All I Really Want [Olivia]

[Olivia Baker]

She chuckled at the question lightly scratching the back of her head. "Ah... I mean.." She shrugged, she really didn't want to bother Penelope with boy garbage as she was sure she didn't really care, hell LIV shouldn't even care, it was stupid. "Boys are just dumb." She settled on dropping her hand to her side. "I just... Uhg I can't even comprehend what goes on in their stupid little minds." She was starting to get flustered. "Sorry... Yeah I guess someone is bothering me."     

"If you want." She said as she pulled on the seam of her sweater dress, pulling it down. "I mean I can do it i just tend to make it WAAAYYY strong." She laughed "That's how I like my coffee and I guess you can't just treat coffee like tea and it's been a difficult adjustment." She was sure now she sounded crazy, great, what else was new. 

"Something sweet I think." She said pulling out an old tin that once housed buscuits or something, it had been her grandmothers and designated tea holder since she was little. "I have a whole bunch though... the white pomegranate is really nice." She told her pulling out one for herself and sliding the tin closer to her so she could pick 

"Penelope." She repeated glancing over at the pretty brunette, "Yeah... I like Liv..." She affirmed as she dug around sure that she had cookies or something. 

The burning of Peyton at the forefront of her mind was sinking its way back into her lips as a silence fell over the girls. "I just hate romance I think." She found some oreos and pulled them out. "I hate the confusion and how absolutely crazy it makes you... and I hate the disappointment... If that makes any sense... But then again I guess none of it does and thats the whole entire joke of this whole idea of Love because its so painfully annoying and stupid and then at the end of the day.... the amount of control you have is so little" Rambling, rambling again. "Sorry... I guess Peyton's bothering me a lot more than I thought." She picked up one of the plates from the box reconsidering her choice to spare them.  

[Penelope Serrano-Blaise]

Penelope pressed her lips together, giving a small smile. “Boys are idiotic.” She agreed after a moment. Fortunately, boy trouble was something that she couldn’t exactly relate with, and the Brit was thankful for that. The last thing she needed was some boy to add to the equation.

Penny had been about to ask who was bothering her when the girl started going on about tea. The Redcoat’s eyebrows furrowed in confusion at the explanation; tea and coffee were two very different beverages. Maybe it was because she didn’t like coffee that she had trouble with grasping the comparison. “It all depends on the type of tea you have.” She explained shortly, glancing down at the various teas being offered to her. She had her own tin inside her room, but decided against getting it. There were plenty of options here. “Thank you.”

She lifted a packet that sparked her interest. Earl grey. It was a classic. “Herbal teas usually steep longer and in warmer water than green teas, for example.”

The silence that grew between them didn’t bother Penelope in the least. She knew that silence often made people uncomfortable, but to the Brit, it was easier than keeping up with most conversations.

She sudden statement made by her roommate caused Penny to look over at her, expression remaining neutral. She kept silent as Liv tried to explain what she meant; although the girl seemed unsure if she made sense, Penelope actually found the words to hit close to home. Her mind started churning as she thought over what her dormmate was saying. Her mind had gone straight to Lucy. The lack of control Penelope had around her. The confusion and annoyance. It fit perfectly.

But what stuck out the most is that Olivia labeled it as romance. That wasn’t true to her situation, right? Lucy and herself weren’t romantic. There was no commitment, no love.

She snapped out of her thoughts as Liv finished. “Peyton?” The name didn’t seem to ring any bells. She paused a moment before realizing the water was hot enough for their tea. “I agree.” She said shortly, “There’s no contr—it’s frustrating.”

[Olivia Baker]

Liv glanced over at the brit as she explained the difference, "Yeah and then what about white tea?" She asked looking down at her own packet. It was stupid that they were lingering so long on the tea conversation, she knew that neither of them really cared that much about the technical aspect of tea, but it was a safe zone to revert back to. Tea had nothing to do with either of the girls emotions or current problems with their peers that was driving them to cleaning and plate breaking madness. 

"Yeah. Peyton Turner." She told Penelope seeing if perhaps that helped her identify him. But then again, how would she? He kept disappearing. She could feel her blood starting to boil at the thought. So much for promising he wouldn't... again. The fact that she cared was even more irritating considering she knew better and hadn't even really been friends with him that long. But that smile... that stupid laugh and the way he looked at her that night in the abandoned house, the way he kissed her and how many times it replayed in her head over and over and over again, every single time causing a new internal wound, gashing at her her heart. She felt like such an idiot to think he liked her... immature naive little fool. She let out a slow breath, calming herself down before returning her attention to her dormmate who seemed equally distracted. 

Penelope's relation wasn't lost to the time manipulator. She knew about the fights even if she didn't know every detail. She'd heard things, through the walls, not that she'd bring that up. But she knew that Penelope had.... someone in her life be it an enemy or a lover, sometimes it was hard to differentiate considering love and hate sometimes seemed to blend together so flawlessly. 

"Frustration is exactly what it is." She agreed, "But attraction... It's fucked up how easy it is to not be able to stay away from the one thing that annoys you the most..." Nature was stupid. "Even if it hurts you." She sighed. She really needed to get a grip. 

"I think the water's ready."

[Penelope Serrano-Blaise]

“White tea steeps at the same temperature as green tea.” Penny responded simply, “It needs to steep longer, however. About five minutes should do.” Being the tea lover she was, Penny knew this information well, however she felt distracted from the conversation about the beverage.

She took one of the cups, pouring water into it for Liv before placing it back on the water boiler for her own, which needed warmer water. “Five minutes, that’s all.” She stressed again, motioning to Liv’s cup.

Penelope had never heard of this Peyton Turner. Had he been over? Penny wouldn’t have known either way, she was lost when it came to the subject of her dorm mates’ personal lives, as she assumed they were with hers. Although, it wouldn’t have surprised her to know that Lucy and herself could be heard through the walls. Their arguments were hardly quiet, nor were any other activities that took place in her dorm when Lucy was around.

Fortunately, the thought hadn’t occurred to the Brit yet.

A frown tugged at her lips as Liv swore. Did everybody curse in this school?

The Brit nodded again, pouring the now warmer water into her own cup before placing her teabag in to steep. She remained quiet momentarily, thinking over Liv’s words. They certainly applied to her. The ink manipulator certainly annoyed Penny more than anyone else was capable of, yet she couldn’t keep her mind off the Australian.

In a normal situation, someone might offer an apologetic look of worry, or possibly even a form of physical contact. Penny did neither. She kept her expression neutral as she spoke. “It shouldn’t hurt.” She said finally, giving another nod. She paused again, unsure what to say in these situations. “…Have you tried talking to him?” That was normal, right?

[Olivia Baker]

Five minutes. She repeated in her head feeling a lot less stupid now that Penelope had talked about tea for several minutes and all its different rules. If her mother was here she'd be embarrassed which Olivia always found ironic. Her parents were educators, glorified educators, that was all. They believed they were so much more though and had become consumed by the society page in the New York Times. If they weren't on it, or someone they knew wasn't on it, something was wrong. Tea was a practice that they'd adopted when Liv was small. There was something about tea that was more sophisticated, more refined... She swirled her cup, letting the tea go round and round. God, now she didn't even want it. 

"No." She shook her head. "No, talking isn't really an option seeing as he's pretty much unreachable at this point." She sighed "But honestly it's for the best... if it's this much of a headache now it probably isn't worth it." She leaned back into the wall. 

She glanced over at the Brit. She'd heard the fights and such between her and her friend. "I'm probably stepping over the line... but you know if you ever need someone to talk to I'm here for you... i mean I know this is all new and I'm not going to pretend we're closer than we are but..." She did want to be friends with Penelope, she felt terrible knowing about the fighting. "I have heard a few things... nothing specific just yelling and...." She shrugged "All i'm saying is i have two working ears."  God this was uncomfortable. 

[Penelope Serrano-Blaise]

Penny pursed her lips, unsure what to say in these situations. Romantic life was something the Brit was only just starting to get used to (wait, no. It wasn’t romantic.), so she had trouble grasping it when it came to others as well.

“Unreachable…” Penelope repeated, letting the word sink into her mind. If he cared, why would he make himself unreachable? It didn’t seem like her dormmate was on a sinking ship. Or was that normal for people to do? Penny tried to imagine if Lucy had made it impossible to contact her in any way. She sucked in a quick breath, immediately forcing the thought out of her mind.

Penny raised her eyebrows, fingers trailing along the rim of her teacup as she looked over at Olivia. The idea of talking to someone about anything was…well, the concept felt very strange to the psychometrist. She was never one to talk about these things, and the one person she opened up to was her brother, which even then was a rarity.

She had opened her mouth to speak, but remained quiet as Liv continued. The statement caught Penelope off guard, and she immediately felt her cheeks heat up. “You…heard things?” The Brit’s mind did not go to the arguments between herself and Lucy; they seemed trivial in comparison to what else her dormmate might have heard.

[Olivia Baker]

Olivia shook her head, "Nothing specific." She needed to make sure that much was clear. "Just what sounded like an argument... nothing specific... I put my headphones in." She shrugged as she brought her tea up to her lips blowing on it softly before taking a sip. She didn't want to pry, she didn't want Penelope to feel forced or like she had to talk at all if she didn't want to, Liv understood that much. 

The brunette went back to the box of plates looking down at the waste she'd brought in. What a stupid idea... but the thought of tossing them away didn't seem like an option anymore either. 

[Penelope Serrano-Blaise]

An argument. Thank goodness. Penny felt a wave of relief wash over herself. Arguing was common between herself and the Australian, even before they had started...whatever it was they started. “I'm sorry,” she said, bringing the teacup to her lips and taking a sip before continuing, “I'll try to keep the yelling to a minimal.” However, she couldn't say she'd be able to stop arguing. It was impossible to not fight with the ink manipulator. Inevitable.

Penny remained in her spot as Olivia went back to her box of ugly plates. She resisted the urge to crinkle her nose at them. “You should break them,” she said after a moment. The Brit still thought it was an absurd idea, but that was what Liv had gotten them for.