of the windows that he could see. When his eyes landed on the principal’s office door he couldn’t help but smirk. Oh, Ace. Good for you, get yourself in trouble. As long as… Brent paused for a second. She better not say a single thing. If she really pulled that on him he was going to go crazy. He just needed to get out of school. He supposed if worse came to worse he’d just go to his next class and disappear when that class was over. Unfortunately, it looked like that was going to be his plans. He had to get to the nurse’s office and get a tardy slip before he went to class. Good for him, the nurse’s office was by his next class, so it’d work out perfectly. He’d missed a good chunk of the class, but hey, he still had a lot left. He sighed and took a moment to get his crap together before offering the overweight principal a bright smile when he came out of the office, looking very pissed about something. Ace had probably said something. Just act pleasant and innocent, and you’ll have no problems at all, McAllister.

“Mr. McAllister!”

Brent looked over at him and gave an award-winning smile, “Yes, Mr. Bamber?” Brent asked. The double-chinned principal was very obviously peeved about something.

“Where do you think you’re going!?”

Brent had to keep the smile on his face innocent instead of breaking out in laughter. The principal really needed to lose some extra weight…he pretty much bounced upon rolls of fat whenever he spoke. When he got angry it was always worse. Brent knew if he didn’t get out of the situation soon he was going to start laughing his ass off. He couldn’t help it. People this overweight and angry were hilarious sometimes, “I’m going to class. I was at the nurse’s office for some Tylenol because I had a headache.” Brent let out a sigh of relief internally when some of the red anger from the principal’s face faded. Good. Now he probably would be able to contain himself.

“Oh. Miss Hutchess seemed to think you were doing something you oughtn’t be doing. Carry on or you’ll be even more late for class.”

“I know, my apologies, Mr. Bamber,” Brent said, his smile gone for the time being. The moment the principal turned around Brent made sure to peek over the principal’s shoulder and wink at Ace. He turned and headed for the nurse’s office first to get a note, and then he’d head off to his class. One more class before he’d ditch… Ugh. He couldn’t wait for this day to be over with.

[Spritz]

Ace couldn't help but feel a little bit giddy as Mr. Bamber marched out of the office, his too-tight suit looking like it might pop a button or two. Patty winked at Ace and she smiled right back, slinging her backpack over her shoulder and leaning against the receptionists desk, her chipped polished fingernails tapping haphazardly on the desk. She leaned over and whispered to patty, who perked up at the tiniest little bit of gossip. "What do you think his chances are of getting stuck in here?" Patty cocked her head to her side, her lipsticked lips puckered as she thought. "Oh please. He's Mr. Chubs's golden boy. I'm sure he has an excuse up his sleeve for anything anyone might ever accuse him of." Ace frowned and rolled her eyes, sighing. "True, but can I tell you something?" Patty's eyes lit up and she scooted her roller chair closer to Ace. "Oh please, tell me anything. This office is so stuffy and boring that I have to make up stories in my head to keep myself amused." The teenager raised an arched eyebrow, then crossed her arms over her chest. Ace didn't see how woman in her early twenties could stand working for such a horrible boss, and in such a horrible office. "He's been creeping on me. He even followed me into the girls restroom. Isn't that against the rules?" Ace asked, shooting Brent a look that could kill. The secretary nodded seriously. "Of course"

Ace laughed and shook her head. "Good. I just needed to make sure."
Across the hall, Mr. Bamber dismissed Brent and the teenage boy shot Ace a wink that made her skin crawl. "Ew, sicko," She mumbled under her breath as the chubby principal came back into the office, looking quite satisfied with himself. If he only knew... He rubbed his hands together and smiled cheerfully at Ace, who groaned and slumped herself over the receptionists counter dramatically. "You just let him go? You just let him pull an excuse right out of his sleeve?"


----
A few hours later, Ace walked out of the office, feeling elated that she could finally leave. After about twenty unsuccessful phone calls to her parents, she had been sentenced to envelope duty after school. The teenagers fingertips were covered with paper cuts and staple-pricks, but it was alright. It wasn't nearly as bad as it could have been. At least Patty had kept her company all day.
Wearily, Ace trudged down the empty hall. The school was almost all the way empty by now, except for the few nerds that lingered four hours and hours after school ended with the teachers. Ace didn't understand how they could do it. Every day that she was stuck here, she counted down the minutes as if the world was going to end. The teen gathered her over sized sweatshirt around her body and shivered slightly as she pushed the front school doors open. The spring breeze still carried the chilly touch of winter, and the cold penetrated her jacket as if she wasn't wearing anything at all. The girl hurried towards the parking lot, flipping her hood over her head and breaking into a jog, her converse shuffling slightly on the sidewalk.

The cold wind whipped her short hair around her face and she fished her keys out of her pocket, fumbling to unlock the door. Once she did, she ducked inside the little red car, throwing her backpack in the passengers seat and sticking the key into the ignition. The lights came on but as Ace turned the key, the engine sputtered a few times and fell silent.
"Are you fucking kidding me."
Cussing under her breath, Ace tried it again, just to hear the engine turn twice, sputter, then die. It was cold and all she wanted to do was get home. She had had a horrible, long day and just wanted a long hot shower to wash it all away. Instead, she had a dead car.
"Fuck!" Ace pounded her head against the steering wheel, gripping it tightly until her knuckles turned white. Now, she was stuck here. In the parking lot. In the cold.

[Greed]

[ sss ]

Even though he’d not wanted anything more than to just leave, after his class when he’d tried, he’d been stopped by another one of the teachers who let him off the hook – probably because he was the star student in almost every one of his classes (which came in handy at this kind of moment) – and had ended up staying the rest of the day. Although it hadn’t been complete hell, it hadn’t been ‘fun,’ either. Although school was rarely ever fun so he hadn’t been all too surprised about his lack of excitement. That, and he’d been a bit moody for the rest of the day. He didn’t trust Ace in there with the principal and not to spill her guts out. Sure, he’d followed her into the freaking girl’s restroom, but the reason he’d done it at first hadn’t been to be a pervert. He had been genuinely concerned about her. But no. She just had to go and be a little bitch and bring out his bad side. Not many people had the ability to do that and she shouldn’t feel lucky that she was one of the few.

School had ended pretty fast though, considering he’d had a hundred and one things on his mind to think about throughout his class periods, so he could at least be thankful for that much. It wasn’t like he’d had to sit there and actually listen like he usually did. He just wasn’t in the mood to listen to the teachers try and teach him things. He felt like a bad student – Lord was he a goody-two-shoes or what?! – when he didn’t listen, but hey. He’d had a bad day and he was ready to chuck sharpened pencils into his teachers’ eyes if they asked him any questions. His bad mood must’ve radiated throughout the whole classroom because he’d taken an unusual spot in the back, and every seat around him was vacated by at least two spaces whenever that was possible. That, and the teachers had never called on him, either. They hadn’t even made eye contact with him for fuck’s sake! He hadn’t known when he was in a bad mood he could cause people to treat him like that. He didn’t mind it, actually. Without the preppy girls fawning all over him he’d been left to happily drown himself in his misery. All he needed was some alcohol and a smoke. Not that he did either of those things, and he didn’t intend to start just because some woman acted like a complete asshole to him. Given, he’d acted like an even bigger asshole right back. This was a day in history: the day of supreme assholes.

Yeah. Didn’t that just have a nice ring to it.

When it was finally time to go, Brent made his way out of the school building a little bit later than he usually would’ve and got into his car, starting it up and sitting in it while he allowed it to warm up, turning on the radio and listening to the weather forecast. When were they going to have a freaking snow day already? He could use a day off of school. Or a week. Or a month. Or a lifetime. Yeah…a lifetime…that sounded nice. Real nice. Seeing as his radio wasn’t turned up all the way he hadn’t had a problem hearing something making a very familiar and yet very ‘upsetting’ noise of a car failing to start. He looked over his shoulder and scanned the parking lot. He almost missed the car but when he finally spotted it, he saw someone sitting there banging their head against their wheel. He couldn’t help but laugh. From this distance he couldn’t make out who it was, so instead he stepped out of his car and shut the door, letting it run with the keys still in it (seriously, who was going to steal his car when he was this close to it, and on an empty school campus lot, anyways?) and headed over to the car. The moment he got close enough to see who it was he faltered, then held back a laugh. Oh, wasn’t this just peachy keen? He got to…

Brent sighed thickly and headed over to the driver’s side window and knocked on it, bending down a little bit with one arm draped over the top of the car so he could talk to Ace if she decided she would let him. He’d offer to drive her home, but if she didn’t want him to, so be it. She was already one freaky bitch, maybe she enjoyed being stuck in a dead car in the middle of a parking lot that was that was freaking freezing. Whatever floated her kinky boat.

[Spritz]

Ace growled under her breath, her forehead resting against the cool steering wheel. It was definitely time that she got a new car, especially for the winter. This beater was hardly reliable enough to drive to the neighbors driveway, much less to get to school, or work... there wasn't many other places she'd go- Ace's social life had gotten a little limited since her dead brother had started showing up in her life. Speaking of him, there was no sign of him.. around, right now. Ace was glad.Even though seeing him made her life... she doubted she could deal with another emotional torrent right now on top of the mess she was already in. The girl shivered slightly and pulled her sweatshirt a little tighter around her, flipping her hood back over her black hair as she fished through her backpack on the passenger seat, looking for her cell phone. With her luck, it was probably under all her books, papers, notebooks, and unfinished homework assignments.

While digging through the bag, Ace didn't notice someone get out of their car and walk towards hers. Her fingers dug through the crumpled paper and pens that carpeted the bottom of her backpack and when she finally found the familiar bulk of her phone, she pulled it out. She heard a few sharp taps, and it was then that she noticed someone leaning against the drivers side of the car. She screamed. Not a shriek, but small, startled scream that made her jump and clap both hands over her mouth, her phone tumbling out of her hand and lodging somewhere in between the two seats- that dark crack of no return. She'd have fun trying to find it later. Her heart had skipped a few beats and Ace let out a sigh, her dark eyes darting up to the face of the stranger...

Oh. He wasn't a stranger. Oh joy.
Ace let out another sigh- this one wasn't a sigh of relief. She rolled down the window, and shivers wracked her small body as the cold wind poured into her only slightly warmer car. Ace tried not to let him see and just looked straight ahead, afraid that if she looked him in the face she might blow up. Literally. Anger boiled deep inside her gut and it actually helped warm her up a little bit. At least that was nice, he was good for something. Kinda. The girl cleared her throat, her hands gripping the steering wheel tightly, her black hair ruffling slightly in the cold wind. Her dark eyes glanced around the parking lot, deftly noting that the only car that was left was... Brent's. Everyone knew his car. Everyone knew everything about him. He was that asshole of a jock that was so perfect at everything. Usually, that'd make a normal person jealous. It just pissed Ace off, and made her wish that he wasn't the one standing there, wanting... something. To help her? She doubted it, after their unusual and very angry bathroom encounter.

But she didn't really have a choice. Either she asked Brent for help, or she'd be stuck here all night- or until someone cared enough to come and pick her up. Ace inwardly rolled her eyes. Yeah, fat chance of that. So instead of crawling out the window and ripping Brent's pretty little throat out like she really wanted to, she put on a straight, all business face and turned to face him, her dark eyes glimmering softly. The only give-away on how pissed she really was, were how white her knuckles were from gripping the steering wheel.
She shrugged her shoulders and cleared her throat. "You scared me." She didn't smile, and her voice didn't waver a single bit. "Do you think you could give me a jump? I have cable's in the trunk. This old beater isn't gonna start on its own..."

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