Intertwined Genes (Griselda Banks + Akira.S)

[Akira.S]

((So the Professor is going to tell them like straight up in like the next post or two because I’m gonna do something that kind of forces him to make a move. And yeah it’ll be funny to see how they react in battles considering they can’t be close to each other...they might even take it a little too far...hehehe *snicker* but then it ALLLLLLL GETS FIXED when Magneto comes again lol

They’re not even like together together, or even close to together cause they won’t say anything really, it’s one of those “I’m too afraid to say it cause it might ruin everything” even though they like each other a lot))

“What’s with you lot, bein’ all cheery and what not? It’s kinda freakin’ me out if you know what I mean.” Valon had to put his foot down while flipping through a teen surfing magazine rather slowly while eating his breakfast. “First you got Luke...who’s always in a good mood if it’s sunny, then little miss ‘NOT-SOCIAL’ comes waltzing ‘ver here like the the Queen, also being all cheery, and then YOU OLIVER. I mean, it’s a bit much to ‘andle a day after a battle” Valon was just taking everyone’s good moods the wrong way since he wasn’t in a particularly good mood considering the girl he fancied over night turned out to be one of the bad guys. Oh well, he’d get over it sooner or later just cause that was the sorta guy he was.

He was obviously sulking a little too much to really notice Anna and Oliver’s behaviour when he sat down at the table. Well maybe their friends were too busy with themselves to really notice or really care; they knew Anna was weird and that the two of them hung out but that was about it.

As much as Oliver felt a little awkward about sitting across from her, Anna felt a little bit awkward herself for some odd reason. She knew she had feelings for him, but had yet to decide if they were really positive or just neutral. Still, for both of them to be this awkward together was a strange and odd feeling she really didn’t like. She liked spending time with Oliver and never wanted that to stop...so what was the problem? Why weren’t they talking, laughing, or smiling at each other like usual?

While Oliver was walking by toward the picnic table all the Elementals stopped what they were doing and were watching him. They were careful to see which direction he’d go, especially Zeek, and as he walked closer the tension seemed to rise. But in a flash all of it seemed to go away when Oliver walked past the large tree towards the table where Anna, Luke and Valon were eating.
“Zeek...” Izzy stopped fanning self and crawled through the trees to his side putting a hand on his shoulder.

The native boy wouldn’t take this lightly; he pushed her hand away and jumped down from the tree, putting his carving and knife away in his pocket. He hated rejection, what was more was the little stunt he pulled outside of Anna’s window. Still, after Tyson was rejected by Anna and now indirectly he and Izzy were being rejected by Oliver this wasn’t going to bode well for him. The red head jumped down after him and tried pulling his arms back, stopping him from losing his cool and doing something stupid, “Zeek stop it! It doesn’t matter we don’t need him!” she yelled while he kept stepping forward as some roots underneath the ground shot up and grabbed her feet so she couldn’t follow. The blonde and the other boy got up and tried to help the red head while the twins’ sort of stayed behind, hiding behind the tree. This wasn’t going to turn out well...

Fighting was clearly prohibited in the school unless done by proper measures in the Simulation Room, but sometimes other students like Bart and even an Elemental like Zeek forgot that.
The taller boy walked over to the table and stood at the end of the table putting his hands on the edges looking at Oliver, “so is this all the reply I’m to get?” he eyed Oliver before eyeing Anna. There was something about that girl that seemed to lure guys in. Zeek was getting pretty frustrated while reforming the wooden picnic table, forcing the bottom to collapse under Anna, and morphing so that she was forced to stand, wooden shackles holding her feet, hands and even wrapping around her neck.
Even Valon and Luke were alarmed while getting up and stepping away from the table as it was starting to morph while Zeek was still holding it. He was obviously pissed about being rejected, after taking a sincere interest in having him join.

“What is it about this girl that makes you want to stay Oliver? Is it the way she smiles? The way she laughs? How she looks at you with those empty eyes....how do you even know how she feels about you? For all you know you could be a nuisance and she could just be hiding it...Once a loner always a loner, isn’t that right?” he eyed her while the shackles out of wood began to tighten around her joints.

Anna tried to struggle in his grasps, she even tried to loosen the shackles by pushing them away with air pressure but once again she felt cut off from the air current and couldn’t see what she wanted to control. “You’re not all that Zeek...Oliver can make...his own....decisions so butt out.” Even without her powers Anna would still stick up for herself because of the amount of pride she had inside. Zeek turned her cheek to face him while he looked into her empty white eyes and saw nothing. But behind that white nothing he could see that she was actually scared and released her, allowing her to fall on the ground gasping for air, “I don’t think you have the balls to take me on Roads, everyone knows you’ll only slow him down, besides you only became his friend because the Professor asked you to. If he didn’t you’d just crawl back into that Drawing Room with your piano and avoid the world like you always do.”

(OH It's on now!)  

[Griselda Banks]

((Guuhh, sorry for another delay gonk Gaia was being stupid again, and I've only now been able to get on. Plus, your post was so awesome that I had to think for a while how to respond! I got really excited while reading your post ^_^

I know; both Anna and Oliver are so shy there's no telling if either of them will ever actually come out and admit it!))

Luke laughed at Valon's grumbling and nudged him under the table. "C'mon, cheer up, Val! It's such a nice day out; you must be the only one who's not cheerful. We beat them back! We saved the school, just like the teachers! We actually put our powers to use for once." He seemed not to remember that Valon's power hadn't been very useful during the battle - nowhere near as useful as his own blinding flashes of light.

Oliver sat mechanically eating his meal, feeling more and more awkward by the minute. He was grateful for the other guys sitting there, because the silence hanging between him and Anna would have been unbearable otherwise. She'd seen the flowers - she had to, he'd made sure they were obvious from the inside - and he hoped she knew what that meant. Shouldn't everything have been normal between them? Or...had he embarrassed her? Maybe he should have just said straight out that he wasn't joining the Elementals and acted like it was just some casual decision he'd made.

Before he could think of anything to say, he saw someone approaching their table out of the corner of his eye, and when he looked up he saw that it was Zeek. He looked like Oliver's old math teacher when they'd rigged a water balloon over the door. The whole class had gotten detention that day. Oliver felt a similar shrinking feeling in his stomach, as though Zeek's glare was withering his intestines by sheer force. "So is this all the reply I'm to get?" he demanded as he came closer.

"Oh, sorry, did you say you wanted it in writing?" Oliver asked, trying to sound unconcerned and sarcastic, but his voice came out a bit tense. Zeek was powerful, and very intimidating when he got angry.

Then suddenly the wooden picnic table morphed around Anna like shackles, scattering their food across the grass and causing Valon and Luke to leap to their feet and back a little away. Oliver shot to his feet as well, watching helplessly as the wood tightened around Anna. They were too close, he knew. He couldn't feel the grass beneath his feet, and knew he would have to retreat quite a ways before he would be able to control the plants enough to retaliate, and at that distance it probably wouldn't do much good anyway. And neither Valon nor Luke would be much help; Valon's power was no good against something like this, and Luke's flashes of light wouldn't be as effective in the bright sunlight as they had been the night before. He thought of running to Xavier, who was sitting in his wheelchair just around the corner of the school, but that would mean leaving Anna and running away - the last two things he wanted to do right now.

So all Oliver could do was say feebly, "Stop! Let her go!" Naturally, Zeek paid no attention. The older boy's words cut him to the core, though. He wanted to shout that Anna wasn't slowing him down, but that was obviously not true, as he couldn't even access his powers. And was it true that she only continued to be friends with him because of the Professor? She wasn't very vocal about her feelings; maybe she actually was tired of him and wished he would go - hadn't she said as much last night in her room? Maybe all this time he'd been annoying her by hanging around when she'd rather be alone.

Stricken by all these thoughts, Oliver stood motionless while Zeek released her at last. "Go away, Zeek," he said softly, feeling utterly powerless. "Keep Anna out of this. It was my decision." Reaching into his pocket, he pulled out the wooden figurine the boy had carved for him the night before, and held it out to him.  

[Akira.S]

((Don't worry, I'll usually only PM you if it's been over a week because I know you have people over a lot.

OMG I got so excited reading your post thinking “What’s Oliver gonna do now!?!?!?” soooo intense!

I doubt either of them is really gonna say anything because they have too much pride and are also too scared to ruin it, like they don’t wanna take that chance. So like as real life situation as this gets it’s either gonna get worse or stay the same lolz or in the unlikely event – because this is an rp get better XP

Oh, btw since I did this little bit you can bring Xavier in whenever you feel like it, just in case you wanted to communicate a little more between characters))

Being invited meant you had some raw and serious potential to become something and make something out of yourself at this school. Oliver did want to feel normal, well as normal as you can be at this school, and this way he’d be popular, so why would he turn it down? Despite Anna’s curiosity as to why he rejected them, Oliver continued to stand up for her, drawing her attention as to why...but why wasn’t he using his powers? Was it because he wanted to prove a point? Or were his powers on the fritz again? This was becoming a real inconvenience that neither of them could use their powers.

After Anna confronted the older boy and told him to really leave Oliver alone he turned her cheek to face him and stared at her like he was going to kill her....then dropped her on the floor leaving her to gasp for air. Luke and Valon helped her up and pulled her over to the side while Oliver handled some last minute business with the older boy, holding out the wooden carving he made for him last night.

By this time Izzy and the two others had joined Zeek and were trying to convince him to come back, Izzy was clinging to Zeek’s arm and looking up at him while the boy with the spiky fire red hair and the blonde girl with her giant shell stood behind him, ready to pull back at any times notice. But surprisingly after the confrontation Zeek reached out to Oliver and took the wooden carving back and crushed it between his fingers turning it into saw dust. “I think you’re messing with the wrong crowd Oliver.” He said while turning the others around and walking off, heading back into the school. With that general remark you weren’t really sure which group he really meant...the Elementals, or Anna, Valon and Luke.

“A’right, what you do to make ‘im all mad?” Valon was the first to break the tension after the Elementals left, walking up to Oliver while Luke helped Anna a bit.

On the side she kept reassuring him that he was fine while rubbing her wrist a bit of the wood burn and few splinters she’d gotten. While rubbing her wrists she felt a little bit of a sting as to what Zeek said to Oliver about why she hung out with him in the first place. The fact that she even had to think about it was a little disturbing. Did she really just hang out with Oliver because the Professor told her too...? Of course she accidentally slammed the door in his face the first day he arrived, and that was a total accident but...looking back...if the Professor hadn’t come around then she would have probably never spoken to him again unless he made the first move. And would he?

Really thinking about it Anna believed herself to be a horrible person...realizing their meeting and friendship was a chance meeting, only possible because of the Professor. If you believed in Parallel Universes and the Quantum Physics theory, in another world they would have never been friends. Just knowing that made her feel sick inside, and for some reason made her heart ache. “Maybe...he’s right.” She finally decided to say something out of the blue despite the fact they knew she was addressing Oliver. Valon and Luke looked over at her like she was crazy but also knew things were just about to get complicated.

“You shouldn’t have said no to Zeek because he’s right. Everything he said about me was true. If it wasn’t for the Professor I don’t think you and I would have been friends.” She tried not to mutter, but her words made the hole in her heart grow bigger and bigger. She finally got the courage to look up over at Oliver and stare at him with her engaging white eyes while trying to make some sort of sense and convince him to take back what he said to Zeek. “I mean think about it...really think about it. Back in April when you first came here would you really have come back to the room to find me? Were you really that interested? I knew you thought I was weird because of my eyes...everyone does. I mean...the way you looked at me...Don’t you think I’d know that look by now? They say the eyes are the windows to the soul, and because they can’t see through mine they don’t know what I’m thinking or really feeling. So Zeek’s right...I am a loner, I always have and always will be. Nothing can change that. You have a chance to do something with your powers; don’t let the opportunity slip by because they never invite someone back twice.” Anna began walking forward until she was beside Oliver and then spoke again, looking the opposite direction, “I don’t think we should hang out anymore, like he said...I’ll only slow you down and being with you doesn’t benefit you anyway.”

Taking a couple steps forward picking up her plates and utensils that had fallen and decided to bring them back into the kitchen before she cause an even bigger scene. Besides that she felt like she just wanted to crawl back into her room and sleep for the remaining three days just so she wouldn’t have to face him. Realistically she was the one slowing him down; it just took someone forceful to really show her.

(dun dun dun sad Oh and really sorry they end up being so long it's not my intention I swear!)  

[Griselda Banks]

((Heehee! This is sure getting exciting, isn't it? ^_^ Oh, and don't worry if your posts are long; I roleplay with a guy who often writes even longer ones!))

Oliver couldn't help letting out a relieved breath when the Elementals stalked away. He'd been afraid it would lead to actual fighting, and then he'd be in trouble for sure, since he still couldn't feel more than the tiniest trickle of power. Anna was only a few feet away. He didn't answer Valon, barely hearing him while he watched Zeek stomp back over to his tree. Maybe that had been a dumb move - on second thought, it most definitely had been - but why did Zeek have to get so offended by his simple refusal? Or was it really so rare that anyone would refuse an invitation? Were he and Anna the only ones who had?

Speaking of Anna...Oliver turned back to her and took a step forward, feeling the last trickle of his power ebb away. "You okay?" he asked.

But then she looked up at him and said everything he'd never wanted to hear, everything he'd secretly feared she would say, and it felt like with every sentence, she was punching him viciously in the gut. He stared at her, stared at her empty white eyes, and as she left, at her long dark hair swishing from side to side, and he was frozen to the ground as though his own vines were tying him to the ground. Or like the ground was crumbling away beneath his feet, and he was plunging into a deep, black pit....

Oliver watched her walking away from him, and for the first time since arriving in this school, he knew what it was to be really and truly alone. He'd gotten so used to her presence, somehow just quietly, permanently there. He thought about what not hanging out with her would mean - no chatting over lunch, no commiserating over annoying homework, no rushing up to tell her that he'd just figured out something new with his power...no sitting contentedly in the little corner room, listening to the tinkling of the keys beneath her fingers or just sitting in contented silence. He hadn't realized just how empty his life here would be without those things.

Shock waves shuddered through him as he gaped after her. Valon and Luke were asking him if he was okay, but he barely heard them. Anna had said she didn't want to be around him anymore. That there was no reason for them to be friends. He could hardly believe she had said it, but there she was, disappearing back into the kitchen without a single backward glance. So he turned on his heel and walked in the opposite direction, out across the lawn, feeling empty and cold. Luke and Valon let him go, thankfully, sensing that he didn't want company.

He didn't notice Xavier watching him thoughtfully from his wheelchair at the corner of the school...or the way the grass wilted, turned brown, and became dust at the touch of his feet.

((I was thinking Oliver could kind of mope around for most of the day behind a thick wall of thorns, and then Xavier would come talk to him. I can write this scene out myself, or if you like you can play Xavier or something. Or maybe someone would talk to Anna or she would be thinking about it...? I just stopped here to make sure you didn't want to do some kind of character interaction before I wrote out a whole big long scene centering around only my own character.))  

[Akira.S]

((This is getting exciting; hopefully you don’t feel there’s too much drama and not enough action. The action is coming when Anna and Oliver train and when Magneto secretly breaks in and steals Cerebro and the students gotta go steal it back! MWAHAHAH. And then after that we’ll see, probably more drama and more action with another villain or something LOL like uhhh I dunno we either make one up or like Cross over DC and Marvel or something XPPP

I’ll just make some sort of Anna post, but thanks for asking biggrin , I wouldn’t have minded if you just went with it, so yeah just go with it. I would be Xavier but I’m not sure what exactly you want him to say or like what you specifically want him to say you know?))

Without making it look like she wanted to get away as quickly as possible, the dark chocolate haired girl retreated to the kitchen and put her dishes into the sink. She rinsed them off quickly before placing them in the tray full of dishes that would be loaded into the dishwasher later. Many of the mutants in the kitchen either noticed, pretended not to notice, or ignore the girl’s oddly rushed behaviour as Anna almost stormed out of the kitchen. She felt like she just needed to be away from everyone...she needed to hide herself somewhere...but where?

She didn’t want to go back into her room because of the flowers and she had no one else to confide in. So, she did what she had to and turned to the only place she knew to be ‘safe’. Anna returned to her home in the drawing room by the main school entrance, deciding to lock herself inside for god knows how long. Thankfully no one was in there so early in the morning...and on such a nice day. Anna lied to herself and said it’d be a perfect day to just get lost in the music she’d missed so much. She used to play for herself and her own amusement, but now she spent most of her time playing for Oliver as background music while he read or spoke to her about the current events of the day.

Now as the young girl sat at the piano bench gazing at the keys she found she couldn’t play anything. Any time she tried to move her heart would ache, like there was a hole in her chest that just kept getting bigger and bigger. But no, Anna was determined to get over it. She had been alone for almost five years now and would return to her old self...she thought that hiding away and being alone with her music would help and that’s what she did. As much as it pained her she forced herself to play, but it wasn’t her usual soft melodies but a more angered heartbreak of a sound, almost as if she was angry at herself and at the piano....beating into it like she never had before. It was sad because instead of crying her pain away she had to play it out...Anna had no real control of her emotions and felt her tears were wasted when she was a child for when she wanted to cry she couldn’t, when she couldn’t be angry she just walked away, and when she was happy she could just barely smile. Any of the emotions she’d recently been able to feel came through Oliver and out of her selfish decision to help him grow she decided to push him away. But it was for the better and once he was better a controlling his powers maybe he’d see that.

Piano Song  

[Griselda Banks]

((No, no, I love drama! It's just as exciting as action in my book. And okay, I'll just write up a big long post, then, shall I? xd

Hey, guess what? I actually had a half-dream about this rp! That's only happened to me one time in my life before. I say it was a half-dream because I was kind of waking up at the time. Basically, a bunch of the mutants were in that plane of theirs, chasing after Magneto who had the Cerebro, I guess. Oliver and Anna were sitting together, but since they'd just been saying how they shouldn't hang out anymore, it was really awkward. Oliver kept trying to get out and go somewhere else, making up all sorts of excuses, but Anna would never let him. That was all!))

He didn't know how long he'd been sitting there. Hours, maybe. It could have been days and he wouldn't care. He wasn't crying, wasn't moping around, wasn't beating himself up. He just felt empty. So empty, like everything that had been pulling him forward every day of his life had suddenly stopped, and he was at a standstill. He was cold and stiff, but he didn't move, just sat hunched up with his knees drawn up to his chest, his arms crossed over them, and his forehead resting on top of them.

No one had come after him, of course. Anna certainly wouldn't anymore, and Zeek and the others had never cared. Valon and Luke seemed to have decided he needed some time on his own. As if all his time wouldn't be "on his own" now. All the same, though no one had bothered to follow him, he'd raised a fence of thorny vines around himself, almost unconsciously, wanting to shut the world out. He'd gone to the remotest corner of the grounds he could find, hidden back in an overgrown copse of trees that nobody cared about enough to trim. No one would find him here, and that was just what he wanted.

Suddenly a voice cut through hours of dead silence. "Knock knock," it called out, slightly muffled behind the thorny vines.

Slowly, Oliver made himself lift his head enough to look in the direction of that voice. Even though the light was dim through he branches of the trees, it still seemed bright to his tired eyes. The voice sounded familiar, but he couldn't quite place it. It certainly wasn't Valon or Luke; it had a different accent. And it was definitely a male voice.... Then slowly, gently, one of his vines curled down, opening a space for the speaker to look through.

Oliver stiffened. It was Professor Xavier.

"There you are, Oliver," he said gently, not moving from his wheelchair as he pushed the vine away with his power.

Oliver only dropped his head back again and made another vine to close the hole again. I don't want to talk to you, it said clearly.

"I've been worried about you," Xavier said, his voice muffled again. He didn't try to push his way in again. "I saw what happened earlier. With the Elementals."

Oliver said nothing. So he'd seen what had happened, had he? He hadn't stopped them from hurting Anna, though.

Xavier sighed faintly through the plants. "Sometimes I think the cliques the students make are good for healthy competition, to make us all work harder. But more often, I wish there were no divisions between us. It's a human trait that causes much grief." He paused for a moment, then continued gently, "I know what it's like to be rejected from a society you want to be part of, but you have to remember-"

"Shut up!" Oliver had suddenly found his voice again, and the emptiness inside of him swirled and howled, rather than the cold stillness from before. "What do you know about it?" he demanded, and the vines parted, but now they curled around Xavier's wheelchair instead, threatening to pierce him.

Xavier sat calmly watching him, seemingly unperturbed by the inch-long thorns crowding around him. His eyes bored keenly into Oliver's. "If this isn't about the Elementals, Oliver, then why are you hiding here? Please tell me. Maybe I can help you."

"I don't want your help!" Oliver shouted, springing to his feet. "I want-" In the force of his emotion, the vines grew more, and one pierced Xavier's shoulder, but he still didn't move. The blood that began to stain his clothes made Oliver stumble back, his anger swiftly fleeting away. He dropped to the ground again and said weakly, "I want Anna back."

Gently, Xavier pushed the thorns aside and rolled himself forward. Oliver hung his head, ashamed of his outburst. His powers hadn't gone out of control like that for a long time. A hand rested on his shoulder. "It's okay, Oliver. It's okay."

Oliver squeezed his eyes shut and swallowed down a lump in his throat. Then he began talking, telling the Professor all about everything that had happened - his conflicting desires to improve his powers and be Anna's friend, his fear and confusion over the way their powers canceled each other out, and everything that Zeek and Anna had said to make him hide himself away. When he was finished, he felt drained, empty. Still empty, always empty. Xavier still had a hand on his shoulder.

Silence fell between them for a while. "Oliver," Xavier finally sighed, squeezing his shoulder gently. "It's true I asked Anna to help you out and befriend you at the beginning. You were so uncertain at first, do you remember? You thought there was no use to your powers. But you've proven, time and time again, how useful your powers really are. Everyone finds that out eventually - finds out how to integrate their power into who they are. That makes this lessening of your power like an attack on your identity, on who you are. Am I right?"

Oliver thought for a moment, then nodded glumly. "I don't even know who I am anymore...."

"When people don't know who they are," the Professor continued, "they often do hurtful things - hurtful to themselves or others."

Oliver couldn't help himself. He looked up apprehensively at the cut in Xavier's shoulder, which had clotted by now and stopped bleeding. "Sorry," he mumbled.

Xavier looked at him, surprised, then glanced at his arm. "I'm not the one you should be worried about."

Oliver looked into the Professor's deep, wise eyes. "You mean...Anna?"

"I know she is very fond of you," he said quietly, and Oliver felt heat rushing up the back of his neck. "I keep an eye on all the students, of course, but I've been especially careful to keep an eye on her. She doesn't make friends very easily, as I'm sure you noticed, and she's had a hard life. But I've never seen her smile so often as when she's with you."

Oliver was definitely blushing by now, and he wished the Professor didn't have to keep smiling knowingly at him like that. "She...She said she didn't want to be around me anymore!" he protested, trying to calm himself down.

"You told me before that she said it was so you could learn how to control your powers better. Oliver...it's been my experience that when someone says they're better off alone, that others will be better off apart from them...what they're really doing is trying to deny how much they want your company."

Oliver looked up in surprise, but Xavier gave him no chance to speak.

Deftly turning his wheelchair around, Xavier began to push himself back out of the circle of thorns. "It's getting late; most of the students have already eaten supper. We should get back inside."

Oliver stiffly got to his feet again, and clambered out to walk alongside the Professor. "Sir," he said quietly, "what do I do now?"

"For now, just go back to your room and rest. We all had enough excitement to last us a while last night, and you have a lot on your mind. But the next time you see Anna, talk to her. Tell her the problems you've noticed with your powers. And both of you should come see me in my office tomorrow. This is something we need to work out together."

-----

After leaving Oliver by the staircase and performing a quick search of the ground floor, Xavier gave up on happening upon Anna in some hallway, and returned to his office. He wouldn't normally resort to something like this, but Oliver's account of both their powers failing worried him. He'd never heard of anything like it before, but they needed to figure out what to do about in case other people started experiencing the same problems. Oliver and Anna had been lucky so far, but they couldn't count on that indefinitely.

Closing his eyes, Xavier concentrated and opened his mind to the minds of others, swiftly and discreetly sifting through them until he found the mind of a lonely piano player. Anna, he said, speaking directly into her mind, Oliver Harding isn't feeling well. I'd like you to take some food up to his room for me. Thank you. Then he closed off the connection and leaned back in his wheelchair, steepling his fingers and looking thoughtfully up at the ceiling.

For a moment, a smile softened his features. It was obvious to him now. The boy was smitten with her.

(( stare I dunno about you, but Xavier always sounds so much like Albus Dumbledore to me....))  

[Akira.S]

((Well of course you had to write a huge post you had to be two people in something that’s like a big deal for the RP right now lol so of course it’s huge <3 and I’m glad you like the drama. The training for Anna and Oliver will be pretty fun to write I think, and when they go to get Cerebro back that’ll be interesting because they’ll have to fight like for real…using each other’s powers.

LUCKY! That sounds so awesome. I haven’t had a dream about our RP so far…so…I can’t say anything but that sounds cool, maybe we’ll make something like that happen…maybe depends what Oliver and Anna accomplish before Cerebro gets stolen….man what were we gonna do after this? Lol make a new villan? Or time skip to when they’re like in their mid-twenties doing…you know what X-men do the best lol

I got all emotional and fuzzy inside when I read your post…did you while you were writing it?))

It had been long past dinner but not quite curfew yet, and from the time Anna had entered the piano room early that morning, she hadn’t left it (well I mean realistically other than to use the bathroom). She skipped lunch, dinner, didn’t get anything to eat in between, and even the teachers and students passing by could tell something was wrong by the sounds emitting from the room. They seemed more lonely and sad, but sometimes angry and raged too…not like usual. Of course nothing Anna played was really very lively, but it was the emotion you put into what you played that was important. Because she couldn’t convey her emotions very well through gestures or through the look in her eyes she found it was best to do it through music.

Sometimes Anna would stop playing and stare out the window, maybe lie down, read, or just stare at the ceiling for minutes at a time. But she always resorted to playing the piano again. After all it was what she was known for…being the creepy lonely girl that just sat in the drawing room and played piano.

It was only after Oliver came that she wasn’t the creepy piano girl anymore, she was acknowledge by someone, and eventually not just one person but a few people. The part that hurt the most was that she enjoyed it, she liked being with Oliver, Luke and occasionally Valon, and that was the problem. She shouldn’t have gotten used to it for it only made the hole in her chest bigger and emptier ((is that right is it more empty..I wasn’t sure)).

After pressing on the keys a couple more times she felt she had enough for the night and sat on the bench with just the tall lamp beside her lighting the room. She sort of just sat there…lifeless for the longest time…almost as it she’d forgotten how to move or get up from the spot. Her eyes were so much more empty, and the usual whiteness now seemed almost see through and hollow. Anna had broken inside and wasn’t sure how to fix it. She knew that pushing Oliver away was the right thing to do, but what she knew in her head she didn’t know in her heart. One day maybe…he’d thank her and they’d make up…but that was probably just wishful thinking talking on her shoulder. Anna doubted things would fix themselves anytime soon, and figured they’d just end up going their separate ways. After all who would want to be with her after the way she treated him?

Piano Song

So Anna sat alone with nothing but her thoughts to keep her company…until she felt a warm presence reach out to her, despite the fact no one was around.

The Professor spoke directly into her mind and asked her to bring food up to Oliver’s room. But before the dark haired, white eyed girl could refuse the connection between them was cut off.
Sighing very heavily Anna stood up slowly and closed the lid over the keys and turned off the light. Instead of walking to the door in the dark she decided to float a few feet in the air to avoid bumping into anything. Opening the door to the drawing room she exited to the empty school halls. Everyone was getting ready for bed or already asleep by now…so why was Oliver still up?

“Oliver Harding isn't feeling well.”

The Professor’s voice echoed in her head while she flew towards the kitchen, “Of course he isn’t…after what I said to him…” she said to herself and landed on the tiled floor, searching for food.

The leftovers were put in the fridge, and whatever Anna could find she just heated up in the microwave. She was feeling pretty hungry herself but unlike most girls she didn’t need to eat to fill the void in her chest. Carrying the tray of orange juice, pasta with tomato sauce and cheese, garlic bread, and a small bowl of Caesar salad she flew through the halls, up the stairs, and towards the wing Oliver’s room was in.

Landing quietly on the floor in front of the dorm room Anna just sort of stood there. She could always just put the tray down, knock and fly up to the ceiling and hide there…it’s not like people really looked up when there was no one at their door. Maybe if Luke or Valon were awake she could get them to do it…she mentally hit herself and told wishful thinking to stop popping up on her shoulder. Holding the tray on one end and pressing the other against her waist so it wouldn’t fall, Anna lifted her hand up and very gently knocked on the wooden door in front of her.

She waited…anxiously…for…a sign…or something. Her heart was racing but why? Her feet just wanted to run, her arms and hands were sort of shaking as well. What exactly was she afraid of? Was she afraid? She’d never felt this way before in her life…other than when faced up against Zeek or if her life depended on it. Maybe she was really afraid of his reaction…how he’d act towards her, how she would come off towards him.

“Please don’t be there…please don’t be there…just please…don’t open the door...“

How did it ever come to this? From the smiles, the laughs, the good times, to awkward, lonely, and empty abyss. The fact that she was scared to see him frightened her even more than before.

((YEAH! I kinda felt that way too, but it doesn’t matter they’re both awesome! Unless you don’t like Dumbledore.
I know this like has nothing to do with the RP or anything but I found it so cute‼ I think it’s kinda an Anna x Oliver thing c : http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MvjZ6VkLuCM I love how we’ve never even gotten to how much they like each other like it’s just so vagueeeeeeee between them but to everyone else it’s not I think that’s awesome. I’ve never done an RP like that. Like we know Oliver and Anna like each other but is it as friends or is it more like it’s just such a mysteryyyyyyy >3< ))  

[Griselda Banks]

((We don't have to have that happen; it was just my mind processing the tension between the characters for now. I have no idea what we're going to do after the Cerebro xd Let's just cross that bridge we come to it, why don't we? We've still got quite a ways before the Cerebro mission even starts.

Heehee...I did get a bit happy-fuzzy inside when I got to the end of my post. I really like the way their relationship's turning out. They're both shy, so it makes sense it would be like this and they'd take a long time to even admit to themselves how they feel. That video was really nice! The part where he was trying to punch through the glass reminded me of something I wrote in a story one time. It was a dragon-rider story, and after killing a bunch of people the boy kind of shut himself away from the rest of the world because he was scared and felt dirty. But that also cut off the bond between him and his dragon, like a wall of glass. So to get rid of that glass, the boy had to hurt himself by pounding through it. Anwyay...just reminded me of that.

Oh, I love Dumbledore! He's my favorite HP character! I don't feel like I really have a handle on Xavier's character, so he's just ended up being like Dumbledore - a wise old headmaster who cares about his students as individuals.

Oh, and I think it is 'emptier'.))

Oliver sat on his bed in his darkened room, staring blankly out the window at the dim grounds. His talk with Xavier had helped a little - he didn't feel quite so empty now that he had voiced all his worries to someone. But a knot of anxiety still twisted in his gut as he thought about Anna. What would he say to her? Would she even let him say anything? What if Xavier was wrong about her, and she really didn't want him around?

But...he wanted her around. She was his friend. After you made a friend, you couldn't just let them go and forget about them all in a minute. Sighing, Oliver leaned forward and rested his elbows on his knees, massaging his temples. What on earth would he say...?

Suddenly a knock on his door broke into his thoughts. Glancing at the blackness outside, Oliver wondered who would come around so late. He quickly flicked on his bedside lamp, crossed to the door, and opened it...only to come face-to-face with Anna. She was holding a tray of steaming food, and the sight of it reminded him that he hadn't touched a bite of food since breakfast.

Heat sprang into Oliver's cheeks yet again, partly because of the loud growl his stomach made in response to the enticing aroma of the food, but mostly because he was looking directly into Anna's eyes for the first time after she'd left. An awkward silence stretched between them, then Oliver mechanically said, "Thanks," and reached out to grab the tray.

Oliver's hand brushed against Anna's fingers as he accepted it, and he felt a thrill of something rushing down his spine. He found it hard to breathe, and impossible to look away from her eyes. He wondered what was going through her head, and why she'd brought him this when she'd specifically said they shouldn't see each other anymore.

But even as he became acutely aware of her presence, which seemed to throb almost painfully inside of him, he also became aware of the now-familiar void where his power should have been. And he remembered what the Professor had said: The next time you see Anna, talk to her. Taking a deep breath, Oliver stepped to the side. "Come in, Anna," he said softly. "There's something I have to talk to you about."

((Sorry it's taken me so long to get this posted, by the way. I've been pretty busy - my brother's going off to college in a little over a week, so I've been trying to spend a lot of time with him. We've been doing a lot of table-top roleplaying. You ever tried that? It's really fun! ^_^))  

[Akira.S]

((Yeah you’re right, Cerebro is gonna take a while, cause we still have to have them make up and train etc etc so yeah you’re right lol.

We keep writing how shy they are and how much they want to say something but it’s not gonna happen. I find that life is like that sometimes, with friends. Like that movie Zack and Miri make a porno, they’ve been friends since they were in Kindergarten but they didn’t find out they loved each other until they had sex (not that that’s gonna happen with our characters)but it’s funny how that happens.

I think Dumbledore and Xavier are alike in a lot of ways so I think you’re doing fine. I would have played him the same way so it’s all good biggrin ))

After a moment Anna could hear footsteps behind the door and knew instantly that Oliver was in his room...walking towards her...and would open the door any second. Like a coward she braced herself for the worst possible shot of emptiness that would hit her. Although she kept a hold of her insides, her outside was still very composed and proper.

Once he opened the door she looked up at him, waiting for him to say something, ANYTHING! Because lord knows she couldn’t. It just didn’t make sense that she’d waste all that time and effort saying she wasn’t going to see him, and then bring him dinner in the middle of the night – yeah real convincing. Both of them sort of just stood there for a couple of seconds. Anna holding the tray, and Oliver sort of standing at the doorway, both were locked in each other’s gazes, each trying to figure out what the other was thinking or feeling. But once again with Anna’s condition it was hard for Oliver to really get a reading. Still, despite the fact Anna could see into his eyes it was almost as if she couldn’t really understand the emotion he was feeling inside.

When Oliver’s stomach growled, more silence erupted between the two and he reached out to take the tray, thanking her for bringing it to him. “No problem.” Were the only two words that could come out of her mouth. As he took the tray, she felt his hand brush against her fingers slightly as her cheek began to turn a slight pinkish colour. Pulling her hands away when the tray was safely in his hands, the dark haired girl shyly looked away even though she could feel his gaze still on her.

Oh she never should have come! What sort of humiliation was the Professor putting her through now! With no other reason to stay, she finally turned away and was about to start walking off when Oliver called out to her. “Come in, Anna.” She froze where she stood and turned back towards him, “There’s something I have to talk to you about.”

Anna felt a strange sense of excitement and nervousness all at the same time. What sort of feeling was this? What could he possibly have to say to her now? Especially since they weren’t talking. The strangest thing was she was happy but scared at the same time, and yet the dark haired girl turned and followed him into his room without another word.

((Aw that’s cute, you must be close then. I don't have any siblings but I wish I did. It sounds familiar...remind me what it is again...o.O))  

[Griselda Banks]

((I just saw X-Men Origins: Wolverine for the first time, and it gave me an idea for a development that could happen after Cerebro! 8D But I kind of want to keep it as a surprise, so if you don't mind I won't tell you about it until it comes up in the rp.

If it's okay with you, and if it makes sense with what's happening, I'd like them to realize their feelings for each other eventually - probably way at the end, the rate they're going XD Maybe we could even do a kiss at the very end ^_^

Yeah, my brother and I have been best friends practically from the day I was born, so his going away is kind of a big deal. Table-top roleplaying is basically the same as what we're doing, only you don't write it all out - you say what your character does. There's one guy called the Game Master who says what happens (kind of like the narrator in Mafia, if you've ever played that game), and there are all these specific rules about rolling dice to see whether you do what you want to or not. (Basically, Dungeons & Dragons.) It's pretty fun if you've got a good group, though the stories that come out of it are never as in-depth as this kind of roleplaying. Generally, I prefer message board roleplaying, because I like to delve into the characters' thoughts and do cool stuff like we're doing xd ))

Oliver closed the door halfway and set his dinner down on his desk, dropping into the chair in front of it. He stared awkwardly at Anna's shoes, too embarrassed to look her in the face. He knew what she'd said, knew all the reasons they shouldn't even be talking right now. But she'd come to him, hadn't she? Did that mean she was sorry for what she'd said? Did she want to be friends again? He remembered what Xavier had said, about her actually wanting company when she said she didn't.

But the silence was dragging on, and Oliver shook himself mentally. The time had come. "Anna," he murmured softly to her toes. "You know our powers have been going haywire, right? It started happening yesterday. Well...I was thinking about it, and I realized...our powers go out at the same time." Finally his eyes darted up to her face, guardedly watching her expression to see what her reaction would be. "Whenever we'd get too close, both of our powers would stop working. We...cancel each other out, or something."

He bit his lip, then found himself blurting out something that had been floating around, unconfronted, in the back of his mind all day. "It's my fault you almost died."  

[Akira.S]

((Sure I don’t mind a surprise if you like. But if you need me to play someone you need to talk to I don’t mind at all. I can’t wait the second Origins with Wolverine comes out...SILVER SAMURAI!!! And then they’re supposedly doing one for Magneto and one for Deadpool.

Sounds like a plan. Which way at the end? Like the end of this arc or your arc? I think it should be one of those like...really fast in the middle of battle moments, and they’re like back to back or something, and then I think they’re talking about something I dunno....and then he either grabs her or she grabs him and it’s just like, a really intense like 3 second kiss cause they’re in the middle of a fight. I dunno that’s what I pictured cause they have an interesting relationship ^^;

Yeah I figured, you should have said D and D I would have known what is was. But you’re so lucky! I wish I had a brother like that...but I’m an only child. And yeah I prefer this way because I like to go in depth in description and all that))

Once Oliver had given way for her to enter the room, Anna sort of looked shyly around without really looking at him. Her gaze was always somewhere else...or she was looking at her own shoes. Why had she agreed to even come in? I guess because she didn’t want to be rude...after all he said he wanted to talk and talking was....sort of allowed as long as they weren’t hanging out like she said. Hopefully he’d decide to make up with Zeek soon and when he was done they could all put this behind them....in....a year or two.

So the boy walked to the desk and sat in the chair while she sort of stood around waiting for him to say something. Finally, after a long period of silence he said her name...hearing it made her perk up a bit on the inside without really showing anything on the outside.

He started talking about their powers and how they kept going out like a light for no reason at all. She had noticed but had not given it much thought...then he commented that he noticed that both their powers were going out at the same time. This was of course a revelation that shocked her greatly. Had their powers been going out at the same time....she never really noticed but it did strike her now that he mentioned it. Anna started walking back and forth around his room without saying anything for a moment when finally their gaze met. She had no explanation, nothing to say, nothing to feel about it...so their powers went out at the same time, what could it mean? Then he answered the question that sort of put her at ease and explained that whenever they were near each other their powers would cancel each other out.

But how was that possible? It’s not like they were positive and negative magnets or batteries...they were living people! Sure they were mutants but she’d never heard of this happening to anyone else before. Before she had a chance to say what she felt on the subject Oliver started speaking once again. He apologized for when they were at the mall when that ‘accident’ happened. Turning towards him she felt she had to say something....ANYTHING to put him at ease...but somehow the right words weren’t coming out....right.

“I never blamed you for what happened. Stop beating yourself up about it.” She turned back around so her back was to him, still continuing to pace, thinking about what they were going to do now. Clearly it was all the more reason for them not to be together....so did that mean she was right and it was better this way, was he just trying to tell her that he didn’t want to be with her. “So what do you gain by telling me this? It only means that for you to progress its better that you’re not with me.” She lifted her right arm up so she could look at her hand, trying hard to create a small twist of wind around her but it was all in vain.  

[Griselda Banks]

((Oooh, they're making a second one? Cool, I didn't know that! Oh, and the surprise development I'm planning has to do with why Oliver and Anna turn each other off, just so you know.

Yeah, at the end of an arc sounds good. Let's see how things go for the Cerebro arc, and if it makes sense for them to realize it then, let's go for it. We probably shouldn't have them be clueless for too long; I've seen stories where the characters are completely oblivious to the point where it doesn't make sense anymore that they wouldn't notice how they felt. That idea for the kiss sounds good enough to me. Maybe it could be like one of them says they're going to go do something extra-dangerous, and then they both realize they might die and never see each other again, and then whoever's staying would grab the other and give 'em a smooch ^_^ ...Hey! You know how we were saying that they'd figure out how to control each other's powers in that battle? Maybe the kiss would be somehow connected to that - like, once they've acknowledged that they do like each other that way, the next time they come close they discover they can use each other's powers.

Talking about what happens after Cerebro got me thinking. I know my idea will lead to more stuff happening, which will probably take a while to get through, but I was wondering: What is your stance on endings? I've never actually managed to make it to the end of an rp before the other person vanishes without a trace, but we've been going fairly steadily for long enough now that I think we might actually do it. I think that, as fun as a roleplay can be, it's good not to just let it drag on and on until it gets boring. So I was just wondering if you'd be okay with us actually saying "The End" in the distant future, when the story has come to a point where everything seems to be fulfilled.))

Oliver should have expected her to say that this was further proof they shouldn't be together, but her words still felt like a blow to his stomach. He was beginning to doubt Xavier's assessment of Anna's intentions.... But he pulled himself together. She'd asked him a question.

"I told the Professor about our problem," he said, playing with the pasta on his plate. Somehow, it didn't look quite so appetizing anymore. "He said we should both go see him tomorrow, and maybe he'd be able to help us fix it." Finally he looked up at her again, continuing earnestly, "Wouldn't it be good to fix the problem? Maybe there's some way out. If anyone can figure it out, it's Xavier. And then maybe we wouldn't have to...avoid each other anymore." His mind caught up with what he was saying, and he quickly dropped his head back down to stare at his pasta again.  

[Akira.S]

((If I spell something wrong it's because I just reimaged my computer and I don't have Word but I'm working on it.

Yeah the way they kiss in battle sounds good c: and cute at the same time, and you're right it makes sense that they learn how to use each others powers better after that.

I've made it to more endings on like MSN/AIM rps rather than Gaia Rps. I've actually never made it to the end because people end up leaving. Yeah I don't mind that we say....THE END in the future. Hopefully we can start another rp though...I enjoy rping with you because you're around and you don't disappear without reason and it's so rare to find that nowadays 8D ))

The fact that Oliver told the Professor about their problem wasn't that reassuring to Anna. Sure, he could probably help, but if word got out to the other students they'd probably be the laughing stock of the school (as if she wasn't already). Spring Break was nearing an end which means the semester would resume soon...on top of homework and training could she really afford private sessions if it really came to that. She doubted fixing the clash between their powers wouldn't be so easy, and the last thing she wanted to do was to bother the Professor.

On the other hand she really did like Oliver, and enjoyed his company. Of course what she was saying was a farce, but she still believed he could learn so much more without her. Heaving a very heavy sigh she turned to face him, despite the fact he was sort of playing with his food. "Tomorrow's Saturday...I guess I have time. I still have a couple of reports to finish before Monday. Meet me there at 9. I don't want the others to know we havet his sort of...'problem'." with that she turned away and walked towards the door, putting her hand on the handle.

Before turning it, she stopped while her back was still to him. She felt she needed to say something more, but the words weren't going to come out. Blinking a couple of times she opened the door and stepped out, walking a bit of a distance before deciding to hover back to her room in another wing.

Quickly running in she shut the door behind her and leaned against the door, sitting down on the floor for a while. "Smooth Anna...real...smooth..." she hugged her knees and hid her head in the dark for a little while, the only light was the moon light coming in from the open window. Suddenly she remembered the flowers that had grown on her windowsill earlier in the day. Getting up, she walked over to the bed and sat on the edge, popping her head out slightly to see the pink flowers. Unfortunately because if the recent turn in events all of the flowers had died and withered, or the pink petals had fallen to the ground below. Reaching out she took hold of a dead flower and held it in her hand, lying down on her bed and picking at it slightly.

Maybe one day this would all be resolved and they could laugh about it in the future. So, putting the dead flower on her table, Anna changed into track pants and a tank top before turning in. The morning couldn't come soon enough.  

[Griselda Banks]

((Glad we're on the same page! ^_^ Yeah, it's very refreshing to play with someone who doesn't just vanish as soon as something comes up IRL. We'll have to talk about possible roleplays once this one is done wink ))

When Anna closed the door, Oliver stared at it, feeling empty. She'd sounded reluctant, as though this was a bother, as though she didn't want to find a solution to their problem. Had this been a relief for her? Had she thought it would be a convenient way to get rid of him? He realized he'd been thinking hopefully about this meeting with Xavier, because it would mean a situation that forced them to be together again, and then maybe they could patch things up. But what if she didn't want to?

With a sigh, Oliver began mechanically eating his supper, which was now turning cold. It felt like sawdust in his mouth.

-----

The next morning, Oliver got up early and ate his cereal alone in the kitchen, leaving just as a few people straggled in, yawning and chattering. He avoided everyone else, staying in his room and trying to work on the last bit of homework he had left, until it was time to go down to the Professor's office.

Feeling as though a rock had settled into his stomach, Oliver slowly made his way downstairs and up the hall to the office he'd been inside only once before. He remembered how Xavier had helped him in the beginning, how he'd walked him through subduing his power. Surely he could help him do the opposite now.

Drawing a deep, steadying breath, Oliver knocked on the door and entered.  

[Akira.S]

((I know same here >3< Nothing really comes up in my life cause I’m boring like that. Plus I post when you post and you only really post once a week *nothing wrong with that, so it’s not hard to keep up. I go back to college in Sept so hopefully we’ll be able to keep going with this once a week thing, or even more than once a week. Again, I check Gaia everyday so I post when you post. If something major does come up and I know I can’t check gaia I’ll tell you, but nothing major will come up unless I’ve got like a million projects and have to spend all my time on them ^^;

Yeah we’ll talk about possible rps when this one is over. BTW I need to take over the Professor in this post...hope that’s okay. ))

Anna was already in the Professor’s Office, sitting in one of the chairs that had been put out for the two of them. She was sort of gazing straight at the Professor or something on the wall, at least that’s the way her empty eyes looked. She didn’t seem too happy to be here but seeing as it was a request from the Professor that they come it wasn’t something she could just openly refuse.

“Oliver you’re right on time come in.” He gestured the boy in as he sat on the other side of the large desk, going through their files, both on screen and on paper. Of course he knew what he needed to know, but he wanted to do some extra research on why this could have been happening. Xavier took it in his best interest to know as much as possible about his students, even to a personal level. He knew Anna very well, but Oliver being fairly new, he felt he hadn’t been giving him as much attention. Of course he did research on his background before he went to visit him at his parent’s home, but he still liked to be on good terms with the students.

The entire time he was there, ever since he walked into the room, Anna refused to make eye contact with anyone but the Professor. The look on her face wasn’t one of distaste or hatered, but more of neutral, disagreeable face. Then again it was always hard to read the looks on her face and what she wanted to express. “Can you help us fix the conflict between our powers?” she finally spoke. Her voice sounded almost shyly like when she first met Oliver – and accidentally attacked him.

((Sorry it’s short, I didn’t know what else to write, not writer’s block but just....don’t wanna get ahead of myself))