All the Lonely People {open}

[Izzy James]

"All the lonely people
where do they all come from?
All the lonely people
where do they all belong?

I look at all the lonely people.
I look at all the lonely people..."

Izzy's voice brought to life McCartney's tale of loneliness. He didn't, unfortunately, have the string quartet to back him up, just his own guitar playing. His voice was solid, even seemed to do well for the song. The guitar playing paled in comparison to the original though, though it was serviceable enough.

Not that it really mattered. Izzy wasn't exactly playing for money or anything. The song just seemed to fit his current mood, his current situation. He liked to think about it, when he actually bothered to. And honestly, it was one of the first times he'd had enough time to breathe and coax a melody out of the guitar.

"Eleanor Rigby died in a church, and was buried along with her name.
Nobody came.
Father Mackenzie, wiping the dirt from his hands as he walks from the grave.
No one was saved.

All the lonely people
where do they all come from?
All the lonely people
where do they all belong?"

A bit too sad? Maybe. Probably, given that Izzy hadn't exactly been ostracized since coming here. But it just felt right, you know?

Or maybe he just needed to play some Beatles and wanted to get it out. What did it matter, right? not like anyone was listening...

[Rhett Goddard]

Rhett listened to Izzy's singing as he walked up to him. He isn't half-bad. He recognized, even if it was nothing near the music style he prefers, which is, most of the times, something close to indie or folk. He didn't really liked music that much, anyway. When the two blondes were one in front of the other, Rhett opened up his satchel, took two CDs from it and threw them into Izzy's lap.

"Here." He said rather coldly. "Trouble peed in one of your CDs. And then chew it." One of the two CD's was pretty obviously the damaged one. The other one was brand new "Or the other way around, I guess it doesn't really matter."

After finding out of such thing, and feeling rather bad about it, Rhett went out to the mall and attempted to buy the same CD, put it back and no one will ever noticed. However, for what he heard in all the music stores he visited, such specific CD was impossible to find, apparently it was a special deluxe edition. The best thing they could advice was 'try the internet', to what Rhett did nothing but growl. Great. So, with no possibility of taking the sneaky path, he decided to buy another CD from the same artist, a recommendation of one of the music store's clerk, and bring it to him directly with the closest thing he can say to an apology without actually apologizing, because well, those words would burn his tongue.

"It's not the same CD, I couldn't find it." He added, even if he knew that Izzy most likely noticed it immediately. "I'll try to teach him to stay away from your CDs, though you should not leave them lying around at... paw's reach."

[Izzy James]

Why was Izzy not surprised that Trouble was living up to his namesake. He stared at the destroyed CD, wincing slightly on the inside. He recognized the Monkees deluxe edition that his older brother had gotten him for Christmas as the destroyed CD, and noticed the other one as another CD by the same group, one that, luckily, Izzy didn't actually have.

"We kind of figured Trouble would do stuff like that. Can't really blame him for being a dog," said Izzy, shrugging. Yeah, he was upset at the loss of the CD, but he also knew how to get another one easily enough. If all else failed, he could just bug James or Han about producing a new one. Or...

"I do have time reversing powers," said Izzy. He picked up the destroyed CD, studying it closely. "I mean, I might be able to reverse time and restore it or something."

Or, you know, he might accidentally send it so far into the future that it instantly transformed into a MP3 or something equally gratuitous. Suddenly Izzy was glad that Trouble couldn't possibly get within reach of his vinyl, else he might have to try using those abilities on the dog.

"We'll work on teaching him," said Izzy. He tried waving his hand over the destroyed CD, concentrating mightily upon it. As expected, absolutely nothing happened. He sighed, leaning back slightly and looking up at Rhett. "Why is it that you look more upset about this than I do? Do I bug you that much or something? Or is Trouble already getting to you?"

[Rhett Goddard]

Since when do they work like that? Rhett had his fair amount of knowlede on time controllers thanks to Odion, but hey, even metas with the same ability can do different things with it, and actually waited to see if something would happen with the CD once the other blonde concentrated on it. Oh, bummer.

"I don't." He did not think he looked upset, did he? "Or, rather, I'm not." Or so I think? Rhett would say he was thoughtful, rather than upset. "And you don't bug me, I bet you don't bug anybody, actually."

Rhett was so not answering the last question, so he just took a deep breath. There was a second reason why had walked up to Izzy this particular afternoon. He was so not admitting that he was going to ask the other blonde for a favour, even less for help. He was neither admitting he wanted to talk to him. But truth be told, he was attempting to do all of the above.

"Ok, this is awkward you know, I wonder if I should sit or not. No, the awkward part is not wondering this, the awkward is wondering at all." He sat anyways. "Well, for me, since for you the whole thing is most likely weird, but I don't really care what you think... about that." It was a very useful specification. "Since you're the only person I know who knows me the least I have decided after thinking about for what apparently was a little above two point three seconds..." A fact sponsored by ESP. "...that you're the best person to listen and talk about what I have to tell and listen." Easy, right? "The question is, then, do you or do you not agree to the following terms: no judging, no talking about it later, with me or somebody else. I should add that the second term may change in due time."

[Izzy James]

Izzy's powers would probably be awesome if, you know, they actually worked when he wanted. The whole speeding up, slowing down, stopping, and reversing time thing should be incredible, especially when it seemed to work as strongly as Izzy's. The problem was that he had a helluva time getting it to work, as the whole CD thing kinda showed.

He raised a brow and shifted as Rhett continued though. "Trust me, I bug people. I've got siblings that want to punch me in the face, and I'm pretty sure that that Mia girl wants to see if she can tear my face off."

Another shift, while Izzy tried to get his guitar situated. The entire speech that Rhett gave was awkward in all new ways. Plus, Izzy wasn't certain that he really understood more than half of it, and he wasn't quite sure that he actually understood the half that he thought he understood. Basically, it sounded like Rhett wanted to talk to someone, he was convinced Izzy was the right person, and he didn't want Izzy to judge or try to talk about it later.

At least, Izzy hoped that was what that was, because he was pretty sure that a repetition of it would leave his head spinning.

"I was raised by church going folks in Colorado," he said by way of answering. "We could go to Colorado Springs whenever, and there were hippies around. Especially in the music crowds. My dad even was a Beatles fan back in the day; like, a major fan. So, uh, I might be uncomfortable with stuff," like this conversation, "but I'm not really big on judging. Technically the church is supposed to be against that. We just don't act that way very often."

He shrugged, and definitely set the guitar and the CDs to the side. "I also know how to keep a secret. That's what having siblings is actually good for. So, lay it on me. I can listen."

It was sort of helping people, right? Though Izzy thought himself a far cry from a psychologist or anything...

[Rhett Goddard]

"What does that has to do with anything?" Rhett asked about Izzy's story, even if knowing what he had meant. "You're weird."

It was just about keep having Izzy confused. The more confused he was, the less uncomfortable Rhett would feel. Easy math. Because Rhett was as easy to decipher as that, right? No, not at all, which was the only thing that allowed the older blonde to talk to the green-eyed one, the chances that Izzy could connect every dot and completely understand Rhett were low, and he liked it like this. Which is why his verbosity was going to continue.

"Are you all time controllers that forgetful with time?" He started slow. "Because see, I completely understand how you can feel like it has passed a couple of minutes when you've actually wasted you're whole afternoon pretty much doing what most people do, which is nothing." His speech started to pick up a faster rhythm. "And it's like in physics which, don't ask me why I know, time dilates and it's, well, relative, so it flows differently to different people and I have no problem with that, or with the main point of the topic, which I haven't touched yet, since its effects are relatively stupid unless you're traveling at the speed of light, even if that's actually what you're doing when slowing time down." As he talked, the only thing moving was his lips and the occasional rise of an eyebrow. Rhett was even staring at the same point in the horizon. "But that's not the case because in this case time is flowing slower unlike the wasting time doing nothing option." He finally sighed, taking a breath. "So, without taking into consideration the possibility of speeding time up, because I know for a fact it isn't a plausible one, do you think that by any chance, you could let, I don't know, three weeks pass just through you without noticing?"

[Izzy James]

"That's pretty much what I was going for," admitted Izzy, smiling. He didn't think it was that weird, but hey, he wasn't really going to argue the point. He was, however, going to sit there and become increasingly more baffled.

Izzy wasn't the smartest person in class, more of "average" intelligence than anything. So he got the general idea that Rhett was talking about something, something important, something he needed to get off his chest. But Izzy couldn't figure out the particulars in the slightest. So either Rhett always talked like this, or he was purposefully trying to confuse Izzy, so that Izzy wouldn't understand precisely what was being asked of him.

Okay, sure, though you might as well talk to a stuffed animal or something.

Izzy decided to try and focus on the bits that he actually did understand, even if they were few and far between for the conversation. Something about letting time flow past you without realizing it? At least, that's what Izzy was getting from it all.

"Sure, it's possible. Especially if you're a time controller or whatever. I probably wouldn't know the time or day of week if it weren't for constantly checking my cell phone," said Izzy. He shrugged. This didn't seem like a confession, but hey, he was still getting to know his roommate.

Though he'd have sworn that AJ was the crazy one...

[Rhett Goddard]

"Umm-hmm." Rhett took some seconds to listen, and think, what Izzy had just said.

He actually did not expect him to side with Odion, even if he didn't know what he was doing. Pff. He really couldn't just process the fact that three weeks could pass so inadvertently for someone. Rhett did know that he was specially aware of things like time, perhaps a side-effect of his ability, he unusually got lost and even less lost in time or in the days of a week, but the extreme opposite just kept seeming inconceivable.

"Ok, what if you've got something really important to do?" The little rest helped his speech to slow down to a more normal speed, showing that he was relaxed, even if he was not. "You know you have to do this thing, that you took a lot of trouble to make possible, but then, when you can finally do it, and it's in the tip of your fingers, you just have to... go ahead and do it." I was there... waiting all this time. "Can you let it pass? Forget about it for three weeks? How long have we had Trouble now?" Rhett now looked at Izzy. "A couple of days. Do they feel like just a couple of hours have passed since then? Don't you guys like look at clocks and calendars or is it that they just shift and change like some sort of time-lexya?"

[Izzy James]

Izzy blinked up at Rhett. Had he said something wrong? was there something wrong to say in that conversation? Izzy was starting to feel increasingly lost, and, out of habit, he slid his hand into his pocket and drew out his cell phone. Nope, still the same day and time he had thought it was, minus a few minutes for talking. Izzy looked up from the phone as Rhett started talking again, listening as intently as ever.

"Something really important? Then I'd probably do everything I could to remind myself," said Izzy. He shrugged. "I mean, we really, really suck at telling time and keeping a schedule though. So, like, we could miss something. But three weeks?" Izzy shrugged. "Doesn't seem likely."

Yeah, he had misplaced a few days before, and he was pretty certain he'd actually altered his own personal timeline in some ways, ways that he didn't really want to think about, but Izzy had never misplaced that much time. Plus, if you did, wouldn't you know? Because this conversation wasn't confusing enough before there were mental problems to worry about.

"But, uh, that is just me. It works differently for different people," said Izzy. Another shrug. "But, yeah, that seems, uh, a little weird. Stretching it, even."

[Rhett Goddard]

"A little weird." Izzy confirmed Rhett's own thoughts.

He couldn't understand Odion, really, and he feared he could never understand him. Everything was so fuzzy, it made him feel sick. He didn't know what to do. They had to meet the next morning and he din't know what to do. They had agreed on 'normal', but was 'normal' good? Efficient? Was 'normal' what he wanted? What did he want? Why was it so hard to know what he wanted? Back with Talen, Rhett knew he only wanted him, what for? He didn't know, he just knew he wanted to... get a hold on him. But with the red-haired was so different. Too different.

He shook his head with a growl and passed his hands through his hair, pulling it lightly, and then messing it back to its original state. He looked at Izzy again. Why am I talking to you anyway? He sighed. The answer was easy, he needed help. Izzy's help? Well that was arguably, but help was help nonetheless. He looked away to the school as he remembered that a couple of days before he had noticed he couldn't recognize himself no more, today he was just confirming it. It was a consequence, true, but maybe it was time to make it a cause.

"What do you think I should do?" He turned to look at the fellow blonde again. "It's a weird question, I know, just answer it. What would you do, if you were me?"

[Izzy James]

Izzy's answer was clearly what Rhett had expected, but not wanted, if his reaction was any judge. Izzy watched as his roommate rubbed his head and generally shifted like someone with a lot on his mind. Again, Izzy hadn't the foggiest notion what precisely was plaguing Rhett. He could guess. Wasn't hard to figure that there was something involving another person with time control. Heck, there weren't that many people with Izzy's particular gift. Process of elimination would reveal plenty of suspects, if he felt like trying.

But he didn't. He just stared up at Rhett, wishing that he had some idea of what was going on.

"I kind of don't know what's going on, remember?" said Izzy. He shifted again, looking over at his guitar as if it would have an answer. A few seconds, and he looked back up. "If I were you, and I had someone who was using their ability for this, I'd, uh, well, I guess that I'd, hell," Izzy rubbed at the back of his head. Was this multiple choice? "I'd probably talk to them about it. Or not. Gah, I'm being helpful."

Izzy pulled himself to his feet, dusting himself off. "Look, it's clear you got some problem with someone who's been avoiding you or something. I'd go after them and let them know I didn't like it, and I thought they weren't doing what they should be. But," he looked Rhett in the eyes, "but I don't know what kind of relationship you're even talking about. I'm just guessing here," Izzy spread his arms wide, "why are you even asking me anyway?"

[Rhett Goddard]

Izzy was right. And Rhett knew it. He was even admitting it to himself as the other blonde stood up. He's right. He doesn't have the slightest idea about what he is right, but he is. He shook his slightly. What did that mean? That Izzy was a bright fool and Rhett a blind one. At least he had an excuse, a shield for his subconscious to not break the whole system in which it has always worked, he was too close to the situation to notice it, or judge it, objectively. This was his mistake, his demise. He smiled slightly, just this once, he didn't care, because he knew what he was doing the next day, and he had Izzy to thank for that, something, however, that he was not willing to admit.

"You're right." Rhett followed Izzy by standing up too. "And well, why not? Why shouldn't I ask you?" He raised an eyebrow at the other blonde. "Don't over-think it, ok?" The same way some people patted someone to say goodbye, and most gave their hands to shake, Rhett proceeded to look at Izzy from feet to head and back before nodding. "Merci Beaucoup."

Golden words in Rhett's vocabulary. Hiding Trouble, not getting mad for the CD, and finally this conversation. The younger blonde had been more than helpful to Rhett than most people Rhett knew had been and he didn't even had a month in the school. How good was that and what did it mean? Well, Rhett was most definitely not over-thinking it right now. All he did was turn around and head his way back to the dorm room. He had an interesting day coming ahead.

[Izzy James]

"Err, what?" said Izzy, feeling as lost as ever. Wasn't like Rhett had really provided a road map or anything. Apparently Izzy had helped his roommate out though, and that was enough for him. He could have done without the French comment though. Izzy just had to cross his fingers and hope that wasn't French for "you are a huge idiot and I hope my dog pees on your CD again."

Izzy wound up staring after Rhett for a while, wondering if somewhere along the lines they'd become friends or something. Or was that became? Time was getting funky for Izzy again, and he sighed, pulling out his cell phone. Seemed good. Enough time to play a little more before he followed Rhett back to the dorm room.

Fingers returned to strings, and Izzy tried not to think about how the songs he sang might be eerily connected to his life at the moment...