Match of the Millennium

Description: Talking about the old times and the new times.

[RAFFERTY]
The striking looking schoolboy, now in his senior year at Pacific High, sits alone at a table in the centre of the cafeteria. He's scrolling through his social media feeds on his glossy white phone with his right hand, whilst stabbing at a colourful fresh fruit salad with a fork, using his left. Every now and then he pops a piece of the fruit into his mouth and slowly chews it, his expression neutral.

"Hey, Rafferty" sing songs a cute red haired girl as she passes by, earning herself a wave of aknowledgement for her efforts. He doesn't actually look up from what he's doing however. His blue eyes remain fixed on the images on the screen, which seem to be mostly of himself.

He's dressed in the standard colours of the school, though with his own designer twist. His azure blue blazer currently drapes across the back of his chair, leaving his arms bare in the short-sleeved Alexander McQueen shirt. His lower half luxuriates in the fine fabric of his white Dolce and Gabbana chinos. His red silk tie is loosened to account for the hot weather that Southtown is currently experiencing.

Despite his calm exterior, he's feeling restless. Things have seemed strange at the school since the incident with Nena and he feels like he doesn't get to see Eden as much. Only Ryan remains a consistent prescence in his day to day life and that's mostly because the boys share a dorm room. Maybe he should just quit school and focus full time on his careers in fashion and film, but it would seem a shame to bail now, when he's so close to securing his high school diploma. Besides, his grades have been greatly improved of late.

[EDENLITH]
Edenlith got busy, Edenlith made time for Storm, and then everything went to hell, figuratively speaking. She needed time for everything, and now she's going to have a lot more free time. She also was affected by what happened to Nina, though she wouldn't admit that to just about anyone. Maybe with Rafferty.

Which might happen now, as she gets into the cafeteria. Rafferty is easy to find, especially since he's gotten different. She makes her way to him, and then, as annoyingly as she could be before, she pokes him in the shoulder a few times until he looks at her and recognizes her. It's Edenlith around, but there is something different about her.

Once she has his attention, she simply looks at him. She's waiting for him to say something first. She is looking intently at him, however, and she has a bit of a grin too. It looks like she might be a bit unstable again. One might ask if she was ever stable, to begin with.

[RAFFERTY]
Blue eyes look up at the blue haired girl with an almost bored expression when she pokes at him. "Yes?" he questions, his tone cold, though if someone were to look closer, they would realise there was some warmth in his subtle smile at least.

Seeing her somewhat unsettled demeanor, he softens and starts to speak, his casual California accent cutting through the cafeteria's buzzing background noise.

"Sorry, Eden. Was there something you wanted, babe?"

He gestures for her to join him, pulling out a seat positioned next to his own. "No Storm today? It seems like a while since he's stopped by for a chat."

He studies his schoolmate for a few more seconds. "You look different. Did you cut your hair or something?"

[EDENLITH]
That was cold, and she frowns. She would teach him a lesson. Oh, he's ok now. He's a friend after all. A sign appears. "I want Nena Back." Then it switches to another sign. "I want Storm back." Yet another sign. "I want Rafferty back. Rafferty still my friend?" She looks at Rafferty as she shows all those signs.

Only after she shows all those signs does she finally sits down, but she keeps her eyes on Rafferty like she expected him to do something or other.

When he asks her if she is different, she frowns and shows another sign. "Two souls." Yes, it's kind of Vague, but maybe Rafferty will understand at least part of what she means.

[RAFFERTY]
So the signs are back. That's strange. Rafferty reads them in silence, only speaking up once he's seen all three.

"I want Nena back too" he sighs. "I've been thinking though, I don't see it happening. Simon never responds to my calls or messages and every time I've stopped by their place it seems empty, so I'm going to have to let her go and get back out there."

He gestures his long arm in the air, indicating some unknown place.

"The sad and sorrowful look has a limited shelf life and it's a waste for me to be single. Someone could be getting to spend time with me and I'm denying them."

Having made that statement he seems to relax, sitting back further in his seat and sipping from his steel water bottle.

"Where did Storm go? He hasn't run off has he? Don't you have one of those chip things, so someone could track him down?" he wonders.

"You don't need to fret about me though. Of course we're still friends. I've just been having a Garbo phase lately, but it's starting to get dull."

He's not sure how to respond to the "Two Souls" sigh, so he lets that go for the present.

[EDENLITH]
Eden hits the table hard when Rafferty says all he says about 'Nena' and 'shelf life' and 'denying someone'. It's especially that last part that seems to trigger her.

Then, when she manages to calm down. She makes another sign. "Nena was only a distraction wasn't it? The only person you love is yourself. Can't deny that wonderful you to anyone. Someone is missing on the guy you love the fucking most." She was angry. Rafferty probably didn't deserve that outburst.

She takes a deep breath, and after a moment, she gives another sign. "Storm got fatally wounded. I took his soul inside me. I sacrificed a lot of myself. If I can do it, anybody can do it ,and it doesn't make me great!" She bangs her head on the table hard. "Storm was the real great one." She hasn't come to terms with what she lost and how Storm's soul affects her.

After a few deep breath, she gives one last sign. "I am sorry Rafferty. It is hard."

[RAFFERTY]
The schoolboy supermodel starts to raise his hands, ready to state his case on his right to a romantic life, when he's stopped in his tracks by the terribly tragic news of Storm's demise.

"That's...horrible" he settles on, his brilliantly blue eyes brimming with tears.

"I had some fabulous times with my little furry friend. Me and him hiding, me and him running, me and him getting saved by whichever kickass girls were around."

His gaze goes misty, as he looks into the middle distance. "I'll miss him, but of course it must be worse for you."

He takes out a silk handkerchief, delicately dabbing at the tear tracks that have trickled down his chiseled cheeks.

"How do you mean you took his soul inside you?" he wonders. Then in a more hushed tone "Is it like the situation before? Because I have to confess, I never really got that."

He rubs his hand lightly across Eden's back. "Try not to bang your head on the table, babe. Broken noses aren't beautiful."

[EDENLITH]
Edenlith shows a sign. "Stupid feelings." She simply says. Perhaps Storm affected her more than the girl did, or she just grew inside with the friends she has.

"Storm really liked you. I think you're full of yourself sometimes." Yeah, it's not very nice of Eden, but it does seem like she went back to the way she was when she was sharing the body with the girl's soul.

. S"It is like before. Maybe I will be able to drop some feelings and have fun. Bite people." She looks at Rafferty and licks her lips, but she doesn't try to bite him, at least not at this moment.

S"Why is Simon not remaking Nena?" She then asks. S"Maybe you need a real girl, not a robot." She finally seems to realize. Like Nena was always real, but she wasn't. S"Screw Nena, she wasn't real, and now she left." It's like she's going through all those emotions in real-time, and perhaps Rafferty could even see it in her eyes as she did.

[RAFFERTY]
Rafferty looks down at his hands, inspecting his perfect manicure and then shrugs his broad shoulders. "I don't know. Like I say, Simon seems to be missing in action, or non-action. Whichever it may be. Hopefully nobody has hurt him" he adds, as it quickly dawns on him that the scientist may not be silent by his own choice.

"Who do we even report that to though? I don't really want to advertise the whole Nena thing to the authorities. As for me having a real girl? Yeah, maybe so. My last two relationships have been with my mom's best friend and a robot, so perhaps I need someone more 'normal.' in my life."

[EDENLITH]
She listens to what Rafferty says about Simon. Maybe she knew already, maybe not. It was hard to think sometimes. Then S"He's probably hiding, to be safe and mourn. She was his baby, I think." She shrugs after that. Maybe he felt for her like she felt for Storm. That would make sense. But it's not her problem.

She ponders. S"Maybe I will have to bite some intimate body parts then. Make people pay." She shrugs. S"You deserve to find someone sane and good." Then quickly, another sign with big letters. "WHAT ABOUT ME?!" Then she laughs silently. Hopefully, it is enough of a clue that she's kidding.

[RAFFERTY]
"You my dear are neither sane or good" Rafferty laughs lightly. "You also threaten to bite people's intimate body parts so..."

"I'm sure I will find someone when the time is right. It's not like I haven't had plenty of offers."

He pushes his empty dish away and dabs at his mouth with a napkin. "So it seems our team is somewhat depleted, with Nena, Simon and Storm gone. Perhaps we should recruit Ryan. He does have a certain air of menace about him and the British accent is kinda cool."

[EDENLITH]
She smirks and leans heavily on the table. It looks like she's about to crawl on top of it and is probably invading a bit of personal space. She pulls out a sign. S"You don't tell an insane bad girl what she is. Tend to take it personally." She then snaps her teeth before finally going back to a normal posture.

She nods when Rafferty says he will find someone. But she also thinks it can be hard finding the right person, not that she signs that concern.

S"I don't think Ryan likes me too much." She ponders S"And now that you can fight, you don't need protection. You're most likely better than me now, anyway. Shame, I wanted to test drive you." That's done in a succession of signs, so the writing doesn't get too tiny.

[RAFFERTY]
Rafferty doesn't pull back from Eden's primal display. On the contrary, he seems perfectly poised.

"I think you scare him" he muses. "Which is saying something, since he's the son of a gangster."

"In regards to my newfound abilities, just because I have them, it doesn't mean I'm going to start getting into fights on the regular. It's just nice to know if needs be, that I can look after myself. As for you, I still wouldn't bet against you in a brawl."

He looks her over as he speaks and then leans in a little closer "So how does this whole Storm thing work? Can you hear him speaking inside you or something?"

[EDENLITH]
She grins and rubs her hands together. She seems happy to know she scares Ryan.

S"You never were a hero." She finally signs as he speaks he doesn't need to fight. S"Neither am I, to be fair. I need to get back to the basic." She grins again S"Thank you Rafferty. I am not defeless."

She shrugs. S"I can feel him, and it inhibit my powers. Not as great as I used to be." She shrugs again. S"I needed that, maybe. I lost myself or I wouldn't have sacrificed myself like that." But she loves Storm. That's how it is.

[RAFFERTY]
"I never claimed to be" Rafferty responds to Eden's assessment. "Though maybe I'll play one someday."

He listens as she explains about the Storm situation, still not fully understanding, but at least giving her the space to say her piece. "Do you think we all feel other things inside us? Conflicted at times? Like perhaps we're being pulled in two directions?" He seems thoughful on the subject and it's somewhat deeper than the things he usually discusses.

"I definitely feel like that sometimes, lately more than ever, but I suppose it's been a strange time."

[EDENLITH]
S"You're at least a decent guy, most time. If I have to get mad at you, I will though." She ponders. S"Why do I even want you to be a decent guy anyway." She shrugs and chuckles silently.

She looks at Rafferty when he asks a question after she tries explaining what is happening with Storm. S"When you're mind control, when your head and heart each want something different, and when you have two souls. All that can make you feel pulled in two directions. What's pulling on you?" She seems knowledgeable and deep right now, but is she? Maybe Storm helps that.

She does nod when he adds it has been strange times. How could she disagree with that

[RAFFERTY]
"I didn't say anything was pulling on me" the blond boy backtracks. "I'm just being all philosophical. That'll teach me to watch Being John Malkovitch before bedtime."

He looks around the crowded cafeteria then back to Eden. "So we're into our last year here now. What do you think you will do come next March, when we're all done? He knows exactly where he wants to be and what he wants to do, but he's curious about his classmate.

[EDENLITH]
Edenlith looks at Rafferty and smirks. S"Oh, that's why the smoke." She had to tease him like that.

But, as for the question, she has no idea. She does end up pulling a sign. S"I am going to become a big celebrity. You will see me in the best movies and surrounded by lots of beautiful women. Everyone will know my name, and I will win Grammies." She smirks. S"Oh no, that's you. I have no idea. I will figure it out. I always do." She shrugs her shoulders. Eden is not one to think ahead.

[RAFFERTY]
"I don't think I'll be winning any Grammys with my voice" Rafferty laughs. "Maybe some Oscars and Emmys though."

Some days he struggles to stay sitting in his seat in the classrooms of Pacific High. He could almost burst with the ambition he feels and he wants it all to happen now. He forces himself to stay focused however and reminds himself of his sweet situation in Southtown. He gets his school fees paid and a place to live rent free. Just ten more months and he can go back to California and find a home in the Hollywood Hills. Maybe make that Buddy Cop movie, that Johnny Cage had mentioned. Rafferty can just seem himself as the fresh faced recruit. The girls would go wild when they saw how gorgeous he looked in the uniform.

[EDENLITH]
S"Yeah, Oscars. I just wanted to hear you say you can't sing." She snickers silently.

Then, suddenly, she reaches for his cheek while he is thinking. But if he looks into her eyes, they look softer, like for that moment, it's Storm saying good by to a good friend, then the moment passes, and Eden removes her hand quickly. S"Awkward." She looks away.

Another sign appears. S"Will you remember me once you become renown as an actor?" She wonders she doesn't have that many 'Friends'.

[RAFFERTY]
Rafferty stares back at Eden's eyes, seeing something there for a moment that makes him wonder if Storm really is now living inside of his friend's small frame.

Breaking off from the brimming emotions he's experiencing, he nods his head with enthusiasm. "Sure I will. I might even get you into one of those fancy parties they have in Hollywood. I'm sure you will probably find yourself stuck in the middle of some scandal or other."

He stretches out his long limbs and gets up gracefully. "I'm gonna need to take off. I've got a commercial to shoot right after class, so I'm gonna grab my gear now."

With those words and a wave, he's wandering off towards the exit of the eating area.

[EDENLITH]
Eden seems shy a bit, when Rafferty tells her he will remind her friend but also tells her how she will probably make a scandal at a party or something. That's true too. Then they will tell him he has to drop her because she's pulling him down. She's tainting his image. She should just leave that little bitch. Well, not so little anymore, but she likes him damn it.

When he says he got to leave, she nods her head. S"Good luck with your commercials see you later." With that, she leaves school altogether. She doesn't need it. She doesn't like it. She's out of here.

Log created on 10:10:28 05/24/2023 by Edenlith, and last modified on 10:08:10 05/28/2023.