Prom Week discussion

Home of Alyssa May Kellison.

Other Occupants:
Sister-Ivy
Sister-Ivory

Occasional Visitation From:
'Mother'-James
'Father'-Kelly

House Appearance:

Alyssa's Room: Her TV is opposite to her wall.

Pulling out her textbook, Alyssa dropped her nearly empty bag onto the floor by the edge of her bed. She intended on doing her HW, since she hadn't really done it in Study Hall. It was just a simple reading assignment, so she really wasn't all that opposed to completing it. She hated having the feeling she was behind in her classes, which is what happened when she didn't do assignments, or she didn't do them on time.

Of course, the universe had other plans. She couldn't seem to focus, not matter how hard she tried. Every time she finished a paragraph, something else would catch her eye around the room. Her phone... her lap top... her closet... the window. Eventually she just had to give up, turning on the TV as her abandoning of the assignment.

As her phone buzzed, Alyssa's heart fluttered. But when she slid the little icon, it wasn't the name she was hoping to appear there. With a sigh, she tossed her phone back onto a pillow within reaching distance, eyes drawing back to the TV. Alyssa had texted Henry some forty minutes ago, sending him a simple message; Hey, It's Alyssa, your favorite person in Study Hall.

Was he busy? Or did he just not want to talk? Millions of situations played throughout her mind, making her wish she hadn't texted him. She was just hoping she could take it back, just so she wouldn't have to deal with not knowing. Instead, she was plagued with this odd sense of uncertainty, leaving her unfocused and unhappy. Alyssa couldn't even seem to enjoy her favorite movie channel, currently playing 'The Breakfast Club'.

Henry meanwhile was strolling around the art studio back at school and his phone had buzzed while he had been sitting 'still'. Naturally it had caused him to shift and earn a look of disapproval from his brother. Now though....Remembering the message that must've been from Alyssa he pulled his phone out of his pocket, eyes scanning over the short message and a smile spreading out on his face. So she had texted him, which meant that she actually did want to be friends with him.

Hey there! Obviously....it's Henry. What are you doing? Please tell me it's more fun than sitting around being forced to stay still?

Now that Damien was focused on the emotional girl across the room though, Henry paced in front of the window. He immediately felt more at ease with moving around than he did when he had been forced to sit there on the table posing for his brother. Photos. So much better than all this sitting still and drawing stuff.

Alyssa's heart leaped again when her phone buzzed; this time when she read the name, her face lit up with a grin. The relief was palpable, she didn't feel the pressure in her chest anymore. Wow... she should really be giving this boy some serious credit for making her feel this way, not many people could. Not that she'd be willing to admit it though, that was a new path to travel entirely.

Curiosity was the first reaction to his reply. Who was making him sit still, and for what purpose? She wasn't sure if she really had the right to ask though... were they that close? It didn't seem like it was too nosy of a question. Alyssa sighed, realizing she was over analyzing it, as per usual. She just couldn't help it, she really didn't want to say the wrong thing around Henry. But could she? She had the feeling nothing would be off limits to him, since he was so kind. Or... he'd pretend nothing was off limits, as not to make the the other person feel bad for asking.

Without putting too much thought behind it, she sent; It's probably the same level of fun. I'm actually using you as my excuse to take a break from reading Section three. In what context are you meant to stay still?

Whilst waiting for her reply, Henry found himself leaning on his elbow across one of the art tables. As he let out a breath of hasty impatience he was glad that she wasn't around to see how impatient he really was, that would make him seem quite rude. Not that he was upset or anything about waiting around. Just that he was a person who always liked to be on the go. Drumming his fingertips against the table as he waited he ended up pulling out a stool and sitting down at it , sitting just as his phone vibrated with the tell tale sign of Alyssa's response.

As he read over her words he couldn't help but chuckle to himself. He could just imagine Alyssa stretched out at her desk chair, tv on in the background, probably watching one of those old classic movies. Her books discarded off to the side and using Henry to distract her.

Ahhh so I'm just an excuse? ;P And my brother was making me sit around so he could draw me. I'm all for artsy people....so long as I don't have to be the subject.

Eyes widening upon reading his next message, Alyssa couldn't help but let her smile broaden. She could just imagine Henry being told to sit still. His eyes would be wondering all over everything, it would probably be hell for him to have to look at all the objects in an art room without being able to touch them.

She barely glanced at her textbook anymore, not trying to force herself to work. Alyssa would much rather be talking to Henry and watching a movie, she'd pick him over homework any day. She'd probably choose him over the movie as well, considering it was her favorite part and she'd yet to notice.

Yes, an excuse. Do you like being used? ;) Right now you're my personal distraction. For innocent curiousness though, are you posing in costume?

Henry smiled at the message, this was far more entertaining than sitting absolutely still and looking at the shark made out of soda cans on the other side of the room. He'd spent the last half hour staring at the sculpture and wanting to touch it to see if it would fall apart. It didn't seem like it would, and yet.....he was still quite curious. Hmmm maybe....nope. Right now he had a text to respond to.

At her words he paused, hmmm was he in costume? Looking down at his jeans and the shirt he was wearing? no. That was the same as what he had been wearing for study hall. However the fruit hat on top of his head? That was new. Hmmmm, although it wasn't a costume persay.

Hmmmmm depends on the person who's using me :) And how did you know I was lounging about dressed as Ariel? I have to say....Purple Seashell bras....they were made just for me ;)

Well I'm using you, so what does that mean? and here I thought I made a good looking ginger ;)

Alyssa had to shake her head about that one. She wasn't sure if she was supposed to believe him or not. The idea of Henry wearing a seashell bra was a little ridiculous, she wasn't sure what kind of audience Henry's brother was trying to reach with a artistic message made with that for inspiration. Not to mention the image of Henry himself in that type of costume... he was too tan for red hair.

Well since I'm only in a fruit hat, I guess it's a good thing I'm not trying to be the better looking ginger. Of the two of us you'd definitely be the prettier one. And you using me is okay, because it means that you'll have to bake me cookies on that little trip with your family. :)

Henry smiled at the thought of cookies. Mmmmmm Cookies.....when was the last time he had cookies? When was the last time he ate? Man he was hungry. Maybe Damien wouldn't object to going out for Chinese or something.

Well of course she'd be the prettier one, Henry was way to masculine to pull off read hair. When she thought of ginger boys, the first word that came to mind was nerdyhygenicgreasyhairedthing. He definitely did not fit that bill. As for the using part... She really didn't know how to make cookies. She wasnt even aware how to make no-bakes. Alyssa had nernbeen talented in the culinary arts... Or any of the arts really, but that was another topic entirely.

As long as you like burnt no-bakes. ;)

Burnt no-bakes? Is that your way of subtly telling me that you'll need my expertise cooking skills to show you how to make cookies? I make the best chocolate chip cookies :D

Well his grandmother made 'the best' ones. But Henry felt that his were pretty good. At least....no one died when they ate them and people always said they were soft and chewy rather than the hard hockey-puck ones he had first made when he was 11. Those had been some fun cookies though. Playing cookie attack had been fun....but the bruises afterwards had kinda hurt.

The term no-bake could be easily translated as some sort of sarcasm... couldn't it be like, unsafe if you didn't cook eggs? Eggs were in cookie batter, right? She sighed, wishing she knew the answer. It was just that Alyssa had never excelled in anything like that--she'd actually done a pretty poor job. She wasn't artistic, musical, or anything like that. She couldn't really do anything people admired. The thing she was best at was speaking.

I'm not allowed to use the stove, so you might just have to get special permission from my sisters. :P

Henry couldn't help but be curious at that. What sort of fiasco would've had to occur in order to make it so that one would be unable to use the stove? Of that he could only imagine. She definitely would've had to have made some sort of disaster. Huh.....so what if Alyssa wasn't a good baker? She was a nice person and so far she seemed to be a good friend.

Haha or we could go roller skating this weekend instead.

Athletics? How fun. Alyssa couldn't help but cringe at the idea of trying to roller blade. It just seemed... sort of barbaric. Like sure, she could ice skate. That was entirely different though. It was precise and calculated... where is Roller Blading felt a little more dangerous and unruly. But hey, that always led to the most fun times.

She couldn't remember anything stand-out fun from her childhood that hadn't been at least a little bit dangerous (quite the role models, her sisters). Alyssa smiled as she texting him back, hoping she wasn't making a mistake.

I'm not going to lead you on to believe I'll be good at it, but I'm in. (:

Reading the text Henry smiled and then nodded to himself, well then it was an official plan....date? Outing? Hmmmmm maybe he should bring Damien? Make it not a date? Because he saw it as an outing....but what if she saw it as a date? Would it get awkward? Should he clear things up? Would that be rude? what a complicated situation. Sighing he just leaned back and then smiled at he typed up his response.

It's a deal. Saturday, 1 o'clock roller skating. I'll pick you up.

With that he slid his phone in his pocket and then decided he would text her later to get her address.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Walking, yes walking, not everyone in this town was blessed enough with the funds to afford cars all the time. And while the twins had a joined car they had to share it. And right now Damien had it because Damien was constantly buzzing around for that project of his. So....Henry was walking the sidewalks to get to Alyssa's house. Either way though it was good to get the fresh air. It definitely helped his mood, which wasn't the best at that moment. After finally getting out of those woods, he got home late....got scolded for his punctuality, forgot to do his trig homework, and then woke up late for school. Either way....it was after school now and he was really hoping that Alyssa could distract him.

Looking down at his phone his eyes read over the text, the one telling him to meet her at her house after school because she had something for him. What could it be? News? Food? News? His mind was buzzing with curiosity as he walked up the front steps and rapped the door a few times with his knuckles. Rocking on the balls of his heels he bit his lip as he waited for the door to open. Waiting...he couldn't help but look around, take in the scenery. Notice how her house had a nice look to it. Cute and lived in. Family-friendly.

((What shall she have for him?))

[up to you xD I figured she could just have some news that was good for her or something and wanted to share it with someone who would be as excited about it as she was xD]

((Laaaaaammmmmmmeeeeeee))

Alyssa opened the door before one of her sisters could take the opportunity, and the sight before her was one she wouldn't forget. Henry. She grinned, pulling him through the doorway into a hug--it hadn't exactly been an action she had given herself time to think about. She couldn't help it, she was excited... he was in her doorway! She was still surprised he had said yes to coming over... but then again, he was probably one of the nicest people she had ever met... so how could he say no?

"Come in." she greeted him, pulling away with a slight blush. Alyssa wasn't sure if he'd be comfortable with the hug or not? Oh well, she couldn't take it back now. She had sort of already launched herself into him without much preamble. Alyssa didn't want to make him uncomfortable... she had never really hugged him like that before. They hadn't really hung out much--except for the time spent in Study Hall... which was a class she got pulled into skipping most of the time because of Eric.

Okay the hug hadn't been what he expected....but it was nice. Maybe he had held her closer to him for a fraction of a second longer than what was polite. But still....hardly noticeable. Looking around the hallway of her house he smiled, "I like your house. It's homey." Yet it was still spacious. It was nice because it had personality. And there were quite a few family photos on the walls. Ones of what he assumed were Alyssa and her sisters.

"You know. I have to say, I missed seeing you." AKA, you weren't in study hall and that kind of sucked. Mostly because Henry instead had to deal with some of the underclassman. Well it wasn't a bad thing totally....because he made some new friends. But he'd felt somewhat awkward when they had all batted their lashes at him and flirted. Especially after he subtly told them he wasn't interested. It had just been very awkward.

Alyssa smiled, shutting the door as be came inside. "Yeah, it's home, I guess." She had varying opinions of her house after all these years. The one thing she did have to say though, was that it wasn't the place, it was the people you knew there. And the people she knew here in Salem could be assholes. Like Eric...

"Yeah, I won't be slipping Study Hall anymore, my bad influence has officially been terminated. So it goes without saying I'll be too bored not to go the class." She paused, realizing how rude that must have sounded to him--being the person she shared the class with. "Not to imply I don't like hanging out with you, I do. Your the reason I told Eric I wanted to go to class, I didn't-" she smiled, deciding that would be a nice time to conveniently shut her face. "Do you want to come upstairs?"

Waiting for her he paused as he looked at her, really took a moment to look at her. For what he could tell.....she didn't look like she had before. She looked upset..... So naturally it was his duty to make her happy or at least get her to talk about what had happened. At her comments he was a bit surprised, she wanted to go to class to talk to him? Huh. That was new. Usually people didn't get that feisty about his presence only a day after actually talking to him.

"Alright, let's head upstairs. Then you get to tell me why your eyes look so sad." Henry nodded, making it clear that it wasn't really an option and he smiled at her as he waited for her to lead the way. After all....as her friend it was his job to know if she was in pain. And how to make the pain stop. Or at least how to help ease the pain. And since he didn't have chocolates or ice cream or anything like that, he would have to settle for getting her to just talk to him.

[darling!]

Alyssa caught the way he seemed confused; great, he was probably reading into things. And why shouldn't he? What ever he was thinking was probably right, Aly had always had a problem with letting important things slip when she babbled like a total reject. She thought of a way she might be able to take the words back--maybe say something off hand to cancel it out, but then she decided it wasn't worth the effort. With her luck she would make the situation worse.

When he made the comment about her eyes, her jaw loosened momentarily and she glanced at him--surprised he'd picked up on it. No one but Eric read her that easily. Besides, she hadn't even been thinking about anything sad. She was happy right now. Right? Ha... "It's nothing." She passed off, going up the stairs without looking back at him. "Family problems." She added, hoping that would close the discussion.

Henry nodded, not really believing it. He had a knack for telling when people were lying. If she didn't want to talk about it, it might've been best for him to leave her be and let her work things out. As if a sign from God himself Henry's phone rang. A call from his brother. At the tone of his brother's voice, telling Henry that he'd just looked up on Henry's grades and Henry had failed his last Trig test? Hmm something told him he had to get home before his Nana got wind and he ended up in major trouble. Swallowing nervously he hung up, cutting his brother off mid sentence and then turned his attention towards Alyssa.

"I hope your issues work out....it's never a good idea to let them fester. The best thing to do is apologize and make up quickly." Nodding he shrugged his shoulders and rubbed the back of his neck, nervously. "I'm sorry to cut this meeting short. But I got to get home." Without much more of an explanation he ducked back down the stairs, out the front door and off towards home. No doubt leaving behind a confused Alyssa.