I Miss Home [open]

As the snow fell, Erin bundled up into her thick coat and scarf that was wrapped around her neck. Her hair spat like fire in all directions, the curls bouncing with every step that she took creating a large contrast in color between her hair and the snow. It made her stand out but that was okay. As she walked the campus in her black boots, she found herself wandering to spot she'd never been before. A quick glance at the sign nearby told her she was at the track and field center, but it didn't look like anyone had been here in a while. The snow was too perfect. It was probably a good thing. For once since she'd been here, she wanted to be alone. Now that she had time to think of how these past few months had been for her, it was hard not get at least a little upset. She'd barely made friends, she had no roommates, everyone she'd met thought she was weird because of her power, and as much as she hated to admit it, she really missed home. The United States was nothing like Ireland. It was a pretty big culture shock that had finally hit her in these past few days.

Trying to hold back tears, Erin walked through the snow until she reached the center of the field where she simply stood and looked up at the dreary, cloudy sky. She couldn't cry now. Someone might see her. Not to mention, she didn't really want to deal with frozen tears on her face. It sounded painful. She wondered if she looked out of place standing there, but it didn't matter.

Gabriel had been wandering the campus, taking time to think about his time at Beata when he saw a girl standing in the middle of a big field of almost untouched snow. Or rather, he saw her flaming red hair. He approached her and said, "Blimey its freezing out here! What are we doing out in the cold?"

Erin's breath caught in her throat when she heard someone approach and try to speak to her. Quickly wiping her eyes to get rid of the extra water that built up, she turned around to see who it was that was talking to her. When she saw his face, though, she didn't recognize him but by his accent, she could tell he certainly wasn't from here. It was actually an accent she heard far more often back at home. "Oh, hello," she said to him weakly. "I guess I don't really have a reason. It's just nice outside. What are you doing out here?" she asked curiously.

Gabe was shocked to her a distinct Irish accent from the girl, but he shrugged. "I was just thinking." he replied. He missed home, but he wasn't about to just tell this girl his sob story just because she was from the same area as he was. After all, Ireland wasn't too far from London.

He caught her curiosity slightly. Turning around entirely so that her whole body was facing the boy, she tilted her head to the side quizzically. "What are you thinking about?" Why did she want to know? It wasn't like he was going to trust her with whatever problems he was dealing with, but she felt like she needed to reach out. Introductions could come later.

He shrugged and figured it wouldn't hurt to say anything. "I miss my home, back in London." he said. "I haven't had the chance to go visit since I got here."

"So you do come from London?" she repeated, tightening her coat around herself before sticking her hands in the fuzzy pockets sewn on the sides. It was a little bit exciting that she happened to run into someone who lived out of the United States like she did. In fact, he lived not too terribly far from her at all. Sure, the whole United Kingdom thing wasn't that fantastic, but it was a detail she chose to ignore. It's not like she enjoyed politics anyway. She was just happy someone knew how she felt. "If... If you couldn't tell, I'm actually from Dublin," she replied with a smile. It felt so good to talk to someone with whom she could relate. "I miss home too. If it helps, I haven't been able to visit either."

Gabe returned the smile. "Yup. I could tell you were from Ireland, but I wasn't sure what part." he replied. "Hopefully some time this spring or summer I can go visit. I've been missing my sister like mad. She hasn't shown any signs of having a gift, so she won't be able to stay here unless she moves to Rosebury, but I don't see that happening."

Erin nodded in agreement. She was really hoping that she would be able to go home and visit sometime soon too, but money was something she didn't have, and it was kind of necessary to travel. Maybe if she started saving up... "I'm the youngest in my family. My brothers have gifts too. They're different from mine and they were lucky. Both of them got to go to Sofia Academy, but my parents didn't like it and decided to send me here. Away from everyone..." It wasn't like her to get upset, but she couldn't help but feel left out. Her gaze quickly dropped to the ground as she watched her breaths visibly dissipate in the freezing air. Her heart hurt. After a moment, though, she looked back up with a strained smile. "I'm Erin, by the way. Erin Gallagher."

Gabriel gave her a small smile. He knew what it was like to live so far from family and not get to see them. "I'm Gabriel Macauley." he replied. "I sometimes go by Gabe, but Gabriel works just as well."

"Pleasure to meet you, Gabe," she replied, figuring that trying to say Gabriel with her accent would just be murder. She smiled for a moment before looking away again, her mind lost to her thoughts that she wanted to shove out of her head. Going to this school was a good thing. It had to be. "So..." she started, using her right foot to kick around the snow that gathered at her feet. "What do you miss most about London?" It seemed like a reasonable question to ask.

Gabriel thought about that for a moment before responding. "I really miss just being in London. With my family, and my friends. Being in America has taught me that the UK and the US are two very different countries." he said. "What do you miss most about Dublin?"

"Everything..." She answered without a second thought. "I miss the city, the people, the gray cloudy skies that never disappeared... I miss the music, the sounds of cars, the wide open fields on the outskirts of town. I miss the family trips and my friends at my old school..." her voice trailed off into sniffles as her eyes teared up but she kept the same smiling face, trying to hide her pain. Why ramble to a complete stranger? What was the point? However, she found that she couldn't stop herself. All of the pain she'd been trying to hide these past few months was pouring out of her. Over the course of her time here, she'd actually figured out that she hated being lonely, and that's all she was. She didn't have any true friends. There were people she saw in the hallway every once in a while who stopped to say hi but that was it. There was no hanging out or going into town. The closest she could get to home at this point was the forest but even that felt empty anymore which was how she found herself here on the track.

Pulling her sleeve over her right hand, she wiped the tears that began falling down her cheeks. The icy wind chilled them, stinging her skin but the embarrassment she felt from crying in front of this random boy pulled her focus away from the discomfort the breeze caused. "Sorry... I-I shouldn't be this upset. Normally I'm a lot happier than this. Maybe it's the weather," she told Gabe. God, why did this have to happen. She felt even dumber trying to justify her crying. It just wasn't something she did often, especially in front of people.

"Hey, it's okay. It's good to let things out. Holding them in only makes them worse." he told the girl. "You don't need to worry about it. I'm here if you need me, even if we have only just met. We fellow Europeans have to stick together, right?" He himself was only barely holding back tears. Talking to her reminded him of all the things he left behind in London, like his parents, and his sister. He missed seeing the Eye everyday. Hell, he even missed fish and chips, even though he absolutely hated fish. But here the two of them were, reminiscing about home. They were doing just fine, even though they missed being back home. "We're just going to be absolutely fantastic here. I promise that. And someday we can afford plane tickets home." he told her.

When her eyes finally cleared, she looked up at Gabe, struck suddenly by the fact that he seemed upset now too. Perfect. Involuntarily chuckling to basically laugh off her problems, her gaze quickly went back down to the ground as she tried to hold back the rest of her tears. "Yeah..." she muttered, sniffling still until she felt her nose plug up from the cold temperatures and her crying. As she felt her eyes begin to water again she quickly dried them up with both of her sleeves and took a few deep breaths. When she finally felt calm enough to speak again, she just let out an embarrassed laugh. "You're right. I'm sorry. I shouldn't have gotten that upset. That's not like me..." She paused to take one more deep breath, watching it disappear in the gentle breeze before she smiled again even if it was more or less out of embarrassment. "Yeah. That's a good idea. Travel buddies are always good for international trips." Travel buddies? Wow that sounded stupid but she rolled with it.