Relaxing with Rafi [Rafi & Jade]

[Admin Sydnee]

Jade was waiting for Rafi, leaning up against the pool table and twirling the pool stick in her hands. She was decked out in her usual attire. Her dress of choice today was a deep purple and she wore lots of chunky jewelry and ripped stockings with a pair of mary janes.

Today she was just trying to relax. After all the commotion with Darik in the City and then things with Talon and his sister and her sister, Jade felt as if she'd been stuck in the middle of a whirlwind.

Lanie was nearby, watching television among some others who were in front of the tv. Every so often, she'd glance over at Jade, as if to see if she was okay and well, Jade was okay as she could be, given the circumstances, but seeing Rafi's smiling face could only help.

[emilybuj]

Rafi had known Jade needed to talk to him. He could see it in her eyes when she had requested that they hang out. She didn't look tired or upset really, just as if a lot had been happening and she needed to talk about it. And if anything else, Rafi was a good listener.

He made his way down to the lounge, hands relaxed in the pockets of his brown leather jacket. Beneath it he wore a deep red button down shirt and dark kahki pants with his brown shoes. His hair was a little messier than usual. But he didn't truly mind, because it was the weekend and he was supposed to be relaxed. However, many would argue that Rafael was the most relaxed person they have ever met. Not much bothered him.

He walked into the lounge and greeted his friend with a smile. "Hola querido," Rafi greeted, calling Jade darling in his native tongue. "How are you this morning?" he asked, his voice thick with his Spanish accent. He spoke somewhat slowly, being sure to enunciate every word. But even with the short pauses between words his voice was soothing and charming. "And how is Lanie? Is she near?"

Rafi often asked about Jade's deceased sister. He was fascinated by spirits and wished he could speak to them. The entire concept of death fascinated Rafi, but more in a spiritual way. He had no qualms about the concept of Jade's little sister being present in the room. He would even carry on a conversation with the child's spirit if given a chance.

[Admin Sydnee]

If there was one thing about Rafi, it was his spanish accent. It was ridiculously attractive and any girl in their right mind would fall for him, but Rafi was modest and overall a good person. He didn't try too hard and that's why Jade loved him. The shame was he was gay and she was sure it disappointed a lot of girls, but some guy would be very lucky. "Hey," she replied to his typical greeting. Normally she wasn't one for pet names and often frowned upon them, but she'd gotten used to it with Rafi. That, and it was okay for him to do it. Well, because he was Rafi. "I could be better," she told him, still twirling the pool stick.

She was actually quite tired and her mind was reeling with things that had happened to her lately. "Lanie's well," she said. "Although I guess I shouldn't speak for her." She turned to look over at her sister who was still plopped down in front of the television. Lanie turned to stick her tongue out at her sister and then saw Rafi and began making her way over. "Rafi!" she squealed.

"She's near," Jade said with a grin. "Really near now." Lanie always seemed to enjoy Rafi's company, even though they could only communicate through Jade. Rafi may be able to resurrect people, but he couldn't communicate with the dead.

[emilybuj]

"Hola Laine, como estas?" Rafi asked with a smile to nowhere in particular, hoping she would remember the bit of Spanish he had managed to teach her. He so wished he could see the little girl. She seemed to be a joy. He could visualize her though, as Jade had shown him quite a few pictures, and says she had barely changed. Rafi enjoyed the spirit of the little girl. She reminded him of his own sister - Adelina - whom he missed horribly during the school year. She was only 6 now, but Rafi still managed to create a fairly strong bond with his sister - despite going to school 2 countries away.

Rafael took off his coat, and hung it over one of the high chairs which sat against the wall facing the pool table. He grabbed a stick, and walked back over toward Jade. He was no good at the game, really. But he played anyway to humor his friend. "I assume you have many things to discus," Rafi said, leaning over the table and trying to line up a shot. "I can see it in your eyes." He took a shot, and missed. But her turning to Jade and continued "And you're fidgeting worse than my Abuela when I told her of my preferences." he smiled cheekily at his friend in regards to his own joke.

[Admin Sydnee]

"Hola Rafi!" The small dark haired girl replied, beaming at him even though he couldn't see her. "Bien pero Jade esta triste."

Jade rolled her eyes at her. While it was cute that she'd reply in spanish even if Rafi couldn't hear her, Jade would have to repeat it and while she was okay with spanish because of Rafi, she hated repeating the things Lanie said when they involved her current state of being. She repeated it anyway, exactly as Lanie had said it.

Then she sighed after watching Rafi take a poor shot. "I do. Unfortunately." She wrinkled her nose as she lined up her own shot, the ball going into a nearby pocket. She stood up fully again and looked over at Rafi, mustering a smile at his joke. "She was really fidgety, wasn't she?" She laughed a little before falling serious again, her blue eyes settling on him. "I have a lot on my mind. A lot has happened in the past week. I'm still not sure if I've...processed it all."

Lanie was sitting down now, where Rafi had set his jacket, listening quietly.

[emilybuj]

Rafi sighed, taking another shot, another miserable failure. He was sure the little girl was snickering at him. Jade said she did that a lot when he attempted to play pool. He shook his head and put the stick on the table, leaning against it as he didn't want to try and play if Jade was going to talk to him about something serious. That would be rude.

"You know me Jade. I'm all ears. Anything you want to tell me I will listen. I may not know what to do, but I will try to help," he said. Sometimes she seemed a little bit hesitant to ask for help from Rafi, simply because she had done it so many times before. But he always reassured her that it was not a problem.

[Admin Sydnee]

Jade stifled laughter at Rafi's poor pool skills and took another shot, landing another ball in a pocket. She smiled to herself and leaned her pool stick up next to Rafi's before turning to look at him, moving some of her black hair out of her face.

She nodded at him. "Thanks Rafi," she told him gratefully. "It has to do with my power. Well, part of it." She was trying to figure out where to start. The part where she almost died or the part where Talon almost died but she saved his life? She let out a breath of air. "A spirit found me. I was out for a smoke and I came back inside to go back to my dorm and there she was...a little girl about Lanie's age. She told me her brother was in trouble and so I followed her. Some guy...he tried...he tried to off himself in the girl's bathroom. The spirit turned out to be his sister."

[emilybuj]

Rafi raised an eyebrow. The experience would be traumatic for anyone, but possibly more so for Jade who would have to interact with the boy's deceased younger sister too. "Tried?" Rafi asked. "So I assume he is ok? And... does he know you can see his sister?" he asked. Jade seemed to be leaving out details from the story. And he wasn't sure if she was doing this purposely. If there was even a reason. She did seem a bit shaken from it. "And you? Are you ok?" he asked, wondering how it was effecting Jade psychologically.

Well Laine has described Jade as sad. Rafi still wasn't sure what she was sad about. And as he fished for details he wondered if Jade was going to turn the story into a puzzle he would have to solve in order to help her. Sometimes his best friend did that. He could handle it, but it drove Rafael slightly crazy when Jade beat around the bush for apparently no reason.

[Admin Sydnee]

"Yes. I mean, yes to both of those. He's okay. Well, he's alive and he knows that I can see his sister...that I can see spirits in general. He hated me at first. He didn't want to be saved. I just couldn't let someone die though. That wouldn't sit well with me! And his sister...she was pleading with me." She trailed off, taking a deep breath to calm herself. "And then I was at Tim Horton's with Lanie and some guy could hear her and it was so weird and then some thug pulled up and tried to shoot me, but...the guy I was with, he can change the direction of moving objects and he moved the bullet in the air. I..." She was rambling. "Rafi, it's been a really, really long week."

Everyone around her was going on about the snow ball or classes and she was dealing with emotional turmoil along with someone else's emotional turmoil. She didn't even answer his last question. Was she okay? Jade didn't know if she ever really was, although okay wasn't....okay wasn't great. So she supposed that maybe she was okay and maybe that would be enough.

[emilybuj]

"I can see this," Rafi said, still taking in all of the information Jade was throwing at her. She was almost shot? Why would anybody want to hurt Jade. She was one of the kindest souls Rafi had ever had the pleasure of meeting. She was one of the only people in the school he felt honestly connected to, and not just because of their powers and how interconnected they were. Jade was a genuinely kind person. Slightly independent and opinionated - yes - but never rude or discriminatory.

"Who on earth would try to shoot you?" Rafi asked, a slight bit of anger welling inside him, especially remembering the death of his father. "What would they even have against you?" He was very concerned for his friend, and he wanted to help her sort out her emotions and put a smile on her face again.

[Admin Sydnee]

"Sorry for just throwing this all on you, but I just...can't even begin to fathom it all." Jade ran a hand through her jet black hair, the tendrils all falling back into place moments later.

"I don't know who it was or why he tried to shoot me, but Darik--that's the guy I was with--thought it was just a random drive-by, some guy on some sort of drugs. And maybe it was, I don't know. All I know is that he used his power in plain sight outside of Tim Horton's and people might have saw. I feel like I could get him in huge trouble. I just...is fate really that cruel that it wants me to die at random by a stranger's gun?"

[emilybuj]

"Jade, if fate were cruel then this Darik would not have been there to save you," Rafi promised in a clear, calming voice. "And we bother know how cruel fate can be. But it is not always so. We must be thankful for the second chances we get and move on and live well and make others lives richer. And you accomplish both every day, and even more so since you saved that boy's life." Rafi was hoping he was making sense. Sometimes the things he was thinking didn't come across the way he meant due to the language barrier.

"And you know there is no sorry to me. If I did not want to know, then I would not ask." He smiled at his friend, trying to make her feel better in any way possible.

[Admin Sydnee]

"I know that fate isn't that cruel. At least not all the time. I was just being melodramatic, but I'm done wallowing. I needed a moment, okay?" Jade said after listening to him. What he said was a bit cheesy, but it was the truth. Rafi never lied to her and he was very wise. "I just wish he'd see that his life was worth living. Maybe...maybe it's not my place, but I've been there, where he is. It's just frustrating." But she managed a small, grateful smile. "Thanks Rafi. It's nice that I have you around to help organize my thoughts." He was her best friend. He was wise, he had fantastic fashion sense and he was loyal above all else.

[emilybuj]

"come here," Rafi said to Jade with open arms, taking a moment to hug his friend. "He will realize in time. They often do, you know." He could tell that Jade was taking what was happening with this boy to heart, even though it was not her fault nor her place to be concerned. He released Jade.

"Do you mind me asking who the boy was?" Rafi asked curiously, wondering if he knew him. He knew it wasn't his place, but curiosity sometimes got the better of him. "Or do you not know?" he asked again. If Rafael knew who it was, maybe he could talk to him too, and make sure he was ok. Because if he could do that, it may make Jade feel better as well.

[Admin Sydnee]

Jade smiled at him as she accepted his hug. She nodded over his shoulder at what he said. "I hope so," she said, her mind still on Talon and the look on his face when she'd found him in the girl's bathroom. All that blood. His sister pleading...

When he released her, she smiled gratefully at him. "You know, Rafi, I'd marry you," she told him, laughing. And then she fell serious. "Uhm, Talon." What was his last name anyway? She was sure Rafi had heard of him. Then again, she didn't want Rafi to go talk to him or anything of the sort. Talon wouldn't appreciate that at all. He'd probably be even more annoyed with Jade.