Just See How It Goes

[Ashley Benson]

"Just see how it goes."

As Ashley's therapist had said.  It had been four years since Ashley had taken a class with other students.  She'd been tutored through specialists her entire tenure at Bellefonte and had only just recently shown enough progress for the team of therapists and doctors that surrounded her to come to the conclusion she was ready to try a small helping of normal classes.  The theme of the summer was getting her ready for the two or three classes she'd be taking along with the senior class of the Academy in the fall.  The ultimate goal was to have Ashley fully integrated academically by the end of the year so she could graduate.  This meant she had a great deal of ground to cover before she could handle the rigors of standard schooling.

And so, end of the year and summer tutoring it was.

Ashley sat in the computer lab of the Academy and fidgeted nervously.  She didn't like meeting new people when she was given time to think about it. She always had a habit of getting lost inside her own mind and over thinking what would happen when said person arrived.  It wasn't as if Ashley was late.  Ever.  She had nothing else going save for sitting in her room and being alone and frightened.

Her eyes moved about the blank monitors in the room that stared back at her like lifeless corpses.  It sent a short chill running along her spine before she focused her attention on the soft glow of the laptop screen in front of her.  It was sitting at the home page, why, Ashley didn't know.  She had become well-versed in the use of the internet and basic computer programs as a way to contact the outside world.  Still, her handlers thought it best for her to take a computer course but the girl suspected it was more for the social interaction than the actual academic purpose.

"Oh...."  Ashley's eyes snapped up as the door to the lab opened.  She got to her feet with the hopes of greeting the girl who was to tutor her.  Her therapist reassured her the girl they'd selected was nice and soft spoken.  Two thing Ashley so obviously needed. 

[Erin Hackett]

"What? Why me? I'm not even good with talking to people, especially one on one. This is so zeta lame." Erin retorted to the male teacher that was telling her that her help was needed for a little one on one with another student. She didn't know her of all the people in the school were picked, but then again she did actually know. She was good with computers; fixing them, breaking them, hacking them, and gaming on them of course.

They wanted her to help some student out with the class, telling her that said student was still being slowly integrated in with the rest of the student body. Which just made Erin assume that they had to have some deadly power that was now just getting under control. Was she going to die? Really they just needed someone to be around the girl while in a class room setting it seemed and they picked Erin because of her skills and because they clearly knew that she was super shy around females. Yet, they didn't tell her she was going to be working with a girl.

So you could imagine Erin's surprised when the teacher left her alone outside the classroom and she went in to find only a girl in the room. A very attractive girl at that, with long hair and just...girls were just perfect in every way. Erin caught herself staring for a moment before she cleared her throat and slowly moved a little further into the room. "Uh, hey. I'm...I'm Hackett. Erin Hackett and I'm supposed to uh...you know...computers...hey." Erin said, pretty much losing the bravado she had against the teacher and was now playing with the end of her shirt.

[Ashley Benson]

Ashley offered the newcomer a bright smile that belied the nervousness that roiled just beneath the surface. Her brilliant, azure eyes focused upon the shy, redheaded girl as Ashley gave a short wave as a greeting. She still wasn't good at starting conversation. Or ending them either. Or anything that came between. "I'm Ashley." That, at least, felt a good place to start. She half turned, peering at the open laptop from over her shoulder. "Yeah... that's what they told me." Her brow furrowed and she pursed her lips as she looked back to Erin. "I already, kinda know computers." She admitted. "I..." She gave a sheepish shrug. "It's been sort of how I kept up with everything going on in the world."

Ashley's eyes dropped as she gave a soft, nervous chuckle. "I guess they told you I, uh... I don't get out much." Which was something of an understatement. "I'm not... weird or anything." She said, lifting her gaze with a touch of worry shining in her eyes. "I promise." She abruptly fell silent after that as she internally chastised herself. If there was any sort of decent start to the conversation Ashley had certainly gone and made it awkward and weird, just as she had promised herself she wouldn't.

[Erin Hackett]

Oh no, the bright smile. It was almost too bright with a girl with eyes that color and it just made Erin feel like she was melting. Damn, why were girls so perfect again? Sometimes she wished that she was into guys at least a little bit so she was not practically internally drooling at every pretty girl she saw. Especially when she was pretty sure that every pretty girl she saw was straight and would never be interested in her that way. Erin still tried to focus on why she was here and was happy that despite what she had been told about the girl, she seemed like she was at least able to hold a conversation.

"Nice to meet you." Erin said and she meant every word because it was always nice to meet a pretty girl. When the girl admitted that she basically didn't need Erin's help, well that help calm her down and also feel like the teachers were wasting her time. Oh well, it was not all that bad because at least again she got to see and talk to a pretty girl for a moment. Right now she wondered if she should leave the girl alone to have her space. "Yeah, that makes sense. The net used to be how I pretty much did everything. Order food, clothing, video games, and socialize." Erin admitted. Heh, she said used to but who was she fooling?

She still did all of that with the net but she didn't use it to get information like what was going on in the world anymore, at least not all the time. When the other girl started to talk about what the staff had told Erin, she gave a nod a few times. "Oh, no, of course not. I don't get out much either. In fact I only just started to get out like this year so I totally understand and don't think you are weird at all." Erin quickly spoke up to assure the girl. The last thing she wanted was the girl to feel weird for not being out much, because Erin rarely got out as it was.

"Did you uh...want to play some computer games...since we both have to be here and all?" Erin then quickly asked to try and change the subject and hopefully bring up the mood. She was trying to give it her best since the teacher said this girl was being slowly merged into school life and Erin didn't want to be the one to mess things up.

[Ashley Benson]

Ashley blew a sigh of relief and visibly relaxed. Just beneath the bright smile she had been so tightly wound. She always was while meeting someone new at least until she could figure out what kind of person they were. More often than not she was steeling herself for the inevitable judgmental looks or dismissive eye rolls. Few people, even teachers, had time for a crazy little girl who had rarely left her dorm or spoke in the last four years.

"Really?" She did perk up at hearing just a bit of Erin's story. "I've been here since I was fourteen and I've never been allowed to go to normal classes." She admitted. It only felt fair seeing as how Erin had divulged a little bit about herself. "They just moved me into regular housing a few months ago. I don't know if I like it yet." She frowned at that. Being in such close proximity to people wasn't something she was used to. Hopefully, if given time, this would change. That wouldn't stop her from trying, though. It was, after all, the reason she was here in the computer lab to begin with.

"Oh, god, yes." Ashley said as if Erin's offer had come at a great relief. She breathed a low sigh and nodded hastily. She always took more comfort in having something to split her attention with. That way whoever it was she was talking to wouldn't be stuck doing little more than staring at her. It made her feel as though she didn't have to carry the conversation herself. She turned toward the school issued laptop and frowned. "What, um... what do you want to play?"

[Erin Hackett]

"Yup, by choice. It's why I'm a grade behind...I uh spend too much time alone doing my own thing and tend to miss out on important things. We can uh...work on socializing and like going to class with others together. Probably what the staff were thinking...maybe." Erin spoke up as she started to play with the end of her shirt a little more. Man, this girl even sounded cute and Erin really wanted to know what it would feel like to just run her fingers through that long hair and stare into her eyes.

Getting creepy Erin, calm your inner stalker down. Erin yet again scolded herself as she started to look around the room to try and get her mind on something else while also trying to pay attention. She did pay attention enough to hear that Ashley had been at the school for a while but was just being allowed to interact with the other kids. Erin was already wondering what the girl's power was or what was up with her to have been held back from people for so long.

She didn't dare ask, she was not bold enough for such a thing, especially when it involved a girl. Erin would just die if she made a female cry, just die a horrible death. Erin smiled a little as the other girl seemed happy at the suggestion to play some computer games. It was just perfect. She didn't have to do any actual work, they would still be sort of doing what the teacher wanted, and she got to have some fun with a pretty girl in the process.

All of it was win-win but the only problem was actually going over to sit at the computer with the girl. Well, she could sit at another table, but that would just seem rude, so Erin forced herself to take a deep breath and move to grab a seat next to the girl, but gave her plenty of space. "Well, there are the basic games on the computer, but I have a ton on my laptop. You could uh...look through my Steam and see if there is anything you like." Erin said spoke as she moved to pull out her own personal laptop. It was pretty big, things lighting up and glowing even as she turned it on and quickly logged into her Steam for Ashley to take a look through.

[Ashley Benson]

There was no small amount of comfort that came with knowing she wasn't the only person in the world that was stricken with near crippling social issues. Or, at least somewhat. While she wasn't quite as willing to discuss the reasons for her sequester, Ashley nodded and offered Erin a smile. Knowing she, too, felt distress when around people was disarming to Ashley. She was hardly ready to reveal her life secrets to the redheaded girl, but she felt at ease enough to at least talk. "I think that would be... nice." She said with a hopeful glint in her eyes as she looked to Erin. As forced as it may have sounded, Ashley couldn't deny having a friend who understood a little of what it was like to be isolated was an intriguing possibility.

When attention turned to the laptop that Erin deftly whipped out and fired up, Ashley glitched a little. She didn't know that much about computers or games. She tended to stay away from all but the most basic and cartoony of them. She was still fragile. The flashes of long repressed memories would happen sporadically without prompting. Any media meant to cause duress or displaying violence was strictly off limits. "What..." Her eyes narrowed as she peered at the screen. "What do you suggest?" She asked, glancing to Erin.

[Erin Hackett]

Erin just smiled for a moment when the other girl spoke of how that would be nice. The way it sounded seemed like she was not really looking forward to being friends with Erin, but her eyes said something different. Erin would no, she was practically staring at them in an effort to not check the girl out or stare at something else. Why did the teachers think it was a good idea to put a homosexual with other girls? Yes, it was good that they did not think that all homosexual girls liked every girl that they saw, because most didn't.

Erin was just an exception...maybe there were other like her. She didn't really know since she had never been one to really do a lot of gay pride research or anything. She just didn't care enough and preferred to just be herself and figure it out as she went along, she liked girls and that was all that mattered to her. She didn't know of the girl's power, she didn't really know much about the girl besides what little the teachers shared with her and the girl's name.

Thus she didn't know of her power or what it did and just went along with settling her computer up. There was a question, one that had Erin thinking for a while in silence as she started to play with the earrings along her ear. There were just so many games out there and on her Steam that it was hard to just suggest one of them. "Umm...Team Fortress 2? Or uh...I don't actually know. There are just so many games. Uh...any that you have heard of that grab your attention for any reason?" Erin quickly asked after she tossed out a suggestion, mainly because she had just played it before coming here but she was not sure what games the other girl liked.

[Ashley Benson]

Ashley smiled again, turning her gaze from the computer screen over to Erin. There was something calming about the redhead. She was obviously just as nervous, if not more so, than Ashley though it was obvious the both of them were trying. The only problem was Ashley happened to be utterly clueless about any of the games listed on Erin's Steam account. It was all just a bunch of gibberish and unknown curiosities as far as she was concerned.

"Do you mind if I watch you?" Ashley asked, keeping her attention focused on Erin in order to study her reaction. The brunette girl wasn't a gamer by any stretch even though she understood and appreciated the distraction they offered. "I kind of prefer to sit and watch." She admitted sheepishly, glancing to the computer sitting in front of them for the time being. Her eyes narrowed as she pondered something before vocalizing her thought. "Is that weird? Do people do that?"

[Erin Hackett]

Erin was likely ten times more nervous than the other girl; at least in her opinion. Here she was supposed to be teaching the girl things about computer but she already knew them. So there went that pre-plan that would have helped her be a little less on the panicked side of things. Then add the fact that this girl was extremely attractive and that just added to the panic. Oh, and let’s not forget that Erin was not sure what game they could play together and now the girl was asking if she could just watch Erin game.

"Uh...sure. If you want...if that’s not boring for you." Erin spoke up as she looked through her selection of games for a moment. Personally she was not a huge fan of watching others play a game unless it was a game that she thought was interesting but was not to her taste so she watched others play it so not to just waste her money on something she was not going to fully enjoy. Yet, there were obviously a ton of people that liked to watch people play video games. "Not weird at all, tons of people do it. It's people like you that are basically paying those who just make a living playing video games for people to watch them play." Erin assured her and then cleared her throat.

She still was having a hard time trying to pick a game to play out of all her list. This would be so much easier if she had come prepared for this sort of thing. Where was a randomizer when you needed it? "Uh...what about Skullgirls? I can play it by myself for a little to see what you think and if you are feeling up for it you can give it a try." Erin suggested as she clicked on the game and watched it load up. It was a fighting game, like the old school one but as with all fighting games it had something that made it a little different than the rest.

[Ashley Benson]

"Not at all." Ashley insisted. Watching someone else play a game would be a welcome reprieve, a distraction for the time being. Silently she forced herself to relax, trying to will her nerves to settle. She was okay, there was no reason to be anxious. Erin was obviously not the type to bully and insult. There was nothing about the redheaded girl that felt threatening or abrasive. In fact, the way she seemed just as nervous as Ashley was seen as almost cute. "I'm just no good at it, but I don't mind watching other people." She gave a smile and a light laugh. "I guess I'm boring like that."

"People pay to watch other people play games?" She asked, quirking a brow as she looked to Erin. Yes, Ashley was no stranger to the internet, though the network she was on happened to be heavily guarded. She could navigate websites, the ones she had been allowed to see, however, had been severely limited. "God, I've missed so much." She groaned as a hand came up to her forehead. "It's like there's this entire world out here that's just passed me by." Having huge chunks of her childhood memories completely missing didn't hurt either.

"That's fine." There was no time to think of how lost in the world Ashley sometimes felt when there was gaming afoot. If Erin didn't seem to have any qualms about playing with an audience and answering annoying questions, then Ashley had no problem watching and asking. "So..." She said, scooting her chair closer to Erin so she could get a better view of the screen. "What's this game all about?"

[Erin Hackett]

The other girl was assuring her that it was fine, so Erin felt less bad. She still felt bad because she still personally thought it was not fun to just watch someone play a video game, but she was not going to make the girl play it with her. She would just play it a little, see if the girl liked it, and go from there. "Well...not everyone is good at every game and I'm actually pretty new to this game as well, so it would sort of be fair." Erin spoke up. In fact she had only played the game once and it was for a little. The only reason why it was in her steam collection was because she got it as a free gift.

"No, I would not say you are boring at all." Erin quickly spoke up as she shook her head. Sure, she didn't know the girl but the fact that she was even here and had not been learning with the other students was fact enough to prove she was far from being a boring person. "Yeah, well sort of. Like you know twitch or YouTube? You get paid by how many people view your stuff and subscribers because they could put ads on your...like umm area and then pay you a little bit of what they get from the companies paying them for ads. That and if you are really popular you will get sponsors who will also pay you." Erin tried to explain in the simplest way she knew how.

It really was not a complex matter, other than figuring out the exact amount of subscribers you had to have to know you were going to start to get paid. Erin looked at her; well she had still been mostly looking at the girl the whole time they were around one another. Her computer was only providing little distraction here and there since Erin was not playing anything and there was this beautiful girl to look at. "You will catch up in no time. There are grandparents that are better texters then some kids today." Erin said, chuckling a little as she started to blush and just focused on looking at the game now that it was fully loaded.

Erin's focus was fully in the game now as it finished loading and she was selecting her fighter. However; when she saw the other girl scooting closer it just caused the blush to return to her face and she was clearing her throat to answer the question. "I'm not actually sure. Just know it’s a fighting game with like these different kinds of girls who...fight. I just kind of button smash at the moment." Erin admitted as she proceeded to do just that as her fight started.

[Ashley Benson]

Ashley nodded as she listened intently to Erin's explanation. There was so much the blue eyed girl knew about the world around her and yet it still felt strange and alien to her most times. She'd missed a great deal of pop-culture over the years leaving her to navigate things as simple as talking about video games with a certain wide-eyed innocence she tried in vain to keep hidden. "I guess you could say a missed a few years." She admitted sheepishly. "That's why, I think, we're here." And not because she was mentally ill. "So, I'm sorry if I come off as clueless. It's not my fault." She turned a smile to Erin, though, and there may have even been a hint of playfulness hiding just behind it.

Okay, a fighting game. Ashley knew enough to understand what that meant and she turned her attention to the screen as Erin manipulated the menus. "Oh!" She said, eyes lighting up as she pointed, being careful not to actually touch the screen. "Pick the redhead with..." She leaned in a bit, squinted so she could get a better look at the animated characters. "Is she carrying an umbrella?" She giggled lightly, pleased to have any sort of distraction to keep her mind occupied. "Yeah." She nodded confidently. "Go with her. Redheads are always cuter."

[Erin Hackett]

Erin just nodded her head when Ashley pointed out that she had missed a few years and that was why they were here. Erin knew all of that already, well at least she knew about the last bit because they told her about it. She didn't know why the other girl had missed so many years and while she really wanted to know, she could not bring herself to ask. Perhaps she would send the girl an email or something and ask about it that way. She could be bold then and not as effected if the other girl was hurt because she would not be able to see the hurt.

On the net, you could pretty much do anything and have a little bit of a clear conscious cause you didn't get to see the damage that it did to another person. Well, you sort of did because some people were not the brightest and made it obvious that you had upset them instead of just blocking you and being done with it. "It's okay. I don't mind it at all. Sorry if...if I umm....you know." Erin said before she shook her head and looked at her game. You know? YOU KNOW?! Really, Erin? How is she supposed to know when you were so vague about it? Erin mentally scolded herself as she went to pick a fighter.

She quickly stopped however when the Ashley pointed out who she wanted Erin to play, in a way that had Erin starting to blush again. "I think so, but who knows with how there is a person with living hair or something on here." Erin said as she selected the red head, just her luck that her first opponent was in fact the one with the living hair of some sort. Erin chewed on her lips a little as she read over the fighting instructions and also thought about what the girl had said. "Do...do you really think red heads are cuter?" Erin muttered out, because she was a red head and she wanted to know, obviously.