Pristine Silence (Open)

[Constance Bumble]

Constance had found herself in the large auditorium, which right now was currently empty, and quite dark. She smiled, sometimes getting lost could be a good thing, she'd been searching for the library, wanting a place to read her books, but this place looked a lot quieter, and the lighting was dimmer in here, she preferred to read with darker lighting, being so used to staying up all nights to read.
She had considered asking a stranger for directions to the library, but she tended to only start a conversation, no matter how small, when she knew the person she was talking to. And she didn't have a phone to call anyone she knew, meaning she had stumbled across the auditorium, the silence in the room was lovely, she was glad she had found it, she'd just wanted a place to get lost in the world she found when she read.

She wore a gentle green summer dress, with black tights and bright red flats, she preferred to wear her boots, but she had planned to go on a walk later and her boots could be quite heavy. Her hair had grown out even more, and she'd cut it again, to it's usual length, meaning that all remains of her blue hair was gone, she was left with her natural white hair, she should probably dye it again, but she was planning on dying it green soon anyway, ready for the spring, maybe she'd even leave it it's natural colour for now, giving her hair a break from the hairdye.

Constance moved down the rows of seats, trying to decide where she could sit to read, but as she got closer to the stage it made her think whether or not she could be any good at acting. The majority of her personality and traits were just like her aunt's, except she didn't have the amazing singing voice for stage as her auntie did, and she was only decent at dancing, whereas her auntie was a brilliant dancer. But there was nothing to say she didn't have her auntie's acting skills.
She thought about this as she reached the stage, she moved to the side of the room and walked up the steps that led up to the stage, and stood at the side of it, still clutching the books to her chest. "We are such stuff as dreams are made on, and our little life is rounded with a sleep." Constance said loudly, her voice piercing the silence that had filled the room before, what she said had been a quote from her favourite Shakespeare play, The Tempest.
The way she said it hadn't really made her feel like she could act, maybe she could if she stood in the middle of the stage. She moved to the centre but didn't even get a chance to repeat the line, she saw all the seats, imagined what it would be like for that many people to stare at her and hurried quickly down the stage steps and into the one of the front row seats. Maybe she should work on her courage first. Constance could feel her fingers tightly clutching the books, released them, and placed them in her lap. One was a fantasy novel that she hadn't read yet, her brother had sent them from the other side of the country, so it would most definitely be good, otherwise he wouldn't have bothered, the other book she had was her favourite, which she carried with her almost everywhere around the academy.

Constance flipped the fantasy book over to read the blurb on the back, attempting to decided whether or not she would enjoy the storyline for the book.

[Exxie]

He tapped the girl on the shoulder. He hadn't been in the auditorium long, but if there was one thing he was good at it was sneaking up on someone.

"Coward." He sometimes fancied himself as that internal voice that berated people. He was feeling kind of mean today. He gave a laugh. However, he didn't want to be too mean. After all, being friendly with this girl in the future could benefit him. Perhaps she'd know something. How to ask her though? He grinned before jogging up to the stage, going in the center and looking out at the seats. He wasn't used to this because he was usually used to aiming to not being seen. However, cocky and confidence as he was, it really didn't have much effect on him.

"Have ye seen a girl name of Jodie Ree-shar in this fair fine institution?" Then he switched from the Shakespearean voice to a redneck comedian voice.

"Say...school is a fine institution. But 'oo the 'ell wants to be in an institution?" Then he vaulted down from the stage and sat in the seat next to the girl.

"Hey. I'm Anthony. I'm a new senior. What about you?" He was genuinely curious about the girl. A bookworm. He knew Jodie had been one too. He could easily imagine them as friends.

[Signal]

Oh the theater... it'd been so long. It felt like he'd been locked in his room for the last few months, just whittling away, staring at the ceiling, hoping for something to change. Nothing ever did change however, the world didn't end... Funny.

So he decided he'd go back to his old haunting grounds, the Auditorium. A place when secluded allowed a theatrician to think, when full, a place where masks and lies were appreciated. Where the unknown was applauded, the violence worshiped, and anyone could be anyone. Poetic really.

Naturally, he wasn't seen behind the curtain, stage left, but he certainly noticed the voice speaking through the silence. Shakespeare... Good choice. Tempest... Good taste.

He stepped toward the curtain to take a look, only to see the girl scamper down off the stage as a child who'd been caught doing something wrong.

Surprisingly, even he did not see the new boy hop behind the girl, which baffled him. Jace was normally a very observant person. Odd.

As the accents changed and the mood lightened, Jace felt it was time to make an entrance. So he did, stepping out from behind the curtain, he gave a bright smile all around, looking at the pair, wearing a suit vest, black slacks, a white button up with the sleeves rolled up, A showman through and through.

"Well hello there. Here I am, just twiddling with some props and suddenly... Poof, I have company. Shakespeare lovers if I was hearing correctly. He slid himself to the edge, looking between the two.

"Now then, what have we.... Here?" He grinned at the boy, then turned to the girl, tilting his head. "A love of theater, accents, perhaps... some chemistry? My name is Jace, and it is a riveting pleasure to meet one such as yourself madame, and to you sir, a fellow man of the arts, respect like none other!"

He placed an elbow on his knee, looking the others over. "Come on, don't be shy. Say hello to your fellow castmates, what's your names?"

[Constance Bumble]

When she felt a tap on her shoulder, she jumped out of her skin, the book she held in her hand dropping to her lap, ontop of the other one. 'Coward' A male voice came from behind her, her head snapped around to look to the stranger, she was frowning nervously, her expression almost scared and her eyes worried. She opened her mouth to say something but no words seemed to come out, he'd already been a kind of rude and she probably wouldn't say much to him if she could.

He than asked her if she'd ever seen Jodie, and her brows arched gently, Jodie was her closest friend, even though she wasn't sure if she was Jodie's. "Yes, I know Jodie." She said simply, with a nod, her voice soft and nervous as she spoke to him.
Then the stranger's accent changed when he spoke again, she wasn't sure which accent was his real one, or if either of them were the real one, her face flooded with worried confusion, not sure how to respond to him, still trying to rack her brains around the different accents he had used.

The male introduced himself as Anthony and told her how he was a new senior, and when he asked about her, she didn't get a chance to reply; another stranger made their entrance, this time she didn't just jump, she leapt out of her chair, her books falling to the floor. "Oh gosh..." She whispered to herself, tucking her white hair behind her ear and leaning down to retrieve her books from the ground, as she stood up, clutching her books to her chest again, her fingers curling tightly around the edges, the other stranger was mentioned that he'd heard Shakespeare. Her lips pressed together and her brow furrowed, her expression verging on scared, two people had heard her, she hadn't even meant for anyone to hear her, the fact that one person had was bad enough, two almost made her want to burst into tears.
Her pale green eyes flicked from one new face to the other but eventually fixed on the smartly dressed male as he spoke to her and Anthony. He tilted his head when he turned to her and her eyes widened slightly, her gaze shifting quickly to Anthony before going back to the other male as he told them his name was Jace. "I-It's a pleasure to meet you too..." She said quietly, her words a little shaky. She didn't know what else to say. She looked to Anthony as Jace spoke to him, then back to him as he addressed them both, 'don't be shy' he said, that was near impossible for her right at this moment. "I'm..." She looked back to Anthony again, he had asked her name before too. "I'm Constance." She told them both, biting down hard on her lip.

[Exxie]

Anthony saw the girl jump and he grinned mischievously. In fact, his mischievous grin bordered on maniacal. It pleased him more than he would usually let on that she looked a bit scared. So this girl knew Jodie. Well, perhaps he would have to change his tune. If he ever wanted to find Jodie here, that was. He saw another guy emerge and his eyes widened slightly. He was losing his touch, if he hadn't known that guy was back there. It bothered him more than he'd admit to anyone. Except maybe Jodie. He had found himself telling her things that he didn't tell others. It was odd, because she had basically been a stranger. But it seemed she had had that effect on him. When the girl lost the grip of her books, he watched with curious eyes as she retrieved them, holding them tightly. He found his curiosity taking over from the mischief. He watched her, the look on his face much like an animal who is both wary and drawn to danger. Her eyes flicked from his face to the other guy's, and Anthony leaned forward slightly. People. Teenagers were not a part of people he had widely associated with. He heard the guy introduce himself and Anthony's flair for drama got the best of him. He stood, bowing and waving his hand in a cylindrical fashion. He laughed and sat back down.

"Anthony Jackson-Samuels. A pleasure to meet you." He was used to the formalities of speech. He had never really lost them. He heard the girl's name. Constance. An old sounding name. He rolled it around in his head. Yes, it did indeed suit her. At this point, Anthony's face looked a bit like a puppydog lost in a daydream. Not really like the lone wolf he was when he was on a job. The vicious wolf he was when he used his powers. But at the same time, the obnoxious side of him wanted to nickname her Connie just to see how she'd react. Naw. He'd pull that out at a later time.

[Signal]

Jace tapped a finger against his leg. Constance here was stumbling over her words, and the other seemed too sure of himself. Opposites and their attractions it would seem. Jace smiled between the two again, letting them settle on Constance. "That is a beautiful name. I have an Aunt with the very same name." He smiled at her brightly, returning his attention to the other once more, it was like he was at a tennis court, her then him, him, then her.

"Well, it is always good to have company, especially of one who speaks the Tempest so fluently as yourself. Have you performed before?" He smiled at her, wondering just how much it'd take to scare her... not much. He'd need to be careful here.

"And you, is that your real accent? Or are you gonna just keep surprising us? It's fun!" He smiled warmly again, patting his hands against his legs. "So. What brings you here?"

[Constance Bumble]

One of her feet stepped backwards as Anthony bowed dramatically and she watched him as he sat down. She began to wonder how he knew Jodie, she ran through the five friends Jodie had told she knew at the bowling alley. One was her which narrowed it down to four, the guy's name was Anthony, so he obviously wasn't Ainsley and he looked too young to be a trainer, but it was a possibility. He could be the friend with powers of invisibility but if he was, why would he ask her where Jodie was? He'd probably know where he dorm was or something. Which left the possibility of the trainer and the friend Jodie had met when she was seven, he seemed around their age, and old friends found each other in books, why not in real life? She was about to ask him when her train of thought was interrupted by Jace complimenting her name.

"Oh... thank you." She said quietly, looking to the floor. It was nice that he'd complimented her but she didn't believe him, she never believed the compliments that were given to her, which was basically her parents fault. She watched Jace's eyes move to from her to Anthony then back to her again.
He spoke about company and the Tempest, then asked her of she'd ever performed before. Her head shook very slightly, "I can't..." She paused, "I'm not good at acting," This was an assumption on her part. The only reason she knew the Tempest was because she found it quite easy to memorise things such as plays and books. Her eyes were wide with nervousness, but when Jace smiled brightly at her, though her fingers tightened more around the books in her grasp, she felt more relaxed in the two's company, they both seemed pleasant enough but they both also seemed a lot more confident than she was, with her wide eyes and small, nervous smile she currently looked like a small rabbit in the company of large wolves.
'What brings you here?' Jace had asked, though she wasn't sure who he was addressing, he'd been talking to Anthony so she thought it best to not say anything, she didn't want to be rude.

[Exxie]

Anthony watched the movements of the guy who had called himself Jace. Constance was stumbling over her words and he couldn't help but listen, curious. The people he had met had always been quite self-assured, so this was new to him. He felt it might be rude, what he was doing. But it seemed he couldn't help himself. When he heard the question about whether that was his real accent, he laughed.

"Yes, it was. I can, however, put lots of accents on. It is one of my talents, to copy them." He smiled. So Constance said she couldn't, that she wasn't good at acting. One of his eyebrows arched and his eyes softened. His voice became softer in tone too.

"You'll never know what you can and can't do if you don't try." He had always had that confidence, and he couldn't imagine what it would be like to be like this girl and not have that. It must be difficult, Anthony thought. He saw the nervous smile and he smiled, friendly. He was trying to get across that he wasn't a threat. He didn't know quite how to do that effectively without using words to say so. He sighed and grinned.

"Relax. I do not know about this other man, Jace, but I for one do not bite. Much." He chuckled.

"If it would make you feel better to know it, I have a feeling you are friends with Jodie. She and I spent the whole evening of her sixteenth speaking with each other, and she seemed to relax around me enough. I do not know if you trust her judgment of character, but I have no wish to hurt you right now."

[Signal]

Jace's eyes stayed their course between the two, still smiling as he always did. "Not good at acting? No such thing." He rocked back on his hands and looked over at the other. "Doesn't bite much?" He looked over at the girl and shook his head. "Worst pick up line ever, wouldn't you agree. Come on now, if you are going to ask the girl to get some coffee with you, then aaaaaask. I think you both make a lovely couple. Let me know if I'm intruding."

He had a feeling they weren't together, but the girl was absolutely squirming he couldn't resist!

[Constance Bumble]

Constance let out a silent, relieved sigh when Anthony told Jace that it had been his real accent. Copying accents was an interesting talent to have. She could mimic the American accent quite well, but that was only because her tutor was American, and her and the cooks spent most of the time mocking him when he left after her lessons.

Her eyes watched Anthony with caution as he spoke, telling her that she wouldn't know that she couldn't act if she didn't try. Her gaze quickly shifted to Jace as he told her that there was no such thing as not being good at acting. "I can't act." She repeated to them both, in a tone only slightly louder than a whisper as her eyes shifted to the ground nervously.

A frown crossed her face when Anthony told her to relax and that he didn't bite much, but she didn't look up from the ground, seemingly fascinated with the carpet.

Her head snapped up worriedly to look at Jace when he began to talk about how 'Doesn't bite much' was a bad pickup line. Why would anyone want to ask her out for coffee? She didn't even drink coffee.
Her eyes widened, as if she was a deer caught in the headlights, when Jace said he thought they made a lovely couple. Her face flooded a deep crimson colour, her expression filled with worry and nervousness and her arms curled so tightly around the books that the corners dug into her skin, almost piercing it. Constance's eyes flicked from one male to the other and she took a few wobbly steps backwards making a larger gap between her and the two, a if she was separating herself even more from the two before her. "We're not-" She choked slightly on her words, her mouth opened and closed a few times as an attempt at talking, "We're not a couple..." Constance finally got out, her gaze returning to the carpet, too nervous to say anything more.

She heard Anthony tell her that he had spent the evening of Jodie's sixteenth talking with her. He was the boy from her banquet. Constance looked up with a shocked expression plastered to her face, only days before, her and Jodie had been talking about him and her seeing each other again. She was still too nervous to say anything though, and her eyes kept flicking back to Jace, almost scared of what he might say next.

[Exxie]

Anthony heard Jace say that 'doesn't bite much' was the worst pick-up line ever. He froze, especially when Jace told him to just ask the girl out for coffee. He bit his lip. He confessed that it had occurred to him. He could feel his confidence rapidly draining from his face as it quickly took on the 'deer in the headlights' look. He took a few deep breaths and gulped, not sure what to say. Then Jace said they would make a lovely couple and he turned bright red. At the same time as Constance spoke, he automatically did too.

"W-We're not a c-couple!" Then he glanced nervously at the girl, suddenly seeing she was looking nervously at the carpet. She had a shocked look too. Presumably from the information that he knew Jodie. Anthony took a few more deep breaths. He wasn't used to feeling nervous, and it was catching him off guard terribly. He rubbed the back of his neck nervously, a habit he knew he shared with Jodie. They had laughed about it at one point. He rubbed his hand up and down his arm, biting his lip. Anthony tried to think of something to say. He turned to Constance.

"Just call me Tony. It's easier. Anthony is only my banquet name. My full name, y'know? Because people really like using a fancy first name instead of having to say Mister Jackson-Samuels all the time. Gets really old, really fast." He laughed, his confidence suddenly back with that comment. It was funny how quickly it had gone with the mention of something between 'Connie' and himself.