Pigment Of My Imagination

[Sebastian Bolstad]

Eggplant coloured paper was slowly being fastened to the new notebook that Seb had bought with a little of the allowance money that the school gave him. Most of what wasn't spent on school essentials Sebastian saved away for the future, since he really had no clue what his future might hold any more, but he did allow himself an odd little special thing on occasion. Most of the other students seemed to waste their money on sugared snacks and ridiculous toys and other items that would lose all appeal and value almost immediately. Whilst Seb would acknowledge that he was developing something of a taste for both lemonade and marshmallows, it was quite rare that he bought them because he frankly didn't see much point. The school provided meals that were perfectly adequate – why waste money on buying unhealthy things that were so very unnecessary?

Sebastian was very careful as he folded down and glued the paper around the previously plain hardback notebook. It had been rather dull to look at but well made, and Sebastian was certain that he could make it look fairly nice. He had bought a few pieces of different coloured card and a packet of coloured pens so that he could decorate it more, and whilst he was hardly a particularly artistic person his hopes were fairly high that it would come out well.

Hopefully it would make a reasonable gift for someone.

As he folded and tucked the last corner around the edge of the book, Sebastian stuck it firmly in place and held the paper still while the glue began to dry. Footsteps coming into the common room caught his attention, and Sebastian smiled softly as Monroe appeared in the doorway. “Hello Monroe. It is good to se-” Sebastian paused as a girl appeared, stepping into the room behind his friend. For a long moment the blonde was silent, staring at the girl, and then he caught himself and quickly looked down, flustered. So it had come true. It was her, and so soon too. Why couldn't it have just been a strange dream, instead of his curse setting in, claiming his mind for itself. He spoke quickly, his tone failing to hide his discomfort. “I will only be a minute if you would like me to leave you alone here? I don't want to interrupt anything.”

[Thomas "Monroe" Montgomery]

Monroe had suggested to Eloise that they see Sebastian, mostly because both of them were endlessly confused on how they could possibly fall in love with each other after their first meeting and conversation. I mean, she'd insulted his combat boots and she always had to be right. Surely Seb had seen the wrong girl. There had to be an explanation. And yet he was wary to ask Sebastian much about it. He despised his power--which he found to be more of a curse. Monroe understood that and he didn't want to ask Sebastian about it too much, but then again, his friend had told him about the vision and it was Monroe's love life, right? So he had the right to ask? He couldn't help but feel conflicted though, as they stepped into the student lounge where he spotted the familiar blonde, holding up a notebook.

"Don't scare him," he said pointedly to Eloise before they walked inside. Sebastian greeted him almost immediately, but stopped mid-sentence when he saw Eloise follow him inside. Monroe wasn't prepared for things to get this awkward. What his friend was suggesting was out of the question.

"No," he said a little to quickly. "I mean, that's not why we're here." To be left alone in the student lounge? The thought would have made his face turn red if he thought about it too much.

[Eloise Eaton]

"No promises," Eloise joked when Monroe warned her not to scare Sebastian. She hadn't been too worried about the conversation. If anything, Eloise was going along with it to appease Monroe. She was so sure that there was no way they'd fall in love, that in her mind all her questions were already answered. Monroe didn't have to know that, of course. However, Eloise had to know all of the questions stirring around in Monroe's head. It was hard to escape, really.

They walked inside, where a strange looking boy with the blondest hair Eloise had ever seen sat fastening a notebook together. The precognate almost immediately offered to leave, recognizing Eloise almost a little too fast for comfort. "Please don't," Eloise said with a roll of her eyes. The comment had double meaning. Please don't leave, and please don't assume we're coming into the lounge to have a date or make out of something. Eloise purposely blocked out Sebastian's mind for a moment, not wanting to know what he could possibly be thinking about her and Monroe. "If you think I'm here to hang out with this bum you're sorely mistaken," Eloise joked with a little smile, tilting her head in Monroe's direction. "He's brought me here against my will, really."

[Sebastian Bolstad]

Perhaps it was for the best that Eloise had blocked out Sebastian's thoughts, for she would not have liked them. Though he had never met this girl before, Sebastian had seen her face so clearly that day that he recognised it immediately, and it had so much unease around it that he could not help but feel slight distaste for her. Monroe had – would – be happy and smiley and loving with her, Sebastian had seen that, and here she was all joking and smiling and he was already taking her around places and... it was a lot for the blonde to take in. She would become a big part of Monroe's life, Sebastian had seen that, and he was admittedly a little afraid of her, even if he would never be able to articulately explain why.

Of course, it was easy to blame it on the fact that she was yet another freak. One who had yet to prove to him that she wasn't like all the others.

Monroe's quick reply and seemingly awkward manner did little to ease Sebastian's wariness and discomfort, and when the girl spoke Sebastian looked at her with wariness clear as day in his bright blue eyes. “Why are you here then?” Sebastian bit his lip slightly as the words came out far blunter than he had intended, and he quickly looked back to the notebook, away from the girl from his vision. “Of course, you have every right to be here. I just... Why has he dragged you here?”

[Thomas "Monroe" Montgomery]

"First of all, it wasn't against her will," Monroe added, the moment Eloise had finished saying it. He rolled his eyes at the bum comment. No, they were definitely not meant for each other. "Look, I'm here...I mean we're here..." Gesturing between them, he felt weird, as if calling them 'we' meant they were together and that's not what he meant at all. "Seb, I'm confused. I don't...are you sure your vision was what you thought it was? I really hate to ask." And it was true. He knew talking about his power made Sebastian uneasy and he didn't blame him, but at the same time, he was having kind of a crisis.

Eloise wasn't someone he'd be interested in. Hell, he didn't even know what being interested in someone was like until recently when Adaryn Breslin decided to leave a mark on him that he couldn't erase. He felt guilty feeling a certain way about her when apparently he was supposed to feel something for Eloise, even though neither of them felt anything towards each other by somewhat annoyance and 'You're not so bad.'

[Eloise Eaton]

Eloise nodded, agreeing with Monroe. "Yeah I mean... Monroe is cool... ish. A nice guy. But... honestly I can't see myself with him in any sort of romantic sense. Not even a little." She hoped she wasn't offending Monroe by saying that, but she was pretty sure they had already established those opinions. She looked over at Monroe and shrugged, never being able to feel anything toward him, despite the prophacy.

"I mean the only thing I can think of when I look at him is that he needs a wardrobe update and that he looks eerily like old photos of my grandfather. Neither of which are qualities that result in a relationship." She hoped that Sebastian would have something to say on the matter. Maybe he'd change his opinion about what he'd seen.

[Sebastian Bolstad]

This situation was incredibly uncomfortable for Sebastian, and he fidgeted anxiously with one of the coloured pens as he looked between his friend and the girl from his vision. It was her, there was absolutely no doubt in his mind about that, but their anxiousness was setting Sebastian on edge and it did sound like they were accusing him of something. Sebastian tried to brush that thought away; Monroe was his friend, he wouldn't call him a liar or blame him for something without any solid proof, right? “I definitely saw you, miss... I may not be the most socially experienced person, but I have seen few people like you two. You were... happy, and hugging and... not in the way I have seen very many friends be.”

Of course, that wasn't saying all that much. Sebastian's rather restricted upbringing had left him with very skewed visions of how the world worked, but even since he had arrived at Hammel, the blonde had experienced few interactions quite like the one he had seen between Monroe and Eloise. One that had, quite obviously, not happened yet. Perhaps by warning Monroe he had changed that path? Was that how to break this curse – by forcing the future to change? Was that even possible? Blue eyes looked to Monroe, his tone quiet, almost pleading for his friend to believe him. “I am not lying, Monroe. I told you what I saw.”

[Thomas "Monroe" Montgomery]

Monroe could see and tell that Seb was really uncomfortable and he hated making his best friend feel that way, but this had been actually causing him turmoil. It had been on his mind way too much. He wasn't supposed to be with Eloise. It didn't make any sense to him. "Look, Seb...I'm not saying that you're lying. What you see is what you see. I get that, but I just....She doesn't like my combat boots, Seb. And that's a big problem!" Okay, so maybe he was a bit hysterical, but that bothered him, really bothered him. They were a big part of who he was. And that was enough for him to question their possible future as a couple. "Neither of us are feeling it." He gestured between him and Eloise. It was true.

He was really just lost about the whole thing. "Just ever since you've told me I've been freaking out about it and I just don't like her." He liked someone else and he didn't know if that was okay considering Seb's vision.

[Eloise Eaton]

Eloise shrugged as Monroe talked, "I mean... I agree. He thinks I'm crazy... and I know he does. And the boots really are awful he just refuses to see that," Eloise added. Though she felt like Sebastian didn't really understand what they meant. It was hard to describe feelings toward someone in words. You just knew. Even Eloise who had never really developed a strong relationship with anyone other than he father knew what it was like to make a connection with somebody.

It wasn't that she hated Monroe. She thought he was cool. Dream walking was fascinating to her, as well. She would have no qualms about being friends with Monroe. But there was no part of her that could ever see it becoming anything more than two people who would stop to talk if they bumped into each other at the library. She kept feeling like she was making him uncomfortable, too. Every time she was around him Monroe seemed to have some sort of inner battle. Eloise had yet to probe, because she hated being that kind of person. It was none of her business until Monroe made it her business - if he chose to.

[Sebastian Bolstad]

Sebastian was at a complete loss for what to say or do. He knew what he had seen, and whilst it had hardly been the most deep and explanatory vision he'd had before there had been absolutely no doubt in his mind at all that Monroe and this girl had been more than simply just friends. Even now they were arguing over his clothing – wasn't that something that couples did? Even his own parents had occasionally had a little bicker over whether or not a shirt made his father look fat or something equally ridiculous. But this felt like an accusation, like Monroe was accusing him of making it up, and it hurt.

It hurt to feel like his friend thought he might be lying, but it hurt more to know that his words had made his friend so anxious and unhappy. He put the pens back into their case, tucking the notebook into his bag and gathering up the cutoff bits of paper to put in the bin. His voice was quiet, a stark contrast to Monroe's hysterical rambling. “I am sorry, Monroe. I really am. I did not mean to upset you... But I know what I saw, and I am sorry if it is wrong to you both.” The blonde stood, discarding the scrap bits of paper before heading to put the rest of the items in his bag so he could head back to his dorm. “I am sorry I told you and caused this upset.” He looked to the girl. “I wish I could say it was a pleasure to meet you, but in the circumstances I feel I wouldn't be being completely honest.”

[Thomas "Monroe" Montgomery]

Monroe realized that coming here really hadn't helped anything, if anything it had made Sebastian feel bad about the situation and made himself feel hopeless. Sebastian saw what he saw. "But you said that you saw us hugging by a pond or something, right? I mean, I know I'm not an expert on romantic relations, but that could mean anything, couldn't it?" Maybe she'd finally accepted his combat boots on that particular day? Okay, he was glad he hadn't said that out loud, he was just trying to come up with other solutions because there was a huge part of him that didn't like knowing what was going to happen in the future with people he knew, especially when that person was blonde and kind of pushy. Yeah, he didn't hate her, or even dislike her, he just knew that it wouldn't work out that way.

"You don't need to be sorry though, Seb. It's not your fault and I'm sorry if I've made you feel that way. You shared the vision with me because you needed to get it out and it had to do with me." He was packing up and getting ready to leave and Monroe really didn't want him to leave, because that meant he'd be alone with Eloise again and his thoughts, which hardly worked out for him. Not to mention, he somehow felt like he was betraying his 'love' for Eloise by being interested in Adaryn, if that's what you would call it.

[Eloise Eaton]

"We don't think you're lying," Eloise promised upon realizing Sebastian had been hurt by the implication. Even by being around Sebastian for a few moments Eloise could tell Seb wasn't the type to lie. He was very truthful and very straightforward. So he probably relayed what he had saw to Monroe as exact as he possibly could. "We're just confused. And we don't have anyone to really go to for explanation, beside you. You have to admit it was worth a try."

Eloise looked after Sebastian as apologetically as the sassy blonde could muster. It wasn't often that Eloise was sorry for something she said, or the way she acted, but she felt as if Sebastian were offended, and she didn't want to be the person who caused that - especially since Sebastian seemed like such a genuine person. "You have nothing to be sorry about," she promised.

[Sebastian Bolstad]

“Perhaps it did mean something else. Perhaps it meant nothing at all. Maybe I hadn't even seen anything properly in the first place.” Sebastian was becoming increasingly agitated as he shoved the pens into his bag, his fretfulness and worry as clear externally as it was internally. “Maybe I just dreamed it. Maybe I just made it all up because clearly it is not true.” Sebastian knew that was not the case; he knew exactly what he had seen and perhaps by telling Monroe he had changed the course of events, but that didn't make what he had seen any less real. Clearly this was not a debate he was ever going to persuade them about, and the hurt that Monroe still didn't believe him was being funnelled into an agitation manifesting itself as an intense desire to not be here right now.

At Monroe's next words Sebastian just looked at him sadly for a long moment before shaking his head and carefully placing the paper-covered notebook into his bag. “I did, Monroe. I thought you should know and I wanted you to know... I shall keep my thoughts to myself in the future, to save you from this... confusion.” Blue eyes looked to Eloise, and Sebastian curtly tucked a long strand of hair behind his ear. “I am sorry I cannot give you an explanation. I tried, but I cannot. I know what I saw, and if it is wrong, then...” He shrugged vaguely before bending down to zip up his bag. “Then I know I cannot trust anything I ever see.”

[Thomas "Monroe" Montgomery]

Monroe hadn't meant for this to happen and he felt shittier than when he'd originally went to go find Sebastian to talk to him about this. Now he'd made Sebastian feel bad. He should have figured that would have happened, he should have just kept his mouth shut and let it bother him. "I'm not saying you shouldn't trust what you see...I just want what you saw to mean something different. Man, Seb, I'm sorry. I feel like a dick." And now he was speaking like some douchy teenage boy and wanted to facepalm all over again.

"I'm being selfish. Look, whatever, if I fall in love with her, then I do, but whatever. I shouldn't worry about it," he declared, deciding that would be the safer route, even if it felt weird being interested in another girl when he was supposedly supposed to be with this one when he didn't feel anything around her.

"I'm sorry," he said to Sebastian, an apologetic look on his face and then he tapped Eloise slightly on the shoulder. "Look, this was a dumb idea."