He carefully turned the lock until he heard the final click and then swung the door open for Ava. Her own locker looked a lot more messy than his own, but then 95% of teenagers were not nearly as meticulous about keeping things neat as Dex was.
Dex couldn’t quite remember the name of what they were supposed to be reading, so he looked down at his books, sorting through them until he found the right title. “Medea,” he told her. Unlike some of his classmates, Dex actually did read through the assigned reading. It wasn’t like he had much else to do at the institute, not being involved in any extracurricular activities or the like.
When he looked back up at Ava, he found himself staring at her again. Look, this was the first pretty girl he’d spoken to in years and he had no idea how to react. “I like your hair,” he finally blurted out, noting that for some odd reason she had three pigtails instead of just two.
"Oh, good. I was afraid I read the wrong chapter," Ava finally gets out, because luckily it seems both English classes are on the same assignment. Her locker is perhaps the only place that Ava has to be a little bit messy, the only place of privacy where her belongings aren't under constant scrutiny or subject to inspection. Back at the facility she calls home, because she has no other word to really describe her living quarters despite how sterile and un-homelike they are, Ava doesn't own much at all.
Here she has books for her classes, books she's borrowing from the library that she doesn't dare take back with her out of fear they might be determined not suitable. A few notebooks with doodles and attempts at diary entries with random fliers that have caught her interest, or notes on her homework assignments she feels compelled to keep. There's a few metallic star stickers she painstakingly peeled off the "good job!" "excellent work!" gradings that she's stuck to the inside of her locker, though the adhesive isn't strong enough and causing the edges to curl a bit.
She even has a magazine that she stole off another student, or rather... picked up when it was left behind in the lunch room and she was too shy to call out to return it. Pages about new trends and diets and makeup and gossip about celebrities she's never heard of. And as handsome as the pictures of tan chiseled shirtless men on the glossy pages are, Ava finds her far more enthralled with the boy in front of her, heart beating rapidly when he compliments her hair. She reaches up to nervously twirl the end of one of the pigtails again, trying to remember any of the advice the magazine suggested about '10 tips to win your crush!' They had all seemed stupid at the time, but suddenly any of it seems preferable to the way she gives out a small squeak.
Her hand immediately covers her mouth, embarrassed as she bites down hard on her tongue to resist that sudden urge to flicker away out of visibility. "You really think so?" Ava shuffles through her books, putting away the one for her actual class before closing her locker back up with a shy smile. "My..." caretakers? No, she can't say stuff like that. "Parents. Have been trying to convince me to cut it." With a tone indicating she very much doesn't want to.
Dex started to walk to his next class. He was going much slower than he normally did. Usually, he got there early and found a spot in the back of the class he could hide away in. Minding his own business seemed like the best way to just get through the day without ending up with someone mocking him yet again for his strange last name or his odd way of doing, well, everything.
But now he didn't want to. Dex just wanted to spend time with Ava and get to know her better. He'd never talked this long with a pretty girl before. Hell, he hadn't really talked with any of his peers this long since he'd started going to high school period. "Tell them they are completely wrong with that idea. You should keep it long. It looks nice that way."
He tried to think of something next to say. "Uh, what's your name?" He said, trying not to speak so fast it all came out sounding like one word as 'whatsyourname?'. He was only partially successful.
"Oh!" Right, introducing yourself is a perfectly acceptable and expected thing to do, in such settings. "I'm Ava," she replies, the faintest trace of a giggle at even being asked in that jumble of words. She has no why this entire exchange is making her quite so... giddy? But she's not used to such attention, the compliment to her hair that she continues to twirl while staring up at him.
"What's yours?"
The halls have mostly emptied out as other students have shuffled into their classes, and while Ava has enjoyed taking their time to get there... the ringing of the bell alerting the beginning of the next period causes her to glance up in alarm. "Oh. We'll get in trouble..."
"My name is Dex." He wasn't about to explain how it was a nickname or anything like that because explaining his full name situation usually led to someone teasing him about his last one. Teenagers were utter assholes that way. Fortunately, Ava had seemed alright with only giving her first one out too.
He realized that the bell had rung and a look of dismay came over his face. "Come on then. Let's go!" He grabbed Ava's arm without even thinking and dragged her along until they were at the door of the English class. He yanked the door open and pulled her inside before they could both end up being counted as tardy. He didn't want anything getting back to Dr. Mercer that might have affected his ability to keep going to school. Even if he wasn't happy with her decision, stronger was the desire not to disappoint her.
Dex. Dex. Dex. She commits it to memory, because she wants to remember him, out of all the other students she's met. Wants to come up with more excuses to talk, in whatever spare moments are allowed.
"Oh!" Ava gives a small gasp of surprise at being grabbed, and focuses veryveryvery hard on remaining tangible as he pulls her along, glad he wasn't glancing back too much as her body literally blurred behind in the mad dash to class before it managed to catch up with the rest of her. It's a good reminder why she's not allowed to take any gym classes, with her firmly written doctor's exemption.
It's exhilarating though, them barely making it just in time to the English class. Even if they earn a few stray stares, they're not particularly of any interest to the rest of the students who are pulling out their notebooks and pencils. Ava nervously glances at the seats, knowing none of them are actually assigned to her, waiting for Dex to take one so she can slip into whichever is still free before the teacher notices she doesn't actually belong.
Dex fortunately missed the sight of Ava's form blurring behind her as he only glanced back once they'd gotten to class and were safely inside so that they wouldn't be counted tardy. Normally, he would have gone for a seat near the front of the class. Dex enjoyed the actual learning part of going to school even if the social aspect had sucked. But right now he wanted to maybe get the chance to keep talking to Ava and he couldn't do that if they were right in front of the teacher.
So he took a seat in the back and was delighted when Ava sat in the one next to him one row over. He smiled a little at the fact she wanted to stay close to him too. He pulled out the binder where he kept all the assignments, the notebook he diligently took down all the notes in, and a pouch he kept all pens, pencils, and highlighters in. He would have been more upset over his set-up having been a source of mockery quite a few times for the other students to engage in if having it all so thoroughly organized hadn't been allowing him to easily complete all the assignments. After he was done pulling everything out, he snuck another shy look over in Ava's direction.
She can tell he's well prepared for the class, with organized supplies and all his assignments. All Ava has is a book, luckily the assigned standard between each class, a notebook, and a pencil that... is worn down quite a bit. She doesn't want to risk getting up to sharpen it and bringing attention to herself, though. The teacher begins the lesson without so much looking her way, and she gives a small sigh of relief, a tiny smile toward Dex before she starts going through the motion of taking notes. She's certainly paying far more attention to him, though, and her notes start turning into writing out something to him...
do you want to study in the library together during lunch?
Ripping it from the notebook is the tricky part, waiting until everyone is turning to the next page from the textbook to hide the sound amongst rustling pages.
And then she folds it, smaller, like she's watched girls do in her other classes, slipping it over quietly.
Normally, it was easy for Dex to focus on the teacher and what she was saying. But right now, it was a bit of a struggle with Ava right next to him. He was distracted in a way he'd never really felt before, something that was so curious he made a mental note of it to discuss with his mom during their next session.
He watched as Ava wrote him a note and slipped it towards him. Dex peeled it open and peered at the writing. He took his own pen and scribbled out a response in his neat handwriting. Yeah. I'd like that. Then he passed it back over towards Ava again when he was sure the teacher wasn't looking.
There's a little rush of excitement, passing notes back and forth, the nervousness of unfolding it both to keep it properly hidden and to see the written answer she was hoping for. Ava clutches the paper, smiling...
And then the door to the classroom swings open. The teacher stops writing on the board, all the students turn their heads to observe the man in the suit in the doorway, looking a bit out of place in a school. Even when not actively trying to look like an agent, Ava always recognizes them on sight. She slinks down in her seat, knowing she can't flicker invisible as much as she'd like to right now.
"May I help you?" the teacher asks.
Though she's mostly ignored. "Ms. Starr," and then the students look around in confusion, who is that? But his gaze remains pointed right at her. "Your father," and oh how she winces at that. Knows it's part of her cover story, having parents, "is on the phone. Come down to the office." Ava gives Dex a very apologetic look, scrambling to grab her things as students whisper. Who is that girl? She knows she's in trouble, and delaying won't do her any good to get out of it.
'Lunch,' she silently mouths at Dex, hopeful he'll still want to meet her then.
Dex was disappointed when he saw that Ava was leaving. He watched her walk out the door and then it closed behind her. For a few minutes, the students continued to whisper about her. Dex didn't really pay much attention to what they were saying. High school gossip didn't interest him nearly half as much as Ava herself did. The rest of the lesson just flew right on by because he couldn't pay any attention to it, and for once, his notes were less than thorough.
For lunch, Dex had been eating in the library for the past week, not willing to subject himself to eating lunch alone at one of the tables in the cafeteria, and make it fully clear how much of a pariah he was without any friends to talk to. He went to his usual spot in the library once it and started eating slowly, casting glances around hoping that he'd see Ava again.
![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
no subject
Dex couldn’t quite remember the name of what they were supposed to be reading, so he looked down at his books, sorting through them until he found the right title. “Medea,” he told her. Unlike some of his classmates, Dex actually did read through the assigned reading. It wasn’t like he had much else to do at the institute, not being involved in any extracurricular activities or the like.
When he looked back up at Ava, he found himself staring at her again. Look, this was the first pretty girl he’d spoken to in years and he had no idea how to react. “I like your hair,” he finally blurted out, noting that for some odd reason she had three pigtails instead of just two.
no subject
Here she has books for her classes, books she's borrowing from the library that she doesn't dare take back with her out of fear they might be determined not suitable. A few notebooks with doodles and attempts at diary entries with random fliers that have caught her interest, or notes on her homework assignments she feels compelled to keep. There's a few metallic star stickers she painstakingly peeled off the "good job!" "excellent work!" gradings that she's stuck to the inside of her locker, though the adhesive isn't strong enough and causing the edges to curl a bit.
She even has a magazine that she stole off another student, or rather... picked up when it was left behind in the lunch room and she was too shy to call out to return it. Pages about new trends and diets and makeup and gossip about celebrities she's never heard of. And as handsome as the pictures of tan chiseled shirtless men on the glossy pages are, Ava finds her far more enthralled with the boy in front of her, heart beating rapidly when he compliments her hair. She reaches up to nervously twirl the end of one of the pigtails again, trying to remember any of the advice the magazine suggested about '10 tips to win your crush!' They had all seemed stupid at the time, but suddenly any of it seems preferable to the way she gives out a small squeak.
Her hand immediately covers her mouth, embarrassed as she bites down hard on her tongue to resist that sudden urge to flicker away out of visibility. "You really think so?" Ava shuffles through her books, putting away the one for her actual class before closing her locker back up with a shy smile. "My..." caretakers? No, she can't say stuff like that. "Parents. Have been trying to convince me to cut it." With a tone indicating she very much doesn't want to.
no subject
But now he didn't want to. Dex just wanted to spend time with Ava and get to know her better. He'd never talked this long with a pretty girl before. Hell, he hadn't really talked with any of his peers this long since he'd started going to high school period. "Tell them they are completely wrong with that idea. You should keep it long. It looks nice that way."
He tried to think of something next to say. "Uh, what's your name?" He said, trying not to speak so fast it all came out sounding like one word as 'whatsyourname?'. He was only partially successful.
no subject
"What's yours?"
The halls have mostly emptied out as other students have shuffled into their classes, and while Ava has enjoyed taking their time to get there... the ringing of the bell alerting the beginning of the next period causes her to glance up in alarm. "Oh. We'll get in trouble..."
no subject
He realized that the bell had rung and a look of dismay came over his face. "Come on then. Let's go!" He grabbed Ava's arm without even thinking and dragged her along until they were at the door of the English class. He yanked the door open and pulled her inside before they could both end up being counted as tardy. He didn't want anything getting back to Dr. Mercer that might have affected his ability to keep going to school. Even if he wasn't happy with her decision, stronger was the desire not to disappoint her.
no subject
"Oh!" Ava gives a small gasp of surprise at being grabbed, and focuses veryveryvery hard on remaining tangible as he pulls her along, glad he wasn't glancing back too much as her body literally blurred behind in the mad dash to class before it managed to catch up with the rest of her. It's a good reminder why she's not allowed to take any gym classes, with her firmly written doctor's exemption.
It's exhilarating though, them barely making it just in time to the English class. Even if they earn a few stray stares, they're not particularly of any interest to the rest of the students who are pulling out their notebooks and pencils. Ava nervously glances at the seats, knowing none of them are actually assigned to her, waiting for Dex to take one so she can slip into whichever is still free before the teacher notices she doesn't actually belong.
no subject
So he took a seat in the back and was delighted when Ava sat in the one next to him one row over. He smiled a little at the fact she wanted to stay close to him too. He pulled out the binder where he kept all the assignments, the notebook he diligently took down all the notes in, and a pouch he kept all pens, pencils, and highlighters in. He would have been more upset over his set-up having been a source of mockery quite a few times for the other students to engage in if having it all so thoroughly organized hadn't been allowing him to easily complete all the assignments. After he was done pulling everything out, he snuck another shy look over in Ava's direction.
no subject
do you want to study in the library together during lunch?
Ripping it from the notebook is the tricky part, waiting until everyone is turning to the next page from the textbook to hide the sound amongst rustling pages.
And then she folds it, smaller, like she's watched girls do in her other classes, slipping it over quietly.
no subject
He watched as Ava wrote him a note and slipped it towards him. Dex peeled it open and peered at the writing. He took his own pen and scribbled out a response in his neat handwriting. Yeah. I'd like that. Then he passed it back over towards Ava again when he was sure the teacher wasn't looking.
no subject
And then the door to the classroom swings open. The teacher stops writing on the board, all the students turn their heads to observe the man in the suit in the doorway, looking a bit out of place in a school. Even when not actively trying to look like an agent, Ava always recognizes them on sight. She slinks down in her seat, knowing she can't flicker invisible as much as she'd like to right now.
"May I help you?" the teacher asks.
Though she's mostly ignored. "Ms. Starr," and then the students look around in confusion, who is that? But his gaze remains pointed right at her. "Your father," and oh how she winces at that. Knows it's part of her cover story, having parents, "is on the phone. Come down to the office." Ava gives Dex a very apologetic look, scrambling to grab her things as students whisper. Who is that girl? She knows she's in trouble, and delaying won't do her any good to get out of it.
'Lunch,' she silently mouths at Dex, hopeful he'll still want to meet her then.
no subject
For lunch, Dex had been eating in the library for the past week, not willing to subject himself to eating lunch alone at one of the tables in the cafeteria, and make it fully clear how much of a pariah he was without any friends to talk to. He went to his usual spot in the library once it and started eating slowly, casting glances around hoping that he'd see Ava again.