Grey Afternoon (open)

[Tess Holmes]

It was a drippy sort of day and while Tess was fond of the rain she didn't feel like splunking around through the puddles on the campus.  Since class was over and she didn't really want to hang around the dorm, Tess settled on the lounge.  Not that the lounge was a dull place to hang out.  The windows were big enough that Tess never felt shut in and the chairs had to have been stuffed with magic.  She thought that to herself with a smile as she sunk sideways into one. 

Close to the window but not butted right up to it, Tess brushed some of her dark bangs out of her eyes.  They seemed to grow a whole lot faster than the rest of her hair.  It could get pretty annoying when she was in a bad mood.  A beaten old guitar rest over her lap, her feet swinging easily over the edge of the chair's arm.  She plucked absentmindedly at the strings, reviewing a chord or two.  She was a little bummed out as she had lugged the guitar around all day.  A group of them had planned on jamming some after classes, but they had all flaked.

Tess wasn't really bothered though.  It wasn't all that big of a deal.  At least she had made it through another day without a headache.  When that happened, Tess had a hard time complaining about anything else that happened.  Her head rested back into the hair, her eyes flicking over to the window.  She would have fallen asleep right there if it was for her fingers moving along the strings of the guitar.  She bit on her lip, trying to decide on just what it was she felt like doing this afternoon.
  

[November Adams]

Worn shoes dragged halfheartedly down the hallway, the distinct squelching of damp material heard with every footstep. November's hair was damp and flat against her head from the rain, the drops visible on her still mostly-dry gray sweatshirt and faded blue jeans. In her hand she clutched a warm cup of hot cocoa in her thermos that looked like a Starbucks cup. Which was the whole reason she had gone in the rain, to go back to her dorm room, grab the cup, come all the way back over to the cafeteria, make hot cocoa, and now to roam through the hallways of the after class school. It was nearly empty, most people deciding to spend their afternoons being productive, or actually doing the homework they had been assigned. But November didn't really feel like doing homework right now. Coming to a pause at an open doorway, she glanced inside, hearing the lazy plucks on the strings of a guitar. Blinking, only looking at the backside of the dark brunette girl, she couldn't determine quite who it was.

With a lack of anything better to do, the teen pushed open the door and walked in the large, almost vacant room, save for the tired guitar strummer in the fluffy chair. Taking another tentative sip of her steaming hot cocoa, she remained silent and standing a few feet away from the girl for a few minutes. She shifted from foot to foot, tilting her head from side-to-side as she moved her weight, and ended up sitting down across from the girl, near the rain-streaked windows.

Now she recognised her - she was in a few of her classes, Tess. Actually, they had spoken before on a few occasions. She was a pretty chill person, but generally seemed kind of exasperated - something about headaches that Ember didn't really remember. She blinked, studying the girl who looked mostly unconscious except her halfhearted plucking of strings, before quietly saying, "How long have you been playing?" Her voice jumped a bit when she spoke; like the uncontrollable twitching of her hands, it came from her ability.

---

Threads; Clothes are cool.

[Tess Holmes]

She had heard someone come in, but someone was usually coming into the lounge. Tess wasn't bothered by it though, she tended to zone out fairly easily. Not entirely unaware of what was going on, but able to drown out the background noise, Tess had picked up that little skill all on her own. It wasn't until she heard the voice across from her that made her head turn and her fingers stop for a moment to register the person.

Tess smiled coolly recognising the girl. November Adams. They had a few classes together and Tess would smile at her in the halls. She was a sweet kid, fun to be around, but their paths never crossed as often as Tess would have liked.

"How long have you been playing?"

"Started about, fourteen? Yeah, around fourteen," Tess mused, rolling her eyes back to look at the history file in her brain on herself. She had started toying with the thing not too long after coming to school. So it must have been around then. Tess never had really made much of a note. The guitar wasn't anything serious to Tess. She liked it well enough, but she preferred the piano. She had been playing that for longer than she could remember. But she couldn't lug a piano with her everywhere so the guitar was a good substitute.

"Forget the umbrella today?" Tess asked with half a grin, her fingers falling back into playing, chords slipping into a simple kind of song. "I've got a, got a," Tess had started, reaching behind her, but couldn't find it. Her brow furrowed as she patted the back of the chair again, before having to give up "the nonchalant reach behind without looking for the jacket grab" and actually turn around to look for it. It was a beaten up leather one, but broken in and rather comfy. "a jacket if you want?" Tess said, grabbing the thing from the floor and tossing it onto the low table in between the chairs. The lounge was always a bit cool and it didn't help that she looked on the damper side of things.

[November Adams]

November looked at the other teen from over her coffee cup, blinking at her words and humming in response. "That's cool, I started when I was thirteen." She said with a small smile, her voice still very soft. "I love the beautiful finger callouses that came with it; so attractive." She glanced down to the dead skin on the tips of her fingers that had come from hours of practicing on her acoustic, trying to learn to play songs and getting frustrated when she couldn't. A small grin tugged on the edges of her lips. "D'ya play any other instrument?" She tried to keep the conversation alive - which was a skill she hadn't quite perfected yet, but at least she was trying.

The brunette quirked an eyebrow as the other teen shifted and attempted to search for something without looking, then gave up and twisted around. Ember giggled at her; it was kind of cute. She was still trying to smother her light chuckles when the leather jacket was produced onto the table separating them. She blinked for a moment, realising, really for the first time, that she was a bit cold. The air was still freezing in the mountains, though it was early spring. Placing her thermos down, she picked up the worn, soft leather jacket and pulled her arms through the sleeves, reveling in the warmth it seemed to bring almost immediately. A satisfied smile on her face, she picked up her cup again and took another sip of chocolate. "I don't use umbrellas, but thank you," She smiled, snuggling into the jacket.

"Would you like some hot chocolate?" She offered the cup to the brunette sitting across from her.

[Tess Holmes]

Tess found herself having to play lighter in order to hear the flicker of November's voice. Over the strains of the guitar, Tess was having a bit of a time not losing her soft voice.

She laughed at the callouses comment. "Yeah, I know, right? They're one in a million," Tess mused with a grin, shaking her head, her bangs falling over the side of her face. She still hadn't gone to get them cut, soon there wasn't going to be a point in doing so, they'd be so grown out.

"D'ya play any other instrument?"

Tess nodded, looking down at the guitar for a moment, tuning it and then back up at November. "Yeah, the piano. No callouses with that," Tess said, stopping to pop her knuckles one hand with her thumb.

She grinned sheepishly at the laugh from November about her eventual giving up of finding her jacket without looking. It served her right for just not turning around to begin with. Tess ran a hand through her hair and pushed her bangs back behind her ear.

"Would you like some hot chocolate?"

"Sure," Tess said with a nod, as she leaned forward to take the cup. Normally, Tess was pretty protective of her jacket, as in not letting people with drinks borrow it, but it wasn't like November was a spaz or anything. Well, not from what Tess had seen of her, so she trusted her with one of her prized possessions. That and she looked rather cute with it slid up her arms.

"If you're not busy, we should head over music hall, if you're up for a bit of playing. You can borrow my guitar and I'll make use of one of the school's under played pianos," Tess said, taking a drink and then handing it back over to November.

[November Adams]

Her head tilted to the side, November's brown eyes subtly watching Tess's movements. She continuously messed with her too-long bangs, constantly falling in front of her face, blocking her eyes and the majority of her features. She made a little contemplative noise, a smile then forming on her lips as the other teen answered her question. "Piano? That's awesome, I don't think I could do that. Small hands," She lifted her left hand as if to show her; calloused fingertips, bony extremities, little ticks of movement. She pulled back her hand, and cracked her knuckles in response to Tess's finger popping. A light chuckle in the back of her throat showing her amusement.

Again, she moved her bangs, and Ember went back to studying her momentarily. As the cup was passed back to her, she held it firmly between her hands, reveling in the warmth the thermos brought. "Mm, that sounds good to me." She said with a grin, "We can have our own little band. With a weird name... Like 'Sister Freaks' or 'Dodgy Characters'," The joke was evident in her voice, a laugh fluttering at the end of her sentence.

Offhandedly, the brunette seemed to remember something and paused before standing, "Hey... You won't get a headache with the noise, right?" She wasn't sure the previsions of Tess's headaches, only really remembered that she got them quite often.

[Tess Holmes]

Tess was already standing up and slinging the guitar over her shoulder when the question caught her ear. She shook her head. "No, unless you ask me to move a piano while we're over there. I should be alright," Tess mused with a grin. Fixing the strap on her shoulder, Tess looked back over at her chair to make sure she hadn't forgotten anything there. She had a bad habit of doing that. Usually it would be a school book or her jacket. At least her jacket was accounted for this time.

"Good to go?" Tess asked, looking over to November. "I really only get headaches from stuff like that," Tess explained as she headed for the music room. "I'd bet you get some really bad ones," Tess added, looking over to November. She didn't know much about November's power but Tess was willing to take bet on that she had headaches too. If she didn't, then Tess would be incredibly envious of her new little friend.

The music hall was in another building but it was covered over and not much of a walk. Straight shot. Tess's arms folded tightly across her chest as she pushed the door open with one shoulder and into the cool afternoon. While it was all well and good when the sun was out, Tess always had a fondness for rainy weather. Even when she was out in it. The grounds were deserted though, not that surprised Tess much. Reaching the door to the arts building, Tess pulled it open and held it for November before ducking in herself. She found an unlocked room and headed inside.

Tess pulled her guitar from off her shoulder and set it down on one of the benches. The place was about as empty as a church during the week, all the better for her. Her hoodie had thin layer of rain mist on it, which she didn't much care for. Pulling it off and tossing it on the floor near the door, Tess fixed the sleeve on her bright red shirt. She headed over to the piano in the middle of the room. Drumming her fingers over the ebony frame, Tess slid onto the bench in front of the keys. She tossed her head to get her bangs back into place and out of her eyes.

"I know it's not like playin' your own guitar. But I take pretty good care of her," Tess mused, her fingers running over the keys, nodding over to her guitar. She ran a few chords through her fingers before working over a tune. It was an upbeat sort of tempo, contrasting with the grey clouds that hung over the school.

[November Adams]

The smaller girl stood silently, nodding when hearing the girl's claim that she would be okay with the noise. Migraines were a bitch, she knew. A small smile was left on her lips as she pulled the strap of her messenger bag over her shoulder, it knocked against her hip as she walked behind the taller brunette girl. Her hands clutched the thermos as they walked out into the outside world, mist falling from the sky onto the empty courtyard. Most students had already returned to dorms for chill time until dinner, or tutoring, or maybe they went to town. For any case, they weren't in the school, or anywhere near herself and Tess. Humming when she heard Tess acknowledge her occasional headaches, "Yeah," A bit of a smile, "If I ever do a time jump, I'm in my room for hours rolling in agony. I prefer not to work with those too often." November grinned despite the nature of her words.

"You're a tele-... telekinetic? Correct? Move things with your mind, Jean Grey, all that jazz?" She referenced X-men, which she was often reminded of at this school, feeling as though she was at Xavier's School for Gifted Youngsters rather than the Hammel Institute. Still, it made her feel awesome. And then it clicked - the migraines, telekinesis. Her eyebrows rose in realisation, "Oi, that must suck." She said, glancing at the girl she walked beside, before ducking under her arm and entering the still building.

As they entered the room, Tess tossed her jacket lazily to the side, November following this action by placing her bag by the door and entering the vacant room. Her companion went immediately to the piano, talking to her from behind the instrument as Ember sat on a stood nearby, pulling the guitar strap around herself. She grinned at the upbeat notes that Tess was producing from expert movements on the keys, something that she herself had never tried. She propped the guitar on her thigh, leaning herself over the instrument to place her fingers along the neck, pushing down on strings and strumming with her thumb and index finger. She plucked the strings in a happy tune, matching that of Tess's piano melody. A smile broke out across her features, her damp hair hanging in her face as she strummed along, humming just slightly.

"I think we should bottle this tune an sell it was a narcotic."

[Tess Holmes]

Tess felt bad for November, hearing the number her ability did on her and any tinge of envy drained away. Tess shook the feeling away, like the feeling had transferred from the girl over to herself. It was all mental and imaginary, but Tess had a pretty vivid imagination. That would suck and she was glad migraines were the worst she had gotten, so far.

"You're a tele-... telekinetic? Correct? Move things with your mind, Jean Grey, all that jazz?"

"Oh sure, I'm a real super hero," Tess mused with a shake of her head and a laugh. A hero, yeah right, that would be the day. Tess was just lucky she hadn't gotten kicked out of school yet. Back home, Tess hadn't exactly been the honor student. She really just dodged the classroom as much as she could and she didn't use her powers for the best of things. While she wasn't about to go around carrying a banner or anything, this school had come by in the nick of time for her. She wasn't sure what she'd be doing now if she hadn't gotten such a lucky break.

But she was far from being a hero like from the comics. At least she was fairly sure she was. The school hadn't refined all of Tess's coarse behavior, one look at her file would say as much. She had a temper, but she wasn't the only one and somehow hotheads managed to find each other. At least the fights made for a good show. She was surprised other kids didn't try to sell tickets for them.

"But yeah, I can move stuff. Smaller stuff, I don't get headaches with anymore. It's the bigger things that make me sick," Tess said offhandedly as she walked beside the smaller girl. She jammed her hands into the pockets of her jeans as she walked. Her mother liked to hound her about the way she walked. 'Your arms should swing, you're not some football player,' Tess had heard that a little too often. She felt like an idiot trying to swing her arms when she walked. Hands in the pockets were just fine for her. Sure, that just led her mother to badger her about not standing up straight either, but she was rather far off at the moment and Tess liked walking in the way she did. So there.

"I think we should bottle this tune an sell it was a narcotic."

Tess looked over the keyboard at November, a broad grin on her face. She laughed. "Well, I'd buy it," Tess mused, looking back down to the keys, biting in her lip again as she kept playing. Tess never claimed to be very talented and she felt a little silly now, wondering if November knew that she was just trying to keep pace with her. Tess was surprised at how well Ember handled the guitar. It was nice to run across someone with talent.

"I think you've been playing the guitar a lot longer than you claimed," Tess said, with a raise of her eyebrow, glancing back over to November. Her hands slowed to a more jazzy slow tempo, sounding like something she had ripped off from a piano player from the 30's. Tess didn't let on, but she had a soft spot for that style. "Either that, or you've managed to just hide how talented you've been since you were thirteen," Tess added.

[November Adams]

November couldn't help the feeling of heat rising to her face, immediately stopping her strumming upon the other girl's guitar. The blush was evident, cursing her features for showing off the bright pink of her embarrassment. Laughing nervously, she scratched the back of her head an looked away - compliments were not something she was used to. "T-thanks... I'm a tremendous dork, so... I spend a lot of time alone. Not much to do alone besides playing the guitar and reading books. Soo manyy boooooks." She drew out the vowels in the last few words, exaggerating their sound. Truthfully, she had read quite a few books in her life, a popular past time for the introverted Time Manipulator.

She listened as Tess's playing turned to something more gentle, but it had an interestingly powerful undertone to it. Perking up at the change, the teen listened rather than join in on the guitar. Her eyes watched the other girl's expression as she played, November tilted her head to the side in contemplation, watching her subtle facial twitches, and the bangs that fell into her face for the umpteenth time since she'd joined her. "Oi mate, you're good." She said with a short laugh, "That someone's piece, or did you make it up? It's lovely." She continued, sincerely meaning the flattery in her words. She could tell the girl was skilled by the tremor in the notes and the subtle keys that didn't skip past Ember's ears as they might have someone else without a musical ear.

"I take you've been playing piano longer than guitar?" She offered, before catching herself, "I-I mean, not that you're bad at playing the guitar! No, you're excellent, from what I've heard! I was just... Erm... Oh bother, sorry." The brunette ended with an exasperated sigh, hanging her head. Social ineptitude evident in her sentence.

[Tess Holmes]

"Make reading sound like a bad thing, why don't you?" Tess teased with half a grin as she fell more into her playing. It wasn't on purpose that she let herself get so drawn into it. It just always happened, her fingers played what they felt like playing. She hadn't noticed that November wasn't playing anymore, at least for a few moments. Looking up and tossing her head back to get the bangs out of her eyes, Tess laughed. "I didn't know I was on schedule for a concert this afternoon..."

Her hands brushed up a stronger tempo, her smirk growing a little wider. "Mostly mine, I steal just about everything, so I can't claim it all," Tess said, with another laugh. "Don't leave your bag laying around me too long," Tess joked with a wink. Tess tried to play off the compliment, but her cheeks betrayed her with a tinge of color when November said it was lovely.

"Nah, it's alright," Tess said with a shrug of a shoulder. Tess's hands stopped for a moment when November's question about playing came. And while she picked right back up again, the pause hung there even moments after. Tess bit her lip before answering. It wasn't the misfire about not playing the guitar well. Really, that was no big dig. Tess never claimed to be guitar goddess or anything. The piano was really her passion when it came to music. Tess smirked, looking back up to November

"It's alright. And yeah. My mom taught me. Said it was something my Dad had always wanted to teach me," Tess said, a little bitterly as she went back into playing. "But, it's no big deal. I've just always liked the piano better. A guitar is easier to lug around," Tess added.

[November Adams]

November chuckled as the girl spoke about stealing her bag, "Nothing of interest in there. School books and candy," She laughed. The teen had a bit of a sweet tooth, generally keeping some kind of sugar on hand. Currently she had a rather large box of Wonka Nerds candy, which she adored with a passion. Her index finger and thumb began to pick at the strings of Holmes' guitar, a softer sort of tune she had learned not too long ago. It held a tone of sadness in the beat, but wasn't slow enough to be considered monotonous. "Hm, that's okay. I can't write songs worth hell. I generally just play what I like from other artists. Jason Mraz, Ingrid Michaelson, Death Cab..." She trailed off, glancing to the side. The songs she learned weren't challenging, in the least really, but she still felt as though she should stop talking on the subject.

Ember's ears perked a little as she heard the grimace in the other girl's voice. She tilted her head to the side, fingers still playing absentmindedly on the beat up guitar, and watched the flitting expression on Tess's face - a sort of resentment that she was biting back. Something about her mom? Maybe her dad... Shaking her head, the brunette passed the thought, feeling it rude to pry into the other teen's business.

"Ah..." Wanting desperately for them to not fall into an awkward silence, she racketed her brain for something to talk about, "Erm... Favourite musical artist?" She offered tentatively, her expression a bit forced. A breathy laugh escaped her lips as she looked back down to the guitar, shifting the notes as she smiled knowingly, "Can you tell I'm not good at this whole socializing thing?"

[Tess Holmes]

"Nah, you're doing as well as anyone else," Tess said from behind the piano. "I've never claimed to be all that great at talking,"Tess said, partly to herself. She didn't feel like playing it anymore. All the notes sounded sour and out of tune, like someone had knocked it. Memories of home had done that speedily enough. Tess looked up, remembering the first question. She grinned as if something that simple would sponge out the earlier pause.

"Death Cab is good," Tess said as she got up from behind the piano. "I had a shirt till it got destroyed in the wash," Tess said, running a hand up through her hair. Looking around the room, she saw another guitar in the corner against a table. She grinned.

It happened in a second and the neck of the guitar was in her hand. A twitch of a headache passed through Tess but it left as quickly as it had come. Tuning the guitar some, Tess listened to the tune Ember was playing before starting to mirror it, a few keys lower. She pulled the bench over beside the stool with her ankle as she sat down.

She shook her head, looking down at the guitar as she kept the basic tune, adding some parts. "But I don't really have one favorite. Dropkick Murphys, I like them," Tess added with a shrug of her shoulder. "And the older stuff, but who doesn't?" she said, laughing at herself. "Original, I know," Tess added with a roll of her eyes.

Tess's voice dropped, mostly cause she was getting lost in the tune she was playing with. "You come up with this or steal it?" Tess asked, biting in her lip as she played a few more notes before looking back up at November. The bench was a good deal lower than the stool and it was nice. Tess had gotten tired of always looking down at her.

[November Adams]

Brown eyes flashed up in time to watch the conveniently placed guitar (it was a music room after all) fly across the room and land gracefully, effortlessly in Tess's outstretched had. Her hand twitched, she snagged the wrong string causing the beat to be lost momentarily - That. Was cool. She swallowed her words of flattery, feeling a bit silly for even thinking about complementing the girl on her ability. She glanced back down, picking up the notes again and continued her regular strum as her fingers moved expertly down the neck of the unfamiliar guitar.

A grin cracked on her features at the telekinetic's words, "Dropkick Murphys, eh? Suits you," The amusement in her voice. A person's musical taste could tell quite a bit about them. Ember glanced off toward the window, watching as the rain continued to scatter down from the gray, swirling sky; large clouds still pregnant with water, the feeling that the rain would not stop for long was itching in her stomach. Making a contemplative sound, she glanced back toward the other teen, who was now... shorter than her. A sort of chuckle escaped her lips - it was weird for the petite teenager to ever look down at anyone her age. Unless they were absurdly short or had some sort of developmental problem, generally people at the school stood taller than her.

"Ah, it's just me dabbling." She admitted, continuing the tune that Tess was matching, "Nothing special," November had to add - it really wasn't, just a couple of chords strung together in a soft tune. A tune that seemed to embody the day - cold with rain, but with an underlying tone of contentment. "Ever thought of being a professional?" She jutted her head in the direction of the piano to emphasize her point, glancing over the girl again.

[Tess Holmes]

"Nothing special,"

"Don't say that," Tess said, glancing up at her, Tess's brow furrowing for a moment before looking down again at the guitar. "I like it," Tess mused a quick raise of her eyebrows as she played around with the tune a little more throwing in a chord or two in certain places, speeding it at some points before dropping it back into its natural pace.

The rain seemed to add in a beat which amused Tess. Not quite pathetic fallacy, but still, damn close enough for it to strike her funny bone. She tried to think just what it was about this little pattern that had struck such a cord with her. Maybe because it was so simple sounding but not quite as fragile as it seemed. Tess bit in her lips in thought, nearly getting lost again.

"You shouldn't be so down on yourself, you know," Tess added, not looking up, still half lost in the music. "This is good, you should tweak with it more," Tess said with a shrug of her shoulder. Of course had something similar been said to her, Tess would have gone two ways with it. Either it would have made her insufferably cocky or she would have just pushed it aside with a twinge of a blush. At the moment, she couldn't have said which side of that fence she would have fallen on. When Tess let a compliment fly though, she meant it. She was quick to say what she liked and what she didn't. Landed in her hot water from time to time.

"Ever thought of being a professional?"

Her fingers lost what she was playing as she instinctively looked over her shoulder at the silent piano, her hand falling into a quick and broad strum before resting in the curve of the guitar. She shook her head looking back up at Ember.

"Not really. What would I do? Play in bars and hope some rich woman will take me home?" Tess joked, half a grin before she tried to re-tune the guitar again. The guitar was in bad shape, not that that surprised Tess much. "I don't think so," Tess said with another laugh, shaking her head. She went back to picking out the tune again, but she was having trouble finding it. It danced around what the tune had been, but wasn't quite a match. Not out of tune, but different.

"I haven't really thought about what I'm going to do after here. Have you? Like play professionally?" Tess asked, looking up at the other girl as she kept trying to tune the thing.