In a world of my own. OPEN

[zack]

Being a library aide, while something most students didn't want to do, had it's advantages. At least it did if you were Zack Walsh, bookworm extraordinaire. Sometimes, like now, he got a break from shelving. This time was of course used to sit on the floor with his book of choice. Today found him with Harry Potter. Book 5 to be exact. Well, it was something at least. He yawned and leaned back against the shelf. At least there was someplace to hide in this madhouse.

Now hopefully no one would bother him. That was what seemed to happen lately. Apparently people here actually notcied him or some nonsense..

[simonsmith]

Simon walked into the library. He smiled ever so slightly, inhaling the musty smell of the books. There was nothing quite like that scent. It always did manage to ease his mind. He walked past the few computers and the old card catologue, and nodded in acknowledgment to the Librarian as he walked directly into the stacks.

He ignored the shelves of ghastly fiction books and headed towards the non fiction. The history books to be precise. Simon always had enjoyed reading about the past, anything from wars, empires falling, trade and economic trends. He found that far more interesting than reading about things that never had, and never would happen.

As he wandered into the right row, he frowned, there was a dark haired boy sitting against one of the stacks, reading one of those horrible Harry Potter books. Well that was unexpected, and definitely unwelcome. He heaved a sigh, walking over to him Excuse me, but you're in my way.[/size]

[zack]

Zack yawned as he flipped the pages. Too bad he couldn't be in a magic boarding school. It would certainly be better than being here. Although, some of the people here would be even more terrifying if you added magic. Urgh... That was definitely not a pleasant thought.

He was just pondering how much destruction there would be if the level fours were all wizards when another student spoke. Rather rudely, one should add.

Zack stumbled getting up, making sure he held his page. "I'm really sorry," he was, as always, barely audible. "I wasn't expecting anyone in here. "

[simonsmith]

Simon raised an eyebrow straining to hear the quiet voice as the boy stumbled to stand up. Shy and soft spoken was not what he had grown to expect here. Curious. He spared him another glance before crouching down to the lower shelf on the stack, scanning the book spines for a title that struck his interest. He ran his a slender finger along the books, finally stopping on a hefty volume about the salt trade in Edo era Japan. That would do nicely.

He pulled the book out and stood, clutching to his chest. “ I wasn't expecting anyone either, this area is normally fairly empty.” He said curiously trying to place the boy. Considering Simon made a habit of observing everyone and everything around him, (to the point some would consider a little alarming) the fact that he had never seen the dark haired boy struck him as odd. Perhaps he was new. Or one of those rare people who preferred to stay in the shadows and out of the limelight. [/size]

[zack]

Zack watched the other boy make a selection. Large, nonfiction. History. Interesting. Another person with a brain.

He noticed the older boy observing him. "I'm a librarians' assistant when I'm not in class," he offered up as an explanation. "I'd just finished reshelving." He bit down on his bottom lip and shifted his hair over his eyes. Crap, he was showing his nervousness again. "I should probably go look..." he trailed off. Any excuse to get away from conversation would be welcome. But he had decided at the beginning of the year to look for suitable companions. Why was talking to people so hard? It probably wasn't normal to be terrified of human contact. The therapists had mentioned that at some point. Should he introduce himself?

[simonsmith]

Simon watched with increasing fascination as the boy mumbled awkwardly, shifting his hair to cover his face. Interesting. He seemed genuinely nervous. That part in him that craved understanding woke. Why was he so on edge? Why was so hesitant to speak, to get away?

Certainly Simon had been known to have that effect on people when he wasn’t wearing his normal ‘mask’. Though he wasn’t putting the effort into the charming façade he occasionally wore at the moment, he hadn’t said or done enough to merit this kind of reaction. Could this boy be more perceptive than most? Simon could assume that the boy was relatively bright, despite his less than stellar choice of novel, not many people their ages would volunteer time working in a library. Maybe he was bright enough to notice that something was off about Simon.

That thought brought a small smile to his face, indeed, that would be something he’d never encountered before. Shrinks, yeah, they saw what was under the surface, but only because he let them. Regular people he met only saw what he decided to project to them. That there could be someone in this school, of all places, to see through the disguise to the cold thing that lived where his heart should be, well that was positively remarkable. Or, of course, the guy could just be shy around people. Either way, Simon’s curiosity was piqued, and his urge to understand the motivations and actions of so called normal human beings was getting the better of him.

Though it wasn’t an entirely appealing notion, he once again dusted off that mask that helped him fit in with everyone else. For the sake of knowledge, he could be that normal guy. Simon smiled amiably, leaning back against the shelf, letting his body visibly relax and his stance change into something less ridged. People were always so aware of body language. “ That’s cool. I would be horrible at that job, spend more time reading than reshelving.” he said in a joking banter “I’m Simon.”[/size]

[zack]

Why was he smiling? Stop smiling! He hadn't said anything funny. Had he? Zack chewed inside his lip. This guy radiated scary. Then again, most people were like that to Zack. But this guy was different. For someone reason...

He seemed to be making an attempt at friendly banter. Talking about how he'd read more than work. How did he know? That was exactly what Zack did.

"Um, you learn to get used to it. Helps you find books faster. My name is Zack." he held out a small hand for Simon to shake.

[simonsmith]

Simon regarded the boy's outstretched hand for a moment, before lifting his own and grasping lightly. “ Nice to meet you Zack.” He said with a nod, holding on perhaps a second too long before letting the other boy's hand drop. He casually crossed his arms over his chest, keeping the smile planted on his lips. The pale younger man still looked nervous, and Simon itched to know why. If only you could crack open people's brains and route around inside for the information you wanted, it really would make things so much simpler.

Alas, that was not possible, so he was forced to do it the hard, conversation and observation. At least it was a project of sorts. Salt trade could wait, for the moment at least, this was more entertaining. “You have a point, though I've managed to learn the setup pretty well anyways.” he chuckled “ How long have you been working here? I'm surprised I haven't seen you before.”

[zack]

Nice to meet him? Ha. Zack gave Simon a slight smile anyway. This guy was a little creepy, no doubt about that, but it wouldn't be good to piss him off. Zack did not need people messing with him here like they did back home. That didn't stop him from wishing Simon would just leave him to his book. He only got a little time alone to read.

But no, still more questions. Urgh. "Since I started going here. August." Was that right? Sounded about right. His transcript had been good so he was allowed an in-school job pretty early. It was odd that they'd never seen one another before. "I tend to stay out of the way."

[simonsmith]

Simon grinned a little, the younger boy was still strongly projecting a 'Go away' vibe. It would be easy enough to do, just walk away and leave him with his questionable taste in literature, and go back to spending a quiet afternoon alone. But then, it was hard to resist staying. Aside from the wanting to know what was making him so nervous, Simon also couldn't help but get a kick from the fact that the other boy was so uncomfortable.

Simon understood that he was in dangerous territory, this sort of behavior, and the urge to, for lack of a better word, screw, with other people is what landed him in BAD in the first place, and he'd dne a good job of ignoring those impulses and making himself out to be normal here. Well, as normal as someone like him really ever could be. Simon waved off the thought, it wasn't as though he was going to do anything to the boy, and if he was skittish and uncomfortable, well that was hardly Simon's fault, and he couldn't be blamed for enjoying it.

Simon nodded at Zack's response, the easy smile still on his face “ Ah, that's not so surprising then. I usually stay out of the way too.” he nodded [/size]

[zack]

Why was he just standing there? Was Simon trying to send him into panic mode?

No, that was silly. Zack hadn't mentioned anxiety, and no one here knew he had it. Oh great, he'd just developed paranoia too. What a hypochondriac.

No, this was just a normal conversation, with a normal-ish person. He was just overreacting like always.

Try to be friendly. Try. He scolded himself. Yeah right, easier said than done. "Um, what year are you?" Grade seemed safer. He wasn't sure he wanted to know the level. LEvels could be misleading anyway. Pixel was high level but nice. There were nastier level ones.

Zack fought to make himself look at ease. He leaned against the book shelf, making a slight hair flip like he'd seen other kids do.

[simonsmith]

Simon watched the other boy, though masked his fascination. Regular people were unnerved when they noticed someone paying too close attention to them. Though to be fair, this Zack was still clearly uncomfortable, which only served to make Simon more interested. Not only was he not doing anything that should put someone on edge, he was actually putting forth the energy to appear friendly and personable. Perhaps the boy had some other underlying issues, suffered from a social phobia of sorts. Now normally, one of the few things Simon actually enjoyed was making other people uncomfortable. But that was when he was doing it on purpose, as a hobby of sorts. That being said, his other favourite pastime had always been worming his way into someone’s confidence, learning all he could about them, then using that information to either turn them into manipulated puppets or slowly widdle away at them until they were on the verge of a breakdown.

Not for the first time, Simon reminded himself that the latter was the reason he was in this school, and though he didn’t mind the place, another episode like the one that sent him here would likely have him locked up for good. Which he would rather like to avoid. But he argued to his brain, he wasn’t trying to get into this kids head for any nefarious purpose. He just wanted to understand why he acted like he did. That wasn’t so bad, it was simply curiosity. Simon chose to ignore the fact that it usually started as curiosity, but rarely stayed that way. He’d been getting bored. And clearly, if this boy’s reaction to him was anything to go by, was getting rusty. Unacceptable.

So he smiled, “ Junior. This is my second year at the school, and because I know it always comes down to it, I’m a level three.” he said amiably, casually flicking his own hair out of his face, mirroring Zack’s own movements, for some odd reason, people tended subconsciously emulate a person’s mannerisms in conversation when they were comfortable with them. Such an odd behavior, but Simon couldn’t argue with human nature. He’d noticed himself that when he would do it, people relaxed around him more. “ How about you?”

[larksong]

Leslie entered the library and turned all around. There were many shelves of books, but not as many as in the Library at Seattle.

"I guess it will do." she sighed, picking an aisle to stroll down. That was when she saw two boys talking, one was holding a Harry Potter book, one of her favourites. Casually, so not to bring attention to herself, Leslie looked on the shelves. Many titles of books popped out at her, and she finally selected one, titled ''A book of Wilderness and Jungle'. The blonde girl grimaced, the closest she'd come to a smile for a long time. Opening the book the green eyed lady saw it was interesting, describing adventures and telling of the peace of the old wilderness and jungle. It made her want to cry. it was horrible what people today had done to the beauty of the wild. Leslie stumbled and fell into the line of sight of the two boys, just as the older on was asking what level the younger on was in.

"Sorry." she whispered, her lips twitched into a smile for a moment. "Not that it matters, but I'm a level three."