Music To My Ears

[Lux]

Adaryn blinked, almost on the verge of laughing because he called her kid. She wasn't much younger than him, really. Maybe by two years, tops. But obviously she didn't comment on it, because he was starting to get angry again, and it was starting to scare her. "I didn't even say anything." She mumbled, wishing he would at least call her by her name, but then again, why would he care about asking for it? She was just a stupid freshman.

The annoyance was radiating off of him now, but she pushed it away. There were moments where she could control the emotions, and right now was one of those times. She inhaled slowly and thought 'Calm, Addie. Calm.' Aderyn instantly felt a wave of relief, and she finally looked up at the boy in front of her. She wasn't uneasy anymore, which was good, because men typically scared her.

"Sorry I even wrinkled my nose then," She said softly, hating that her natural voice came no louder than a whisper. It made her seem weak, the prime target to be picked on.

[Admin Courtney]

"You didn't have to say anything," Talon said. "I could see it on your face. I know smoking is a terrible habit. I know the stuff stinks. Blah blah blah. I've heard it all before, you know," he told her with narrowed eyes.

Enough of this. Why had he even followed her out here anyway? His strange happy attitude was gone, replaced with his normal anti-social attitude. The way it should be. "And speaking of smoke, that's exactly what I'm going to do now," he said, pulling out a cigarette pack and his favourite lighter. There was nothing special about the lighter. It was solid black and that was about it. But it was his favourite. He flicked the lighter on and off and headed towards a set of stairs. He was not stupid enough to smoke in the middle of the hallways, so he was heading outside. At least he wouldn't be bothered while he was smoking.

[Lux]

Adaryn just shook her head, not sure what she should do at this point. He left her there without a second thought, and she sighed softly. That was how everything was going to end with her, wasn't it? No person in their right mind would want to hang around with her, even after she made them happy, using her powers for no reason.

Staring after him, she blurted out before he got too far away "My name is Adaryn, by the way..." Why did she even say that? Then, on another impulse, she called out "It's called Empathy, just so you know. It was me." She turned around, not knowing where she was heading, embarrassed that she even told him. Where did that even come from? She knew he probably was never going to speak to her again, so what was the point? Adaryn shrugged mentally, and with a sigh, started heading in the other direction.

[Admin Courtney]

Just before he pulled his headphones over his ears, he heard her call out from behind him.
'My name is Adaryn, by the way...It's called Empathy, just so you know. It was me.'

Talon stopped and turned around to face her. She was walking away now, but he was not about to let her get away from him that easily. He caught up to her and tapped her shoulder persistantly. "What the hell is empathy?" he asked her. "Isn't that like... emotion stuff? Oh, my god. You did make me happy!" he accused. "What the hell!" His smoke break was forgotten. "You manipulated me!"

[Lux]

Adaryn gasped when she felt a tap on her shoulder, and she turned to see the boy staring down at her. She cringed when he began yelling at her, when all she tried to do was make herself comfortable and also help someone with their depression. He was in shock, and she didn't expect any less than that reaction. Actually, she did. Adaryn expected him to keep walking, but he didn't. He turned around and came back.

"Yes, but..." Her voice shook uncertainly. " I mean, I could tell you were depressed and uncomfortable... So I made those people feel bored with the situation.... and then," Her face grew as red as a tomato, and she couldn't help herself. "Then your depression... It was making me physically ill, and I thought you might--" She just cut herself off, and backed away slowly.

"I'm sorry..." She mumbled.

[Admin Courtney]

Talon gaped at her.

"Wow, I'm sorry if my emotions made you physically ill. Next time I'll just cheer up when you're around because we wouldn't want you to suffer," he said, his voice dripping with cruel sarcasm. She didn't know what he had been through!
"For future reference, Adaryn," he snarled, "Just because someone is depressed, doesn't mean they want to be happy. Especially when the emotion is fake!" He shook his head at her. He felt violated and manipulated. She had taken his pain away, and he didn't like it. No, he didn't want to feel the pain, but he knew it was something he had to feel. He felt it because he lost his sister. Being happy anymore just didn't feel right, and he felt that Adaryn had had no right to manipulate his emotions like that.

[Lux]

His words stung, badly. All Adaryn was trying to do was help him, but he didn't seem to want any help. So much for being appreciated when given the opportunity to help someone. This was the exact reason she never even spoke to anyone, because she knew that it would always end like this. Who would want to be around her anyway? She took a deep breath and attempted to mask the pain she felt.

" It never mattered if I was happy in this situation," Adaryn was on the verge of tears, but she continued to speak to at least to get him to calm down, hopefully. " I was doing it because I wanted to help you out a bit... But I see now that you didn't want it. I'll be sure to not even come near you again if that is you want." Now it was her who felt the emptiness in her stomach that signalled the depression. She dug her nails in her hands, and nobody how hard she tried, she couldn't help but feel it. She pictured a razor...

" It radiated off of you like heat off of pavement, and I know what that feels like. But what you dont get is that I soak in everything." She exhaled sharply, her fingers digging into her palm so hard that she could begin to feel the sticky and wet feeling of blood. " I take the anxiety, the depression, and the anger. Sometimes I have a hard time figuring out whether emotions are mine, or they are someone else's. I didn't want someone who didn't have to deal with that at that moment to have to deal with it. But instead of getting a thank you for making you feel something other than the hollow pain of depression, I get reprimanded and snarled at." Adaryn spat. The anger and depression mixed-- it was too much to deal with.

Once she realized what she had said, her gaze fell and she choked to find the right words, but none came out.

[Admin Courtney]

Talon knew he should probably sympathize a bit more with her, but he was too hurt, too angry, too offended.
"Maybe you should have asked before you used your creepy emotional voodoo on me! Not everyone wants fake emotion, Adaryn!" he snapped.
He expression did not soften as she explained how the emotions affected her. She felt it, but did she know where it stemmed from? Maybe that was worse. She didn't have anyone to miss; she just missed and felt sad and didn't know why. But no, that did not give her the right to change how he felt.

"Maybe it would be better if you did stay away from me, then, because I'll tell you this, Adaryn, I'm no ray of sunshine. I'm like this all the time, and that's not changing, no matter how hard you try," he told her, his voice dark and his expression hard. It was only in his eyes that the emotion he truly felt showed. The bright blue they had been born as were faded to a dull steely colour. They hadn't been bright in years. "So if you don't want to feel all that shit, just stay clear of me." He was not threatening her; he was warning her. She would do better to stay clear of him. Everyone would.

"And don't you dare try to make me feel bad for being angry at you! you powers are tough, I get it. You didn't ask for them. Well guess what? I didn't ask for you to make me fake-happy." He folded his arms over his chest and stared her down for a moment.

[Lux]

Adaryn wasn't even planning on keeping touch with him anyway, but now he wanted her to completely steer clear of him. What would happen if she accidentally ran into him again? She didn't even want to find out. So now she had to deal with a full school of people she didn't know, and then she had to avoid someone too? Great, school was starting off wonderfully.

" Okay, I get it. You are depressed, and messing with your emotions wasn't something that I should have done. I'm sorry. But you can't tell me that you didn't enjoy that brief moment of happiness. You can't tell me you didn't enjoy that moment where you felt that nothing was wrong, that the hollow feeling in your stomach was gone. As much as you don't want to admit it to yourself, I did you a favor." She closed her eyes, and then took a step away from him. Adaryn needed to get out of here, she wasn't enjoying this at all.

"Anyway, I guess I will get out of your face then--" She paused, realizing she still hadn't gotten his name. But then again, what was the point in asking? He made it very clear that he didn't want to see her face again any time soon. Adaryn sighed and started walking in the direction opposite of the Common room, not really knowing where she was going.

[Admin Courtney]

He was glad he had finally got it through to her head that he did not appreciate her using his powers on him. Maybe there were other people who didn't mind, but Talon was certainly not one of them. "I didn't enjoy the brief moment of happiness!" he argued. "It came out of no where and confused the hell out of me!" He flinched as she described his hollow feeling and clenched his fists. "Oh my god, can you stop?!" he growled. "MY FEELINGS ARE NONE OF YOUR BUSINESS! Stop psycho-analysing me!" he snapped. "I get enough of this shit from my therapist. Why can't you people just understand that real happiness isn't possible for me anymore?" he ranted loudly. He almost felt like crying, he was so frustrated. She might be able to feel his emotion, but she didn't understand it. She didn't know his sister. She didn't know what he had been through.

"Just stay the hell away from me and my emotions!" he shouted as she walked away.

[Lux]

Adaryn was done. She wasn't going to deal with the shouting anymore when she certainly didn't deserve to be screamed at any longer. All she tried to do was help him out a bit, and she understood now that she should have done that. Isn't that enough? Apparently not, because he seemed to continue to yell and scream. She closed her eyes, hoping to calm herself, but instead, tears began to fall.

She didn't sniffle, or make any other noise. The only thing she did was wipe the tears away with her hand and continued to move forward, hearing the guy shouting after her. Adaryn didn't even pay attention to what he even said. All she wanted to do was find her dorm and sit there. It seemed to be the only way to escape this place, and luckily she hadn't unpacked anything, because it were moments like these when she would take the razor and take away her pain. Her throat tightened at the thought of cutting herself again, and she wrapped her arms around her midsection tightly. Adaryn felt sick again.

Adaryn would take the guy's advice, but not to avoid the depression. She would avoid him because she felt like if she did run into him, he would blow up again, and that wasn't something she wanted or needed. His face was the last thing she wanted to see now. How's that for a first day? She thought bitterly before she finally reached the Girl's Dorm.