People Watching(open)

[Mayu Yoshiko]

Mayu was sitting in the lunchroom at a table off by herself. It wasn't the first time she'd ever done this, nor would it be her last. She had been at this school for a good three years and still she had very few friends that would go out of their way to talk to her for any reason. Mostly she found herself being ignored by most other meta's, not that they were being rude. They just felt she would rather be alone. May found herself not worrying about what other people thought of her, they held no real interest to her anyway.

So she sat in the lunchroom stirring around the carefully made bento she had taken the time to prepare earlier that morning. It was an adorable thing, just how she liked all of her possessions to be. So she used the carved chopsticks-made colorful by her brother spending an hour carving anime characters into it-to make the pieces go back into place since they had been stirred up by her running to school.

May glanced from her now perfect bento to the open notebook beside her, words stopping mid sentence half way down the page. She had just picked up the pen when she felt the mind of another student entering the vicinity of her table. Yes, it was hers as it had been since the first day of school. "No, the seat isn't taken. Yes, you can sit there." Mayu didn't need to be a telepath to tell why anyone would stall at her table. They had no other option but to sit down. She looked up finally through the dark brown bangs obscuring her eyes from view, white-nailed hand poised just above the paper.

[Ashley Shaw]

Ashley didn’t know why he’d come to the cafeteria. He’d usually stay in the student lounge with Ant and muck around. He guessed he just wanted to see what the cafeteria looked like for once. He’d never liked cafeterias. The one at his old school had a strict can’t-sit-don’t-stay regime. Technically, if there wasn’t a seat left, you had to leave. He wasn’t encouraged by the upper school students gazing down on him all the time either. Ashley didn’t really have anything to eat on him that day, he was much to busy trying to get to school on time. He put his head down as he entered the cafeteria, trying not to draw attention to himself. He managed to lift his head up, and saw his good friend’s ‘little sister’, Mayu.
He looked around, wondering why she was sitting on her own. Maybe she was just spending some time with herself. As he stepped up to her, he reminded himself not to scream at the top of his vocal mind. He didn’t want to go scaring her.

"No, the seat isn't taken. Yes, you can sit there." Ashley stopped dead in his tracks. Did she just read his mind? Wow, that was good. He smiled to himself and sat down beside. She seemed to be on the verge of writing something in her notebook. He looked at something she had in a box, it looked like a bear… made of rice. Alongside an array of other foods that looked like plants. He tilted his head to one side. It was spectacular for food, he wonder how she could make something like that.

“I sure hope you don’t eat that,” he smiled, laughing, “it’s way to pretty.” Ashley looked at it, wondering how much dedication she put into that. He knew like hell he couldn’t do that himself. It was like asking a whale to fly. It looked tasty too, he just hoped he didn’t eat it before May did. May was cute like that, those little things she did that made Ashley want to get her in a bear hug and smile like a small child holding their favourite teddy bear, which perhaps looked roughly like the teddy made out of rice.

[Mayu Yoshiko]

Mayu paused from her notebook, really getting a good look at this person. Why wasn't her mind working on such a familiar face? That would be a wonderful thing to know. Then the boy talked and she instantly recognized him. "Hi Ash!" her entire face lit up at the sight of him. Ash was one of her favorite people in the world, besides Ant of course, and he always seemed to be hanging out with her older brother. But he was a sweetheart definitely, especially if he spared Ant time to sit with her.

She smiled again, then covered it up with her hand. Smiling at a boy was definitely a bad thing-they get the wrong ideas- even if the boy was her best friend. Or at least, her friend. Even being a telepath she wasn't sure what Ash thought of her. Not that she wanted to. Oh god she was rambling in her head. Again. What to say to him? Did he just say her lunch was cute?

"Um.. Do you want some? I made two layers today. I um.. thought I'd be hungrier." She didn't wait for an answer, Ash always seemed to be hungry. This made her work just a little harder whenever he was around to make sure food was provided. May didn't wait for an answer and pushed the upper half of the bento towards Ash, along with her decorated chopsticks. This revealed a more kuromi themed box. Well, a Kuromi themed bento definitely. She blushed a light pink, hoping beyond most hopes he wouldn't think all this work towards lunch was stupid. At least he didn't know she made these kind of lunches almost every day. Now that would be embarrassing. "So, Ash... Um... What are you.. Doing for Christmas?" It was really the only thing that came to mind. Then she remembered about Ash's family.

[Ashley Shaw]

Ashley noticed her smiling, but she quickly hid it. He wondered why. It was perfectly fine to smile, if not something he should do more often. May’s smile always cheered him up, no matter how grumpy or depressed he felt. It was good thing, really. Even Ant’s constant hugs and classic friendlessness didn’t do what her smile did, and not once had he ever stopped to wonder why that was. Coincidence, or something else? Ashley didn’t want to think about it, he might stumble across something he didn’t want to, and if Mayu read is mind then it would be extremely awkward. She didn’t seem to have noticed that he though her lunch was cute, maybe she wasn’t concentrating on telepathy. Maybe he should shout something in his mind, something really embarrassing (or random, that works too) in order to see her reaction.

Mayu passed him one of the two layers, along with a pair of chopsticks. Was this serious? She was letting him have what was hers? Wow, she was exceptionally nice, he had to admit. One of the most welcoming people he knew. Maybe it was just a woman thing, and his sister just wasn’t woman enough to be kind.
Mayu asked him what she was doing for Christmas. Ashley’s face became void of expression, his hands curling into fists, his knuckles white as bone. His family were the last thing he wanted to know about. His face became contorted, between frustration and anger.

“I’m not doing anything,” he growled, trying not to either burst out in tears or break something, preferably nothing that Mayu owned. He’d rather break school property than something May owned. Maybe because Ant would never let him see her again? Maybe so, but he wasn’t going to dive into that mind set anything soon.

“My family don’t give two tosses about me,” Ash heaved a sigh, relaxing, “anyway, it’s you’re birthday soon, Christmas eve, am I right? If it is, then who needs Christmas.” Ashley said it with such relentless grudging that he seemed to have forgotten everything around him. It wouldn’t be surprising if he forgot that May was sitting right next to him, and she could hear all his thoughts, too.

[Mayu Yoshiko]

May smiled at him, this time not hiding it. The blush was quickly fading so she looked back to normal. This was one of the few boys she could actually stand being close to for long periods of time. Sure, it was a result of Ant constantly inviting him over so he didn't have to spend time alone. They were just nice like that. Plus, Ash was just a sweetheart. She leaned against her fist on the table, using her chopsticks to pull the flower off of Kuromi to eat it. "Ash..?" His face had become void of expression when she mentioned Christmas.

Mayu frowned, cocking her head to the side and studying her friend. She didn't want to intrude on his thoughts but she couldn't help it. It hurt her to see one of her only friends look at her with that blank expression. Maybe not a physical pain, but close enough. "Ash... We're close enough to family, aren't we..? You can spend Christmas with us." She reached over and placed her hand on his, wincing as his thoughts raced into her brain. May tried to shut it down and focus on her upset friend, who needed attention now. Him upset was upsetting her-not because his thoughts were hers right now but because he was her favorite person in the world. "Ash... Come on, please don't think about your family. I'm sorry." Tears pricked at the corners of her eyes, threatening to spill over. She hadn't meant to cause such a mess. Damnit she really didn't want to cry in front of Ash. After all, he was the one with a reason to cry. Mayu took a shaky breath as a couple spilled down her cheeks, which she hid by fixing her hair.

[Ashley Shaw]

Why had the mention of his family suddenly struck him? It shouldn’t have made him so upset, something was wrong and he wasn’t sure what it was. He closed his eyes and tried to relax, but the faces of his family raced in his mind, their disapproving glare raining hate down onto him. Why couldn’t they just go away for good? It would be better for everyone around him, especially for Mayu, then she wouldn’t have to put up with images of his past. Right as he thought that, the image of rubble and smoke clouded his mind. He shook his head slightly, making it go away. He took a deep breath as Mayu placed her hand on his, a look of worry on his face as she began to cry.
He felt bad, really bad. What kind of a friend was he if he made her cry. He looked away, taking her hand in his, facing her again. She was hiding her tears. She didn’t have to do that, it made him feel worse.

“You wouldn’t mind it, would you? Your birthday and Christmas at your place?” he laughed a little, shuffling a little closer and wrapping his arms around her, pulling her closer. This is sufficiently awkward, he thought, trying to block out anything negative from his mind. He was doing a good job of it, and started to think about nothing in particular. Mostly focusing on Mayu to keep his eyes wandering across the cafeteria. If he saw anyone looking, he’d have to get up and go as soon as he could, but he didn’t want to leave May on her own, it would be selfish if he did. Crying on your own was something Ash had experienced several times, and knew it wasn’t the nicest experience in the world. It was probably one of the worst.

“I promise I won’t think about it anymore, for your sake,” Ashley said eventually, hoping he could keep that promise. If he couldn’t then it would just prove how weak his mind was. He didn’t want to go and make every meeting with May a terrible one, because that would affect Ant and then he’d be left on his own with a military girl and a walking iron maiden. Not the best of mixes, he’d rather run to Oberon’s place, no matter how awkward the height difference was.

[Mayu Yoshiko]

Mayu sniffled a little, reaching up to wipe away the tears. God she was a crybaby. Most things didn't make her cry, but she supposed experience with people was needed. Maybe if she was actually around people more everything would be better. Better as in no more extreme emotional messes- created by her. She forced a smile and pushed away from Ash. He was her best friend, something she didn't forget. But a boy was a boy no matter which way you turn them. And boys were not good for her health. She had to admit, being a telepath could be easier then a empath at times; at least she could turn it off and on.

"You know Annie would love it if you came over, he's been lonely. I think just about every boy he knows has been over there. And he has made a move on all of them. Plus um... I need help carrying his present in." She giggled, looking quite a bit better then she had moments before. May really did need help too, since she had spent a bit of money buying a really mean present for her brother. Well, mean for her: it was a floor to ceiling cat condo, complete with feather toys and cat nip. Because it was known catnip is like crack for kitties. Ant turned into a kitty so it all tied together perfectly. She pretended not to notice the image of rubble that had flashed through his mind; that was the meaning of friendship to her. "Sorry about the freak out... It's been a long week."

[Ashley Shaw]

Ashley let her go as he felt her push away. He didn’t really want to, and he had no idea why. They were friends. Maybe she didn’t like physical contact that much, if she didn’t then he’d refrain. Be a gentlemen of sorts, although he was hardily one at all. Scruffy, lazy, a little bit thick here and there but overall he was fine. A good boy with the odd emotional break down when the right nerve was touched on a certain subject. He just began to wonder why all this had started in the first place. He had just come in to check out the cafeteria, and now all this? The ways of life were so damn hard to grasp that he might have better luck smashing his head against a brick wall - or maybe a forget-me stick would work better.
Ashley listened to May, her proposal, and smirked at the mention of Ant (partially because he hadn’t heard the nickname ‘Annie’ used for him yet). That reminded him, he still had to rush and get his stuff that he still hadn’t had a chance to wrap. Damn he was terrible with time.

“Sure, I could help, I mean, it’s not like I have anything else to do,” Ash replied to her offer, catching May’s gaze once or twice, twiddling his thumbs in unknown nervousness. He shook the nerves out of him. He was questioning everything. Why was he nervous? Was it the location? The people? Hell, it couldn’t have been the people. There was no-one he recognised here apart from May. He reminded himself that he still wanted to try out screaming in his head to see if she’d pick it up. Something embarrassing, see if she’d blush, she was always cute when she blushed. Wait, he hoped she didn’t hear that. Nope, he said nothing!

“Anyway, what’s you house like? I don’t think I’ve been round before,” Ashley quickly changed the subject from his mind, just in case she’d over heard him saying her blushes were cute. He was blushing in turn about what he’d thought. If she hadn’t heard him, she was sure to ask why he was embarrassed about something. Either way he was totally screwed.

[Mayu Yoshiko]

Mayu watched him, picking at the lunch in front of her for something to do. She was so sure that he would get up and walk away, if his thoughts were any indicator to that. Though they were random and easily strung together she could understand him easily. This was blamed on that fact they'd known each other practically since she arrived. Ant had known him first and introduced them and that was that. They'd been friends ever since, despite that fact she was incredibly boring. Had he really never heard Ant get called Annie before? It seems like something that would have popped up.. "I can help you wrap up presents, Ash. I'm really good at it!" she giggled, poking his nose with the clean end of her chopstick. There's his forget-me-stick!

"Ash, calm down.. There's nothing to be worried about. I mean, not like your moving in... Wait.." she frowned, thinking this over. May was not the kind to rush into things, but it was Christmas time and no one should be alone at Christmas.. But next year was going to be Christmas to. Aw hell, might as well say what really what was on her mind. Bugger Ant's opinion. May brandished her chopstick at Ash, enunciating her message with another jab at his nose. "I'm going to beat Ant to the punch here, alright? If anyone asks you two hatched up this plan." She waited for an affirmative before continuing. "You haven't got a family, Ash. And everyone in my family knows you so... How about you move in with us? We'd have to go through some finer details, but they might let you bunk up with Ant." she grinned, knowing she would never be that cheeky whenever she was alone and not surrounded by one of her best friends.

[Ashley Shaw]

Ashley smiled again as he realised she’d been reading his mind again. He shouldn’t have enjoyed it so much when he knew she’d been poking around his mind to see what he’d been thinking. He guessed it was entertaining, knowing that the wrong thing could mean disaster. She still didn’t seem to have picked up on the fact he’d thought she was cute. He made sure not to mention that again, just to be safe. She’d been picking up on everything. She probably knew he’d never heard Ant be called Annie. He’d have to use that sometime and see what he’d do in reaction. Something funny he hoped. He was drawn out of his smirk by May and her chopsticks of doom. He frowned and raised and eyebrow, agreeing to her ‘you and Ant decided this’ proposal.
He listened, intent on what she was going to suggest. He was extraordinarily surprised at what she said. Was she serious? He’d spent so much time on his own in his cold and empty dorm that he was beginning to think he should have moved into another dorm with some other guys, but that would disrupt his letter which was to be kept a secret no matter what happened. He especially didn’t want May seeing it, she’d get all upset and drown him in her tears.
Ashley leaned back, running a hand through his hair.

“Are you sure about that?” he asked, facing her with a questioning expression, “I mean, sure I’d be happy to stay over for Christmas, but what would Ant say if I ended up living in the same house as you?” Ash smiled and rolled his eyes. Ant was jerk. A good jerk. A funny, sexual boisterous madman of a jerk who had weird ideas about hooking people up. Sometimes Ash though he was being hit on by Ant. That would be awkward if that was true, but probably not. Ashley stopped himself from thinking any further. He wasn’t about to make May suspect he was gay.

[Mayu Yoshiko]

Mayu smiled at him, offering him one of those rare brighten-your-day smiles she seemed to possess. She was as entertained with his thoughts as he was with knowing she was actually reading them. This made her want to focus more on his mind and less on well… The actual conversation. Wait, had he just thought she was cute. May blushed a bright red instantly, hiding her face behind her hands as she tried to clear that from that disturbing thought. No boy was supposed to think she’d cute, especially Ash. Ash was.. Like… God. Anyway, back to earth would be great right about now. May peeked at him through her threaded fingers, her eyes incredibly curious.

But like they say- curiosity killed the kitty.

“You’re worse than Ant, always fussing with your appearance!” she giggled, putting down her hands as the worst of the red faded. Looking at him now made her heart beat faster, but more from sheer embarrassment that a boy thought SHE was cute than anything else. But that was for another day, maybe next time they meet up it will go much better; and he won’t be looking at her like that.. Dear god, where all guys like this? No wonder some girls went gay!

“Yeah.. I mean, why not? Ant is always joking around that the house is too empty, and his room is pretty big. Plus, it’s another brother for me!” she laughed again, this time her face back to the normal paleness it was. Thank goodness that he wasn’t thinking anything embarrassing; for once. Boys were too much for her and May found herself wanting to be somewhere else. “So… Ash, what did you get me??” May turned to him with big eyes, hoping to guilt him into telling her what she was getting. Or at least thinking about it so she would know!

[Ashley Shaw]

Oh jeez, was May blushing? Bugger that meant she heard what he was thinking. In turn, Ash blushed, turning his head away slightly as he felt his cheeks get hotter. He quickly began to return to normal, about the same time as Mayu giggled and partially complained about how much he fussed over his hair. Ashley sighed and shook his head in a sarcastic disapproval. He had just ran his hand through his hair, people did it all the time when they were… nervous. Wait, was he nervous? Around May? That made little to no sense. They had known each other for years, it wasn’t like they had a crush on each other. May was obviously reading his mind, so he’d have to think about nothing. Or, at least something trivial like focusing on what she was saying. He didn’t want to look rude or give away anything. If he did then she’d be… well, he didn’t know how she’d react. After the two recovered from their blushing, Mayu began to speak again. Ash listened intently. So she was being serious about moving in? But why would Ash want to bother her? Wouldn’t that be the opposite of good friends? Then came the inevitable question. What had he gotten her for Christmas.
Ashley blanked his mind.

“I can’t tell you,” he smiled folding his arms across his chest. He looked like some kind of smug casual business man who refused to bump up the profit value to 20%.
Ashley wasn’t keen on revealing the presents he had gotten May this year. She’d go nuts. Or at least she’d beat him for spending so much money. He was doing pretty well. He was focusing on what it would be like to live with Ant and May, rather than her presents. He did list all of Ant’s presents though, the jeans, the gloves, the Twilight poster with marker for graffiti and the strong alcohol for him as well. Not with his intentions.

“I can tell you what I got Ant though, as long as you don’t tell him,” Ashley said, tapping May on the nose like she had poked him with her chopsticks. Hooray for mindless pay back which in itself, was not a very good form either. He could have done better, but May was younger and smaller. It was technically a crime if he even so much as pinched her. The buzz of police sirens filled his head for a few seconds, extremely loud. Damn May would have hear that.

[Mayu Yoshiko]

Mayu laughed, wrinkling her nose when he poke it. Only he would try to get payback. Especially late payback. But Ash was just silly like that. "Tell me, pretty please Ash?" she giggled again, slowly collecting her lunch back into the containers. The bell was going to ring soon and she need to be ready to leave at any moment. "Oh hold on, you need our address.." She frowned, ripping out a piece of paper from her notebook and winced, knowing it ruined the binding. With that she wrote in a tiny typewriter looking letters the directions to their house and their home phone number before passing it over with a smile. "I really do hope you show up, Ash. Ant loves big family holidays."

Just then the bell decided to ring, signaling that the conversation came to an end so Mayu stood up. "Text me later and we'll talk." she smiled shyly up at him-since he was standing. Now she had to break this awkward goodbye as people swarmed around them to leave the door. A hug would be perfect! Mayu threw her arms around him, hugging him tightly and leaned up on her tippy toes to give him a quick kiss on the cheek. Now this was something she and Ant did for goodbyes since they were related(despite what anyone says) and he was gay. So giving Ash a kiss on the cheek wasn't that different, if so: then why was she blushing a light pink? Well May would never know.

Now as fate would have it some big jock accidentally bumped her as she went to kiss Ash's cheek, which made her lose her balance against Ash and kiss somewhere that wasn't his cheek. Where was that spot? Well it was his lips. If you thought she was blushing before think again. Mayu turned a deep red, completely horrified that she had done that. Not that it was bad! But this was Ash and... Oh my god that was her first kiss! She slapped her hands over her mouth, eyes turning to saucers as she looked at him. "I have to go!" she blurted, running away from him in an official freaked out mode. In fact she was so out of it- in confusion and embarrassment - that she left not only her lunch and more importantly. Mayu left her diary on the table, still open to the page she had been writing on.

-fin-

[Ashley Shaw]

Ash took the address and took a quick glance, before slipping it into his pocket. He‘d show up, he trusted May enough to tell Ant he would be coming over. She didn‘t forget things like that. At least he didn‘t think she forgot those kinds of things. He wouldn‘t blame her though if she did forget. Ant‘s antics distracted people a lot of the time. It was certain she‘d get caught up with something to do with Ant. Goodness knows what it would be, but it would be something, he could count on that 100%.
Big family Christmas? It was four of them; him, May, Ant and the guy they lived with. Kent, was it? The last name Whiteraven. Who could forget that? it was like something out of a fantasy book. Yet again, the name Shaw was the last name of Hester Shaw from Mortal Engines, and just so happened to be a rough and tumble one-eyed pirate woman who was in general badass and had a machine called Shriek who followed her everywhere, and seemed to get confused about just whose side was he on. Not exactly a splitting resemblance.
Ashley nodded. Text latter, or die tomorrow, he thought. He hoped to hell he wouldn‘t forget. He had to pack all his stuff once he got back to his dorm. The bell went, somewhat surprising him. He was quiet surprised when May-quiet literally- threw herself into a hug. Ashley struggled to balance for a while. He smiled and hugged her back. Now, the next thing that came was something just about no-one would have seen coming. He knew damn well that Ant and May kissed each other‘s cheek when saying goodbye, and she was going to do that with him. Sure, she seemed to blush just a little bit. He seemed to have been off guard when May‘s lips met his a sudden as the wind blows. While not exactly picture perfect, he was just getting into it when May had pulled away looking about as dazed and confused -and if not a little shocked- as he had when he had watched that one episode of paranormal state out of sheer boredom.
Ashley felt something tug at his heart strings as she walked away, bright red. He lowered his gaze, and noticed she had left her diary and her lunch here.
Ashley tilted his head to one side and picked them up. He couldn‘t… could he? No, it wasn‘t right to look into her diary. Yeah sure, he could get hungry and pick at the food, but her diary….
He wouldn’t dare… or would he?