Hanging out [For Echo]

Mason was hanging out in his dorm room. Honestly he was bored out of his mind. He didn't quite know what to do. He was just laying on the couch, and throwing a ball in the air and catching it before it hit is chest or worse his head. Occasionally he would hold the ball in the air by using a standing wave, but it would only last for a second before it faded. He needed to get better at that. He discover this with his fight with Leo, but he hasn't really been able to do it for to long. The longest he got was 2 seconds of holding something in the air. Well that was better than nothing. He was dressed in some pants, and some tank top think at the moment. Comfortable clothing. He honestly didn't like going sleeveless in public areas. He wasn't really one to show of muscles that he had. He did have muscles, but they weren't really noticeable unless he intentionally flexed or wore a sleeveless shirt, and then they weren't really that defined. Anyway I am rambling. Once he caught the ball, and didn't send it back in to the air. He let it stay in the hand that hung off the couch, as he stared at the ceiling.

Lamia gently tried to push open the door to Room 102. It didn't creak as loud as she had hoped or at all.

Her cheeks twinged a slight pink with a gulp, and her eyes flitted around, half hoping someone was around and half expecting the door to open magically. She couldn't believe it... she had to lose her keys while her roommates were all on the camping trip the school had planned. The only thing she wanted to do was to flop onto her bed, but she couldn't even get into her own room without trying to bust the entrance down. What could she do? Normally, she'd pretend not to exist or at least, that's what she hoped other people thought. Everyone was out, spare the scarce amount of students who refused to leave the campus.

Gold, doe-like eyes traveled hesitantly to the door knob right next to the one she was standing at. Magic probably didn't go to the Alaskan forests - he didn't seem like that type. Fucking... it had to be him, right? The last time she had even talked to him, Lamia had bursted into tears and he knew she had started drinking. Fuck fuck fuck... Her fingers curled up nervously into a fist, and she brought it to her chest, unsure whether she should. Would it be best if she waited for the office to open up? Or should she impose on another person who probably didn't want to see her?

Lips pursed, she knew that there was no telling when she could ask to get a replacement key. They'd even tell her to go room with a friend or something, so... what could she do except just get it over with now?

Her hand moved to the door, tapping it lightly a few times with a sound that was a hundred times louder than she had wanted it to be. "H-h-hello...?

When Magic heard the knock he left the ball roll out of his hand. A sigh escaped him. Most everyone should be gone. Who would be here to bother him at the moment? Who would want to bother him? Mason swung his legs to the front of the couch, and stood up. He took a moment and stretched before walking over to the door. Thats when he heard the voice. Lamia? He was honestly puzzled. He never expected Lamia to come to his dorm. It wasn't really like her to show up out of the blue. She must of had a reason. Magic opened the door, and looked at Lamia. "Lamia? Do you need something?" He asked kind of curious as to what was going on.

Magic... it was just Magic who opened the door. Not some random stranger she didn't know and would rather not know. Lamia felt her face growing red from shame and embarrassment, opening her mouth to explain but all that came out was a dumb string of stutters. "U-uhm... u-uh... I-I uhm..."  Why did her throat suddenly feel so dry and her tongue in knots? Panic and anxiety was plainly written on her face as she found herself slamming the door on his face. The feebleness of the lie seeped into her voice, and Lamia knew that there was little chance she could get away with it. "I-it's n-n-nothing...! Wr-wrong room..." She winced as she realized though, she just wasted both of their times and he probably didn't want to talk to her anymore.

"S-s-sorry...." Just a soft mumble under her breath. Magic could probably hear it. Why couldn't she just  admit that she lost her keys and was wondering if she could stay over for a bit? Because you're an idiot.

Magic blinked as his door suddenly closed in a rush, and a loud bang. Wrong room? Really? He assumed that wasn't it. There was really only one other room that had people in it, and he assumed that she didn't know anyone there. She may have. He didn't know for sure, but there was something else. He could hear it in her voice. "There is something else isn't there?" He asked through the door. He wanted to open the door again, but he decided to wait.

No was her first thought, but she didn't dare say it out loud. Anything she continued to say would make Magic suspect more and her even more like an idiot. Lamia wasn't equipped with anything that could help her in this situation. As selfish as it was, help always seemed to come to her before she asked and maybe this time would be the same. No, unlikely. Unless someone found her keys, which she doubted. Normally, she would have gone to Kearn's dorm, but he wasn't at the school anymore. Or even Katsuo or Aiko, but after that incident and the fact that no one has seen them around, she had no real choice.

So here she was, outside of Magic's dorm alone with nothing but her schoolbag filled with art supplies and music sheets and an ashen blue sleeveless dress covered with a short sleeved black hoodie.

Why couldn't she stop stuttering? "U-uhm... Y-yes... uh.... n-n-no.." Her voice was as soft as a whisper, but it was harshly louder than she had hoped.

Yes and no? Honestly he felt like giving up cause it would be hard to get a straight answer from her, but he didn't know what to do. She most likely needed something. Maybe it would be best to just open the door and let her come in of her own accord? Man.. He didn't really know how to handle people like his brother did.

He stood there quietly for a moment before deciding on what to do. Carefully he opened the door slightly to check if she was leaning on it. When she wasn't he opened it all the way. After doing that he turned away from the door and walked back to the couch. "Come in if you want to.. I'm tired of standing." He said before he sat back down on the couch, picking up the ball again.

Lamia looked up to give Magic a fleeting, sheepish glance but he had already walked away. Was he mad at her? Her tongue always had a way of tying itself into knots, but her throat felt so dry that it joked out all the words that might've been. For some reason, her head was throbbing and she quickly wiped her sweaty palms on her thighs before hesitantly entering. A breathy giggle was her only response, as sweet as a bell, made her feel only more insecure as she glanced around curiously. She shot a nervous glance behind her, almost paranoid that someone was watching her, before entering and slowly closing the door behind her. It made such a loud creak...

Now what? Explain her situation? Just sit down? Say something to start a conversation? Lamia internally groaned in defeat, cursing herself for her lack of social grace. Who the hell made life have more than one answer at any given time? "U-uhm..." she started, not entirely sure where she was going with this. "I-I'm s-sorry..."

"I-I... u-uhm..."

Don't say it. You'll regret it. A voice in her head told her. He'll laugh at her predicament... that she was stupid and clumsy. And tell her to leave. No, he's not like that... right?

Gathering up the shrivels of her courage, with a deep breath, she mumbled softly, "I l-lost m-my... uhm... k-k-keys…" The way she spoke, it was almost like she lost the card to a top secret locker filled with important documents. Her eyes shut close subconsciously, half-expecting him to poke fun at her, allowing her bangs to fall over them

Thats what she was all tied up about? "Oh." He said simply. "Have you already told the office? If so you are free to hang out here in the mean time." He was feeling rather lazy today. He was taking it easy ever since the other students went on the trip. He mostly taking the time to recharge from interacting so much. He tossed the ball in the air and swiftly caught it with one hand. "You can come sit on the couch with me if you want to." He tossed the ball again, and let the ball hover there for a moment because of a standing wave, before it fell right back into his hand. Honestly in this moment he was perfectly neutral about everything. He probably wouldn't do much if you told him something.

One eye opened up slowly, as though this weren't some kind of trap, and with how.... relaxed Magic appeared, Lamia finally let out a breath she didn't realize she was holding in. "N-no... th-they've b-been closed all... d-day..." Wait... she was free to stay if she told the office already. And he seemed almost different from the way he normally acted. Then, she finally remembered why she was so hesitant to say anything. "U-uhm... y-you're... n-not... uh.. laughing..." she quietly mumbled. Was there an off-chance he heard her incorrectly? Or maybe he missed it? Lamia was practically bracing herself to be kicked out, golden eyes finding sudden interest in her shoes as she continued to mutter incoherent strings under her breath. Why was she doubting her... friends? Were they even friends or were they like the others who simply used her?

Oh they were closed. He hasn't had to go to the office ever since he got here and hopefully it will stay that way. Then when she questioned why he wasn't laughing he became confused. "Why would I laugh? People lose keys all the time.. My family got locked out of our apartment multiple times, because my mom lost our key all the time." He said placing his arms on the back of the couch, and looked up at the ceiling. "You are free to stay here as long as you want. I don't think any of my dormmates would mind, They haven't been around lately anyway." He said to the winter girl.

Gods, she was absolutely pathetic. Lamia wanted to just laugh it off, but found herself suddenly dropping her gaze to the floor and twirling a lock of her dark, silky hair with a hand to try and avoid answering. Just say it was a joke she had with a friend before. the voice in her head told her. She knew it wouldn't work. She was a terrible liar and Magic could hear everything she said, so Lamia really couldn't get away with it.

Shaking her head feverishly, Lamia found the words spilling out of her without her own consent. "U-uhm... b-because... uh... n-nothing." With the change of topic, she internally let out a sigh of relief. "I-I don't w-want to i-impose..."

A sigh escaped him. He was the one inviting her to stay. She wouldn't be imposing at all. "You aren't imposing. I'm inviting you to stay. It's not imposing at all." He said in a serious tone. He was being different from his usual self. Maybe it was because he was tired of being nice all the time. Here he was a bit different from out there. He he could be the self that didn't really care too much. He could be the person that liked to avoid people. Though Lamia was a friend of his, and he would welcome her anytime. Thats just how it would be.

Lamia nodded slightly with a forced smile before, taking a few nervous steps inside, and hesitantly took a seat beside him, unsure of what she had exactly agreed to. Would she be staying only for a little while? Maybe the whole night? Oh, God... If it was overnight, where would she be sleeping? On the couch? Was that even allowed? Wouldn't she be alone with just Magic? Her heart was fluttering a million times over, just from anxiety. Did he even know what he was agreeing to? Maybe it would be a good idea just to sneak out when he's not paying attention. But wouldn't he hear?

Agh, life was so complicated. Lamia was sure someone was out for her, stringing all of her luck to the bad end. "O-oh... I-I see... uhm... s-sorry..." she mumbled awkwardly, letting her bag slouch to the ground. What now? Was she supposed to start a conversation? But what could she talk about? Maybe a conversation wouldn't be so bad... she had been feeling a bit lonely - maybe from the empty dorm or to the lack of people actually at the school. "U-uhm... wh-what are y-you doing with the... uhm... ball?

Her face was heating up again, cheeks beet red. Ah... I must sound so awkward. What else would anyone do with a ball? Cook it? Trying to smooth out her speech and cease her stuttering, Lamia attempted to put a little bit more effort into her next words. "Do you... uh... consider us... uhm... nnnnnormal?" Her speech was slightly slurred and a bit too slow, and she let out an inaudible sigh. It plagued her ever since the incident as a little girl, and she couldn't find a cure at all.

How unpleasant.

Honestly it was a kind of good question to ask. He wasn't just throwing it, he was also kind of practicing with it. "Aside from throwing it, I am actually kind of training with it. I discovered that I can make things float with this thing called a standing wave but I can only do it 3 seconds at a time." He sort of explained. If he wanted to explain the full thing then he would have to go into the science of it and he didn't really want to do that.

Mason threw the ball into the air again, and caught it with a standing wave, but it fell to the ground with a 'thud' at Lamia's new question. He wasn't really the one to ask if he considered himself normal. He had never really thought about it. Normal was a definition the could be varied from person to person. If you asked a student who was used to this kind of thing and was easily accepted they would say yes, but ask someone in Magic's case they would most likely say no. It was a tough question to answer..

Magic sat there for a moment thinking about how he wanted to answer this question. Parts of him were telling him to say no but other parts of him told him to say yes. A sigh escaped him. "It depends on the definition of normal. If you look at the school and how many students show up to it, and other things then yes we are normal. It's a normal occurrence for people with gifts to be born.." He didn't really want to say what else he was thinking for this answer, but at the same time he felt like it needed to be said. "But.. from point of views from people like my mother.. then we aren't.." He stated in a soft tone. They don't like anything different from them.. Mason thought.