Curiosity (Adaryn)

[Oliver Barnes]

Hey, do you mind meeting me down at the pond?

Oliver had been in his dorm room, reading away with the A.C on. It wasn't too warm,  as it never was in Vermont, but it was enough that a cool breeze provided relief to the minor heat. He flipped through the pages of his new book Quiet. It was an interesting read about introverts vs extroverts, and he had been devouring the pages all afternoon. Until, his phone went off. Half expecting it to be Ace, Oliver reached over to the bedside table, surprised to see a message from Adaryn. She was a sweet girl, and the two had been partnered for a project in English class awhile back. They got along well, and kept in touch semi-regularly.

He raised an eyebrow at the message, replying:

Yeah, sure thing. When would you like to meet up?

Oliver set his phone down, finishing the page as it buzzed in response.

Right now?

He slipped his bookmark into place, curious as to why Adaryn wanted to see him right away. But, it wasn't like the introverted boy to blatantly ask, especially over text message. He slipped on a pair of shoes, before replying On my way down and tucking his phone into the pocket of his shorts. Oliver pondered the reason all the way down to the pond, where he saw the familiar dark haired girl, back to him.

"Hey Addie." Oliver greeted, once a few feet away from her. "Sure is warm out today."

[Adaryn Breslin]

Adaryn hadn't really spoken to Oliver very often after their little project in English class, and she sort of felt bad about that. He was really sweet, shy like her, and she really wanted to speak with him more.

Then with AJ getting all flustered when talking about Oliver, her curiosity spiked a bit more about the brown-eyed brunette. How did they know each other? Why did she get so flustered. God, she was beginning to sound like Eloise.

However, the difference between the two girls was that Addie would never push any of them out of their comfort zone. If they really didn't want to talk about it -so long as it wasn't something like depression- Addie wouldn't push. So when she asked for Oliver to meet her at the pond, even on such a hot day, there was a reason for it.

"Hey," Addie offered him a light smile, trying not to shift uncomfortably because she wasn't wearing any sleeves. While she made sure the scars weren't visible due to makeup, she was trying to not die of heat stroke with a cardigan on.

"No, not warm. It's hot." She laughed, "Thanks for coming out here, by the way."

[Oliver Barnes]

Oliver too, hadn't spoken much to Addie after their assignment finished. Which was a shame. He had gotten caught up in the final weeks of school, rushing through assignments and trying to balance life. He had been thinking about getting a job, but his not as crippling social anxiety still would make the task difficult. Not to mention, there was trying to fix the broken mess between him and AJ, something he had neglected to do for a very long time.

His friends at Hammel, namely Tak, had found out about his dark past since Oliver felt a little more comfortable sharing it with those he was closest to. It felt like an immense weight had been lifted off of his shoulders.

Snapping out of his thoughts, he made it down to the pond, already feeling the heat press down on him. Oliver ran a hand through his hair, mirroring Addie's smile. "Fair enough." He said with a laugh. "I'm sure it's worse in say, Florida." All Oliver knew was the cold, with Minnesota and Vermont.

"And yeah, no problem." Oliver's smile widened. Maybe they could go get ice cream after, or something. "Everything alright?"

[Adaryn Breslin]

"I bet it is," Adaryn agreed with a gentle smile and a light, girlish laugh. Adaryn was from Oregon, so they climate was typically relatively mild and not as cold, or hot, as it was in Vermont. There was humidity, yes, but she enjoyed living there when she had.

At least he was in a decent mood; while she was very much used to shielding by this point, she really didn't like dealing with negative emotions. Outwardly, he was grinning, and inwardly his aura mimicked it. "Everything's fine, yeah. I figured we should just hang out or something. It's been a while." The issue of AJ wouldn't be pressed just yet, and instead maybe they would just ignore it until the end. She didn't want to spoil the mood.

Adaryn gestured with her head to sit as she did, sitting beside the water and staring at the koi that swam around. It was a calming setting, one that she loved coming to just to relax and enjoy herself. As an introvert, she didn't gain anything from sitting in the commons room or student lounge. It just wasn't her.

"I love coming here because it's usually really calm, and Koi just look so cool," She hummed. "It's a nice way to get out of the dorms."

[Oliver Barnes]

Oliver was genuinely in a good mood, and it showed in the way that he walked and held himself. It wasn't necessarily confident... but he was alright, instead of just surviving. It helped that he had spent the afternoon reading, keeping to himself. "Yeah, it has been awhile." He agreed. "Sorry... life kind of... took hold for a while, you know?" Oliver said vaguely, but knew that Addie wasn't the type to press or insist on knowing every detail. "But I'm glad you messaged me." The soft smile was back on his face, more subdued than before.

He took a seat next to Addie after he motioned for him to come forward, watching the koi fish swim around lazily on the warm afternoon. His gaze steadied on the group, before looking up once she was talking. Nodding, Oliver said "Sometimes... you just gotta get away from the dorms and everyone." He enjoyed reading and writing down by the water, with just himself and his thoughts. "You ever draw the Koi?" Oliver asked, remembering that Addie dabbled in drawing, thinking back to the English project where she had illustrated their project.

[Adaryn Breslin]

"Don't worry, I know exactly what you mean." What with the Monroe and Eloise thing still hanging over their head even though Monroe finally asked her to be his girlfriend in a roundabout way. It gave her nightmares sometimes, it truly did, but she was learning to think of the positive and now rather than the negative and the future. It was a slow process, but she found it was working.

She returned his smile. It did wonders for her. She didn't have to hold up her shield. By this time it was an automatic thing, but whenever she realized she didn't have to, it was something of a relief - a weight off her shoulders.

She laughed at his comment about getting away. "I try to avoid encountering other people, so I've learned where people do go and don't go." It wasn't that she wanted to be isolated, but the more people she was around the harder it was to differentiate her own emotions with those around her. She may have learned how to keep her guard up, but it only worked for so long, and she figured it was going to be like that for the rest of her life.

"I do. It's such an easy thing to draw, but the simplicity of it is always refreshing. I don't think I'll ever get tired of them." Adaryn hummed lightly, looking towards the fish with a glint in her eye. "How is your writing going? I mean, I know you can make an epic children's story, but I'd like to believe your skills aren't limited to that."

Even despite not speaking for so long, Addie found herself as comfortable with Oliver as she was in, let's say, AJ's presence. It really was nice.

[Oliver Barnes]

The end of the school year, and even summer, brought a whirlwind of events to the front of Oliver's mind. He was learning how to cope with it, one step at a time as oppose to letting all of the anxiety build up inside. Little did he know, Addie felt the same way in regards to her life. Seeing the familiar brunette return the smile put Oliver more at ease, not that he was uncomfortable before.

"You should give me your list." He joked, grinning. Although the quiet boy had his fair share of places he liked to go, he liked hearing about new ones. "I'll even share some of my own." Oliver had his small circle of friends; Addie, Tak, Ace.. AJ? He didn't keep large company around.

Leaning back on his hands, Oliver looked up the sky for a moment, embracing the hot sun. It felt nice on his skin, even if it was causing him to sweat. He tilted his head down, focusing his attention back on Adaryn afterwards, smiling. "Sometimes, a little bit of simplicity is needed." He said, casually, before continuing on. "And it's going.. alright. Been writing everyday." Most of it was personal and probably classified as journaling, but so long as it was pen to paper, it counted.

[Adaryn Breslin]

"That sounds like a deal," Adaryn grinned, enjoying the fact that this person could understand her need to be alone, even though he was not an Empath like her. She remembered when she found Travis - at least he understood in that sense. Looking at herself and her group of friends, she realized it wasn't an extensive list, but it was enough. More than enough, actually, considering all they had done for her. AJ, Monroe, Oliver, and yes, Eloise. They all were worth her time, and she found it hard to believe that they felt she was worth their time.

She had been drawing everyday; like Oliver, she had that outlet that allowed her to actually express her emotions, and she used that to her advantage as best she could. Some people thought that intensive drawing satisfied 'drawing' and nothing less, but even doodling little pictures in the corners of pages counted in her eyes. She loved making those random doodles around her paper because it gave the work a sense of self, something she had just recently started to understand. Self. Who was she? Why was she here? Self.

"You'll have to let me read something sometime," She offered with a tone that implied it was simply optional. Adaryn wasn't one to actually press for anything, but he knew that. Or at least she hoped so. But then again, that might not be so true in the near future, what with one of the reasons she had for texting Oliver today.

[Oliver Barnes]

"I would suggest we frequent them together but that would kind of defeat the purpose." Oliver said with a boyish grin. Talking with Adaryn felt easygoing and natural. The conversations he had with her never felt forced and if needed, the two could lapse into silence and be alright.

Although himself and Addie's creative outlet differed, both were useful for expressing themselves. He journaled, using his darker experiences to fuel the words on paper. He was doing it on a daily basis, somedays multiple times, due to everything that was brought up during therapy sessions. He picked at the grass blades absentmindedly, refocusing back on the conversation at hand with his lovely friend. Now was not the time to get lost in his thoughts.

"Yeah, sure thing." He answered instantly with a soft smile. "I'd love to show you some stuff." Only, what could he show her without causing her to worry? Oliver still had poetry from after the... incident, and that was... dark.

"Can you believe we're seniors now?" Oliver brought up, a distant look in his eyes. He could hardly believe it. "Random thought." He added, the frequency of picking the grass increasing. It was a scary realization.

[Adaryn Breslin]

"Dang, you're right," the brunette laughed to herself, her already low volume laugh being further muffled by her palm. Her cheeks also went red from embarrassment, but only out of habit; it was hard to stop such habits when the idea was subconsciously dictating the actions of the Empath.

As an artist, Adaryn understood how difficult it be to show the work that you had created, especially when it was strictly personal. The images she always put down on paper never were for the public eye, only being a release from her pain whenever she needed it. "Thanks," She said, her tone uplifted by the smile she offered, but when Oliver changed the subject, she strayed willingly.

Little did Adaryn know, Oliver found the realization that they had only a single year left in Hammel before leaving to be just as terrifying as herself. Her fear was never being able to get her act together and save enough money to have a place to stay. "It's crazy," Addie admitted. "I feel like so much has happened, but at the same time, nothing at all. Does that make sense?" Because while the last year was jam packed with events, she almost felt like she wasted all the other years before. It was an awful feeling, but she shoved it down and responded, "It doesn't feel real."

[Oliver Barnes]

Oliver peeked at Adaryn's face after hearing the muffled laughter, smiling at how adorable she looked. "Don't turn red, all good." He assured her, even though he'd likely react the same way in a similar situation.

He could visualize the contents of his black notebook, each page numbered and titled, pages neatly filled in with black cursive. The dark, personal stuff he wouldn't share... that was for nobody. But the poetry, Oliver didn't mind showing her. The prose about autumn and winter and a warm cup of tea. The nice things in life. His smile mirrored her own, genuinely happy to have her company for the afternoon.

Oliver knew all too well what Adaryn meant when she said that so much had happened, but nothing at all. Of course, AJ came to the forefront of his mind but he quickly shoved those thoughts away to the best of his ability. "I know exactly what you mean. Put the words right into my mouth." He said with a slight chuckle. So much had happened this year, without much improvement. "Exactly. It feels like the world just keeps on going and I'm left behind, or something." He mumbled.