Paul and Toby | Backdated to 3/27/15
Mar. 27th, 2015 06:59 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
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om_mainToby and Paul meet at the Mutant Thievery Scandal Concert and attempt to make small talk.
Crowds weren't exactly one of Toby's favorite scenes, and while she appreciated Alice inviting her to the concert and the chance to see some of her new classmates, it was almost a relief when she'd made her excuses and headed off to the bathroom. Unfortunately, when she emerged she realized she had no clear idea exactly where Alice was in the crowd, and no greater desire to head back into it.
Catching sight of a boy standing near the wall, sipping at a soda and looking almost as awkward as she felt, she headed towards him. "Hey. Have you seen Alice?" she asked once she was close enough to be heard over the music.
Paul's eyes had widened slightly when he realised that the pretty girl in shimmering armour was headed his way, and at her questions they swept over the crowd. "I'm - not sure which one she is?" he replied honestly, looking back at her.
"Right now? I'm not altogether sure either." Toby looked around at the assembled students and sighed, then leaned back against the wall. "I'm not braving the crowd again to try and find her," she resolved, then glanced back over at the boy. "Not a crowd person either?" she guessed.
"I... I don't really know many people yet," Paul settled on, ignoring the suit of armour that flickered in and out of existence over her. It was clearly another one of his visions, and even in a mutant school he was wary of drawing attention to the fact that he saw things. "I'm Paul," he added, almost hastily, unwilling to make her think that he was antisocial. She seemed nice, and he didn't know if her armour or her ears were more distracting, so he focused on her eyes, which were incredible in their own right, too.
"Toby," she offered as her own introduction. She watched him focus on her eyes, and grinned a little and widened them so he could see better, though she didn't otherwise acknowledge him looking. "I don't know many people yet either. Alice is my roommate. She's...out there somewhere."
"Are you enjoying the music?" Paul asked, eyes flicking towards the band on stage. He didn't really know any of them, but that wasn't surprising. Anyone in a band was bound to be much too popular for him.
"Yeah, they're not half bad." She shrugged a little. "Honestly, they're a lot better than I figured they'd be, y'know? Considering the number of students, it's kind of cool they managed to get an actual band together. What about you, are you a music fan?"
"Yeah, you know, I like some things," he confirmed, nodding along to his words and hoping he didn't sound like a total prat. "And they're quite good for a high school band. Do you know how long they've been together?" It might not be that surprising, if it was long enough.
"I think someone said it was their first concert?" Toby replied, forehead furrowing as she tried to remember. She shrugged. "Honestly, I'm still doing the whole "who is this person and have I met them before?" thing, so the details are a little sketchy." She cocked her head a little and eyed him curiously. "How long have you been here?"
"A few weeks?" Paul offered, unsure what she would make of that.
Toby laughed. "So, by comparison? You're an expert on the place. I got here last week." She looked over at the crowd of bouncing, cheering classmates, and grinned crookedly. "Still half convinced it's a really, really long dream, because seriously? Who'd have thought, huh?"
"It makes sense, with the number of young mutants manifesting, that places like this would appear," Paul replied without thinking. "So we're not left floundering in the dark." He paused, and frowned. "I mean. If that's what you meant?" That didn't make it any easier to believe, honestly, but it still made sense.
"That's what I meant," Toby confirmed, then considered the rest of what Paul had said. "And yeah, it does make sense. I think it's maybe more blowing my mind that I never thought of it, because in retrospect it's pretty obvious there would be." She eyed him with interest. "None in England though, huh?"
"Not that I know of," Paul confirmed with a shake of his head.
"What do you think of the US?" she asked, then paused. "Or were you already here? I just kind of assumed from the accent."
"Oh, no, I was in England," he immediately confirmed. "I, er. I haven't seen a lot of them yet? This school isn't what I expected, but..." But it was a mutant school. Of course it wouldn't be like the schools in media.
"What did you expect?" Toby asked, genuinely curious. She grinned a little and admitted, "I sort of missed part of high school. Or most of it, so...I'm not sure how different it really is."
"People are a lot nicer here than I thought?" Paul admitted after a second, unsure whether he was setting himself up for being mocked.
"No shit, right?" Toby replied, not thinking anything of the observation beyond it being true. "I was prepared for all kinds of bullshit, and so far, none. Well, a couple of elf jokes," she amended, "but nothing mean."
Paul was glad that someone else felt the same way. "I wonder if it means I just haven't run into the bullies yet." But they usually zeroed in on him fairly quickly. "But it is a small school." And the closest he'd come to had been the kid with the pink mohawk, who had been generally mean, but nothing like a proper bully.
"I don't know. If you've been here a few weeks, it seems like they'd have made themselves known by now," Toby pointed out. "Usually the assholes don't exactly hold off."
Paul chuckled at that. "Exactly."
Toby grinned a little. "So, newbie pact? If I run into any, I'll give you a heads up. If you'll do the same?"
"Watch out for the kid with the pink mohawk," Paul told her immediately. "I don't think he's a bully, but he's... kind of a prat."
"Pink mohawk? Seriously?" Toby looked around, and smirked as she caught sight of the guy in question. "Right, got him. The guy with the cats' eyes, Tybalt? Can be an ass. Mostly harmless," she admitted grudgingly, "but he thinks he's funny. Except, y'know, not so much."
"I'll steer clear of him," Paul told her gratefully.
Toby nodded. "So, lots of jerks wherever you were before this?" she guessed.
Paul shrugged. "It was a regular high school." This place was the exception to the rule, he believed. "What about you?"
"Teen shelter, kinda." Toby shrugged, unembarrassed by sharing the information. It wasn't as if there was any reason to be. "We got all types."
"Oh, alright," Paul acknowledged, not thinking much of it - other than she must have had a harder life than him.
He wished he could say that he was terrible at talking to girls, but he was terrible at talking to people in general. He took a drink of his soda, rocked on his heels a little, then asked, "So, what year are you in?"
"Not sure," she admitted, happy to let the subject of Home drop. Explaining it to someone who'd never lived there was a bitch. "I think they're going to let me know this week - I've been doing testing." She shrugged. "I've missed a couple years of school, so I'm guessing they'll start me as a Freshman or Sophomore, even though I should be a Junior. You?"
"Junior," Paul confirmed with a nod. "I don't think the classes match all the time, but for the most part, it seems to fit?" Going from one school system to the next, he meant.
"Gotta be pretty close, anyway," Toby acknowledged. She glanced over at him and eyed his soda hopefully. "Mind sharing?"
"Oh, of course not, go ahead," he offered, holding it out to her.
"Thanks." She smiled gratefully and took the soda, then took a sip. "What're you doing for electives? Any recommendations?"
"I'm taking French, and logic," Paul answered. French because he'd been going for an A-Level in French, and logic because he'd liked the sound of it.
"Mmmm. I was thinking about a language," Toby admitted. "And maybe World Studies?" She grinned crookedly, took another sip of his soda, then handed it back. "Not really sure. Maybe I'd be better off with art, starting this late in the year?"
Paul thought about it for a second, taking his drink back. "That's not a bad idea, if you're starting from scratch." He would never have taken French if he hadn't already been studying it. "But world studies might be all right?"
"Yeah, if I don't finish it, I can probably do it over the summer, right? Independent study or something." Which might be better anyway, considering she wasn't sure how much she was going to have to make up. She smiled crookedly and pushed her hair back from her face, then by reflex brushed it back so it covered her ears. "So, any small talk options we've missed so far? I'm not exactly the best at this."
"You're better than I am," Paul told her with a small smile.
"I wouldn't say that," Toby disputed, smiling back. "Though we may both lose points for forgetting the weather." And each others' mutation, which seemed to be the big meet and greet question around here, but she was just as happy to skip it.
"I'm glad it's getting less cold?" Paul offered, lips quirked in amusement, and hopefulness. That she would be amused, too.
Toby let out a snort of laughter. "Definitely good with the lack of cold. Some kid on the journals said I'd just missed all the snow, and honestly? I'm really not feeling like I missed anything." The band finished their song, something she noticed more because everyone had started clapping than because she'd really been paying attention, and she chimed in and clapped politely. "So...you want to brave the crowd?" she asked him without a great deal of enthusiasm as the next one began. She grinned a little. "Or, y'know, you could show me where you found the soda. That could kill some more time."
Paul nodded, happy with the alternative, and nodded for her to follow him.
Crowds weren't exactly one of Toby's favorite scenes, and while she appreciated Alice inviting her to the concert and the chance to see some of her new classmates, it was almost a relief when she'd made her excuses and headed off to the bathroom. Unfortunately, when she emerged she realized she had no clear idea exactly where Alice was in the crowd, and no greater desire to head back into it.
Catching sight of a boy standing near the wall, sipping at a soda and looking almost as awkward as she felt, she headed towards him. "Hey. Have you seen Alice?" she asked once she was close enough to be heard over the music.
Paul's eyes had widened slightly when he realised that the pretty girl in shimmering armour was headed his way, and at her questions they swept over the crowd. "I'm - not sure which one she is?" he replied honestly, looking back at her.
"Right now? I'm not altogether sure either." Toby looked around at the assembled students and sighed, then leaned back against the wall. "I'm not braving the crowd again to try and find her," she resolved, then glanced back over at the boy. "Not a crowd person either?" she guessed.
"I... I don't really know many people yet," Paul settled on, ignoring the suit of armour that flickered in and out of existence over her. It was clearly another one of his visions, and even in a mutant school he was wary of drawing attention to the fact that he saw things. "I'm Paul," he added, almost hastily, unwilling to make her think that he was antisocial. She seemed nice, and he didn't know if her armour or her ears were more distracting, so he focused on her eyes, which were incredible in their own right, too.
"Toby," she offered as her own introduction. She watched him focus on her eyes, and grinned a little and widened them so he could see better, though she didn't otherwise acknowledge him looking. "I don't know many people yet either. Alice is my roommate. She's...out there somewhere."
"Are you enjoying the music?" Paul asked, eyes flicking towards the band on stage. He didn't really know any of them, but that wasn't surprising. Anyone in a band was bound to be much too popular for him.
"Yeah, they're not half bad." She shrugged a little. "Honestly, they're a lot better than I figured they'd be, y'know? Considering the number of students, it's kind of cool they managed to get an actual band together. What about you, are you a music fan?"
"Yeah, you know, I like some things," he confirmed, nodding along to his words and hoping he didn't sound like a total prat. "And they're quite good for a high school band. Do you know how long they've been together?" It might not be that surprising, if it was long enough.
"I think someone said it was their first concert?" Toby replied, forehead furrowing as she tried to remember. She shrugged. "Honestly, I'm still doing the whole "who is this person and have I met them before?" thing, so the details are a little sketchy." She cocked her head a little and eyed him curiously. "How long have you been here?"
"A few weeks?" Paul offered, unsure what she would make of that.
Toby laughed. "So, by comparison? You're an expert on the place. I got here last week." She looked over at the crowd of bouncing, cheering classmates, and grinned crookedly. "Still half convinced it's a really, really long dream, because seriously? Who'd have thought, huh?"
"It makes sense, with the number of young mutants manifesting, that places like this would appear," Paul replied without thinking. "So we're not left floundering in the dark." He paused, and frowned. "I mean. If that's what you meant?" That didn't make it any easier to believe, honestly, but it still made sense.
"That's what I meant," Toby confirmed, then considered the rest of what Paul had said. "And yeah, it does make sense. I think it's maybe more blowing my mind that I never thought of it, because in retrospect it's pretty obvious there would be." She eyed him with interest. "None in England though, huh?"
"Not that I know of," Paul confirmed with a shake of his head.
"What do you think of the US?" she asked, then paused. "Or were you already here? I just kind of assumed from the accent."
"Oh, no, I was in England," he immediately confirmed. "I, er. I haven't seen a lot of them yet? This school isn't what I expected, but..." But it was a mutant school. Of course it wouldn't be like the schools in media.
"What did you expect?" Toby asked, genuinely curious. She grinned a little and admitted, "I sort of missed part of high school. Or most of it, so...I'm not sure how different it really is."
"People are a lot nicer here than I thought?" Paul admitted after a second, unsure whether he was setting himself up for being mocked.
"No shit, right?" Toby replied, not thinking anything of the observation beyond it being true. "I was prepared for all kinds of bullshit, and so far, none. Well, a couple of elf jokes," she amended, "but nothing mean."
Paul was glad that someone else felt the same way. "I wonder if it means I just haven't run into the bullies yet." But they usually zeroed in on him fairly quickly. "But it is a small school." And the closest he'd come to had been the kid with the pink mohawk, who had been generally mean, but nothing like a proper bully.
"I don't know. If you've been here a few weeks, it seems like they'd have made themselves known by now," Toby pointed out. "Usually the assholes don't exactly hold off."
Paul chuckled at that. "Exactly."
Toby grinned a little. "So, newbie pact? If I run into any, I'll give you a heads up. If you'll do the same?"
"Watch out for the kid with the pink mohawk," Paul told her immediately. "I don't think he's a bully, but he's... kind of a prat."
"Pink mohawk? Seriously?" Toby looked around, and smirked as she caught sight of the guy in question. "Right, got him. The guy with the cats' eyes, Tybalt? Can be an ass. Mostly harmless," she admitted grudgingly, "but he thinks he's funny. Except, y'know, not so much."
"I'll steer clear of him," Paul told her gratefully.
Toby nodded. "So, lots of jerks wherever you were before this?" she guessed.
Paul shrugged. "It was a regular high school." This place was the exception to the rule, he believed. "What about you?"
"Teen shelter, kinda." Toby shrugged, unembarrassed by sharing the information. It wasn't as if there was any reason to be. "We got all types."
"Oh, alright," Paul acknowledged, not thinking much of it - other than she must have had a harder life than him.
He wished he could say that he was terrible at talking to girls, but he was terrible at talking to people in general. He took a drink of his soda, rocked on his heels a little, then asked, "So, what year are you in?"
"Not sure," she admitted, happy to let the subject of Home drop. Explaining it to someone who'd never lived there was a bitch. "I think they're going to let me know this week - I've been doing testing." She shrugged. "I've missed a couple years of school, so I'm guessing they'll start me as a Freshman or Sophomore, even though I should be a Junior. You?"
"Junior," Paul confirmed with a nod. "I don't think the classes match all the time, but for the most part, it seems to fit?" Going from one school system to the next, he meant.
"Gotta be pretty close, anyway," Toby acknowledged. She glanced over at him and eyed his soda hopefully. "Mind sharing?"
"Oh, of course not, go ahead," he offered, holding it out to her.
"Thanks." She smiled gratefully and took the soda, then took a sip. "What're you doing for electives? Any recommendations?"
"I'm taking French, and logic," Paul answered. French because he'd been going for an A-Level in French, and logic because he'd liked the sound of it.
"Mmmm. I was thinking about a language," Toby admitted. "And maybe World Studies?" She grinned crookedly, took another sip of his soda, then handed it back. "Not really sure. Maybe I'd be better off with art, starting this late in the year?"
Paul thought about it for a second, taking his drink back. "That's not a bad idea, if you're starting from scratch." He would never have taken French if he hadn't already been studying it. "But world studies might be all right?"
"Yeah, if I don't finish it, I can probably do it over the summer, right? Independent study or something." Which might be better anyway, considering she wasn't sure how much she was going to have to make up. She smiled crookedly and pushed her hair back from her face, then by reflex brushed it back so it covered her ears. "So, any small talk options we've missed so far? I'm not exactly the best at this."
"You're better than I am," Paul told her with a small smile.
"I wouldn't say that," Toby disputed, smiling back. "Though we may both lose points for forgetting the weather." And each others' mutation, which seemed to be the big meet and greet question around here, but she was just as happy to skip it.
"I'm glad it's getting less cold?" Paul offered, lips quirked in amusement, and hopefulness. That she would be amused, too.
Toby let out a snort of laughter. "Definitely good with the lack of cold. Some kid on the journals said I'd just missed all the snow, and honestly? I'm really not feeling like I missed anything." The band finished their song, something she noticed more because everyone had started clapping than because she'd really been paying attention, and she chimed in and clapped politely. "So...you want to brave the crowd?" she asked him without a great deal of enthusiasm as the next one began. She grinned a little. "Or, y'know, you could show me where you found the soda. That could kill some more time."
Paul nodded, happy with the alternative, and nodded for her to follow him.
