{EDCT} The Children of Tomorrow Dream Away

[Penelope Adams]

With a smile, the dream walker shrugged. "Perhaps," she said, as if tasting the words for the first time. She didn't move though, but she remained at a comfortable distance. At least, somewhat comfortable. "It's your dream, not mine. Your dreams are about your feelings. Not mine." Evasive again, but still true. Many people believed that dreams were your sub-consciousness trying to tell you something.

She had noticed the subtle reaction to her touch, though. "For someone who seems so used to being in control, I wonder, was it hard losing yourself like that? Like you did in the forest?" She pulled her hand away and sat down, but remained close.

[Trevor Paige]

"True." Trevor said with a nod. His eyes didn't leave Penelope's gaze, though, even as she countered with a valid point. "But you're not part of my dream, are you?" He felt the need to point that out. "You're not a manifestation of my subconscious tapping into my feelings or emotions. You're an outsider, you're here because of a glitch in your mutant power, not because I invited you." His emotions and thoughts only went so far when it came to dealing with Penelope in such circumstances. "I can't control you here any more than I can in the real world, right?" He continued to study her gaze. "So you still have the freedom to tell me how you feel."

Penelope's question brought out a soft chuckle. Even though he didn't pull away, Trevor did drop his eyes just for a moment. He had a feeling no matter what happened he wasn't going to live down what happened in the woods hours ago. She was probably going to hold that little victory of hers over him for as long as she could. "It was." It was a painful admission but an honest one. Especially here and now it would have been hypocritical of Trevor to fall into his usual patterns of evasion and defensiveness. Perhaps somewhere in the back of his mind he though the more he allowed himself to be honest with her, the more she would respond in kind. "But I'm not too proud to admit when I've been beaten fairly." He said, lifting his eyes to watch her as she pulled away enough to sit down.

Trevor studied her for a moment, something he'd been doing a lot as of late. Penelope represented so many riddles and enigmas it was almost fascinating to watch as she seemingly struggled with some inner debate. It sometimes looked as though she was caught between wanting to push him away completely and the curiosity that had come with the uncharted territory he presented. Either way, he'd given an frank, honest answer to a very personal question. He thought it only fair to take a turn and he had it in mind to swing for the fences. Go big or go home.

"If I went to kiss you again, would you stop me?" He asked though he made no attempt to make it seem as if he was going to follow through with his inquiry just yet.

[Penelope Adams]

The way he described her ability, a glitch, a technical problem, a malfunction, something that shouldn't be, had the brunette furrowing her brows. He might not have realized it, but that was exactly, in many ways, how she viewed her power. An outsider who constantly barged into people's utmost private thoughts. "You speak as if I want to be here," she simply replied.

So, he too, considered losing control a defeat. She wondered then, how he could walk around as if that wasn't a bad thing. As if letting yourself lose control when trying so hard to regain it wasn't something to dread. She wasn't sure she believed that. Perhaps he was putting on a strong front, trying to pretend and make it seem as if it didn't phase him... And still, he compared it to defeat. It was confusing, but after everything, she supposed she simply had to get used to feeling confused around him. He didn't make any sense. "Hm."

Averting her gaze, she stared at the sky once more, pondering over this entire odd situation she suddenly found herself in. She didn't understand this feeling of wanting to be close to someone. To kiss them or cuddle them. It was such an alien concept to her. She saw it all around her, at school, back home, in the town below the school, but she still didn't understand why. Why did people insist that their entire existence relied on someone else? Why was love such an important concept to so many people? Why did people seek it out so badly and why were people so afraid of being alone? Was that such a bad thing? She was alone, had been for as long as she could remember. Well, save for her dads and she was... Happy. At least, what she assumed happiness was like. What was it about the need to feel connected that made people into fools?

"I don't know," she replied finally. She looked at him again then, her head tilting somewhat as she studied him, trying to find an answer to the millions of questions swirling around in her head. 

Companionship had never been a part of her plan, so she had never bothered trying to analyze it before.

[Trevor Paige]

"I was only pointing out that just because this is my dream, it doesn't mean you're not still in control of your own thoughts, feelings and actions." Trevor didn't think for a moment Penelope would have willingly opened herself up to having to delve more into all this with him. He supposed they were lucky she hadn't wandered into a less... flattering type of dream of his or one that would make the situation more awkward. This just felt like the two of them having a conversation in a weird, sort of hazy world. "I'd no more try and tell you how to think here than I would when we're awake."

Even though Penelope had given the most vague answer to his question possible, Trevor actually believed it was a rare moment when she was being completely honest with him. It looked as though she didn't know whether she'd stop him any more than he knew if he'd actually try it again. "I kinda liked it." He said with a faint shrug. He hadn't fallen deeply in love with her because of a simple, surprise kiss by any means. Still, he felt it needed to be addressed in some capacity. "I don't know." He glanced down and plucked a small stick off the ground and poked at the loose soil in front of him. "Is this something we're just going to ignore and act like it didn't happen when we wake up?"

[Penelope Adams]

"That's not what I meant," she replied with a dry sigh. He was stating the obvious by now. Of course he had no control of her. She might have been an active part of his dream, but it was still her glitch of a power that had lead her here. It was a painful reminder, if nothing else. She was sad that the herb hadn't worked, or perhaps it just took a little longer to actually work.

"Well, that much was obvious by the time you made it clear you wanted to go in for a second attempt," she said, her eyebrow quirked in amusement. Looking upwards once more, she watched the sky above them. It was strange, how real something unreal could look. Then she supposed it wasn't all that odd. Dreams had to come from something. Even the obscure ones. "I'm not sure what you're expecting to come from this," she said silently, still looking at the sky above them. "What do you want to come of it?" That, perhaps, was the most important question.

[Trevor Paige]

Trevor nodded. Through his own words and actions he'd made his intentions painfully clear. He had wanted to kiss Penelope and not just the one time. The second attempt had come from a curiosity that he still desired to have sated. Even though he was the one who seemed to be pushing more than her, this was all uncharted water for him just as much as it was her. He didn't know where it would all lead or even if he wanted it to go anywhere significant. It could have been nothing more than a curiosity surrounding what it would have been like to kiss Penelope Adams. At this point, Trevor was open to just about any idea.

"I don't know." Trevor said honestly with a shrug of his shoulders. He was starting to suspect Penelope was overreacting and attempting to read far too much into what had transpired during their waking moments. An admission of interest and a kiss didn't mean commitment or a declaration of undying love. Sometimes a kiss was just that, a kiss. "Look." Trevor leaned forward, drawing his knees up and resting his arms upon them. "I like talking to you and I kissed you." He shifted his gaze, turning it to Penelope for the moment. "Does it have to be anything more than that? Just like you I prefer to rely on no one but myself. I don't need some interpretation of 'love' to validate me. I'm not trying to 'break down your walls' or show you something you 'never knew you wanted' or any other short sighted, romantic cliche." He waved the hand that held the stick absently and shook his head. "I had a thought, a feeling, and I went with it. I don't know any more than you what it really means or where it'll lead, if anywhere." He paused a moment, thought about it then shrugged again. "But I'll freely admit... I'm curious."

[Penelope Adams]

So, he was just as clueless as she was about this whole ordeal. But it seemed as if they both agreed on one thing, at least; Neither of them seemed awfully interested in commitment. Neither of them wanted to delve into that kind of maelstrom. She supposed it put her mind to ease, but then again, from watching the world around her, a kiss always meant something - it could be insignificant or it could mean much more. So, if he wasn't seeing it as anything more than a simple kiss, what was the point?

"What line of careers have you set your mind to?" she suddenly asked, turning her head to look at him. She was going somewhere with this, that much was obvious, though. "What are you going to do once you graduate? College? If so, what are you going to study?"

[Trevor Paige]

Trevor's brow quirked a the sudden and drastic change of pace the conversation took. He looked to Penelope curiously then shook his head. He wasn't expecting shifting to talking of his future plans. Why did any of that matter, especially now? She'd never once shown any curiosity about his current interests let alone what he planned on doing after graduating or beyond. It took him a moment to gather himself before shaking his head and giving a shrug. Penelope may not have realized it but she was opening one hell of a can of worms.

"Uh." Trevor frowned. Penelope hadn't hit a nerve so much as it looked as though she'd touched on some great family secret. He issued a low huff as he debated how truthfully he was going to actually be with this topic. Forget his problems with the expectations of his father or the pressure he got from his family to preserve some false sense of lineage, Trevor simply didn't know if he wanted to reveal something so few actually knew.

After deliberating for far longer than Penelope had ever seen him, Trevor shrugged to himself and looked to her. He'd come to the conclusion that if there was anyone he could trust enough to be honest with, it was Penelope. She'd proven at least that much. "I graduated high school when I was twelve." He said. "About three months after I'd manifested and came to Bellefonte." He gave a shrug of his shoulders. There was no bragging or smugness to be found in his voice. If anything it almost sounded as though he was ashamed to be revealing such information. "I currently have a BA in economics, I've passed the BAR exam for New York, California, Florida, New Jersey, Texas and Connecticut and I'll be getting my degree in computer science probably by the end of Spring."

Trevor paused for a moment then and glanced down to the ground. He poked at a small plant with the stick he was still holding and shrugged again. "The only reason I go to high school is because they thought it was best for me to progress with one class."

[Penelope Adams]

She remained silent as he spoke. It was apparent that what he had to say weighed on him. Why, didn't become clear, but it weighed on him nonetheless. She had to admit that she was a bit surprised too. She knew he was witty and clever, and of course, smart, but that seemed to be a lot to take on for someone that was the same age as she was. And here she was, going through high school like any other student her age. Naturally, she had nothing but top grades, of course, but that was nothing compared to the boy sitting next to her.

"So... Either, that's an incredibly heavy burden to carry for someone so young," she looked at him. "Or, you have no idea what you want to spend your life doing." Economics and then computer science? "Or you're just good at planning ahead and covering all the basics." Still, there was one thing the boy had left out. "You didn't really answer my question, though. What kind of career are you aiming for? What do you want to do once you're out of here?"

He was making it hard for her to state her point, though, she supposed that had already been part of their... Well, whatever this was.

[Trevor Paige]

"Maybe all of the above." Trevor mused with a bit of a sigh and a chuckle. He'd never been one to advertise his academic achievements and even though they were vast and still growing, he carried them more as a burden than as a tool to help him advance in life. Thanks in large part to his mutant power, Trevor had the potential to be among the most brilliant minds the world had ever seen and yet he continued to waste it all on arranging parties for horny, drunken teens. No one needed to tell him the irony of this, of course. He was already far too aware of it.

"I don't have the slightest clue." He admitted along with throwing his hands up. Trevor knew a lot, he retained information and knowledge like a computer. He'd raced through so many academic courses simply because he could spend a few hours reading the course materials and remember every tiny little thing contained within the texts. It made it painfully simple to progress along any number of academic paths available to him. "I think I'm just... gathering academic tools that I don't know what to do with." It was obvious Trevor wasn't all that enthused about talking of himself. He preferred to keep conversation away from his own, personal machinations. "I mean, I get it, I know things. But I'm still only seventeen. The last thing I want is to wake up when I'm forty and hate my life because of a decision I made when I was a teenager."

[Penelope Adams]

"You're just gathering academic tools? Do you even hear yourself when you talk? No one gathers academic tools just because they can." She narrowed her eyes at him. He didn't exactly strike her as some kind of genius. No, despite, well, all of this, he was a seventeen year old. Penelope just couldn't figure out how. She was sure whatever superpower he-- And that, stopped the brunette in her tracks. Was that his power? 

"What's your power?" she asked directly, her narrowed eyes completely focused on his face. Studying it. Some kind of ability to learn faster? Superhuman speed? Perhaps he was on drugs. Now that, that was a laughable option. No, he wasn't on drugs. She couldn't quite picture him along with a bong in his hands.

[Trevor Paige]

Trevor couldn't help the laugh that followed Penelope's response. Her reaction made sense even though, yes, he did hear himself talk and, yes, he understood how farcical it all sounded. To him what he'd been able to accomplish academically was simple. Precious little effort had actually gone into any of the degrees or certifications he'd accrued over the years because they had all been based on the one thing he had that was better than anyone else he'd ever met. His memory. Computer science and economics were painfully easy to master because the curriculum was largely knowledge based. Math, procedures, this and that. A few hours of sitting with any given text and he'd have the entire work memorized in perfect detail cover to cover.

"I remember everything." He said after he'd let the laugh die down some. It was a simplistic description of his power, but one that he could use without confusing others. "Even if I don't realize it. I could walk into a room, not paying attention to much of anything and recall every detail of it hours later. If I read something it sticks, word for word." Trevor then shrugged and tossed away the stick he'd been messing around with for the last few minutes. "You'd be surprised at how easy school comes when you don't forget anything. Ever."

[Penelope Adams]

Ah, perfect memory and the ability to notice things without looking. "Well, that will do it," she said simply. Still, though, a gift like that had to be better suited for something that wasn't economics. God, that sounded like such a terribly dull job. Someone with an ability like that, what could they do? Why Penelope was so interested in this, she wasn't sure, but she figured it probably was the best way to derail the conversation away from the kissing part. Well, that and she still had a point to make. She just needed to find a place it fit.

And then it hit her. "You'd be an amazing detective. I mean, if you can walk into a room and remember everything, you clearly have an eye for details." She shrugged. The brunette lay back down on the ground, once again staring up at the sky above them. "But clearly the one thing you don't have any control over in your life, is your future." Yes, that was a stab. "I'm disappointed, really."

[Trevor Paige]

Trevor nodded a bit. Penelope was starting to get it, starting to understand what it was like to walk around with Trevor's mind. On the surface it sounded nice, to be able to remember every tiny little detail of every day. They'd already touched on how easy it made school. He couldn't remember the last time he'd gotten less than a 100% on an exam. It had, honestly, been years. He had no interest in practicing law and yet he was certified to do so in a number of states simply because he could and somewhere along the lines he thought it would look good on a resume.

He was about to respond when she hit him with a jab that caused him to visibly wince. Trevor's head shook and he glanced away in contempt, for a few moments refusing to look at her. She wasn't wrong, Trevor's future really was far out of his control for now. What she didn't seem to understand was that in spite of his academic success he remained a teenager unsure of what his future would bring. "First off, can you imagine me... me of all people as a cop?" Trevor waved a hand dismissively. "Secondly, I'm seventeen. How much of my adulthood should I have planned out already? Is it really that far-fetched for someone not even old enough to buy alcohol to not know what they're going to do for the rest of their life?" His head shook again and he sighed. "What's wrong with wanting to be a kid?"

[Penelope Adams]

"It's not wrong," she countered. "But it does put you in the same box as all the other teenagers you seem to hate." She had expected more, to be honest. Yes, it was unfairly placed upon him. Expectations he'd never asked for. Nor did he deserve to be treated as if he was supposed to. But for someone with that great of a mind, well, she'd expected there to be more. For someone who seemed to be in control of everything he said and did, she expected him to have a long term plan. "And like you say, you're a teenager. You could grow into the role of a cop," she shrugged.

"I've known that I wanted to be a journalist since I was seven," she continued then, tossing him a quick glance. "And ever since, I've worked my butt off to make sure nothing or no one stands in the way of that." She pushed herself up on her feet, brushing grass and dirt off of her clothes. She fell silent for a moment, contemplating the information she'd been offered until suddenly, she laughed.

"And the most ironic part of it all is that this boy, this boy who has no plans for his future, kissed me, and has the nerve to barge into my life, expecting me to give him the time of day?" Despite her harsh words, her smile was genuine and showing no signs of wanting to hurt him. If anything, it was a challenge.