Just watching the hours tick by... (Zeb)

[Greg Mackenzie]

Nightmares were side effects Greg hasn’t really experienced up ‘til now. As much as he’s been told by people with mental powers to look out for it, it’s been at least three weeks now and he hasn’t really had one yet, so the telepath figured it’s nothing to look out for. So when he experienced one that night, to say that he was shaken would be an understatement.

The dream started off innocently enough: he was on a date with that cute Asian kid in his History class. They were in the courtyard doing what most teens in dates do: talking, laughing, cuddling, kissing. He shamelessly enjoyed that part the most because the kiss actually felt so real – down to his date’s slightly chapped lips and the menthol taste of his chapstick. It continued on for a while, just enough to make him so engrossed with the make-out session, that he didn’t even realize that things around him were taking a turn for the worst until it was too late.

As it was with dreams, he couldn’t even remember which came first. All he knew was that the snowy courtyard paradise was suddenly replaced with a deserted city plagued with fire-breathing rats, gun-crazy teens and just a general sense of dread. Oh, and a huge frog in a clown costume.

He shouldn’t have watched Thumbelina before bed.

Fortunately he didn’t wake up screaming – with his powers still untamed, it might’ve meant shouting into his roomies’ heads. His sheets were soiled with cold sweat though, and his breathing hard and deep.

Oh how he wished he was back in Red Deer right now. His mom had the perfect solution to night terrors: hot chocolate with tons of marshmallows. Living alone wasn’t as fun as he thought it’d be.

Grabbing a hoodie, the brunette made his way down the commons room. He couldn’t sleep in his bed tonight, not yet at least. He made himself hot cocoa from the machine and popped some popcorn. Might as well watch some TV while he waited for his mind to calm down.

‘Courage the Cowardly Dog’ was on. Arguably one of the scariest cartoons in his childhood, but nothing compared to what he just experienced.

He put a throw blanket on and cozied up in the centre of the couch, quietly lamenting that his hot chocolate tasted so synthetic it almost made him barf.

ooc:
Herpaderp. It went longer than I thought it'd be. Sorry Abi. D:
- Peanut

[Zebadiah Hayes]

((ooc: no worries ))

Zeb hadn't even attempted to go to sleep yet. But he had enough coffee in his system that he wasn't a total zombie either. He'd stepped outside to smoke his pipe for a bit but hadn't stayed long. It was way too cold out there. Still the cold air had helped to feel a little more alert. Which he was glad of when he walked back into the building and smelled popcorn coming from the common room. It was pretty late for students to be up. So figuring it was either someone having sleeping trouble or someone up to no good, he decided to pop his head in.

"Trouble sleeping?" Zeb asked once he'd walked into the room and seen someone curled up on the couch. He'd expected a younger student, judging by what was on the TV. Not that he was judging, he still picked cartoons over most shows.

"Mind if I join you Mr. Mackenzie?" he added, once he'd walked around the couch to see who it was. He tried to recall the boy's ability, wondering if it was something that would affect his sleeping ability or not. Still at this hour, all that came to mind was the boy's name. He paused by the chair by near the couch waiting. If Gregory wanted some alone time, he wouldn't stay.

[Greg Mackenzie]

Greg almost spilled the popcorn in his hand when Zeb spoke. Not that he was particularly jumpy, it’s just that he found himself unconsciously drawn into the show that he blocked most everything out. Even the faint humming in his head.

Though now that he’s been called back into reality they’ve started again. Not as bad as they were usually, but ‘audible’ enough for the brunette to know that, well, he’s begun acting like a sponge again. Not fun in the least.

“Nightmare,” he answered, pursing his lips and shrugging his shoulders, “‘Courage’ has nothing on it.” ‘Courage’ had always been more of an acid trip than an actual bad dream, at least in Greg’s eyes anyway. “This isn’t against dorm rules, isn’t it?” The brunette simply skimmed through the handbook after all. After fifth grade, the boy – like most kids his age – realized that most handbooks say the same things over and over again. And the best way to keep himself out of trouble was to have even just an ounce of common sense.

Not wanting to seem rude, Greg nodded and even offered to share some of his popcorn. “Want some?” He laughed slightly when the man called him ‘Mr. Mackenzie’. Sounds so weird, oh god. And old. Now I know why dad prefers ‘Jason’. “Greg works. Mr. Mackenzie reminds me of Poppop. And I’m not sure I want to be an old cranky fart just yet.” Though if his power continues to be this unruly, he might just turn into one.

[Zebadiah Hayes]

Zeb felt horrible for making the young man jump. Even more so after Greg gave his reason for his sleep troubles. "I'm sorry to hear that," he said, with concerned eyes. He knew from personal experience about nightmares. And because of his abilities he knew about others as well. "Wanna talk about it?"

"Not at all," Zeb said, grinning. "In fact late night cartoons and popcorn are welcomed in my book." Of course even if it had been against the rules, Zeb was a bit of a softy when it came to kids troubled by dreams.

"I'll try to remember that, Greg," Zeb said, helping himself to some popcorn. Although he always did his best to please the students, sometimes he couldn't remember everything. And when he wasn't sure his default mood was last names. It was something his father had drilled into him at a young age. "I doubt you'll have to worry about that anytime soon."

Popping some popcorn into his mouth, Zeb turned to the television. "So how's Courage doing tonight?" Zeb agreed with the boy that the show seemed like more of a bad acid trip than anything else. Then again what could you really expect when it was a colorful cartoon. Everything scary in neon colors looked more like an acid trip.