Sail (Guy)

[Adrianna Carstyn]

Was it really possible for someone who finally reached rock bottom to climb back up? The saying went, there's nowhere to go but up, and yet, Adrian wasn't entirely sure she could get back up. Not after she kept getting kicked while she was down. Things may have started to look up, her friendship with Lani was being mended, her mother was still alive, still acting like herself. Venn was still away, but she knew why and she understood his reasoning for being away. Family always came first, and though she wished she could be with him, she knew he had to do it on his own for now. She'd always be here when he got back. And yet with things looking as though they could get better, she was still in this slump. A slump that she'd never been put in before, the mental exhaustion, the depression, all of it had gotten out of hand and now she was working towards getting better.

Lani would be helping her, she knew. And she had her roommates who had been so supportive through all of it. Levi was so quiet, but he seemed fond of her. Elisia had been torn apart when she found out what she was going through. It was funny how the girl had sort of become like a sister to her. She had people there, but those people weren't the one she wanted. She wanted and needed Venn and she was sure that until he was back, she wouldn't be the same. But she could try couldn't she? Adrian knew it was worth a shot, but she was afraid of things getting worse if she did try. She'd spent several days thinking of the pros and cons to going back to her normal routine. And after a week's worth of pros and cons, the pros had finally out-weighed the cons.

It was hard to believe that she hadn't been dancing since the day she ran into Jayden, and that was even before her life had gone completely to turmoil. It was before she'd locked herself up in her room. It was before she'd talked to Lani about the problems she'd been having. Months it had been since she'd danced. And in that time, she hadn't once talked to one of her other friends, one that she'd heard about from Ellie.

Guy had met her a little while back, when she was still the bright and bubbly girl that she used to be. The last time he'd seen her was when she first found out her mother was getting worse and when Venn left. Since then, she hadn't seen him around, she hadn't reached out to talk to him. The only way she even knew how he was doing was through Ellie and she had to admit, if her emotions weren't so draining, she'd have been happier to hear about the two of them dancing together. But she couldn't hold any happiness for herself, let alone other people.

Adrianna headed towards the auditorium, a hoody draped over her arm along with a few fresh bandages to cover the scars. Usually she'd have been wearing layers of clothing, but she didn't expect to see anyone so it didn't bother her that she was so exposed. Her ipod was clipped to the strap of her dress, with headphones dangling around her neck. It wasn't until she got to the auditorium, that she took the headphones from around her neck and wrapped them up. She walked up the steps of the stage and plugged her ipod into the docking station. She put it on a song that she'd been thinking of choreographing to. A song that had been on repeat for days. She stood center stage and waited for it to begin, her eyes blank, lacking the emotion that would be shown in each of her movements.

[Guy Roeby]

Guy was feeling bad for not being in touch with one of his closest friends. It was hurting him, watching someone he loved (platonically, but still) slowly destroy herself. Between the bad boyfriends and the state of her mother, Guy wished Adrianna wouldn’t push him away so much. They used to have so much fun together, and she was one of his best friends. There had been a time where he really liked her, and it hurt to watch her date so many bad eggs when he knew he could be so good to her. But he hated watching everyone leave, hated watching her distrust for people begin to build walls around her heart. And so, he decided that it would just be better to remain friends. Always by her side – safe. Besides, he was used to being friend-zoned.

All Guy ever wanted to do was help his friends. He didn’t feel like anyone without them. Sometimes school took over, and he mostly kept to himself, but he was always there if anyone needed him, people just needed to ask him. It had been far too long since he last saw Adrian. He had taken an immediate liking to her. She had laughed at his goofy and clumsy nature, and had also been gracious enough to compliment him on the areas he actually had some skills in – like dance, singing, and football. Adrianna had been the first girl he danced with at Hammel, after she had invited him to a little dance off that he was sure he could win. They had acted goofy all afternoon in the auditorium, and he wasn’t afraid to be himself around her. Adrianna was a beautiful person, she just seemed... lost.

All of this came flooding to Guy’s mind as he ventured towards the auditorium, a hooded figure entering just before him. “Adrian?” He whispered softly, but she didn’t hear him and the door shut right in his face. Guy scratched the back of his neck, wondering if he should follow after her. She didn’t seem like herself at all, closed off from the world, quiet... Opening the door slowly, he saw her put her iPod on the docking station. She was a zombie at first, and though the song seemed to animate her, it didn’t bring her to life like dancing usually did. Maybe that was the point.

Watching her dance as he held back his hand to let the door shut quietly, Guy felt an immense guilt in the pit of his stomach. The words from the song, the tone of it... He was filled with worry as he watched each of her movements, the empty and woeful expression on her face. Being who he was, Guy walked around the chairs, moving closer to backstage and finally going up the stairs. He didn’t know what he was going to say, didn’t know how to ask how she was without making things worse, but he couldn’t leave her alone. Approaching the docking station, he watched her finish the dance, knowing that at some point, she must’ve seen him because she was avoiding his glance now.

His arms clasped behind his back, he released them to give her a quick wave before putting them back behind him. “Hey,” he said, a quirky smile on his grin, the remnants of the song still playing. “I don’t mean to interrupt, but, actually I do mean to interrupt,” it only took a couple of his long strides to breach the gap between them, and she was in his arms, “you just look like you needed a hug.” He pulled away after a few seconds, readjusting the toque on his head that always seemed present no matter what time of year. His eyes trailed over her arms, where a large amount of bandages were. He raised an eyebrow, looking back to her. He was too self-conscious to actually say anything about it, but, the worry was written across his face.

[Adrianna Carstyn]

For Adrian to be so lifeless when dancing was an instant set off. It was part of the reason she’d been avoiding dance practice with all of her other peers, they’d be able to see that she no longer had it in her to dance with that emotion she used to have. Her eyes always gave way to her emotions, but as of late, they held nothing. It was like looking into muddy water, you knew it went deeper, but you couldn’t see what was on the other side. The dancing was merely just to get her back into the swing of things. Luckily her muscle memory made it easy to go through the motions, but it was sorely lacking in what made her such an amazing dancer.

The song ended and she stood in the middle of the stage, her eyes fixated on the floor. As she had been dancing, she noticed a familiar face, but was determined to act as if she’d seen nothing. She wasn’t really sure what she was going to say to him, what she’d do. Part of her thought of acting as if she was totally fine. The more logical part of her knew he’d never buy it. He was one of the men in her life that knew her inside and out. He was her dance buddy along with one of her best friends. Guy and Venn would have been neck and neck had they met her around the same time, but Venn had known her longer. And she was going to treat Guy the same way she’d treat Venn, by trying to be happy-go-lucky just like before. And just like Venn, he’d see right through her.

Once her mind was made up is when she heard him speak. The smile made her own words stick in her throat and she it constricted, making her incapable of forming words. Her eyes stayed on him while she tried pushing back the tears that sprung to them. He spoke instead and she was confused for a moment until he closed the distance between them and caught her in a hug. She all but collapsed into him as his arms wrapped around her. Adrian was reluctant to let go because it had been so long since she’d had any form of comforting physical contact. She couldn’t get anything from Lani anymore and she didn’t have Venn. Jayden had just confused her with his gesture, but from Guy, it was genuinely comforting to know she had a friend still even though she’d been avoiding him so long.

The tears that gathered in her eyes were still there, but she kept them at bay. Giving a slight nod at his comment she gulped back the tightness in her throat. Before she said anything in return, she caught his eyes traveling down to her arms and she tensed, waiting for him to go off just like Lani had. She knew the two boys were very different, but it seemed to be everyone’s reaction when they saw the bandages. Out of self-consciousness, she folded her arms across her chest to hide the bandages and looked down. “I-I don’t really know what to say, Guy. Whether to apologize or explain. Or both…” She whispered.

[Guy Roeby]

No one could hide the pain she was trying to hide. Guy was intuitive by nature, had dealt with his mother’s breakdowns, and Adrian wasn’t going to get past him either. Her smile wasn’t her real smile, and it only propelled him forward. If she needed someone to lean on, he was there, but that meant she had to stop pretending. Guy held onto her for as long as he felt was good, and then gave her her space again.

“You know what else you need?” Guy asked, not really giving her time to answer before he opened his mouth again, clearing it, laughing to himself, and then getting ready again. He wasn’t afraid to be so very awkward around her. Yes she was cute, but she was taken and he didn’t really feel nervous around her anymore, he’d moved on. When Guy sang, it was strong and true. He had a higher voice for a man, but it was well suited to him, and he sang quite beautifully. REM rang out, “When your day is long...”. Guy spun her around and gathered her into his arms again, dancing slowly. He’d been really worried about her, and the truth was, she didn’t owe her anything. He just wanted her to smile again. Really smile.

“I know it’s not much but, you know you got me right?” He asked, this time allowing for time to pass if she wanted to answer.

[Adrianna Carstyn]

Adrian watched him in confusion as he stepped back and laughed almost shyly. Of course she was used to this side of him, especially back when they first became friends, but she hadn't seen it in a while. He cleared his throat and she narrowed her eyes. There was no way he was about to...and then he did. His voice rang and she couldn't help but smile faintly. With as shy as he was about his voice, she loved when he got over his fear of singing. That was one thing they had in common, the fear of stage fright.

He twirled her and she spun right into his arms, slowly moving with the song that played in her head. Classic REM, not to mention something that fit far too well for her situation at the moment. Adrian rested her cheek against his shoulder as they danced and mouthed the next line, "And the night, the night is yours alone." She muttered it just loud enough for him to hear, but not enough to count as singing really.

Chewing on her cheek, she nodded against his shoulder and buried her face into his shirt, "I really missed you, and I'm sorry I've been away so long..."

[Guy Roeby]

If Adrianna was going to be broken in front of him, Guy was going to do his best to make her feel like she didn’t need to be afraid. Making himself vulnerable seemed like the best idea, and most of the time, he was pretty goofy around her as is. There was nothing to be afraid of around him, he was the biggest teddy bear. It was amazing he didn’t have a girlfriend already, he guessed he just hadn’t found the right girl yet.

Guy was just trying to keep her here, keep her in the present with him and try not to get lost in her own thoughts. It wasn’t hard to see that her thoughts were growing dark, but he couldn’t control how she felt, he could only try and be there for her when she needed someone.

“Did you leave?” He asked a little cluelessly. He grabbed her shoulders softly. “You would’ve told me if you were leaving the school,” he said, tilting his head to the side. He was wondering what was up, but couldn’t ask. He had the worst time handling these personal situations, but that didn’t mean he didn’t want to try. “Let’s do something fun, something you haven’t done in a long time. You pick.” Honestly, he’d do anything for this girl.

[Adrianna Carstyn]

"No, I didn't leave. I haven't been to California in months," She whispered softly, even regretfully. She'd been planning on going for weeks now, but with the way things were now, Adrian couldn't stand for her mother to see her like this. Oh she wanted to be in California by her mother's side, but she needed to take care of her problems first. Amelia didn't need the added pressure of her daughter being screwed up.

Adrian sighed, "I just mean, I've been out of my mind for such a long time, I might as well have disappeared. Staying locked up in her room all day and night because she couldn't face the world. She was the perfect hermit, ignoring all of her friends and not talking to her mother as often as she should. It was pathetic.

Arching an eyebrow, she looked at him. "Like what? I mean I honestly can't think of anything fun to do at the moment," Seeing as how she hadn't had any real fun for months now. Adrianna tightened her arms around his neck and rested her cheek against the side of it. "I'm not all that fun anymore, Guy."

[Guy Roeby]

Guy nodded in understanding, finally. "You miss home? Are you going there for the summer?" He pressed, his questions coming out in desperation. He didn't know how to help, and he didn't know how to help himself from being awkward. "I bet you miss your mom," he sighed, knowing the situation she was going through wasn't the same as his, but he could relate in that he missed his family too.

"I will come to your room more often," he said softly, wondering if maybe she just needed someone to hold her once in a while. Guy put his arms around her, holding her tight. "Let's go see a movie or something. Get out of here." He knew she probably didn't feel like it, but it might help to get a breath of fresh air. "It'll be my treat. I want to see that new Fast and Furious movie anyways," he said, and then he put on his best puppy dog face. "Please?"

[Adrianna Carstyn]

"Like crazy," She whispered, looking down. Adrian wished she could be home even if it wasn't at the hospital with her mother. At least she'd be able to clean the house and make it nice for when her mother was able to go home (she was still hoping even when the doctors told her not to). She'd have her grandmother (for all intensive purposes) and everything would just be easier if she was in California instead of on the other side of the country.

Adrian nodded, "It's been hell without her. I mean we talk every day, but it's not the same ya know?" Of course he'd understand. Guy knew what it was like to grow up without a father figure really and to be so close to his mother. They shared the same love for their mothers in a way that no one else understood. He got how she was feeling. "Promise?" She asked softly when he mentioned going to her room more often. God knew she needed it. And hey, he'd have more reasons than just her to visit the dorm, at least from what Adrian heard from Elisia, she hoped he would.

She buried her face in his chest and stayed quiet for a little bit. Just as he pulled back she smiled at his expression. "You think it'll help?" Anything at this point she was willing to try. Anything to keep her away from her room and away from the sharp objects. Even if they were calling her name.

[Guy Roeby]

"Yeah I know," Guy sympathized, "I miss my family every day." He smiled though, because at least he had family to miss. Guy knew that a lot of teens at this school didn't have anyone, and he was lucky to have family who he not only missed, but missed him too. Adrianna was the first person to not judge him or call him a moma's boy when she discovered the close relationship Guy had with his mom. "Promise," Guy confirmed, giving her a smile. Plus, Ellie shared the same room. It never hurt to hit two birds with one stone. And maybe, when Adrianna was feeling better about everything, she could help him win Ellie's heart.

Guy shrugged. "I don't really know for sure, but I know I like spending time with you, and Fast and Furious is awesome, so you can't really go wrong." He laughed nervously, his hand behind his head before looking around the room. He wasn't afraid for her, it wasn't his place to protect her from herself. And cutting didn't seem nearly as bad as the alternative. "We can take the bus into town. You like popcorn right?" He asked, already retreating from the stage. "I just have to grab my wallet from dorm," he said, returning to her and giving her another hug. "Meet you outside in five?" There he went with the football jargon again!

(OOC: Wrap? Continue? New thread to continue?)