H is for Home Invasion!

[Frank "Sunny" Laffont]

So Frank was in Room 206 despite being assigned to sleep in room 205. There was, of course, a reason for this. It was, however, a Frank reason, so it probably didn't count by most people's standards of normality. For you see, in light of how dour everything had gotten, Frank had assigned herself the one-woman mission of bringing up the spirits of absolutely everyone in the Academy. This did mean giving up a few little things, like sleep, but it was worth it to spread the joy and happiness to people who deserved it. Frank had just recently consumed another of the massive, Japanese energy drinks that she so loved, having even chewed the can voraciously. She'd then decided to do some "happy vandalism."

What is "happy vandalism?" You might ask, assuming that you cannot read Frank's mind or understand how her illogic worked. Basically, it was vandalism that made someone happy, which is too easy of a description. Instead of messing up the place in a manner that would anger people, Frank opted to attack places and leave stuff that generally made people happier. For example, she knew that Regan and his twin brother happened to sleep here, mostly because Regan had tried to sleep with her, so she had no qualms about leaving them little trinkets like, say, Trix, Kit-Kat, Double-Bubble, and pretty much any other candy that made a horrible joke about pairs or whatever. She'd also opted to drop off presents for people, mostly in the form of various stuffed animals posed in various poses.

Frank was, in fact, currently chewing on a pack of Red Vines (as in the actual pack, though she had one sort of sticking out the end in a sort of reverse version of what you'd normally figure), while she arranged the four impressively sized stuffed toys. They weren't, say, the size of a person, but probably half the size, and Frank had currently arranged them so that it looked like one had killed another while the other looked on in horror (note: they're stuffed toys with locked expressions, so this was at least 70% in Frank's head). Now she was debating whether she wanted to go for this, or for some sort of bacchanalian orgy. Decisions, decisions, decisions which required her to sort of circle the area with a critical eye, nudging one of the large animals (they were all those ugly monster dolls with strange expressions on their faces, so not strictly animals so much as monsters) with her foot, humming to herself as she considered.

[Ellis Vaccari]

Ellis notoriously responded to order. She always kept her dorm room door locked because it was the only thing that made the blank, insignificant room feel like hers. She didn't bother to explain that, and people didn't ask, but at least for the most part her roommates would lock the common room door. And she found some form of comfort in that. Until she returned to the dorm that day and quickly learned that it wasn't locked.

When she did open the door, Ellis wasn't quite sure what it was she was walking in on. A stranger, primarily. Someone she'd never met, who she'd never seen in here before and as such, she wasn't sure what to do.

"You don't live here." Ellis said, holding herself in the doorway, her hand firmly pressed to the handle of the common room door. Her other hand held a set of keys, her thumb grazing across the smooth surface out of instinct.

[Frank "Sunny" Laffont]

"Oh! Person! You're totally ruining the surprise!" said Frank, waving her hands. She'd never actually suspected that someone might actually come in on her while she did her whole vandalism thing, mostly because that would've required something like foresight and planning, neither of which were really Fran's strong suits. She spread her arms wide, moving them in a sort of random fashion as she attempted to bloke Ellis's vision of the strangeness that had exploded in Room 206's common area.

"It's totally supposed to be a surprise! Just like my being here! And it's okay, 'cuz I'm like Santa Claus, so when I break into people's houses, it's a good thing. It's okay that you didn't lay out any milk and cookies or anything. Oh, one of these is totally yours now," she pointed at the various dolls. All of which were pretty much ugly, weird-looking, misshapen creatures. The big purple one was currently "standing" over one of the little bats, because of the whole orgy/blood ritual debate thing.

"I was actually debating between setting them up for an orgy or doing the whole blood sacrifice thing," said Frank, repeating what I just wrote because she's incapable of just thinking something. "I'm still open for opinion on that. Oh! That pile of candy," she pointed, "is probably yours too... or the other roommate... there's another girl here too, right? It's kinda nice how they divvied the rooms up like that. I like dudes and all, but I wouldn't want to live with three of them. That's just one too many, y'know?" Frank nodded, clearly seeing all the logic there was to be had in this sentiment.

[Ellis Vaccari]

Surprise. A surprise by a stranger wasn't something Ellis particularly cared for. As soon as she registered this person was in her dorm. There were so many things wrong with the myriad of things this stranger said to her; admitting to breaking in stood at the forefront of the logical girl's mind. But she kept her mouth shut.

Because there was absolutely no way to get a word in edge wise. Even when she opened her mouth to do so, she quickly spoke up again.

And so, because she had no space to speak, she didn't. But the words in her mind built up - every response she wanted to give stayed stagnant behind her mouth. The only significant shift in her neutral expression was the twitch of her eyebrows when she mentioned another roommate. She didn't even know Sam was a girl, and this led Ellis to understand that she didn't know her. She wasn't here for either of them.

"You don't live here." Ellis repeated, her tone still devoid of any ill feelings. But she felt anxious, and such a thing started to become evident on her face. "You shouldn't be here."

Usually, Ellis could handle the people who visited for her roommates. She could handle Sam's friends like Evan with ease. But this was different. Evidently, she was the only one around. "You broke in." Her words, given back to her. Did that mean the door had been locked? She glanced to her own dorm room door quickly, shifting the keys she held between her hands on instinct. 

[Frank "Sunny" Laffont]

The strange girl kept robotically repeating the whole not living thing. "Pfft, I live next door or something, so it's kinda close enough. Oh! We are totally under the same roof! so it's like sisters and stuff!" and yes, Frank would take that yet further if given time. There were already hand gestures involved. They were emphatic.

As for breaking in, Frank blew out a raspberry, waving her hand dismissively. "Details, details. and, like, it's not like I hurt anything! Look at all this! Look at this guy!" she dove and grabbed the first ugly doll she could get her hand on. he happened to be the puke green one with bat wings. "Isn't this adorable? It's all yours now! Alllllll this is yours! It's like winning a game show or something! Oh, what's your favorite kind of candy? I think I have some more tucked away, and now that you're here, I can totally get some out and sort of leave it places for you to find. Though if you want them to be a sur~prise," she practically sang the word, "then you'll have to, like, turn around or something when it happens.

"It's like Easter!" she said, waving her arms and not even stopping between words. "so I'm like the Easter Bunny! Man, I wish I'd have thought of that: I totally have a rabbit costume at home."

[Ellis Vaccari]

“I don’t have any sisters.” Ellis said on instinct. She had a brother – a half-brother at that – and she would never call him anything but. Why, then, would she ever allow a stranger to refer to her as something so personal? It didn’t sit well with her. It was impossible not to answer.

And it only got worse. Ellis was beginning to register the build up of pressure in her head. This – all of this – was just not comfortable. “No, not details.” Ellis replied, the strain in her voice finally evident. “Facts.” In regards to the rest of her questions, she simply didn’t offer an answer. She couldn’t. Not while her own statements were so poorly disregarded.

“You can’t be both. That-” This time, Ellis stopped herself. The tattooed meta ran her free hand along her arm, across her skin idly as she shook her head. And she decided to move, finally, from the space she was so frozen in. Ellis began taking necessary steps towards her dorm room door. But she faltered before she made it. She couldn't just let it go. “It’s improbable. To be either.”

[Frank "Sunny" Laffont]

Frank didn't care so much about little details like whether or not the blonde actually had sisters, or that details and facts were somehow separate in some mysterious way that Frank just couldn't figure out (maybe that had something to do with the girl's power or something?). And, seeing as this was Frank: "Is your special power grammar? Because that would be... kinda weird. I mean, at least you'd probably do super awesome in English and stuff but waaaaiii---t, whaddya mean I can't be both?"

Frank now stopped, turning to face Ellis with her hands on her hips, attempting to stare imperiously at Ellis. This might have worked better if Frank were, in fact, capable of looking serious at all.
This was not truth.

"I can so be the Easter Bunny and your sister. How do you know that I wasn't, like, kidnapped by aliens who then sucked me up into their spaceship and transformed me with super bunny powers that make me magically transform every easter to plant eggs for their secret plot to take over the world?" demanded Frank, folding her arms over her chest to look even more super serious. "Or maybe I'm magic. Or a freaky morphing mutant who has a special bunny form. I mean, I don't, but it's totally possible."

[Ellis Vaccari]

Ellis opted not to answer any questions about her ability - what it was and what it wasn't were no one's business but hers. Oddly enough, she wished it could be something so stupid, but then she knew there was no point in willing against a fact of life.

The stare she offered was met with one Ellis wore well; distant. Bland. Looking without really taking in such details. Such facts.

Being misunderstood wasn't new for the blonde. But somehow, this was different. Her eyebrows rose, her eyes widening a touch - barely noticeable to those without the ability to notice - at the mention and subsequent story of having a potential sister. While Ellis could understand this girl seemed to do and say things from a relatively light hearted place, she simply couldn't get past the concept. How did she know she didn't have more siblings?

She certainly hadn't been aware she had a half-brother for sixteen years of her - and his - life.

"I don't know." Ellis replied after a time. And just like that her focus slipped, and so did her colour-coded keys; out of her hand and onto the floor.

[Samantha Vaccari]

Evan was a good guy; Sam enjoyed his company immensely, especially on days like these where he proved to be more of a woman than the Boston girl herself. She had been amazed that her friend had never ridden an ATV before, but even more surprised to see how hesitant he was to really drive one.

So Sam taught him how, and because of which she was in a bit of rough shape. Her jeans tore at the knee at some point were speckled in bits of mud and dust, while her flannel shirt was disheveled and with motor oil on wiped across the sleeve.

Still, it had been a fun time. Sam had never been afraid of a little dirt.

The brunette approached her dorm, and as she reached the door, Sam pulled off her muddy sneakers. Pulling her keys from her pocket, she quickly found that they were not needed. Her eyebrows furrowed as she opened the unlocked door, and her expression only became more confused when she discovered what was inside. “What the fuck?”

First, there was someone – Sam had seen the girl around, but didn't actually know her. Then there was the ugliest stuffed dolls she had ever seen in her life scattered across the couch, along with piles of candy.

And then there was Ellis.

Something was wrong. To the normal eye, Ellis might have appeared with a neutral expression. But Sam noticed the little things, the important things. Shifts in her roommate's expression that gave away everything. The slight difference in her breathing. A twitch of her eyebrows shooting upward. And her eyes.

Sam's gaze traveled down to her hands. Her empty hands. Then to the set of color coded keys on the floor by the blonde's feet.

She took in a sharp breath, never looking at the intruder, but instead focusing on her eyes again. “Get out.”

[Frank "Sunny" Laffont]

Frank didn't notice Ellis's discomfort, at least not totally. She was thinking about bouncing around and distributing more fun stuff around. however, she had just asked candy a few moments ago, and she hadn't heard something like an answer, plus Ellis was pretty much the only one around, so Frank was more or less stuck focusing on her for the time being. Which made the strange response and the dropped keys at least noticeable.

"You dropped your keys there," said Frank, pointing. "Are you stunned or something? Do you want me to slow down, 'cuz i sometimes---" and someone else had entered. Frank turned, looking at the new arrival. Another girl, so probably the other roommate that was female and not the twins which Frank had previously sort of met (well, half of at any rate). Said girl was looking all around at the mess, and Frank was tempted to do some kind of dance or gesture at the mess to lay claim to all the "funstruction" she'd created, but seeing as she'd sort of stunned Ellis by doing that, she decided to instead bob excitedly on her feet for a bit, watching the other girl carefully.

and the girl only said two words, which Frank sort of understood. She understood English, obviously (and French too, weirdly enough), but she didn't quite get what the new girl was referencing. "I know, right? So weird. I was gonna do it before you guys got here for a surprise, but oh well," she shrugged. Then she looked over at Ellis. "I think I broke her," she said, pointing at the other girl. "Sorry about that, I didn't mean to or anything," Frank leaned over to study Ellis a little more closely. It did seem like the other girl had gotten a little shell-shocked. Frank was used to that though, and she knew she could totally pull someone through it. It just took a lot of effort and junk.

[Ellis Vaccari]

It was a second later that everything caught up, and Ellis realised she'd dropped her keys. This was made evident when this stranger offered the fact to her; you dropped your keys. There. Her eyebrows furrowed at the news, but she hadn't been given the time to retrieve them. Instead, she turned on instinct as she heard the door open. Stunned by the onslaught of words this girl had offered her? No, not visually.

Rather, she was struck by the sudden presence of her roommate.

Ellis couldn't help but take in every detail of how she looked, not that it bothered her to see her in such disarray. It was normal. Finally, something was normal. But she didn't need heightened, attuned sight to read Sam's expression. The way her gaze moved. And when she caught it again, the two words she offered sounded sharp. She was looking at Ellis, but they clearly weren't meant for her.

And she looked back when she was referred to without being spoken to. Ellis breathed an involuntary sigh, running her fingers through her hair as she caught the way this stranger was practically scrutinising her with something of a strange, studying glance. She would never understand what it was about the people she met here and why they were so intent on speaking about her like she was a vapid, undeserving presence rather than an individual who lived there. Who simply lived in general.

"Don't look at me like that." She began instead, though it seemed pointless to do so. Evidently, she had no intention of listening to a word the tattooed meta offered. She hadn't when she walked in, and Ellis doubted she would now. Still, she tried; "Please."

Finally, she broke eye contact and made the move to retrieve her keys, shifting through the options between her hands.

[Samantha Vaccari]

Sam kept her gaze on Ellis, even as the intruder replied to her statement. Clearly, she had misunderstood the meaning behind Sam's words. A simple misunderstanding or not, the Boston girl clenched her jaw, her frustration growing.

However, her gaze snapped immediately to the girl when she spoke again. She thought she broke her? Sam glanced at the finger pointing to her roommate, then to the girl's face, watching her expression. The way she looked at Ellis as if studying her.

At Ellis's words, Sam visibly tensed. Her back straightened as she took the moment to briefly look at Ellis, watching as she picked up her keys. Please. The word stuck out in the Boston girl's mind. To her, it felt like so much more than asking politely because it was.

The brunette curled her hands into fists, finally moving to take a step towards the intruder. “She is a fucking human being.” Her voice was harsh. Impatient. She reached down on the couch, grabbing one of the stuffed creatures before forcefully shoving it against the intruder's chest. “If you don't get the fuck out of this dorm right now, I will make you.”

She grabbed another stuffed animal, not caring that her grease and dirt covered fingers left marks against the surface of them. Again, she forced it into the girl's arms. “Go!”