halcyon_houses

Who: Noah and Nat
When: EARLY Saturday morning
Where: House of Fire hallway.


It was way too god damn early. Or maybe it was too late. Noah wasn't entirely sure anymore. He did know that he had pretty much worn a path in the floor of his room with all his damn pacing. And why was he pacing? Because he was pretty sure he was in his first recorded all out fight with Nat. The kind where she didn't speak to him except to get angry at him or ask if he was ready to apologize. And the kind of fight where the gnomes really didn't make any appearances in his room.

It was seriously getting stanky up in there. Good thing Noah had spent more than half his life in a locker room. He was kind of used to the smell of feet. Actually kind of a familiar smell. Now that was kind of scary. Maybe he should just give in and pick up. You know with all that free pacing time he had on his hands.

As the clock worked its way around to 6am Noah didn't bother to clean.... instead he grabbed his ipod slid it into the strap for his arm and donned it, along with a sleeveless t-shirt and a pair of shorts. He needed to not be confined by these four walls. Needed to beat the last of the restless confused energy he had running through his system out through a good run. Like most runners, it usually helped him clear his mind. Though Noah wasn't sure that would help. He knew the problem. Knew... but wouldn't let himself do anything about it. Stupid. Stubborn. Oh did we mention stupid? Yep. He was being all of the above. But above all else he was just scared. Not something Noah liked to admit but it was the damn truth.

Fuck it. He was out. Noah threw open the door to his room and prepared to make short work of the guys wing of the House of Fire. The sound of a door opening behind him gave him pause and enough time to swing his head around.

What. The. Fuck.

"Nat?"

Who: Noah and Summer
Where: Summer's room
When: Tuesday evening


His shoes sounded far too loud on the steps as he worked his way up through the castle to the Aquatic house. Maybe it was the flip or maybe it was the flop but something was echoing far too loudly on the stone walls. Then again, everything seemed a bit too loud as Noah walked toward the other house. It wasn't a fear of getting in trouble for being in someone else's house and a girls floor. If a guard wanted to make an issue of it... Noah could deal with having the conversation that needed to happen somewhere else. He might not be happy about it but picking a fight with a school guard didn't exactly seem like the worlds best life choice.

He'd made enough shitty life choices that he didn't need to add onto that with a fight that easily made the top ten of stupid fights.

Talking with Natalia the night before had helped with his mood. But then again when didn't it? Without her, Noah was pretty sure he wouldn't have lasted as long as he had without some meltdown of epic (and embarrassing) proportions. Life was shitty, Noah knew that, so for the most part he tried to always shake it off. Sitting around wallowing in the shit didn't do anything. But as of late, he'd been finding it harder and harder to just move past it all. He had to because something else would just come down the pike sooner rather than later, it always did. Sometimes it was better, sometimes it was worse but it all had to be dealt with.

So step one on that whole dealing with agenda... talking to Summer again. Talking to her when there wasn't the shock of the whole situation making him a sputtering idiot. He couldn't say he'd be able to control everything he felt, but he didn't have that kind of training he was working hard enough at keeping that whole wild beast in him calm. But he could at least be calm now and not have the whole accusatory damage going on last time. He could only hope she was better off as well...

Something told him that probably wasn't the case though. She hadn't been to football since last Tuesday. Noah had. He needed, no required the physical activity. He'd always done better with the physical, it was words that he struggled with. But more than that, football had always been what he was comfortable with, his safety net. Granted it wasn't the same anymore, not without the prospect of playing like he once had but it was still therapeutic for him. She'd been noticeably absent but he'd just channeled that into a little harder practice. Now he was showered and changed and... just ready to try and make some sense of this whole situation.

Noah worked his way through the hallway until he found her door. He hesitated for a moment before knocking. Well here went nothing.

Who: Noah and Summer
When: After Football Club
Where: Summer's Room
What: Summer needs to get something off of her chest.

Football Club had been more than a little bit torturous due to the simple fact that she had to wait for it to be over before she could discuss with Noah something that she should have talked to him about a long time ago. Or maybe she shouldn't have. Maybe she had been right in just keeping it all from him. Maybe telling him was the wrong thing to do all together. She wasn't sure. But she had made up her mind and she was going to stick to it. She was tired of being the only one that knew.

She had told him to meet her in her room, heading upstairs after practice to take a quick shower and pull on a pair of sweats. Long blond hair was up in a ponytail as she sat on her bed, long legs folded Indian style, a small trinket box in front of her on the bed, teal eyes fixated upon it.

She was nervous, and she just wanted to get this over with. The days that had passed since she had decided to go through with this had been impossibly long and she had found it more than a little difficult to focus on anything other than the thoughts running round and round in her head. At least the fixation had kept everyone else's emotions at bay. That was the only good thing about it, though she could feel his anxiety already. Or was it her own.

Breathe. Just breathe. And don't throw up. The last thing she needed was vomit breath on top of everything else.

Who: Noah (Narrative)
When: Friday afternoon
Where: His room.


We're doing fine with money mom,

Noah typed those words and almost underlined them after the fact. The very last thing he wanted his mother to do was worry about whether or not he had enough money. He was supposed to be the one sending them extra money not the other way around. But his mom was worried, with him supposedly traveling across Europe and all.

A hand raked through Noah's hair as he set to typing the rest of the email that he'd been sitting on replying to all day. Not because he didn't to talk to his mother, he loved her but because he just didn't know what to say. She'd been asking for a good month now when they were going to be headed back to the states... and Noah didn't have an answer. It was of course becoming more and more clear that he was going ot have to come up with some kind of answer. Noah wasn't exactly looking forward to that moment.

Tell Carley I love her and that she'd damn well better apply to all those schools she mentioned in the last email. I'll call you guys soon, need to get a new calling card.

Love,
Noah

The send key was hit and Noah quickly shut the top of his laptop. If he hadn't already gone for a run that morning before his last class for the term he'd have head out for another run. It felt like it was just before the full with the amount of energy that was rolling constantly through his form. But he knew that wasn't it. It was so much freaking more than that, made him worry about what it was going to be like when the next full did come around if he was still like this. He was really going to be screwed.

He paced the length of his room once, then twice in what was becoming a habit that he was a little worried was going to start showing up in the floor with the amount of time he'd been at it lately. Better than breaking mirrors though. And so far he hadn't found any way to work anything out that did a better job than this. Of course he hadn't tried much more than running and working out. Those were his regular standbys. But they didn't really help him work out any of the things that were racing through his mind.

Natalia being at the top of his list. Time alone with her was looming directly in front of him and it wasn't something that he'd ordinarily dread. And he didn't exactly dread it now. Rather he just... he didn't know what to expect. He knew how he felt about her and he knew that his reaction to James was case and point of why he had no business actually being with a woman. A mix of rage and jealousy just looking at the asshole didn't bode well for any dating situation that Noah could find himself in. He couldn't help but hate the guy for what he'd put Natalia through. But he hated him for more than that... hated him for having the balls to be with her when Noah hadn't, hated him for the fact that he'd earned Nat's love even if he didn't deserve it.

Noah didn't either.

He was her friend and as much as his heart said he wanted to be so much more his mind wouldn't let him come as close to breaching that barrier as he had not that long ago. It was just hard to remember that fact sometimes... he just hoped it wouldn't be that hard when he was alone with her for the next week.

He'd managed it for long enough now... what was a couple more weeks? Right.

Who:  Sydni and Noah
Where:  House of Fire Common Room
When:  Saturday Night
What:  An introduction

It had been a much better week this week than last.  First of all, last week had been the full moon and Sydni still felt that the full moon was a horrible nightmare that came once a month.  If only her memory of the full moon was like her memory for dreams.  Unfortunately, it was not.  It was still like a bizarre nightmare - she felt like her brain functioned on a different level when she was transformed, and her 'human' brain couldn't process the information properly once dawn came.  She vaguely understood that it would become clearer with time, but really, she'd rather it not.

More importantly, though, this week, Sydni had met several other students.  Most memorable, of course, was Frankie.  The girl had the energy of, well, not to be redundant, a ball of fire.  She had met a few others as well, and she hoped that she could develop friendships with some of them.

Sydni was musing on these developments  in the common room on Saturday Night.  She had her notebook with her, writing.  She was trying to write a 'happy' poem to fit her mood, but everything she had turned out so far was crap.  That was ok with her.  She crossed out what she didn't like, or she turned to a new page and started over.  Part of the problem was she didn't know what to write about - she wanted to create a happy mood, but she needed a subject, and couldn't figure out what fit.  Eventually, she would hit on something she liked, and she was patient.  It was like clothes shopping.  She knew other people who hated shopping because it seemed they could never find something they liked.  Sydni never forced it.  If she couldn't find what she liked, she'd go back another day.  Same with poems.  If she didn't find what she liked today, she'd get to it another day.  No big deal to her.  Not like anyone else ever saw them.

She had just finished another pathetic attempt, and she needed to stretch.  She unfolded her legs from under her and stretched her arms up over her head, and her legs straight out, toes pointed.  She was already in her pjs - jammie pants with cute little strawberries on a pink background and matching short-sleeved top with a single strawberry and the word "Yum" written across the chest.

It was really very quiet at the school tonight.  Sydni figured that most of the other students had gone into town.  It was Saturday night.  Or perhaps they were locked up, studying.  In any case, Sydni didn't mind the quiet.  It was easier to write when there was no one else around.  Sydni was just settling back into her curled up position on the couch when she heard someone else enter the room.

When: Evening
Where: House of Fire common room
Who: Nat, Noah and James
What: Dun, dun, DUN

So far, the week had been shaping up rather nicely. Sure it was only Tuesday but she had a new roommate who was awesome and so far the homework load was looking pretty light. Add onto both of those things that the weather was being pretty amazing and it had the makings to be a great week. Oh, and of course there was always the potential for a spontaneous date with her favorite southern beau, which just made things that much better. Great week indeed!

As soon as classes had ended, Natalia had run back to her room to grab her board and hit the beach for a while to grab some really sweet waves. There were no words to describe how good she was feeling after she had gotten back and grabbed a quick shower. Hell, there might have even been a bounce in her step as she pulled on some jeans and one of the shirts she had swiped out of Noah’s drawer over the weekend. What? The laundry gnomes had needed to get in there and take care of his dirty clothes and…yeah, she just took it because it looked comfortable, sue her.

Once her hair had been combed and dried, she grabbed a couple of magazines and headed for the kitchen. Rather than getting something complex and eating it there, she grabbed a sandwich and some fruit and headed back to her house’s common room. There was just something about the big picture window there that made her want curl up in one of the armchairs and veg out. That and maybe it gave her a good opportunity to people watch, but that was completely secondary.

With a magazine resting in her lap, a random surfing one, and her food on a table to her right, she got down to business and proceeded to veg. Idly she flipped through the pages as she popped a chunk of fruit or a piece of her sandwich into her mouth and she had been so caught up with reading one of the articles that she had almost missed a familiar scent enter the room. “Hola mijo.”

Who: Noah (Narrative)
When: Thursday Evening
Where: Noah's Room (House of Fire)


Fucking ridiculous. And he wasn't talking about the stupid gossip rag. He was talking about himself. The fact that he gave two shits about it. That was what was fucking ridiculous. It wasn't like Noah wasn't used to being in the public eye. Not like a celebrity or anything to that extent, but he had spent a few years with his actions being scrutinized by a few too many people. And yet here he was... pissed the fuck off that someone had taken it upon themselves to write some bullshit about his life for all to see.

Prying where no one needed to pry and it pissed him off. Perhaps irrationally so, but he was a private person. And private he was, to the extent that it was something more than a fault. It sometimes made all too many of his decisions. Noah knew it, but wasn't sure he wanted or more importantly could change that fact. It was the bed he'd made...

Noah had long ago shut off his computer. Slammed the lid of the lap down harsher than he would have liked to have done but no matter how much he tried to control it, he had a temper. It was that temper that was the very reason for all of this. Noah pushed away from his desk and threw some t-shirts in the general direction of his laundry. But it wasn't quite satisfying enough. He paced, that was his usual m.o. Not that it actually did much of anything other than give him something to do.

Hands clenched and unclenched. He wasn't glaring at that guy, her southern romeo or whatever they wanted to call him. He wasn't. In fact he was making a pointed effort not to. Fuck. It wasn't like he had any reason to be glaring at him. Nat was his best friend and it was all she was ever going to be. The only thing she could be. Didn't really matter that he didn't often think about her in a purely friend capacity. It wasn't about him. He just couldn't trust... couldn't trust that he wouldn't become his father. He saw it in himself all the time. He was protective of Natalia. Still wanted to go back to New York and beat the guy that had hurt her until he couldn't take another breath. It wasn't even that though, he just didn't want anyone else to touch her and that was what scared him.

Too protective.

Only a few short steps away from him being the man that he grown up hating and wanting to be the very opposite of... he couldn't do that to Natalia and he couldn't do that to himself. His father had always said he loved his mom, loved her so much that he just couldn't stand to see her talking to other men, she was always trying to leave him. Always had a reason. Always. Noah couldn't let htat happen. So instead he would watch as she was happy with someone else and he do it because... as he stared in the mirror in his room he could see his father smirking face.

Maybe he wasn't any different than the old man, like his father had so loved to tell Noah. But as his hand ached and a few drops of blood hit his dresser... at least he couldn't see his face in that mirror anymore.

Who: Nat and Noah
When: Late evening
Where: Nat's room

Natalia really didn't remember much about her first full moon but she was almost positive that she hadn't felt like she was about to go stir crazy. Granted it probably had something to do with not knowing what was coming but still. Her nerves had been a wreck all week and they only seemed to get worse the closer she got to the big day. In class she found herself fidgeting and fighting to keep herself sitting still. Any knowing or concerned looks from Noah were waved off with a smile but there were a couple of points throughout the day where she thought she was going to lose it. Like she would just snap and start bouncing off the walls or something. Which is exactly why she had hit the beach as soon as classes were over. Too bad it didn't help.

After dinner, she decided that her best bet was to lock herself in her room and try to beat this thing. The web was surfed for a while but that didn't help. Next was some mind-numbing teen dramas on the television but again, didn't help. Another shower was taken, first hot and then cold, but again, didn't help. So really there was only one thing left to do. Since she felt like something was trying to crawl out of her skin, it was decided that less was more when it came to the pajama choice for the evening. Some blue booty shorts and a tank were chosen once she was dried off and as soon as her hair had been managed, she pulled out her yoga mat and got to centering.

It really took everything in her to focus on the words and soft music that were currently coming out of her stereo but it seemed to be paying off. Her body felt a little less tense as she went through the paces and her mind began to set itself at ease. Currently she was in the ever popular Downward-facing Dog position and gearing up for her next move. Just as she was extending her leg and assuming the Side Plank pose, there was a knock on the door and her best friend was crossing the threshold. "Oi mijo, what are you doing here?" she asked as she struggled to maintain her balance. "Uno momento por favor."

The pose was held for as long as the CD had instructed and rather than moving on, she pulled herself out of it and got to her feet. "What's up?"

Who: Noah and Nat
Where: Boys Bathroom - House of Fire
When: Monday Evening


Noah knew Nat pretty well. At least he thought he did. And part of knowing her well was knowing that she loved more than anything to tease him. She was damn good at too, and if Noah wanted to be honest about it all he didn't mind the teasing so much because well... it was Nat and really how could you not like her teasing you? Even if you took away the packaging which Noah tried to do... no matter how hard that was to do. He knew enough about her to know there had been a time when she wouldn't have acted that way with him or with anyone else and to know that it was gone now.... meant a hell of a lot to him.

Even if it came at his expense. At least there had been no naked tub baby pictures. Small favors.

He really did need to take the shower that he'd said as means of avoiding any of the famous Natalia pouts. He had worked out earlier gone for a long run and found his way to the weight room. For whatever reason he felt the need to keep up his conditioning even if it didn't matter like it once had. Old habits die hard and all... and well maybe Noah just wasn't ready to accept that his dream was completel gone just yet. Yes, denial was fun.

Noah had grabbed the shower caddy that had been familiar since the first day he entered college, it had the minimum amount of shit inside. Just the usual shampoo/conditioner in one because who needed to waste time with two? Soap and some loofah thing his mom had given him for christmas. Whatever, it worked. Towel was thrown over his shoulders and flip flops on he headed out to the bathroom. Room was empty when he got there like Nat was actually going to show up. Like going any place either of them would be naked was a good thing for either of them.

Uh... not like they were anything other than friends. That one time had been entirely due to way too much tequila. They'd decided that a long time ago and by decided he meant never ever talked about it again.

Water was cranked up nice and hot. Perk of being a were he'd found out, extra warm showers were doable and even more enjoyable. His gym shorts, boxers and wife beater were slopped onto the bench outside the showers, towel hung on the hook outside the curtained shower. Last but not least he stepped inside and let the water rain down on him. Any thought that Nat was actually going to show up just to spite him... gone.