A Little Peace, Quiet, and Company (OPEN)

[Miles Daugherty]

Miles liked the library. There were rules there. Like no loud talking. Or running. Or using abilities to mess up the books. And the rules (and people actually obeying those rules) made him feel safe. So he spent a lot of his free time in there. Although he was used to his roommates, they could often be loud and spontaneous. Not to mention all the other activity in the dorm hallway. So when Miles needed some structure, he often retreated to the back corner of the library.

He had brought some math work, but found it too frustrating so instead he was coloring in a book his mother had given him for Christmas and a box of Mr. Sketch Scented Makers (after removing the yellow and green of course). He had all the colors lined up next to him, smelling each of them before he used it. So he had a few colored dots on the end of his nose.

Most of the other students in the library left him alone. And that was just fine with Miles. It wasn't that he didn't like people. He just liked them from a safe distance. So when someone sat down at his table, he shifted a little away from them, staring hard at the page he was coloring.

[Deleted]

Maria sighed and placed her hand on her forehead with her elbow propped on the table. Her Chemistry work isn't getting anywhere today and she knew she would have to ask the teacher how to do it again. She was glad that her OCD wasn't being a pain today. Meeting the psychiatrist might have been creepy at first but she liked the guy, he was actually nice and quiet.

Maria smelled something that brought a smile on her face and she looked over a few tables back to see a boy with a few dots on his nose. She giggled at this and pushed her sunglasses back in place. As usual when she saw a new face, she stood up and walked toward him. She noticed his reaction once he sat down. She didn't think she had to be aware to see his uneasiness. "Hey. I smelled something good and had to come over here and see what it was. I am Maria, what's your name?"

[Miles Daugherty]

Miles was a little upset that someone had invaded his personal area of peace and quiet. But at least it was someone that seemed to be nice and mean no harm, even if they were a stranger. He continued coloring while she was taking, enjoying the sound of her voice so that it took him a moment or two to replay what she had actual said.

Instead of answering her, he wrote his name on the corner of the page that he was coloring, shifting it slightly so that she would be able to read it. The end of his left sleeve had been in his mouth, making it hard to recap the marker he was using, but he managed it by using the table.

He was debating between hoping the girl would leave and leaving himself, not because he didn't like the Maria, just because he didn't know what he was supposed to do next and that made him anxious. Then he remembered what his tutor had told him about being friendly. They had said he didn't have to talk to be friendly. So, he figured he'd try. Maybe he'd get a reward if he reported it later.

With that in mind, he carefully tore out a page of the coloring book and slide it over to the girl, along with a few markers. He made sure to keep the purple on his side of the table though, because he wasn't ready to surrender his favorite color. Hopefully that would be enough count.

[Deleted]

She smiled at him and watched him write down his name. She wasn't going to blame that on her sight's awareness though because she was enjoying just watching. Maria was very optimistic, nothing went wrong and when it did she always had something nice to say about it. "Miles. Cool! Sorry if I am making you nervous."

She watched his movements to notice any signs of nervousness. She saw that he was and didn't think she had to have good eyes to see that. "That is a very good name. Think about it. Miles, how many miles someone can walk or even a journey." She nodded her head and watched him tear a sheet and give it to her. She smiled happily once she saw what it was and wiggled in her seat. "Yay!"

She grabbed a marker he gave her and started to color in the tiger. She hoped her OCD didn't start, but of course it did. She HAD to make sure she didn't go out of the lines so she noticed that she was coloring in slow. "May I ask what your gift is?" She spoke softly so she didn't scare him. "Mine is enhanced awareness. I can see and smell better than a normal human can. Sucks sometimes. I can't look at lights and tar has to be the worst smell ever." She giggled trying to lighten up the mood.

[Miles Daugherty]

Miles might look like he was ignoring the girl for the most part, but that was far from the truth. Just because he wasn't making eye contact or not talking didn't mean that he missed everything. And although it would have been pushing it to say that he was comfortable with her sharing a table with him, at least she wasn't touching him or getting upset or anything. And he was enjoying her one-sided conversation. Miles didn't like talking to strangers, but he didn't mind listening to them. Even though he didn't draw the conclusion that the way she talked meant she was happy, he still found the inflections and peppiness pleasant.

The play on his name was actually one that he recognized, but only because of the familiarity. He had trouble understanding what miles where when he was younger. "I'm big 'M' Miles," he said quietly, parroting the lesson his teacher had taught him when he'd first tried to understand the difference. As soon as the words left his lips, he went back to chewing on his sleeve.

Miles shook his head 'no' in answer to his question. He did not like talking about his power. It scared him, this new uncontrollable thing he could do. Even talking about it made him anxious. Especially with a stranger. Not that he minded hearing about her ability. He wondered if the markers smelled better to her.

[Deleted]

She smiled wide once he talked. Yay!! She didn't think she was going to get anything from him, and then he chewed his sleeve again. He never understood why people were shy. He was going to ask Dr. Neville that one day. She smiled wiggled in her seat as she colored it and showed it to him. "What do you think? Too much?" She laughed and put the picture back on the table.

She was drawing the picture but she still saw the shaking of the head. Her smile faltered slightly and she nodded her head. "That's just fine. Not many people like their gifts. Either because of what happened or it scares them...or it's too cheesy." She laughed at the little joke at the end and thought about something else. "Oh! Whats your favorite place? Mine is Greece. The waves are beautiful. The food is okay."

[Miles Daugherty]

There was a lot about people that Miles didn't understand. But he'd gotten to the point that he figured he was never going to understand them. The best he could do was understand himself and stay out the way. Still he did have questions from time to time. Usually he asked a trusted teacher or staff member. And usually it was some sort of joke he didn't understand or some emotions. Still half the time even after it had been explained to him, he still didn't understand.

Miles nodded along again. He had learned that most people liked it when he nodded along. His mom said it was because people thought his nodding was a way for him to tell people that he agreed and to keep talking.

He paused for a moment, trying to picture Greece and wonder why somewhere so foreign, so far away, and so unfamiliar could be anyone's favorite place. "I like in my closet," he answered, still staring at the picture he was coloring. It was small and safe in the closet in his room and he often went in there to shut out the world. He even had a small touch night light, a sleeping bag, and pillows to make it more comfortable and inviting. Still he worried that by telling this girl about his safe spot that someone it would make it less safe. Like should would taint it or something, but he tried not to think about that. It was what his tutor called "unreasonable thinking".

[Deleted]

The closet? She almost broke what she was coloring her picture with. It was creepy in there to her. She couldn't stand it. The spider webs, the lack of being able to move. Wait, there were people who had big closets, maybe he had that. "If it wasn't for my gift I may like closets. Everything in there is creepy too me. It's dusty, small and smells strange too. Unless you make your clothes smell sweet then it's bearable." She smiled at him before looking at her drawing. Seeing that it was done she put it to the side and just looked around.

"What's your favorite type of food? I like strawberries and grapes." She knew this was a bad thing to say. This meant that she was a health freak for liking these two things. It wasn't her fault, actually it was now that she thought about it. She just liked to stay fit for safety reasons. "I like healthy food the most. I just like to stay healthy." After that she stayed silent for a bit.

She liked to keep people talking her were usually silent. She thought it usually boosted their self esteem, but she didn't know for sure. "It is so peaceful in here. Sorry, I keep talking." She chuckled before staying quiet with a smile on her face. It was good to stay quiet sometimes. That way you could actually understand what is going on around you.

[Miles Daugherty]

Miles loved his closet mostly because of it's small-ness actually. He kept it quite clean so there weren't any spiders or dust bunnies. It was the place he could go when the rest of the world got too overwhelming, which it often did. And spiders and dust wasn't such a big deal. As a young child, Miles had often crammed himself into tight, dark places to hide. His mother had once spent most of the day looking for him only to find him wedged in the space behind the washer. Still his closet now was much better being clean and warm and padded.

Still he frowned a little at the word "creepy". Since facial expressions weren't big on Miles, his frown was more of a quick downward twitch, but with Maria's gift she would probably notice it. It was something he heard a lot. Usually in reference to him and not his closet, but still he didn't like that word.

"Creepy is not nice," he said. And even more so, now he wished he hadn't told her about his closet. "My closet is nice. And only for me."

He took a deep breath and sighed after so much talking, like it had exhausted him. Still he felt the words had been important to say.

And still, he didn't ask her to leave. He didn't mind her talking, as long as she didn't call his closet creepy anymore. He was actually enjoying the sound of her voice. And he was still pretty sure he'd get points with his tutor for spending time with a stranger.

"Popcorn," he replied, glad that when she did ask questions they were very straightforward. Miles hated when people asked long confusing questions, so Maria had that going for her too.

[Deleted]

As soon as she saw his frown she couldn't help but feel horrible about what she just said. "I am so sorry!" She placed her hands on her mouth after saying this and shook her head. She was usually the nice one and now she was judging. She finally put her hands down after a while. She noticed his frown was gone already so she guessed she would have been the only one to see it. "I know it isn't. There are people who do like creepy things though." She smiled before talking again. "I have a friend who likes creepy horror movies and cemeteries. Haven't figured out why yet." She was just trying to show him that no all things that had the word creepy in it were necessarily a bad thing. She still felt awful from that.

His answer made her smile, they had something in common! "I love popcorn! It is my favorite snack. I usually just eat it by itself though, pretty much a health fanatic." She giggled at that. It wasn't long before she started talking again. She did like the peace that they had though. Being able to talk was fun, especially calm talks like this. "What's your favorite type of weather? Mine is summer. The only thing I don't like about it is the sunburns. Ouch." She made a fake grimace and smiled afterwards, trying to make him more comfortable.

[Miles Daugherty]

Miles couldn't understand why anyone would like creepy things either. Sometimes his parents watched horror movies and he always hated it because he couldn't go near them until the movie was over. Why would anyone want to be scared? His mom had tried to explain it to him, but it made no sense.

His face twitched in the opposite direction when she mentioned her love for popcorn. Though he still wasn't sure he would want to share with her, it was nice that she liked his favorite snack. His tutor said that friends were people who had things in common. Did that mean that he and this girl were friends now? He knew her name so she wasn't a stranger. Was there something in between stranger and friend?

"Sunburns are not good." He hated the summer because it meant he was uncomfortable in his long sleeves. And also he had to wear sunscreen sometimes and he hated the feeling of it on his skin. "Fall is the best." Fall meant long sleeves could come back. And he loved the sound of fallen leaves crunching under his feet wherever he walked too.

[Deleted]

She nodded her head at what he said. She didn't like sunburns also because of skin cancer. Some people liked to call her Monk from the show Monk because of her OCD and how healthy she ate. At least she didn't make her eggs a square like he did...She smiled at him and swayed her legs a bit. This was so fun! She made a new friend, didn't know if he knew it or not though.

Fall meant leaves were dying, winter wasn't too far away and colds. She cringed a bit and smiled politely. "I know some people who like fall. I don't like winter though so I automatically don't like fall because it means that Winter isn't too far away." She wasn't paranoid, she didn't think she was anyway. She would ask Sean later probably. She liked that man, he was fun to talk to.

She looked around her and at the books. She concentrated to the far end just to see if she could read it, she did.'Snakes vs. Spiders: Phobias Unwanted' She never heard of a book called that and she didn't want to look in it. The last time she looked at a picture of a spider she thought it was out of the book because of her gift. "What's your favorite part of your power? You don't have to say what it is. For example: I like mine because I can see people before they see me sometimes." She giggled at that. She knew he didn't want to talk about his power, but she thought that if he saw the good side then maybe he would feel better...hopefully.

[Miles Daugherty]

Some people may have considered Miles to be a bit OCD. He didn't think that he was. Mostly because he saw no reason why a person should want things the way they liked them. Just because Miles lived off of routine and order didn't mean there was something wrong with him. Often he felt that everyone else was the problem, not him. People were so spontaneous and unpredictable. It just turned everything into chaos.

Miles returned to his coloring when Maria was silent for a moment. Now that they had been talking about popcorn, he really wished he had some here. Then again, he wouldn't be aloud to eat it, because there was no eating in the library. Maybe they could go get some. Miles had piles of it back in his dorm room they could pop in the microwave. And though he wasn't really sure he wanted to share with Maria, he could give her a bag for herself. His mom would be so happy if he told her he'd given a bag of popcorn to a friend...we'll sorta of a friend.

"If you like popcorn, I could make you some," he said. Well at least started to say. It just so happened that they had both started speaking at the same time. So Miles had mumbled the rest of his sentence.

"There is no favorite part," Miles said, staring a hole into the desk in front of him. At least she was good at asking questions. Still, why did she have to ask things that had bad answers. It wasn't that his power hurt or anything, not literally at least. It just freaked him out so bad that it felt like it hurt. People had tried to make him feel better, saying that some people had powers that really hurt them or those around them. But Miles didn't think that helped. It just made him scared to be at this school.

[Deleted]

She giggled when she realized they talked at the same time. Then she stopped once she saw his frown and she just looked at him with a slight smile on her face. It tended to make people uncomfortable when she was doing this but she didn't know it because they never told her before.

Once she noticed she made a mistake she sighed and shook her head, smile no longer there for once. "I'm sorry. I am just trying to get to know you. I forget how unhappy people can be. You know what? We should do something fun." She smiled wide and gave him a curious expression. "What were you saying when we were both talking? Something about popcorn? We could watch a movie together. Something funny. I want to put a smile on your face." She smiled wide at that and wiggled in her seat. Yep, her new goal was to make him have fun.

[Miles Daugherty]

Miles was a bit startled by the girl’s giggling. By like her voice when she talked, Miles enjoyed the sound of it. Even if he wasn’t altogether sure if she was making fun of him or not. Miles was not one of the people who would be uncomfortable about her smiling at him, mostly because he tried to avoid looking at her face too much. And also because for him expressions were simple. Smiles meant someone was happy, so he just thought she was happy and he didn’t have a problem with that.

He was still a bit concerned that she kept asking questions about his power, but the offer to watch a movie helped to push that aside. If there was one quick way to Miles’s trust it was popcorn and Disney movies.

“I have movies, Disney movies, in my room. But it’s a boys’ room,” Miles said. “I’d have to bring one down.” He was already collecting his markers and coloring book into his backpack. He had planned to hang out in the library for the rest of the day but, watching a Disney movie was one of the only things that would make him switch up his plans.