Pasta and Picoult, a nice combination

[NightShade]

Ivy walked into the kitchen, feeling rather empty handed since she left her schoolbooks in her room for once when she went to make a lunch. Along with finishing the rest of her schoolwork the night before, she had been watching the small patch of the faintest green sheen on her hand like a hawk, waiting to see what it would do. She hoped that it was just some sort of fluke and that it'd go away after a little, and even after a shower, but it didn't. Much to her chagrin it had grown minutely, enough for her watchful eyes to notice the slightest difference.

Though it was invisible to everyone except those who knew it was there and really looked for it, Ivy still couldn't help feeling like it was a blaring signal near her wrist giving away the fact that she really couldn't come into contact with everyone. She had gloves, just in case it got bad enough, but the long sleeve of her hoodie was enough to cover it and make her feel a little better about it. That, and she didn't want to have to explain why she was wearing gloves when the weather was starting to warm up.

Ivy placed the thick book she had taken with her on the kitchen counter, her newest book to her collection of books for free reading, Nineteen Minutes, so that she could look in the refrigerator. She looked at the cold cuts and pursed her lips slightly in indecision, looking around for alternatives since she wasn't in the mood for a plain sandwich. She saw a bag of cooked, plain fusili on one of the shelves and grabbed that along with some butter and put it on the counter. Grabbing a bowl, a fork, some granulated garlic and some salt, she started putting together a little dish for herself that she made at home that she liked a lot. Every time she had it, she always thought to herself with a laugh that garlic was not a person's best friend, especially if they were to kiss someone. Bad breath was never a good thing. It's not like that matters anyways, I won't be kissing anyone here, let alone touching anyone. My wonderful poison sees to that, she thought with a laugh while smirking to herself.

She nuked the pasta and butter before adding the seasonings, and when it was all mixed together like she liked, she took the bowl, picked up her book and sat at the nearby table. The peace and quiet would be nice so that she could thoroughly enjoy her book and her pasta. She knew well enough that it may not last long, but she had a hope that it might since it sounded like everyone was up and around doing other things that kept their minds of their stomachs. Even still though, Ivy knew she wouldn't mind it if someone came in for food and kept a safe distance from her for their sake, though if it was a group she would probably clear out soon enough to avoid any issues, especially if she felt out of place with them.

[StormHawk]

The door to the kitchen opening from outside and Gavin walked in with his guitar slung over his back. "Hey Ivy!" he greeted with a grin and took his guitar off his shoulder, setting it down against the wall. "Where ya been lately? I haven't seen you since English yesterday." Gavin looked at her curiously and sat on one of the kitchen stools by the counter. He had spent most of the morning high up in his tree strumming the melody that had been mulling around in his head for days, finally getting it out and the way he wanted it. It was a wistful sort of melody, though not a sad one, but also had a couple of chords of an uplifting tune to it. Gavin also had a good idea what words he wanted to give to it, but that was a project for later. He was satisfied with his work for now and had flown back to the school feeling accomplished.

"MmmmmmMmmmm...." Gavin breathed in the smells of the pasta that was cooking. "Smells good. Don't eat too much though, you know we got the barbecue later and supposedly they cook up a storm of good food," he reminded her before grabbing a bag of chips from the counter and opening it up to snack on them. He hadn't spoken to Ivy in awhile since she wasn't around much, but she was a cool chick.

"Did you forget? Or you still getting used the being in the land of the living," Gavin joked, munching on chips. "How are you feeling by the way? I'm assuming you're probably a lot better now that you're out, but still." He had come by to visit her once in awhile while she was quarantined to bring her a book or the funnies from the newspaper, and she looked way better than she did a week ago even.

[NightShade]

Ivy instantly looked up at Gavin and let out a small laugh. "Yeah, a lot better. I missed everyone," she said with another laugh as she used her fork to move around some of the pasta in her bowl. She was glad to see Gavin, and she liked that he was one of the people who still remembered she was around when she was stuck in quarantine. It made him good in her books. She grinned sheepishly as she was reminded of the upcoming cookout and put her fork down. "You know, I really did forget about that, completely. I'm so used to being by myself that I just do my stuff and that's it, you know? Man, that should be fun, everyone will be there right?" she asked with a little giggle. It would be good to be around everyone again, though she knew she would probably keep around the Acolytes, whichever ones who were closest. She was sociable, but she didn't do very well with parties. Normally she just hung to the sides and talked to whoever was around there.

She laughed to herself again at the luck of having gotten out just in time, but looking forward to going to join everyone in the cookout was dampened slightly by the ever present knowing that she was seeping out poison. Ivy smiled at Gavin before looking at her food and taking another bite of her pasta. "You like the smell of this huh? It's just butter, garlic and salt, but it's so goood," she said, still smiling as she looked from her food to his guitar. "Were you working on a song just now?" she asked curiously, looking at him again. She had heard him play only once or twice, but she thought he was good, and he and his guitar always made her smile.

[StormHawk]

"Yea I finally got a tune that was stuck in my head out. I been thinking on it for like days now," Gavin said munching on some chips and looking at his guitar fondly. "I wanted to do it yesterday, but I had a date and then I went out with the others. It's cool though, its where most of my morning went." He looked at his guitar fondly and went back to talking just for the hell of it. "Just gonna chill here for a bit and munch on some chips. But yea don't eat too much cause we gonna have mad food later. I saw Karma go out with the little kids shopping on my way in, and I can bet they're gonna bring in a bunch of food," he said practically drooling at the thought of all the food they would have in the future. He wanted this barbecue to go smoothly, but nothing at the school ever did. For a school so small, there was an endless amount of problems.

"Ian's gonna be going nuts when he gets to the food. We we're talking this morning on our favorite cookout foods and oh man wait till you see what he's gonna do to his hot dog." Gavin laughed a bit when he remembered the creative way that Ian liked to make his hot dog. "I'm looking forward to just hanging out and chilling after this week. Wanna spend some time with Heather too since I barely saw her this morning." He looked around then as a thought struck him. "Hey you know where she is anyways? I haven't seen her since breakfast."

[NightShade]

Ivy shook her head with an apologetic smile and a half shrug. "Sorry, I haven't seen her. I only just crawled out of my room since I was finishing off the last of my homework before I did anything else. And since the cookout should be soon, I'll just put this elsewhere," she said, putting her bookmark into her book and closing it before taking her bowl over to the sink. Without thinking she pushed up the sleeves of her hoodie before she turned on the water, only to remember that there was poison on one hand. She wanted to jerk the sleeve down and cover it again, but for the sake of not looking odd or weird she left it pushed up and emptied her pasta down the sink. She figured no one else would want to have what she left of what she made.

As soon as she could, she shrugged her sleeves back down over her hands and put the bowl into the dishwasher and went back to the table. She looked at Gavin and smiled as she sat back down, resting her covered hands on the table before sliding them off and onto her lap as she grinned slightly. "You went on a date last night? How did that go? With Heather right? She seemed bolder than I've ever seen her yesterday," she said, smirking slightly, awaiting an answer to tease him playfully. It was always fun to tease friends about people they liked, or if they went on dates or anything like that, but it always gave her a twinge of jealousy in the pit of her stomach because she knew it wouldn't and couldn't happen to her. She could fall for someone all she liked, but nothing would ever and could ever happen. It wasn't just because of the poison helping her from keeping close to anyone, it was also that she thought that she just wasn't that kind of person. She knew she was somewhat pretty, but she couldn't compare to most of the girls at the school.

"Did you serenade her with a song?" Ivy asked, unable to not ask with a giggle, wiggling her eyebrows since she figured it was with Heather he took on a date. "How about a sweet little kiss good night?" she teased, sticking her tongue out slightly, having fun with it. Once she got answers she would probably milk it for all it was worth, but she'd be happy for him even if it reminded her that even so simple an act of holding hands or a high five was out of the question for her.

[StormHawk]

"Hey!" Gavin threw a chip at her. "First off, I don't kiss and tell. And you wish I would serenade you with a song," he said stick his tongue out at her and munched on some more of his chips. "Well I hate to tell ya, but I have a rule that I don't date any girl that got red hair. It's a bad omen since I sorta got red hair. Nope just can't do it." He shook his longish auburn hair back just for emphasis with a silly look on his face. Gavin was at ease with most of his team and a lot of others really, but he wasn't one to spread around any of his private business, not unless it was to joke on so people don't know if its true or not. He respected Heather enough to not say what went on during their date and between them.

"It was good though, pretty okay. Turns out she's just as much fun to bother on a date as she is other times," Gavin said with a slight laugh, grinning a bit more now. He did like Heather a lot, and he had a lot of fun with her. Right now in particular he did miss her, since he barely saw her all morning and didn't see her after he dropped her off at her window and he missed bugging her. The idea of going out to find her now and bug her again was becoming more ideal. "I think I'm gonna go find- Whoa." He looked around startled as Ian just ran by them and slammed the door to outside. "Heh I guess he's late for his punishment. Yea but anyways." Gavin closed the bag of chips that he was eating. "I should probably find her and give her a daily dose of bugging. Wanna go with me and help me find her so I can enjoy my sadistic pleasure of torturing her?" he asked with a grin, getting up and slinging his guitar around his back.

[NightShade]

"Sure," Ivy said with a laugh, picking up the chip off of her baggy black hoodie and wiping off the crumbs. Picking up her book, she straightened out her hoodie and got up, pushing her chair in before stepping away. "I'm guessing she's outside, since that's where it seems everyone else is cause it looks empty in this place," she said, glancing at the door Ian had just barreled through to make it to his punishment. She tilted her head towards the door while looking at Gavin and slowly started walking. "You know, all that stuff you said is just a crying shame for me. I don't get any good juicy gossip, and you have a rule about redheads. Guess you just don't got the fire in you to handle us, huh?" she asked him with a laugh and a grin, elbowing him playfully despite the weird feeling she got from sounding bolder than she thought she was. "You probably got burned real bad before didn't you? At least here you wouldn't ever get poisoned," she said, still playful though in the back of her mind she couldn't help thinking, I hope.

Tucking her book in the crook of her elbow, Ivy moved to the door and opened it, holding it open as she waited for Gavin to catch up. She was actually happy to go outside and catch a whiff of the fresh air where it could hit you like a hammer. She had been keeping her window open even if the air was chilly, but it smelled so nice that she could handle it, and now going outside after a while ought to be great. "Let's go, it's too nice to go looking for her in here first," she said with a small smile as she looked from Gavin to the sunny outdoors.

[D'mnchyld]

"So okay like this is the kitchen and- oh!" K'8 said as she almost walked right into Gavin and Ivy. She should have been on her guard since after all it was a Saturday and the students loved to run the halls. It didn't matter how many times the teachers scolded them for it. "Hey guys! This is Donna!" she waved a hand at her like some woman on a game show displaying wares for the viewers. "Uh.. Applejeep, Applejeep?" she shrugged "Or something like that is her codename."

"Donna, this is our songbird Gavin" she smiled his way "and this lovely bookworm is Ivy." She was happy to run into some cool people, it would have sucked to run into a doofus like Chase or Veronika, leader of the snob brigade. "So she just got here from, where are ya from?" she asked Donna cocking her head to the side. "I'm showin her around. Hey yous guys seen any teachers?"

[StormHawk]

Gavin grinned big while adjusting the guitar to sit between his wings. "Hey it's nice to meet ya Donna, welcome," he said reaching out shake the girl's hand. "Niiiicce hair. I dig it! You gonna go further with it, like add dreads or streaks or something?" he asked looking at the bright green hair in front of him. He was used to the crazy hairstyles, since his crowd back at home went crazy with their hair. They had dreads, mohawks, foot long spikes all over their heads, all the works. The only person at the school who came close to that crowd was Frostbite and that chick that was here in the beginning and left with the Dazzler.

"Heya K'8, hey you by chance seen Heather by any chance? Me and Ivy we're just goin' on a mission to look for her," Gavin ask curiously since they were already there anyways. He would have gone outside anyways, but if Heather was inside it'd be no point. "I wanna bug her, maybe put a worm in her hair, I haven't decided." He did a mock evil laugh before he saw the look on the girl's faces. "No well seriously you seen her?"

[Apogee]

Donna laughed at the almost crash with another couple of kids, pushing her hair up from the front in surprise. The schools was HUGE! and if that wasn't enough, the kids themselves where pretty confusing to remember. Although, by the looks of things it seemed she only had a few names to get outside of her 'team'. Sort of like a house group back in Llandrindod High.

Grinning wide at the new twists on her codename, Donna laughed a little and shook her green hair about the place. Letting it settle against her face in some place. "Apogee? Although ... Applejeep sounds like a new kinda phone. first comes the iPhone next ... the Apple 'Jeep'. I could totally copywrite that!! And by the way Katie-" She smiled a little at her tour guide. "- I'm welsh ... you know, the dragon place on the tiny place people call the UK" She laughed a little again, her attention being drawn to the hot red head with ... wings?!.

Sticking her hand out to give the guy a firm handshake, Donna laughed once at the wings, her face looking a little less hyper. "Yea the haircuts hot, but damn. Dude you got wings! I feel well left out like. I wanted wings!" She laughed a little, shaking her hair out a little before doing her half salute at the specky red head in the back. Why did she think that her hair wasn't the only wacky colour here?

"I was thinking about getting it into a sort of pixie sweep with purple tips. But my mum threatened to take away pilots lessons. But who knows ... i might get some violet streaks. Avril lavigne style. She knows how to style hair!" She said, her smile lifting a little before digging her hands in her large pockets again. The red woolen cardi was comforting. In a way she could hide herself in it. Her last boyfriend had said that about her, guy wanted to give up smoking and had confessed drunk one day that he wanted to be a child psychologist. Dumped much?

raising an eyebrow at the evil laugh, Donna gave a drawn out "O...kaaay ...." Before looking out of the corner of her eyes at Kate. "Ain't she the gal from the stables?" She asked in hope, wondering if she had gotten one of the few nice people mixed up already.

[NightShade]

Ivy's eyes immediately went to the new girl's green hair, but a smile immediately came onto her face so as not to seem to be staring. The smile became genuine as she leaned against the door and grinned at both k'8 and Donna. "Hey guys," she said, somewhat quietly in front of the new girl before remembering to speak up so she would be heard and not come off as so shy. "Wow, I love your hair Donna, it's so different," she said, actually liking it for that fact. There were plenty of different hair colors seen at the school, and she just added to the awesome variety.

"Was she nice with long blonde hair?" Ivy piped in after Donna asked about which girl Heather was. "If so, that was probably her," she said before looking to Gavin. "Then she's outside I'm guessing. Shall we go bug her?" she asked with a mischievous before looking to k'8 and Donna. "It was nice to meet you Donna, and as for the teachers, I don't know. I heard they were having a meeting, but I don't know if it's over or not. You could always just check the offices," she offered with a half smile and a little shrug. "Oh, which team are you on Donna? You an Acolyte, New Mutant or Paragon? Gavin and I are Acolytes," she said, looking at the green haired girl with a warm smile. If she was on the team with them, Ivy would think that was pretty cool since she seemed like she would fit in. Maybe not with Ivy herself because she wasn't crazy or out there like that, well not crazy as much as bold to have a one of a kind hair color for example, but she would try though.

[D'mnchyld]

"Oh yeah, Heather? She's out in the stables. Me and her, we took lemonade out to the gang and then 'Greeny-D' here showed up. Soooo, I volunteered to help get her settled in." K'8 was quick to catch the two Acolytes up on current events as she let them roll on out to do their thing and turned to Donna.

"So, you're Welch huh? That's where they make all the jelly right?" She giggled at her own joke as she led the girl upstairs to see if she could find Ms. Frost or even Cyclops if she could. "My guess is, we'll run into somebody if we just head up to their rooms, and if not... we'll knock on the doors as we go. One of the teachers is bound to hear us and come see what's up."

As the strolled past a set of double doors Katie said "This is the library. I don't usually spend much time in there, but hey if you like books that is probably the biggest library I have ever seen. You like books?" She asked cocking her head to the side as the two girls stopped to look at the doors. "Wanna take a peek?"