Partners in Crime

[Trevor Paige]

{OOC Note:  Takes place the morning after this thread ends}

After the events of the night before, Trevor was more determined than ever.  Why, he couldn't exactly say but something had spurred him along, kept him up at night more than usual and stuck on his mind.  In truth he probably could say, he simply wouldn't allow himself to do so.  At least not yet.  Regardless, something had to be done.  It would have been impossible for him to remain idle after meeting with Penelope Adams  at the skating rink.  Too much effort had went into the evening and the way the two of them had gone back and forth was almost exhausting, yet exhilarating.  No, there was no way he didn't continue this little game of theirs and he was determined to make the next move.

Which is exactly why he was sitting outside the editor's office of the school newspaper.

It was a simple concept, really.  The editor had explained to Penelope that a very bright student had shown interest in joining the school newspaper but with the school year already well under way there were no more junior positions open.  Not one to leave a young mind interested in journalism off to the side, the editor decided to partner one of their more experienced and capable young reporters up with the newbie and have them shadow her around to learn how the business and the paper itself operated.  It made sense and would hopefully prepare the newcomer for a position within the paper next year.

The editor got to their feet when the new addition to the paper was asked to come into the office to meet his partner.  Trevor strode in, knowing exactly what he was doing.  His eyes touched on Penelope and he offered her a wide, bright smile while extending a hand to her.  "Hi, Penny."  He said, that smirk of his touching his features as he watched her.  "I look forward to working with you.  I can't wait to hear all about your current assignment."

[Penelope Adams]

Penelope still had the small scrap of paper. Not here, naturally, but in her room. She hadn't texted the boy once she'd gotten home, but he'd expected that much, she figured. Now it was yet another day in the workshop and after endless minutes of admitting defeat, Penelope was in the editor's office, listening to the editor talk all about how they were going to assign someone to her. Was this her punishment? Although... She wasn't sure if it was her punishment. She wasn't exactly the kind of person you'd want to work with.

Sadly, Penelope had little room to object. Instead, she had to silence take the "abuse" and hope she wouldn't get stuck with someone too annoying and that was actually interested in working.

The door opened and Penelope turned her head over her shoulder to get a glimpse of her new partner and she immediately scowled. Still, the dream walked rose to her feet and offered her own hand in turn. "Couldn't stay away, I see." Penelope shared a glance with the editor and she could have sworn the editor looked... Pleased. Maybe Penelope admitting her defeat wasn't such a bad thing after all. She figured she could use this to her advantage.

After all, even if she doubted Trevor was here for any other reason than his own amusement, it surely looked good. She could use this for her advantage. "Mr. Paige," she said with a short nod towards the boy.

[Trevor Paige]

Drew knew exactly what he was doing. He always knew what he was doing. Even when it looked as though he was shooting from the hip there remained a certain calculating way of operating that belied his often erratic and flippant demeanor. He smirked as Penelope was introduced, accepting her offered hand and giving it a firm shake. "What can I say?" He said with a coy shrug. "You've given my the journalistic bug. Your relentless pursuit of the truth has influenced me to contribute."

Once the two of them had been ushered out of the office and left to their own devices Trevor paused and let his eyes scan over the room where the rest of the members of the school paper practiced their craft. He took in the desks, the large storyboards where the junior editors could piece together the latest edition of the paper and the various students and Academy staffers bustling around in order to meet the next deadline. "So." Trevor said, nodding thoughtfully. "This is your domain." It almost felt like being in a lion's den or behind enemy lines. "There's a lot of energy in the room." Trevor wasn't able to hide the amusement in his voice at how everything had played out. "I can see why you like it."

[Penelope Adams]

The brunette fell silent as the boy looked out into the room. She nodded at his words in agreement; yeah, she liked this place a lot. Partly because of the energy in the room, but mostly because of the feel of it. Not that Penelope got to do exactly what she wanted, but it was a means to an end, or something like that. It was a step in the right direction and it gave her the proper experience and points she needed for the future and that alone was yet another reason to stick with it.

"Anyways," she said as she looked at him once more. "Why don't you cut the crap and tell me why you're really here, because I don't buy that shitty excuse you offered in there." She didn't, for a million years, think he was actually interested in joining. So why was he here and why was he assigned to her?

[Trevor Paige]

Trevor just stood, hands in his pockets as he took in the high paced aura of the room. He rocked back and forth a little on his heels while watching everyone scamper around in order to get the latest edition of the paper completed before being sent to the printers and uploaded to the Academy's website. He got it now, understanding the rush that could come from having a constant deadline looming over one's head. There was no way he could do it himself, of course. That was far too much responsibility and pressure for him to want to take on.

"I wanted to get an idea of what makes you tick." Trevor said plainly. He wasn't going to mince words or lie. Exaggerate and misdirect, perhaps, but he wouldn't be outright untruthful. He glanced in Penelope's direction and offered a faint shrug, the smirk playing on his lips never wavering. "Find out what's going on in that head of yours." He gestured with a nod toward the room that spread out in front of them. "I get why you like this. It's so... exciting and energetic."

[Penelope Adams]

She stared at him in silence for a moment. "But why?" she asked. She didn't get it. It wasn't as if she operated any different way than most people. At least, not on a general basis. Still, it didn't make much sense for the boy to throw as much of his time into finding out as he did. What was there for him to gain? If there was a game to be played, surely he could find someone a lot more interesting than a wallflower with a habit of annoying everyone she met.

"Either way," she continued. "I don't have the time for your childish games, so if you excuse me." She gestured towards the door, as if telling him to leave. In fact, that was exactly what she was doing. She didn't need him around. She had plenty of work she needed to get down and he was nothing more than troublesome distraction.

[Trevor Paige]

"Why not?" Came the overly simplistic reply. Drew hadn't missed a beat in getting the words out and accompanied them with a faint shrug of his shoulders. This wasn't so much a game as it was a journey. He didn't know what it was, exactly, that had caused him to fall into this little charade but he did so enjoy it and looked forward to wherever it may lead.

"Oh, right!" Trevor nodded curtly and went to follow along after Penelope. They were partners now, after all. "I noticed on the storyboard you don't have an article in this week's paper." Trevor noted even though his gaze had only briefly scanned across the large board from all the way across the room. "Were you really on assignment to find out about me?" He asked, almost incredulous about it. "People actually think I'm interesting enough to put in the paper?"

[Penelope Adams]

The reply the boy came with had the brunette rolling her eyes as she offered him a stoic expression. She wondered briefly if he knew how annoying he really was. Then again, he probably didn't. In fact, he probably didn't annoy anyone else nearly as much as he did her - and for some reason, she was his target for the time. All she had to do was wait it out and wait for him to get bored.

Penelope gazed towards the board with a faint shrug. "I already told you that. Why would I lie?" It wasn't as if she chased him down for any personal reasons, after all. She didn't have time for such things. "You're quite the mystery around here," she reply dryly - as if she didn't understand why people would think that - or even care. "You know how teenagers are with mystery guys."

[Trevor Paige]

"Oh, I don't know." Trevor's hands found his pockets as the smirk on his face didn't waver for a moment even when it turned in Penelope's direction. "I had given thought to the possibility of you getting tired of admiring me from a distance and wanted to get a closer look." Even as the words passed through his lips it was plainly evident he knew them to be false. As arrogant as he may or may not have been, Trevor didn't think for a moment Penelope's intent was anything less than professional. It was almost a shame, really, that she had chosen him of all people for such an assignment.

"Well, what can I say?" Trevor's gaze turned away from the brunette girl and slowly moved across the office once more. Without trying he took in every subtle nuance and detail of the scene around them and committed it to memory. Whether he liked it or not this very moment would forever be etched into his mind. "I'd like to think I'm an enigma wrapped in a riddle and sprinkled with mystery bits." He sighed lightly as if he'd resigned himself to this farcical fact. "I'm a high protein, low calorie dish." He paused for a beat and then added. "Also a good source of riboflavin."

[Penelope Adams]

Walking over to her desk, the brunette gathered her stuff - which mainly just consisted of a laptop and a journal. She heard the boy talk behind her, but realized fairly quickly that it was nothing more than empty words, so she paid little attention to them as she did most other things here in life when it held little interest to her. At least he didn't seem offended to her lack of paying attention. Maybe he'd expected that much.

"Well, regardless," she began as she finally turned towards him, her laptop and journal pressed firmly against her chest. "Like you said, I have nothing for this week's issue, so I have a lot to do, so either you can come up with a great idea or you can stop distracting me." Honestly, this was getting tiresome. She had no ideas - she'd bet all her time on this interview and it had blown up in her face. You win some, you lose some, she supposed.

[Trevor Paige]

It did take Trevor a few moments to realize Penelope had wandered off. He glanced to the side where she had been standing, paused, furrowed his brow, then turned and started off to follow her over to her desk. He studied her for a bit then nodded thoughtfully. It was unfortunate he'd left her with nothing to offer for the latest edition of the paper but if she thought he was going to simply lay out all his secrets just because she batted her pretty eyes at him she was sorely mistaken.

Still, Trevor had a plan. He always had a plan. "What if." He started, looking to Penelope for a moment before continuing. "I could get you your story?" He finally finished with a stoic expression. "No bull, no games. A legitimate story and not some fluff piece on what color schemes are being considered for prom this year."

[Penelope Adams]

At that, she actually had to pause. She looked at him for a moment, studying his features. "Why now?" she asked then, her brows furrowing. She didn't trust him. That was apparent. Nor did she understand why he'd suddenly play along now. He didn't strike her as the type that'd feel bad she'd lost her story and in truth, as annoying as it was, she wasn't mad. She couldn't very well expect just about anyone to share their entire life story with someone they'd just met.

"Why would I even still want it? I already admitted that I couldn't get it and have to pay the price for it." She nodded towards the office they'd just come out of. "Getting that story now wouldn't really benefit me at all." It was true, even though she'd might regain some status because of it. It wasn't nearly as much of a thrill and winning gain as it had been the first time she'd approached him. "Besides, up until now you've given me nothing but games and schemes, so why should I trust you're being serious this time?"

[Trevor Paige]

Trevor nodded as Penelope spoke. She wasn't wrong. He had been playing a little game with her at first and there was no reason he could give that lead to his decision to ultimately help. He didn't care much for the newspaper, nor had he gained any headway in willingly getting any personal information from the brunette girl. Why he was even in the room in which he stood was more of a mystery than anything. And yet, here he was. He may not have known what he was trying to accomplish but damn if he didn't have a great way to figure it out.

"I'll accept your skepticism." Trevor offered an agreeable nod. "You're right. I have been known to be a little unorthodox. But genius is rarely conventional." He waved a hand dismissively before continuing. "But I'm afraid you missed one key piece if information. I said I could get you your story. I never said that it had anything to do with me."

[Penelope Adams]

Issuing a low sigh, the brunette's head shook. On one hand, the boy probably had some contacts that could offer her a decent story, but on the other hand, she wasn't entirely sure if accepting a favor from the boy was the route she wanted to go. From what she'd learned thus far, trusting him didn't exactly climb high on her list.

"Look," she began, leaning against the wall. She looked around, making sure no one else was within earshot and thankfully, everyone seemed rather busy with their work to pay the two of them much attention. "I don't know why you suddenly decided to put your interest in this and quite frankly, I don't care. But if you're about to play yet another game and I come out of this empty handed, I'll make damn sure you'll live to regret it." She wanted to make a point of how serious she took all of this and she wasn't here to play a game some kind of frat boy found the most interesting for the day. "Oh, and I'm in charge. You do what I want, when I want it - no questions asked. Got it?"

[Trevor Paige]

Trevor shifted his weight backward, putting a few inches more distance between himself and Penelope when she turned and started in on him. The bright gleam in his eyes didn't waver as she issued a thread and outlined her terms. He nodded slowly. She was being fair. He had been giving her the run around and he knew he'd eventually have to put up or shut up. Slowly Trevor nodded, his eyes remaining locked upon Penelope's. He took in every tiny detail of her features and it left no doubt she was being absolutely serious. If he wanted to continue whatever it was he was doing, he'd have to deliver on his promise.

"Okay." He said quickly, not missing a beat. "I'm in." The gleam in Trevor's eye was nothing but mischievous. "It won't get you in the paper this week." He admitted with a faint shrug. "And I can't tell you how far the rabbit hole goes." The smug smirk never faltered as Trevor spoke. "But I know where the entrance is and I'll show you, on one condition." He paused then as he watched and studied every subtle nuance of Penelope's features without even trying. "My friend's throwing a party Friday night. If you'd like to go I'll show you your next big story tonight."