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       #Post#: 5--------------------------------------------------
       The Rooftop
   DIR By: Mascii
       Date: January 25, 2013, 12:49 am
       ---------------------------------------------------------
       It's not a very popular hang-out, but there is a particularly
       quiet and homey section of rooftop on one of the old science
       buildings that is easily accessible through a step of outdoor
       stone steps.
  HTML http://abandonedkansai.files.wordpress.com/2011/03/looking-northeast-from-the-rooftop.jpg
       #Post#: 120--------------------------------------------------
       Re: Rooftop Of The School
   DIR By: Tigger
       Date: March 25, 2013, 5:20 pm
       ---------------------------------------------------------
       Jessica Seeley
       Jessica had hardly contained her excitement when she felt her
       phone vibrate in her pocket during class. She had, of course,
       politely excused herself, making sure to walk carefully,
       painfully slow to the door, shutting it almost silently. Then
       she had taken a deep breath, a couple steps and in a speed she
       had thought was impossible, tore off her heels and bolted for
       the rooftop of the school. She knew exactly who had called her.
       After all, her parents had promised her that they would take
       time out to visit her that day and said that they would call
       once they had reached the airport. With them being in France, it
       had taken months for all of the planning to sort itself out, and
       Jess could hardly contain herself. Once she had reached her
       destination, she continued running to the edge of the roof and
       made a sudden halt once she reached a place where she could look
       down and see the ground around the bottom of the school. Out of
       breath and beaming, she ripped the purse off of her shoulder and
       dug around in the Coach tote, her manicured hands shaking with
       anticipation. She couldn’t remember the last time she had seen
       her parents, let alone spoken to them on the phone.
       She had missed their call, but her excitement grew tenfold when
       she saw that they had left her a voicemail. She just knew that
       this time they would come to see her, especially after getting
       the implants like they had wanted and spoken so often and highly
       about. Plus, she was finally making good grades again. The
       dramatic change had impressed her teachers, but she couldn't
       have cared less about what they thought. It was all for the
       change to get to see them again. And now, finally, they were
       coming to America. She just knew it. Her mind raced endlessly in
       those seemingly endless moments as she dialed her voicemail,
       imagining what it would be like to give her dad a huge hug, to
       watch her mom look down and inspect her arms and hear her say
       how proud she was of her. She let out a haphazard little laugh
       as the computerized voice on the other end informed her what she
       already knew- that she had an unheard message. Biting her lower
       lip, she waited for what seemed like ages until the familiar
       voice came over the other line.
       …but it wasn’t her parents. It was her mother’s assistant,
       talking in her usual, nasally voice through her obnoxious
       bird-like nose. “Hello, Miss Seeley.” Jess’ heart sank to her
       bare feet. “You’re mother and father have just recently been
       called on a trip to Germany for the remainder of this month.”
       Her smile faded as she knew what was coming next. “They have
       placed their usual yearly sum into your account and wish to say
       that they are unable to come to America.” There was a pause at
       the end of the line and Jess moved her phone away from her face
       momentarily to glare at the device with all of the hate she
       could possibly muster, as if the object itself had betrayed her.
       Everything she had planned, everyone she had told and bragged
       to, all of the preparations that she had made at all of the best
       Restaurants.. it was all crashing down around her at the same
       time as reality sunk in and weighed heavy on her thin shoulders,
       causing her to slouch forward ever so slightly. “And Miss
       Seeley?” She heard the faint voice of the bird-woman again as
       she placed the cellphone back to her ear. Another pause. “Happy
       Nineteenth Birthday.”
       
       Wordlessly, Jessica turned off her phone and slowly placed it
       back in her bag. Tears threatened to sting her eyes, but she
       decided against it and set her jaw- looking all too much like
       her mother. Dignified, strong, and cold. She looked down at the
       designer outfit she was wearing, a beautiful, black silk top
       that had no back except for a couple strings that were expertly
       tied at her spine and a white mini skirt that was made to show
       off her long, smooth legs. She was always told about how much
       her mother had always approved of her taste in clothes and
       style.. so why? Why couldn’t she come to America and say that in
       person? Her lower lip quivered momentarily. Taking a couple
       calming breaths, she straightened her back to once again stand
       tall. She would cry, but not here. Not on this rusty, disgusting
       roof of a school for idiots and the like. Her gaze fell to her
       feet, and she suddenly realized just how absolutely filthy they
       were. Her mother would never have approved of her complete
       disregard for hygiene. They were disgusting. She grimaced as she
       reached into her Coach bag once again to retrieve a small, red
       leather jacket and some disinfecting wipes. Jessica threw the
       designer jacket on the ground, sitting down in a way that she
       deemed proper considering the skirt was so short, and began
       scrubbing. The stinging sensation came back to her eyes as she
       violently scraped at the soles of her feet with the damp cloths.
       They had promised to come see her and she had let herself
       believe them. She was stupid enough to be hurt by it. Again.
       #Post#: 144--------------------------------------------------
       Re: Rooftop Of The School
   DIR By: morethanmusic
       Date: April 1, 2013, 2:38 am
       ---------------------------------------------------------
       Clarence Morgan
  HTML http://media.tumblr.com/tumblr_lrqhtuZXOg1qf29mro1_500.png
       Sitting, hidden mostly from view behind one of the small
       buildings on the roof -- vents, he guessed -- , Clarence had his
       head against his knees. Resting, as per the usual when he was
       left alone for a while, he really had no idea what time it was
       anymore. His free period was probably over, and he was
       half-tempted to just get a sick pass for the rest of the day.
       Shouldn't it be a little different when a father finally came
       around to see his son?
       Pulling up his hood, Clarence tried to hide his face. His eyes
       were red, and he wasn't about to let anyone see. His sunglasses
  HTML http://media.tumblr.com/tumblr_lgmrgelGCR1qe6v35.jpg
       were laying
       beside him because they had already made a mark on the bridge of
       his nose, from being pressed between his face and knees. He
       closed his eyes tightly, arms wrapped around his legs. This
       wasn't the Clarence most other people saw... he hid this, even
       from Natalie -- when he could, which wasn't always -- and
       covered it up with the anger that came afterwards. It was easier
       to explain the anger than the hurt... but they always came
       together. One created the other, like the cells of a disgusting
       disease. He hated it. He hated feelings like this; helplessness,
       fear, confusion... their colors had never suited him, and they
       felt like boils on his skin... or bruises...
       He parted his legs a bit to hide his head between his legs a bit
       more, his hood doing most of the work for him. There wasn't any
       escaping this feeling that everything would just go back to the
       way it had always been. Natalie knew that, and not that he hid
       anything from her, not really... just the way it felt...
       Feelings fell by the wayside with him a lot, covered up by the
       one searing emotions that refused to be ignored: anger.
       His hands tightened around his legs until he felt the slight
       pain of cutting off circulation. He wasn't stupid -- he let go
       then, but his hands formed fists on the ground beside him
       instead.
       Sometimes, he would just sit up here and think about how life
       would be if his father would just stay away forever. Was that a
       terrible thing to think? Probably, but he was starting to care
       less and less. It was always better when his father wasn't
       around. Always. Even if money was worse, and his mother was
       lonely.... they got through. They were alright. When his father
       came back, for a while, she was happy, but not for long... then
       she was miserable again, and when she was miserable, Clarence
       was miserable... he couldn't help it...
       Why did she drag him down like this? She had no idea it had this
       effect on him. She couldn't. If she did, would she still do it,
       though? He wasn't sure he'd ever know.
       The sound of the door being open and shut in a hurry was enough
       to make him jump. Clarence sat upright, eyes wide, an expression
       of fear that was so out of place there taking over a place it
       didn't belong. His angry fists loosened, and he slid back
       farther out of sight, crouching on the rooftop, trying to peer
       around the from behind the little shelter without being seen.
       'How...?'
       It wasn't his father. Of course it wasn't. How could it be? That
       was ridiculous. He let out a quiet sigh of relief when he saw
       the girl coming on to the roof. She wasn't angry. She was
       excited. She seemed... genuinely thrilled. Clarence narrowed his
       eyes, recognizing the face. Jessica...? He knew her, sort of.
       Well, she was one of the most beautiful girls in school. He'd
       actually kind of liked her, and had made a move, only to have an
       angry hand in his face, threatening to burn him into the pile of
       ash that she seemed to think was a lofty comparison to what she
       thought of him... Whatever. Her angry exterior, created to
       protect herself, was something he could understand, and her
       literally fiery fierceness was something he had grown to both
       fear and respect. Not in the way of a dictator, but in the way
       of a, well, maybe military superior. A superior officer, that
       was good.
       But she didn't seem like that right now.
       He seemed to remember girls chattering about her today, but he
       didn't pay enough attention. They would usually chatter about
       her. She was a pretty damn impressive woman. Damn straight they
       would talk about her. Especially because she seemed to squash
       all unnecessary gossip and trash-talk of other girls in the
       school -- Natalie being among them, and, for that, he was
       thankful for, even if he wouldn't be stupid enough to thank her,
       because she would probably pop him in the mouth and tell him it
       was about moral standards, not just protecting his "girlfriend
       of the moment".
       Or something like that. The two of them didn't really get along,
       but there was a silent respect... at least on his end, because
       he'd like to have an end...
       He watched her go to the edge of the roof, and slunk back. He
       didn't want to get in her way, especially if he could be a
       reason to **** her off when she was in a good mood... Curling
       up, he tried to avoid looking at her and risking her seeing him
       looking at her and thinking-- never mind.
       Clarence happened to look up to see if she was gone and noticed
       her sitting down, scrubbing her feet. Blinking, he couldn't see
       her expression very well. His eyes were all messed up right
       now... He went to rub them a bit, but the bruise over his right
       eye complained, so he just swallowed hard and put on his
       sunglasses. That helped a little. She seemed upset again.
       'I guess this is the day biotches die...'
       He bit his lip. She would probably leave soon.
       'Just leave her be... just leave her be...'
       But it wasn't anger in her eyes. It wasn't disappointment.
       'Leave it be, damn it... let it go... you have enough of your
       own crap to deal with... What if she asks about the bruises?
       Wanna explain that?'
       She was scrubbing her feet with a bit more vigor now, and she
       was obviously in the mood to cut some ****es... hurt and
       angry... alone...
       'G-D it...'
       He closed his eyes, then leaned out of sight. Setting an alarm
       on his phone for a few second from now with a loud, annoying
       tone, he put it in his pocket and went into a position like he'd
       been asleep the whole time. Suddenly, it went off, and the shock
       was a bit more realistic than he'd intended for it to be. He
       literally jumped up and fumbled for the phone, almost dropping
       it a couple times before he managed to shut off the tone.
       Muttering some things that would be censored on live TV,
       Clarence pivoted with a feigned expression of 'well, now I guess
       I have to go to class or something' then started when Jessica
       came into his vision.
       "Woah!" He put his hands up in defense. "Sorry! I didn't realize
       you were here..."
       'Go ahead. Get mad at me. Yell whatever you've got pent up in
       your damn beautiful head. I can handle it. There's enough
       strength in me for you and Natalie and whoever else needs it. I
       can do it. For other people, I can. Just don't char me too bad,
       okay? And leave the face. It's kind of had enough.'
       #Post#: 149--------------------------------------------------
       Re: Rooftop Of The School
   DIR By: Tigger
       Date: April 1, 2013, 4:11 pm
       ---------------------------------------------------------
       Jessica Seeley
       Jessica’s head snapped up to look around when she heard an
       obnoxious noise coming from somewhere on the roof. A look of
       fear flashed in her eyes, then.  She tensed up and accidentally
       triggered the flames again and burned everything in front of her
       wrist, including the bottom of her right foot and her leather
       jacket. Fear and anger bubbled inside of her and she bit her
       bottom lip hard to keep from making a noise. The smell of burned
       skin wasn’t unfamiliar to her, but every time it happened it
       made her cringe. She didn’t have time to properly assess the
       damage, though. There was someone on the roof, probably watching
       her and the thought of someone seeing her weak scared her.
       Setting her jaw, Jess composed herself once again and carefully
       stood, picking up her heels and her now-destroyed jacket. She
       moved quickly, walking as normally as she could, mentally
       hissing at herself every time the injured foot touched the roof
       below her.
       When Jessica saw Clarence, though, she stopped dead in her
       tracks.
       "Woah!" He put his hands up in defense, looking like a character
       from one of those old fashioned western movies. Like she was the
       villain and he was the sheriff, trying to make peace while she
       had a gun pointed straight at him.  "Sorry! I didn't realize you
       were here..." Crossing her arms over her chest, Jessica leaned
       slightly to one side to get the weight off of her newly-found
       burn while disguising the fact that she had gotten hurt in the
       first place. So long as he didn’t look down at her feet, she was
       home free. Arching one eyebrow, she gave her best ‘And you
       expect me to believe that crap?’ look and sighed. Inwardly, that
       was a sigh of relief because just maybe he hadn’t actually seen
       her do anything but outwardly, it was a very clear sign of
       annoyance.
       It took her a touch longer to come up with something to say,
       considering the stinging pain shooting up her leg was a
       distraction. Plus, there was always a small part of her that was
       intimidated by him. He seemed like one of the infamous ‘cool’
       guys without even trying, and she was constantly hearing about
       him from other girls. Even now he was standing there with his
       sunglasses that fit his face perfectly and he seemed like some
       edgy, rebellious man straight out of a magazine. He was the bad
       kind of guy that every girl she met was fascinated by. The world
       and people in it seemed to be his play things, and he never
       seemed to notice. Secretly, she was jealous of him- jealous of
       how no matter what he did, people still loved him. He could
       probably smear feces all over the school with his bare hands and
       girls would talk about how brave he was and how he was just
       making art or some stupid s*** like that. THAT was Clarence. She
       would never let him (or anyone else) know how inferior she felt
       when she was around him, though. It would be a cold day in hell
       when Jessica would admit that she felt inferior to anybody.
       Once, Clarence had even showed interest in her, and she saw it
       as a joke that was being played on her, and that kindled her
       rage towards him. She would never be someone to prank or play
       with. Ever.
       “So say that a ‘magical’ fairy came and landed on my
       fantastically smooth shoulder and forced me to believe you with
       pixie sprinkles or some such bull,” she paused a second for
       dramatic effect, sarcasm heavy in her voice. “What were you
       doing up here?”
       Pushing her hair gently out of her face with one hand, she put a
       little more weight on her right foot, careful not to show any
       sign of the pain she was feeling.
       #Post#: 302--------------------------------------------------
       Re: The Rooftop
   DIR By: morethanmusic
       Date: April 16, 2013, 10:48 pm
       ---------------------------------------------------------
       Clarence Morgan
       "Sorry! I didn't realize you were here..."
       Jessica crossed her arms over her chest, one perfect eyebrow
       raised, then she sighed, seeming pretty irritated. She didn't
       believe him. Of course not. He wasn't an actor, alright? He
       was... well, he wasn't really anything specific yet. But an
       actor was definitely not something he was gonna be. His goal was
       just to try and get her to say something. Because she deserved
       better than to be left alone.
       Plus, he was just stubborn as hell.
       “So say that a ‘magical’ fairy came and landed on my
       fantastically smooth shoulder and forced me to believe you with
       pixie sprinkles or some such bull.”
       Clarence raised his eyebrows, mimicking her pose of arms crossed
       of his chest. "What, you don't believe me?" He rolled his eyes,
       though it was hidden by his sunglasses. "I wasn't up here to spy
       on you, if that's what you think. I had no idea you were up
       here."
       “What were you doing up here?”
       He sighed, leaning his head back. "I have my reasons, okay?"
       'This isn't about me. This isn't about my dad. This isn't about
       my bruises. This is about YOU. Can't you just take a hint?'
       Making a face, he looked around, his eyes falling on her foot.
       Through his sunglasses, he wasn't really sure, but something
       seemed off. She wasn't leaning on it all the way. "With your
       foot? Did you step on something? You shouldn't be barefoot up
       here."
       #Post#: 326--------------------------------------------------
       Re: The Rooftop
   DIR By: Tigger
       Date: April 19, 2013, 4:13 pm
       ---------------------------------------------------------
       Jessica Seeley
       Clarence raised his eyebrows, mimicking her pose by crossing his
       arms across her chest. Jessica’s eyes narrowed at him, hopefully
       sending out a silent ‘don’t mess with me’ kind of message while
       she put her arms back at her sides without hesitation. It was
       not the time for anyone to be mocking her.  "What, you don't
       believe me? I wasn't up here to spy on you, if that's what you
       think. I had no idea you were up here."
       Jessica wasn’t stupid. She knew that he wouldn’t go out of his
       way just to spy on her and there was no way he could have known
       that she was up there without having some sort of tracker device
       on her- and she was pretty sure that those were only used in
       movies. Plus, she would have heard someone else if they had
       opened the door on the roof, so she could only come to the
       conclusion she could logically come to was that he was here
       before her. Altogether, it wasn’t the thought of him
       creeper-stalking her that made her uneasy- if not somewhat
       hostile. It was the fact that she had just come very close to
       having a mental breakdown and there was a good possibility he
       had seen her, if only for a moment. A moment was enough to
       completely destroy her reputation in the school. Rumors spread
       like viruses, and she knew a couple of people who were already
       itching to try and destroy the image she had worked so hard to
       create for herself. She could hear them talking now, about how
       her family life was terrible and how she had lost control of her
       Enhancement when she boasted so often about being in control was
       the key to everything in life. The easy going life that she put
       out for everyone to see would suddenly become a sad story of a
       lonely rich girl- such a disappointment that even her own family
       wouldn’t come to see her on her birthday. The thought was
       terrifying. In her mind, she imagined that her whole world would
       collapse.
       “What were you doing up here?”
       He sighed, leaning his head back. It was then that she saw the
       bruise under his eye. At first glance her brain had dismissed it
       as a shadow from the sunglasses he wore, but then the truth
       finally registered in her brain... and she was in shock. She had
       always heard about him getting on other guy’s nerves.. but she
       hadn’t heard of anyone fighting him. Questions flashed across
       her brain a mile a minute. "I have my reasons, okay?" His tone
       had her on edge once again, her hands curled into fists at her
       sides as she set her jaw. What was it about him that just
       infuriated her so completely? If it had been anyone else, she
       would have let it go and ended the conversation right then but
       with Clarence it was different. It was always different.
       "With your foot? Did you step on something? You shouldn't be
       barefoot up here."
       Jessica knew that she had to do something fast to distract him
       from noticing what she had accidentally done. Her brain
       automatically dismissed the bits of almost-concern she heard in
       his voice as she made a grab for his sunglasses.  “What the hell
       happened to you?” The anger in her voice was apparent, her eyes
       piercing right through him. Grabbing his arm, she tried to
       maneuver herself so that she could see directly into his eyes.
       She may have been a bit shorter than him, but she would not let
       him shrug her off. “Who did this to you?”  It was so much easier
       to deal with her sadness if she could deflect the attention away
       from herself and onto someone who had a more pressing issue.
       Jessica knew for a fact that what she had done would probably
       set him off, but her selfish side kicked in and she decided in a
       second to not care. In fact, setting him off would be the exact
       distraction she needed, then. If he was furious, he wouldn’t ask
       more questions about her.
       Suddenly, it occurred to her that in the stupid dude-mind, if
       they had a bruise from a fight then they would want to show it
       off and tell the story about what happened… unless they lost or
       just didn’t fight back. She couldn’t stop the look of concern
       that mixed in with the anger on her features. Everything in her
       gut told her that something wasn’t right about that bruise. Why
       would he be hiding up here unless he was ashamed? Unless
       something happened that he didn’t want to explain? Something bad
       had happened to him. Something that he didn’t want anyone else
       to know about.
       #Post#: 491--------------------------------------------------
       Re: The Rooftop
   DIR By: morethanmusic
       Date: May 10, 2013, 4:02 am
       ---------------------------------------------------------
       Clarence Morgan
       “What were you doing up here?”
       Irritated, he sighed, his head rolling back. "I have my reasons,
       okay?" he complained, not wanting to talk about it... not even
       knowing how he would really explain it. Especially to someone
       like Jessica... to someone he didn't want to look weak in front
       of.
       He looked at her foot, frowning. "With your foot? Did you step
       on something? You shouldn't be barefoot up here." He recognized
       the scolding tone in his voice, but he wasn't really all that
       worried about her being irritated with him. As long as she
       didn't char him, he'd be fine.
       Obviously, he could take a punch.
       Then Jessica surprised him by making a mad grab for his
       sunglasses. He jumped back, holding his hands out in front on
       him.
       "Woah! Watch it, Catwoman!"
       “What the hell happened to you?” she snapped, her eyes flashing
       angrily as she stared him down -- even though he was taller than
       her, she could make him feel small with that fierce glare.
       Holding his hands up defensively, he was about to say something
       when she shot another question at him. “Who did this to you?”
       He tensed, pointing an angry finger at her. "Hey, listen,
       sister, I don't have to explain myself to anyone, and definitely
       not you!" he said, knowing his voice was getting a bit too loud,
       but he ignored it, feeling he could still keep himself under
       control. "It's none of your business, and I don't really think
       you care all that much." He worked his jaw, feeling it becoming
       tense. "No one does."
       In some part of him, he knew it wasn't true. But in the larger
       part of him, he'd been taught that was the way it was.
       Taking a step back, feeling his Enhancement flaring, Clarence
       crossed his arms over his chest. "Besides, you're just being a
       pesky bitch and trying to distract me, aren't you? What the hell
       happened to you? You think I don't know mind games? I know mind
       games! I grew up on them!" Taking in a deep breath, looking at
       her evenly. "I bet you don't even really care about me. You just
       don't want me to ask questions about you. Well, news flash,
       Paris Hilton, I actually asked because I cared what happened to
       you, not just because I was being evasive. How about that?"
       He was lashing out. He knew that. He was being irrational. He
       knew that. But, once he got this angry, keeping it in never
       worked. It just spilled out in front of Jessica, maybe because
       he knew she would fight back. She wouldn't put up with anything,
       from anyone. She would tell people things exactly how they were
       -- as long as it didn't have to do with her. And, with the irony
       of hypocrisy, Clarence was pretty much the same way. He just
       hated to admit it.
       #Post#: 497--------------------------------------------------
       Re: The Rooftop
   DIR By: Tigger
       Date: May 16, 2013, 10:36 pm
       ---------------------------------------------------------
       Jessica Seeley
       "Woah! Watch it, Catwoman!" Clarence exclaimed in reply to Jess’
       attempt at ripping those stupid sunglasses off of his face. He
       had jumped back to evade her, holding his hands out in front of
       him like those people that seemed to have nothing better to do
       than direct traffic in elementary school parking lots and such.
       “What the hell happened to you?” she snapped, knowing full well
       that her blatant disregard for his earlier question about her
       foot wouldn’t go unnoticed. In her head, though, she was already
       in shambles and had justified it to herself just moments before
       she had tried to take his glasses. To her, anything was better
       than being considered weak, especially in front of one of the
       strongest guys in school.  The fact that she had burned herself
       was a blatant sign of her own stupidity and lack of strength. If
       everyone found out, her image would be shattered into pieces
       that she would never be able to put back together in the minds
       of everyone she met. “Who did this to you?”
       It was his turn to be defensive as he visibly tensed, pointing a
       finger at her angrily. "Hey, listen, sister, I don't have to
       explain myself to anyone, and definitely not you!" Jessica was
       no stranger to being yelled at, so his increased tone of voice
       really didn’t faze her at all. She still kept her jaw set and
       her eyes still threw daggers at him. "It's none of your
       business, and I don't really think you care all that much." He
       paused for a moment and she saw the muscles in his jaw tense up
       even more.  "No one does."
       This set her off. But she decided to bide her time and let him
       throw his little pity party before she completely tore into him.
       Clarence crossed his arms over his chest, and all Jess could
       imagine was a toddler having a fit, right in front of her.
       "Besides, you're just being a pesky **** and trying to distract
       me, aren't you? What the hell happened to you? You think I don't
       know mind games? I know mind games! I grew up on them!"He paused
       to take a breath and she gave him a look that screamed, ‘Are you
       done yet?’
       "I bet you don't even really care about me. You just don't want
       me to ask questions about you. Well, news flash, Paris Hilton, I
       actually asked because I cared what happened to you, not just
       because I was being evasive. How about that?"
       His words hit her. Hard.
       All she could manage to think about was how he had said that he
       cared about her. After everything that she had been through
       recently, it was painfully obvious that her own family didn’t
       care about her. They didn’t even want to see her. Why would
       Clarence, of all people, care.
       “You’re a f****** idiot.” Jess began softly, but she made sure
       her words didn’t lose their bite. Especially since she started
       to realize that her words were all she had keeping herself from
       falling apart at the seems like a worn down marionette in front
       of Clarence. “You can’t say that Natalie doesn’t care about you.
       And you sure as hell can’t say that I don’t. Who the f*** are
       you to say whether someone gives two s**** about you or anything
       else?” She made sure to keep eye contact. “ Sure, your family
       life may not be the best, or you may feel like you don’t have
       any friends or maybe some degenerate hobo beat the crap out of
       you and left you with a black eye, but even then you still have
       no idea what others think about you or if they care or not.”
       “If I didn’t care at all, I wouldn’t have said ANYTHING about
       your stupid eye.” Jess’ words continued to grow in strength as
       she spoke. “And maybe I AM being a pesky b**** and maybe you’re
       just a freaking retard who chooses to only see the bad in people
       because life hasn’t turned out exactly the way you want it to.
       Well here’s a newsflash for you- life doesn’t go according to
       plan, no matter who you are. Mind games are played with
       everyone, even if the person doesn’t mean to. People can hit,
       lie, steal, and curse you up one side and down the other and
       they could still care about you. It’s messed up, but it happens.
       It’s humanity. But to go around just expecting everyone to hate
       you and not think you matter… that’s the best way to get very
       lonely very fast.” She didn’t realize that tears were streaming
       down her face as she kept ranting, not really sure if it was to
       him or to herself anymore.
       “You’ve got people who care.” She reached out to shove him, not
       putting her full force behind it. Hopefully it was just enough
       to bump him back a couple steps, but she wasn’t sure. “People
       who would do anything to make you happy. Hell, you’ve even got a
       locker room full of girls who seem to do nothing BUT worry about
       you and what you do on a daily basis.” She rolled her eyes,
       noticing for the first time that she was actually crying in
       front of someone. “D*** it all.” She whispered before going back
       into her rant.
       “You’re a good guy d*** it! Really, you have to be a special
       kind of stupid to not see that people like you. And you really
       want to know what happened to my foot? I burned myself because I
       can’t control the freaking things in my arms enough to not hurt
       myself. I have an upcoming photo shoot, and I’m going to have to
       cancel because I’m going to be in bandages.” She wanted to cry,
       to tell him all about how disappointed her parents were going to
       be in her. Again. But her inner control freak wouldn’t allow
       that much. Already, she had told Clarence more than he needed to
       know, and she would probably regret it. At the very least, he’d
       tell his girlfriend and Jessica knew for a fact that the girls
       there couldn’t keep their mouths shut to save their lives.
       Everything was just so wrong. Jessica was supposed to get her
       Enhancement, go to school here, make connections, get good
       grades and her parents would finally be proud enough to come see
       her. Now everything was backwards and twisted and she didn’t
       think she could ever fix it.
       “And even if you think your girl of the moment doesn’t care, at
       least know that I do. So stop being such an idiot, idiot.”
       #Post#: 617--------------------------------------------------
       Re: The Rooftop
   DIR By: morethanmusic
       Date: May 31, 2013, 11:21 pm
       ---------------------------------------------------------
       Clarence Morgan
       "I bet you don't even really care about me. You just don't want
       me to ask questions about you. Well, news flash, Paris Hilton, I
       actually asked because I cared what happened to you, not just
       because I was being evasive. How about that?"
       The irony of the girl on fire was that she was really good at
       getting people fired up. Clarence stood there, staring at her, a
       glowering thought in the back of his mind wondering if he wasn't
       being a little harsh. It wasn't enough to stop him, however, and
       he kept up the facade of the strong man's stare-down.
       “You’re a f****** idiot.”
       He could feel a crack in his mask, in the form of his lips
       twitching in the flat line they were pressed into. "I'm not
       though," he said, darkly.
       “You can’t say that Natalie doesn’t care about you.  And you
       sure as hell can’t say that I don’t. Who the f*** are you to say
       whether someone gives two s**** about you or anything else?” Her
       eyes never leaving his, they were both caught trying to be the
       last to look away. Everything inside of him just wanted to break
       the gaze, but the challenge was too tempting, and he refused to
       back down to a challenge. “Sure, your family life may not be the
       best, or you may feel like you don’t have any friends or maybe
       some degenerate hobo beat the crap out of you and left you with
       a black eye, but even then you still have no idea what others
       think about you or if they care or not.”
       He took a step back, working his jaw for a moment. "It wasn't a
       hobo," he hissed, "It was my 'not the best' family life, thank
       you very much." His voice was low and poisonous with memories.
       “If I didn’t care at all, I wouldn’t have said ANYTHING about
       your stupid eye.” The sting of her words sank in like the lash
       of a whip, and it was less about what she was saying and more
       about how she was saying it. He hardened his face, but inside,
       he knew she was right: there was trust in honesty, even if it
       was as a distraction, it still meant she'd noticed... “And maybe
       I AM being a pesky b**** and maybe you’re just a freaking retard
       who chooses to only see the bad in people because life hasn’t
       turned out exactly the way you want it to. Well here’s a
       newsflash for you- life doesn’t go according to plan, no matter
       who you are." He leaned his head back.
       "You think I consider myself an exception?" he slipped in, his
       jaw tense.
       His eyes wandered to her face, though, and he thought he saw
       tears there. She didn't seem to notice them, but his eyes were
       locked on her cheeks, and his shoulders began to slowly relax.
       "Mind games are played with everyone, even if the person doesn’t
       mean to. People can hit, lie, steal, and curse you up one side
       and down the other and they could still care about you. It’s
       messed up, but it happens. It’s humanity. But to go around just
       expecting everyone to hate you and not think you matter… that’s
       the best way to get very lonely very fast.”
       Taking in a deep breath, he took a step towards her. "Jess--"
       “You’ve got people who care.” Instead of paying attention to the
       steady loss of his anger, she shoved him, throwing off his
       balance for a moment and making him stumble slightly and
       over-calibrate, sending him forwards a step.
       "D*** it, woman, if you want to push me off the roof, you'll
       have to do better than that!"
       “People who would do anything to make you happy. Hell, you’ve
       even got a locker room full of girls who seem to do nothing BUT
       worry about you and what you do on a daily basis.” She rolled
       her eyes, despite the tears, still just pushing forwards.
       Clarence looked away, frowning.
       "Those people don't know me."
       “D*** it all.”
       He looked back at her, thinking he saw he struggle with her
       tears for a moment before going back to her angry word vomit,
       spewing all of the rage she'd been keeping inside for longer
       than Clarence cared to think back to. He stood there, watching
       her, waiting for her words to slow. Ready for whatever she might
       say.
       “You’re a good guy d*** it!"
       He felt a pained smile grow on one corner of his mouth.
       "Really, you have to be a special kind of stupid to not see that
       people like you. And you really want to know what happened to my
       foot? I burned myself because I can’t control the freaking
       things in my arms enough to not hurt myself." He furrowed his
       eyebrows a bit, his gaze falling to her foot. "I have an
       upcoming photo shoot, and I’m going to have to cancel because
       I’m going to be in bandages.”
       Clarence met her eyes for a moment, gesturing down. "Let me
       see." It didn't sound so much a request as a demand, despite his
       good intentions to sound gentle and caring -- which wasn't
       really a strong suit of his. He smirked slightly. "You're a
       stubborn b****, Jessica, you know that? And you have a d*** good
       poker face."
       “And even if you think your girl of the moment doesn’t care, at
       least know that I do. So stop being such an idiot, idiot.”
       He rolled his eyes. "She isn't my girl of the moment, she's
       girl," he said, with a sigh. "And it's a little more complicated
       than that, don't you get that? Anyway, me whining isn't really
       all that productive." Clarence moved closer, looking right into
       her eyes, his face not far from hers. "I was more just trying to
       antagonize you so you'd talk to me." Raising one eyebrow, he
       pursed his lips slightly in an obviously cocky nature, gauging
       her reaction. "We think a lot more alike than you might want to
       admit."
       Stepping back, he held his arms out. "Can one stubborn idiot at
       least carry you to the nurse, since surprising you made you burn
       yourself? So we can be even?"
       *****************************************************
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