Something Out of a Book [Open]

Good lord, was this place something. Everything seemed... special, new, and almost surreal. Matty hadn't come from the wealthiest background. He and his mother had lived in a world more akin to that of the early 2000s, void of and ignorant to the incredible heights of technology presented in this place. It was truly a marvel to look at. He had found himself concerned with the amount of times he was blinking. Normally, the young man didn't concern himself with something so small unless his anxiety dictated it that day. But this had to be an excessive amount. Fidgeting with straps of the guitar and several other things over his shoulder, Matty felt the discomfort of unfamiliarity well up in the pits of his stomach. One moment he had been in the real world, and the next his mother was telling him that he had to be shipped off to some sort of special school to control powers he hardly knew he had or even comprehended the existence of. All of it had happened so fast.

Here, they would likely see him as a late-bloomer with the elder aged onset of abilities. Although, that wasn't even a concern in his mind. The limited view of reality he possessed didn't have room to quite yet understand everything that Beata Academy was comprised of. The one thing that had constantly plagued his mind was that this would be the end of senior year for sure. Not that he was leaving much behind at him. Most evenings were spent on microwaved meals with mom and another rerun of an old show, if he wasn't working. Between work and school, there were very few attachments that Matthew Watterson had left behind. Maybe the old girlfriend he'd had for all of two weeks in the ninth grade would notice his absence after some time. But would she really care? At the thought, he let out a soft sigh that turned into a sort of half-chuckle as he looked down at his companion. That had been the one solace through all of this, Aten.

The eight month old yellow lab and border collie mutt he had picked up at the shelter some months ago, after a shockingly easy plea to his mother. Once the pup had come home, all free time had been devoted to training him up. It was the reason Aten now sat stiffly and expectantly at his side. Every so often the excitement of a new place sent a wriggle through his awkwardly overgrown body. The poor guy was still adjusting to the rapid growth that afflicted his young, dog body. If Beata hadn't allowed pets on the grounds, Matty would have likely never agreed to come. Well, at least not without some prolonged denial. Really, that and his mother were the only two things keeping him tied to home. For years it had just been the two, and only recently three, of them. Already a pit of very specific homesickness wracked his stomach as he stared down the hall with a blank gaze.

He set down he mess of belongings and straightened out his somewhat wrinkled button-down flannel and the bunched up areas of his jeans with a low sigh, "Well, there's no going back now, buddy."

'Virgil'. 'Virgil', 'Virgil', 'Virgil'.

"Virgil." he said. The driver, who had been tapping the wheel and glaring at the red streetlight, began tapping the wheel a bit harder. "I think it's a pretty name." he mused. The tapping was somehow even louder. He didn't consider himself bad company, but boy, did this one not like him. And his cologne smelled awful. Virgil didn't miss him when him and his luggage were dumped in front of the grand main building of Beata Academy, but he did feel somewhat exposed. He followed through with the guidelines faculty members had set out in front of him - the more nobody knew who he was and where he came from, the better it would be. A lot of paperwork, probably, was involved in this whole charade. He knelt next to the pet carrier where two white rabbits huddled together and popped them a handful of dried bits of pineapple, sighing. Stalling outside wasn't an option, with his bare legs growing colder by the minute - he really shouldn't have worn shorts today.

As comical and difficult as it had been for him to drag all of his things inside the school, it was finally over, which meant now everybody could watch him struggle to drag all of his things through the school and to his dorm. Virgil missed having people to help carry his stuff. Maybe he should've asked his driver for help - although he didn't know how well that would have gone, considering their far from friendly relationship. Having to get used to not being treated with as much importance as he used to be was a big downside of his current state. Well, really, his current state had a lot of downsides, but he wasn't about to sit down and start crying about it, because that was best left for dramatic episodes in the dead of night. Plus, it would smudge his mascara, and he had worked way too hard on it. He zipped up his hoodie until it covered hi face, eyes showing up through two holes cut in the material, and hurried along with his tall task.

After two trips and a smoke break in-between, he managed to get everything where it needed to be, but when he finally got up to where he left his luggage, bringing along the pet carrier, he noted somebody standing nearby. His first thought was 'oh, look, another obsessed fan', before he relaxed and realized that was not yet possible. Hopefully never. Virgil wasn't looking forward to having to go through the entire process of explaining what exactly was actually happening, but he did approached the stranger, on the guarantee that his face was still concealed. With large, dark eyes, he sized the other up, appraising him on instinct. The outfit could use some work, and Virgil was anything if not judgemental. The puppy was very pretty, though, but the sight of it made Fame and Fortune restless inside the carrier.

"Did you learn to play guitar so you'd get all the girls swooning?" he asked, his voice light, giving off the idea of a small girl talking.

Being in a school, one would have thought Matty would be less surprised by the sound of another's voice. Previously, the hall had been empty, almost appearing abandoned even. So when Virgil piped up, the boy thought his heart could not have pounded any faster. There must have been some look of shock behind his gaze but otherwise Matty was shocked at his own ability to keep from leaping twenty feet into the air. He turned slowly on his heels to face the newcomer, offering a weak smile. At his side, Aten wore a goofy grin with his tongue lolling to the side as his tail wagged impossibly fast. From nose to paw, he wriggled with a barely restrained control. Training had paid off at least. When the pup was younger, his overgrown paws and invasive snout had been the source of many apologies. Now, Matty felt a wave of relief wash over him.

An awkward laugh escaped the sides of his mouth as he shifted the guitar once more and ran his left hand through the soft long hair. Perhaps he should have been more concerned with the masked nature of the random stranger before him but once again Matty Watterson found himself far more concerned with his own actions. As he heard himself chuckle softly, he wished to be out from under the prodding gaze of the newcomer, which was only made worse by the fact it was all he could see. After an uncomfortably delayed response, Matty finally said, "I picked it up to try something new and I guess it just grew on me. I have yet to find these girls, though. I don't know that many would be interested in someone, well, uh, like me, I guess." The quiet nature of his own tone combined with the many verbal pauses made Matty cringe. Making friends through his charm had never been his strong suit.

Without waiting for the other kid to respond, his hand jutted forward to offer it up for a handshake, never one to forget formalities. As he did so, the various straps strewn across his arms slipped and began to fall slightly, throwing him off balance a bit. Quickly, he grabbed at it to straighten himself out once more before offering up his hand once more, "I'm sorry, uh, my name's Matty. Matty Watterson."

Locking eyes with the dog instead of giving the stranger any more of his mocking acknowledgement, he swung the pet carrier gently, so it was shielded by his twin bare legs. The rabbits were moving inside, as much as he could tell by the shifting weight he was holding with both hands. They were quite heavy, with the weight of the carrier added on. "Certainly not the guitar's fault, no." Well, that was just a low blow. Virgil pouted from behind the "mask" on his face, despite it remaining invisible to the other. There were a lot of things he would change about... that set-up. Except for the dog, who seemed as excited to see a new face as the new face was excited to see him. Still, he remained composed, hinting nothing in his studying gaze, alternating from the boy to his pet every so often. Was he allergic to flannel? He might've been allergic to flannel.

The extended hand startled him. Right, shaking hands, a regular thing. Because he was Virgil Attaway, a regular kid. Delicately, he allowed the carrier to brush the ground and safely set it down, before taking the stranger's, Matty's, hand and shaking it. Eyes lingered on the other's face and almost appeared suspicious, before he gave the feeling a pass and reminded himself that this was, in fact, how normal people would greet each other. "Virgil." he said. The name, once again, felt alien. He gave no last name, in part because it briefly escaped him.

"So, roomie? Briefly, that is. Can your dog behave around a couple of rabbits? I'm afraid I can't have them holed up in this cage any longer." he prodded it with his shoe. One of the rabbits was nosing the door of the cage, and Virgil couldn't imagine how much it sucked to be holed up in there like that for so long. But he could relate, on some bizarre level, whether or not it was normal to emotionally relate to your pets.