Similarities (Adaryn)

[Amanda Joy "AJ" Lane]

AJ wandered around the Book Nook, hands reaching out and tracing the outlines of books. There was so much to read, so much to explore and maybe she was finally ready to just get out there, but she was going to start with books. It was a comfort thing. She felt different now and she wasn't sure how or why, but she did and she was thinking it was a good thing, she felt a part of the world now, a part of reality.

She'd just gotten someone else to take her on as a trainee and she was happy that she'd get to continue to learn how to control her power with someone. It was a great feeling. Things were turning around and maybe she could stop feeling anxious every day of her life and not just okay when she was around Travis.

[Adaryn Breslin]

Adaryn had seen, very briefly, Travis and some girl walking hand in hand at one point in time while she was on a walk of her own, and she figured it had to be that girl he had spoken of on several occasions. She had brown curls, much like her, and from the angle she saw them at, she could only assume the girl had dark eyes? But the face was etched into her mind. That, and her aura. A sense of despair somewhat enveloped by happiness was what really caught her eye. It was much like she was, or at least, she saw herself. She may have been slowly learning what happiness was, but there was always that underlying fear and pain that was just waiting for a break in the joy. It waited to consume. Because of this, she felt the desire to meet her.

Adaryn considered asking Travis, but decided against it. The girl went to Hammel, surely she would find her somewhere? Sadly, that wasn't the case. How hard, really, was it to find a girl? Obviously harder than Adaryn had anticipated.

Addie had just gotten off of work, and well, decided to take a trip to the book nook as a way to reward herself for her first paycheck. It wasn't much, but a single book wouldn't hurt, especially since Christmas was around the corner. Upon arrival, she giddily scanned through the books for a new arrival, and the moment she found it, she grabbed it and headed toward the seating area to begin reading. That is when she passed by a girl, whose Aura registered as relative happiness, but again, an underlying despair. Quickly, she turned and finally got a glimpse of the figure.

Aha! It was her!

Had this been a few weeks ago, Adaryn would have never would have dared walk up to her. But this wasn't a few weeks ago. Working at Starbucks and opening up more helped her with her social skills. She walked up to the girl, her blue eyes scanning the girl curiously. Same curls. Same complexion. She couldn't see her eye color, but she was 99% sure that she would have the same chocolate brown eyes.

"Uhm, Excuse me? Are you, by any chance, friends with a Travis Morgan?"

[Amanda Joy "AJ" Lane]

AJ plucked a few books from the shelves and added them to the growing pile in her hands. While her parents had a hard time accepting that their daughter was a meta-human, they still sent her money, although there wasn't much in the letter that came with it. She sighed. Christmas was near and she wanted to try and find Travis a book that he'd really enjoy, something Travis-esque. She looked through the several books in her hands, biting her lip and trying to decide. She thought it was a good gift for him seeing as she loved to read and she had a knack of picking out books for people.

She was reading the inside cover of a new book she'd picked up when a voice brought her out of her thoughts, a voice mentioning the very person she'd been thinking of. It was a short brunette girl. AJ smiled smally at her. "Yeah," she told her, a slight blush rushing to her cheeks. Someone was asking her about Travis? "I'm AJ."

[Adaryn Breslin]

Her confirmation of being friends with Travis made her slightly giddy inside. So she was right, and she wasn't going to look like some idiot who just mistook someone's identity! If Adaryn needed anything right now, it wasn't to look like an idiot in front of a complete stranger. Addie may have been getting better with the whole 'i can talk to people and not inwardly cringe at every word I say', but she couldn't handle embarrassment.

"I'm Adaryn. I'm also a friend of Travis."

There was the hint of embarrassment that followed her introduction, and the reddening of the girl's cheeks only confirmed that. Adaryn wasn't going to comment on it, mainly due to the instilled fear of intruding on other's personal space and getting reprimanded for it. Aj didn't try to shove her away yet, which Addie was grateful for, but she couldn't push away that underlying fear. It was always present, and frankly, it was annoying. But being who she was, she probably would never be able to kick it.

"I'm not really good at this whole...conversation thing," Adaryn admitted sheepishly. "But I do like books. What exactly are you looking for?"

[Amanda Joy "AJ" Lane]

Truth was that they were more than friends, although AJ wasn't one to just blurt it out and correct the girl that they were actually a couple and not just friends. They'd been friends first. That's why it was all so wonderful. "Adaryn, nice to meet you," she said with a soft smile. She was sure Travis had mentioned her before. He made friends easily, at least it seemed so to AJ because he was so pleasant to be around.

"Don't worry about it...being good at conversation, I mean," she told her. Really, AJ wasn't so good at it herself, although she was trying to get better. It was hard to spark up a conversation out of nowhere. She needed something to go off of, but Adaryn already provided the topic. Books. "Nothing in particular. Just a few good reads to read over winter break. I like to read when I have the time." And there was so much to read!

[Adaryn Breslin]

"It's nice to meet you too, AJ." The fact that she was a friend of Travis made it much easier to say such things. Even with the changes her new job has instilled in her, Adaryn still found it hard to speak to others unless she was with someone she was comfortable with. It wasn't their fault, it was simply her fear of rejecting coming into play.

"I can usually come up and say hello, but after that I'm as good as talking to an inanimate object," Adaryn admitted sheepishly, her hand reaching up to rub the back of her neck. "Books are nice though. When all else fails to rid you of your reality, books are there."

It was the way she typically stayed sane. If something was happening and she really didn't want to bother anyone, she'd pick up one of her favorite books and just read. Characters gave you something else to focus on, they gave you other's problems to worry about instead of your own. Books were a very good distraction.

"So what is your choice in genre?"

[Amanda Joy "AJ" Lane]

"Don't worry about it really," AJ told Adaryn. Really, she was just pleased the girl had come up to her at all. Travis made friends with people who she could usually relate to and Adaryn was already talking about books, which she could definitely relate to.

She smiled at her and gestured to the pile of books in her hands. "I like many genres. The classics, sci-fi, fantasy...anything that takes me away to a different world." It was nice to live someone else's life rather than your own for a while. She'd always loved reading, but only delved further into fictional worlds after her manifestation. "I was actually looking for a book to give Travis for Christmas."

[Adaryn Breslin]

Adaryn listened intently, her head nodding in understanding periodically as the other brunette spoke. It was wonderful the way books could transport you to another world, another life, in a matter of minutes. The world Adaryn lived in was almost surreal in itself, but it was filled with stress and discomfort and just… pain. AJ was right, you could just disappear without actually doing so.

“That’s nice,” Adaryn mused, the kind smile she gave reached her eyes. The edges of her eyes crinkled, which was a rare thing to see from the girl. She was rarely happy, rarely smiling. This was a good sign. “Have any ideas? Maybe I could help?”

[Amanda Joy "AJ" Lane]

"Yeah...I'm just really good at picking books out for others...usually. I mean, I don't know why I'm having trouble picking one out for Travis," AJ rambled. Maybe it's because she wanted it to be the perfect book, one he would enjoy and lay awake at night in bed reading. One that could help him escape from being an empath. Maybe she was expecting a little too much out of herself. "Actually, I could really use your help. This is turning out to be a lot more difficult than I thought."

She'd never really seen Travis read so she didn't exactly have any basis to go off of. She continued scanning the shelves intently, looking for the right book.

[Adaryn Breslin]

"Maybe because you want to make sure he likes it?" Adaryn had the hardest times with gifts, and honestly, she didn't even know what she was going to get for anybody. Books were nice, but the fact was not everyone she spoke to had the same love of books as she did. It was a sad realization, really.

When AJ asked for help, Adaryn suddenly felt very uncomfortable, but she pushed the feelings down. She didn't know Travis well enough to know what he really did like, but she was hoping anything happy would work. Maybe even pictures. Landscape. Animals. Something? Adaryn had no clue.

"Maybe try, instead of a book to read, maybe a book filled with photographs or drawings? I know he really likes those?"

[Amanda Joy "AJ" Lane]

"Yeah, that's probably it," AJ admitted. She did want him to like it. Buying a book for someone was one of her favorite things to do, but normally it was easier to buy for people. But for some reason, it was hard with Travis, nearly impossible. Usually she was a pro at picking out books others would love. This was proving much more difficult.

She smiled at Adaryn's suggestions. "That's it. That's brilliant!" She exclaimed, maybe a little too excitedly. "My brain was strictly stuck on literature so I didn't even think of that." Maybe even a sketchbook.