Eccentricity (Sebastian)

[Thomas "Monroe" Montgomery]

Monroe liked the library almost as much as Sebastian did. It was quiet, although it was a place where a lot of students fell asleep, but it wasn't much of a worry during summer vacation because not many people really hung out in the library--that was something him and Sebastian did precisely because of that reason.

While Sebastian was a few years younger than him, they bonded since the first time they saw each other in the library. They were both eccentric in their own way and besides, he had to appreciate Seb's brilliant blonde hair. They really hit it off and with their powers, they seemed to have even more in common because they were mental. And Sebastian was one of the only people that Monroe didn't get annoyed with when he was so sleep deprived.

He rubbed his eyes and yawned, looking across the table at his friend. "Once school starts up again, we're gonna need a new hang out spot," he told him.


[ooc: I hope my establishment of their relationship is okay with you. I think we talked about them already have been knowing each other. If it's not, feel free to PM me. This way we can get the plot started with them and Eloise and all the bromance]

[Sebastian Bolstad]

The library was one of the few places at Hammel that Sebastian felt a little more at ease. It was not that high on most of the trouble-maker's lists of places to cause havoc so it was usually peaceful and sedate. Qualities that the blonde very much appreciated. He came here often to retreat from the noise and chaos of the rest of the school building, picking up any book off the shelves and retreating to a quiet corner and losing himself in the words for a few hours.

Sometimes, just sometimes, he was able to temporarily forget that he was just another abomination inside an elaborately disguised cage.

Sitting at the table with Monroe, the blonde idly flicked through a graphic collection of the works of Picasso. He didn't have a massive amount of interest in the fine arts but he firmly believed that knowledge was a powerful thing and the more he learned of the world the more likely he was to find a way to remove this curse on him. Besides, it meant that he could focus most of his attention on the other boy and prevent himself from seeming rude.

Despite their personality differences, Sebastian felt a little more at ease with Monroe than he did with many of the other students in the school. The older boy's safe enthusiasm and easy going mannerisms helped Seb lower his guard down somewhat, and so far the brunette had been nothing but kind and open with him. “What do you mean? Are you getting bored of spending time in the library?”

[Thomas "Monroe" Montgomery]

"Nah, not bored of it," Monroe assured him. That wasn't the problem at all. "But when school starts up, there's going to be a lot more students in here. Tired students studying for exams," he explained. Which meant that someone was bound to fall asleep and if Monroe was in here, he'd be falling into dreams left and right. It sucked that he had to worry about things like that. "Although I guess I could just have you wake me up by stabbing me with a pencil everytime I fall asleep." He shrugged and smiled over at the blonde.

He knew that Seb was a bit uneasy, but Monroe was glad that he at least liked to be around him. He looked down at his sketchbook where he'd started the outline of something. Art was an attempt to keep him awake and something he enjoyed.

[Sebastian Bolstad]

Seb gave a soft nod of his head in understanding. “Yes, you are right. That had not occurred to me. Do you have any suggestions for an alternative place?” The blonde was still incredibly uncomfortable in the school, especially in any areas where the students tended to congregate. He tended to avoid the cafeteria as much as possible, trying to time his arrivals there for moments when there were the fewest people possible present. He was very, very slowly learning to adapt to being surrounded by other abominations, but the thought of them descending on a place that he liked as much as a library was disarming. He gave a whisper-quiet laugh at Monroe's suggestion. “I would not stab you with a feather, never mind a pencil, but I could shake your shoulder should you drift to sleep, if you'd like?”

Tucking a long lock of hair behind his ear, Seb watched the outline taking shape on the paper. “May I ask what it is that you are drawing?”

[Thomas "Monroe" Montgomery]

"No worries, Seb," Monroe told the blonde. "I don't expect everybody to just know my power like the back of their hand--or in your case, as well as you know your hair." Monroe liked to think of Seb's hair as an extension of who he was (literally and figuratively). It defined him in Monroe's opinion. He chuckled lightly. "Anyway, I don't know. Finding somewhere quiet around campus is already difficult. We'll have to brainstorm ideas." He wished that the library had study rooms that were dream proof...but that was asking way too much. "It's good to know that you don't have any secret plans to stab me, although it might be amusing to see you try, but yes...please wake me up. You don't want to know what half of this school dreams about."

He yawned before answering Sebastian's question. "Your guess is as good as mine," he told him with a shrug. He wasn't really sure what he was drawing. Maybe it was sleep deprivation getting to him, he wasn't sure...but it was beginning to look like a person.

[Sebastian Bolstad]

Sebastian gave a soft smile as Monroe mentioned his hair, and he twirled a lock of it around his finger idly. “I do know my hair rather well, that is true”. Sebastian had kept his hair long for most of his life; his mother had always thought it was elegant and made him look angelic, and as he had matured he had decided to just let it keep growing rather than get it cut short like so many other boys did. A soft whisper of a laugh left Sebastian's lips. “I shall not ever try to stab you, have no fears. If I ever find you asleep I shall wake you, though I must admit I do often find myself curious as to the nature of the dreams of others.”

By now the blonde was growing more accustomed to the older boy's yawns and consistent fidgeting, though he had at first found it rather rude. They were certainly not polite habits to display in front of others but once Monroe had explained his situation Sebastian had understood, however it did still seem a little distracting to him at times. Quietly watching the pencil move across the paper, Sebastian pondered ideas for alternative locations for their meetings. “The courtyard, perhaps? It is not quite as pretty as the pond, but it does seem to attract smaller numbers of people.”

[Thomas "Monroe" Montgomery]

Monroe grinned at his response. It seemed silly to think that they'd bonded over their hair and their appreciation for taking care of it, but that was part of it. "Don't be curious about the dreams of others, Seb. It's a dangerous curiosity. Although I would trade powers with you if I could." On second thought, he wasn't sure. Precognition? At least then he might be able to sleep. "I find psychology and the mind very interesting--especially the subconscious, but I don't even think Sigmund Freud would appreciate having this power. It's just too much." He rubbed his temples idly before returning to his sketch.

"That's not a bad idea...there are some quiet spots around the courtyard."

[Sebastian Bolstad]

Sebastian winced slightly at the gentle berating, lowering his head and focussing on the picture on the page of the book he had opened. He gave a small nod, turning over the page. “I do apologise, I did not mean to cause offence. I know it is unpleasant for you and I did not mean to trivialise your difficulties.” He knew Monroe's ability had some rather unpleasant side effects, and he felt bad for possibly undermining them by stating his curiosity. But he did have one point he wanted to make. “Please do not ever wish for my curse. No one should have the ability to view the future, it is an abomination against the natural order itself.”

The blonde realised he had accidentally tugged out a few strands of hair, and he placed them neatly on the table to be put in the bin later and gently rubbed his scalp. “No one should have to live with these freakish abilities. We are disasters waiting to happen.”

[Thomas "Monroe" Montgomery]

Monroe shook his head. "There's no need to apologize. It's whatever. The subconscious is interesting. I've always thought it was, but having this power is so damn exhausting..." He trailed off. It made him somewhat lose his interest in the mind and psychology. "You're just curious, I get that and I guess I'm curious about your power too, but they both are more like curses, aren't they?"

He'd realized his mistake when he said he wished he had Seb's power. The problem with these powers was, you wanted someone else's power all the time because you didn't like yours but you didn't realize that the person didn't like their power either. At least, that was the case with him and Sebastian.

He noticed that his friend had a bit of an anxious moment and pulled out some of his hair, but Monroe didn't comment and instead nodded in agreement. "We sure are. I just wish there was some way that my power could be useful, you know? At least then I might actually like it. I mean, it's useful if you like to spy on people's dreams, but that's just not me. I don't know." He rubbed his temples again. "Have you ever had any useful visions?"

[Sebastian Bolstad]

The blonde gave a small nod of his head, still quietly frustrated and embarrassed about how he had seemingly trivialised Monroe's problem. He couldn't imagine how hard it must be for the older boy; at least his own problem only troubled him on occasion. To be constantly struggling against it like Monroe seemed to be... Sebastian doubted he would have the strength to handle that. “They are curses, all of them. No human should ever have these powers in any form. They're not natural.”

Sebastian knew that many of the other students wished they had other powers different from the one engrained in them; the ones who could fly wanted to breathe fire, and the fire breathers wanted to be able to breathe underwater. Unlike most of the other students, Seb wanted nothing. He wanted no power, no ability. He just wanted to be normal again so he could go back home.

Listening intently to Monroe's explanation, Seb gave a little nod of his head, still rubbing at his scalp. It didn't seem to be bleeding at least. “My first one... The one that led to me being here. I saw some children trapped in a fire-” he gave a little shudder, the memory and visuals of it still all too real, too close. “I was able to get them out of their house before it set ablaze.”

[Thomas "Monroe" Montgomery]

"You're right," Monroe agreed. When he thought about it, what Sebastian said was something he could really agree with. No human should be able to possess powers of any kind and maybe the reason why they got along so well was because neither of them wanted a power at all, but rather just wanted to be normal and return home. Of course, Monroe had never really felt normal and that was enough. He didn't need to add a power to it. Giving people powers they couldn't control? Dangerous powers? Especially to teenagers? It made Monroe's head spin, which is why he preferred not to think about it.

"Sorry," he said a little to fast when Sebastian began to shudder at the memories. "I didn't mean to bring up stuff you'd rather not talk about...but I know that it must have been scarring, but you saved lives. I don't know, maybe I'm trying to be stupidly positive." He shrugged before hiking his combat boot clad feet up on the chair opposite of him and next to Seb. "I know you can't control them...but they helped people, even if you shouldn't have to deal with that."

Another part of Monroe felt it was almost wrong to mess with fate, that the fire wasn't meant to be foreseen and that somehow the universe had been thrown off of its axis because of it.

[Sebastian Bolstad]

Even though Sebastian's home and upbringing had hardly been normal by most people's standards, to him it had been the height of sensible living. Carefully controlled diets, an avoidance of modern technology and keeping far away from any freaks had been part and package of his life since birth, and it all made so much sense to him. Hammel had not changed that, nor had any of the people within it, and Sebastian would have given literally anything to be able to just rid himself of this atrocity and go back home to his simple, quiet life.

The blonde gave a small shake of his head, tucking stray hairs behind his ears. “Do not apologise, I have been informed that I need to start talking about things.” His recruiter had made that very clear, though Sebastian had fervently denied it at the time. Seb stared at the boots as they were tucked onto the chair, having to battle the urge to brush them off it. He had always been taught that shoes did not belong on the future, and though he did not want to scold Monroe for it their presence there was making him decidedly uncomfortable.

He made himself turn his blue eyes back to Monroe and try to pretend the boots were not there. “I know that what I did was good and right, but it is still frightening to me. I should not be able to do this.” To be honest Sebastian was still torn about his actions on that fateful day. Saving the family had been the good and honourable thing to do... but the method by which he had found out was wrong and unnatural, and by using it he had allowed the curse in and had ended up being brought here. There were nights when he lay awake crying, tormented with questioning if he had done the right thing. Was he right to have saved them, or should he have let them die to save himself?

[Thomas "Monroe" Montgomery]

Monroe listened, as he always did when Sebastian spoke. And not just because the guy had such an elegant, proper way of speaking that was rare in teenagers now, but because he did care about the guy's well-being. Monroe wasn't the best with conflicts or helping others solving them, but he could be a listening ear and that's what he intended to do for the young blonde. Maybe help loosen him up, if possible. He wasn't like his mother, a psychologist, but he could be a good friend. Besides, Seb was talking to him and confiding in him which is more than Monroe had ever hoped for.

"Talking about things is good and it's not like I'll repeat them to anybody so you're cool to just spew whatever you want when you're around me," he offered. Monroe, himself, had a hard time opening up. He still did in some ways, but he'd made progress from when he first arrived here, at the young age that Sebastian was. He'd been so tired and terrified of falling into people's dreams and facing their wrath or discontentment that he'd stayed awake all night, every night, fueling himself with coffee and blasting metal music through his headphones in the library to keep himself awake. He must have read half of the books there and sketched a million weird drawings. Those days were over, in some way. He learned how to pull out of dreams although it sucked up his energy and where to go to sleep to avoid falling into dreams. That didn't mean he didn't miss his bed in his dorm though. It was much comfier.

"See, that's where things get complicated," he agreed. "With a power like yours, you can help people which is a positive thing. You saved that family, but at the same time, you wouldn't have been able to do that without your power and it sort of feels like...cheating? That and those visions are just freakin' terrifying, I bet." Monroe wasn't sure how he'd feel if he was Seb and he understood why he was conflicted. He dropped the pencil he was holding and rubbed his eyes.

"Man, I didn't expect to have a conversation like this," he said, again, stifling a yawn. "I know it sounds stupid, but you shouldn't dwell on it. My old trainer used to tell me to ignore the dreams. If I fell into them, to just act a part of it, rather than make myself known so I didn't anger anybody, but even that felt wrong because it felt like spying and invading on their private dreamscape. I'd tell you to ignore your visions, but I'm not sure it's that easy."

[Sebastian Bolstad]

Sebastian gave his friend a soft smile, nodding his head slightly. “I know, and I do very much appreciate the time you spend listening to me.” Sebastian was very slowly learning that there were a few other freaks in this school he was able to talk to, not all as easily as he could Monroe but talk to none the less. There had really been little choice in the matter; he had been forced to either start to learn to try to ignore the fact that these were all accursed people, or spend the next few years living locked away in his dorm room. Sebastian didn't trust Monroe, not by a long shot, but he didn't detest him either. That was a huge stepping stone that he'd crossed, even if he didn't realise it.

Listening intently, Sebastian nodded in agreement right until the moment Monroe said it was like cheating. Whilst he didn't overly disagree with the comment, it was not the word choice Seb would ever have used. If it was cheating it would have implied that he somehow wanted the end result, which was entirely not the case. Sebastian sighed softly and rubbed his eyes. “Without my power they would be dead, that much is true. But without my power I would not be trapped in this school. I would still be at home with my family.” It was bitterly selfish, he knew that, and yet he couldn't help but think it. He hated that he thought that way, yet no matter how hard he tried he couldn't help it.

Fidgeting with a lock of blonde hair, Sebastian tried to explain. “The visions themselves are not always very frightening. Sometimes they are so small and insignificant. But... they hurt, and sometimes they make me bleed.” Elegant fingers brushed under his nose, almost expecting to find a crimson tell-tail trickle. “They are most frightening because they should not be happening, to me nor anyone else.”

Sebastian had to make a conscious effort to halt the surprised huff at the comment to not dwell on it. He had spent his entire life trying to avoid becoming what he was; trying to ignore it was a concept to him that seemed both impossible and ridiculous. “I cannot ignore them. I cannot control when they appear, or what they are about. I cannot stop them.” The blonde was starting to get agitated. “I cannot ignore them just as I cannot ignore breathing. They are involuntary. I cannot pretend they are not there.”

[Thomas "Monroe" Montgomery]

"Good, because let's face it, I do what works for me, but I suck at helping others," Monroe said honestly. It wasn't that he ignored everything, it was more like he decided it wasn't worth his time to dwell on it--that and conflict was not his forte. But when it came to his power, he couldn't ignore it. He fell into dreams, he was sleep deprived all the time. He could not ignore his drooping eyes.

"See, that's what I mean. That family is alive because of you, but you pay the price for having a power like that--and like you said, nobody should possess that ability in the first place." Monroe was actually a firm believer of fate and that by messing with it, you were somehow tampering with the universe and how it was aligned. In all honesty, he wished he knew how to help Sebastian, because the boy so badly wanted to go home and to be rid of his curse. Monroe felt similar of course, but he was sure it was on Seb's mind a lot more.

He nodded his head. Even if the visions were not scary ones, they were scary just the same--because having a vision in general was not something that was supposed to happen. He could understand that. That, and there were all sorts of nasty side-effects to powers, most of the time anyway, which only made being a meta-human more undesirable. For Monroe, it was headaches, sleep deprivation, drowsiness and getting on people's hate lists.

He was in deep thought, when he realized that there had been a slight change in the blonde. "I didn't mean....to say that you should ignore it." That was the worst thing about involuntary powers. It wasn't something you could control...not at all. "I was just saying it'd be easier if we could..." He wanted to face-palm at his seemingly insensitive comment. "I think we both wish that we could just have our powers disappear. I wouldn't mind having my own dreams again and feeling like I'm not always half asleep." It sucked. Of course it sucked. Who could deny that it didn't? But there was only one thing they could do and that was deal with it...even if they didn't want to, even if their powers made them want to pull their hair out.

"Look...I shouldn't have brought it up. I apologize. Getting less sleep unfortunately also makes me stupider."