Time Warp: Going no where, guitar packed in the trunk

[Beau LaRoux]

Sometime in 2011

The fifteen year old Beau LaRoux let his fingers strum across his guitar. This instrument he could play without thinking about it, and right now, he didn't fancy doing much in the way of thinking. Thinking meant thinking about his situation: stuck here about as far from the South as he could get and still be on American soil. It had been a while, months or something, and Beau was adjusting well enough, he guessed. There were times though when the homesickness hit him like a suckerpunch to the gut. It was during times like that when he liked to get the guitar out and dig back.

Eventually, he found his fingers playing out a newish tune. Newish, because it was less than ten, and likely not known by most. "Swamp rock" didn't have much tendency to get far out of Louisiana, though this one certainly did. Soon, Beau's fingers were plucking the tune from his memory, with a few added slaps to the surface of the battered instrument for variation.

And soon, his voice, which he thought was probably a little too high, began loosing the tune into the air:

"Rolling down the road
Going no where, guitar packed in the trunk
Somewhere 'round mile marker one twelve
Papa started hummin' the funk
I gotta Jones in my bones
Before I know, we be singin' this melody
Stop the car, pull out the guitar
Halfway to New Orleans"

Swamp rock at its finest, straight from Marc Broussard. Beau smiled as his fingers kept moving, his voice going through the verses with little effort. Memories of sitting around with his family, all of them beating out the tune, fluttered into Beau's mind. They only grew when he got to the semi haunting chorus:

"Said take me hoo-oh-oh-ohm
Take me ho-oh-oh-ohm," and he'd started moving a little, getting into it. The last "ohm" turned into something like an "oHi," as he saw that his playing had somehow attracted someone. Beau paused, his fingers posed, the tune running rampant in his brain, his eyes up at the other person, his manners momentarily bogged down in swampy lyrics.

{Marc Broussard - "Home"; if the song's of interest}

[Carleigh Davidson]

It had been a year now since Carleigh arrived at Hammel, and it was an eventful year. She manifested her power, talked to Dr. Neville and sorted through some issues, adjusted to life on campus and made a couple of friends already. Not to mention her braces were now gone, which only elevated the thirteen year old girl's confidence. She smiled at every passing stranger, young or old, and generally kept a positive attitude about her unusual situation.

She strode into the student lounge, which was relatively quiet for an afternoon. It was nice outside, so everyone was most likely outside trying to soak up as much sun as they could. Carleigh planned on doing the same thing after grabbing a quick snack from one of the vending machines.

Nearing, a boy caught the young girl's attention. She raised an eyebrow at the unfamiliar tune. Sure, tons of kids came to the main dorm room floor and student lounge to sing and play instruments. At first, it was weird but Carleigh became accustomed to always hearing a guitar tune being played somewhere. Distracted, the blonde quickly shoved some change from the pocket of her floral baby doll dress. She bought a bag of Fritos and stared. Hm, the music was definitely... different. Not bad, just not appeasing to Carleigh's ears.

As she came closer, a smile appeared on her face. The boy, who looked a little older than herself, was really into the song. Her eyes focused on the boy and stayed there, until he had noticed her presence. Biting her lip, Carleigh smiled sweetly at the boy. "Hello, sorry to interrupt you and your music.." she said softly, fidgeting with her fingers. "It just sounded... interesting." That was one way to describe it.

[Beau LaRoux]

"Ain't no problem," offered Beau, adding a quick toothy smile. He winked at her and tapped the guitar again. It wasn't quite matching the beat he had, but it was dangerously close. His fingers played along the strings for a moment and he looked up at the girl. He didn't recognize her, but then again, Beau hadn't exactly been around long enough to really recognize anyone.

"You probably ain't heard the song before. Ain't really that big o' a hit outside o' Louisiana," he offered. He let his fingers draw the basic tune for a few moments, humming a little, certainly not afraid to show off his voice. "It's swamp rock, or pop, dependin' on who you ask. An' interestin' works,' he chuckled and looked up at her. One hand extended, reaching around the guitar to extend toward the girl.

"Name's Beauregard LaRoux, folks call me Beau," he offered, nodding toward the girl. "Pleasure to make things interestin' for ya."

[Carleigh Davidson]

Carleigh felt her cheeks flush with a touch of pink, a giggle escaping her lips. It was a typical reaction from a thirteen year old girl. She watched him start to play again, smiling again. Definitely not her kind of music but the boy had a nice voice. Then again, anyone with musical talent received awe from Carleigh as she didn't have a musical bone in her small body.

"No, I haven't heard of it before." Carleigh admitted. "Swamp rock?" she asked, sounding confused. Maybe it was a name of a genre from his hometown. The California born and raised, until now, girl never heard of it before. "Interesting, yeah. Never heard anything like it." She liked his voice but didn't like the sound of the tune, if that made any sense.

Tossing her abandoned Fritos aside, Carleigh grinned in return to the cutie who had a name. She took his hand in hers and gave it a shake. "Nice to meet you.. Beau." She decided the nickname was easier to say versus his real name. "I'm Carleigh." Letting go of her hand, Carleigh sat down on the couch next to him. "Been playing for awhile now?"

[Beau LaRoux]

The not hearing of it just made Beau chuckle. He wouldn't have heard of it had he not been born in Louisiana; that stuff just didn't make it out of the swamps all that often. She repeated the interesting bit and Beau just smirked. "Real interestin'," he reiterated, figuring that if she was gonna keep reusing the word, he might as well do the same.

As for the handshake, Beau hadn't thought twice about it at the time. He still hadn't really gotten the whole "you copy other people's powers" thing. This close, touching really didn't make any real difference, not to Beau's flavor of the ability. But it did mean that he could often feel the little tingle, not to mention that sometimes when two powers that were exactly the same met, there was often... fun. Nothing happened here, so Beau guessed he'd either run into someone with no powers or someone with a really subtle one; he wasn't quite sure how that worked.

At least she'd asked a question he was good at answering: "Oh yeah, my dad taught me to play back when I was a kid, an' I've been doin' alright. I ain't as good as I wanna be yet though," he sighed, letting his hand tap against the guitar a few more times. "Ain't sure I'm gonna be able ta get a whole lotta practice 'round here. Don't suppose there's a big country music scene here at Pilot Ridge?" he asked this with a half smile, one filled with doubt, that he made certain to point directly at the girl. His momma always said he had a pretty smile, and that he should make sure that every girl he met saw it at least once.

[Carleigh Davidson]

Carleigh smoothed down the front of her dress, nervously laughing under her breath. She knew she was repeating herself and probably making a fool of herself. Taking a deep breath, she managed to compose herself and her somewhat shaken confidence after letting her brain sort itself and its thoughts out before proceeding. Pulling back her hand after the handshake, Carleigh widely smiled and reached for her snack, opening the bag. She took a couple, then wordlessly held out her bag towards Beau.

Nodding thoughtfully, Carleigh said "That's cool. Your dad obviously a big part of your life then?" She felt a pang of jealousy flare up, but Carleigh suppressed the rage inside. Now was not the time for family issues. "Eh, our personal expectations are always higher and we tend to be harder on ourselves. I think you're pretty great at singing and playing the guitar, if that means anything to you." Carleigh rambled, feeling her heart seize up. Maybe that was a bit dramatic. But his smile sure was a nice thing to look at. "Jeez, did you ever wear braces? You have a nice grin." She blurted out with another nervous laugh.

"Uhm.. well I'm not musically inclined." Carleigh admitted. "I think they have a band club here if that counts?" She phrased it as a question, shrugging soon after. Wrinkling her nose, Carleigh laughed. "Country doesn't seem to be a popular choice around here... me included. I assume that country is more your thing?"

[Beau LaRoux]

Was Beau's dad a big part of his life? He kinda shrugged at that. "Jus' kinda a family thing, I guess," he tried. It was, really. The whole LaRoux clan spent most of their time getting to know each other and meddling in each other's business. Just thinking of them sent a little pang going through Beau, one that he was beginning to recognize all too well. He tried to keep it from showing on his face, but the tune had slowed its tempo. Suddenly Beau really wanted to just croon that "home" part as if he were a dog whose owners had left it out on the porch.

"Thanks for the kind words," he said, nodding, "I actually was playin' concerts an' stuff back home. Been doin' this a while, like I said. An' the smile's natural, just what God gave me," he flashed the teeth again, "an' you got a pretty smile yourself, so don't go hidin' it."

A nod, and he switched the guitar's tune a little. It was just a little jaunty too, less musically defined and more emotional noise than anything. Sometimes it was just easier to speak with music, especially for Beau, especially when his emotions were all tied up in knots. That homesickness was just roaring at him, and it got a little louder when Carleigh mentioned there being no country scene around here. "Dang, well, that's, just, crappy," Beau managed. he sighed, tapping his guitar a few times, "country was sorta a family thing. Dad played, coupla older brothers played, we all used ta gather 'round an' sing together sometimes. Sounds real corny, right?" he smiled at her, then chuckled. "Sorry, I ain't been here long, an' ya caught me when I'm bein' all homesick like. I'd offer ta play somethin' more upbeat for you, but I reckon we don't know any of the same stuff. Don't suppose you know some old rock stuff? I know some-a that."

[Carleigh Davidson]

A family thing. Well, not that Carleigh knew the first thing about family. She had zero contact with her family for the past eight months. Previously, she called them, trying her best to keep in touch but it was pointless. Her dad was always away, her mom always hungover or drunk and Brody ignored her attempts at contact. Carleigh noticed that Beau had slowed down his playing, and she interlocked her fingers together with a small sigh. Way to bring down the mood, she scolded herself mentally.

"Oh really? Concerts? That's amazing." Carleigh widely smiled in return to Beau. "Well thank you, but mine isn't natural. Braces." She felt kind of embarrassed as he had a naturally beautiful smile and hers were the product of money and braces.

Carleigh looked at his fingers, strumming along on the guitar. She was awestruck, wondering how someone could move their fingers so swiftly without messing up. Her fingers would have tangled all together and made an awful sounding mess. Shaking her head, Carleigh noticed that Beau was quiet compared to beforehand. "You alright there? Look like you kind of got something on your mind there." She mentioned casually, lifting her legs up and crossing her feet underneath her body. Comfy. Laughing, she shook her head in denial. "No, not corny. Your family sounds really close and I'd be lying if I said I wasn't jealous." Their family sounded musically gifted.

"Yeah, it sucks." Carleigh agreed with a nod. She knew firsthand the feeling of being homesick. "It does get better, the whole homesick thing."

Shrugging, Carleigh thought for a moment. Old rock? The young girl mostly listened to pop and radio music. "Uhm... I'll let you decide. My music taste is more... modern." She phrased with a sheepish smile. "Play whatever you'd like and I'll listen."

[Beau LaRoux]

Beau nodded, smiling a bit at the memory of concerts. Of course, it was a concert that had started this whole thing. One moment, playing and singing and just flat out enjoying himself, feeling like he'd had everything figured out and knew where he was going. The next, he had wings out his back and was informed that he got to go to a special school. Ugh, why did everything have to wrap about that right now? Happy thoughts, Beau, happy thoughts.

Carleigh picked up on it, though of course she did; Beau wasn't exactly master-class at hiding his emotions. Hearing someone be jealous of his family just made him chuckle, "There's definitely stuff to be jealous of there, assumin' you like home cooked food, lots o' downhome music, an' a fair amount o' rough-housing. He sighed again, tapping the guitar for a bit. Homesickness got better, well, "It better get better, else I'm prolly gonna try an' hitchhike ta Louisiana, an' somethin' tell me that ain't gonna work out well."

He paused again, tapping his fingers on the guitar. Several songs about running away sprang to his mind. Carleigh had... modern tastes, which probably meant that Beau didn't know a single song that she would know. Awesome. Well, he did have prolific tastes, he ought to be able to pull a tune out of the air. "Alright, lemme try somethin'. I ain't great at the licks for this one, an' my voice ain't the best, but ya can't say it ain't a good song."

He shifted his position, letting his fingers dance along the strings, plucking out a tune. It had an immediately appeal, with a decidedly Southern jaunt to it. Beau had to focus to get it right though, his brow furrowing with the effort, his fingers moving with more precision. Eventually, lyrics came out:

"Big wheels keep on turning
Carry me home to see my kin
Singing songs about the Southland
I miss Alabama once again
And I think it's a sin, yea,"

Beau's voice was a little wavery for that one. He didn't feel really up to the power of the song, and it kinda showed. He winced at the end of the first bit, feeling like he'd really messed up the song. His fingers slid, producing a bit of a sour note too, and he glared at them. A good musician didn't let something like that stop him for long though. "Uh, there's another verse that I never can quite remember, then the chorus that everyone knows:

"Sweet home Alabama
Where the skies are so blue
Sweet home Alabama
Lord, I'm coming home to you,"

Beau did much better there, leaning back and letting it go. He let his fingers skid along the strings, looking at Carleigh. "You heard that one afore, right?"

[Carleigh Davidson]

Without thinking about it, Carleigh smiled. "Yeah, that does sound nice. Your family and just Louisiana in general." Carleigh snapped her mouth shut. "I'm sorry, talking about your family probably doesn't help with the whole homesick feeling. And yeah, something tells me someone from Hammel would catch on and get you before you got too far." She laughed at the thought of Beau hitchhiking down the road, his guitar in hand, trying to get back home. That would be entertaining to see. "You could always visit them for a week during one of our breaks." Carleigh suggested.

Nodding, Carleigh patiently waited and watched him. "Sorry my music taste is mainstream. I know it's all the same four chords but it's so darn catchy." She remembered watching a video skit on how all the hits sounded the same and could fit into the same four chords. Even though she wasn't musically inclined and pop was her guilty pleasure, Carleigh found the video entertaining.

She quieted down when Beau's fingers began to play, a smile appearing on her face again. Carleigh wrinkled her nose a bit, recognizing the song. It was a classic, but she still wasn't a fan of country or rock. Still, out of respect for him, Carleigh nodded her head along to the beat, tapping her one foot on the ground. "Sweet Home Alabama." Carleigh said with a nod. "Yepp! That's one I have heard before, although I mostly just know the chorus."

"Still, for just... doing the song, that's pretty good. Better than most people." Carleigh laughed. "I'm just thinking of all the kids who sit on the grass outside in the summer, waiting to try and seduce girls. They use their guitars as a prop instead of actually enjoying it like you. It's... nice to see. And hear." She added, leaning back on the armrest of the couch. "Play any other instruments?"

[Beau LaRoux]

Visiting had always been the plan. Likely someone was gonna take a long drive to somewhere on the breaks, and that person was likely Beau. One long bus ride and he'd end up right back in Louisiana. Didn't quite bust up the homesickness, but it did give it another little blow that sent it reeling. That was better than nothing, and certainly made Beau feel better about having met the cute little blonde, even if Carleigh did admit to mostly liking pop music. And don't think that Beau didn't wince a little at that.

At least she knew "Sweet Home Alabama," so her music tastes/knowledge wasn't completely grounded in the present. Then again, with the song being used on so many movies and television shows, Beau guessed that it wasn't like you could really avoid it. He'd just push that thought aside for now and take the compliment for what it was, especially given how his fingers had slipped and his voice hadn't quite gotten where it should be. "Just doing the song" indeed.

"Ah, I get it," said Beau, his eyes twinkling with a hint of mischief, "I need ta be out on the grass next time. 'course, that'll be 'round summer time. Good thing I don't mind some grass stains on my jeans," he gave Carleigh a wink, then let his fingers again return to their absent strumming. He still had "Sweet Home" stuck in his head, so the tune leaked out from between his fingers. He looked over at Carleigh and grinned. "Play a few instruments. Dad did the guitar, so Ma hit back with the piano. Picked up a harmonica and went to town on it a few times. And old guy that used to be in Dad's band taught me some accordion," Beau paused for a moment, pursing his lips, "mebbe I oughta leave out those last two. Ain't likely that those girls in the grass gonna be interested in the accordion player, right?" his eyes twinkled again and he looked to Carleigh, clearly leaving the question up to her to answer.

[Carleigh Davidson]

"You know, now I'm thinking of home. Got me missing California. Mostly the sun." Carleigh said with a happy sigh, running her hand through her blonde hair. Unfortunately it was basically across the country and until someone bought her a plane ticket, she probably wouldn't return. Down south it was probably nice too, but there was no place on Earth like Cali.

Giggling, Carleigh nodded. "Oh yeah, girls will swarm you. Trust me." Afterall, the little blonde did stop after Beau started playing. Maybe it was female instinct or something. "You can thank me later." she joked with another light laugh. Whistling under her breath, Carleigh shook her head in awe. Damn, the kid had talent. Maybe the last two instruments were a bit odd for the area and the majority of kids, but still. "Natural born musician." she concluded. "Wish I had a talent."

"Hmm, depends. If the accordion player is cute then I don't think that they would mind at all." Carleigh flirted in return, flashing her bright smile. Beau probably already knew he was good looking. Just confirmed an already well known fact.

OOC: Sorry this is so short D:

[Beau LaRoux]

{pfft, that's not short. got plenty there to work with. ain't your fault that our posts here have been on the long side}

"Californy," drawled Beau, smiling teasingly, "shoulda guessed you were a Calli girl, you got the look," oh, and he was not going to tell her what that look was right now. It mostly involved being blonde, cute, and maybe a little sunkissed/tanned. It did explain a fair amount though, the music tastes, for one. Beau couldn't help but think of conversations his family had had about the weird people in places like that. He let it all slide out of mind though.

"I'm sure you got somethin' that makes you special. God don't make no mistakes, 'specially when it comes to all his favorites," replied Beau, sounding quite serious as he said it. He tapped the guitar again. "Some o' us jus' got lucky an' figured out our talent quicker'en others. You're prolly supposed to be a brain surgeon or somethin' much better than a musician."

And again, he said this with complete and total sincerity, as though he were standing at a pulpit and divulging information to a flock. He let his fingers move a bit, then ended up chuckling, "So I brought the wrong instrument, huh? Shoulda crammed the accordion into the car 'stead of the guitar. Now I'll have to rely on my charms to get girls, an' we know that jus' ain't gonna work, eh?" okay, it was compliment fishing; it was compliment fishing with explosives, but Beau couldn't help it. Okay, he probably could, but it was coming out of him anyway. He was homesick and she was cute; this was reason enough.

[Carleigh Davidson]

Raising an eyebrow, Carleigh gave Beau a kind of confused, but also somewhat knowing look. In every movie, the typical California girl was tan, blonde etc. Maybe it was a compliment. She smiled, a little arrogantly and said "Who me? Got the Cal look? Howso?" If Beau was fishing for compliments, Carleigh was jamming the hook into his skin.

Surprisingly though, he made a religious reference. Were families and people in general big on religion and God in the South? It was something Carleigh wasn't use to. Sure, there was the occasional rich Christian family but she'd never encountered someone in person. Laughing, Carleigh shook her head. "Oh no, I am definitely no brain surgeon material. And musicians are important. Aren't we all?" she asked, adopting his sort of philosophy and using it against him. "Well maybe after a few years, I'll figure something out here."

"The accordion would have made things easier but I think the guitar is a close second." Carleigh teased. As soon as Beau said that, she began giggling and shaking her head again. "Oh Beau, are you really immune to the power of your charm? In fact I'm beginning to believe that it's your power and why you're here." She licked her lips, then revealed a beaming white smile. "You're extremely cute and I'm sure any girl would melt in your presence."

[Beau LaRoux]

Beau smiled at Carleigh at her mention of the Cali girl thing, not that he hadn't been more or less smiling for a while now. He paused for a moment, wondering if this was some kinda trap. It sorta felt like a trap. Unfortunately, poor young Beau wasn't great shakes at avoiding those: "Y'know, pretty an' blonde," he said in as vague a way as possible, making a sort of absent hand gesture as well.

The hand gesture turned into more guitar playing, and Beau was thankful he had it. Knowing him, he'd probably try to talk with this hands or make more gestures. That was one thing he hadn't figured out yet: what you did with your hands when you talked with a girl. Maybe someday. As for brain surgeons, he just nodded along with that, offering a little laugh at Carleigh's comment. So what if she wasn't a brain surgeon? It wasn't like they didn't have years to figure out what they wanted to do. She seemed to have already figured that out though, so Beau didn't see the point in pressing the issue.

"Aww, shucks," Beau actually said, thus proving once and for all that he was, from the South. as if every other sentence that came outta his mouth didn't go a long way toward doing precisely that. "If it is, it's 'cuz I picked it up from you. 'fraid that's actually my ability," he had a rueful smile for that and he plucked the guitar, producing a sour note. The last thing Beau wanted was to think about abilities and the like, even if they were related to his or even Carleigh's charms. "Don't suppose you're actually gonna melt on me, are ya? You'd make a cute puddle, but I'd hate ta have to explain that to the dorm monitor folks."