Unlikely Partnership (Oriel)

[Carleigh Davidson]

Carleigh sat in front of one of the library's computers, drumming her fingers on the desk. She had shown up early to look up controversial, but interesting topics. Sure, there were the basic ones, like abortion, women's rights, gay rights, rights of every minority out there... but she wanted something more. Something that would set her group apart from the rest. Carleigh didn't mind investing extra time into finding a stand out topic. Herself and Oriel would have to work together and write an argumentative essay on whatever topic they chose. By the end of their meet up, the blonde wanted to have a subject chosen and a rough outline on what they would talk about.

Her eyes stared at the computer screen in boredom, sighing. All of these were the same. Censorship, war, polygamy... everything that had been done before. Maybe Oriel would have an idea on what topic they could do. She dug out a few pieces of lined paper and a couple of pens, staring at the clock. She wanted to get the essay out of the way and go back to working on her biology notes she had procrastinated on. The essay would be easy enough to write. The two just needed to find a topic that was unique, but still easy enough to write what the teacher demanded for.

Surprisingly, Carleigh's initial encounter with Hammel's bad boy had gone well. The two were unable to sleep and had an unlikely conversation that didn't involve Oriel snapping or Carleigh bragging. It was... odd, considering the rumours she'd heard and his reputation at school. Unlike most students, Carleigh didn't mind being paired up with him. Her friends had given her sympathetic looks and apologies, but what was there to be sorry about? Oriel was just like any other kid and she had no reason to distrust him or hold a grudge.

Tying her blonde hair up, Carleigh continued searching for good ideas while waiting for her partner to show up.

[Deleted]

Oriel had little ill feelings towards Carleigh. He had no reason to. She was one of the lucky ones, happened be at the right time and place, and Oriel happened to be in the exact right state of mind to treat the bubbly blonde with his boyish wiles rather than his hateful insults. They couldn't be called friends, but they weren't avoiding each other either. She said hi, Oriel greeted her back. They'd exchange a couple of casual words, then would be on their ways back to their own separate social groups, or nap in the back of the classroom in Oriel's case.

So to have been partnered up with her for this English assignment was definitely one of the better possible pairings for him. Oriel typically didn't put in the effort for these kind of projects and let the other person do all the work. Which usually ended up in Oriel getting a failing grade. But since he'd was actually caring about school this semester, Oriel was going to do his best to actually put in some level of effort.

Oriel tromped into the library, ignoring the stares that, while had dwindled down over the course of the past few months, were still being sent his way when he entered a place he wasn't known for entering. Like the library. He panned his eyes over the large room and through the stacks as he passed them by, looking for his partner, until he finally spied that long blonde hair being pulled into a ponytail over by one of the computers. He shuffled over there and pulled up a chair from the computer next to hers and sat in it backwards. "Hey…'sup?" he greeted a bit awkwardly. "Didn't start without me, did you?" He flashed her a mischievous grin, his eyes scrunching up childishly.

[Carleigh Davidson]

Startled, Carleigh jumped a little in her seat, laughing soon afterwards. "Sorry, guess I was more concentrated than I thought." She chuckled again, turning to face Oriel. "Not much, really. School." Carleigh wrinkled her nose at the word. School was definitely a force to be reckoned with this year. Chemistry was kicking her ass, as was biology and math. Clearly, the left side of her brain was sub par compared to other kids. "How're you doing?" Lately, Carleigh had been seeing less of the back of Oriel's head in class which was a good sign. Maybe he was changing.

Blushing, Carleigh shrugged with a sheepish smile. "No... not really. Just looking up different ideas, you know?" She gestured with her head towards the computer screen, a page full of different ideas. "Found a few different sites that had suggestions. I'm trying to find something we can debate about, but is unique." She rambled, realizing that he probably didn't care what they did as a subject. "You have any ideas?" She asked him with a smile.

Although, Carleigh's desire for control was bubbling underneath, she was doing her best to control it. She liked Oriel as an acquaintance, and to be on good terms with the boy was a rare thing. Carleigh wanted to keep it that way. So, she would do her best to include him if that's what he wanted.

[Deleted]

"Yeah…" School. When he was actively caring about it, there were few subjects that he found he actually did well in. He still had to retake them, but so far he'd been doing something passable in Chemistry. PE was easy, if he couldn't do that, there was something terribly wrong. And math….well, despite Oriel's issues with reading, math, he found, was actually quite simple. Numbers were easy. There were only ten of them. Anything that actually required him to crack open a book and not get dizzy from looking at the coding that was printed on the page like a bunch of hieroglyphics….nope, not happening. Not without extreme effort. And computers. Man, whoever invented those learning assistance programs was a fucking genius!

Oriel shrugged. "Can't complain. Just been trying to stay out of trouble." He peered up to the corner as if he were pondering some cosmic quandary. "It's a lot harder than you might think." Followed by a snark of a smile and tilt of the head. As he sat beside her, Oriel decided to follow her lead and tied his hair back, keeping his tie in his teeth for a few moments as he pulled back his curls, then snapping it secure into a small knot.

"Nuh-uh," he said with a shallow shake of his head. "Anything really works for me." Then again, he vaguely remembered the teacher saying it was easier to do topics you were interested in. "What've you got so far?" he asked, folding his arms over the back of the chair. "Read 'em off to me." Oriel honestly had no idea what any of these controversial topics were supposed to be, so hearing them might stimulate some ideas. Maybe.

[Carleigh Davidson]

"I swear, school is eating up all of my free time this year. Feel like I don't have any time to just relax." Carleigh said with a small laugh, making small talk with Oriel. He was in the same grade as her, so his workload was likely the same.

Carleigh snorted at Oriel's joke, shaking her head slightly. "Good one. Seriously though, that's a good improvement." She nodded twice, turning her head and smiling at her partner. Though Carleigh had never been one to cause trouble, she figured that changing old habits was hard. That she knew well. Carleigh grinned, gesturing towards his ponytail. "Now that we match, let's get started."

She turned back towards the computer, focusing on the different ideas in front of her. "Oh you know, some of the basic controversial ones. Abortion, equality rights between gender, orientation, religion etc... war, polygamy... all that fun stuff." Carleigh chuckled, shrugging. "I'm indifferent. It's so hard finding a unique subject out there." Frowning, she turned to face Oriel. "Any of these strike your fancy?"

[Deleted]

"That's why you should just kick it and be an underachiever like me," he suggested, finger pointed in the air like it was the most novel idea in the world. "I got loads of time 'cause guess what? A C is still passing." And Oriel didn't plan on aiming any higher than that. If he happened to get higher, then sure, he'd take it, but Oriel wasn't going to bust his ass over something he cared so little about. The fact that he cared at all was enough stress as it was.

"I thought so." Really, staying out of detention for more than a week was quite the feat for him. Carleigh and Oriel might not have been best buddies, but she didn't seem to judge him for his troublemaking streak, and that he valued in such a casual relationship. "Not quite, but if you really want us to, I gotta go get my make-up bag." Yes, he was slowly constructing one.

Oriel listened silently as she listed off the topics…..which honestly didn't really help much. When she asked him his opinion he just gave a nervous smile and scratched his head sheepishly. "So, uh….what does 'controversial' mean anyway?" What Oriel wasn't getting was what about those topics was considered controversial. Guess they should've started there first.

[Carleigh Davidson]

"Yeah... see, that's the thing, I try in chemistry and I'm at a C- so..." Carleigh trailed off with a frown. Her other marks were alright... but damn chemistry class. Oh well. Right now she was sitting with an easy A in English, so she decided to think about that mark and the current project instead of her other grades. "Besides, don't think I could ever be an underachiever." she said with a snort. Of course, Carleigh meant no offense to Oriel. None whatsoever. But she physically couldn't deal with having a bad grade. Her chemistry mark, though she pretended not to care, was giving her grief and causing anxiety. "Maybe you can teach me to kick back and relax a little." Carleigh joked, with a smile so Oriel would know it was meant as a joke.

She giggled at his reply, shaking her head. The thing was, Carleigh could see Oriel doing something of the sorts. "Well if you need any help with any products and brands, you know who to call." She winked at the boy, before focusing on the screen.

"None of these stand out to me. A lot of kids are going to be doing stuff like this." Carleigh mumbled, tilting her head to the side. She tore her eyes away from the computer, facing Oriel again. "Like... controversial." Did he want a dictionary definition? "Like... something that'll stir... something. Take gay marriage. People are either for it or against it and there's a lot of trouble and debates around it. So, it's a controversial topic." Carleigh tried to explain it the best she could. "Basically, we need a subject that'll cause disagreement between two sides."

[Deleted]

"A C-, really?"  That had Oriel honestly shocked.  He assumed everyone, especially such a normal type of person like Carleigh, did better than him in all subjects of school. Like, he was under the (false) belief that only idiots and troublemakers and good-for-nothings like himself got anything below a B average. Which technically meant, "Well, fuck me sideways with a rake, I'm doing better than you."  That shouldn't have made Oriel feel so good, especially since Carleigh didn't seem to enjoy having such a low grade, but...it just did.  Because Oriel didn't think it was even possible.  Guess it just gave him a mild confidence boost.

"Heh…being an underachiever is a lot harder than it looks. For one, you need to learn how to sleep while the teacher's yelling at you. For two, you have to figure out exactly how much work you got to do to get that C so you can properly neglect the rest of it." He snickered. "It ain't the picnic it looks like, I tell you."

Oriel wasn't sure if Carleigh was taking him seriously about the make-up thing but…well, it wouldn't be the first time someone thought he was joking about his interests. "I'll do that," he said, returning the wink with an air-kiss.

"Huh…" Well, that made sense…kind of… What the fuck was wrong with gay marriage, though? If it make 'em happy… "Okaaay…. huh, guess I'm pretty much the same, I just don't care 'bout a lot of these things." Oriel fell silent, burying his chin in his arms as he considered something, anything, he might actually care about. He could probably think of a few related to sexuality, but he'd probably get in trouble for that. His thoughts, of course, drifted to things that had affected him most growing up. "…Anything in there 'bout..I don't know…adoption, maybe?" Oriel wasn't even sure if there could be arguments about that, but he sure had his opinions about it.

[Carleigh Davidson]

"Really." Carleigh nodded gravely, letting out an unhappy sigh. Oriel's shock was just affirmation that her grade, well, bluntly put, sucked. "Just... doesn't stick with me I guess. I do well on the homework, cause I copy off of my one friend. Then when it comes to labs and tests, I bomb them." So really, it was the blonde's own fault. Hopefully, Liv tutoring her would help bring the mark up to a C. She shook her head, chuckling under her breath. "Jeez, you sound so surprised. Thought everyone would assume, cause dumb blonde." Carleigh had been subject of those kind of jokes a few times and was quite use to them.

Carleigh giggled at Oriel's explanation, shaking her head again. "Sounds like a difficult balance. Gotta do well but not do well enough." She nodded, smiling. "Guess it would help if I could sleep regularly." Carleigh joked. They had spent a couple of sleepless nights together when sleep evaded them. It was pleasant having Oriel there keeping her company.

Focusing on the assignment again, Carleigh made an exasperated face, sighing. Why was it always so hard choosing a subject? Carleigh found it easy to bullshit the rest of the essay... but she needed something to bullshit first. "Yeah, see? I think growing up here helped out with that." She said, being 100% serious. Everyone in Pilot Ridge that the blonde had encountered was always so nice, kind and generous. Rarely was there any judgement coming from anyone.

"Hmm, adoption." Carleigh repeated, mumbling to herself. She scrolled through the page, eyes glancing at each bullet point. "Adoption. Well, it's always assumed that a single mother should give up her child. Or adoption vs. abortion. Or if gay couples can adopt." She listed the few there, turning to face Oriel again. She faintly remembered Oriel mentioning that he grew up in the hands of the foster care system. "Maybe.. talk about foster care?" Carleigh was choosing her words carefully, not wanting to bring back any memories.

[Deleted]

Oriel really should've felt bad. He really should just explain. "Ain't that, I just assumed…you know, everyone did better'n me." Oriel shrugged. He didn't do that well on tests either, but the labs and homework were what was keeping him alive at the moment. Oriel just couldn't…process the exams fast enough to complete them before the hour was up…and then they'd be riddled with mistakes. He really wondered if there was anything he could do about that? Oriel would have to talk to someone about that….when he worked up the balls to do so.

At Carleigh's next statement…well, he couldn't help but feel guilty. He'd gotten over his insomnia, for the most part, but that was only because he had someone to sleep with on a regular basis now. The presence of another person, especial that of his lover Phoenix, really helped alleviate his anxieties. But once Phoenix graduated….shit, it was going to be impossible again, he just knew it was going to be a bunch of sleepless nights again. Oriel wasn't looking forward to that.

This was the first time that Oriel had actually taken a project like this seriously, at least for English. The last English project he'd done, it was with the Stewart twins and they pretty much did all the work…which Oriel wasn't sure if he thanked them for it or not, that project saved him from having to take the class a third time. "Yeah, well, don't think I cared much before either back in Brooklyn." He had more important things to think about back then than who was fucking who and whose religion was the most correct.

The subject he was thinking of looking into was a little close to home…Oriel wasn't even sure he could handle it. Already just the mention of it was invoking a bunch of memories he'd tried to push down over the years. Oriel was too busy thinking about that stuff to hear some of the options Carleigh was listing off…until she got to foster care. "…..on second thought, forget it," he said quickly, burying his face uncomfortably in his arms. "S'pretty fucked up to make this whole thing about my fucking problems," he mumbled. "…..sorry….just…pick something random 'n we'll go with that."

[Carleigh Davidson]

"You know, you're not a horrible person right?" Carleigh said to Oriel, being 100% serious. She swiveled her chair, facing the boy now with a sincere and honest expression on her face. "You're... whether you believe it or not, you're not a lowly human who just gets by." The blonde smiled at Oriel. "We need to get you some self confidence or something. You have talents, I'm sure of it. Like what do you enjoy doing?" She asked. Carleigh wanted to find out more about him and figured it was a safe topic to ask.

Although she put in a fair amount of effort, Carleigh wasn't a knockout academic student. She cared about her grades and always strived to maintain a B average, but this year... Carleigh was falling short of her expectations. Maybe she could learn a thing or two from Oriel. If she spent less time worrying about the final letter grade, then maybe she could relax a little more instead. That would be nice. She just nodded at his comment, having nothing to add to the conversation.

The serious nature of the controversial essay seemed to be bringing out parts of Oriel that Carleigh felt.. odd seeing. She almost felt like she was violating him. Frowning, Carleigh watched him bury his face into his arms. She waited a second, before awkwardly laying a hand on his back, gently rubbing it, sympathetically. "Hey.. hey, it's okay." she assured him, falling into a rhythm now. "I'm really, really sorry if I brought something up that bothers you... I don't want to cause you any discomfort with this assignment." Carleigh kept frowning. "Really, I'm sorry. I... if you don't want to do anything related to.. to that stuff." She said, generalizing it instead of being specific. Hopefully he caught on.

"And we're not making it about your.. your problems." The blonde assured him again, patting his back lightly. "I mean, I would genuinely love to hear your side of these subjects because... cause they obviously hit close to home. It would make for a strong, passionate argument... but if you're uncomfortable, then we can choose something a little less... related." Carleigh removed her hand from Oriel's back, folding them awkwardly as she looked away, ashamed that she upset him.

[Deleted]

Oriel wasn't sure what to say about her assessment of him. Carleigh was…a joy, to be honest. Someone who could seemingly find the good in anything and everything, even something as rotten as Oriel. It might be the reason why he let his guard down around her. She was one of the few who'd seen him like that anyway and so knew that he really wasn't always a raging, punching, vile-talking asshole. So he also wasn't about to tell her she was wrong. Oriel appreciated hearing such a generous opinion of someone so incredibly good. Carleigh definitely didn't fit the dumb blonde stereotype, as least not how he saw it.

He shook his head, a pointless, yet uncertain action. "I don't know…dancing, mostly. Singing sometimes." Basically performing, but he wasn't sure if he had the talent in the other aspects of it, like singing and acting. But he still kept it up with the drama club too, so there was definitely some interest there. "Cooking. Cleaning." He snickered. "I'm a regular Martha Stewart, actually," he joked.

"What 'bout you?" he shot the question right back at her with some honest interest. "What do you do when you ain't worrying 'bout grades n' wandering the halls at night like a she-phantom?"

Oriel really hadn't meant to bring his problems into it, he was just musing over some things that he knew he had opinions about….but Oriel really should've known better to know that he was just setting himself up. He took a deep breath and peeked up at Carleigh through his arms with a smile, hoping to alleviate some of her worries. "S'alright," he said. "You didn't do shit, I just…." Oriel probably shouldn't finish that sentence, unless he wanted to make things worse. Oriel really just wanted to push it all back again and move on….he wanted to be able to do that.

"Yeah…" he sighed, lifting his head and trying to make himself look more fine than he actually was. Oriel had lots of practice doing that….just needed a minute to put himself together. "It's fine, we'll do whatever works. An'…I don't know, guess I do got a lot of inside info on the subject…" He felt like he was just rambling a little though. "The thing is," he started to explain, "the foster system is shit. They do a bunch of things all in the 'best interest' of the kid, kids have no say in anything that happens to them, they're just tossed around like a bunch of unwanted pets form one place to the other, and then they're expected to be fucking perfect if they ever hope to get out of it and be….normal or some shit like that..." Was he a little resentful? Just a bit.

[Carleigh Davidson]

Carleigh honestly didn't see Oriel's 'horrible' traits that he saw in himself or that other students saw in him. Perhaps it was willful blindness or naivety on her part, but she couldn't see it. She'd heard the rumours that dictated his reputation, but until she saw those traits herself, then Oriel was a good kid in her books. Carleigh tried her best to always see the best in everyone and in her sixteen years of life, it had worked so far.

Dancing wasn't something she pegged Oriel as a fan of. For a split second, her face looked kind of shocked a response. "Huh. No offense or anything but didn't see you as a dancer." She shrugged. She wasn't sure what she saw Oriel doing in his spare time, to tell the truth. "Is there a specific dance you do? Or a bit of everything?" she asked, nodding as he listed off his other activities. "Must keep you fairly busy. When we finished this assignment you should cook us a nice dinner." Carleigh winked with a laugh. She liked food, but making it was a completely different story. And it sounded like Oriel could make something delicious.

She laughed at the 'she-phantom' joke, shaking her head. "Well, when I'm not roaming around pointlessly or attempting to do homework, I mostly just... talk. I like talking to people. Meeting new people. I enjoy cheerleading." Carleigh thought for a moment. "Shopping, making outfits." She shrugged. She wasn't super invested in a particular hobby.

Even though Carleigh had no contact with her family since her manifestation, she knew she grew up in a privileged manner. Sure, she still held a grudge against them but the blonde was not about to bring that up after hearing Oriel's ordeals. "Okay, well I hope you're really okay." She said, not entirely convinced but also not wanting to press on the issue. Plus, Carleigh wasn't super close with Oriel and would feel a bit awkward asking him insistently on what was bothering him.

Nodding, Carleigh glanced at the screen for a moment. The other subjects seemed boring compared to the idea of foster care. Plus, Oriel had firsthand experience with it. A raw, real opinion. She turned her focus back on him, not wanting to interrupt Oriel. He obviously had a very personal, and very negative point of view to the foster care system and it's treatment towards kids. "I have no experience with the foster care system, but it does sound like you have a strong opinion. I... I think it would be good to talk about. Provide some insight into something that often gets neglected and ignored." She said with a nod. "I've heard things, like a lot of foster care parents only do it for the cash and treat the kids miserably."

"But, this shouldn't be at your expense." Carleigh added. "If you're not comfortable, then we can do something like abortion. It's pretty easy. Just decide if we are for or against and back up our opinion with reasons."

[Deleted]

Oriel snorted out laugh, his lips curling up sideways. "Yeah, well, that one usually throws people." Back when he first started, he didn't think he'd enjoy it so much. But then again, he'd always admired the dancers he saw as a kid on the Broadway stage. So it made sense, in a way. "Anything really," he admitted with a shrug. "Don't got formal training or nothing so I pretty much just learn what the teacher shows us." He wanted to learn more though, but that probably required money that he didn't have. "Started out with b-boy though." Oriel smiled, nodding at her suggestion. "Sure. Got any requests?"

"Right, cheerleading. Sounds like something that'd suit you." She was so bubbly but somehow wasn't the annoying kind and ground Oriel's nerves. Though the rest of it, Oriel had to laugh to himself because it was such a stereotype. The blonde cheerleader who liked shopping and fashion. Fashion, he might be able to relate to though. It was something he was slowly getting into, even if it was a hobby he couldn't afford.

"Fuck, that reminds me, the whole shopping thing…" he mused. "I put in an application or something a couple weeks back for some dumb fashion model thing a few days back. I…I kind of feel ridiculous, thinking 'bout it now." Really, Oriel must've been seduced by that shifty eyed pedo-salesman or something. "Been trying to find a job and that seemed like the best option at the time…" he mumbled. Oriel shook his head, feeling like an idiot now for bringing it up.

Oriel didn't want to make this project about him but at the same time he'd rather do something he was interested in than something he couldn't care less about. Interest usually was what kept him going in any medium. "I am," Oriel assured her again. He gave Carleigh an extra smile to reinforce his claims of being "fine". At least she wasn't a truth detector.

"Yeah," Oriel said, confirming the things Carleigh had heard. "Some of them do that." His had. "But I guess there's also some who come out more than half straight, so maybe it's just luck of the draw or something." Oriel appreciated Carleigh trying to be sensitive about it, but honestly her sensitivity was just making him more self-conscious. It wasn't a problem that was ever going to go away, so it felt ridiculous to be treated like something fragile every time a distressing issue came up. And it just made it more stressful, especially when it was pointed out. "I'll be fine, let's just get it done." Oriel snarked out a smile. "Maybe I'll actually learn something," he said, trying to be optimistic.

[Carleigh Davidson]

Nodding, Carleigh smiled as Oriel talked about dance. She always enjoyed listening to people talk about their passions. The way their face lit up, even in the slightest bit, made the blonde happy to listen. "We all have our quirks." she assured him, even though Carleigh couldn't think of something odd that she liked to do. Maybe drink copious amounts of coffee? "Oh, okay, I'm assuming you're part of some sort of dance club here?" she asked. Vaguely, Carleigh remembered a club of the sorts back when she was younger and choosing one to sign up for.

Ultimately, cheerleading had won though. She nodded, beaming. Cheerleading really did help her adjust and meet new people at Hammel. She attributed the club in helping her be her annoyingly bubbly self.

Raising an eyebrow, she was confused at Oriel's mentioning of a shopping thing and then snapped her fingers with a grin. "Hey! I totally signed up for that too. Figured it was worth a shot. Maybe we'll win or something." That would be fun, doing it with Oriel. She tried to imagine him at the scene of a photoshoot, giggling at the thought. He... was attractive and definitely had the potential to be a model, Carleigh had to admit. "Don't feel ridiculous, it could be a lot of fun!"

At him mentioning the search for a job, Carleigh shifted, visually uncomfortable. The blonde hadn't ever thought about getting a job due to her economic upbringing. Her parents would probably die on the spot if Carleigh got a job. She tried to shake the feeling and smiled. "Well, I wish you luck in the job hunt. You'll find something. Where did you apply?"

Relieved and believing Oriel's reassurance, Carleigh gave him one last pat on the shoulder before moving on with the subject. "That's terrible." she said with a frown, not even capable to imagine what it was like growing up in the foster care system. She wanted to sound sympathetic but didn't want to come across as condescending or anything either. "Maybe, maybe." she added, opening a new tab. There had to be something on the Internet about that.

"You sure?" She asked, one last time before opening another tab, ready to type in "foster care system in America." if Oriel was truly okay with the subject.