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Post by Brandon Bailey on Nov 25, 2010 21:13:22 GMT -6
He opened the door, laughing at a joke he had told. Brandon sighed as his laughter died. Looking around, he found that it was more crowded that usual. But, hey, this was where they had met.
The walk from the beach where they had been previously had been mostly filled with small talk, light hearted jokes, and flirtation. On the backburners that was his mind, he had been processing her words.
"Well, to sum it up, my mom thought I was a freak, hated that my dad loved me in spite of my freak-ness and shipped my sorry ass here. People have homes, many of them like mine, but there are a few who actually have loving families. Even others who can go home and see there family, not me. That's what I don't tell people, is that I can't go home. This is my only home, only place I can go. I have no one else."
That had been one of the saddest stories he had heard in a while, the emotion no doubt enhanced by Bri's Gift. He had noticed his ability to bolster his own emotional strength had drained significantly as he left the ocean, though the fact that they were still close enough to the beach still gave him some control of his emotions. So, yeah, her story saddened him, bothered him, but he didn't let her feel it.
He led the way, getting into the line. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw the table where they had actually met. Sadly, it was occupied, but the one next to it was free.
Brandon smiled and looked at her. They were about the fifth person in line to get their coffee, so they had more time for small talk.
"So, what looks good to you, love?"
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Post by Brianna Faline Parker on Nov 25, 2010 21:23:06 GMT -6
-- The whole way to the coffee shop, Brianna wondered what Brandon was thinking. She tried to read his emotions, but to no avail. He was hiding them well. She was kind of being hypocritical, one minute she had wished she couldn't read emotions, then the next she wanted to. It was weird that you took for granted the powers that you had, and then when they were gone you wished you had them again. It was kind of a relief though, she was sure she probably wouldn't want to feel his right now anyway, since she had pretty much given him her whole life story. As soon as they were to the coffee shop, Brianna felt more emotions and she tried the best she could to shut them down. She focused in on Brandon, which seemed to help lesson the power of the other emotions in the little cafe. Usually they were easier to dampen when it wasn't a highly emotional area. Normally everyone in the cafe was calm, which in turn calmed her. That's what made it her favorite place to come and veg out.
-- It was fairly crowded, but it gave her more time to think and to talk to Brandon before they sat down. "I don't know. Probably a latte or something. I usually just close my eyes and point." Brianna said playfully, although only slight joking. Come to think of it, she had actually done that once or twice. Bri glanced around, searching for their table. "Aw, our table is taken." She said, disappointed. "Oh well, maybe we'll get it next time." Bri said, hoping she would have many more coffee dates with Brandon. He was...nice and so easy to be around, and it was easy for her to be herself around him. She had been searching for someone like this all her life. And it certainly was better that he was a fellow freak.
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Post by Brandon Bailey on Nov 26, 2010 13:29:31 GMT -6
"I usually get a french vanilla mocha latte with heavy whipped cream and a lot of sugar."
He smiled, chuckled lightly, and looked back up at the menu board. Come to think of it, if he wasn't so picky when it came to coffee, he'd probably do that too. However, Brandon liked his coffee the way he liked his coffee.
And his coffee was deliciously sweet.
He blushed lightly as she looked for the table. He didn't realize she'd look for the same thing.
"Next time? Who said I'd take you for coffee next time?" He stuck his tongue at her playfully, winking afterwards. He casually bumped into her, laughing.
It was nice having someone to hang out with that wasn't a psychopath or a total emo. She wasn't the happiest person in the world, but then no one, especially not on this island could ever be totally happy. As she had said, this island was her home, and the freaks on it were her only family. She'd been rejected. At some point, everyone here had been rejected.
Even some of his former friends, people he had grown up with, were terrified of him. Sure, his family loved him, but generally, people were afraid. Even here, there were some who were afraid of him.
And who could really blame them? Most people had trouble wielding one element of nature. He could control two of them almost effortlessly.
Brandon's musings were brought to an end. One more person left the linf with coffee, and they were one person away from the cashier.
"So, anyway, what kind of latte do you want?"
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Post by Brianna Faline Parker on Nov 26, 2010 17:59:52 GMT -6
-- "That sounds delicious." Brianna replied. She could really use something like that, especially the sugar. She was feeling worn out from her recent cry and reliving her past, and today just wasn't a good day. But the only way she would get better was to stop thinking about it, and just focus on having a good time with Brandon. He seemed to distract her, and fill her with a feeling of peace, and since she couldn't read his emotions, Bri could focus on him, and have silence in her mind to think. It was odd, having her thoughts to herself, instead of being bombarded with other people's emotions. It was feeling everything at once, but not feeling your own emotions, being confused at times, being sad, but feeling happy, it was all just too much sometimes.
-- "Well, I guess you don't have to, I can just find someone else to go with me." She teased, then laughed at his childish behavior. Brianna realized how lucky she was for Brandon to have found her on the beach, and she realized that she wasn't just not thinking about her awful past, but in some way, by talking to Brandon about it, she was starting to get over it, even though it was just a small bit, but slowly her mind and heart were healing. Yes they were all freaks here, but they were all family, they had each other, and for most of them, herself included, this was their only family they had, the only people that truly understood her.
-- "Um, I'll just have what you're having." Brianna said, coming back into reality instead of the inside of her mind where she had been previously dwelling. It wasn't too often she was alone with her thoughts, especially in a public place. (GOD MOD WARNING!!! xp) They ordered their drink and moved down the bar, until the barista handing them the steaming cups filled with pure deliciousness. "Let's sit down over here." Brianna said, leading Brandon to an open table, which was situated next to 'their' table. "I love the view from these tables." She told him, taking a sip of her latte. "This is really good." She added smiling.
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Post by Brandon Bailey on Nov 27, 2010 19:28:54 GMT -6
Finally where they could order, he placed their order and waited next to her, laughing as she said his choice
"Most people say my tastes in coffee brings about a diabetic coma. Haha..."
He sipped on his drink lightly. It was still really hot. He gestured lightly with his left hand, and willed it to cool. Such trivial things were a side benefit of his powers. Drinks and food temperatures were never a problem for him. He chuckled at the thought and looked at the girl in front of him. Meeting her eyes with his own, he stared for a brief second and looked away, blushing. He suddenly felt nervous.
He guessed cute blondes did that too him.
Brandon wondered if he was developing a crush on the girl. He figured he was. It wasn't like she wasn't pretty, smart, and funny. All in all, she was very attractive. And probably out of his league.
But, hey, a crush was harmless.
The elementalist sipped again. Perfect. The coffee was perfect, the setting was perfect. He grinned at the opening she made and winked at her, meeting her back in the eye.
"Yeah, I love the view. The city looks pretty nice, too."
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Post by Brianna Faline Parker on Nov 27, 2010 21:32:13 GMT -6
-- "Well, in my opinion, the more sugar the merrier." Brianna said grinning. "And I would probably die if I was a diabetic. No way could I live without my sweets." She continued. Her drink was still hot, but she noticed Brandon was drinking his quite peacefully. Then she realized that his gift probably had something to do with that. He looked up at her and she could see his cheeks grow a cute pink color, but she still couldn't read his emotions, even though they were written all over their face. Was it just him? Because she could feel the person sitting behind her's emotion quite clearly, and she'd rather not feel it. She pushed the sickening emotion from her mind before she jumped Brandon in a fury of typical teenage hormones.
-- Not that she didn't want to, but it probably wouldn't be very appropriate for the setting they were in. Brandon probably didn't even like her like that. She could just tap into his emotions but wait, she couldn't because he was like trying to read a blank slate at the moment. Like someone telling you to read that sign over there, and it's a peeling crusty billboard beyond recognition of what it was trying to advertise. Brianna was getting frustrated. But her mind was suddenly taken off this by the lame pick up line issued by Brandon. "Har har." Bri said chuckling.
-- But what if he was serious? "I have a problem, I can't read your freaking emotions." Brianna said, her eyes growing wide. Had she really just said that out loud? "Wow. I really need to work on my self control." She said, trying to make the redness in her cheeks go down. She had gotten a few weird looks from those around her, luckily everyone here was used to the freaks that ran around on Ashburn Island. They did live here for a reason, most of them had 'gifts' themselves.
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Post by Brandon Bailey on Nov 27, 2010 22:09:39 GMT -6
"So you like sugar? No wonder you're so sweet."
Brandon watched as she seemed to grow frustrated and confused. He wondered what could be bothering her when she burst out, telling him she was having trouble reading him.
He shrugged.
"I've been honestly trying to sorta wall them off so they wouldn't bother you. From what i've gathered, you don't much like having to read everyone's emotions. And I've just been trying to give you a break. I honestly wasn't sure it was working or not. I guess I did it too well. Haha."
He took in a deep breath, calming a sudden onslaught of nerves, or at least trying to.
"You really want to know what I'm feeling? I enjoy your company. It makes me happy. You are quickly becoming one of the better friends I have, because I feel like I can click with you. You know?"
The elementalist sighed and took a long sip of his coffee. He gulped it down and smiled flirtatiously.
"And you're cute, too."
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Post by Brianna Faline Parker on Nov 27, 2010 23:29:05 GMT -6
-- "Yes, exactly why." Brianna said giggling. It was fun to be able to joke with someone like this. She hadn't really been so...happy in a really long time. Brandon was able to take her mind off things and get her to laugh and see the good side of life. Then he explained why she couldn't read his emotions. "Oh. Well, I was starting to get scared. I really appreciate it. It is nice, when I focus on you, it's like the way my brain should be; quiet. So you're like my mind in a weird way." Brianna explain. "Probably makes no sense, but whatever." She added, nodding and chuckling.
-- He was sweet. Bri couldn't remember anyone had done something like that for her. Most of the time people just let their emotions hang out, because they knew she could read them. That, often times, just made things worse. Her eyes lit up. "I know, because that's exactly how I feel." She said, wondering how she was able to snag such a terrific friend. Maybe one day they would become more than friends, at least she sure hoped so. But they both needed time to get to know each other, and stuff. Since she wasn't going to be able to read his emotions, she would just have to find other ways of finding out if he liked her or just as a friend. "Gee, thanks. I was just going to say the same about you." Bri said, half teasing and half telling the truth.
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Post by Brandon Bailey on Nov 28, 2010 0:07:50 GMT -6
"If I'm your mind, then we're out of our mind."
He laughed along side her. He felt an aura of happiness surround him, and could tell that her mood had lightened considerably since he had found her this morning and he grinned.
Brandon's smile remained.
"It's really not a problem. I try to do what I can."
He blushed as she returned the compliment. Brandon shook his head and denied it.
"I'm not that great, sweetie. I'm just raised right."
Which was true. He was a group project. Raised by his mom, aunt, grandmas, great aunts, and even his great grandmas, he felt he knew how to treat a lady right.
"So what's on your mind, Bri?"
He was genuinely curious about what she was thinking about. Hopefully, she was over her mom's thing this morning. And wondering if she was thinking about anything else.
Brandon felt a sense of relief. It was nice knowing that she couldn't read his emotions. It made things more fair. People could learn a lot about you through your emotions, and so she had an unfair advantage when it came to getting to know people that she didn't want. So, with his new "ability" to "wall" his emotions away from her, he essentially made her feel normal.
And normal people weren't miserable.
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Post by Brianna Faline Parker on Nov 28, 2010 12:47:37 GMT -6
-- "Better than the inside of my mind." Brianna said, adding more confusion to the statement. She felt so carefree and all around happy. People were glancing at them, she could tell, from their laughing, but she didn't care. Brandon always seemed to just shrug off complements. It meant a lot to her that he would think about doing that. "Well, I think you're pretty great." She told him honestly. It didn't matter how wonderful he was raised, he could've still turned out bad. Bri had known the worst of people who had the greatest and nicest of parents. It seemed odd to her how they couldn't have picked up even the smallest amount if niceness from their parents.
-- "Oh, nothing really in particular." She said shrugging. Which was true, but she was thinking about Brandon, and she really wasn't going to tell him that she was thinking about him and how cute he was, or how she was thinking about what it would be like to go out with him. She was still wondering about her mom, but it wasn't bothering her as much, it had just been a shock to her, that her mother who sent her here, to get rid of her, wanted to add her on facebook, it was probably all for the looks anyway.
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Post by Brandon Bailey on Nov 29, 2010 21:12:56 GMT -6
"Better than the inside of my mind." Brianna said, adding more confusion to the statement.
Brandon smiled, laughing alongside the girl. He felt very uplifted, and his companion almost seemed glowing as a result of her happiness, and while people were staring at them, they did so with smiles on their faces.
He sheepishly looked away, blushing slightly.
"Well, shucks. You're not so bad yourself, love."
The elemental leaned back in his chair, a bright smile on his face.
"So.... i didn't know you had a facebook page. I think I'll add you when I get home. Haha... you know Professor Tony? He has one. He and the Headmaster go at it all the time on there. Its hard to believe that they're really friends sometimes with the hard time they give each other. Hell, there's actually an Ashburn City facebook page." Thinking about it, the profile picture for the city was the movie theater. Oh. Hey! What a wonderful idea!
He paused for a second, sipping on his coffee.
"I don't suppose you want to actually do more than get coffee, do you? I mean, it is a Saturday. Do you want to go see a movie?"
The blonde haired young man crossed his fingers on both hands under the table, so she wouldn't see.
"I'll even pay for the tickets and popcorn, if you would like to buy the drinks and the candy. Or we could go grab lunch at the buffet down the street! Or go to the park! Or... umm..."
His nerves started acting up and he started blushing slightly again.
"Whatever floats your boat, really. If you wanna hang out with me, I guess."
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Post by Brianna Faline Parker on Dec 2, 2010 21:28:16 GMT -6
-- Brianna giggled at his blushing. "Well, thanks." She said happily, drinking her latte, hiding her own pink cheeks. It had been a long time since she had been this blushy and giggly, especially around a boy. His comment took her by surprise, and it puzzled her, until she realized she must have told him that her mom tried to add her on facebook, that's why she was crying on the beach and whatnot. "Yeah, that would be great!" Bri said smiling. But she would have to respond to her mother's request, which would be a definite ignore, but what if her mom kept trying to contact her? No, she would not think like that. She didn't want to ruin Brandon's progress of making her happy. "Really? Yeah, I know it. They've been friends for a really long time though. It's weird that a teacher has a Facebook page, but I've heard more than a few things about Professor Tony." Brianna said chuckling. "And some of them aren't very Professor like."
-- "Wow. I bet it doesn't have too many likes." Brianna joked. The island was actually pretty nice, it was just the fact she had been sent here against her will, and being here was reinforcing her freakness. She actually liked having empathy, most of the time anyway, but it seemed she had been banished here because she wasn't normal. Even though she wished she didn't have to be here most of the time, she had many many wonderful friends here that made the stay more enjoyable, like Brandon. She felt the blood rush to her cheeks just thinking about him. "That sounds great actually!" Brianna said happily.
-- "Of course I want to hang out with you. I really like hanging out with you." her voice was quiet and shy, which wasn't really normal for her. Then it finally dawned on her. "Brandon, did you just ask me on a date?" She asked, kind of hoping that he was. And she was almost positive that he was asking her on a date, especially since he was acting nervous and shy. It was cute.
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Post by Brandon Bailey on Dec 2, 2010 22:03:19 GMT -6
"Well, hey, he's supposedly supposed to be a really powerful Gifted AND he's apparently a genius. That's like.... double the usual amount of eccentricities that a person should have."
Brandon 'hmm'd for a moment, then shrugged. He didn't feel like talking about the teachers anymore. He laughed at Brianna's comment about the Ashburn Facebook page.
"No, actually, there's something about this island more or less being a modern version of a sanitarium that makes people not care for it much." He laughed again, and took a long sip from his coffee.
Brandon released a sigh of relief as she agreed to the date and sounded happy about it.
At least, that was before she asked if he had asked her on a date. His eyes bulged, and he muttered out a reply.
"Umm... uhh... I-i guess. If-f you w-want to call it t-that."
A stutter? Really?
Brandon mentally started beating his own brains out with a hammer.
He swallowed, forced himself to calm down. His nerves were a mess, and it was nearly impossible. He hadn't had much experience with asking girls out. They usually made the first move, so this was foreign territory for him. And they barely knew each other, only really having met a week or so ago.
A brave voice spoke up in his mind. It was little but loud.
" But aren't dates just wonderful for getting to know one another?"
That actually gave the elementalist enough courage to clear his throat and nod.
"I mean, yes. It's me asking you out on a date. To get to know one another. I hope it's not to forward or anything, but I like you and I really want to get to know you a lot better. "
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Post by Brianna Faline Parker on Dec 4, 2010 22:47:01 GMT -6
-- "I agree." Brianna said, nodding her head in agreement. Professor Tony was a good teacher, and Bri liked him, but his personal life wasn't exactly what you would expect from a teacher, well, a respectable one that is. That is, if the rumors were true. Her laugh once again echoed through the cafe. "That is a perfect description of the island!" She exclaimed. It was certainly what it felt like at times. Although she did have to admit, it wasn't all bad sometimes. Actually, she kind of liked it here. His stuttering wasn't a good sign. She knew that he was just being polite and had no romantic interest in her whatsoever. Brianna was kind of sad. She really liked Brandon, but at least this way she could figure out her feelings towards him.
-- But then his voice cleared and he looked at her as he spoke. "It's not too forward, because I'd really like to get to know you better too. And I do like you a lot." There, she had said it, and there was no turning back now. What was the point of holding back, sometimes you just had to plunge head first into whatever you were doing. Sometimes it worked, and Brianna was really glad this was one of those times. Then her brain decided to make all the decisions without processing them. She leaned across the small table and placed a kiss on Brandon's cheek, then leaned back, blushing.
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Post by Brandon Bailey on Dec 6, 2010 20:52:11 GMT -6
The kiss on the cheek was warm, and Brandon felt his face flush with a goofy grin starting to split his lips.
"Well... as long as we're clear then."
A mad mugger with a chainsaw for a hand chasing him couldn't have wiped the grin from Brandon's face.
"So long as you like me. I suppose that we match well, being two much better than average looking teenagers." The young man laughed, trying to joke his way out of the butterflies that were flapping up a hurricane in the pit of his stomach.
Brandon took a final sip of his coffee, then looked down at his watch.
"Well, the movie theaters should be opening within the next ten minutes. It'll take us about 6 to walk there, and they open the doors ten minutes early anyways. So, do you wanna go?"
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