Raindrops and Puddles

Shivering one more time against the cold wind, Jason stepped around the Winter and shut the door behind them. He let out a small huff of air, wondering how many other students were even in their rooms, or napping, or trapped like him and Evelyn had been. The young man motioned for her to follow, walking through a few corridors and taking her into Dorm 401. Glancing around the center between their rooms, he didn't spot any of the others, nor could he hear them.

Jace walked by their doors anyways, giving a small knock on each as he passed. Penny and Verona, maybe they had something Evelyn could borrow - and Jayden because Hell, why not? He didn't bother waiting though, swinging open the door to his room and leaving it open for her. "Sorry for the mess." he called, tossing his blazer and bag by his dresser, forgetting the magazines on his pillow. He threw a few clothes off his bed so she could sit and went to grab a few towels from the bathroom. On the windowsill, a few picture frames sat of differencing nature. One of him and his brother from many years ago, one of an actress he found most attractive, and another of his whole family. They all looked dim though against the dark, pouring rain behind it.

Evelyn followed him in silence, the only sounds being the faint-sounding rain beating against the roof and their footsteps ringing around the hall. It wasn't long before they paused by a door, with 401 wrought in gilded letters, and stepped inside.

Her gaze flicked from corner to corner, trying to absorb it all as Jace led her through the wreckage. Dirty laundry lay strewn across the floor, papers and notes were pasted crookedly on the walls, and piles of books were stacked in haphazard piles in corners. Evelyn had never really bought into stereotypes, but she had never seen the Winter Dorm look this messy. No one's here. Her eyes glazed over each door in turn as they passed. Just us, I guess. She couldn't decide if that was good or bad, and determined that it was probably a mix of both. Unsure of what to say, she over-stepped a forgotten blanket lying on the ground, and entered Jace's room.

She held back a teasing remark and smiled softly. "O-Oh, it's fine." Evelyn's eyes followed him as he cast his blazer and bag aside (not even in the drawer!), and left. Suddenly she was alone. With careful grace, the girl sat herself down on the small space that had been cleared for her and sat in silence, with only shadows and still photos for company. The first was innocent enough; Jace and Jayden together, much younger, but the one next to it made her groan. Of course. Tall, curvy, flirtatious green eyes, long wavy brown hair... Claire Osborne; a stunningly beautiful, famous, Oscar-winning actress. Evelyn couldn't stand her, or her stupid pretty face, or all her stupid fans. She wished she could punch her through the frame. What the hell was he doing with a photo of her anyways?

Evelyn grabbed handfuls of sheet and looked to the next one, a family photo full of unfamiliar faces except.. She narrowed her eyes, focusing on a tall girl with black hair that fell to her hips. Wasn't that...? Her mind flashed back to the Formal, and the girl accompanying Montare. Oh.

Jason reached into a cabinet and pulled out three towels, taking two and quickly tossing them to the space on the bed aside her. "Here you go, Snowflake." He said quickly with a smile before ducking back inside. Glancing into the mirror, he felt like he could laugh. He looked like a complete mess. The blonde ran a hand through his damp hair, pulling at the collar that was stuck seeping to his skin. This wouldn't do at all. The Autumn searched quickly through the top of his laundry basket, grabbing some old pajama bottoms he'd worn the night before - quickly taking a whiff to make sure they were in fact still wearable and changing quickly behind the door.
Jace went to step out again before seeing himself in the mirror - and admiring himself a bit, realizing he should maybe put a shirt on. Well, it wasn't the first she had seen him without, he remembered - but not in his room... There was a girl in his room. And they were alone...

Normally, this would've been something to be excited about, but he wasn't sure how to feel about it. Jason peeked out, watching her stare seemingly out the window for a few heartbeats before stepping out. He quickly went to the dresser, grabbing a shirt and slipping into it before grabbing another tee and tossing it to her as well. "If you wanna change in there, you can... or whatever..." He mused awkwardly, glancing up long enough to follow her gaze to the picture frames. He smiled, letting out a weak chuckle. "My family..." He said simply. Don't even remind him about Cyth and Montare, for the love of God. "And my wife. She just doesn't know we're married yet." Jace joked, gesturing towards the picture of Claire. He glanced outside the window, watching the rain pane against the glass.

"Agh...!" Evelyn snatched one towel out of the air as she turned, but the other slapped into her and wrapped around her face in a terrible, scratchy embrace. She pulled it off and managed a cursory gracious smile, but he was gone again. Yeah, thanks... She ran one towel over her face, her hair, her neck. Back in the cafe things had come so much more easily, but now she felt off and awkward, clumsy with her thoughts and words. Her eyes wandered back over to the window, trying to calm the anxiety rising in her chest. There was no reason to feel so uneasy. She was just in someone's room... alone... with him...

Her attention snapped back to the bathroom door as Jace quietly stepped out, and her face reddened. Evelyn tore her gaze away and began to fidget with her hands, but without her permission, her eyes kept flicking up and stealing glances at him. It wasn't the first time, but alone, it felt so much worse.

The shirt caught her off guard.

It landed with a crumple into her lap. "O-Oh... Uh... T-T-T-Thanks..." She managed a weak laugh at his little joke and gingerly picked the shirt up by the sleeves, as if it was toxic. The very notion of wearing a boy's shirt seemed wildly inappropriate. But... it'd be rude to refuse. Wouldn't it? On shaking legs she stood and shot him a nervous smile. I'm going to need to change some time. Better than dripping all over his bed... "Um... I, uh, t-think I'll d-do that. C-C-Change, t-that is. Y-Yeah. T-Thanks... I a-already s-s-said t-that..." Evelyn bowed her head, and spinning on her heel, dashed into the bathroom with the shirt clutched in her arms, slamming the door behind her. This post took way too long and is way too shitty. I apologize. Don't hit me again. ;-;

She didn't have to change if she didn't want to, he thought to herself as she seemed completely blown away by the concept of his old shirt, watching her hold it up as if simply holding it too close for too long would kill her. Jason had thought it'd be better than sitting out cold and wet with nothing but a towel to help. "Yeah, no problem..." The words came out slow with no effort to mask his slight uncertainty. Rubbing the back of his neck, he watched as she quickly tripped over her own words, doing a cute, weird little bow and making a break for the bathroom. "Hey, Eve, you sure -" Slam, went the door, almost in his face. Alright, then.

Jace shrugged and went back to his bed, grabbing the towel left in his hands and setting on the damp spot she'd been before, falling back back on it and staring up at the roof. He continued to stare out of the window, the outside dark and the rain thick enough to where you couldn't see a thing. Even while the rain was a beautiful thing, a calming sight and sound for most, he quickly got bored and glanced around. The blonde spotted the magazines on his bed. Grabbing the first, he wasn't too amused, a sports magazine that he'd already read through twice before. He tossed it on the floor by the wall and grabbed the other. This was was far more, well... The more elegant way of putting of it would be to say it was full of playful models and he was certain his mother wouldn't have approved of it. Suddenly panic'd, as he'd forgotten he'd left it out, he grabbed it and quickly stuffed it under his mattress.

He let out a sigh, wondering if that would leave him in the clear. "No rush." Jace called half-heartedly, laughing without humor lowly at himself. He suddenly became paranoid, wondering if there were other things that he'd forgotten about that were worth hiding. He looked around his room quickly, finding nothing obvious, and was to sit back down on the bed. Calm down man, just play it cool. The Autumn grabbed the sports magazine, opting to try and casually read it for the third time. His mind kept wandering, though, wondering what exactly he should do - wondering what Evelyn was doing herself on the other side of the door.

Okay, this is fine. This is totally fine. Evelyn took a deep breath and looked at herself in the mirror, wondering if it was too late to run back out and throw his shirt in his face. Mostly fine. Probably fine. Not fine at all, actually... She grabbed the hem of her shirt pulled it off and over her head and let it drop with a wet plop on the bathroom floor. This was weird. Really weird. Unable to shake her uneasiness, she finally gave another sigh and slipped it on. It tumbled down to mid-thigh, hanging over and hiding much of her drying, dark gray skirt. The clean dry fabric felt nice compared to her clingy soaking shirt from before, but she couldn't shake the strange wrongness of putting on another person's clothes. Maybe I'm just being stupid... She picked at a seam. It felt more like a blanket than a shirt, and looked baggy and loose on her small frame. Better than being a wet, I guess. That's what she told herself, anyways, not knowing if that was true. The Winter kicked off her shoes as well, bending over to peel the sodden socks off her feet. I might be here awhile.

She gingerly cracked the door open and slipped outside, looking down to try and hide her blush. "Um... S-Sorry." Evelyn didn't know what she was apologizing for, but it felt like she was supposed to for... something. The pattering against the window told her that she hadn't spent all that time changing in vain. That was a relief, she supposed. One of many things that wouldn't go wrong. Unless it began to let up soon... would that be good, or bad? The girl padded quietly across the carpet and silently took a seat beside him, careful to leave a foot of space between them. "Um. W-What are y-you r-r-reading?" A quick look told her all she needed to know; ESPN: WHY PETER ADRIANSON IS LITERALLY A GOAT. A muscled dark-skinned man stood stoically and topless on the cover, glaring at her like she shot his puppy. He held a Vikings helmet underneath one arm. Jace didn't quite strike her as an athletic man, but maybe he was making an effort to change that. It would certainly explain th... Evelyn found her face heating up again and turned those thoughts away and began to absentmindedly fiddle with her hands, looking down at her lap instead.

Jason tried not to watch her as she stepped out of the bathroom, nor as she walked over and sat gingerly on the bed beside him. He wasn't sure what he was expecting, but he had to admit to himself that seeing her in that baggy, over-sized shirt of his wasn't exactly unattractive. He quickly brushed the thought aside, though, pretending to read his magazine again and rubbing his temple again. Although the run and the cold rain had chased away his headache for a bit, it was quickly finding it's way back again. Maybe he was getting sick or something? "Ah. Just a few articles about -" He actually glanced down at the page, seeing it was nothing but a Nike ad. "Erm. Shoes?" The words stumbled out of his mouth as he forced a small, awkward laugh.

The young man shook his head, closing the magazine and tossing it back on the floor. Looking back on it, he supposed the famed Vikings player (i c whut u ded thar btw) would've been a better subject, if she were even into football. Was she? He sighed, glancing out the window. This was going to be a long night, he thought, a sharp pang shooting through his head - almost as if a forewarning. A small flash of lightning lit the room for a split second. "I think you might be stuck here for the night, Snowflake." Jace mused, stretching out his arms. "I'll take the floor." He didn't mind. It'd seem rude to throw a guest on the floor instead. He'd just need a pillow.

"Oh," she said simply, glancing back at the page and then back to her hands. "Uh, c-c-cool. Hehe... heh... heh..." Her laugh trailed off as he threw the magazine to the side, and Peter Adrianson fell back to earth with a flop. God, I'm so awkward... Whatever confidence she had back in the cafe was long gone by now, washed away after their heated race through the rain. Would their Spring vacation be like this too? I think she might have already thought this, but whatever, I can't remember. If he was even being serious... But he was serious, right? Nobody would go around asking that if they didn't really mean it... Right? She swallowed her nervousness and shifted on the bed, trying her best to hide her restless fingers. How long will this last, anyways?

The lightning answered her question.

"O-Oh, n-n-no..." Evelyn looked up at him, and her blush deepened. 'I could just run back,' she wanted to say, but the words caught in her throat, something keeping her from speaking out. Maybe it was the unwillingness to run out into a storm after dark, or maybe it was out of some fear of offending. I don't think I've stayed over in someone elses room before. The realization of that made panic rise in her chest. "I..." She looked to the hard floor, where Peter Adrianson lay staring back up at her with cold dark eyes. "I-I c-can take the f-f-floor... I m-mean, it's y-your r-r-room... I w-wouldn't m-mind."

The Autumn laughed a littke, running a hand through his hair and shaking his head at her suggeston, though he knew he honestly should've known better and seen it coming. It was easy to imagine the blush on her cheeks, even in the dark room. "Take the bed, Eve. It's fine." Jace shot her a tired look. Normally, he wouldn't have been so brash about it, but his headache was starting to wear out his patience, though he still felt a little bad. He smiled a bit, "I don't mind the floor either." The blond glanced at her before grabbing a pillow and the thinner of two blankets on the bed.

Tossing the pillow lazily on the floor, he wondered for a moment whether or not this was a good idea. It didn't seem like a big deal to him. After all, they had to share a room eventually, right? Either on that Glacier trip, or on a mission. He supposed tonight, he was just helping a friend out of the rain? Whatever he came to, Jason still crawled down unto the floor, trying to get comfortable. "Need anything else?" He offered. Last chance.

She opened her mouth to argue, but only a small sigh escaped her lips. Stubborn... Chivalrous too, though. It wouldn't have been hard to have just let her take the floor. "F-Fine, I guess..." Evelyn crawled across the bed and slipped underneath the blankets. It was a common, simple routine, but in someone elses bed, it all felt foreign and new to her. This is weird, she thought, not for the first time. Everything about her time at Beata was weird; monsters, superpowers, the supernatural. Getting in a bed shouldn't have felt so strange then, but it did. Funny how things like that worked. "I'm... I'm g-good." The rain drumming against the window was a sweet rhythmic lullaby, and she felt her eyes already beginning to droop. "Um... T-T-Thanks. F-For... heh, n-nevermind... Goodnight."