What's all this then? (Phoenix)

[Georgina Speer]

George walked down the hall of the Co-Ed dorms, humming a favoured Japanese song of hers at the moment. She walked with a skip in her step and a smile on her face, dancing along with a carefree passion. She would've sung as well, but she couldn't speak Japanese, let alone sing it. And it was way out of her range. So, content with humming, she galloped down the halls, but something stopped her in her tracks. It was the sound of something she hated, dreaded even. The sound... of someone crying. She immediately stopped her waltzing and listened for the source. Her ear lead her to the door of the Room 504; she didn't really know exactly who lived there, but she knew Oriel (or Ariel) did. Surely, that wasn't coming from him? Mr. Manipulative, he couldn't be crying? As the whimpering continued, all it did was make intrigue flicker in her mind like a small flame.

She weighed up her choices: go to her room and feel bad about leaving someone crying alone, or go and try and help, with unknown outcomes. She sighed when she realized what she had to do. Trying the door, it was unlocked, so she let herself into the main room, which was empty. She had experience with letting herself into other people's rooms, after all, she'd done so with Jack's room, this was no different! Except it wasn't a boy's room... all the same.

She followed the noise and it took her to the first room. She knocked on it gently three times and tried to look through the edge of the door frame. She spoke quietly and calmly, but loudly enough for the person inside to hear her, "Hello? Are you alright in there?" She didn't want to make the assumption that it was Oriel's room, by naming him. It would be unfair for someone else if it wasn't his room, and there was a 75% chance that it wasn't his room; she wasn't about to hedge her bets for someone else's wellbeing and feelings. Whoever it was, she hoped they didn't mind her intruding.

[Deleted]

Phoenix hadn't been sleeping since Oriel was taken to the hospital. He tried all he could, tossing back and forth, pacing around, trying to think of something besides Oriel's pain-stricken face as he was bustled away, but it was all useless. In an act of mild desperation, he had finally gone to Oriel's own room and tried to fall asleep there, tried to find some sort of comfort, but it probably just made things worse since Oriel wasn't there with him like he should be.

It'd been three days since his boyfriend had been taken in, and it was only earlier that day Phoenix had been able to see him for the first time. He'd been okay, if drugged up, which made Phen feel a little better, but as soon as he had to leave Oriel alone in that cold, white room again, he'd broken down once more. He wished he could stay there. He'd begged, but curfew was curfew, and since Oriel was fairly stable, they hadn't allowed Phoenix to stay by his bedside.

So now he was sobbing on Oriel's bed, laying on his stomach with his face mushed into the pillow, his body shaking with each wracking noise. He didn't really care if anyone heard him - there was no stopping the broken dam once he started. At first, Phen didn't hear the soft knocks at the door, but when a voice managed to break through his crying, he jerked up and stared blearily at the door, sniffling and wiping his eyes. Phoenix cleared his throat and managed a croak,"Oriel's not here." He didn't know if whoever it was was looking for Oriel or not, but why else would someone come by? "He's at the hosp-" his voice cracked and he sobbed again, mashing his face back into the damp pillow. He expected whoever it was would leave, not wanting to deal with a random, depressed stranger.

[Georgina Speer]

So her suspicions were confirmed, it was Oriel's room! But that didn't explain why someone (who clearly wasn't Oriel) was in his room, crying as if someone had wrenched their heart out and smashed it into a million pieces. She tried the handle and, again, it was unlocked. That was probably thanks to the stranger in the room. She opened the door wide enough to see in; there was no going back now. Inside, someone was lying on the bed, letting tears flow like no tomorrow. It broke her own heart to see it, it had been bad enough to hear it. All the same, it was a case of choosing her words carefully, definitely. The boy, whoever he was, was obviously in a very fragile state.

"Hey, hey!" She tried to catch his attention before speaking or going too close. She moved to the edge of the bed and squatted next to it, resting her arms on top, "I wasn't looking for Oriel. I was wondering who was upset, and in need of a hug or something." She smiled at him, trying her best to calm him down. She didn't care for the reason why the boy was so upset in this particular moment; whether it was about Oriel or not, she just wanted to make him feel better.

"I'm George by the way. Well, Georgina, but I prefer George." She smiled warmly again, she hoped she was helping.

[Deleted]

Phoenix vaguely heard the sound of the door opening, and buried his face deeper into the pillow, not knowing who it was, what they wanted, or how they would react seeing him sobbing like he had just lost his best friend. He wanted to tell them to leave, but he didn't want to be mean, and he was in no state to be demanding anyway. Why couldn't he just stay in here alone with his own thoughts?

Even though that probably wasn't the best, considering it was his whirling thoughts that were making him cry...

He stifled his whimpers and peered up uncertainly as the girl spoke, keeping half of his face pressed against the pillow while the other tear-streaked side peeked at her as she squatted down next to him by the bed. Phen was a little surprised about her explanation, let alone that she had come in here in the first place. "I..." He didn't even know what to say. Her smile sent a little trickle of warmth down his chest, and he hoped maybe she was someone he could trust not to go telling everyone he had been sobbing like a baby in Oriel's room. "Hugs are nice...." he murmured softly, wiping at his face as he finally lifted it from the pillow and shifted over to look more easily at his visitor.

"George is a good name," he mumbled a bit randomly, his head a little scrambled from all of the emotions he had been going through. "I'm, um, Phoenix. I go by Phen sometimes." He sniffled again and then squinted at her, suddenly remembering something. "Oriel said he... M-met a George..." And had played with her memories, if he remembered right. "Was that... You...?" Phen sat up a bit and rubbed at his eyes again, blinking blearily at George. She was actually pretty cute, had he been in the right mindset to think so.

[Georgina Speer]

Her smiled widened at his comment, making it her slightly goofy yet very adorable cheesy grin which was setback for the best of people and the best of times. She studied his face, he was not a happy bunny by any means. Not at all. She tilted her head in appreciation of his compliment, "Thanks! And you're called Phoenix? That name is so unbelievably amazing, I have no words!" She giggled a little and straightened up, "Yep, the one and only! I hope he didn't miss out any of the wonderful details accounting to our first meeting." She grinned, but it faded slightly when she had a minor epiphany. Phoenix, or Phen, was the boy who had the wings and dust, the one Jack had encountered. He hadn't told her personally, but she'd heard it around, apparently, that dust reduced him to a shivering wreck of his former self.

Yikes.

She tried not to act on her new knowledge, (although she did ponder on the thought of where his wings were for a little while) she continued the conversations, "Back onto the topic of hugs, if you need one," she stood up and held her arms out, "I'm all arms!" She smirked at her own little joke. Oh, she was the comedian.

"Do you like the internet? I have about a million cats pictures on my computer for when I'm upset." She looked at his face, "I can go grab my laptop and we can look at their adorableness together, sound like a plan?" She giggled and smiled, she really liked helping other people.

[Deleted]

Well, wasn't she just a ray of much-needed sunshine? Phoenix's eyes widened at the bubbliness with which George replied, that bright smile and cheerful response making tickles run through his stomach. While he didn't really smile in return, his features relaxed into something a bit less worried and sad and he brushed some damp strands of hair from his face in an attempt to make himself at least a little more presentable, even though his eyes were certainly red and his cheeks splotchy from crying. "That's nice of you t'say," he replied softly, gaze darting downward modestly. "Thank you." He was used to people making fun of his name, though lately he had met some nicer people that seemed to like it for some reason. His lips twitched slightly into something almost reminiscent of a smile. "He didn't. I... I'm sorry for him, he can be a bit..." Phen trailed off, waving a hand in the air vaguely. "Well... Oriel." That was really the best way to describe him. Had he known that George had heard about his incident with Jack, he would have apologized even more profusely and assured her he wasn't as volatile as the accident made him seem. He was much too upset now to even think about dusting anything or anyone, even if he wanted to.

He gawked up with his lips slightly parted at her generous offer, his brain working for a few moments before he looked down and to the side nervously. "I'll probably get your shirt all wet," he mumbled, which was as much of an admission that he wanted a hug that she would probably get. He just wasn't used to them besides those he got from Oriel, really; it wasn't something he was used to responding to, so he was awkward.

Phen... Was actually rather strange for his age and hardly used the internet at all besides on the school computers when he needed it for homework (now that he was starting to care again), so George's offer bewildered him for a moment. "Oh, um, okay," he agreed, sitting up and folding his legs together underneath him. "I... Like cats..." He thought of Boo, who he had seen recently at his new home. He managed a weak smile as he looked up at her again. "Thank you." He really, really appreciated this near-stranger's kindness. How many other friendships had he missed back when he was hallucinating all the time?

[Georgina Speer]

George couldn't help but think that Phen was ADORABLE! With his bumbling and stumbling and modesty and it was just soooo kawaii!! Even though he had obviously been crying for quite a while, his eyes looked like they had had a litre of lemon juice poured into them, with them looking so sore and red. She laughed at his comments about Oriel and their meeting, and she began wondering what relation the crying boy in front of her had towards his royal Highness, Mr. Vanguard. Possibly a good friend? But she'd never seen someone so close to their friend that they would resort to crying on their bed in an attempt to feel better. Which brought her back to wondering what he was crying about. He had said that Oriel was somewhere else, but his voice cracked a little early and she couldn't work out what he had been saying.

"I don't care about my shirt getting wet, it's not like it's gonna go see-through! Come on," She walked up to the bed and put her arms around the boy's waist, "See? Don't you feel at least a bit better now?" She grinned and pulled away after a few seconds of standing there and looked him in the face, "I'll go get my laptop, you just wait right here." She smiled, "And its no big deal." She walked away, and said loudly, "I'll be right back!" Before closing the dorm door behind her and leaving the room to go to her's. When she arrived, she grabbed her laptop bag (which already had the laptop in) and unplugged it from the power supply, which she left in the wall; she wouldn't be gone long enough for the battery to drop too low anyway. On her way out, she remembered something and quickly grabbed the half empty penguin bag that sat at the edge of her room. She wasn't sure how much Phen liked sweets, it sugar always seemed to help her when she was down.

She bounced along the hallway and let herself back into the room with Phoenix sat on the bed, "I've got the cat pictures and a bag full of sugary things!" She held up the drawstring bag and closed the door behind her with her foot. Bounding towards the edge of the bed, she set the candy bag down near Phen and began to take out her computer, "Eat some, if you'd like!" She sat herself down with the laptop on her lap and pulled a lollipop out of the penguin bag and began to suck on it, after taking a few seconds to take the wrapper off and throw the rubbish back into the bag.

She opened up the computer and pressed the spacebar a couple of times, making the screen come to life, showing her desktop, with a background showing Ruby Rose from the online anime series RWBY (she loved that show more than pear drops, and that was saying something!). She clicked on the internet and waited for it to load, turning and looking to Phen all the while.

She couldn't help it, she had to ask, "So, Phen, what's got you down?" Her homepage loaded and she typed "cute cats" into Google images. She had a stash of cats pictures in her files, but since she could connect to the internet, she could get a wider variety of images from there.

[Deleted]

Phoenix gawked as the girl came forward and wrapped her arms around him like it was nothing. He sat stone-still for a moment, trying to remember how to reciprocate a hug from someone he didn't know very well, and slowly lifted his arms to return the gesture. His arms were limp around George's shoulders, but at least it was something. "Th-th-thank you," he stammered, blinking rapidly. Did he feel better? Yeah... He realized he did. How was it that a hug could help so much? "Yeah, I do," he murmured, gaze dropping again as soon as George pulled away. When she spoke again, he glanced up, nodding shyly at her offer. "Okay. Th-that sounds fun." Phen watched her until the door closed, whereupon he laid back down on his stomach and sighed, wiping at his bleary eyes and wondering why the simple presence of someone nice was already making him feel a lot better.

While she was gone, though, he thought about Oriel, and by the time she reappeared, his face had drooped again. Upon seeing her, however, he brightened just a little bit with a sort of childlike wonder. "That was fast," he murmured, pushing himself back up onto his butt as she settled down beside him. He gaped at the offered sweets. "Thank y-you... Again," he whispered, reaching into the bag and pulling out a piece of candy. He was starving, but he hadn't been able to put in the effort to get himself food. He followed George's lead, popping it into his mouth and tossing the trash, before hesitantly scooting closer to her and resting his weary head against her shoulder as he watched the laptop start up. Phen hoped the gesture wasn't too much; but, well... He was attached already.

His gaze darted around as he looked at the various things on the screen, sucking quietly on his piece of candy. As George spoke, though, he looked up through his lashes at her before glancing away again sadly. "D-didn't you hear?" he mumbled. "My boyf... Oriel... He's in the hospital...." He swallowed hard. "H-He almost died from a snake bite." Phen continued to watch as images popped up, but worry had crept back into his voice and head. "I'm s-scared," he admitted in a whisper. "They said he'll be f-fine but..." He buried his face against George's arm, shivering.

[Georgina Speer]

"Fast like a speeding race car! But I have a co-ed dorm as well, so it wasn't too far." She grinned and said, "And no need to thank me, thank the internet and whoever discovered sugar!" Speaking of sugar, she had been luck with her lollipop choice, it was strawberry, one of her favourite flavours. She grinned as she sucked on the flavour of it and the intefnet loaded up. Strawberries were her favourite fruit, but her favourite flavour of sweet would have to be raspberry, no denying. It was just... delicious.

She stopped for a second once she felt Phen's head on her shoulder. Well... she didn't expect that. All the same, she turned her head slightly towards his so she could see it better, and she smirked. She was almost tempted to do what her mother used to do when they did the same, which was that she would wrap her nearest arm around George's waist, but decided against it. She needed both of her arms for the laptop, and Phen seemed comfortable as he was.

Maybe later.

She closed a random window on her computer and noticed Phen's tone of voice change when he spoke again. The cat images loaded up and she let the page sit, focusing her attention on Phen, looking at him in confusion, and then utter worry and shock. Oriel...in hospital? Almost... died? "Holy crap..." she breathed out her exclamation quite quietly, it didn't seem to make sense. It was at this point that George wrapped her arms around Phen... she had had no clue. And this was... serious, this poor guy was so affected, she wasn't fully certain what to say or do. She tried to think like her mother to come up with an answer, and something came to mind:

"You're allowed to be scared. If anything, it's a good thing. It shows the immensity that you care for him. And I know Oriel," she grimaced at her own words, she was taking this out of one meeting with the boy! "Actually, I don't really know Oriel, but I do know that he is tough and he would never give up without a fight." George looked as close to Phen's eyes as she could, "I think you're an extremely strong, caring and brave person. And I also think that Oriel will be back to his manipulating self in no time, just you wait!" She kept one arm around the boy's fragile figure and scrolled with the other through the pictures. She wanted to pick his mood back up, she didn't bring her diabetes in a bag to make him feel even worse. She began eating a gummy worm, but left it hanging out of her mouth slightly as she pointed at one of the pictures and radiated a warm smile, "Awh, look at this one, he's so fluffy!"

[Deleted]

Phen gave out a small giggle despite himself at George's response, his cheeks dimpled a little with mirth. She was adorable, with her quirky way of speaking and hand motions; it was hard for him to stay sad, though the tear tracks on his face and the redness to his eyes were enough to show he could break down again at any second.

He did peer up a little nervously as she looked down when he leaned against her, but she didn't say anything or move, so he assumed it was okay. Phen was a person that was hesitant to show affection for people unless they acted first; then, he would be all over them. George had hugged him first; that was enough to make him think she was amazingly kind and generous to people like himself without much good going on in his life at the moment.

As the conversation turned back to Oriel, though, Phoenix stared at the loading screen blankly, hardly seeing the cats as George expressed her surprise about his boyfriend being in the hospital. "Yeah..." he breathed out, fingers clutching at the blanket underneath him. He let out a small surprised noise as she wrapped her arm around him, blinking for a moment before relaxing into the embrace as his lower lip trembled again.

He listened intently as his new friend spoke, clinging to her words like a drowning man. Phen shivered as she called him all those nice things that he didn't think he was at all, looking up at her with wide, shocked eyes. "Y.... You think so?" he breathed. "He's... He's so strong. I love him so much. I don't think I'd be able t'deal with it like he is." Granted, Oriel was definitely struggling, but at least he was hanging in there. He let out a small, nervous giggle at the 'manipulating' comment, bobbing his head quickly. "He... He better. I'd do anythin' for him t'be back now."

Settling down against George's shoulder again, Phen turned his attention back to the screen, managing to actually take in the pictures this time. Taking her lead, he grabbed a gummy worm too, slurping it down and chewing on it as he gaped at the kitten she pointed out. "Oh my gosh," he breathed, leaning in to get a closer look; his bad vision didn't do well with computer screens, he really needed to get glasses. "It's soooo cute!" It reminded him of his Boo, and he let out a little giggle. He pointed out another one. "It looks so tiny!" he breathed. He shot a look up at George and smiled; this really was making him feel better.

[Georgina Speer]

There was something about Phen that made George feel warm and fuzzy inside. He seemed fragile and delicate, but adorable and strong. She felt comfortable in his company, and they had hardly talked at all. So obviously, her mind started screaming at her as soon as he had shown any sign of upset- she didn't want him to start crying again.

A little giggle escaped her mouth when he reacted to her arm wrapped round him... she didn't mean to laugh, but it was like if a little kitty-cat had fallen over or something. You know you should help them, but it just looks too adorable! She waited a few seconds and was relieved when he relaxed; that's all she wanted at the moment.

'You think so?'

"I'm certain."

George spoke with strength, her voice sounding true to the last word, which it was. George would never be able to survive if one of her family members came in harm's way. Phen had earned a strong respect from George that was rare, but clear and firm.

On a lighter note, she had had a feeling that Phoenix was Oriel's lover. She had heard the word 'boyfriend' catch slightly on his breath when he had first mentioned Oriel, but now she was certain. He showed such a huge passion and emotion towards the boy... it was unexpected; George had thought that Oriel would go for someone built like a rock and a real sex bomb, but opposites attrach, or something, I guess. She smiled widely and rocked a little, "Don't worry, he'll be back soon enough."

She couldn't believe the cuteness that was oozing out of Phen, his actions just reminded her of a 7-year-old at Disneyland! "Awwwwww! And his eyes are so big and shiny, like little marbles!!" She mirrored his smile, she was glad that he was at least seeming to be happier now.

She saw another extremely adorable kitty, its appearance making her squeak audibly, "Oh, look at the one on the bottom left, the cat's rolling himself around the hand, it's just... just... AAWW!"

[Deleted]

I'm certain. Phoenix shivered and nestled even closer to George, finding strength in her warm, strong presence. "You're so nice," he whispered. "To... T'come an' help someone you don't even know... An' say all these things..." He was nearly overwhelmed by her kindness. "I'll make it up t'you someday, I promise." He didn't know how, but he would.

George also wasn't the only one amazed that Oriel had chosen to fall for someone like Phoenix - Phen woke up every morning half-expecting everything to have been a dream, but then he would feel Oriel's arms around him and thank whatever forces had brought them together for making him find someone that made him... So much better than he used to be. Of course, it wasn't perfect, and they had their problems, but it was all worth it to Phoenix. He'd never been so happy. And he hoped Oriel felt the same. "I know," he breathed. "I'm... I'm gonna never let him leave my sight again," he laughed quietly. Especially not with Erik... That asshole.

The kittens were definitely helping, and Phen's face slowly relaxed into something not quite so tight and anxious. "They're all so adorable," he breathed, practically shivering from all the cuteness. "You know," he said meekly, breaking his gaze away from the computer screen for a moment to look at George. "Oriel and I, we.... We snuck a kitten into the dorms a while back. We had him for a couple days before we got caught." Phoenix sighed, his lower lip pouting out. "His name was Boo. We found a good home for him and everything, but I miss him."

As Phen spoke, he slowly found his eyelids growing heavy, until he was leaning more heavily against his new friend. He was exhausted, and having someone there to keep him warm and make him feel better was proving to be the perfect sleep aid that he needed.

[Georgina Speer]

This wasn't exactly a regular occurrence for George; it wasn't her day job to -excuse the term- break into other people's living spaces and give them sugar, but she was glad she had done something today. She stayed quiet and still as Phen breathed out compliments, studying his face. She felt a small blush grow on her cheeks and a tingle of happiness tickle her heart. When he mentioned... practically repaying her, she shook her head, her cheeks still glowing with warmth, "It's no problem, honestly. But... thank you. Very much." He was so sincere and... it meant a lot to her, what he had said. She would definitely remember his words after this was all over.

Her giggles twinkled on the air; the statement 'I'm gonna never let him leave my sight again.' would sound very creepy and clingy to some, but in the context it was in, it was nothing more than adorable.

She noted his eyes on her and swiveled her line of vision to meet his. She raised her eyebrows in slight surprise and amusement, and her mouth curved to form an open smile as his anecdote continued, huffing out a small giggle at the name, Boo. How adorable could one person be? "That's understandable. I miss my dog, Russell. He was always bounding about, the embodiment of joyfulness." She looked away, she had really loved Russell with all of her heart. "He... he died a few years ago. We would've gotten a new dog, but I was coming here, and my sister didn't really care much for dogs, she's more of a cat person, so we have a cat now. Her name's Lucy... she's cute and fluffy and everything, but she isn't a dog." She sighed out a laugh, "...obviously."

She felt the force of the boy grow stronger against her side and she looked down at him; he seemed drowsy, like he was having difficulty staying conscious. She wanted to ask if he was alright... but she could tell what was happening. His breathing steadied and George couldn't help but grin. She remembered when her sister was 7 and she was 12, and Louise came home from school crying. Her mum was still working, and her dad... as much as he was loving, he could never really deal with emotional situations, so George had held her and calmed her until she was calm. She carried her to bed, tucked her up and said goodnight, kissing her forehead as she left.

She never found out why Lu-Lu has been crying.

Once she connected the two situations, her actions became very similar to the ones she had done 5 years before. She carefully and slowly untangled herself from Phen, laying him down gently. She slid off of the bed and moved her possessions towards the door, before finding a blanket and covering Phen in it. Her actions were so similar, she didn't even realize that she had kissed Phen's forehead until she was leaving the room. She switched off the light and clicked the door shut.

At a slow pace, she retraced her footsteps from earlier and re-entered her room, putting down her belongings quickly. As soon as her hands were free, she flopped onto her bed.

She was asleep within a heartbeat, a smile upon her features.