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The cold weather finally broke, but with it came the rain. Alex never minded rain, even in Montana, even in Vermont. Rain was actually a little comforting, she could sleep for days listening to it. After manifesting, she'd taken to doing some strange things just to feel normal. In her search for normalcy, she found that lying in the rain while it was colder out really made her feel something. It pricked against her skin and she would come back in shivering, but it was a feeling she wouldn't part with.
She had a set-up on the roof of the dormitory. More often than she should, she found her way up there, headphones plugged into the jack on her cell. She stepped out onto the roof and made her way over to her spot where she pocketed her cellphone and turned it all the way up before she laid down. The cement was cold against her skin, but she soaked it in. Alex slid her eyes shut and absorbed the music that filled her ears.
While she laid there, she knew she didn't have to worry. Sam knew where to find her, but he also usually kept his distance when she got like this. It wasn't that she didn't want her brother's comfort, she just couldn't quite be strong for him when she got this way. And it gave them the breathing room they both needed. It only took a few minutes before the rain started and with her eyes closed, she was completely unaware of her surroundings.
A vice Wes seemed to have a bad time of breaking was smoking. He hated the habit but it was a little hard to kick. Especially when his emotions were heightened. A kid had gotten severely injured on his watch, there was nothing anyone could do but it still made Wes feel guilty as shit for letting it happen.
He went up the roof he thought nobody came up to to light up but the moment he struck his lighter, rain poured down and the Brit sighed. He pocketed his lighter and cigarette and tipped his head back, letting the rain fall on his face.
He pointed to the sky with a knowing smirk as he turned to leave but in the corner of his eyes, he saw feet and with a raised eyebrow, he walked over to inspect. What he found had him squinting. She seemed to be perfectly still so he walked closer and squatted down, tapping her knee with two fingers, hoping she would move.
If she hadn't been plugged into her phone, she might have missed the voice that echoed behind her music. You're no longer alone on the roof, but I don't think you'll mind much. Even after ten years of having her ability, it always surprised her when she heard the metallic tone of her own device. It was like a second nature for it to talk to her, but she still felt crazy whenever she heard it.
As if on cue, she felt a tap on her knee and her eyes fluttered open against the rain that was still coming down on her face. Alex plucked the buds from her ears and pushed herself up so that she was leaning back on her hands. For a minute, all she could do was look at him. She didn't recognize him, although that was never really surprising to her. It annoyed her if anything because she wanted to be aware of those around her more than they were aware of her. Her eyes traveled over him, giving a once over to assess and analyze him. Her eyes narrowed and she finally spoke, "I looked dead again, didn't I?"
It was probably the wrong question to ask given that he was a stranger, but Alex was trying to joke. Sam and Emmett understood her humor, she just didn't know if anyone else would or not. She didn't often waste words on other people.
It wasn't until she sat up that Wes actually looked at her. He'd seen his fair share of beautiful women; his family was already chock full of them, but he had never seen one quite like this. He could only thank whoever was listening that Prue wasn't with him right then. Who knows what aura she would have seen coming off of him then.
As much as she was staring at him, he was obviously staring at her and he only moved when she opened her mouth.
"Again?" He responded with a small smirk. "You make a habit looking like a corpse on roofs, love?"
The accent that came with his words made her arch an eyebrow. She must have had a tracking device on her for foreigners with the way they were coming out of the woodworks. It suited him nicely, though. He was the kind of British that she'd always been fascinated by on screen. Not the disgusting and trashy types that were also a little on the popular side. Her eyes remained on him and she chose to disregard the 'love' thing, pegging it on some cultural thing that she didn't get.
Alex chewed on her lip and shrugged, "I never realize when I'm doing it, but I've had it pointed out by a few people." She always got very still when she was engulfed in the music she played. Especially with the rain falling around her, she was just so serene and relaxed that she didn't move, except when she breathed. And even then it was subtle.
She ran her fingers through her now soaked hair, "What are you doing up here? It's raining, ya know?" And while she question was surely going to be turned around on her, she at least felt like she had a legitimate reason. Most people hated the rain, or rather, they hated getting soaked to the bone. She'd never minded it though. That's what showers and warm clothes were for when she got back to her room.
Her answer had him chuckling as he finally sat down properly, leaning against a skylight wall with one leg up bent at the knee while the other lay on the wet concrete. He'd met a few weirdos on campus but while she was definitely one, she seemed less odd than the rest. There was something about her that Wes couldn't quite point to what made her less unlikeable.
"Oh yeah? I hadn't noticed." He responded with a smirk before shrugging. "Came up to smoke." He added after a short while. "Stayed for the rain though."
He nodded at her and asked the same question. "You look like you could be blown off by a gust of wind."
The sarcastic remark she got from him made her lips twitch and she narrowed her eyes. It wasn't often that her sarcasm was matched, save for her twin, people didn't often try. It was refreshing having someone that challenged her before he even knew her name.
The rest of what he said resonated with her as well. He'd stayed for the rain and she'd come for the rain. It was a little surprising that someone would linger only to get drenched, but Alex was not one to judge about it. She gave a small shrug, "I'm not as frail as I look, I'll have you know." She pushed herself back up and folded her legs underneath her. Alex pulled at her t-shirt that was clinging to her from the rain and she scrunched her nose.
"Anyway, is there a reason you poked at me other than the dead stillness thing?" She lifted her eyes and arched an eyebrow. It wasn't often that people went out of their way to socialize, was it? Alex definitely would have ignored anyone else if they'd been on the roof.
Wes looked at her when she responded to his quip and he narrowed his eyes with a vague hand gesticulation that seemed to be the non-verbal "Agree to disagree".
He tried not to let his eyes waver anywhere lower than her neck as she sat up. Her question made him shrug. "Not really. I just like making conversations in the rain. If you had turned out to be a dead still thing, I would have poured my heart out to you about the fucked day I've had."
He then gestured to her headphones. "What were you listening to?"
Alex was annoyed by the fact that she found him funny. She didn't even know him, hadn't seen him around, and she thought he was funny. What was with that? Instead of showing him that he was funny with a laugh or a smile, she just looked at him, stared actually. Alex could hear the mumbling of a familiar voice through the headphones that were dangling around her neck. As she lifted one back to her ear, she heard it a little clearer.
He's funny and cute and his accent is dreamy, just get over it already.
She lifted the other headphone to him when he asked what she was listening to, happy that he wouldn't be hearing the same thing that she was. "Hozier, Work Song. Ever heard of it? Or him? If not, I'm afraid we have nothing left to discuss because he's a god," She shrugged. Alex wiped the rain from her face and started ringing out her shirt, exposing a small strip of her abdomen. Frankly, she didn't really care or see that it would be distracting.
Her stare made Wes raise an eyebrow but he wasn't the type to back down from a staring contest. He added a little smirk before she handed him the earpiece. As she spoke, he shrugged as he vaguely remembered who she was talking about.
He listened to the song and scooted closer to her, only slightly distracted when she started wringing her clothes.
Wes wasn't that big a fan of the music being produced now but every once in a while, his baby sister would get him hooked on something new and apparently this girl was doing the same thing for him. The song was pretty good.
"Mm. Very nice." He nodded and returned the ear piece to her. "I'm Wes by the way. And I'm staying here. The cold is nice."
His proximity bothered her more than his humor did. She supposed it made sense, the earbuds could only be so far from each other before they didn't reach. She dropped her shirt and glanced at him to gauge his reaction of the song. Part of her hoped that he hated it because then she could tell him to find another spot on the roof, but she also sort of wanted him to love it the way that she did because the rain and the music, it just fit. It was euphoric and the closest thing to human that she felt. It made her feel like a person rather than a robot, but he wouldn't know that because he didn't know her.
He returned the bud to her and she pulled the other one from her ear. "Very nice? That's it? Are you serious?" She snorted and placed the palm of her hand to her forehead, "No, you don't describe Hozier in the rain as very nice. That's like describing a haircut that you actually hate to the person who cut it. Hozier in the rain is worth more than a very nice." She pointed out plainly.
When he said that he was staying put, she shrugged and bit her lower lip. She knew that the social norm was to give her name back, so she reluctantly did, "I'm Alex and you can do whatever you want Wes. But only if you take back the very nice comment. I'm sorry, it's just how it has to be."
Wes watched the girl as she defended the music. His eyes narrowed slightly as a counter argument built in him before he decided against it. He decided he didn't see a point to it.
"I can't very well take it back, love. It's out there." Wes waved his hand vaguely in the air and smirked slightly. "It's definitely a lot different than most of the new songs out now. And I do like my mellow music. So yes, it's very nice." He reiterated with a shrug.
"Tell me what you think about Hozier in the rain, then."
Alex took a deep breath in and let it out as a heavy sigh. Her hand on her forehead dropped to her fingers pinching the bridge of her nose. Maybe it was a British thing, they didn't know how to express their thoughts past pleasantries such as 'very nice.' She could blame it on that right? It wasn't as though she knew any Brits.
When he asked her to explain what she thought of Hozier in the rain, she froze up. He wouldn't understand if she did, so why should she try? Alex looked down, ignoring the rain that was slipping down her face and dripping from her nose. It was ironic that she was trying to explain music that she only ever listened to when she felt disconnected. Typically she listened to more techno and dubstep renditions of songs because they weren't as organic, they were more mechanical with audio adjustments and different sounds.
She bit her lip and looked up at him, "It's just raw. It's undeniably raw. Listening to Hozier in the rain is like letting all of whatever emotions you have pent up hit you like a train. Whether they're good or not, you feel everything all at once. And then it just stops and you feel calm and empty." She dropped her eyes again and laughed, "Which is all I ever want to feel."
As she spoke, Wes listened. After years of living with Prue, he'd gotten quite good at it. This chick was intense too. In a rather different way than his baby sister, but he could see the same passion and emotion in this woman.
He smiled and held one hand out to her. "Alright then. Play it back from the beginning. Let me see if I can feel it too." He responded before lying on his back, closing his eyes and letting the rain fall all over him.
His hand was still up, curling close and open repeatedly as a gesture for Alex to hurry. "Come on then. I've got to get back to the monsters soon."
She was taken back by his request. Alex had expected him to laugh at her and say she was crazy. It was how she felt, especially when she had the word gush happen. Something she found that she struggled with was how much to say and when. Most of the time she varied from saying nothing to saying too much all at once without even breathing.
He laid back and she scooped up her phone to rewind the song. "Pushy, jeez." Once she had it set up, she put the headphone back in her ear and laid down beside him. Alex kept the distance that she could what with being connected to him by the headphones. Her eyes closed as the song started from the beginning and she took a deep breath in, letting it out slowly and going back to how she'd been when he found her, perfectly still.
By the time the song ended, Alex had her eyes open and she was staring up at the sky. She hesitantly glanced over at him, trying to gauge his reaction this time around. When she couldn't read him, she prompted, "So?"
