Can you feel it? (Travis)

[Adaryn Breslin]

Tendrily.

Was that even a word? Adaryn was 99% sure it wasn't, but even so, she let out a quick laugh. She understood what he meant, and he wasn't entirely wrong. Anger could look like tendrils coiling around the person. But brighter emotions seemed to radiate, while negative emotions seemed to suffocate. "You aren't wrong when it comes to certain emotions. Negative emotions like to look 'tendrily'. Happier emotions enjoy radiating, which is what you are doing right now." She made a few finishing touches before adjusting her position to sit indian style on the grass.

"So, you're done. The background isn't, but I can always add that in later." She said, handing him the sketchbook with a sort of shy eagerness. Was he going to enjoy the picture, or was he going to hate it? Adaryn had some confidence when it came to her artwork, but that equaled little to none. She didn't want to offend him with a bad picture, but in her eyes, the picture wasn't bad at all. Or at least, that's what she thought.

Even with the slight fear of him hating the picture, she still couldn't wait for him to see what she saw. Well, in black and white, of course. Adaryn didn't have the color pencils necessary to capture the actual color, but she could try and explain.

"Since it isn't in color, I guess I'll have to explain the colors." Addie gestured to the softer and brighter portion of the aura "That's a bright yellow, and practically white near your body. But as you get farther, towards the wisps, they become an orange-ish color until the color fades completely."

So did he like it? She honestly hoped he did.

[Travis Morgan]

Travis' face lit up when Adaryn said he was done. He broke his pose immediately, and literally squeaked when she handed him her sketchbook. He looked at her drawing with nothing but pure joy on his face. Eyes wide. Mouth open. Unadulterated glee!

"Oh my god! You're so good!" He raved, "I love it!" He bounced a little, but settled down when Adaryn started explaining the colors. It was facinating.

"Do you paint?" He asked. "Because.. you could do like, a series. Like, portraits or something, of people with their auras. I think that'd be really cool!" Travis was still grinning. This was the happiest he'd been since he got here.

[Adaryn Breslin]

It wasn't that it was a bad thing that Travis was so excited, and she was glad that he was, but Adaryn thought it was way too much for her to handle at such close proximity. Yes, even pure joy was suffocating at times. But Adaryn still tried to grin, despite herself. She laughed nervously at his compliment, though she was slightly shocked by the squeak that came from his mouth. "Uh, Thanks. I try very hard to get everything perfect. I hope I didn't mess up anything."

He was grinning, going on about some sort of series she should make using a canvas and paints and sell them, or something of the like, and Addie shook her head. She wasn't used to all this praise, so it was beginning to make her even more uncomfortable than the joy was. Hesitantly, she placed a hand on Travis' shoulder.

"Uh, Travis. I know you're happy and all... but--" How was she even supposed to go about saying this? 'Oh yeah, your happiness is making me sick, so can you please tone it down?' She'd sound like a jerk for sure! "I have to go now. My roommate asked for help packing this morning and I totally forgot until just now." Adaryn wasn't going to leave him without knowing she could meet up with him again, though, so she took out her cell phone. "Do you -uh- have a number that we could talk, or text or something...?" She had never really asked for anyone's number before, especially not a guy.

Adaryn waited for one of three things to happen. Either he: leave with a scoff and not give her his number; Take her phone from her hand and input it himself; or he would tell her out loud. She was hoping for one of the last two.

[Travis Morgan]

"...I know you're happy and all... but--"

Adaryn touched his shoulder and he felt a little jolt of something. Oh. Dammit. He hadn't really noticed that he'd turned the pep up to eleven, but once Adaryn touched him he could sense that it was too much for her. It was sort of confusing, not being able to clearly read her emotions. Of course, he noticed now that he was doing that thing that he usually scolded Michael for. He was trying way to hard to make Adaryn happy.

Christ, that was embarrassing-- but he didn't let it show. He shoved that pang of conflicting emotions aside, and settled back into a slightly less enthusiastic volume of joyfulness. After all, she wasn't being mean about it-- although he doubted whether or not her excuse for leaving was real, he appreciated her sparing his feelings. She didn't have to tell him he was smothering her, he knew it the moment she touched him.

"Oh, yeah," Travis responded in a softer tone when she asked for his number. Gently he took the phone from her hand and put his number in his contacts. Then he sent himself a text from her phone and handed it back to her. "Oh, here--" he closed her sketchbook and handed it back to her as well. "Have fun with your roommate," he said with a smile, trying to let her know that everything was okay incase she'd noticed his adjustment in behavior.

[Adaryn Breslin]

The minute she touched him, his mood dropped slightly, and she quickly pulled her hand back. Did he not like to be touched, just like her? She didn't quite like human contact, since she wasn't used to it. The closest she had gotten to a hug in about two years was when her father left her here the first day of freshman year. Even in times of distress, she usually wrapped her arms around herself so nobody else had to. She missed the hugs and love that she used to receive, but she supposed she deserved it, anyhow.

He handed back her sketchbook, and Adaryn smiled politely, though it looked a bit strained. She really hoped she didn't ruin this, because Travis seemed so nice. "You know what... How about you keep the picture? It'll just sit in my sketchbook. I'm sure you would have more fun with it than I would." And with that, she carefully tore out the page and handed it to the boy in front of her. "It was nice meeting you Travis. Really..." Addie paused, suddenly looking down at her hands. She really didn't want to never speak with him after this. "Don't be a stranger... okay?"