This isn't what it looks like! [Oriel]

[Chassy Trouble]

A silver and black stereo, slightly covered in dust. Chassy had been saying that she would get around to fixing it for a while now, but she hadn't really been planning on fixing a damn thing. It wouldn't be the first lie she'd said and it damn sure wouldn't be the last. The truth of the matter was, the stereo was actually one of a few stash spots that she had around the dorm. It just happened to have been one she hadn't used in a good... what, half a year? A year maybe?

As she made her way over to the stereo, she went over the time in her head, running through the different time stamps she had with the different events. Oh wow, it'd been a year. A smirk formed on her lips. A year, huh? It was about time to pop this treasure trove open and see what was inside as it was well past the time needed to get in the clear. She couldn't even remember what she had stashed by this point.

Wiping the stereo off, she dug her nails into the edges of the right speaker and gave a wriggle and a pull before having the cover pop off. Her eyes lit up a little as she looked over the  small pile of necklaces that were there. There weren't any that were super expensive or anything like that. Nah, she wasn't chasing the dream of becoming a world renown thief or anything. Some of them were worth like twenty bucks at most. She had just had a few magpie moments where the shinies had called to her.

Chassy was just lifting out one of the thin chains when she became aware of someone else being in the room. Well shit. A slow look over her shoulder came paired with a raised brow before she smirked.

"Told you I'd get around to fixing this thing." She commented as she slipped the chain back in and went to popping the speaker back on.

"What's up? I thought you were hanging out with such and such."

She was hoping Oriel hadn't seen what she had just been fondling.

[Deleted]

Whether Oriel had seen what she was doing or not was unapparent. Especially since it was hard for him to give any shits about anybody else lately. He’d flatlined a little, over the past week. Just going through the motions, for the most part. At least his grades had stabilized to something that didn’t suck anymore.

Oriel stared at his roommate from the hallway that led down to his room, a bottle of water gripped in his hand. He slowly took a sip as he regarded her words. “…Erik,” he said with surprising calmness. “…his name is Erik.” The two of them had been hanging out a lot more lately, which helped with some of Oriel’s neediness.

He hooked his thumb into the pocket of his jeans and shifted his weight from one leg to the other. Lies, Oriel thought. Maybe he was crazy for thinking so, he had no meta power that could tell…but Oriel liked to think that he knew a liar when he met one. He knew suspicious behavior. He knew when someone was trying to steer the conversation. After all, he did it so often himself.

Oriel sighed and stepped forward to flop down on the couch. “And while I really don’t give a shit what you were doing with that thing, I fucking hate it when people think they gotta sneak around and lie to me.” Oriel hated being lied to. It was the one thing that got you an instant “hate you” label on his people list.

The fact that he wasn’t ranting and raving over it already was enough to figure something was off about him.

[Chassy Trouble]

Erik, yeah, that was the name. It was so simple that she wasn't even sure on why she had forgotten it. Alright, so maybe she was a little distracted at the moment. And as Oriel made his way to the couch to flop down so casually, Chassy went to running through the different stash spots to relocate the necklaces to. Well, it wasn't like she was going to keep them in the speaker. And she never really got rid of the things she collected... she was kind of a hoarder, she realised. Oh well.

Her eyes flitted to his when he made that comment about hating when people thought they had to sneak around and lie to him. Though... where was the dramatics? Shere was the passion? The ranting? He didn't even show a hint of it. Her brow rose. Was she going to regret this? Oh she hoped this wasn't gonna get all sloppy.

"First of all, I said that I told you I'd get around to fixing this thing, not that I was fixing it right now." She commented with a cheeky smirk.

"You should know how I am by now." She added.

Chassy set the stereo down for the moment then went to playing with the bracelets on her wrists some.

"Second, who are you and what did you do to my roommate? Where's the spark? The oomf? You could stand to get a little more pissed off at least." She teased a bit, seeing if she could get something out of him.

[Deleted]

“Semantics,” he uttered. Oriel stared at her. Should he know how she is by now? This past summer, Oriel had lost two roommates, one of which he actually enjoyed the company of while the other barely existed. And now, they had been replaced by a foreigner whose demeanor was just asking to be bullied, and this girl.

A klepto.

Did she think he hadn’t noticed? Oriel knew every inch of this dorm, every nook and cranny, having been charged with cleaning it from top to bottom. And anyone else who tried would do it wrong. And he’d end up doing it over again anyway. So of course Oriel had noticed the stashes that his new roommate had littered about the dorm. Not all of them, mind you, but he wasn’t stupid.

Oriel didn’t approve. But it wasn’t his business, so he left it alone.

“I can do that too, if you want,” he said in a slow, monotonous tone, staring at her with eyes narrowed only the slightest. It was true, though. He’s normally get a lot more upset about such an obvious fib. At least snap at her with a little more bite behind his words. A disdainful snort in her direction was the best he could muster. Oriel took another drink of his water and flipped on the TV. “Anything you want to watch?” he asked mindlessly. If not, then Oriel was going to watch cartoons. Actually, that’s exactly where he switched it before she could answer. He smirked as Mojo Jojo started another one of his evil rants.

[Chassy Trouble]

Semantics... okaaay, she didn't know that one. She'd gotten lucky with other less commonly used words before but that one threw her for a loop even if she didn't show it on the outside. Luckily, she wasn't one of those types to try to throw the word back and pretend like she knew it or something. Nope, she'd look it up later if she remembered or still felt like it.

As he commented on being able to get a little more pissed off, he did it in such a dead kind of way that it was almost disappointing. He didn't even glare at her properly! Seriously now! Was he sick or something? He didn't look sick. Was it a creeper? Nah. Still, the fact he just went on to flipping on the TV like nothing happened threw her off slightly.

Sure, they might not have gotten to know each other deep-like. But there were there were certain trademarks that were usually in order. Yes, that was what she called them. And, he was totally blowing his off. Him asking her if she wanted to watch something, in place of the angry routine, was actually what had her say what she said and did next. Moving over to the couch before grabbing onto the arm of it and leaning forward slightly in an "I dare ya" kind of way, she spoke.

"Yeah, actually. As cute as that semi-brood was, the ranting is so much more you. And that serious look you get in your eyes when you get all pissed off about something..." She just trailed that last bit off with an almost flirty smirk.

Flirting had a chance of setting him off, she was aware of that, but she didn't know that for sure.

[Deleted]

How did Oriel even know that word? He wasn’t book smart! Must’ve been something he heard from someone somewhere at sometime. Oriel had a weird memory, often remembering things he’d heard only in passing several months or sometime years later. It was the thing he relied on the most when it came to his studies. He may have gotten better at it, but reading was still a challenge for him and rarely did any of it stick.

Oriel had no idea why this girl found Oriel’s anger fits so amusing. He’d beaten people half to death, the most recent one being his own lover(it was a backhand across the face) and gone on tantrums that have had school officials rushing in like fucking superheroes just to take care of him and his mess. Oriel didn’t know why she was trying so hard to get him to lash out.

Confusing is what it was.

And that flirting. Typically if a girl as cute as this one bat their eyes at him(or more rather, shoved their boobs in his face), he was well on top of it(or rather her), but this time…Oriel just stared at her, eyes slightly widened, which flit down her shirt, then back up to her face. “I have no desire to do anything with you,” he said, as if it were some revelation that he just discovered. Which was weird because Chassy was totally his type(at least in the looks department). Normally the kind of move she just made would have gotten her groped, but…Oriel just didn’t feel like it. Oriel shook his head and sighed, frustrated. “Sorry, I’m having an off day,” he admitted. Even the casual apology was unlike him. Oriel never apologized. On principal.

[Chassy Trouble]

His eyes had wandered, and she'd known the instant when it had. Why? Well, because she was paying attention that's why. She was watching him, looking for any sign or hint of a spark there to show he wasn't some zombie shade of himself. She wasn't trying to start anything, nothing frisky anyways. If it ended up frisky then maybe it might be interesting enough to be a plus, but it wasn't her main goal. Her goal was to get a reaction out of him. Widened eyes was a start. Ant the lack of monotone as he told her he had no interest in doing anything.

Chassy snerked at his reveal and moved to be taking a seat on the arm of the couch rather than continuing to prop herself up on display on it any longer. Though, when he apologized, she might have fallen off again had she not been able to pull off the poker face of the gods. Seriously. Oriel. Apologizing. She looked at him with a riased brow and her eyes glanced over him from head to toe before she went to looking him in the face again.

"I'd say." She commented.

She sighed suddenly and got up from the arm of the couch before sticking her hands in her back pockets and looking towards the door. Was she going to? Why? It wasn't her problem? Fuck if she knew, but it looked like she was going to try. Or at least make a half-ass attempt.

"Alright, get off your ass, Oriel. I'm hungry so I'm gonna go grab some cheeseburgers and I'm not gonna leave a doppleganger with my stash. Come on." She stated, nodding towards the door.

[Deleted]

Zombie shade of himself…huh, that was a pretty accurate way to describe it. It felt weird, honestly. And it was temporary, he knew that. But it was just…uncomfortable. Not feeling like normal. As in, not feeling what was normal for Oriel. Actually, this might not even have been normal for normal people, he thought, given Chassy’s reaction to his “normalcy”.

“Mm,” he agreed, turning back to the Powerpuff Girls.

When she popped up, Oriel didn’t turn his attention back to her until she spoke up, glancing slightly in her direction and following her with his eyes. Then he directed his gaze upward as he considered her offer.

Oriel had nothing against going out, nor did he have any preference to stay in. But actually thinking about it, it might do him some good, considering his current state. He needed some serious stimulation and Buttercup wasn’t exactly doing a great job of doing that.

Oriel at least knew he hated this, having to actually think hard about what he wanted or was feeling or whatever. Bleeeeeh.

“Yeah, fine, alright,” he said, clicking off the television and pushing himself to his feet. He tossed his empty water bottle in the recycling then turned to his roommate, stuffing his hands in his pockets. “So where we going?” he asked, attempting to put a little more omph in it. Not that it mattered. Oriel would eat anything.

[Chassy Trouble]

When he agreed and just clicked off the television just like that, Chassy found it eerily too easy. Not that she was going to give that away. Nope. For all she knew, someone might have just been fucking with her or something. Mind you, this wasn't paranoia speaking, she had just been counter-pranked before in the past and this would have been a damn good one. How the fuck they had him go along with it would have been beyond her, but still. Though, Chassy was more inclined to believe something was in fact broken in him right now. Like the angler switch he usually had was just stuck on off. Along with everything else.

"We're taking a walk, then catching a bus, then heading to this pretty fucking awesome burger spot this random trucker dude turned buddy of mine showed me a few days back." She stated before leading the way out.

"So what's the deal anyways? You're usually more exciting than a bowl of oatmeal."

Hey, if she was going to feed him, he she was also going to find out what was going on. Now, this wasn't something to be mistaken for her being one of those concerned friends or something like that. Nope. Chassy usually dipped out of situations where people started talking about things that were bothering them. Especially if there were water works involved. Luckily, with how lacking he seemed to be in the mood department, she was pretty confident it wouldn't come to that. That was probably why she went as far as asking what was going on with him.

[Deleted]

On any other day, Oriel would be bouncing banter off anyone who was trying to get a rile out of him. He had an entire encyclopedia of insults just waiting to be used, several of them reserved just for this piece of Trouble. And many of them absolutely terrible too. But they were either not coming to mind, or he just couldn’t find the willpower to shoot them out.

What would make him feel better? He hoped that if Phoenix were around, then he’d be able to make Oriel feel better with just one of his silly stunts. The boy remembered the first time this happened had been on the day of their first date since the “incident”. And it hadn’t even been five minutes before the asian had him grinning from ear to ear. Not even the fake kind either.

Oriel managed a subtle smirk at the thought of his boyfriend…no, fiancee.

“Sounds good,” he said as he followed her out the door, closing it behind them. Oriel made an effort. “The hell’re you doing hanging out with shady truckers? You don’t know where they’ve been.” Ew, weak.

Then came the question. Well, he knew it was coming and he wasn’t sure if it was her business enough to answer it. “Hey…oatmeal is damn exciting,” he protested with a slight raise in his eyebrows. Oriel liked oatmeal. He shrugged as they continued down the hall and down the stairs. “Ain’t nothing. Probly’ll clear up tomorrow or something.” A person passed between them, going up, and Oriel paused until they were well past them. “It’s uh…the meds they got me on,” he admitted. “Said it’ll funk up my head sometimes.” Oriel never would have revealed that were he feeling more like himself. He’d probably regret it later.

[Chassy Trouble]

It wasn't going to get out, was it? Nah, he wouldn't talk about her. Not in the sense that she took him out someplace and fed him. It wasn't that she worried about people thinking she was overly friendly or anything like that. No, people who did know her, knew she did random shit sometimes so they'd probably figure it was a once off thing. It was more of the whole her paying thing, she thought to herself jokingly.

Seriously though, this wasn't something she did often. Chassy wasn't the one someone would expect to take someone out for a pick-me-up. Especially not someone she didn't even usually hang out with. She thought it over in her head. Yeah, she couldn't remember one time they actually hung out. In fact, neither of them had done any reaching. But then again, neither of them seemed to be the type to. No skin off her ass though. It was one less person she had to worry about getting too close.

Whoa. What the fuck? Damn it Corbin! She was so gonna have to get him for that one. Seriously, what the fuck? He had no right putting those worms in her head. She had no problem with people getting close, thank-you-very-much. She had plenty of friends. Sure, she didn't know most of their last names, and some of them didn't remember her first name, but it wasn't about names, it was about having fun and hanging out and all that. And she knew her friends enough to know how they ticked, which was more than what could be said for some people who claimed to have best friends.

He spoke. And thank fuck for that distraction. Though, the question made her laugh even if briefly.

"Actually, he was one of those good samaritan types you always hear about but never meet. But let's just say he was shady for story re-tell's sake huh?" She commented.

"His truck crapped out on him and he needed someone to help him out. I got a cheeseburger out of it so I'm happy." The girl added with a shrug.

A snerk came from Chassy when Oriel joked about oatmeal being exciting. At least, she hope it was a joke. If not, then damn he really needed to get out. As they got to the stairs, she eyed the railing almost tempted to slide down it. A slow slide shouldn't hurt, right? She rose a brow as he got her attention for a moment with the clearing up comment then as someone passed between them, she took that time to perch on the railing and begin the controlled slide down while Oriel spoke up again, telling her about the beds and how he'd been told it'd fuck with his head sometimes.

"If it doesn't "clear up" in a couple of days, whatever it is they got you on, you should send it back." She commented after giving a soft whistle, sliding down at the pace of his walking.

As they reached the bottom, she dropped off and began walking again

[Deleted]

If there was one thing Oriel hated, it was gossip…which wasn’t entirely true, because he liked to talk to his friends about the things going on in their lives and silly things like who they wanted to bone, but he wasn’t the kind to go around and spread rumors. Besides, to what end would he tell anyone? And more than that, who would listen? Oriel had few friends and only a handful whom he talked to regularly. Less than a handful. Recently, it’s only been one or two, since Kodi’s been awol recently and Tak graduated and Gryph…well they weren’t friends, but they could talk sometimes at dance practice.

Anyway, Oriel had no reason to tell anybody anything. Yes, he realized it was a little strange that Chassy of all people was trying to pull him out of his rut, but he was far from caring at the moment. Anything was better than just zoning out in front of the television, waiting for his brain to re-start.

“Mmm,” he grunted in affirmation. Oriel knew those type himself, or at least knew of them. None personally. The old tattoo guy from back in NYC was like that. Seemed scary, but was probably the only person in that whole fucking city and Oriel actually trusted. Oriel pressed his eyebrows forward. “How the fuck you do that?” he asked with some disbelief. “You secretly a mechanic or something?” Okay. Yes. this was good. Oriel was starting to sound a little more like himself. Just a little though, he still fell like a giant ball of emotional numbness.

What was wrong with oatmeal? It was good, especially when you added sugar and maple and shit to it! Oriel wasn’t a health food nut or anything, but he did appreciate that it was better than some of that chocolate covered shit they fed to kids. Though Oriel would still eat that too, he loved his sugary sweet things.

Oriel snorted as Chassy heaved her bottom up to the railing and started to slide down. She was going to break her neck if she kept that up. Oriel wasn’t a person who did that kind of high risk—well, okay, Oriel did like sleeping in high places, and often taunted people into fights and maybe beating the shit out of him, so maybe he did engage in high risk activities. “It will,” he assured her. It always had before. Though he might want to pay a little more attention this time. “They upped the dosage or something…might be why it’s weirder than normal.” Whatever ‘normal’ was.

The double doors to the dorm were only a few steps away from the stairwell, and Oriel directed them towards it, this time going first and holding the door open for Chassy. The cold fall air bit at his bare arms. He probably should’ve put on a jacket. Or at least something with sleeves. Oh, well.

[Chassy Trouble]

Oh finally, a more colourful word to cut through the blandness that was doppleganger Oriel. His question did make her snerk though and she followed it up with a bit of a grin.

"No, not a secret mechanic, but I'm pretty good at following directions when I want to." She replied in a cheeky tone, flirting again but this time more out of habit than trying to get a rise out of him.

The opening had just been too wide for her to ignore and it would have been a shame to just let it pass by like that. She liked teasing. She also liked flirting, even if she didn't plan on it actually going anywhere about half of the time. It was one of those spices added to situations, and it often got attention too. Mixed attention, but attention none the less.

"Upped the dosage? What's it for?"

Shame on her for not knowing he was on drugs. But then again, even if she paid attention to how people tended to act, she didn't exactly snoop around in their lives and such either, so there was that.

She blinked at him when he opened the door and held it. Okay... Yeah, she wasn't used to that kind of thing.

"Uh... thanks." She commented on the way by as she went out.

She then turned so to be looking at him some.

"So, weird, it includes not just zombifying but a bit of truth syrum and...?"

She left the end part open for him to fill in the blanks. Chassy was half joking about the truth serum thing, but it was kind of like a favour. Y'know, because she was all full of good will and jolly and getting it out of her way before the holiday season so she could have an excuse not to be all festive. Yeah, she'd run with that. It was a good excuse: sorry burned it out earlier this year, maybe next time.

But yeah, favour. She was giving him a handy dandy excuse later to throw out to explain why he was talking to her for more than five minutes when it wasn't for the purpose of ranting, bickering, or bantering. Because without angry, Oriel didn't really seem like Oriel. Chassy didn't really like change. It unsettled her.

[Deleted]

"Uh-huh. You end up beaten in a ditch, that's all on you, got it?" Slowly, slowly, one insult at a time, Oriel was getting his rhythm back. He just needed to be around people. Someone to interact with. Someone who'd respond. That was an extrovert for you, practically non-existent unless he had someone to bother and entertain. 

Therefore, Oriel wasn't bothered by her flirtatious attitude. He just wished he could be more responsive to it than being a 3rd rate dick....no he might be 4th rate at the moment. It was his goal to upgrade that by the time they got to the food place. 

Oriel wasn't 100% certain if he wanted to be talking about the crazy pills and what they were for. But apparently Chassy had a point. The shit eased him up enough that he was fairly forthcoming with his responses. Oriel should probably be more careful lest he accidentally reveal something he oughtn't. "'S'pposed to make me not a dick," he replied without much thought. It wasn't much a surprise she didn't know. It was a recent development, after all, just since August. "Ain't sure it's working. Just some things you can't change." Oriel was pretty certain he was just straight up born a dick. And there wasn't nothing nobody could do about that. 

Oriel blinked as he shook his head in some resignation. "Uh..kinda. Fuck, I don't know. Maybe. Just....maybe." Truth serum was a good way of putting it. "Might say something weird or something a little too..." Personal...or something. "Don't take none of that too serious, alright? Or just...don't fucking tell nobody, 'cause I'll probably kick your ass for it later or something." Oriel might not have felt like it right now, but he was pretty sure he'd be feeling like piss later over today and want to ensure that Chass didn't blab her mouth about shit she wasn't supposed to to anyone. He knew himself that well.

He stuffed his hands into his pockets to keep them from the cold, then kicked a rock mindlessly as they walked towards the gates of the school. “…you don’t got to pay for me, by the way,” he brought up as an afterthought, sliding his eyes in her direction. “I got cash ‘nough of my own for me.”

[Chassy Trouble]

Chassy gave a somewhat sharp "pfft" ar Oriel's comment about beatings and ditches then began walking like an overconfident cat in a way before smirking at him after a few steps.

"You kidding me? If anything, it's the trucker that'd end up in a ditch. I know I might look all dainty and shit but I can take care of myself." She commented in a half cocky half playful tone, raising her brow at him.

She wasn't nearly as cocky as she pretended to be. Sure, she had confidence in her abilities and she did believe she could take care of herself, but the whole high and mighty act was just that. An act. Just like she had more going on in her head than the mischievous trouble maker and sticky fingered flirt that she portrayed herself to be. It was just more fun to be the way she was. And she was all about having fun when she could.

"To not make you a dick? Pretty potent stuff there." She commented with a snicker, fucking with him and letting him be fully aware of it.

"Well, if you consider stripping you down to a soul-less version of yourself as working, then they've got it down pretty good." She said in response to that part he had said about him not being sure on if the medication was working.

Chassy rose a brow at how.. well.. confused he seemed to be. No, not so much confused but slow to the draw. But when he went to trying to threaten her into silence, she laughed. It wasn't a snerk, it wasn't a snicker, it was an actual laugh even if it was shortly lived.

"You fucking kidding me? I could so take you in a fight." She kidded.

"Seriously though, you really think I'd talk much about anyone else's shit? You forget who you're talkin' to."

It was like pulling teeth when it came to getting anything from her when it came to her own personal stuff, so he should have been able to imagine even with the zombie serum in his system, how little she would talk about other people's business.

Other people's business... Fuck. She realized that it was happening again. Someone else was telling her their personal shit. Her mind wandered back to that thought she had had a while back about her not being a walking confession booth. It was kind of looking that way now, wasn't it? Like she might have been one? Why? Why the fuck would anyone want to talk to her about sensitive things or their deep darks? Seriously. Sure, she could probably be a pretty damn good information bank seeing how she didn't give much away, but still. At least Oriel had drugs to blame, but the fact he had enough of his usual senses to comment about probably kicking her ass or something told her that he had enough of his usual sense not to have said too much to her in the first place unless he felt like doing it.

Now she felt a little weird. Luckily, he spared her from getting too awkward on the inside by bringing up the topic of her not having to pay for him and him having cash.

"Nope. I'm paying for it. Easiest way to bribe you into not telling anyone about my stereo without bringing blackmail into things." She said, shooting out a dose of bullshit when it came to her reasons.

"Anyways, this wouldn't be a proper Oriel-napping without me luring you off with promises of food and stuff." She added with a shrug.