Penthouse One/Alex and Brooke Pt. II

## Boom (continued)

Brooklyn C.

"Totally hoping you win the bet now," she mused. "Hm, now my bet seems ordinary. I was just going to say that if I win you had to sleep in my bed for a week..."

Alex Bellrose

She, of course, blushed but everyone probably picked up Alex blushed at anything and everything. She had turned a darker shade (of course) at the suggestion. Without saying anything she pulled out her HC, typing it in and began to read. "Oh. It doesn't even mean good and evil. Just balance." She paused, "what do we do then?"

Brooklyn C.

"Well, since Yin and Yang support balance, we'll just have a balance of both bets. We'll sleep together, in Paris," she said with a wink.

Alex Bellrose

The HC flicked off and she looked away, hiding her face with her hair. "Fine. We'll do that. But...if we're only going to Paris for one night, doesn't that undermine your side?"

Brooklyn C.

"Truuue, unless you want to stay in Paris for a week?"

Alex Bellrose

"Wouldn't we get in trouble?" She asked. She was thinking Brooklyn would just say the rest of the week counts for both Paris and the academy but she wasn't going to say that.

Brooklyn C.

"Naaah, I got connections," she replied with a laugh. "Come on, let's get to the gallery!" she exclaimed, grabbing Alex's hand.

Alex Bellrose

She instinctively began to pull away but (probably quite obviously) hesitated before slipping her fingers through Brooklyn's. "We're nearly there," she breathed out, "just another block away."

Brooklyn C.

"You don't know how tempted I am to play Sonic music and start running."

Alex Bellrose

"I'm not that fit, if we start running I'm going to be on the ground in half a block," she pointed, "going to have to carry me the rest of the way."

Brooklyn C.

She grinned and stopped to bend down, "I could just carry you the rest of the way then."

Alex Bellrose

She froze, "*what?*" She said, "I know I'm tiny but I'm not that light. You'll get tired."

Brooklyn C.

She shook her head in defiance and urged her to get on once again, "Get on, Alex. We have to be back by 11."

Alex Bellrose

She purses her lips before slipping on. She wasn't heavy. In fact, she probably weighed something similar to a feather. The heaviest thing she carried was probably an easel. "Fine."

Brooklyn C.

Brooke slipped her arms under Alex's legs and hoisted her up, standing up as she did. "Let's go!" she exclaimed before beginning to move. Alex was actually much lighter than Brooke originally predicted with surprised her majorly. "You need to eat more, you're like, eighty pounds."

Alex Bellrose

Her hands tightened around Brooklyn's neck, and made a face, "I'm actually 87 pounds. And that's somewhat average for my height. Take a right here."

Brooklyn C.

"Wow..." She followed Alex's instructions, still slightly concerned about the girl on her back but didn't elaborate on the subject.

Alex Bellrose

"Not my fault you have tons of muscle," she muttered, admitting to herself she probably was feeling Brooklyn's body up during this time.

Brooklyn C.

She laughed a little. "I did a lot of running and jumping. P.E. was like, my favorite subject."

Alex Bellrose

"I don't doubt you," she said finally settling into the rhythm of Brooklyn running. Soon she tapped Brooklyn's collarbone, "we're here."

Brooklyn C.

Brooke stopped completely, pausing to take a short breath before bending down for Alex to get off.

Alex Bellrose

She hopped off, only slightly disappointed to get off, and looked up at the bright gallery where a few people were inside. "It's a youth gallery," she said, as if to explain the ages of the people inside. No one looked over 25. With that, she opened the door for Brooklyn.

Brooklyn C.

"Looks very, uh, youthful," she commented with a giggle. "Let's go inside then. It'd be weird to just be standing on the sidewalk in front of an art gallery."

Alex Bellrose

She smiled at Brooklyn and jerked her head, "then come on and go inside. I can't wait all day," she said, her fingers tapping against the frame of the door.

Brooklyn C.

"I'm going, I'm going." She passed under the doorway, which was unusually colorful.

Alex Bellrose

She closed the door behind her, the bell dingling, and Alex barely got to Brooklyn's side until someone with bright coloured hair had dragged Alex into her, kissing both of Alex's cheeks. Unlike before, when Brooklyn did a similar gesture, Alex didn't blush. In fact, she was probably too surprised to react. "Ma belle!" The girl, who couldn't have been older than twenty, maybe nineteen or eighteen, said, pulling back to beam down at Alex. The girl's ear was covered in piercings and a small cross tattoo on the corner of her eye. She spoke in fluent French, rushed enough that Alex struggled to keep up but she smiled politely anyway. "Uh, Dakota, this is Brooklyn. My roommate," Alex said, cutting in to the monologue, and Dakota glanced to Brooklyn.

Brooklyn C.

Brooklyn raised an eyebrow at the whole scene, half wanting to pull Alex away and half wanting to walk right back out. "Right... Hi, I'm Brooklyn, I just go by Brooke though."

Alex Bellrose

Dakota looked Brooke up and down before muttering a hmph before saying to Alex, "and what can I do for you? Tell me you thought about that job offer?" She asked, half pleading, and Alex rocked back on her heels, nibbling on her lip.

"I did and it's still a no. I need to look at my work. Think I might take one back." Dakota hesitated and after an attempt to persuade Alex not to through with it, Dakota disappeared.

"Sorry about her," Alex said, "she's like that with everyone. I only earn her money so she's forced to be...friendly with me. You get use to it. Come on, we're holding up the doorway."
With that, she grabbed Brooklyn's wrist to drag her through the art. Some were obviously done by youngsters but there was some good ones thrown in there.

Brooklyn C.

"Uh okay then..." She allowed the other to drag her throughout the gallery, still confused over the Dakoto incident and not quite comprehending any 'artwork'.

Alex Bellrose

She finally slowed down at the centre of the room, "she wants me to be an editor, of sorts, choose which painting gets in and who gets cut out," she said, "I might have considered it...but, I'm not into her." She shrugged, gazing at three paintings with faint interest.

One was a picture of a girl, her shoulders and hair done with coal and was a rough sketch, the face, though, was the centre. It was strokes of paint, mixed together, as if someone had thrown it on. The paint had been made to look it was 3D and colliding with the other colours.

The second was of another girl, with only the bottom half of the face shown, the hair, brightly coloured, covered her eyes, and the last one was a landscape of the palace of Versailles.

"If you get what I mean with that," Alex added on, turning back at Brooklyn, hoping the words "Alexandra Bellróse" underneath each one wasn't going to be noticed.

Brooklyn C.

"Yeah, there was something off about her to be honest." She stepped closer to study the art further. "This is so cool...!" and then she noticed *Alexandra Bellrose* written under each one and gasped. "You made these? And you didn't say anything? You should've painted a mural for our room, *look* at this! It's amazing!"

Alex Bellrose

She glanced at them once more, "meh, two of them were just a doodle, the last one..." she trailed off looking at the portrait. "Kind of sloppy. Shouldn't have overlapped with coal," she said nodding at where the paint curled into the black, "but she liked it and I didn't know what to do with them." She knew how people thought when they listened to her talk about her art, she knew their look, but she had her mother's voice reciting every mistake in her head and struggled to see any worth in anything she did. "But like I told Jack, that'd be way too much effort. Have to get rid of furniture or move them around to actually get to the wall. We'll be forced to sleep together considering there might be only one bed. So no."

Brooklyn C.

A smirk lit up her face, "I wouldn't have an issue sleeping in the same bed with you. We could move around the dresser and the nightstands."

Alex Bellrose

She flushed but as saved from replying when Dakota reappeared, holding two paintings in each hand, "this is the only two I'm willing to let go of."

One was of a girl drowning, her blonde hair surrounded by different shades of blue, the other was, of all people, Will. Painted in water colour, he was looking away from the audience, a smoke dangling off his lips.

"Neither," she said instantly. "I'm having neither."

Brooklyn C.

Both pictures look strangely similar, and she could easily pinpoint the one of Will while she personally thought the other looked eerily similar to her. "Do you normally paint such offending pictures?" Brooke asked Dakota, her tone filled with annoyance.

Alex Bellrose

Alex bit down on her lip as Dakota turned to glare at Brooklyn, "can't I take one of mine?" Alex asked, jabbing at the pictures behind her, hoping to distract Dakota from opening her mouth.

Brooklyn C.

"We should take the one of the Versailles palace," she advised, turning her attention back to Alex. "Or the one with the girl looking down."

Alex Bellrose

Dakota pursed her lips before sighing, "*fine*," she muttered, "you owe me a new one, though. I'm thinking slightly provocative...say, Linda, what do you think about modelling?" She asked Brooklyn.

"I'm not doing a nude painting," Alex said, taking the Versaille painting down.

Brooklyn C.

She snorted, pretending to look around for the so-called 'Linda'. "I have a question... Er, Danielle or something, was it? Who's Linda?"

Alex Bellrose

"It's you, hunty," Dakota snorted and Alex struggled to get the painting off the ground. Problem when you paint pictures bigger than you. "Alright, we're leaving. Dakota, until next time."

Brooklyn C.

She rolled her eyes, "It's Brook*lyn*. Not Linda. But for someone with such a large attitude issue, I'd be surprised if you could even remember your own name." She turned and easily picked up the painting before shooting Dakota a look, grabbing Alex's hand and marching towards the entrance of the gallery.

Alex Bellrose

She stumbled in her attempt to keep up and winced as the cold air hit her, "well, that might not have been a good idea in retrospect," she muttered, "as I said...she's okay when you get to know her." In all reality, Alex just looked on the bright side of everything and couldn't really see anything bad or bitchy until it slapped her in the face. "Do you need help?"

Brooklyn C.

"Fine," she grunted. "How can you stand her? She's so obnoxious and snobby you could smell it for miles. What? Is she God's gift to the World or something? What even?"

Alex Bellrose

She choked on laughter feeling slightly bad about the description and laughing at her, "she's just...eccentric and I've been told I could probably stand Satan without even a flicker of annoyance. I actually met Will through her," she added on before pausing to think about it, "but, she gives me money for the work, and...it saves me from actually getting a job."

Brooklyn C.

"You could always just ask..." And then she stopped herself because she remembers she was talking to Alex. "Well, anyway, you don't deserve to be treated like that. You are not a doormat."

Alex Bellrose

*It took the teacher's eight months to realise I didn't go to a single class.* She shrugged, "it's fine. I'm not bothered by it, and anyway, it's a nice idea the gallery. Not many people below forty get much attention in their art, let alone teenagers and college students."

Brooklyn C.

"Like I said, Heathen is a giant contrast to Earth. I'd be surprised if an *unfriendly* city existed here."

Alex Bellrose

"That's true," she conceded, "maybe I'm not separating myself from Earth and it's just a gallery run by a b-" she stopped herself, "by someone with attitude."

Brooklyn C.

"Hey Alex," she hummed. "Why don't you cuss? Like, you were on the edge, but you stopped yourself... Does it remind you of something...?"

Alex Bellrose

"My parents didn't swear," she said, shaking her head. "But...I don't know. Guess I keep them under my belt, like when the situation actually calls for it."

Brooklyn C.

"I can admire that. Save cursing for the most important occasions."

Alex Bellrose

"Plus, if I start cussing, I don't think I'll stop, really."

Brooklyn C.

She laughed at the last part. "Guess I'll do all the cussing for you then."

Alex Bellrose

"Exactly," she said nodding. "Balances out that way."

Brooklyn C.

She smiled, "Yin and Yang," she reminded the other with a wink.

Alex Bellrose

"On the topic...are we planning to start them both at the same time...by the end of the week we'll probably only need one bed."

Brooklyn C.

"Yes, we should..." Her eyes widened in excitement. "Are you going to paint the mural?"

Alex Bellrose

"I'm thinking it would look better than this," she sighed, "and I guess I can. If you don't mind potential clashing with the colour."

Brooklyn C.

"Forget clashing colours! I'd rather have a mural and clashing colors than no mural at all."

Alex Bellrose

"You're going to have to tell me what though, and no-my answers still the same with Dakota. Nothing nude."

Brooklyn C.

"What made you think I was going to ask you to paint something nude?"

Alex Bellrose

"She did, she suggested it and now it's in my head," she muttered, keeping her eyes in front of her.

Brooklyn C.

"Would you be willing to though? If the model was me?" Her tone was flirtatious, but now she was just generally curious as to if Alex would actually go through with it.

Alex Bellrose

Her eyes slid over to the corner, watching Brooke in slight surprise, and bit down on her lip. "Maybe I would, as long as I get something in return," she said, deciding to go along with it.

Brooklyn C.

"What would you have in mind? I'm down for anything."

Alex Bellrose

She blinked, looking at her with a raised eyebrow. "You," she said, "wouldn't mind lying nude in front of a practical stranger?" She paused, "not that there's anything wrong with that, of course."

Brooklyn C.

"Nope, not really. I trust you Alex."

Alex Bellrose

She smiled slightly, "I'll keep that in mind, then," she murmured.

Brooklyn C.

She grinned, "Let's get back to campus now, before we miss curfew and the school board comes after our asses."

Alex Bellrose

She smiled slightly, "yeah, I don't want to spend the night in the cold," she confessed, quickening her pace.

OOC: Timeskip?

Alex Bellrose

TIMESKIP

She pushed the door open, holding it out for Brooklyn, "reckon we could just dump it on Will's bed until we knock a nail onto the wall?" She asked, referencing to the painting.

Brooklyn C.

"Nah, I don't trust him not to ruin it, to be honest," she replied, walking in. She set the painting down so it was leaning against the counter. "I'll ask Zero if he can keep it until then. But the realy focus now is what you're going to paint in your mural."

Alex Bellrose

"Alright, alright," she said shaking her head slightly, "I'll turn my focus onto it. Do you...have any ideas?"

Brooklyn C.

"A forest landscape. So it's like, we're outside, but we're not outside."

Alex Bellrose

She paused, thinking through it, before nodding, a smile touching her lips, "I can see it," she said, "like an escape."

Brooklyn C.

"Yeah! Exactly like that!" she exclaimed. We can use the wall behind my bed, since it doesn't have a lightswitch or anything you'd have to paint around."

Alex Bellrose

"I could make some of it glow in the dark," she said, just thinking aloud now.

Brooklyn C.

"Oooh... You can? You should! That would look amazing, especially during the night time."

Alex Bellrose

"I found spells for it," she confessed, "and fine, I'll start. I don't know when, but I'll get it done."

Brooklyn C.

"I know I'd probably be terrible at this, but if there's anyway I can help, pleeaaasseeee tell me."

Alex Bellrose

"You can do all the manual lifting, be my ladder."

Brooklyn C.

She pouted, "Okaaaay, guess so. Human ladder it is!"

Alex Bellrose

"Cook too," she said grinning back at her, "but, it's okay. You don't have to do anything. It's cool. I'm not much fun when I get into it, anyway."

Brooklyn C.

"Nope! I said if there's anyway I can help, just tell me. Gotta keep that promise.

Alex Bellrose

"It's really no issue, I'm already stealing your bed so that's probably enough," she said as she moved into their room, yawning slightly.

Brooklyn C.

"Speaking of that, we should practice sleeping together for night, since we'll be doing it a lot in Paris," she reminded Alex, innocently.

Alex Bellrose

She snapped her head to Brooklyn, blinking repeatedly, "ah..." she trailed off. "Sure, I guess," she breathed out, "I, um...have to take sleeping pills, though," she said softly, scuffing her foot onto the ground, "so I'll be pretty dead."

Brooklyn C.

"Why do you need to take sleeping pills?" she asked, shifting.

Alex Bellrose

"Insomniac," she said. It was technically true but the key word: technically. "You don't care...do you?"

Brooklyn C.

"Well of course I care. Why do you have insomnia? Is it serious? Is there anything I can do to help?"

Alex Bellrose

"Well, it's not that serious, I've had it for years," she said slowly, "and no, I don't think so? Just...don't expect me to wake up until eight tomorrow morning."

Brooklyn C.

"So... before eight, gotcha."

Alex Bellrose

She covered her mouth with her knuckles, pretending to scratch it, slightly embarrassed now, "but...um, yeah, I guess we should go to sleep."

Brooklyn C.

"Let's do that then."

Alex Bellrose

She moved back to her drawers, rifling for the pills, taking out a bottle and a small knife, before looking for her clothes and moved towards the bathroom.

Brooklyn C.

Brooke just waited in their bedroom, kicking her feet as she sat on Alex's bed and put the day to thought inside her head.

Alex Bellrose

In the bathroom, she quickly got dressed before beginning to chop the pill up. Had no interest in sleeping 12 hours. Finally cutting a quarter off, she popped the small bit into the bottle before shoving it into a drawer and came back out, looking for the bottle of water.

Brooklyn C.

After a couple of minutes she decided to get up and change into a comfortable pair of shorts and a crop top the stopped just above her belly button. She laid on Alex's bed, with her hands behind her head as she continued to think.

Alex Bellrose

She swallowed the pill before leaning over Brooklyn narrowing her eyes, "you're going to have to shove over, you know? Or else I'm going to be on top of you, it's not that big."

Brooklyn C.

"Could you be on top of me? I think I'll fall asleep more easily that way."

Alex Bellrose

She rose an eyebrow, wanting to argue, but didn't have the energy, and tugged at the covers, "get under, you'll get cold."

Brooklyn C.

"Not with you on top of me," she mumbled, but followed Alex's demands anyway.

Alex Bellrose

"Well, I'll get cold," she corrected, before following suit, hesitating for a moment before shuffling closer, away from the edge, wrapping her arm around Brooklyn's waist, using Brooklyn's shoulder as a pillow. "Good enough?"

Brooklyn C.

She grinned, pulling Alex closer. "Very good."

Alex Bellrose

Instinctively, (she'll be blaming it on the pills in the morning), she wrapped her legs through Brooklyn's, beginning to grip onto Brooklyn. Brooklyn *was* warm. Her eyes fluttering shut, she breathed out, "good."

Brooklyn C.

She was minorly stunned for a few seconds but closed her eyes as well and smiled as she lost herself to the world of sleep.

Alex Bellrose

At around 8:10, Alex began to stir, her eyes forcing themselves open, to stare at the white wall, struggling to form any thoughts, unsure of where she was. Eventually, she shifted up, looking around, curious as to why she was in the other bed. After sitting there for ten minutes, yesterday's events began to come back to her and she hugged her stomach. Right. *Right.*. A part of her was thinking of where Brooklyn was but the other half was dealing with her thumping heart. Finally, she got out of bed, padding out to the kitchen, wanting food or at least some water, not bothering to put anything over the tank top and shorts.

Brooklyn C.

Brooke was standing the kitchen, frying eggs and bacon on the stove. Her hair was tied in a ponytail, and she too was simply wearing shorts and her crop top from last night. She heard Alex's footsteps and she merrily greeted her. "Morning Alex. Sleep well?"

Alex Bellrose

She blinked at Brooklyn before grunting in acknowledgment, still three quarters asleep, heading straight for the cupboard for coffee. She felt bleary and kind of dizzy, but she was use to it.

Brooklyn C.

"You shouldn't drink coffee too often y'know?" she pointed out. "Have some orange juice or something."

Alex Bellrose

"I'll have that when I'm not feeling like I'm about to keel over and pass out," she said, her mind not working enough to actually filter out her words, finding instant coffee and sighed, "I need to find proper coffee. This stuff's disgusting. It's...what's the word...vénéneux. You know...poison. Poison." She flipped the kettle on.

Brooklyn C.

"What about poison?"

Alex Bellrose

She shook the box at her, "instant coffee. Poison. Where are the cups again?" She began to flip cupboards open, leaning up onto her toes to peer in.

Brooklyn C.

She nodded to the cupboard above her head. "Over here."

Alex Bellrose

She nodded slowly, "thanks," she said before pausing, "could you, ah, get me one?" Her mind was beginning to click now.

Brooklyn C.

"If you can fry the eggs for a few seconds, sure."

Alex Bellrose

She slid the coffee onto the bench, coming up beside to Brooklyn, her hand hovering over Brooklyn's to take the spatula. "I can do that."

Brooklyn C.

"Alright." She stepped away from the stove and opened the cupboard, getting a mug for Alex. "Here you go."

Alex Bellrose

She caught the spatula and nudged at the eggs before shooting Brooklyn a smile, "thanks," she said.

Brooklyn C.

"You're welcome..." It was peacefully comforting, waking up and talking with Alex in the morning. She felt like she could do this every day. Wake up with Alex against her body and then get up to make breakfast, followed by Alex waking up and them arguing about how coffee is unhealthy and then just... this serenity.

Alex Bellrose

She bit at her lip, looking up at Brooklyn dimly remembering the previous night. Snapping her head back to the eggs, her hair falling out of her ears, like it was attempting to hide the blush beginning to poke at Alex's cheeks. "Do you want me to make you one? Coffee that is."

Brooklyn C.

"Hm?" Brooke shook her head. "Stopped drinking that ages ago."

Alex Bellrose

"Ah," she said, "fair enough. I probably should but...it's my guilty pleasure. Even if it is the poison version of it," she grumbled out. Pausing, "here, I'm not good at cooking, probably burning the eggs so switch again?"

Brooklyn C.

She laughed, "Sure."

Alex Bellrose

She offered the spatula to Brooke whilst the other hand went for the cup, her finger's skimming over Brooklyn's hand. "Thanks."

Brooklyn C.

She took the spatula calmly, but she felt electric prickling across the skin of her hand.

Alex Bellrose

Taking the cup, she jolted away, back to the kettle, trying to ignore the flush of goosebumps that spread across her skin.

Brooklyn C.

"Uh...so..." she drifted off, flipping the egg over to fry the other side.

Alex Bellrose

"How did you sleep?" She asked, trying to distract herself, pouring the water into a mug.

Brooklyn C.

Saying anything about nightmares was an absolute no, so she just smiled and said, "Great."

Alex Bellrose

She titled her head, looking at Brooklyn slightly, before shrugging it off. She wasn't exactly in a position to point out lies. "That's good. Do you like tea? Or something? A drink?"

Brooklyn C.

"Orange juice. Very healthy," she commented, poking fun at Alex for earlier when Brooke suggested orange juice instead of coffee.

Alex Bellrose

She rolled her eyes at this, getting it out from the fridge, "do you know how much sugar is in this?"

Brooklyn C.

"But it's natural sugars, because orange juice," she argued.

Alex Bellrose

She breathed out a laugh, "I *guess*," she conceded, pouring into a glass before grabbing the coffee, piling it into the hot water. Stirring it, she slipped onto a stool and sipped at it, gazing at Brooklyn.

Brooklyn C.

Brooke continued to fry the eggs and bacon and when she was done with that, turned the stove off and put an equal serving on two plates. "I bet you're hungry."

Alex Bellrose

She breathed in the air, deciding she could get use to being cooked for, "you could say that," she replied.

Brooklyn C.

"Well then get a fork and eat," she laughed.

Alex Bellrose

She poked her tongue out at her, dragging the plate over, and slid out to grab the fork. Sitting back, she took a small bite. "You're going to have to teach me this," she pointed out, "cause I'm not going to able to handle the days where you don't cook."

Brooklyn C.

She giggled and dug in as well. "I could today, after classes end."

Alex Bellrose

"Oh yeah, classes," she replied, "what do you have first?"

Brooklyn C.

"Uh...." She muttered as she tried to recollect the memories of her schedule. "Elementalisum: Earth!"

Alex Bellrose

She breathed out, slightly in relief, "nice, I think we have basic charms after though."

Brooklyn C.

"I have Heathen History... they switched my classes around recently because there were too many kids in fourth period Chemistry."

Alex Bellrose

*You can have my spot. I rarely go.*She winced slightly, shoving the thought down, "sorry, that might be my fault."

Brooklyn C.

She tilted her head to the side in confusion. "What do you mean?"

Alex Bellrose

"When I transferred in," she said , " I think I was the last one in."

Brooklyn C.

"The last one in the dorm...?"

Alex Bellrose

"No, chemistry." She rubbed the back of her neck frowning.

Brooklyn C.

"Ah. Okay."

Alex Bellrose

She took another bite of the egg, really shoving her foot into her mouth, and gazed around the kitchen, "has he come out yet?" She asked, looking at Zero's door.

Brooklyn C.

She looked up and followed Alex's line of vision before sighing and shaking her head. "I went to check up on him, see if he wanted anything to eat. He said he was fine, since he ate a couple of days ago..."

Alex Bellrose

"Does he realise that eating is a daily ritual?" She asked with a frown, "at least once a day sort of thing?"

Brooklyn C.

"I... don't think so. I mean, he can survive off of three hours of sleep, and he eats like a sandwich every three days so..."

Alex Bellrose

"That can't be healthy," she muttered, tapping her chin with her finger, "is it...on purpose?"

Brooklyn C.

"I don't really know," she said with a shrug. "He told me that he stopped eating regularly when he was like, ten and he could rarely sleep more than six hours total as a kid." She shoved a forkful of eggs in her mouth.

Alex Bellrose

"Oh..." she trailed off still eying the door, "we should try pull him out. You know, involve him in something."

Brooklyn C.

She shrugged, swallowing her eggs. "We should... the problem is getting him out though."

Alex Bellrose

"Kidnap him," she suggested, "carry him out of the room."

Brooklyn C.

Brooke burst out laughing, not even bothering to compose herself. "Kidnap him...? Isn't that a little far?"

Alex Bellrose

She turned to look at Brooklyn, giving her a lop sided grin, relaxing at the sound, "maybe, but it gets the job done. Plus, he'll thank us eventually."

Brooklyn C.

"I don't know about the kidnapping part but getting him to experience the outside world might do him well, I guess."

Alex Bellrose

"I thought I was pale until I met him," she said, blinking, before shrugging, "I was joking when I said it. But...we could do it, I suppose."

Brooklyn C.

She snorted at Alex's first comment. "Only if you want to. Like, I don't mind, at this point, everyone in this dorm is like my child, and this child needs to get some sunshine, but only if you want to."

Alex Bellrose

She raised an eyebrow, "how pleasant," she said, with a touch of sarcasm, "do you care?"

{

Brooklyn C.

"Do I care about...?" she drifted off, indirectly asking Alex to make her question more specific.

Alex Bellrose

"About being the...mother hen of the place," she said, correcting herself, "or whatever you put it as."

Brooklyn C.

"Well..." she pretended to think about it. "No, not really. It's like, having a family, but made of people close to you but necessarily related to you."

Alex Bellrose

She paused as she thought through it, "it must be nice," she eventually said, taking another bite.

Brooklyn C.

"...I guess, yeah."

Alex Bellrose

She glanced down to the plate before looking at Brooklyn's, assessing how slow of an eater she was. She quickly spooned another piece into her mouth. "So," she said after swallowing, "Paris."

Brooklyn C.

"Paris!" she exclaimed. "We should go this Monday, because we don't have classes then. Besides the rest of week is like, review stuff so we should be good."

Alex Bellrose

She thought about it, "so," she said, "four days. Why don't we just leave on Friday night? Add the Weekend in?"

Brooklyn C.

She shrugged, considering the idea. "I guess it doesn't hurt. More time to explore."

Alex Bellrose

"Exactly," she replied, "we have the money for it, don't we?"

Brooklyn C.

"Yeah," she agreed.

Alex Bellrose

She glanced at Brooklyn, idly checking her out, but her mind was situated on the idea of being back in the city after four long years. "It's a plan, then," she breathed out, looking away, swallowing the lost drop of coffee, already wanting another one.

Brooklyn C.

She finished her eggs and bacon and stood to up to put the plate and fork in the sink. She glanced at the empty pan and felt slightly guilty, remembering her conversation about Zero's irregular eating with Alex. She sighed and turned around, heading back to their room. "I'm going to go take a shower."

Alex Bellrose

She turned to glance back before looking to her plate, blushing, "have fun," she said, innocently, as she took another bite.

Brooklyn C.

She nodded and headed back. She took out some clothes and put them on the bed before heading to the bathroom. It a matter of minutes, the shower head could be heard.

Alex Bellrose

She pushed the plate away, unfinished but she was full, and sighed. Standing up, she moved over to the pan, moving the remains into it, for whoever wanted it.

Alex Bellrose

Her head snapped over to stare at him, "I'm sorry?" She asked, hoping she hadn't heard him right.

Alex Bellrose

"Thanks, Deneris, really made my day."

Alex Bellrose

Huffing, she moved back into her room, pulling out clothes.

Brooklyn C.

By that time, she had finished and had walked out of the bathroom with a towel wrapped around her waist and her wet hair in another towel. "Ah, hey Alex," she said as she moved toward the bed to get her clothes and dress up.

Alex Bellrose

She glanced up, blushing furiously, and whipped back to the wardrobe, remembering Will's words. "Hey," she said shortly, "done with the bathroom?"

Brooklyn C.

"Yup, you can use it now," she murmured, grabbing things like deodorant and lotion from the night stand before sitting down on the bed.

Alex Bellrose

She glanced back up to her, admiring Brooklyn for just a second, before disappearing into the bathroom, locking it behind her. Will wasn't exactly wrong. She really was going to be the death of Alex. *Not even a day and you're falling into a hole, Alex, good work. Really.*

Brooklyn C.

By the time Brooke had finished shrugging on a pair of jean shorts and a loose t-shirt that had the picture of a crown and said: "That Queen" on it, she was deep in thought. About everything. No, she just wanted it to be about everything but in all honesty, it was about Alex. Sure, she acts differently around everyone. Touchy and slightly protective around Will, motherly towards Zero, best friend around Val, but Alex was completely different. It was like... she didn't know how to describe it.

Alex Bellrose

She didn't even know Brooklyn, she could be a serial killer for all Alex knew. But it something...it was like Alex was seeing the picture of Mona Lisa for the first time. She remembered when she did see it, when she was ten, with her mother. She couldn't stop looking, despite the jostling people around her did, it drew her attention and held it. It was something like that but with Brooklyn. She whipped her shirt off, throwing it onto the ground, splashing her face with water. It's not like Brooklyn would feel the same. All Alex had to do was look a the parallel scars running down her stomach, another on her collar bone, to prove that. Plus, Alex was boring compared to Brooklyn. She came out after ten minutes, not expecting Brooklyn to still be there.

Brooklyn C.

The blonde was still there, swinging her feet out of simple habit, thinking, not aware Alex had exited the bathroom.

Alex Bellrose

Her gaze went straight to the girl and hesitated before saying, "you know, you don't need to wait for me. Class probably starts soon anyway."

Brooklyn C.

"Huh?" she mumbled looking up before glancing at the clock. "Shiiiittt, I'm late!" she exclaimed, standing up suddenly.

Alex Bellrose

She grinned crookedly at the girl before putting away her clothes.

Brooklyn C.

"Whoops, gotta go fasttt!" she yelled, grabbing her bag and dashing out the door. "See you later at lunch, Alex!" she called back before disappearing past the door and leaving the dorm.

OOC: Timeskip?

Alex Bellrose

*Lunch?* She thought to herself and blinked before throwing herself onto the bed, pulling a comic out.

TIMESKIP

At the time lunch started, Alex headed to the cafeteria, ignoring everyone and everything, wondering if she should actually go to afternoon classes.

Brooklyn C.

Brooke waltzed in, immediately searching for Alex who she hoped would be in here. She both lunch from an outside cafe and wanted to share it with her.

Alex Bellrose

She was taring at the menu, running through every suggestion with a mental 'no'. Sighing, she should have just gotten food in the penthouse. Stayed in there.

Brooklyn C.

She found her immediately and wrapped her arms around her waist, still holding the bag full of cafe food. "Hey Alex!"

Alex Bellrose

She jumped, instinctively, pulling against the hold, but relaxed when she heard Brooklyn's voice and gulped. God, she's so paranoid. Her mind was distracted by the smell and she looked down at the bag, "hey there," she said.

Brooklyn C.

"Heeyy, I got Italian food!" she proclaimed, resting her chin on Alex's head.

Alex Bellrose

"Oh thank god," she muttered, "thought I was going to starve." She felt the prickle of stares and she instantly pulled away, "lets eat. Here or somewhere else?"

Brooklyn C.

"Does it matter?" she asked, "Where do you want to eat?"

Alex Bellrose

She rolled her eyes, brushing past her to lead her out of the place. "Outside it is," she said, running a hand through her hair, "how was class?"

Brooklyn C.

She pouted but followed the shorter anyway. "Good, good. how was your classes?"

Alex Bellrose

"Oh, you know, the usual. Boring," she said with a shrug, swinging the door open for them.

Brooklyn C.

She raised an eyebrow. Classes, at least magical ones, had always been intriguing. "Do you even pay attention?"

Alex Bellrose

"Sure I do," she said, glancing at her, "my average is a B+ so I have to listen sometimes."

Brooklyn C.

"Sometimes...?" she drawled out in disapproval.

Alex Bellrose

"No wonder I'm such a terrible mage, eh?" She asked grinning at her, "I do study, though, so I make up for it."

Brooklyn C.

"You should practice magic theory with me, it might help."

Alex Bellrose

"I should if you want, I don't want to be a burden," she said, gazing up at Brooklyn.

Brooklyn C.

"You're not a burden though," she said with a shrug.

Alex Bellrose

"Then that's that, I guess," she said, looking away, reaching a table outside, "so you like the whole magic thing, I guess?"

Brooklyn C.

"Yes!" she exclaimed. "If I knew how to do this years ago I would've escaped my shitty childhood."

Alex Bellrose

She broke into laughter, shaking her head, "okay, okay, I can understand that. I probably would have done the same..." she trailed off, actually unsure about that statement but she certainly would have used it to her advantage, "does your bitch of a mother know what you are?" She asked, curious, tilting her head.

Brooklyn C.

"Yeah, she's a mage but she broke her amulet a long time ago," Brooke explained.

Alex Bellrose

She leant her chin onto her knuckles, watching Brooklyn. She could probably listen to the other girl for hours without getting bored. It was just something in her voice. "Correct me if I'm wrong, but doesn't smashing your amulet make you go wild, or something?"

Brooklyn C.

"Well, not the user, it's the user's magic," she said, correctly the dark-haired girl. "Let's sit over there?" she exclaimed, pointing to a table by a large oak tree.

Alex Bellrose

"Oh, right, still, didn't her magic go wild?" She asked, before glancing over to it and tilted her head, "yeah, lets," she breathed out.

Brooklyn C.

"Yeah, whenever she gets too emotionally worked up. There's mage units within the prison though, despite no one knowing so they take care of it."

Alex Bellrose

"Do you think she deserves it?" She asked, moving over to the table, sliding in, "like, I won't make assumptions on what she did but...do you think she deserves jail? Not, I don't know, a mental institution? By the way...I've been told I ask a lot of questions. You don't have to answer them."

Brooklyn C.

"Eh... She wasn't really insane... Well, I wouldn't know... but maybe she kind of just lost it after my dad died... I wouldn't know since he died before I was born but she was always screaming about him."

Alex Bellrose

"Do you ever want to meet him?" She asked, gazing at her, curious. She'd been unsure about everything in her own life and...it was nice feeling that maybe she wasn't as alone as she once thought.

Brooklyn C.

"Uh..." she strained her voice in thought, setting the bag of Italian food on the table and sitting down. "I don't know... Maybe."

Alex Bellrose

She hesitated, "not that you can, he's dead, but...I don't know," she said, shrugging, glancing at the food, "what'd you buy? And Italian is not an answer."

Brooklyn C.

"Well, different types of pasta, bread sticks, and you know that Italian ice cream? I can't remember the name of it... Um..."

Alex Bellrose

"Gelati?" She sugested, "and you know the way to my heart."

Brooklyn C.

She grinned and nodded, "That's the one!" and then laughed afterward. "Who doesn't like Italian food though? Only monsters."

Alex Bellrose

"My twin hated it, he found it way to full of carbs," she mused, scratching her chin, her lips tugging at a smile, "so did my step mum. I practically had to beg my dad to make anything pasta."

Brooklyn C.

"The struggle... I used to cook pasta all the time whenever mom was sane enough to actually go out and buy shit."

Alex Bellrose

I remember trying to cook pasta when I was a kid. I set fire on it. Didn't even try touching the kitchen until I moved here."

Brooklyn C.

She snorted and started taking things out of the bag. "That might be your magic acting up and not necessarily you, or maybe you actually did set the stove on fire. Who knows."

Alex Bellrose

"I certainly don't," she mumbled watching her, "but I don't know...can I control fire? I thought you could only use your element focus whatever."

Brooklyn C.

"Well, no, there's basic spells for each element so... maybe you used one of those? But then again, magic without an element is unpredictable and doesn't use spells so..."

Alex Bellrose

"Yeah, maybe..." she trailed before swiping a bread stick, cracking it in half.

Brooklyn C.

"You know what I just realized?" she exclaimed. "All we have is pasta, eggs, bacon, pop tarts, and chips... Grocery shopping is in order."

Alex Bellrose

"I think Will would blow up the fridge if anything different shifted or something new got included into that list," Alex pointed out, throwing a piece into her mouth.

Brooklyn C.

"Then we'll just get a new one," she said with a shrug, "and restrain Will with a straitjacket. There, problem solved."