Break Away

[xavier]

Tag; Rosalie
[W]

The sun was out again. Was a good sign, that better weather was around the corner. He'd never minded rain; on the contrary, the sound of the rain hitting the ground and the feel of the drops hitting his skin was something that he greatly enjoyed. Still, the promise of a little sunlight was enticing, and naturally, he was looking forward to it. The many days of sitting inside, watching the rain hit the streets and gardens, had been nice; mostly, though, he'd been running back and forth to work through the rain, not bothering to use his motorbike because he didn't want to get it damaged much. Plus, the walking did him a lot of good, allowed him to have plenty of exercise; that was important, as he hated to be out of breath. If he was out of breath, then he wasn't able to work or do much of anything. And that certainly wouldn't do.

He was walking again, though not to work, or towards the house where he lived with his mother and younger brother. He'd finished work about an hour ago, and had been given the rest of that day and the next day off. He intended to take advantage of it. Going home would have been fine, but the weather was nice for once, bright with no rain. And he'd felt like taking a long walk around. So he'd momentarily stopped back home only to get his backpack, which contained some of the most important things to him, and then headed off down the only road out of the town. People had glanced at him as he'd walked past, some had stared; just the usual, and he'd learned to live with it very quickly.

Not that it had ever bothered him, but still... he'd found strange enjoyment from making people think that it used to bother him. His feet scuffed against the cobbled road, his boots just gripping the stone lightly and making sure he didn't slip over. It was only slightly slippery, mainly thanks to the light rain that had fallen during the night. Soon, the sounds of the town had faded away behind him, and he paused in his walkings. His hazel-green eyes glanced around for a moment, just taking note of where he was. He resumed walking, leaving the road and heading up the grassy hill towards the rocks and trees that stood silently further up the hill. A place that he knew well.

He re-adjusted the straps of the backpack on his shoulders, making sure it wasn't pulling him backwards; naturally, there were plenty of books and other assorted items similar to books in his backpack, and that was always the case. Walking by a rock with a flat surface, Xavier stopped walking; instantly, he yanked his backpack off and dumped it lightly onto the rock surface. He leant down and brushed his hands over his black jeans, as if to remove some dirt from them even though there was none to remove. He took a moment and pulled his long-sleeved black shirt further down over his stomach, wanting to keep the slightly chilly air from going under his clothes; he unzipped his black jacket before taking a seat upon the rock beside his backpack, twisting his gloved fingers together.

[rosalie]

A beautiful day, Rosalie smiled thinking to herself as she turned away from her window. She was at home, getting ready to visit an old couple living in the outskirts of the town. She had her flowing blond hair tied up. She quickly undressed from her house clothes into a pair of dark blue jeans and a old faded blue t-shirt. She slipped on a pair of ballet flats from her closet before grabbing her house keys on her bedside table. She ran down the stairs and opened the hallway closet, and grabbed a white jacket and was out the door.

"Gosh it's a bit chilly out here." She shivered quickly putting on her jacket and zipping it up. She dug her hands into her pockets to keep her fingers warm as she still clutched her keys. She continued down the street, going out of town. She smiled and nodded to people passing by. A single of act of kindness goes a long way, can make someone having a bad day end nicely. At least that what she was always told.

As she approached the end of the town, she saw a dark figure sitting on a rock, on top of a hill. Maybe I should say hello... She bit her lip nervously being unsure if it would be wise to walk over to them. She took a deep breath, gathering up her courage and started to walk up towards the hill. "Hey!" She yelled out towards him. "What are you doing up here all by yourself? It isn't too smart, not all the safe out here. Especially alone." She called out as she continued to march up the hill.

She arrived at the top gasping a bit, she wasn't so used to exercise. She sat down on the damp grass a few feet away. She was starting to feel hot now, and unzipped her jacket. She leaned back feeling the rays of the sun touch her skin. It felt nice, for the sun to be out. She missed the warmth of it, usually disliking the rain, it kept people inside. Like animals in cages, which animals shouldn't be in cages. They should be free, like the birds.

[xavier]

Sitting down was good. He'd enjoyed the walk up, but being able to just sit and stay still was something he enjoyed better. The feeling of being able to sit down and just stare at anything, everything, for as long as he wanted was something that he loved. He'd done it before, in coffee shops; he could sit at one table for hours, and watch all those that came to the coffee shop for anything, all without any of them knowing. He loved doing that. He liked to think that he was good at concealing his watching from the people, or the people could just be simply unobservant; either way, the ability to watch people for hours without them knowing anything of it was rather a good one to have, and one that he greatly enjoyed.

The scenery from his vantage point was beautiful. He'd seen it many times, but it always took his breath away. Everything from the rolling hills, coloured in rich green, to the stretch of forest, to the rivers, to where the hills met the sky; it reminded him of the type of paintings and drawings he did while in school, the type that he hardly ever captured on paper anymore. Most of his drawings were of things that almost all people would find confusing, mentally unstable, or worse, fucked up. Not that he cared, of course. Any bad comments about his drawings were ignored, they went right over his head and into the air around him. Half the people who made bad comments about his drawings couldn't draw to save their fucking lives, so it wasn't much to be concerned about.

He opened his backpack, reaching in and rummaging around for a particular something; he pulled out a small pad, and a pencil, after a few moments. Leafing through the pages, past old drawings and scribbles, he finally found a empty, clean page. He started to place the pencil down onto the paper, but a voice yelling made him glance up. His hazel-green eyes barely focused; a girl was walking up the hill towards him, her blonde hair swaying lightly in the wind as she spoke to him. He watched how she gasped for air slightly when she ceased walking; obviously she didn't walk that often. He glanced back at his page while the girl sat down a few feet away from him, placing his pencil against the paper and sketching a rough outline of something.

The sun was shining down a bit stronger now, and he could feel the warm rays against his back, soaking into his black jacket and shirt. It was a little warm, but tastefully so. Plus, his skin and body temperature was already ice cold, so he doubted it would make much of a difference. He remembered that the girl had asked him a question, and he looked up at her again. "I like to be alone. More peaceful. And I can look after myself," he replied, saying the last part rather coldly, harshly. "I could say the same to you, what's a young girl like yourself doing out alone? Could get hurt, who knows what's lurking around just waiting for easy prey."

[rosalie]

Rosalie watched him intently, she noticed he was drawing. Artists, they always are so stand-offish. She pouted to her self. She couldn't draw, it wasn't much of artist. Well she was never good with her hands. She looked at them from their place in the grass, as she leaned back using them as support. Did I clean my fingernails? I'm not sure I did... She lifted her right hand up examining her fingernails. They're a little dirty, I'll clean them out later. She placed it back down, using it as support.

He spoke answering her question with a cold harsh tone. She frowned, it hurt but she was used to people not accepting her acts of kindness. She looked at him, her eyes seemingly frowning. "I can take care of myself, I can handle it." She reassured him, mostly reassuring herself. It was true, she shouldn't have been out here alone. But she had to visit them, the elderly can't do much for themselves. They need help, they need a guardian angel. Thats why she had to come.

It was getting hotter, as the sun continued to beamed down on them. She removed her jacket and carefully placed it on her lap. Making sure it won't get dirty. She kicked off her ballet flats, her feet were starting to sweat. Her white feet, white from winter were basking the sun. She leaned her head back smiling. "Besides, I'm fine now. You're here." She says calmly, she did feel at ease easily. Though something in the back of mind told her not to, she blocked out the thought. She was just a girl, who would hurt her.

Maybe I should introduce myself, it seems so rude talking to a stranger without introducing myself. She sat up and turned to face him, sitting cross legged. "My name is Rosalie, What's your name?" She asks quietly, not wanting to distract his train of thought since he was still drawing. "Do you live around here?" She asks a moment later, wondering about this guy.

[xavier]

He could feel her gaze on him. His attention was more firmly focused on the page, and what he was drawing upon it with the pencil. He'd not quite decided what he was drawing... well, actually, he had. Just the details, they were still hazy and he'd decide on them when he needed to draw them. So many drawings were in that thick art pad, plus several more pages in his backpack; even more pages of his drawings were taped and stuck to the walls of his room, covering all the white surfaces. The drawings accompanied all the lyrics and random phrases that he wrote upon the walls to remember them, since all the paper he had was used for his drawings.

The way she frowned at how he'd spoken to her didn't escape his notice, but he didn't care. Was she expecting him to be all happy and bubbly like her? Keep dreaming, that would never ever happen. Hardly bothering to make the point that he'd never been like that in his life, looking at him would not really bring happy and bubbly thoughts to mind. He looked up when she spoke, and her words that were meant to be reassuring didn't do anything like that in the slightest. If anything, he felt less reassured by what she'd said. Just looking at her, he didn't think that she could look after herself if it came to that.

He watched her as she took off her jacket, she was obviously getting rather warm. His body temperature was still the same, and the sun was just a slightly warm aura on him, nothing more. He narrowed his hazel-green eyes a little, looking up towards the horizon. What she said made him nearly laugh coldly, but he barely looked at her instead. Did she really think that if danger came, he would do something to protect? She had to be joking. He noticed that she'd kicked off her flat shoes. He raised his eyebrow as he continued to draw. "I'm here, yes. So? You expecting me to come to your 'rescue' if something bad happens?" he asked bluntly.

A few moments passed and he'd continued drawing, gliding his pencil over the page. But then the girl spoke again. A quick glance let him know that she'd turned to face him, though still sitting down. He waited until she was finished speaking completely, and let a moment of silence pass by, while he continued to draw. "Xavier," he replied curtly, giving her name mostly because he'd been taught to be polite to women, even if he wasn't feeling all that friendly at that moment. He found it unusual that she'd ask where he lived, but he supposed it was just what she always did when meeting new people. "I live around, yes. You live in Sanglignée, correct?" He still hadn't quite gotten used to the French words yet, even after living there for so long.

[rosalie]

Taken back by his cold laugh it seem to made her shudder, but not letting it get to her she raised her head up and let him finish speaking. "Well Xavier, I don't expect you to rescue me. I'm not a damsel in distress. I can take care of myself." She answers firmly fighting back a tear. She didn't want be rendered weak, she helped people and it took a strong person to do that. She reassured herself in her head.

Straining to change the subject, and just wanting to talk to him. "So you've heard those rumors, about the tainted?" She asked coyly. "I never met my father he died before I was born, but my mother told me-" She paused a moment, second guessing herself. But shook it off and blurted it out anyways. "He was." She opened up to him, maybe expecting something out of him. It was rather confusing to her, still. It's been two years and she still hasn't had a grip over them. It bugged her in the back of her head, she didn't need to grab a ladder, she didn't even have to walk if she could do what she really could. But she couldn't.

She sighed annoyed with herself and turned away from him she felt a little cold, unusually and placed her jacket on. She hugged her legs and stared out at the horizon. I could just jump up and fly there, I could do it...but why can't I? Her eyes closed with frustration and sadness. Fly away like a bird... She untied her hair, letting it flow down. It gently swayed with the wind. She placed her hair tie on her wrist. Why am I here with this stranger anyways. I should just go. She quickly took a glance back at him. I don't know, I just have an eerie feeling something will happen. Maybe I can get answers.

She shook her head still annoyed with herself and lied down in the grass, not particularly caring if her jacket got dirty in it. I can wash out the stain later anyways. She lifted her head up to put her hood up and lied it back down. It was a nice day, and she just wanted to enjoy it with somebody, even if it was a complete stranger.

[xavier]

Raising his eyebrow at her words briefly, his eyes ghosted back to his drawing on the paper. He found her words amusing, mostly; if she really thought that he'd believe her when she said she could take care of herself, then she would be so wrong. So, he was cold, in an emotional sense or, perhaps, lack thereof. Could thank his 'precious' father for that one. The only 'emotions' that Xavier knew now, really, were cruelty and coldness, in general and towards any other people. Only people that saw the person he used to be were his mother and younger brother, the two that never shunned him for what he'd turned out to be.

The girl spoke again. Change of subject again, and to... wtf? He fixed her with a emotionless look, watching as she spoke and paused and spoke again. Tainted. He felt like snarling. There was no such thing, at least not to him. Was an urban legend, nothing more. There was just those with powers, and those without. If anything, it should have been the other way around. Those without power should have been the Tainted, those reduced to not being given powers. Those with powers should have been the Untainted, the ones with gifts. He left the emotionless look on his face while he answered her question. "Yes, I have heard the rumours," he replied quietly, his eyes on the pad of paper on his lap. He would offer nothing more on the subject unless she did.

His eyes watched her briefly, while she put her jacket back on and then lay down amongst the slightly long grass. He knew why she'd put her jacket on, but he wouldn't say anything about it. With her broaching of the subject about the 'Tainted', the last thing he would do is possibly expose himself and his gift, especially not to her. He didn't want a thousand and one questions. He always got them from people who saw his power accidentally. A moment passed and his gaze returned towards the girl, just watching her for a moment. "You live in Sanglignée, I've seen you around," he said briefly, looking back at his drawing.

[rosalie]

"Mhm, I was born and raised here." Rosalie murmured a reply, her mind lost in thought. Tainted, such an ugly word. To call herself tainted would be an insult, she did good things for people. She helps people. "I don't like how they're called Tainted, they should be called the blessed. God has bestowed a gift on them, and they're lucky." She smiled to herself, thinking about her gift.

An idea popped into her head, though she was unsure. She sat up immediately, staring at him with intent eyes. Can I trust this man? The back of her mind said no but she quieted her inner voice. He could possibly understand me. She tilted her head looking at him, studying him deep as if trying to find his soul. He looked cold, distant, not wanting to get close to anyone. She softened her facial expression. "I heard it's genetic..." She said softly, as if trying to drop the hint to him. She looked up at him again, looking deep into his eyes, searching for an answer. Searching for help to her dilemma.

She bravely stood up and walked those steps closer to him, with each and every step she felt colder. She knelt just a foot next to him, giving a comfortable distant and hugged herself. "Xavier..." She breathed quietly. "I-" She began shuddering. You can blurt it out now, and you could fly away before he can do anything. Right, that's the plan. She took a deep breath, "I'moneofthem." She stammered really fast covering her mouth childishly afterwards as if she said a bad word. She turned away starting to bite her nails. Oh god, Oh dear God help me now.

[xavier]

His ears heard what she said clearly, but his eyes remained fixed upon his pad of paper, watching what he was doing as the pencil glided across the paper; for most people, it would appear that he wasn't paying attention to the conversation, let alone interested in what was being said. He either came across as rude or unfriendly or cruel. Rather, though, it was just because that Xavier was incredibly shy. Mostly, this was the case around exceptionally beautiful women; bring him near any beautiful woman, and Xavier will lose all capability of speech, and just burrow his head into his art pad, or become cold and curt, in an attempt to curb his shyness. Rather not the most wonderful way to help things, but that's just the way he was.

She was born and raised here. He heard that clearly, even though she murmured it softly, almost under her breath. She certainly seemed to be preoccupied with her thoughts, sitting there in the grass. His assumption was confirmed when she started talking again, smiling to herself as she talked about her beliefs on the ‘Tainted’. He merely sat there and half-watched her, though he was fully listening to what she was saying; he wasn’t that rude, and would still half-listen even if the conversation was boring him to tears. Though, in all truth, despite the fact that the girl in front of him was a bubbly, overly cheerful teenager who seemed to think he would reply in equal interest to everything she said, he was certainly learning plenty of information from her with regards to those that the majority of the world called the ‘Tainted’.

He then noticed the way she was looking at him, with a stare that showed intent but also hesitance. Mildly interested as to why she would gift him with that kind of look, he stared back without saying anything; his hazel-green eyes watched her stonily while waiting for the moment when she would speak, as he knew that she would eventually. And right before she spoke, he saw the way her facial expression softened, and her voice was also soft when she spoke. When she started looking closer at him, searching his eyes, Xavier looked away and down at his drawing. His attention mostly remained upon the page as he resumed drawing, but he could hear her moving closer to him slowly. He heard how she said his name, more breathed it, actually; he glanced up briefly, and he saw how she was shuddering when she attempted to speak again.

Obviously she was about to tell him something that she found rather important, or at least, difficult to tell just anyone. And when she stammered it out at a speed most people wouldn't even begin to grasp, he paused in adding to his drawing and looked up at her. He raised his eyebrow when she covered her mouth quickly, obviously surprised with herself. Having a measure of politeness left, he didn't laugh at her, although he really wanted to. He put his pencil down and pushed some of his hair from his face. “Should start slowing your speed of talking down, otherwise people will take the opinion that you are a blubbering idiot,” he replied coldly; strangely, he hadn't actually meant to be that cold or cruel, but he'd heard her perfectly and was reeling slightly from what she'd said. "If you want to say something, I'd suggest saying it slowly enough for a person to hear it."

[rosalie]

Rosalie's nervousness faded away as soon as he spoke. Her eyes slowly closed and she fell to her knees. I'm so stupid... She reached down to the grass taking a fist full in each hand. She inhaled deeply letting go of the grass in unison with her breath. She cleared her throat and turned her head back to look at Xavier. What's his deal. Maybe he knows something I don't know. I don't know what to do. Her eyes tried to study him again, searching for something. Though she didn't know what.

The wind blew through Rosalie's hair, things were quiet between them. Rosalie was locked in a deep stare. How can someone be so cold, unless... A smirk grew on her face, she opened her mouth to speak her thoughts but quickly shut it knowing her consequences of speaking her mind around this man. Did he even hear me, or do I have to repeat myself for answers? Rosalie stop being a dumb dumb. She sighed, giving her self a whack in the head.

The silence between them continued to grow, it started to make Rosalie more uneasy. Determined to break the silence, she bravely stood up holding her head high with personal pride. "Xavier." She said confidently. "Do you know anyone who..." She paused, trying to figure out out how she should word it. "Flies?" She smiled. "Cause" She dragged, breaking eye contact with him as she looked up at the tree near by. "I can." She smiled proudly. Take that! Ahah! I admitted it. Now I feel so much better.

"What about you?" She knelt down on her knees. "Do you know anyone who's blessed?" She tilted her head slightly looking at him curiously. C'mon I know you know something. Just say it. Please. Please! Her eyes searching him for an answer. A shiver ran down her spin, as she shivered. A sly eye looked over at him. Oh I wonder...