A Visit Home [CLOSED]

Magic thought her saw her blush a little bit, but decided that it wasn't something to chase after. Really though, Magic was only kind, and sweet to certain people. One of those certain people being her. He did care for others but he didn't really show it like he did around Lamia. Whenever he was around others he just carried a neutral air about him, here he was actually showing he was happy, and having fun and stuff. He never knew he could be so happy in this city, like he is now. At this moment he was so happy he asked Lamia to come along.

He got a bit puzzled a little bit when Lamia started searching for something. Then she pulled out her phone and started talking about a photo diary. That same smile appeared on his face, and he nodded. "I would be happy to." There was something he felt for the girl, but he didn't quite know what it was. Eh.. He would figure it out later.

She had turned away, genuinely expecting "no" for an answer. To be completely honest, she had partially hoped that he wouldn't agree because she wasn't exactly a photogenic person... But, when he well... said yes, panic bubbled in her chest, and a small smile crept its way up her face. Lamia changed her position a bit, considering Magic was in front of her, and thought about leaning in to close the distance more. She flinched back at the last second, content with being on just her knees next to him, holding out her phone and angling it so that it could get both of them in the picture. Good thing she uses timer cameras because she legitimately had to prepare herself.

Her arm was dangling awkwardly above them, and Lamia hoped that she wasn't blushing. Forcing herself to keep her eyes on the picture, she only now realized how close they actually were, without her having to try and lean in awhile ago. Uncomfortably close, nearly brushing beside her. Only the tiniest gap between their arms separated them, and before she could move away, those three seconds felt like minutes or even hours.

Lamia had contemplated on pulling her hood back on at the last second, but that dilemma was delayed once the photo had been taken in their current position. Flash went off, and the deed had been done, so she drew her phone to her chest, holding it there. She didn't want to see the picture, to be honest. Turning it off, it was stuffed into her pocket and closing her bag, she found herself sitting there rather awkwardly, fidgeting every so often. What do we do now? she thought to herself, unwilling to make the decision.

So she stayed quiet, her eyes drifting towards the sky before closing in deep thought. Her own flower crown had been carefully placed in her bag. Absentmindedly, Lamia leaned on his shoulder for a bit of support, the same she would with Kearn after they finished making their crowns in the past with mother. They would've watched the stars and night sky for awhile before going to the same restaurant every time for dinner. It almost felt nostalgic, but her family wasn't here with her. But Magic was. Do I consider him a replacement? The idea made her suddenly feel aware of her position, and flustered, she backed away, trying to find the words to explain.

Her eyes flickered nervously from side to side, and Lamia stammered out awkwardly, "A-ah... I-I'm s-s-so s-sorry...! I-I w-was j-just th-thinking a-about m-my f-family... a-and u-uhm..." Her voice faltered a bit, red dusting her cheeks. "S-sorry..." Desperately finding a way to change the topic, she added on softly, "I-I could s-send you the p-picture later." She wanted to smack herself in the forehead. Nice subject change, idiot.

Magic smiled for the picture that Lamia took, he didn't notice how close they were and didn't really bother to look. He was focused on the picture being taken which on took a short bit to actually snap the photo. Once it had, the other winter put the phone away without really looking at the picture. Eh he just guessed she didn't want to see it at the moment. He kind of wanted to see it, but he was just gonna leave it alone.

The two of them went silent for a moment, and Magic let his eyes drift up to the stars that were slowly beginning to get brighter as it got later in the night. They really should leave soon, but he liked being out here, it was nice. A small blush dust the winter's face when he felt Lamia lean on his shoulder for support. It felt really nice, but it quickly disappeared as the girl returned to her normal sitting position.

A frown appeared on his face as she started freaking out about what she had done. "I would have said something if I was uncomfortable with it. So there is no need to apologize." He stated. He knew she was going to apologize anyway no matter what he did. Then she mentioned about sending him the picture, "Sure, Having a copy would be nice." He had a relaxed air about him now. Everything was starting to calm down, and it was nice to be so relaxed for once.

"B-b-but I-I..." There was no use trying to argue back on this way, as much as she wanted to. That was wrong of her to do. Everything she wound up doing, whether by accident or on purpose ends up being anything but right. I should've asked first... What was with her mentality of needing permission for anything? Actually, scratch that. Her mentality of not having a choice at anything? To be honest, Lamia didn't know either. It was rude of me to get close. She was just another hindrance. If she thought about it hard enough, she was almost positive that Magic asked her to come with him on the vacation because he felt sorry for her.

Golden, doe-like eyes drifted back to the night sky, and she suddenly felt light-headed. Maybe she just needed something to eat, but... did he want to leave now? It wouldn't be right to force him to go. He seemed so serene, relaxed; Lamia could never have that same demeanor. He could adjust his attitude so easily and figure out what to do without having to question anything. It wasn't really fair... Why was she always finding something in another person that she wanted? Whether it was friends, their personality, their appearance. Anything. Or rather, It isn't fair that I'm so jealous. Was it? Maybe it's because I'm on a lower level than everyone else. The thought always lingered in her mind, but now, she started to feel it was true.

She was always at the sidelines, lacking an existence that people would care to notice or pay attention to. Before, she was so obnoxious and self-centered that people stopped paying heed to her words. And then that happened. Lamia wound up subduing herself immensely. Everyone thought she was some triplet that nobody was aware of. But even then, people didn't pay attention because she was quiet. She was practically invisible like a ghost. Yet, Magic bothered to notice her. Even though, their meeting in the forest was an accident, he didn't stop talking to her; he acted like she was important. Key word: acted.

Lamia was deluding herself, believing he had some ulterior motive to all of this. Nobody would feel that way towards her, let alone treat her normally. Who cares how many of them had gifts? Very few of them were murderers. The silence kept drawing on and on - it was like back then, when they were secluded in the clearing, surrounded only by dense, thick trees that didn't show them the light of day. Because she couldn't hold a conversation. Don't let him know about these feelings... Pity was the last thing she wanted.

"E-eh..." she said at last. "I-i-is th-there anything y-you want to d-do n-now...?"

Magic let out a huff, and fell backwards into the grass, not caring if any stuff from the ground got into his hair. What did he want to do? He didn't really know. It was getting late, that was for sure. The sun was completely set now, and the street lamps filled the sky with light. More stars were visible. This was the first time in a while that he had been so relaxed like this.

Normally his mind was all over the place, wondering what could set him off, or what was safe for him to do. It was always hard to decide.. Sometimes it was really easy for him to get angry, and then from there he could end up being super violent. His gray-green eyes just stared up at the sky. He couldn't help but think back to the past and how care-free he used to be. Doing whatever he pleased, whenever he liked. Beata really was a change from his old way of life. It was hard to get used to at first.. But eventually he did. He still broke a couple rules now and then. Still does sometimes.

He let silence slip between them again. He really didn't know what to do. He always made the decisions no matter where he went. Normally it would be easy to decide. He normally knew what he always wanted, knew what was always best for the gang but now he wasn't so sure. What did he want to do? Then his stomach growled. Well there was his answer. The boy sat up, and looked at Lamia. "Want to get some food? Sounds like I could use some." He asked. If she wasn't hungry then they could always go back to the hotel and he order room service. "If you aren't hungry, or don't want to be around people, we could go back to the hotel and I could order from room service. Probably freak out over the coffee maker more." He said with a small laugh, and a kind of goofy smile on his face. He was kind of attempting to make a joke but it probably failed.

Magic was right: the joke went completely over her head.

Lamia cocked her head to the side with a confused look in her eyes. Bringing a hand up to her chin, she had to think about it. She wasn't exactly very hungry, but food would be nice. Kearn would've forced her to eat a bit every time she refused to. It was always kind of fun - her twin always managed to get her to at least have some sort of meal; she never ate a lot, though. Magic on the other hand, well... he should eat. Room service didn't sound that appealing, and since he was visiting home for the first time, it'd be better if he ate somewhere familiar. Probably. Even if she hated the crowd, she didn't want to be a burden.

"I-I'm f-fine w-with g-going somewhere o-outside..." Goddamit, why was her voice faltering? Lamia bit the bottom of her lip, turning her head away, her hand suddenly back in her pockets. Please don't pick up on the fact that I really don't want to be in the city... Please don't, she silently pleaded, shuffling her feet. Without knowing what else exactly to say, she repeated, "C-c-coffee maker?" It was something she might as well ask now. The Winter forced herself to look up when he laughed, and she had a small, nervous smile of her own. Did she miss a joke? Or was it just some trick? Perhaps the coffee maker was that entertaining to some people...

She pursed her lips, muttering, "H-h-have y-you n-never u-used one?"

Her whisper was blown away, almost drowned out by the wind's defiant roars and Lamia held her breath.

Magic shook his head. "I have used one before, but I have never seen anything that fancy before. At lot of stuff in our hotel room is kind of new to me. I'm not used to so much fanciness. Heh. It's kind of overwhelming." Magic stated. The boy stood up, and dusted himself off. He took off his flower crown, combed his fingers through his hair to get rid of any blades of grass that might have been stuck in it from when he was laying down. He then placed the flower crown back on top of his head. "Is there anything stuck in my hair still?" He asked his winter friend. He knew the exact place that they could go eat. But he wasn't going to go in there if there was stuff still stuck in his hair.

"O-oh..." was all she said. What kind of answer was she even expecting? It was really obvious that his childhood wasn't the greatest. And he clearly didn't look like he had the money for anything expensive or something along those lines, especially with a mother like that. Ah, what am I thinking? I'm being so judgmental... Lamia craned her head over, her eyes following. Well... there didn't seem to be any. But she never trusted herself to be right. Nope, not at all.

Turning away, laughed with a breathy air, sweeter than the chimes of a bell. "I-I d-d-don't think s-so... Y-you should pr-probably ch-check." This was stupid of her. Really really stupid. It wasn't like she couldn't make her own decisions or speak for herself - she could, but that never ended well before. It wasn't right for her to try and say anything because it'd be self-centered, selfish, anything along those lines. Whatever confidence she actually had from the past had disappeared. "A-a-are we leaving n-now?"

He removed his flower crown once again, and brushed through his hair a couple times more. He didn't feel anything in his hair, which was good. He stuck the flower crown back on his head once again. He stretched, and then nodded to Lamia. "Yeah we are leaving. I hope you don't mind eating at an Italian place." There was really only one place he could think of at the moment. He couldn't really decide on any other place. There were too many places to choose from in Chicago.

Getting up slowly, Lamia pulled her hood back over her head, her hands trembling as she did so. Would he mind if she tried to hide? Hopefully not. Shaking her head, she answered back with a mumble, "I-I-Italian...? I-I'm f-fine with wh-whatever..." At least it wasn't a French place. Anything but a place or person or whatever that she could easily connect to her past. Her eyes traveled to meet his for a moment, but for she awkwardly flinched back, shifting uncomfortably in her place. At first she thought it was a trick of light, but after she looked again - for a brief moment - she could still see the crown on his head.

A small breath escaped her lips, and nervously, she tried to bit her words back to no avail. "Y-you're g-going to k-keep it o-on...?" It kind of scared her a bit to think about that, but more so embarrassing. Rose red graced her cheeks, and Lamia suddenly felt that it was rather warm out. Was this normal? "E-even in p-public? Wh-what if s-s-someone on the e-enemy g-gang sees y-you and th-thinks y-you've gone soft?" She was trying to make some kind of excuse. Anything. Her self-esteem was suddenly deteriorating into nothing.

Her expression darkened when she realized that she might've chosen the wrong choice of words. Fuck.

Magic paused. "Actually, scratch that. There is a burger place close to here. It's got amazing burgers, and sandwiches and other things. Sorry to kind of change it on you, but I really want one of their burgers, I haven't had on in ages." Magic said. "It's only a couple blocks from here." He had to think of where it was for a moment, but it would be easy to find. Really easy. They still had a while before the place closed. ]

A frown appeared on his face when she asked if he was going to keep wearing the crown. I was planning too.. It's really cute, and you made it for me, which makes it even better. And if an enemy gang sees, and thinks I have gonna soft then I will do to them what I did to the other guy from earlier." But listening to the way she was talking it sounded like she didn't want him to wear it, so he took it off, and handed it to her. "Just put it in your bag with the other one.."

He started walking away from the park, knowing Lamia would be right behind him. Since it was kind of late the crowds would have died down a little. He still hated it though. He hated hearing everything the people in the area were saying. That was the only downside to living in this city or well.. being in the city. He didn't really live here anymore since his mom kicked him out. He just wanted to get to that burger place fast. So that way he didn't have to deal with the crowd too much, and he could finally get something to drink. He became rather parched in a short time period.

"E-eh, s-sure... wh-whatever y-you'd like," Lamia muttered softly, barely showing a reaction to the sudden change. It wasn't the first time someone has told her something and then thought about something else that they'd prefer. Indecision. It was something she was very familiar with, for the most part. No, scratch that - it was something that always lingered in her mind. She shouldn't judge someone for doing the same thing, but it always seemed more natural when someone else came up with another idea that was better than their last one. Both of her's where always bad...

Was he playing another one of his games? It was just another flower crown, nothing special. What was he talking about? Reluctantly placing it in her bag, careful to make sure it wouldn't be crushed in there, before shaking her head with a small apology. What did he mean anyway when he said that it was special because she made it? Her mother's were always better. Her hands were clumsy and slipped - they were rather messy and they didn't exactly look that great compared to what others could do. Lamia opened her mouth to speak again, before letting out a sigh. It was useless to try and argue about this. It was useless for her to try anything, actually. ]Stupidstupidstupidstupidstupid.

She only followed Magic, a gap separating them. She felt rather sluggish and slow - was it because her movements were too stiff? Was it because she was so jittery and constantly wary about everything around her? Lamia hated this about herself and envied this about Magic: he was able to stay calm and relax in any situation, fighting back when he felt that he was in any danger; she couldn't do anything like that because she was so weak and didn't think highly of herself. I am lower than everyone else - I don't deserve to be his friend. the sad thought crept into her mind. But she wasn't going to say anything about it.

Soon enough, she saw the burger place in front of her, shining bright with flashy colors and neon signs. It was rather an eyesore in contrast to the bleak darkness that surrounded them. An annoyance like a fly that constantly buzzed around and wouldn't leave you alone instead of the comfort and warmth that kept a person alive. Maybe she was just weird for thinking that being in the dark was nicer... "S-so... wh-what d-do you pl-plan t-to get?"

A smile made it's way back on to Magic's face, but he didn't let Lamia see. "I'm gonna get a burger. They have lots of different types of food. So I'm sure you could find something you will like." He looked at the door. "Come on lets go inside. He said. He then pushed open the door, and inside was a bit nice looking.

Inside it had a wooden floor, and a wooden bar, and tables. There were booths and normal tables. Lights with green glass shades hung from the ceiling and sat above the booth tables. Even the booth seats were the same shade of green as the lamps were. There were lights above the normal table area but those where like holes in the ceiling and made up for the true light in the place. It was still pretty dark in the place though. It held a relaxing mood, even though there was a bar. It had a decent amount of people in it, but there was still plenty of places to sit.

A hostess stood at what was like a podium, and greeted the two friends. "How many?" She asked. Magic held up two fingers to show thats how many there where. He was still taking in all the conversations that he was hearing at the moment. Damn, it was filling his mind quite well. Something about a date, a family talking about spending less time on electronics, a young boy pitching a fit because they did have this strange chip brand.. damn.. he was feeling like a snoop at the moment. A solid frown stayed on his face, as he, and Lamia followed the hostess to the booth. Who placed the two menus down on the table.

Magic sat down, but instead of going and looking at the menu, he sat down place his elbows on the table, and slouched a little, and covered his ears with his hands. Why did he have to choose this place? We couldn't he have chosen a crowded area where all the noises would have been merged together? Here there weren't that many noises so he could hear everything that was going on. He could even hear the gossip chatter of the employees. This was annoying..

She should've been happy coming into the place. Instead, there was the aching feeling that something was completely off and she couldn't force herself to smile. Hesitantly, Lamia followed Magic inside, and the first thing she wound up doing after stepping in, was wince at the bright light and flinch back. Too much light... her eyes had to adjust and refocus, everything seemingly an intense blur of white and green. Dragging her hood down further in an attempt to block out any more beams, she blinked a few times, her face growing red from embarrassment. Odd looks were shot her way, scorching into the back of her head, and the girl stammered an awkward sorry before catching up to Magic at their table.

Stupid, it's not even that bright in here, she scolded herself. You fucking idiot. Her gaze watched the floor in front of her, frozen in place as though she was unable to look away. There was a drawn out silence, only the murmurs and gossip of people a good distance away echoing the place, chattering about whatever normal people talked about. Nervously, Lamia looked up only to see Magic covering the sides of his head, as though he were in pain. Crap. She forgot. Fidgeting nervously, the only thing she could think to do was wring her hands and hope it would work out.

What the hell was she thinking? Stupid, selfish, idiotic, you... goddammit. She couldn't do a single thing right. Not at all. Why was she so self-centered? Keep trying to be helpful to others and then fail at noticing when they actually need help. Why was she so pathetic and useless? A worried look flashed through her eyes, and the corners of her lips were turned downward, a frown as she opened her mouth to say something, the words failing to escape the trap inside her throat. Do something you idiot. He's a friend and you like him, don't you? Lamia tried to find some kind of excuse to tell the voice in her head to shut up. The only one she could come up with was fragile and part of her nature.

Something is wrong, was the only thing to come to mind. Her lips pursed themselves, and she knew one thing: there wasn't much noise here, so how could.... oh. Because there was less sound around, he could hear everything more clearly. What the hell? Why couldn't she figure this out sooner? Lamia thought about doing the same thing as that night before, but... he wouldn't appreciate it. Before, it was only because they were alone and she didn't really have anything on her. This time however, she kind of did.

Looking through her bag, she rummaged through it, hoping that the item she thought about was there. It has to be in here... I know I put it in... Come on, come on... There! A small triumphant glint shined in her eyes for a brief moment, before she took it out of its socket. In her hands was a MP3 player, earphones spiraled snugly around the device like a snake coiling around a tree. She was glad she thought about this beforehand... It was a given in a city like this.

Lamia, unsure of how to get his attention, slid the player across the table gently and as smoothly as she could, until it was right under his eyes. Unfortunately, she couldn't reach far enough with just her arm; she had stood up just a bit, bending over to get it there decently. On her face was a timid, nervous smile, "I-I-I th-thought it m-might h-help, so... I... u-uhm... y-yeah." Her stupid voice and faltering. Did she really need a reason to justify everything? Yes, you do.

"I-I'm s-s-sorry if I-I'm n-not being h-helpful..." Her hand was still gently clasped over the MP3 player, ready to take it back if he refused. Something in her mind told her Magic wasn't going to take it. Uneven bangs fell over her eyes, hiding her weak, delicate gaze.

Why did there have to be so many conversations? The boy closed his eyes and clenched his teeth. Even his hands weren't helping block out the sound. Why did his hearing have to be so great.. It really sucks.. He just wanted normal hearing for once. Was that so hard to ask? Apparently it was because his hearing never went away or returned to normal.. He could always try to suppress the sounds but that would just tire him out.. Also people would notice that something was up because suddenly everything would be quieter, and they would have an issues hearing each other... Even Lamia would have a hard time hearing him..

One of his hands tried to dig into the table, but because of it's smooth surface his fingers just slid. What was he to do? Thats when he heard something slid across the table. He opened his eyes, and looked at the small device in front of him. Then he looked up at Lamia who was standing a little bit. Then he looked back to the device. Should he take it and listen to it? It would help with his problem but it would make it hard to hear Lamia. Oh what should he do? Maybe only have it in one ear? That would maybe provide enough distraction.. It could be worth a shot.

Mason removed his hands from his ears, and picked up the device. He slowly unwrapped the cord. He looked at the mp3 player now that it wasn't wrapped in headphone cords.. What music could have been on it? Maybe it would have something he would recognize.. He placed on of the earphones in his ear, and turned the device on. He flinched a little bit as the music started playing. It was a bit loud to him. It may have not been to Lamia, but to him it was. He turned the volume down to the lowest it could go but had it to where something could be heard. That setting was still a bit loud but it would do.

He could still hear the conversations a little bit, but if he focused on the music he didn't hear them at all. It was nice.. A smile smile replaced the gritted teeth, as he listened to the music. Now he could actually focus on reading the menu. He looked at Lamia nodding a thanks to her. He didn't want to say anything because he was afraid it would be too loud. Also she might have been appreciating the silence maybe. She was being helpful that was for sure.