Taking a break (Open)

[dylancooper]

Dylan hated Willow Brooke. It was quiet possibly the last place he wanted to be. Ok that wasn't completely true. The place was better then juvie and better then another foster home. He wasn’t planning on getting settled in, sure he’d unpacked his bags and went through all the motions of settling in. He wasn’t though. He wouldn’t be here for long, eventually they would discover how much trouble he was and grow tired of him. His mother did, in such a dramatic way but he believed his father. He really did believe it was because of him though. Then countless foster parents, only one foster family acted like they cared. They still acted like they cared, sent him letters and books. It really pissed him off, they abandoned him they shouldn’t bother to care. Ok, maybe he liked that they sent books but that didn’t change the fact that they kicked him out.

One thing he did like about Willow Brooke was the horses, and Gazel his assigned horse. He missed riding, he missed horses and the fact that they were so much more reliable then people. At that point though he wanted a break from the horse, mostly because too many other people were at the stables. That was the reason he was sitting in the rec room with a copy of ‘The Great Gatsby’ that his lovely foster parents had sent. Yeah, he hated that but he wasn’t going to ignore a book he hadn’t read.

[Adrienne Dionas]

Outfit

Rain... Rain, rain, rain and more rain. Oh, and you couldn't forget the snow if it was cold enough either. Adrienne thought she would go insane if she had to listen to another weather report that reported whatever chance of rain. Either way it ruined any chance at testing Calliope out on the cross country course. She had finally gotten past her issues and just figured she might as well just get over her things a spend a little more time with the horse. She had nothing better to do really. Unless it was homework of course. She had to roll her eyes at that.

She walked into the rec hall, pulling her beanie off her head. She straightened out her hair for a moment, shaking off some of the water from herself before she moved through the rec hall. She found that no one was bothering the pool table. She was happy enough when she seemed to go unnoticed for the moment. She just wanted some time to chill and think. A break from horses and stables and homework. Some of her own time to do something not horse or school oriented. She set up the balls, making sure they were done right in the triangle formation before she picked up a pool stick and the que ball. She noticed a few folks sitting around. There was a group of kids up in the TV room playing something along the lines of Halo to Adrienne. She sighed and looked around a little bit longer, taking note of the guy sitting aside with his book. Deep violet eyes studied him for a moment thoughtfully before Adrienne turned to her solo pool game and set the que ball down on the table. She hummed along with the song that was playing as she aimed at the group of balls and struck the white ball with her stick. She stood up straight as she heard the distinct crack of the hard balls smacking against each other, sending a tizzy of solids and strips flying all over the table.

[dylancooper]

Oddly enough, it wasn't the people playing some video game that annoyed. He wasn't even remotely a fan of video games, not that he had actually ever played one. How did that old Manic Street Preachers go 'can't afford it so I hate it all?' yeah that pretty much explained Dylan’s attitudes towards video games but still as fair as escapism books was a far better method then a video game. It was the large clanking sound that distracted him, looking up he saw a girl at the pool table, could you even play pool by yourself? Taking a moment again to roll his eyes at the video game idiots before turning back to his book for about a second before he decided he needed a break from the book putting it down next to him he scanned the room.

He’d probably had about five conversations in the weeks he had been at Willow Brooke, all of which were full of sarcastic comments on his side. Really, he didn’t want or need friends so there was no purpose in playing nice especially since he wasn’t going to be there long. It was just a matter of time until he got kicked out. He looked at the girl again, really what was the point of playing by yourself. He hated pool, he’d never actually played but his father tended to gamble away food and rent money every other month. He closed his eyes for a second, no he was not going down that train of thought. He was not going to think about him.

”Is there even any point playing by yourself” He directed at the girl with his normal hint of sarcasm because he needed to think of something else and he was not going to bother with those idiots playing video games.

[Adrienne Dionas]

She wasn't a great pool player, but she was good enough at trig and physics to know the basics. Some how, the loud clacking of he que ball to the others was soothing for her. She didn't know or understood how, but it was. She had managed to turn most of everything except the pool table full of balls and the music that was playing out for the moment. She gave a little frustrated huff as she once again missed the hole she was aiming a certain purple solid ball. She eyed the ball frustratedly, standing up straight and thinking over her options as she studied where all the balls were.

She slowly circled the table and then leaned down, positioning the stick. She jumped at the sound of a voice and totally missed what she was shooting for. She closed her eyes, took a deep breath, and counted to ten before she stiffly straightened her body upwards. She hadn't missed the note of sarcasm. She turned t and looked to the source of the sarcastic question. "If you're playing just for the hell of it... then yes... there is." She said, her voice a bit clipped in irritation. Not just at the sarcasm irritated him, but he'd messed up a perfectly easy shot too. Her violet pools assessed him thoughtfully before she swiftly turned back to her game. She lowered herself and fired away, breaking up a clump of the balls before she slowly circled the table, taking in all of her options.

[dylancooper]

Dylan chuckled slightly to himself at the slight irritation in the girl’s voice. Yeah, he tended to annoy people a lot even when he wasn’t trying. On some level it amused him, yeah it wasn’t normal but hell Dylan wasn’t normal. He wondered how many people at Willow Brooke was even remotely normal. People who were ‘normal’ wouldn’t be sent to a ‘correctional facility’ after all. Looking up at the girl at the pool table he wondered slightly why she was there. ”What exactly got you sent to this hell hole?” Dylan asked looking up at the violet eyed girl. Her eyes were weird, he wondered for a second if she wore contacts, only for a second though he didn’t really care.

Besides the eyes though, she seemed normal enough. Most people seemed normal though and he was sure most people including himself from an outside glance seemed normal right? He wondered how many people would actually want to talk about why they got sent here. He had no problem with it, ‘i punched one too many people’ wasn’t exactly something he felt the need to hide. It wasn’t as if it was a deep dark secret. Other people though might be a little more secretive about the question. Maybe she would get annoyed, that would be fun.

[Adrienne Dionas]

She glanced at him for a moment when he asked her what she was here for. She didn't know what was wrong with her, but she actually considered telling him. She honestly didn't think it was any of his business why she was here. She hid her scars for a reason. Telling him would be like showing him the scars. She hit the que ball and watched the balls fly about on the table, several falling into holes. "As far as I'm concerned... that's not of your business..." She glanced to him for a moment before she bent over and aimed at the purple solid he made her miss earlier. She took a shot at it and nodded in approval as it went into one of the middle pockets. She sat up straight and looked about the table thoughtfully, going over the strategy for the next shot.

"Unless you plan on telling me why you're here first, I see no reason to tell you why I'm here." She said in a rather casual tone as she circled around the table, chewing on her bottom lip thoughtfully. She thought that was a fair enough trade. Not that every other person here wasn't suffering from the same issue she was. Different reason same means to an end. Kind of sad really. She glanced to him for a moment before she circled the table, looking for options for shots.

[dylancooper]

Dylan nodded as she claimed it was none of his buisness, I mean really it wasn't. "That bad then?" He asked. Not wanting to talk about honestly didn't mean it was that bad maybe she was just a private person. Hell maybe it was a mixture of both.

"Alright, that sounds like a fair trade" He said at her comment, sharing a secret for a secret sounded more then fair although he was a litle worried that she would take the information he told her and refuse to share why she was there... oh well it wasn't like he was going to share a deep dark secret. "Apparently I have anger issues" He said a fake shock in his voice. "Something sets me off and I start throwing punches or objects, got me kicked out of foster homes and two schools" He said, wait shit, did he just mention foster home? Ok, he was not meant to let that part out. Now if she didn't share her reason he was screwed. "Eventually I got busted for assult, a judge took pity on me and sent me here"

[Adrienne Dionas]

She glanced to him when he asked that question. To most it wouldn't seem that bad what she had done, but to her dad it had been enough to get her sent here. She didn't answer his question. Instead she just went back to her game. She didn't think it was so awful compared to issues other people had. So she cut herself a few times. And okay... it was kind of serious that she committed suicide on multiple occasions. So yeah, but still. Some people were here as a last resort for serious stuff like multiple accounts of vandalism and stealing and stuff.

She stopped and stood up straight, looking over him thoughtfully as he started to tell her what he was here for. She leaned against the table, eyeing him thoughtfully. Surprisingly, she could somehow see him doing such things. He had that bad boy look to him. And when she said bad boy, she meant a real bad boy look. Not some emo type kid with thousands of piercings on his face alone. She reached a hand up and carefully scratched around her nose piercing at the thought before she tilted her head to the side, violet orbs studying him as she debated how to go about telling him what she was in for.

She licked her lips for a moment before she turned to the table and unzipped her hoodie, slowly peeling it away from herself, revealing the arms full of scratches and scars from her cutting habit she picked up after her mom died. On each wrist was a long, puckered scar that showed evidence of recent healing from her latest attempt at suicide. She always had a hoodie on to hide them. The only time she didn't have them on was when she was in her cabin with her cabin mates. None of them really asked questions about it because several actually understood the why of it, just not the cause of it. She stared at him for a long time before she turned back to her game. "Tried to kill myself a few times." She said gently as she smacked the end of the stick against the que ball, knocking a couple of the balls into a corner pocket. "Apparently my dad frowned upon that." She said as she glanced to him then went back to her game. She knew that if she had really wanted to kill herself she would have made a slash up her arm instead of across her wrist, but Adrienne thought perhaps as much as she wanted to die, a part of her still wanted to live.

[dylancooper]

He felt his stomach twist as he saw the scars on the girls arm, because he knew what she would say next and honestly he didn’t want to hear the words. He’d been on the other side after all, he was six at the time but he still remembered how his mother got, the sadness she felt at the attempts. He remembered the time she slit her wrists, the blood so much blood so much red, it seemed like a life time before the ambulance came. That time she survived , the doctors fixed her up and cleaned him up and tried to talk to him while he looked at his feet. He just looked at his feet until his dad came and took him home. He said it was his fault then too.

Dylan had to push those thoughts away looking away from the girl, focusing on his feet the way he did when people asked him questions about life with his parents back then. He didn’t really have control of it, he didn’t mean the words to slip out of his mouth but they did in a tone that was almost a whisper ”Why?” It wasn’t completely question for her, part of himself was asking his mother one of the question he needed to know the answers too.

[Adrienne Dionas]

She took note of the way he reacted to her, so she grabbed her hoodie and pulled it back on. That was probably the worst reaction she ever got from someone, and it hadn't settled well in her stomach. She bit her lips and then zipped up her her hoodie before turning back to her solo game. Most people didn't understand the pain Adrienne had gone through. Her and her mother had been close. Like super close, and then that drunk driver ruined everything. Her life had been shattered the day that drunk driver hit her and her mom's car.

She looked to him when he asked why. She stared at him for a long time, pain filling those deep violet eyes. She turned her face away from him when she felt the hint of tears fill her eyes. She wiped at them for a moment, taking a deep, shaky breath before she looked back to him. "My mom. " She shook her head and looked away from him to her game. She made a random shot, not really caring if she got a ball in a pocket or not. "Died in a car crash because I wanted to go out and do something. So we did. Drunk driver crashed into her side of the car. Pretty much killed her instantly." She stood up straight, just staring at the pool table, memories flashing through her head. She shook her head to clear it and turned away from him, wiping at her eyes again. She was half a mind just to jump up and run out of the rec hall at the moment, but she resisted for as best as I could.

[dylancooper]

Dylan listened to her words, but he still remained eyes on his shoes, because he couldn't look at her. The unpleasant feeling in his stomach grew, and it was different. It wasn't the normal rage, the anger he felt run through him to a point where he swore he could feel it in his bones. It was the anger, no it was just sadness. To be honest Dylan preferred the anger. It was easy, he could deal with it. Throw something, break something hit someone and it would begin to ease the feeling. This though, nothing worked. He didn't want to speak the words but he felt compelled too. Maybe because he was just weak and maybe he couldn't control it. Maybe he wanted her to know he understood on some level so she would know she wasn't the only one who felt responsible for a parent’s death. Not that he thought she was.

"My mom died too" He spoke in almost whisper before looking up at her "It was my fault" he nodded slightly. The words it didn't make him feel better he just wanted to run, disappear into a hole and never come out. He couldn’t keep talking about this, he wasn’t going to. He wouldn’t talk about her mother and he wouldn’t talk about his. ”What’s your name?” he asked wishing his voice wasn’t shaky, wishing he hadn’t just spoken something so important. Wishing the stomach ache would just disappear.

[Adrienne Dionas]

She closed her eyes when she heard him, and she wiped the sleeve of her hoodie over her eyes before any of the tears could spill over. She gave a soft little sniff before she turned to look up to him before her eyes cast over the pool stuck in her hand. She set it down, not really wanting to talk about this. About her mom and the accident. It was something she just never wanted to talk about. No matter how many therapy sessions her dad drug her to or how long she was stuck here at this camp. She looked back up to him when he asked her what her name was. She gave a soft sniff and set the pool stick down on the pool table. "Adrienne." She murmured softly as she rubbed the back of her neck and looked to him. She licked her lips and looked up at him for a moment, playing with some of her hair thoughtlessly. "What's yours?" She felt like some kind of child right now, and it was a kind of awkward feeling.

She glanced to the pool table then back to him. "You want to join me? Maybe then it wouldn't be such a pointless game." She suggested gently as she picked up a second pool stick and offered it to him with a weak smile. She was doing her best to make friends. That wasn't such an easy thing for her, but she was trying. She missed her home and she was ready to go home. Ready to get away from this place and all the bad memories it created.

[dylancooper]

Dylan was glad that she too felt the name to change the subject, Dylan didn't talk and one little slip would not change anything except the fact that he clearly he needed to be more guarded then he already was. "Dylan" she spoke as he leaned back slightly as he tried to will his mind to stay out of the dark places. That would not be good for anyone involved.

As she asked if he wanted to play, and honestly he had no desire to make friends. It was not like he was trying to make enemies. Really he just had a natural talent for it. He wasn't trying to make friends though either because well nothing good ever came from friends or people in general. "I've never played" He said with shrug. "Don't really want to learn either" He added because, honestly if she was going to suggest she could teach him or some shit like that, well it was the last thing he wanted. The fact that he hadn't yelled or thrown something was no small miracle but that didn't mean he wanted to try and make friends with the girl. Dylan never did well with friends after all.

[Adrienne Dionas]

She studied him for a moment when he informed her that he couldn't and wouldn't like to play. She just shrugged it off though and set the second stick out of the way before she took up hers. She eyed him for a moment before she went back to her game, moving away from him. He seemed to come off as a bit of an ass in that moment, but she kept her mouth shut. If he wasn't interested in conversation or anything then he would leave her alone. She leaned over, eying a shot thoughtfully before she jabbed the stick at the que ball. She didn't need

She watched as the ball she wanted flew into the center pocket as she stood up slowly, looking over her options. She hadn't intended to make friends or converse with anyone. She just wanted a little time away from stables and horses. A little bit of a break from school and the stables. So yeah. That's why she came to the rec hall, but apparently that hadn't been a much better option. She sighed and leaned against the table, strategizing her options as violet eyes studied the straggler balls that were left on the table.

[dylancooper]

Dylan picked up his book again, opening to the dog eared page because he was done talking to the girl. It was all his own fault for talking to her at all when he just wanted to be alone but clearly he needed a better place to do that. That or he needed to control his little sarcastic leanings... No ignoring people would work out much better. The pathetic thing was no one made him talk to the girl, his own stupidity did and that was probably the worst part about all of it.

Leaving the room entirely seemed like a good option but Dylan wouldn’t do that. It seemed too much like walk away from a fight even if the apparent fight completely non-existent. He tried to force himself to focus on the book, not anything else. Certainly not his mother, something he could never let himself think about. Even if he thought about it on a daily basis. He looked up from his book for a second, watching as the girl focused on the game of pool. Hey, if she could focus on something else he could too! Rolling his eyes at his own stupid behaviour he finally focused his attention back on his book and not the millions of thoughts running through his head.