Welcome to My Silly Life [Alex?!]

[L.C. Milliner]

*--outfit

The year was winding down and, as such, the art students were bringing their semesters to a close with a bang. The advanced classes already had their projects started, but for the independent study students, the rough part of the year was looming over them- the dreaded final project. Many students had failed their study because of their lack of a fantastic final, and L.C. Milliner was not going to be one of them.

At least, she hoped not.

While she was not the worst artist in the world, L.C. was also not one of the best that came to mind. She wasn’t an artistic genius, but she wasn’t a failure at it either- she was stuck somewhere in the upper middle, most days. But today, she wasn’t coming up with anything, which annoyed her to the point of frustrated tears. Everything was distracting her, from the humming of fluorescent lights, the scratching of her pencil, and the ticking of the wall clock to the shuddering of the ventilation system coughing to life. She sat back in her chair, crumpled a piece of paper, and flicked it across the table where it grouped with the other balls of discarded and unwanted ideas.

She needed to draw something. What it was, she had no idea, but it had to be done soon, lest she fail miserably. Oh, what irony, to have come so far only to fail art, of all things, her (second) senior year. Looking to the paper, she sighed and sat her pencil down, pressing the heels of her hands to her eyes before finally letting her forehead hit the table with a loud ‘THUD’.

So many things were distracting her. How could she concentrate on art with so much going on in her life? She had to get a job, and an apartment, and think about college. She didn’t have time to spend on art anymore. Everything was work, work, work now.

“Goddammit.” She muttered, closing her eyes as she tried to think of something, anything, to get her back into the art swing again.

[Alexander McKenzie]

There were a number of classes Alex enjoyed within Hammel. Despite often being exasperated at the juvenile behavior exhibited some of the other students (and yes, he cringed to think that Vincent Verax was, sadly, the same age as him), he still enjoyed the vast majority of his classes. Art was a particular favorite, even if he had to deal with kids that were in it just for the easy credits. He was there because he genuinely had an interest in both the creative process, and the history of art in general. For a while, he'd considered abandoning ship on his ambitions for the science field, and pursue a degree in art instead. Then he thought about how little he could actually do with such a degree, and, well, he decided that art was best kept as a hobby.

He wasn't above helping his classmates when they needed it. His knowledge of artistic mediums was extensive, and he was quite capable of giving guidance if their instructor was otherwise occupied. At the rare times a younger child came to Hammel, he actually liked giving them pointers. He liked kids, and he had the patience to help.

Thus far, he'd been left alone for the majority of the class. Inspired by his recent tattoo design for Ann, he'd been lazily sketching a lotus flower in great detail, pencil gliding over the paper easily. He'd been working on his senior project for some time now, though today it was sitting on the sidelines. It was already over the halfway mark, and he was usually a hard worker, so it didn't seem to matter to anyone that he wasn't doing what he was supposed to be. So he was distracted, sue him.

Often, he used music as a muse to help him get going on a project. Other times, he used it just to drown out the noise of the classroom. Today, it was the latter. All over the room students were chattering about their senior projects, about summer breaks, about gossip from around the school. (Alex really, really hated that rumor blog.) But one noise in particular was getting his attention over his earbuds. The repeated crunching and tossing of paper just a table over. He glanced over his shoulder, realizing quickly who the culprit was.

L.C.

... Who had her head on the table?

Okay, he couldn't really ignore that. Especially because he clearly remembered seeing her on Zachary LaRousse's arm at the dance. He could only imagine what he'd done now. Abandoning his little sketch, he got up and slid into seat beside her. He took a little pride in knowing that while some guys he knew would tell her to stop being such a distraction, he was actually taking the time to check on her. "L.C.? Is there something wrong?" The fiddling with the hem of his sleeve betrayed the confidence in his voice. Of course there was something wrong. He just hoped Zachary hadn't done anything untoward. Just because he hadn't defended himself didn't mean he wouldn't defend someone else.

[L.C. Milliner]

From her head’s location in relation to the table, L.C. did not see Alex stand up or even move over to where she was. She saw a chair move and someone sit down and she sighed in annoyance. She wished people would just her alone. She couldn’t even tell who it was, and she didn’t bother to look. Instead, she closed her eyes and attempted to block the ignorant goody-two-shoes out. It didn’t work too well, because she could hear him. She identified the voice as Alex McKenzie’s and gave a groan inside- she really didn’t want to deal with ‘The Midget That Stole Valentine’s Day’ (Zac’s point of view, not hers) right now. She didn’t want to deal with anyone.

But he was asking her if she was alright. Like him or not, L.C. was expected to give an answer. She debated it for a moment, and finally shook her head in a simple no. No, she wasn’t okay. That was obvious. He should be able to see it, unless he was blind too and she didn’t realize it. That would be the icing on the cake for Zac- not only was Alex short, punky, and unpopular, he was blind as a bat. Oh, cue the irony. She smirked a little at the thought, not so much that Alex could see, unless he was amazingly perceptive, ergo the opposite of blind.

“I’m just tired.” She lied, hoping that it would make him go away faster. She didn’t talk to people about her problems. People didn’t care about her enough to ask, first of all. She was L.C. Milliner. If she had problems, than the world stayed out of her way lest they be solved with a lot of anger and spikes. A couple of months ago she would have shredded something with so much frustration on her mind, but now she didn’t even have the willpower to pick up a paper to rip it apart. Was she possibly becoming depressed? It seemed likely. She had never faced such difficult problems before. She didn’t want to grow up.

“Sorry if I’m bothering you.” She mumbled, realizing that was probably why he came over. She lifted her arms from their place on her lap and folded them on the table, nestling her head in them as she made it clear that she was just going to go to sleep. She would give it another go later, maybe. Right now she was too frustrated and tired to think about art class or her final. Once she cleared a few things up she would get back to it.

[/blockquote]

[Alexander McKenzie]

Alex understood the desire to be left alone. Honestly, he did. When he’d been younger, it had been all he’d wanted. In his older years, he’d come to understand his need to be around people. He was a social creature at heart, and had an urge to do things like he was doing now. He knew that L.C. wasn’t exactly the friendliest person, but, bless his chivalrous heart, she was still a girl, and she looked upset.

Which was why he was sticking his nose in her business, yes.

The little head shake made him frown. God, he hoped she wasn’t crying. He could deal with a good number of things, but a crying girl? Not so easy. He bit his lip, pressing his tongue against the ring threaded through it. Her excuse was weak, and he was pretty sure she knew that. He didn’t dare touch her – he’d seen those spikes in action more than once, and he was pretty sure he didn’t need any new holes in his body – but he didn’t move from his post either. He let it go for a moment, shrugging it off when she apologized.

“It’s all right. I wasn’t working on anything important.” He brushed it off, because really, it wasn’t such a big deal to be interrupted. “I just wanted to see if you were all right.” Thinking again about Zac, his gaze narrowed very slightly. They’d been together. He had to ask, because he didn’t trust the other boy an inch. “L.C. Zac... hadn’t done anything to you, has he?” A soft smile crossed his face. “Just because I’m not all that good at self defence doesn’t mean I won’t protect someone else.” If Zac had crossed a line somewhere, he wouldn’t think twice about going to find him. No one had the right to make anyone else feel down like this. Not even the little prince.

“Look, if you would like someone to talk to... I can’t promise I’d understand everything.” God help him if it was a ‘girl’ problem. “But I can listen.”

[L.C. Milliner]

It was nice to know that Alex wasn’t working on anything important; that made her feel much better about disturbing him. His caring attitude was almost foreign to her, considering that no one else got close enough to try and be nice. So, she tried to roll with it. “Thanks, I guess.” She wasn’t sure how to respond. Usually people who asked her if she was okay left after getting an answer to avoid getting themselves hurt, the fact that he was sitting next to her meant two things. One: he was a nice person, and he wouldn’t go and gossip about her, not that boys did that anyway. Two: she was starting to get soft. Judging by his reluctance to touch her, she still had a little bit of a bad reputation, but his talking to her was a step in a direction. Good or bad, she wasn’t sure. But it was a step nonetheless.

At his mention of Zac, she rolled her head to the side and looked up at him through her hair, raising her eyebrows. “Not really... He did try to drown me on Saturday, but that was an accident.” She paused, bit her lip, and looked to the ceiling. “But then again, he didn’t know I couldn’t swim. And he’s giving me lessons now.” That should redeem him a little bit, if not totally. Besides, she rather liked him. For one, he was hot, even though she hated to admit it. And, despite his large ego and his insulting behavior, he seemed to be trying to get close to her. For what reason, only God knows why.

The mental image of Alex trying to hit him was hilarious though. She snorted and sat up, pulling her hair from her face. “Pretty sure I could handle him better than you, from what I’ve heard.” L.C. had heard about the black eye, but she never witnessed it in person. Poor guy.

But back to her and her problems. She sighed and crossed her legs and arms, sinking into her chair. “Just stuff. Life stuff. Figuring out what to do with myself, you know?” She sighed and worried her lip. “Don’t have a fucking clue what to do after school.” and for once in her life, L.C. looked worried. Not ‘oh-I-think-the-cafeteria-is-out-of-salad’ worried, but legit, ‘Oh-God’ worried. (There is a difference, unless you’re vegetarian) She crinkled her nose a bit and looked down, focusing on her shoe rather on Alex. “I spent all my life wanting to grow up, and get the hell out of wherever I was, whether it was here or the carnival, and now I wish time would slow down.” L.C. rarely spoke about the carnival unless asked first, it was not a subject for polite company.

Remembering a movie she watched, she looked up to Alex, glancing at him as she gave a fain smirk of defeat. “The world went and got itself in a big damn hurry.”

[Alexander McKenzie]

No, it hadn’t been anything important that he’d been working on. Granted, even if it had been important, he would have interrupted his progress for this. He genuinely did feel for L.C., regardless of the fact that he was still somewhat intimidated of her. “You’re welcome,” he answered automatically. Hey, his parents had taught him manners from an early age. Somehow, they’d survived adolescence intact. He wasn’t about to go off and fuel the gossip mill about whatever was going on, either. He knew how much it sucked to be on Rumor’s radar.

At least she was finally looking at him, though he couldn’t say he approved of Zac’s approaches. That disapproval was clear on his face, even after she clarified. “Zac is...” he shook his head. “Interesting,” he finished lamely. He didn’t really know what else to say. It wasn’t like he knew Zac all that well. Just enough to know that he was a bit (a lot) of a jerk. “But that’s nice he’s giving you lessons.” Even if it was likely no more than an excuse to ogle a pretty girl in a swim suit.

... He was just a little cynical sometimes.

He blushed at the suggestion that she could ‘handle’ Zac better, regardless of the fact that it was probably true. “I didn’t see the need to start a riot,” he offered with a little shrug. The truth was, he just hadn’t seen it coming fast enough to make a force field, and when it came to defending himself... he wasn’t that good at it. He just lacked the motivation. When it came to defending others, however, he was a different story.

Oh. So that was the problem. A common one among most seniors. “Yes, I know.” He was a senior too. The difference was, he’d known what he wanted to do for a while now. “It’s not something you need to decide now, though. That’s what post secondary education is for.” College, University, whatever. A lot of it was spent figuring yourself out. At least, that was what he’d heard. “I’ve spent half my life a little too grown up, so unfortunately, I’m not much help.” In all honesty, he couldn’t wait to graduate from Hammel and move on. If it wasn’t for Ann, he’d already be mentally checked out of high school. “It likes to do that at the most inopportune of times, doesn’t it?” He smiled and propped up his chin on his hand. “But it does get better. Eventually.” This, he knew from experience.

[L.C. Milliner]

“Mmmhmm.” L.C. did not even bother to hide her obvious skepticism on his comment about starting a riot because of Zac, she had seen the shiner herself; there was no way he could’ve defended himself from that. She would have had a nice one too if she were in his shoes, if not worse- though if she had been hit, she would have slugged Zac back with a fist that was the equivalent of a medieval flail. She knew Alex made force fields or something like that. She wasn’t sure how they worked. She assumed they only blocked things and they were not offensive at all. That seemed to be a logical conclusion, anyway.

The male’s comment on her troubles, however, did nothing to alleviate her mood. If anything she felt worse. He sounded like he was belittling her troubles, even if she was positive that he was only trying to help. College was a problem in itself. “I can’t go to college. No money, no scholarships, no job.” She held out her hands to her crumpled artwork. “No talent.” She sighed. “Haven’t even applied to anywhere. Fuck.” How many times had she been told to get an application from the office? She watched deadlines blow by with little interest, but now that it really mattered, she had nothing to grab hold of. Application due dates were long past. Done with. Through. Just like her.

L.C. knew the feeling of being grown up for too long. She nodded solemnly in agreement about that, wishing that both their lives could have been different, somehow. She sunk low in her chair, all but falling off it as she looked up to the ceiling. “People keep telling me things get better. But I’m not seeing it much. I get dragged out of hell only to get thrown back in. This world... It’s ridiculous.”

She paused, looking to Alex with one of the most serious of expressions, stone cold. “What do you think about the military?”

There was an idea that was starting to blossom in her head lately, and it kept getting bigger and bigger. She felt so insignificant all the time. Worthless. Tired. She had training, possibly the best in the country. Hammel didn’t exactly bring in the recruiters, but the place was run by the government. That had to count for something. And this idea, this tiny bud, kept getting bigger in her brain.

And she needed to show it to someone.

[Alexander McKenzie]

Okay, so maybe claiming that hadn’t been such a clever idea. But the goal had been to make her feel better, not necessarily tell the truth. Honestly, had he been a little less naive and a bit more on the defence, he might have seen the punch coming, and been able to deflect it. Sadly, that hadn’t been the case, and the shiner had taken quite a while to heal up properly. Sometimes it was nice to think that, had he been able to shield himself in time, it would have been Zac that would have been hurting. His fields weren’t exactly soft.

He frowned slightly at her belittling of herself. Normally, in situations such as this, he’d be reaching out to physically comfort someone. But L.C. was... well... it was probably for the best that he didn’t. But he still listened. “That’s not true, and you know it.” He was speaking more to her so called lack of talent, but it applied to most of it as well. “There are all kinds of student loans you can apply for, and there are lots of jobs in Pilot Ridge.” Mentally, he thought about whether Kali had mentioned hiring anyone else recently. “... You could always try the Kafe where I work. The woman that runs it is just a little insane sometimes, but she’s a good manager. I’d put in a good word for you.” He offered a smile, wondering if that might cheer her up.

Okay, maybe not. “It’s not too late to apply, you know. You could always work for a year, and get into college next year.” It was worth a try, anyway. “And things do eventually get better, even if you can’t see it now. It sounds ridiculous, but things happen for a reason. And going through ‘hell’ will only make you stronger. Trust me.” Oh, he knew all about that. Different situation entirely, but he knew about it.

Her question caught him somewhat off guard (he had been trying to look at her crumpled drawing), so he ended up looking up like a deer in the headlights. “The military?” He was quite passive, though he did firmly believe in the right to defend your country. He just wasn’t sure he could do it himself. “I... suppose that’s an option. Have you done any research into it yet?” He’d be the first to admit it wasn’t something he knew much about. If she questioned him on the application process for the University of Vermont, however, he’d be able to do that without an issue.

[L.C. Milliner]

Sometimes, L.C. swore she could still see bits of yellow on Alex’s face- remnants of the black eye she had inadvertently inspired Zac to give him. The teen would never tell him that of course- in fact she pushed the idea away so much that she had caused it to the back of her head. Now, she rarely even thought about it when talking to him. It was only when it was brought up for a while that she could remember it. She really wished Zac hadn’t done it- she had nothing against Alex, or even Ann, in retrospect. It was all just a huge misunderstanding.

“I don’t even know how to fill out an application for college, or scholarships.” She confessed, shrugging at she bit her lip and glared at the table in front of her. She had her social security card and all that, but when she looked at applications for college, the words just got jumbled up in her head. She didn’t feel old enough for college. She didn’t feel ready for college- she barely felt ready for high school. How many classes did she have to repeat? “No college would take me anyway, I don’t have the grades.” D’s and C’s didn’t get you into college, they got you bagging groceries in a checkout lane.

His offer to try the local café made her shrug again, but it brought a quirked eyebrow to her face. “Can’t imagine you pouring coffee.” She confessed, chuckling at the thought. “Or working at all.” He didn’t seem like the type of guy who would work- he seemed like the type who sort his art and made money off of that. She wished she was that good at it. But no, he seemed too punky to work anywhere, except maybe at the Hot Topic store in the mall. “I’ll look into it. Thanks.” She would probably forget about his offer within a day or so- she was fairly certain she’d already applied there anyway.

There was a point when a person was depressed enough that they wanted to stay that way for a while- L.C. was at that point. All she could do was nod at his suggestions and continue to act like a lifeless blob. She did it so rarely that she felt entitled to having a long fit of it for once. The idea of working for a year before college was enticing, and probably the best option for her at this point. She didn’t have the money to pay her way through, and she certainly didn’t apply to meet the FAFSA deadline- she had checked. Working was all she could do at this point.

Unless she went into the military, a career she could certainly excel in, given her prior training at Hammel along with her power. Wasn’t Hammel already affiliated with the U.S. government? She had looked into it a little bit- enough to know that she wasn’t cut out for the navy or the air force. If she went into any branch she’d likely be in the National Guard. She had to take an ASVAB test, something she was apprehensive about, considering that she wasn’t good at tests. Other than that, she was lost- how to apply, who to talk to, all those things were hard for her to understand. “A little.” She said, scratching her head. Wasn’t his girlfriend a military junkie or something, or had parents in it? She figured he’d know something about it. “I just figured. I mean, they pay for college and stuff. And I’m pretty good at stuff like that. So I can do what I want and not have to pay for most of it. Plus, I guess I owe Uncle Sam a little bit, for bringing me here and keeping me around.”