The Start of Something New {Rhapsody}

[aqua]

It was simply infuriating that he couldn't fall asleep, even in class! As boring as his stupid history class was, Nathaniel seemed to be the only student still awake by the end of the period. When the clock struck twelve, he was always the first one out the door, for he was usually the only one with his head off the desk to leave right when the teacher said they could.

And now he was located in the courtyard, sitting alone on the end of a bench watching all the other students walk by and mingle among themselves. He didn't really have any close friends at this school. Not that he didn't have any acquaintances to speak to, but none of them were really worth his time. All of them seemed to be so engrossed in their own lives that none of them really cared for treating their friends like actual friends. Nate didn't believe in associating with fake people, although that was all that he seemed to know here. Of course, he had only ever spoken to a small handful of people at this school and had probably just come across a ridiculous bunch, but still. All six of them were stuck up and he hated being treated like he was nothing.

School wasn't really a big thing for the senior. He often enjoyed keeping to himself, and putting any kind of effort into passing high school seemed like too big a challenge to him, although he tried anyway. As of yet, he was passing most of his classes. The only thing he couldn't seem to master was the class he was taking on power control. Using his abilities always gave him painful headaches, so on the days that he didn't skip the class altogether, he often didn't participate. The professor and him weren't that great of friends to put it lightly, and on more than one occasion, Nathaniel had been kicked out of the class for the day.

Nate wasn't by any means stupid, he just didn't have the means to care and severely lacked any kind of motivation. In fact, the boy was very intelligent; he just had to find something he was interested in. Although this activity could also be jeopardized by his insomnia issue - whenever he finds himself unable to sleep, he tends to get very angry to point of physically destroying things (sometimes whatever it was he was working on). This then turns into a form of stress, which makes it even harder for him to get any sleep the next night.

The boy grimaced at a passing girl who gave him a blatantly obvious wink as she walked by. "What do you want? Get away from me," he thought, and the girl frowned back at him, scurrying off to cling to her boyfriend's arm. Sighing to himself, he leaned back against the bench and turned his gaze upon the clear sky. His attention was torn from him, and he found himself falling sideways over the end of the bench. He hit the grass, and sat up quickly, silently growling when he saw other students giggling at him. God damn it all!

[Rhapsody Elizabeth Haydon]

-- Rhapsody was on her way to her dorm and was lost in her thoughts, like always. She loved being outside, near the earth, she hummed to herself, feeling the vibrations from the earth as she concentrated on her power. She held her books to her chest and looked about her, admiring the scenery, which she had been around for four years, but it never got old to her, she loved this place. It was truly her second home, and she planned to live here when she graduated, maybe applying for a teaching position. That would be wonderful. The wind gently blew her hair across her face, and she really didn't want to go inside quite yet, so she found an unoccupied bench and sat down and opened a book and began reading, becoming lost in the printed world which she so often immersed herself into. It was her favorite book, well, it was a collection of poems by Robert Frost, and she always carried it with her.

Oh, give us pleasure in the flowers today;
And give us not to think so far away
As the uncertain harvest; keep us here
All simply in the springing of the year.

Oh, give us pleasure in the orchard white,
Like nothing else by day, like ghosts by night;
And make us happy in the happy bees,
The swarm dilating round the perfect trees.

And make us happy in the darting bird
That suddenly above the bees is heard,
The meteor that thrusts in with needle bill,
And off a blossom in mid air stands still.

For this is love and nothing else is love,
To which it is reserved for God above
To sanctify to what far ends he will,
But which it only needs that we fulfill.
- A Prayer in Spring by Robert Frost

-- As she was finishing up the poem, she looked up to see a boy glare quite harshly at another girl, who did nothing wrong but maybe be a little to forward with her actions. It still didn't give the boy the right to act that way towards her. Then he fell over the side of the bench and Rhapsody left her things where they were and rushed over to him, knowing her healing aura would help him if he had gotten hurt. Rhapsody bent down to the boy. She recognized him from around the campus, but didn't know his name. "Are you okay?" She asked, peering at him with curious eyes, wondering what kind of reaction she would get from him.

[aqua]

Before Nathaniel even had time to realize what was going on, there was a girl hovering over him. Blinking in surprise, he glanced up at her, not really knowing what to do. She'd jumped out of no where. Oh, well, maybe not no where. Rather, she'd jumped from a nearby bench. To make matters even worse, he was sitting on the ground, and his observation of her worried expression meant that she'd seen him fall sideways over the bench.

The boy growled in embarrassment and stood up, wiping dirt off of his pants. His face was red, but more out of anger than humiliation. Turning his crystal blue orbs in her direction again, he muttered, "Yeah, I'm fine." He stood there awkwardly, not knowing what else to say to her. His anger noticeably became more steady as the seconds passed, and it surprised even him. This girl's presence, her aura, just seemed...calming, in a way. He didn't like it, that she had some sort of "control" over him, even if it wasn't intentional or what she had been trying to do in the first place.

"Who are you?" he asked her through his thoughts, not realizing that he hadn't spoken aloud. She looked familiar to him as well, although he didn't know her personally. Then again, he didn't know anyone personally at all. He realized that he didn't really think it would matter who she was anyway, most people didn't like to associate with him because he was always in a shitty mood. He mentally shrugged, thinking about how he often brought that on himself. In the meantime, all his belongings that he'd dropped on the floor lifted off the ground and made a neat stack of themselves on the bench next to him. It wasn't really a smart idea, using both his powers at the same time; that usually gave him headaches. But he wasn't really paying any attention right now. The girl in front of him had his attention almost entirely, if only because he wanted to know why she was standing there.

[Rhapsody Elizabeth Haydon]

-- So far, things seemed to be going well. He hadn't really gotten mad at her yet, and she was hoping that he wouldn't. Rhapsody hated for people to be mad at her. Even though she didn't know this boy, she was still worried he was hurt, even though she knew that if he was hurt, her healing aura would help him until she got him into the hospital or something, but he wasn't hurt that bad, probably just minor bruising. His face turned red and his voice was harsh, which made Rhapsody recoil. Rhapsody stood beside, him, her anger growing. She didn't appreciate being talked to like that. "Well excuse me for seeing if you were okay. I'd hate to be too considerate." She scowled right back at him.

-- Her brown eyes widened as she heard his voice in her head, then realized he must be telepathic or something. "I'm Rhapsody Haydon." She told him flatly. "And who might you be, with your wonderful personality, I'm surprised I don't know you." She said sarcastically. Rhapsody really had little tolerance for people who weren't appreciative of what other people did for them. She didn't have to check to see if he was alright. No one else had stopped to see if he was alright. That would have been her second clue that he was one of the least favored students at Ashburn.

-- You could always tell by the way people acted around a certain someone was a good indication of their personality. Rhapsody didn't usually like to rely solely on this method, but it did give her some idea of how to approach them, or talk to them if she had to. Normally she just stuck to herself and her close friends. Sure she was acting quite childish around the boy, but she knew he would crack eventually, and she always took it a little personally when someone didn't appreciate or welcome her naturally helping nature.

[aqua]

The way she spoke back to him in such a "getting-there" angry tone almost surprised him. She seemed like a really gentle person from what he could see at first glance, which really hinted him to the fact that he was probably acting like an asshole. He hadn't meant to - did she honestly believe that he would be all fine and dandy after he embarrassed himself in front of everyone nearby? Obviously she did. And it pissed him off that other kids were still staring at him, as if just trying to send him over the edge. They all knew he was an angry person, so this really shouldn't have surprised him.

Focusing back on the girl in front of him, he blinked and shifted his eyes away. He was always socially awkward when it came to apologizing to people - he never really got the hang of it, to say the least. "....Sorry," he said flatly, still not looking at her. His gaze turned down to the ground, although his eyes still reflected anger. What else was he supposed to say? Was he supposed to justify himself? Well, actually there wasn't any need to 'justify' himself, per se, because reacting like that to a stranger was a bit ridiculous as well as unacceptable. So then what did he do? Say he was an idiot who had anger issues? She would think he was insane. Realizing that he'd been silent for a while, he picked his head up. "....Falling off a bench is a bit humiliating, but I suppose I had no right to talk to you like that." Well, that didn't come out quite right, but he tried.

Absentmindedly, he could feel the pain in the scuffs and bruises he'd just recently acquired start to ebb, and it threw him off his train of thought for a second. Was she doing that? He frowned, coming back to earth when he heard her say her name, and her following comment made him scoff. She was judging his personality after knowing him for only a few minutes? How nice. His anger sparked again. "You don't know anything about me," he protested, voice rising slightly. Just when the frown on his face was beginning to look permanent, he realized that he'd snapped again. "Sorry... Again."

He sighed deeply. "Nathaniel Bennett.." he stated in response to her previous question. Okay, well at least he got his name out, that was a start. He thought he was getting the hang of this whole conversation thing. It wasn't exactly a full sentence, but he was sure she was smart enough to figure out that it was his name.

((yay anger management <3 -cuddles nate- I really love rhapsody, she's so cute ))

[Rhapsody Elizabeth Haydon]

-- Rhapsody couldn't help but just stare at him as he looked at her, seemingly surprised. But she could hear the other kids snickering and staring at the boy, so she turned around and glared at them. "Do you mind?" She asked loudly enough for everyone to hear. They gave her an odd glance, as most of them knew her for being happy and nice. She would have to apologize to them later. They probably didn't even care though. A smile came across her plump lips as he apologized. "Don't worry about it, I guess I would act the same way you did." She told him, her slight anger fading away as quickly as it had came. But the earth always caught her if she fell, and she hardly ever tripped when she was outside. Rhapsody was able to fill in any potholes she might come across.

-- His eyes didn't meet hers, and Rhapsody could tell he was truly sorry, but he was acting awkward. He probably didn't do it very often. "Thank you. I appreciate your apology." She told him, offering him a pleasant smile. "I never said I did." She snapped back at him. Jeeze, this boy was a roller coaster. No one had the effect on her that he did, one minute she thought she was making progress, then the next she was snapping at him. She never snapped at anyone! This was becoming exhausting. "Its fine." Rhapsody told him, trying to calm herself. "You aren't hurt too bad. If you want, we can sit down so I can finish healing you." She told him, sitting down and patting the seat next to her.

-- "Well it's nice to meet you." She grinned. It seemed to her all he needed was a friend, or at least someone that didn't mind his obvious and unexpected mood swings. She wondered why he was like this, something had to have happened for someone to be this angry all the time, or at least angry for no reason. All she did was try to help him, to be considerate and he just got angry. Rhapsody was bound and determined to crack Nathaniel's shell and try to be a friend to him. Helping people was her main goal in life, she loved it. And she could tell Nathaniel wasn't all bad, he had apologized after all.

ooc; -cuddles nate too- i don't think he knows what he's gotten himself into by talking to rhapsody. xp

[aqua]

To be honest, he was surprised when he heard her tell off the group of kids that had been staring at him. It was also kind of..nice, he supposed. She had stuck up for his integrity there, even though he'd been an asshole to her from the start. She really was a kind person, he figured. Frowning, he noticed that she was still the only one who had even cared that he'd fallen on the ground. Well that was a little depressing. Well, not really.. It's not like he cared about any of them, so it wasn't surprising that they didn't care about him either. But still, to just stare at him and laugh? He didn't really appreciate that too much.

A smile spread across the girl's face, and he knew that it was because he had apologized to her. He almost frowned, knowing that she felt some sort of progress with him. The fact itself almost made him feel like he'd been defeated, like she somehow won a battle between the two. He almost felt like taking it back, but knew that wouldn't go over well. Besides, he actually had been sorry. Taking it back would be like lying. And he hated liars.

Nathaniel almost laughed when he heard her tell him that she would have acted the same way. "I highly doubt that," he responded, but his tone was light and not as full of anger as it was before. He felt more calm now, and he wasn't exactly sure why. She then thanked him for saying he was sorry, and he felt a little relieved that he hadn't taken back the apology. Not that he would ever admit that, though.

The girl snapped right back at him, and it caught him off guard. He recoiled a little in surprise and anger, and it shocked him that he acted as such. People didn't usually talk back to him whenever he got pissed because they knew he would punch them in the face. However, this was a girl he was talking to. He wouldn't ever hit a girl for any reason, and it was hard not resorting to his usual methods of punishment. What had he gotten himself into here? He ground his teeth together as a sort of distraction from the fact that he wanted to punch something.

Sighing to calm himself down, he reluctantly took a seat next to her on the bench, but he made sure to leave distance between the two. He didn't know what she was doing with this whole healing business but he still didn't really know who she was. Best to leave some space, no? Besides, a lot of girls didn't like it if a guy was all up in their face right when they first meet. Unless that girl was a skank. And this girl reeeeeally didn't come off as that type.

"It's....nice to meet you, too," he practically echoed. Had he ever said that before to someone? He couldn't remember if he had, which meant the answer was probably no. Well, he supposed there was a first time for everything. "So what are you doing?" he asked, in reference to the whole healing thing. He still didn't know why exactly they were sitting on the bench.

((oh i know x) i would give him a warning, but that would be letting him off too easy! ♥ ))

[Rhapsody Elizabeth Haydon]

-- She could tell by the surprised look on Nathaniel's face that no one really stuck up for him, and Rhapsody was surprised at herself, normally she didn't care what anyone else though, but this time was different. Everyone just needed to mind their own business, people could be so cruel sometimes. No one deserved to be laughed at because they fell off a bench, everyone had their clumsy moments sometimes. And no one had tried to help him. Rhapsody didn't want to get upset, then take it out on Nathaniel, sometimes she tended to take her anger out on those she cared about, or was around. It was something she hated about herself, and tried hard to not let happen.

-- "Never know." She said chuckling. Rhapsody noticed the light voice, opposed to the harsh and sarcastic tone, suited him better. He didn't have a mean looking face. People usually look how they act, but Nathaniel, he was cute, he had light eyes. She was curious as to what made him act like this. Everyone had a past here it seemed, some baggage. She had found out quickly it was a bad idea to ask about why the other students came here. Not everyone had been sent here out of love. Rhapsody knew her parents wouldn't have made her come here if she didn't want to, they just wanted what was best for her.

-- The surprise was written all over his face. Rhapsody never got angry...unless you get angry at her first, then she has a quick fire temper and has no problem giving someone a taste of their own medicine. She is a firm believer in treat people how you want to be treated. Rhapsody turned her frown into a smile as he sat beside her. Her smile was permanent as he repeated her words, although he seemed unsure of them. Even though Nathaniel seemed to be a bit temperamental, it just seemed to Rhapsody he needed a friend, or maybe just someone who can give his attitude right back to him.

-- "Well, I have a healing aura as an ability. It works best for minor cuts and bruises and if I'm near that person. Also works on emotional things as well. Lucky for you, I happened to step right in, or you would have some nasty bruises tomorrow." Rhapsody said chuckling. "I don't have to sit or anything to do it, I just felt like sitting down." She continued grinning. Her mind wanted to know what his special powers and abilities were.

[aqua]

Nate watched as all the students standing around slowly went back to what they were doing. Turned out they didn't really care that much, huh? He wasn't surprised. He was sure, though, that they probably wondered why a girl like Rhapsody was helping him. She was liked by a lot of people, he figured, and it was strange to kids in school to see things differently from what they expected.

"Still, I highly doubt it. You don't seem like the type," he glanced away, shrugging. "You aren't quite as...quick-tempered as I am, I dont think." He let a small smile escape his notice, thinking about the differences between the two of them - how nice she was, and how rudely he reacted. There were other things he thought of, but he didn't let his mind wander for too long. He wanted to stay focused, for now at least.

As soon as he said it was nice to have met her as well, he noticed the smile on her face that seemed as if it would never go away. That scared him; he really felt as if he were losing a battle here, and he didn't like it. His instincts wanted to kick in, wanted to tell this girl that she had nothing over him, but he knew this was different. She wasn't taunting him in any way, she was just...smiling at him. Had it been anyone else, that smile would have turned into a broken jaw already.

When he listened to her explain what she was doing, he realized that the bruises that he'd had moments ago were mostly gone, and that he couldn't feel any pain. "That's some power you have there," he said, watching a bruise on his arm fade away into normal skin color. He was distracted by it, mesmerized by the fact that she was still helping him. But then she added that her powers included the emotional range of things as well. It all made sense to him why he felt so calm.. It was her doing this to him. He hated to admit that she had some control over him, but she did.

He glanced away, unsure of how to react. Turning his gaze back to her, he nodded. "I see. So you're the one who's making me so calm. Thanks..I guess," he said awkwardly.

[Rhapsody Elizabeth Haydon]

-- Rhapsody was glad the other students weren't gawking anymore. Nathaniel seemed to be calming down as well, there wasn't that strain on her healing aura. She hoped he would feel better, and not so...angry after they parted. He was a nice guy, she could tell, but a lot of people seemed to know his quick temper. Rhapsody liked to make her own decisions about people, and didn't listen to others. Usually people were wrong. They hardly took the time to get to know who someone really was.

-- "Well, probably not. Everyone handles things differently." Rhapsody said smiling at him. She could understand why he acted to way he did. She knew that if she had fallen, she would be really embarassed and shy for a while. "At least being quick tempered is something that can be controlled, if you try hard enough." Her tone was playfull and light, and she hoped he didn't take it the wrong way.

-- "Not really a power, just a gift, I think is what they call it." She explained. She did a once over of him and decided that all was well. Her aura would still work on whatever was broken in his heart or mind. Emotional healing was the most important part in her mind. A giggle escaped her lips. "No need to thank me. Just what I do." Rhapsody loved her gifts and power. They suited her personality and her parents were proud of her. She wished everyone's parents would be supportive like hers.