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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.
It was a legitimate question. Alex couldn't say that she knew if it would work or not. There was a delicate balance to her and Sam, they had the most ridiculous relationship that she'd ever seen between siblings. And yet, she couldn't say she knew more than what she'd seen on television. She wanted to believe that things would get better once they graduated and were out in the real world. It was only complicated now because they were still worried about the way their abilities were working rather than how they interacted with people.
"I'm not really sure how to, it's just been the way things are for a long time," She shrugged and ran her fingers through her hair. It was strange talking to a stranger about the only person in her life that she felt close to. Sam was her constant. "I'm sorry, this got really serious really fast and I don't, uh, I don't really know why or how. So yeah"
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.
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.
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.
His directness made her eyebrows pull together and she wasn't quite sure how she should answer. Lying didn't benefit her in any way and he was being nice enough, she didn't feel the need to be harsh. She just didn't like painting herself in a bad light to people she didn't even know that well.
"I'm a force to be reckoned with, he doesn't get much choice in our arrangement," She offered with what she thought was a smile, but was probably more of a grimace. Sam never complained about her being in his life unless she was actively trying to be a pain.
Her smile grew and she laughed. She'd never talked to anyone about siblings. Most of the time she liked to pretend that Sam wasn't related to her, but that was all just part of the game they had going. Neither of the Harpers were very forthcoming with their feelings towards anybody. Alex liked to pretend that she was rough and mean and that she hated her brother because he'd always been the favorite. But that was far from the truth. "Sam has me by a few minutes and he's always holding it over my head. But I'm definitely the more mature one. Must be a younger sibling thing," She smiled.
Alex looked down at the table and pursed her lips. She wasn't sure if Sam was really happy with their arrangement. She'd always just forced herself on him as his protector and he took it because he knew that she could do damage to him if the need arose. All she had to do was tell a little white lie and he'd double over in pain. It wasn't the best way to handle things, of that she was sure, but it was a way to keep him from leaving her.
"We have a complicated arrangement, I'm not quite sure he's all that appreciative of me," She shrugged and kept her eyes cast down.
Alex grinned at his agreement for PacMan. It was one of her favorite games growing up and she could play it for hours without stopping and without complaint. She looked to her brother with a grimace and shrugged, "People don't have any appreciation for classics. They're too busy trying to fix things that aren't broken. Bunch'a lunatics if ya ask me."
She placed her coins into the machine beside him and made her way quickly through each level. It was like muscle memory for her, knowing which direction to go when and how to move through the course without running into the ghosts. She was in a dead stare at the screen for a moment before she glanced over at her brother's screen to see where he was at and how many lives he had to spare.
The comparison he drew to his own brother made Alex feel better still. It was the same kind of thing that she did for Sam, it was just something she did for anyone she cared about. Alex grew up a protector, but she wasn't sure where it stemmed from because it had started long before her and Sam manifested.
"That's what I did for my brother, too. He's about as small as I am," She had to laugh because she could hear Sam in her head defending his frailty. But he wasn't the strong type in most ways, not that she was either. "Which one of you is older?" Alex was so interested in getting to know more about someone who could relate to her on a level that she was unfamiliar with. She realized that he was probably used to asking the questions, but wasn't that how conversations worked? Going back and forth, learning new things? It was a little new to her still.
And that was why they were friends. Emmett didn't make her feel like a freak for suggesting silly things like what she had. Although she wasn't scrappy or great at fist fights, she had been protecting her brother her whole life and she wanted to help protect her best friend too. She didn't deserve that kind of behavior.
"Yesssss, let's do this!" Alex slammed down some money onto the bar and slipped off of her barstool, staggering the tiniest bit. She might have been a little more intoxicated than she thought, but she was still feeling the bit of adrenaline that made her want to do something risky. "Where d'we start? I think we need to find clues! What kind of clues d'you got for me?"
When he squeezed her finger, she smiled and leaned into him a little. There was just something about the comfort she could feel with her brother that she didn't have with anyone else. Even as they were ripping each other apart, she still felt much better with him than she did in other social situations. He was one of the only people that she could actually trust, if not the only person.
Alex nudged him, "Oh please. You and I both know that I'm the good one when it comes to video games. You will always be the second high score to me, Sammy." She kept him close as they walked and she avoided groups of people as best as she could. Once they made it to the arcade, she dug around in her pockets for money and paid for some tokens. She could feel her ability being poked and prodded at by all of the machines, but she took comfort in the lesser technologies. They were easier to handle than the newer stuff.
Alex realized she was probably more biased against non-metas than most might be. Her history was proof that people were less than accepting of metas which was probably the biggest reason she allowed herself to be more sheltered from the rest of the world than others were.
"It sounds worse than it is, although I suppose it explains why I'm terrible with social interaction," She laughed. Her mouth often worked as fast as her brain did and it was harder for her to slow down. There were two extremes to her, one that talked nonstop without a break for breathing or the other, complete silence. The only two people that she socialized with knew that much about her, but Sam and Emmett had been part of her life for a long enough time to see it.
Alex chewed on the inside of her cheek, "It was just easier to keep Sam away from people. And I guess I lumped myself with him because we're twins and I just, I'm really protective of my brother."
The familiarity of the sister school name struck her and the tension in her shoulders eased. Well, at least that took care of most worries she had. Although, she knew he could have just been name dropping. He was a reporter, what were the odds that he didn't do his research on schools like Bellefonte? Before she could say as much, he gestured down at the table and her eyes followed to where his pen started lifting in the air.
Alex's eyes widened and she had to laugh, "Well, now that you've just shown me up as far as abilities go, I guess I can stand to answer some questions." She chewed on her lip and took the seat across from him again, folding her hands in front of her to rest on the table. "You want to know how Bellefonte differs from schools like the one you went to?" Alex didn't think she was the best for the job to explain what Bellefonte was like. She and her brother didn't have the normal student life that most others did.
"It's not a bad school, I mean, okay the community surrounding it isn't perfect still, but that's to be expected right?" There was no place on Earth that could be completely safe for them. There was too much prejudice and fear and ignorance in the world for it to be safe. "They do their best though, with what they're given. And I think it's sort of cool that the trainers take into consideration the more extreme mutations and deal accordingly. Like, my brother, he's a human lie detector and he can't be around people very much so we both kind of got sheltered from everyone." She noted that she was beginning to ramble and she stopped, pressing her lips together into a tight line, "Sorry. Lots of information all at once."
Alex felt a little guarded when she gave him her name. She was by no means shy, and he'd given his. However, with the recent events that had happened to one of her closest friends, she supposed she should probably be a little more careful than she usually was. And he'd not given much away of whether he was one or not. All she knew was that he was a reporter and that was almost as dangerous.
Her eyes remained level with his and she pursed her lips, "That depends, are you interrogating me for an article or is this off the record?" Her lips curled into a bit of a smile. It was a fair question, she thought. Better to know her audience as well as he seemed to want to know his. She wasn't reading much from the laptop now that it was shut, but she had a feeling that she was just being paranoid. It was all part of hearing voices.
It was easy to tell that they were both starting to feel the alcohol. Alex had a small enough frame that it never took her much before she was feeling pretty good. What helped more was that she was just having fun instead of drinking because she was angry or stressed out.
Emmett's question brought a light to Alex's eyes, like a bulb lit up over her head. They could do some damage together and Alex was always game for getting into trouble. "Let's go on a manhunt, dude. Find the fucker that messed with you. We can make him or her cry together. God forbid two mutants approach them. I bet they'll have a shit fit." If only she had an ability that was better for causing bodily harm than just being able to stare at computers long enough for them to work.
