Tell Me a Story

[Beau LaRoux]

Beau prodded his cheeseburger, wondering just what he was going to end up saying. He'd had a helluva lot unloaded on him of late, thanks in no small part to the love of his life. Among those happened to be that Devyn, a friend of Beau's that he'd known for a while, happened to actually be a female. A... homosexual female, except a homosexual female that happened to like guys too, maybe. That would've been enough, except Beau soon found himself finding in the middle of, stuff.

Including having to tell Devyn that the girl she supposed loved had moved on to dating someone else, a someone named Alice who was... kind of fierce, from what Beau heard. Beau picked up the burger and took another deep breath, before shifting to look at his watch. He'd asked Devyn to come meet him for lunch, figuring he could tell him... her all about it then. Liz had agreed that this was something that should come from a friend first.

They'd also agreed that it was probably for the best to let Devyn know before he... she stumbled upon Zoe with her new... crush? Beau really didn't understand all this, and he kept trying to just use male names or something to make it easier. There wasn't a really good substitute for "Zoe" though, and Beau couldn't help but think that calling Alice "Albert" would probably be detrimental to his health.

Well, maybe Devyn would just show up and they could get through this as quickly and painfully as possible. At least it was cheeseburger day at the cafeteria, so they had that going for them.

[Devyn Solway]

Devyn didn't know why Beau had called her up to grab something to eat with him at the cafeteria, but she was going to show up. She preferred to eat in her room where she was to herself and could make whatever she wanted to eat. Plus of late she felt like everywhere she went people were watching her and either looking like they were about to piss themselves, run, or try and pick a fight with her. That all could have been her imagination since she had not been really thinking all that clear of late but she was not sure. She had been drinking a lot more often than she used to and she had slightly started to pick up the bad habit of smoking that she had been able to drop years ago.

Why is it so bright in here? Devyn thought to herself as she entered the cafeteria and adjusted her shades a little. Heading over to the line to get herself something to eat before she would go off to find Beau. He did want to meet her here for lunch after all so it would make sense for her to actually bring food over with her when she went to meet up with him. Maybe he finished that song...but why meet in the cafeteria of all places? Devyn thought to herself as she got a cheeseburger, the only thing that looked like it had enough meat to it. That was all that was on her plate, a simple cheeseburger and she grab herself some water to drink and headed to find Beau.

It didn't take long until she spotted her friend messing with his cheeseburger and looking like he had a lot on his mind. Perhaps Beau was going to vent to her about something. Devyn mentally chuckled at that, because what would Beau have to vent about and would he ever really vent to her of all people? "Sup, Beau." Devyn greeted him as she grabbed a seat across from him. Making herself mostly comfortable before proceeding to take a bite of her cheeseburger. "How are you on this hella bright afternoon?" Devyn asked, after making sure her mouth was clear of food. It was important to get to the pleasantries first before you got to the heart of a conversation, right?

[Beau LaRoux]

Beau had just raised his burger for another bite, enjoying the flavor that exploded, when Devyn walked over. Beau actually found his gaze going almost immediately to Devyn's chest, as if hoping that there would be some sort of very visible sign to what Liz had insisted quite... insistently. Instead, Beau found the same flat expanse that he'd seen for a while. In fact, he still couldn't quite believe Devyn happened to be a girl. Either way, he figured he should be looking Devyn in the eye, especially as she settled next to him.

"Doin' jus' fine," he replied. "Been busy, what with courses an' the whole IMAC thing an' all. Reckon I'll sign up for an event or two," Beau added a slight shrug. He knew that a lot of people expected him to volunteer, the whole leadership thing that Elsa had noticed and been quite insistent on just a few weeks ago. Beau swore he hadn't noticed it till it had been pointed out.

Though right now, he was beginning to wish there was someone else to take the lead. "So how you doin'?" he asked, nodding. "Still makin' out alright? You're a senior this year, right?" Safe talk, get Devyn at least somewhat relaxed. Though knowing Devyn, she'd be gnashing, desperate to hear the real reason why Beau had called her here.

[Devyn Solway]

Devyn's head tilted a little for a moment, unsure if she had saw Beau's gaze right just there for a moment. It was not super hard to tell when someone was looking at your chest, but Devyn just shurgged it off, not really caring if he was or not. Beau had said that he was not interested in her at all and she had no problem with her body so if someone was looking then let them look. She had that typical tank top underneath her shirt of course but even without it unless you really looked or she crossed her arms under her chest it would be hard to tell that she did in fact have boobs. She had been pretty much flat chested all of her life and didn't see herself gaining any increase to her upper body and didn't really care. Her greatest asset she figured were her abs after all, because who didn't like killer abs?

Devyn gave a small nod at Beau's words as she took another bite of her cheeseburger, a larger bite this time. Figuring she could afford a longer time to chew with Beau talking, plus again she was hungry and regretted not grabbing two burgers. She naturally ate a lot and ate fast, but thankfully was not an animal at the table and had manners. "Oh yeah, I should sign up for some events too." Devyn said as she made a mental note to make sure that she at least signed up for one event. She had to represent her school after all. She may have had her troubles at Bellefonte Academy, but it was still her school and the place where her dad went to school. The question was turned back on as expected because Beau was a polite guy and that was the polite things to ask after it was asked of you.

"I'm still alive so I would say that is a win." Devyn said with a small shrug and then took a sip of her water. "I am a Senior this year, my grades are a bit low but I'm sure I'll be able to bring them back up sooner or later." Devyn said as she glanced over back to where the cheeseburgers were before looking back to Beau. Devyn did feel relaxed in some regard, but Beau was right to think that Devyn was going to ask why he had asked to meet her here. "Soooo, why the cafeteria of all places?" Devyn asked, first wanting to know why Beau picked this location.

[Beau LaRoux]

Beau continued to chew at his burger while Devyn replied. It did make sense for the girl to sign up for things: she had the talent and all. Beau found himself wondering if he wanted to end up on the same team or not. He supposed that he had a good handle On Deyvn's abilities and all. The girl seemed to have it together more now, even talking about how this was sort of a win and all.

Then again, Beau hadn't dug into the real meat of what they were there to discuss.

"Well, you still got all year," replied Beau, nodding, "so I wouldn't worry too much 'bout it. We're all pretty well guaranteed to get into a good college now," he added a jaunty wink to that, setting down his burger to grab some of the fries that came with it. He chewed, still keeping half his attention on Devyn. The question was only slightly surprising, and Beau nodded and swallowed, working toward an answer.

"Figured that we gotta eat an' all. Been a bit since I seen ya," and he wanted to make sure they were somewhere public and away from alcohol this time. "You know, we've been passin' an' all, but ain't really had a whole lot of time since we went out to Matt's..." Beau paused then, meeting Deyvn's eyes, waiting to see what happened there.

[Devyn Solway]

Devyn nodded at Beau's words about how she still had the whole year ahead of her in order to pull her grade up. Yup, she had a whole year left of being at Bellefonte Academy and then it was off to college. She didn't really think that she was even going to go to college, she had no clue what she wanted to do with her life still. Plus there was the whole feeling of not really wanting to be here at all because of the stupid pain that she had gone through over the years at this school. There were a lot of good memories but it seemed like the bad were starting to outweigh the good on some levels. She had only wanted to at least graduate from BA like her father did and then it would have been off to the military, but now she just wanted out.

"I think I'll just move after I'm done with high school." Devyn said to Beau's words about how they would land in a good college after. It was true that BA had a pretty good college and the students were pretty much guaranteed to be able to go to college at the school. it did sound nice since this place was pretty much her home but part of her still wanted out. She took another bite of her burger, still contemplating if she should go up and get a second one now or just wait a little. Would Beau think she was fat if she got another burger? Not that she cared, but she was curious as to what Beau thought of her. "True." Devyn said, as she looked suspiciously at Beau now because she still wanted to know what was up.

They could have eaten in his or her room or even gone out somewhere to eat but he chooses this location. Plus they could have just as easily met up after they had both already had something to eat. Devyn worked on drinking some more of her water as Beau brought up the last time they had actually hung out with one another. The time where Beau took her to Matt's and they had drinks and other stuff that Devyn remember just barley. Their eyes met and Devyn just blinked before looking away, not liking to hold eye contact still in her state of mind. She just went to not say anything about that and instead went for what she really wanted to know. "So, you just wanted to hang out or was there something important?" Devyn asked and she honestly would have been fine with either or because she actually craved to be around those she considered to be her friends so would have been fine just hanging out.

[Beau LaRoux]

Beau nodded: "Ain't nothin' says you gotta go through college," he agreed. He'd probably have skipped it himself if his parents hadn't been quite insistent. Since they were, he didn't see any reason not to stick around for another few years. Besides, that meant that he and Liz could stick around here a while longer, and here worked for them, what with all their friends and all.

Just like the friend Beau at with now. He took another bite of the burger, chewing and enjoying it while keeping his attentions on Devyn for that question. She seemed to be a little off from the question, but not overly depressed or anything. Just looking away, not seeming to want to talk.

"Can't it be both?" asked Beau, raising a brow. True, they weren't as close of friends as Beau was with some, and he still couldn't help but feel awkward around Devyn, what with the "he's a she" thing that he was still trying to work through. He took another bite, chewed, and swallowed before answering. "Saw Zoe the other day," he looked up at Devyn for a moment. "She came by Liz's when I was there..." no need to explain why he was there. He paused again, looking back to the food. "Had a bunch of clothes with her, said somethin' 'bout a date."

There, it was out now. Beau took another bite of the burger, hoping to try and continue the whole "this is just a casual conversation vibe."

[Devyn Solway]

Beau was right, there was nothing that said that she had to go to college and so long as she had a decent amount of control over her power then she would be allowed to leave. Well, with what had happened recently she figured that the school might want her to stick around a little longer or would at least be keeping a close eye on her when she left. That was even if she was even still around by that time, she still had time ahead of her but she didn't know how much time she was giving herself. "I just don't really know what I would do, I guess." Devyn said with the level of confusion in her voice.

She still didn't really know what she was doing anymore, what her purpose was, or even a goal. She had a goal, but that had all been trying to patch her any messed up friendships and try and win Zoe back. With Beau's help of course because with how her last meeting had gone with Zoe, she figured she really could not do it alone. Devyn still felt off, didn't really want to talk or well do much of anything. She just wanted to eat, sleep, and workout. That was pretty much it and that was what she had been mainly doing other than the plans she had been working on or actively doing to again work towards the only real goals she had for herself.

"Well, I guess it could. Just normally if someone wants to talk about something important...well with my track record it tends to be less hanging out and more so parting ways." Devyn pointed out and then went back to eating her burger again, she only had a few bites left. Devyn's eating paused as she looked at Beau at Zoe's name leaving his lips. Right, she is friends with his girlfriend...wonder if his girlfriend dislikes me. Bet she probably was the one to say Zoe should break up with me...maybe... Devyn thought to herself as she glanced away for a moment. Fully setting what remained of her burger when Beau brought up Zoe coming over with a bunch of clothing and talking about a date.

Why am I not surprised? The thought quickly made its way across Devyn's minds as she closed her eyes for a moment and let out a sigh. "Well it obviously was not with me, so who was it then?" Devyn asked, her tone still the same but her gaze was basically locked on Beau. She was waiting for every word that would leave his lips as she told herself to stay calm. He just said something about a date, that did not fully mean Zoe was dating someone, but Devyn could assume that was it.

[Beau LaRoux]

Devyn did seem like the sort of person who didn't really know what they'd be doing with the rest of their lives. Then again, sometimes Beau wondered if Deyvn didn't do a whole lot of thinking just in general. not like he'd one to blame.

Less hanging out and more leaving, yeah, Beau could see that. 'Well, I ain't gonna be goin' no where," he replied easily, nodding a bit as he did. He didn't see any reason to go running just yet. Sure, Devyn might get worked up but, well, Beau was here to make sure she didn't do anything too awful. Besides, they were sitting in the middle of the cafeteria, wasn't like much could be done.

Beau chewed, thought these thoughts and more, and ate. "Uh, Alice," replied Beau, remembering the details that Liz had gave him. "She's one of Liz's friend an' all, 'round our age," which meant around Zoe's age, since the British girl had been held back and all. Still forcing casualness, Beau took another handful of his fries, dipping them in the gravy he'd gotten soley for that purpose. "Apparently Alice ran into Zoe an' Zoe asked her out," he explained, nodding. "Don't know too much 'bout the details but, well," he looked to Devyn now, "figured someone oughta let you know."

[Devyn Solway]

Nope, Devyn had no clue pf what she wanted to do. She did before her father died, she pretty much wanted to be just like him and make him proud. Graduate from BA, join the military, and land in the Special Forces. It would have been great and she always thought it would have been cool if she ever got lucky enough to land in her father's unit. It was a big dream but it was hers until her father died. With him gone, she just didn't see the point of it anymore. Who was she trying to please and make proud now when her mother certainly didn't care what she did. So instead Devyn just went for the enjoy life while you are alive route. Since she didn't really know when she was going to die and didn't really know what else to do, that was her thing.

Any purpose she ever got, any goals she ever set were because of other people and wanting to do something for them. Sure it was a win for her as well, but in the end some would say that she was living for others and not really herself in that aspect. She enjoyed her life sure, not as much anymore but she had. Yet this was her Senior year and life sadly could not be fun and games and living for someone else, especially when you didn't have that someone else to live for. She just gave a simple nod when Beau said he was not going anywhere, but didn't say anything about it. Beau had a reason, had goals, and had someone to live for.

Alice...the name was familiar but Devyn was having a hard time picturing the face. Alice was once of those common names after all and Devyn had not been really paying attention to others around her that she didn't already know for the past...almost two months now. So an older girl...so was I just a kid to Zoe then.. Devyn's mind started to go into that dark place as she just pushed her plate away from her, no longer wanting to eat. Zoe asked the girl out on a date, that was like Zoe. She had asked Devyn out in a relationship in the first place, but Devyn still didn't want to believe that Zoe had pretty much just used her. That everything they had gone through was for nothing now besides to apparently result in Zoe happiness, which was good but at the same time it hurt when you were not a part of that.

"So, what now? Did you tell me so you would work with me to come up with a sabotage plan or this was more of a 'time to give up Dev' thing?" Devyn asked as her gaze looked down at the table and stayed there. Her finger rubbed at her father's ring that she had on her necklace at the moment.

[Beau LaRoux]

Definitely a lot going on there, and a lot of darkness creeping up, though hopefully not literally. That was another nice bonus about being in the middle of the cafeteria: not a whole lot of shadows there easy for Devyn to pull. The last thing they needed was an awkward fight between the two of them.

"What this is," said Beau, dipping his fries again, "is a friend feelin' like his friend oughta be kept in the loop an' all. Figured that you should hear 'bout it from a friend, 'stead of hearin' it from DL or something,' he looked Devyn in the eyes, "seein' as we both know that DL seems to love to take Zoe to task."

Which was something of a reference to the latest bit, which referenced the two of them again, or so Beau heard. He'd also thought that he'd heard something said about him but, well, he didn't put much stock in that sort of thing, and if it didn't bother Liz, then it wasn't going to bother him.

[Devyn Solway]

Devyn was not pulling shadows, it was a bit harder to do it in here in the first place, but not impossible. Worse case she could always end up forcing a shadow out of herself and use that to use her power, but that hurt a lot. She didn't really use it that often so at least Beau and everyone else in the cafeteria were safe from Devyn losing it. For now, anyways. She certainly didn't want to eat anymore and really didn't want to be here. It suddenly felt really stuffy and she felt like she was having a hard time getting air. Devyn did look up at Beau when he explained what this really was. That Beau was just trying to be a friend and tell her before she found out some other method.

That was nice of him, but at the same time Devyn was still angry to hear it come from a friend. A friend who she had asked to help her try and win Zoe back, but the obviously was down the toilet now. She left out something of a scoff when Beau brought up DL, that blogger who did love to talk about Zoe a lot. Devyn figured she would be left out of the blogs after her whole losing control in the library since she was no longer a factor in Zoe's life. Not like anyone even cared that Devyn was not doing as well as Zoe with the whole breakup. People probably didn't even care when it was more interesting to know about if someone was cheating or who Zoe's newest girl was.

I...hate this. Devyn thought to herself as her hands went up into her hair and gave it a small tug. Her green eyes turning a darker shade of green as she took yet another deep breath as she did her best to keep her emotions in check. "What am...what do I do now? Do I just give up now that she has moved on? Is there no hope at all to win her back? This is just..." Devyn managed to get out, it being clear in her voice that her emotions were starting to bubble up to the surface.

[Beau LaRoux]

Beau listened, lowering his food and giving Devyn his full attention. The whole casual cafeteria thing hadn't worked as well as he'd hoped. How had someone like Devyn fallen this hard for this hard for anyone, let alone someone like Zoe? Beau sighed, running a hand through his hair, trying to figure out what he should be saying about now.

Plus, he knew something Devyn didn't: how Zoe had been after their last conversation. Liz hadn't given Beau quite all the details, but she'd had to explain why his shirt smelled a little odd and, well, they did talk about nearly everything. now he found himself listening to the questions from Devyn.

"It's always hard, Devyn," said Beau, frowning. "That's kinda how this whole thing works. You jus' gotta do what's best for her though. If she's movin' on, might be time to jus' let her go an' all," Beau was pretty sure there was a song about that too, but something told him that Devyn did not want to hear Beau sing, not right now.

[Devyn Solway]

Devyn had fallen in love with Zoe because she had felt loved, honestly loved and they had been through so much together. That was how Devyn fell in love. A person gave her an experience, they thought her things about herself and made her realizes things. The person she fell in love with had to have made her really feel that they loved her, and that was what she had felt some Zoe. She had almost died; they had small fights, held one another close, and so much more. All of it felt real, like Zoe had actually cared and that this was going to be different then all the other relationships because Zoe was different. Yet, that was a lie because clearly Zoe was just like all the others out there.

She tugged at her hair a little harder but still listened to Beau's words, holding back a growl. She knew that it was hard, people told her enough, and she had experienced it enough to know that it was hard. It didn't make it better, didn't make the pain, anger, and sadness go away it just made it all worse. She had to do what was best for Zoe, had she not been trying to do that all along? Was she really that bad for Zoe after all the things they had done and been through, after her helping bring Zoe out of her shell and be okay to even be close to another person? "Right, you just let them use you and toss you aside while they go for someone better. Someone worth their time and who they think they could have an actual future with. Not someone like me, that would just be crazy." Devyn said as she started to growl.

Then shoving her plate to the ground and stood up, just so angry but at the same time she just wanted to cry. "I love her! I gave and just, it’s not fucking fair! I'm tired of being used and lied to! How do you expect me to just simply let her go? Would you do that if it was Liz?" Devyn asked, yelling the whole time before letting out a deep and shaking breath. Then she sharply turned to leave, because she had to get out of this stupid cafeteria.

[Beau LaRoux]

Beau kept a careful eye on Devyn, though he kept flicking his attention about, trying to keep track of the shadows and whatnot as well. Last thing they needed was for Devyn to lose it and start attacking people in the cafeteria or something... and Beau wasn't entirely convinced that wasn't precisely what would happen soon, with how she kept getting more and more worked up.

"Use...?" repeated Beau, raising his brow, trying to align the shy little thing that kept showing up around Liz with someone who would use. Though he definitely wasn't going to bring that up to Devyn: he was supposed to be more or less on Devyn's side... he just knew a lost cause when he heard about one.

The plate had Beau jumping, and it had a few people looking. Beau shot up, ready to fight Devyn down if need be. He still had the whole security squad thing, and he could always play it off as a side effect or something if need be. Though with how Devyn had started ranting about---

"Hey now," said Beau, raising his hands, "Liz an' I are somethin' else," which was something of an understatement. They'd known each other for years, been friends for most of that time and, well, their relationship had had time to grow. Plus, there hadn't been the whole open thing going on there, and Beau was pretty sure they told each other everything... he certainly did with Liz.

Oh, damn, the girl was heading out. Beau hurried out. "Devyn, you're gettin' too wrapped up in this girl!" he said back, waving a hand. "You're gonna end up hurtin' yourself an' that ain't gonna do no one no good," which was an understatement. Beau hurried, wanting to get in Devyn's path. "You gotta know when to let someone go an' all, 'specially if they love you. You squeeze someone too hard an' you end up crushin' 'em, or hurtin' them so much that they don't ever wanna be in your hands again."