Sarcasm (OPEN)

[Rowan Booker]

Rowan had just gotten back from Boston to visit his mother, to see his aunt and take Beat with him. Or rather should he call her Tris? He wasn't sure what was going on in his cousin's mind, but honestly he couldn't judge her if she wanted to be different than what she was before. She was a teenager, that's when the changes began for him, maybe that's how it would be for her. It just scared him not knowing her as well as he had before she came to Hammel. He didn't want to drift from her and he couldn't handle her not wanting him with her anymore. Much as he loved Lucy and as important as she was to him, Beatrice was his family. The only person that was blood-related to him that he felt close to. 

His visit to Boston had been probably the worst one since he'd gone to Hammel. His mother was getting more bitter in her age and the older they both got, the more she spat insults at him because he wasn't like her. She said he was getting soft and that he was losing that snarky edge that she'd raised him to have. But what did she know? His mother didn't know anything about him and she didn't know any of what he was going through. He didn't want to be like her, but he was not weak like she made him out to be. He wasn't as dependent as she was...or so he told himself.

The more he thought about her words, the more he played it over in his head, the more irritable he got and he knew if he didn't release this pent up anger somehow, he'd take it out on someone that didn't necessarily deserve it. He was not an angry person and he wasn't about to start being one. Rowan decided that with it being later, Lucy was probably with Penelope and Beatrice didn't want to be around him, so he figured he would get rid of his anger by going to the gym and working out. That was a good release, one that wouldn't get him into trouble or hurt. Hopefully anyway.

Dressed in a pair of baggy sweats and a cut-off, he slipped out of his dorm and made his way to the gym, setting up at a nearby punching bag, not bothering with gloves of any kind. The bruises would linger, but it wasn't anything he couldn't handle. With his iPod plugged in, he blasted Get Scared and closed his eyes before tearing into the bag.

[Aryana Darcy]

There were three ways Rya kept herself in the body she wanted to be in: Swimming, boxing, and running. The Hydrokinetic obviously adored the water, and typically chose that as her go to exercise, but she did like to switch things up with her routine, and it had been a while since she pushed herself using a punching bag, so she figured this was the time.

Despite the fact that she had graduated, the Brit had come back to Hammel to drink in the atmosphere. She no longer lived in the dorms, Carter was not in Pilot Ridge at the moment, and her mum was still getting ready to pack and fly over. The apartment had already had the first months rent paid, so Rya was able to move in, but the lonely apartment was the last place she wanted to be.

In the gym, she was at the punching bags with her hands wrapped up. Attached to her arm by a black band was her phone, headphones plugged in and blasting her workout playlist as she threw her punches. However, in between songs, she noticed another come in and immediately work on the punching bag as if he wanted to kill it. No wrap, no gloves, just natural knuckles and eyes closed. The brunette pulled out her earbuds and watched him curiously.

"Hey," She breathed in an futile attempt to capture his attention. Instead, she took a few quick steps over to him, punching the bag herself to capture his attention. "Hey, what the fuck is your deal?" There wasn't any maliciousness in her tone, but rather, just curiosity.

[Rowan Booker]

Once Rowan was in this kind of state, he didn't quite worry about people around him. He was close-minded and definitely not his usual upbeat and flirty self. It took him a little while to get back into the swing of things after a visit home and this was all part of the process to go back to that. Blasting music he typically didn't listen to and beating the shit out of a punching bag, which definitely wasn't something he typically did. He wasn't violent and he didn't enjoy fighting, but it was as good as anything to relieve him of this anger.

He was oblivious to the girl beside him, not paying her any mind even when he walked in. It wasn't something he was worried about, not by a long shot. If someone else was working out, fine, so long as they didn't disturb him, he wouldn't disturb them. It was simple common courtesy right? Not that he'd do a whole lot if he was bothered. Not unless the person decided to be a fucking idiot, that would probably set him off a bit.

The song came to an end and he opened his eyes as the next started, only to see someone else's hand connecting with his bag. Rowan stopped and steadied the bag before glancing at the girl beside him. The fuck? Her lips were moving but he didn't here a word she said. Yanking his headphones out he arched an eyebrow, "Excuse me? Do you not notice when people have headphones in they typically don't here a damn thing you're sayin'?" He ran his hand through his hair, his fingers trembling from the impact of hitting the bag. Rowan didn't pay much attention to his pissed off hands.

"Now what can I do for you since my headphones are no longer deafening me?"

[Aryana Darcy]

If every time someone bitched at her when she was simply trying to help, then she wouldn't have any friends. If anything, Rya was more interested in why he was so pissed off. It wasn't explicitly stated, and normally she wouldn't even bother, but she did have a heart under all the makeup and booze.

"That's why I punched the damn bag," She offered, her voice cool as she gazed up at him. The guy didn't seem much older than her, if he even was, so she had to wonder if he was even a student at Hammel any longer. Rya understood some students were held back due to their powers, such as Lucy and at one point Dom as well as Carter. Hell, she was lucky enough to have so much practice with her own, because if not, she would have been at Hammel for much longer.

"Take those anal beads you stuck too far up your ass out, for one." Rya's arms crossed and her head tilted slightly, her expression relatively placid considering what she had said. "And two, split knuckles may be a good idea now, but you're gonna be even more pissed when you see them after." She didn't need to gesture to his hands for him to know, since she'd like to believe he wasn't an idiot.

[Rowan Booker]

Rowan looked up at her and nodded once, not really caring about her reason for doing anything. He wasn't going to be rude or bitchy to her because despite the interruption, it wasn't her fault that he was in a bad mood and it wasn't her fault that she caught him at a bad time. Things happened, people made mistakes and if it was him, he probably wouldn't want his head bitten off for trying to help or whatever this girl was doing. Who the hell was she anyway? Something told him she was familiar, but he didn't really know.

Her comment about anal beads had him snorting, "Why on earth would I take them out? D'you know how fun they can be." He was joking of course because he wasn't into any fifty shades of blech, but one day maybe if he found the right pair of anal beads...nope he wasn't going to continue that thought. Wasn't worth it and it didn't seem to be the right kind of audience for him to be joking about it. He ran his hand through his hair again and rubbed the back of his neck, trying to not show that it in fact did hurt like a bitch.

"So, when did you give birth to me because I don't remember you sitting at the table during dinner time," He arched an eyebrow at her and glanced down at his trembling fingers. So yeah, she had a point, but it wasn't her job to look out for him. If he wanted to be stupid, he was going to be stupid. "Thanks for your concern, but maybe I'm in it for the stupidity?"

[Aryana Darcy]

To say he could keep up with her in terms of banter was a decent thing on its own, but the fact that he was mocking her when she was attempting to be somewhat 'caring' had royally irritated the Brit.

"Oh look, the idiot has comebacks," She shook her head, staring up at him as he offered something of an explanation to his behavior in a roundabout way. She was the exhibit A for what happens when somebody let their desires work before their mind. That was enough said.

"You're in it to take your anger out on something - your frustrations. Whatever it is, no matter how fucking shitty it is, it isn't worth waking up tomorrow or the next day with split and bruised knuckles." If he was trying to get away from something, this was not the way to do it. He should be grateful she was attempting to help him at all; Rya was not the kind of girl to stop what she was doing to help some sort of 'tormented' soul.

She was usually the one to laugh at them.

"It'll only remind you of why you were pissed off in the first place."