After Lunch Break

[Glitch]

After sleeping in a full morning from jet lag, Dante ate his breakfast at lunch, which turned out to be a little crazy. Food was thrown, lewd comments were shouted, and yet another contest of some other started for money. With the behavior of the students, this place was like a more free version of Juvie. Dante was quickly becoming more at home in the school as time progressed, though he still compared it a lot to his time in Juvie so he kept his guard up constantly. The only thing that may make this place worse was if he had to attend classes. No one talked to him about his schedule yet, and Dante would do all he could to avoid classes like Math, Science, history and all other classes which didn't involve him doing something active. He dropped out of school cause frankly, it just wasn't for him. He liked working with his hands better, and school had been an unnecessary chore for him for years till he could drop out. Besides, he had better things to do than go to school.

When lunch ended, most people filed out to go to art class. Dante was as much an artist as he was a historian. There was no way that he'd go to that class. Instead all he did was ask Ricki, who he found was staying behind as well, where the spot was that Sky and Lian were talking about where they go to smoke and not get caught by the teachers. Without him even asking, she brought him to the area in the trees by the lake. That's where he found himself now, sitting on the ground smoking a cigarette and listening to her talk about just about every topic.

Dante wasn't much of a talker, but it didn't look like she minded. He just went right on listening to her and smoking his cigarette as he sat on the ground leaning against a rock. He asked a question once in awhile if it was something of particular interest, but mostly he let her talk on. "What happened next?" Dante asked with slight interest at the current story she was telling him.

[Taffy]

"Eh, got my allowance and MP3 player taken away." Ricki stated sighing, shaking her head as she stared at the lake in front of her. She was leaning against the same rock as Glitch, just her body was slightly tilted away in a different direction - she didn't mash well with the smoke. She'd been speaking continuously since she'd got the new paragon to this spot, 'cause well - that was just Ricki. To continue to ramble on and on and on to any random person, with the randomest things every - it seemed to lighten the mood a lot. A calm happy sorta environment - Ricki enjoyed that sort of thing. Right now though, she'd been telling Dante about how she got cornered by a couple of random gang-like people when she was eleven. "I mean, I was just soooo shook! I've always been bought up to be polite and caring and stuff y'know? Violence isn't really my thing - I don't do well with fist fights. Either way - I just like stood there dumbfounded and gave them my allowance and MP3. Man my parents were mad! But well, they were happy I made it home safe and stuff y'know?" she said with a knowing look, shuddering slightly as she recollected the event.

Even though Ricki was happy sitting her talking to Dante at the moment, she felt a bit odd. She was sure it wasn't cause she was skipping art - because well, after the first three lessons she'd just stopped herself from even entering that class ever again. She truly was an insult to the very concept of art - with the exception of her musical abilities. Ricki couldn't draw, or paint, or sculpt or do any such thing to save her life - and well, she really didn't see the point of going to the lesson when she was just going to sit there feeling rather dumb. No, it certainly wasn't that. It was then, her second thought - Heather and Gavin. It wasn't like she was against their relationship, oh no, definitely not that. Wasn't she the one who continued to pester Gavin about how the two of them ought to start dating? But then... well, maybe it was just shock. Maybe the hollow feeling was just shock... yes. That would explain it. She hadn't expected them to start dating so, 'out-of-the-blue' - Yes, yes it's just shock. Though she was yet uncertain, she tried to force herself to believe that - for there was no other possible explanation for it. No, this had to be it. Didn't it?

She sighed as she looked over at Dante, coughing slightly as she spoke. "Uh - so - how d'you like the Institute so far?" she asked. Dante didn't cross her as much of a talkative person, and she didn't really mind 'cause well - she could just go on speaking for days and not stop, but she figured that she ought to be nice enough to ask Glitch a bit about himself - as long as he was comfortable answering it of course. She didn't want to make him feel too uncomfortable. "If you don't mind me asking - uh, how come you weren't in class this morning?" she added with slight curiosity. English was one of the core subjects - she couldn't understand why someone would want to skip one of the core subjects - especially when it was taught by the headmistress.

[Glitch]

"School ain't for me. I dropped out a year ago, and until I'm told otherwise I ain't going to any English, History, Science, nothing like that," Dante answered taking the last drag of his cigarettes and then putting it out in the dirt next to him. He grabbed the one behind his ear and played with it for a moment between his fingers, contemplating how to answer her question. "It ain't horrible here. Nice place, okay people. Kinda wild." He lit up the cigarette with the Zippo lighter he bought with the old five finger discount back home. "Yesterday was... well not something I expected. Didn't expect to see something like that my first day," he said blowing the smoke out away from Ricki to not get it in her face.

Dante was no stranger to violence, but that was street stuff. People threw punches all the time in his neighborhood, even took out knives or chains once in awhile, but that was some high class stuff. That girl fought the way they did in movies, but without the special effects. He'd seen a lot in his life but that was a first. As hot as it was to see a girl that hot kick some serious ass, it made him all the more wary of this place. He was no one's punching bag, and knew how to hold his own in a rumble of any size, but if people knew some hardcore moves like that he'd really have to watch his back.

Taking a long drag of his cigarette, he gave Ricki a sidelong glance. "Should I get used to stuff like that? Or expect it?" Dante wanted to get her talking again, she wasn't horrible company, kind of chill actually. She reminded him of someone he knew back home, and after the crazy year he had. It was nice to be present around someone who hadn't been hardened by the unfair and harsh life everyone lived.

[Taffy]

Ricki shuddered slightly as she tried not to remember the out-of-control Ember. Hell, was that creepy. She didn't have to ponder over Glitch's question for too long to answer it - "Well, not exactly get used to seeing people trying to kill each other everyday." she answered simply, with a roll of her eyes, "But uh - be on your lookout - I mean, It is a school full of teenage mutants." Ricki adjusted her hair a bit, and turned her head to look at Dante, "You can be sure you won't be getting 'bored' anytime soon." Ricki rolled her eyes once again, exhaling as she spoke.

"Like, yesterday - before you came - Rumble - the guy who Ember nearly killed yesterday - uh yea, Professor Logan - Wolverine - chucked him out the window. It was crazy. Wolverine's awesome, but you don't wanna push his limits." Ricki let out a bit of a nervous giggle, "And like, Gavin and Heather - they're always at it. Like, teasing each other and playing about, so if you ever see Heather stuck in a tree or like, hanging out of a window or like stuck in a basketball net - don't worry too much." Ricki's tone was casual, but there was a flicker of - annoyance? - that somehow ran through her insides as she said the words. She tried not to ponder over it - it wasn't making much sense. "Then there's Lian, Sky, Chase, Riker - you've probably got a decent measure on them now I assume. Seeing three of them are your team. They're all awesome - fun to hangout with - but they're like 'traditional rule breakers'. They like to have their fun."

Ricki leaned forward a bit, because the hard surface of the rock was sorta hurting her back. "Then there's Katana - she used to be a Paragon - but she's an Acolyte now. I dunno if your team's told you much about her? - Well either way, uh, she's uh... different. People don't really like her much, kinda with good reason - I'll admit. She's quite annoying, and sometimes tries a bit tooooo hard ot fit in, but I kinda feel bad - y'know? - 'cause it seems like she wants to start fresh, but like, she's already ruined her reputation too much to like, re-gain it - y'know?" Ricki shrugged, a slightly uncomfortable look on her face.

"You'll like it here though - some crazy stuff happens - but it's still good. It's like being home. It is home. You'll be pretty tight with your team, we're in our teams for reasons - we mesh well with them. And like, yea - you'll love the Paragons too, they're awesome peoples. You probably already like 'em. What - with Sky and Lian on the team?" Ricki rolled her eyes as she paused rambling for a moment, it seemed like Glitch didn't mind listening to her go on and on forever, and he seemed the types to tell her to shut up if she was going over-board, but still - she thought it'd be polite to just make sure he didn't mind. "Sorry - Eh, I'm rambling. Lemme know if you need me to shut up, I can do silence too." Ricki smiled, in a way Ricki felt like she had a lot of talking to make up for, seeing she hadn't spoken to many people except Torri for over a month or so. "But yea - the weekends here! Good time to get to know people. Most of us are here for the weekend, so yea - I'll probably be working on my music and stuff - I like doing that sorta thing over the weekends. I still need Gavin to help me out with the guitar, i dunno if he'll be free, seeing him and Heather and stuff y'know? Aw well, i'll just have to figure it out myself, if somming like that happens. He isn't the types to bail though..." Ricki came to a pause, Damn, shut up Ricki! "-Rambling again! Sorryyy!" she rolled her eyes. "Uh - so - you got any hobbies? Music... Art.. scratch art - you don't like art - you'd be in art class now otherwise - right? - uh, I dunno , sports?"

[Glitch]

Her last question earned little more than a sidelong glance from Dante. He wasn't keen on talking about himself, mainly that he didn't trust anyone. The main thing he learned at home was that you should never trust anyone quick. Harmless as this girl may look, he wasn't exactly the open type. "I'm good with computers," he answered simply and not elaborating. Sure he was good with them, he had to be in order to break in to the big places that him and his crew used to hit. He owned a cheap laptop that he put together and through pure experimentation and a bit of research, he had been able to infiltrate into several security systems. It wasn't exactly the cleanest hobby, but she didn't need to know that.

"You're tone changes whenever you talk about that Gavin guy. You sweet on him?" Dante asked blatantly changing the subject as he took another drag of his cigarette. He met the winger rocker the other night at dinner, getting eyes from a good number of the girls at the school. He saw the blond girl hanging all over him at lunch, making him laugh behind his hand. He didn't know either of them very well, but he would probably not be alive if he couldn't judge character as well as he could. His personal opinion was that it was a doomed relationship. Gavin seemed far too laid back and chill to want any of the drama that would come from a relationship, especially from a girl who looked like she should be head of the cheerleading squad and the kind that gets her hair and nails done twice a week. Not to say she wasn't easy on the eyes, but Dante knew that all the girls her type were usually easy on the eyes. Point is that they aren't hot enough for him or any guy close to his persona to put up with the high maintenance affectionate stuff, but that was just his view on it.

Dante took a long drag and flicked the ash off the cigarette. He glanced at Ricki coolly, surveying her reaction to his question and sized her up from there. He wasn't pressuring her to say anything, just made an observation and asked her the obvious question. He stared at her calmly and then looked away in case she'd feel more comfortable to respond without him staring at her.

[Taffy]

Ricki's chirpy tone almost suddenly changed to a rather - defensive - one. "Gavin? Uhh - no... No way! I mean, uh - we're just friends - good friends. Plus he's with Heather now, and either way Gavin and me? Uh nah... I'm not his types." Ricki was rambling - well, duh she was rambling. Her insides were all jumping up and down, and she was just trying her best to defend herself. She did not have a thing for Gavin! Did she? - Ofcourse I don't! She sighed, shaking her head as she continued to chant the fact that she didn't like Gavin in her head. They were just close friends, yeah - that was all. That's probably why her tone changed... she hadn't actually realised her tone ever did change when she spoke of Gavin.

A silent minute passed as Ricki sat there still recovering over the question. She didn't know why she'd gotten all defensive all of a sudden - it was so not like her - she was always more the 'Oh yea, of course i'm sweet on him. I mean maaaaaaaaaan he's hoooot!' types. She always tended to play it cool and shoot a sarcastic response when it came to questions like that - why had she become so touchy when the topic had come up? She blinked, No... it can't be. I mean... just... no... She licked her lips as she turned around to look at Glitch. "You really think so?" she added after a moment, her outburst earlier did all but 'give-her-away'. "I mean... no... Gavin and I are just friends. Yea..." she was speaking more to herself than Dante.

"Uh..." she paused, "Sloooooooowwllyyy moving on..." she muttered, allowing an uneasy giggle to escape her. "Yea random outburst there - er, anyhoo -" she struggled for something to speak about, even though she'd made it clear she no longer wanted to speak about Gavin, her mind was still revolving around the topic - Did she like him? No... no... "So... Er, computers - eh? That's preeetttyyyy cool." she bit her lip,

"So uh - you... you err - like anyone round here? Like, I know it's only been two days and stuff, but you must've got a take on people. There aren't so many of us... I mean well, yea - just outta the younger lots I mean - you like, feeling comfertable around some people? You seem more the types to - y'know - stay away from crowds and drama and shit - and it's usually the quiet ones who observe a lot more. I speak so much, I tend to miss out on sooooo many important things!" Ricki rolled her eyes, gradually driving towards a new topic. "But yeah - what's your take on people here? Got a good feelin' about any? Any you think you could like chill with? Feel like you're gonna keep your distance from any?" Ricki wasn't one to force conversation, and she thought the question was pretty open - he could always say he'd rather not answer, she wasn't one to mind. She just always liked to give the other person a chance to say something, 'cause she knew she always got carried away speaking, and well... sometimes people jut let her ramble on. She liked to hear what other people had to say, it was always interesting.

[Glitch]

Giving her a sidelong glance, Dante decided to go with the flow. It wasn't his business what went on with her and another guy and he wasn't going to make it his business. He took another drag of his cigarette and took his time thinking about her question. "Well I ain't gonna lie, there are some real lookers in this school. They don't make em' anywhere else like they do here, and that's the truth," he said thinking of the hot little numbers her saw at the school. The girls really were pretty and some were really damn hot, which was a huge instant bonus for him to enjoy the school. "It don't seem bad here. Not gonna lie, yesterday was insanity. Never saw stuff like that in my life and made me wonder exactly what kinda people are at this school. I'll say this, you ain't ever gonna catch me starting shit with that fire chick," Dante said still in shock about all that happened on his first day.

The more he sat out here in the woods, relaxed and not feeling the need to have such a hard guard, the less wary he grew of Ricki. She was a nice chick, and he doubted she had plans to use anything he told her against him. His gut told him that this girl dug okay, and slowly as she talked more, he allowed himself to relax and enjoy her company. "Now I got a question for you girl," Dante began and flicked an ash off his cigarette. "How does an innocent looking thing like you make it in this school? If this place is anything like what I'm thinking it is, than that's pretty impressive that you lasted this long. You don't strike me as the fighter type." He had always been very blunt about his observations when relaxed enough with a person. Also he was kind of curious how someone like her faired in what he concluded to be a pretty rough school.

"This place is damn rough, I ain't blind to that. Some people here, like the one on the team I'm on, seem to dig alright. Others though, I don't know how they survive it here," Dante said glancing over at her hoping to get her talking some more. He wasn't one to talk much but he liked listening and learning more about the people around him. He was no idiot, he would find out what this place had in store for him.

[Taffy]

Ricki giggled as she rolled her eyes at Dante's question. She'd been told loads of times that she had that sorta innocent, angelic look to her - and well, it wasn't far from her personality. "Just don't get yourself involved in other peoples buisness and you're good." Ricki stated, still giggling. The truth was, that Ricki'd hung out so much with Shimmer for a while, she'd been as good as invisible to most people, but seeing Torri was no longer an Acolyte, and Ricki'd 'moved on' - it was her only tip for survival. Keep outta shit, and you're good. "It can get pretty rough around here, I won't lie - what, with all the mutant powers and all, it never just sticks to the usual fist fight y'know? You saw Ember yesterday, she nearly killed Rumble!" Ricki shook her head, "It's not always like that though, so it's not really that hard to 'survive'. Just... yeah, keep outta other peoples buisness and try not to get into shit."

Ricki smiled, glancing around the lake. She was trying to imagine what it would be like to see what she saw yesterday on her first day here. Dude, would she be scared shitless. She glanced over at Dante, still internally laughing about his take on her and the school. "You'll fit in well, you don't seem the types to get involved in other peoples buisness - correct me if i'm wrong." Her pleasant smile stayed plastered to her face as she turned her body a bit to face Glitch again. He seemed slightly more comfortable speaking to her now than he had done earlier at lunch. That pleased Ricki - she liked to think people enjoyed being around her.

Her eyes flickered down to her watch, "Oh, there's like fifteen minutes until the others are outta class!" she announced, "That went kinda fast." she mused, starting to fiddle with the bottom strands of her hair unconciously. "Hmm... sooo, you got ideas for what you wanna do over the weekend?" she asked curiously, still wanting to give him the chance to speak if need be. "Sky, Lian and Chase probably have you booked. They get upto all this crazy stuff whenever they get the chance - plus from what I heard Chase screaming yesterday, Lian's got dibbs on you." she giggled as she spoke, watching Dante's face for his reaction.

[Glitch]

A scoff left Dante's mouth as he put out his cigarette. "Last time I checked, I wasn't a piece of cake. No one get's dibs on me. I get dibs on them. Ya dig?" he said looking at her and his lips broke out into a slight smirk. Different as Ricki was from him, she was honest and good, and those kind of people were hard to find. Dante wasn't going to do anything to corrupt her or anything to keep her from being who she was, even if he himself was her opposite in many ways. Growing up in the rough neighborhoods of Chicago, he'd seen good people get corrupted or taken down just for being who they are and others not liking it. That wasn't something that Dante was cool with, and he sure as hell wasn't going to give her crap for it.

"Eh, I ain't sure. Sky mentioned something at lunch but hey, you can tag along," he said looking at her for a second, smirk replaced by his serious look. "You dig okay girly." With that, he got up and brushed his pants off, straightening the worn old brown leather jacket. He reached a hand down to her and pulled her up gently. "Alright, let's blow this joint. You lead the way, I still ain't sure about this place," Dante said and walked beside her as they went through the woods. "So while we still got time, tell me a bit about the people in the school. Any I should know about and stuff. I keep to myself, get involved in no one's business but my own, but it can't hurt to know," he said giving her a sidelong glance.

[Taffy]

Ricki pondered on his question for a moment as she walked through the woods with her hands crossed across her chest. "Well, I've mentioned most of it really - people don't like Katana, you don't mess with Ember, don't push Wolverine's limits, oh - er, Haven doesn't take to kindly to anyone messing with Deisel either and visa versa." she paused, there really wasn't much to tell - and truth be told, there wasn't much she knew either. "Lian and Sky are pretty tight - you probably noticed that. They may be cussing each other all the time and stuff but I wouldnt want to get on either of their bad sides." she said shuddering. "Veronika's really nice - Allure - She's on your team. She's amazing at everything, and she's best mates with Heather..." Ricki's voice trailed off slightly as she remembered her rather odd outburst due to Gavin earlier.

She shook it off, not wanting to think about it - it just didn't make any sense, and the less she thought about it the better. "Eh - you'll soon enough figure out most things really. If you want deets on peeps, ask Sky and Lian, they'd be more helpful than I am." she rolled her eyes as she looked up at Dante, now that she thought about it, her first impression of him wasn't all that true. She'd thought of him to be one of those 'bad player boys' who didn't associate himself with 'innocent looking girls' like her, but oddly enough, she found she could have a long ramble like conversations (one sided conversations) with him, without actually feeling like she wasn't wanted.

"The teachers are all pretty chill - there aren't any I'd say I don't like or anything - y'know? and uh... yea. Who else is there to say about? Uh, Chase - he's cool. I don't really speak to him too much, but he's like Lian and Sky in a matter of speaking. He likes to have his fun - uh, I'm thinking Paragons - Oh! There's Tempest - she usually keeps to herself, and only speaks to a couple of people properly. I don't know much about her, but she's not someone who you'll find involved in much drama. Allure - I mentioned her - she's really nice too. Pretty much your whole team's awesome - know Ember? She used to be a Paragon too..." Ricki continued to speak about the Paragons, thinking that Glitch would probably be the most interested in them as they got closer and closer to the mansion. Oh! I have to meet up with Gavin for Guitar.... uh, he's probably busy though... with Heather... uh, yea, no point mentioning it if he's not free. If he has time, he'll remember... yea, if not... well, I'm sure I can YouTube some lessons...