Don't Stop Believin' [Damian]

[Roxanne Ryder]

DANCE HARD LAUGH MORE TURN THE MUSIC UP NOW

( party like a rock star ! )
C A N I G E T A W H A T N O W ?

Downtown Willowbrook.
Damian & Ryder

There was nothing that Ryder could think of that would make this week less weird. Willowbrook was as normal as it always was. In fact, it seemed like the streets were empty of any Silas students, so everyone around her was so incredibly normal. Their thoughts were filled with what movie to go see, if someone liked them, how to avoid that dinner with the parents and every other thing that drove Ryder insane. She didn't want to be caught up in everyone's thoughts. Today was supposed to be a relaxing day. Instead, she'd spent the majority of it trying not to get into trouble.

She could still remember the professor's look of disapproval after her latest prank. She hadn't been trying to get in trouble but boredom often brought that result. He'd told her to get off the Silas campus for a while and try to remember that sometimes it was okay not to use your powers. Not that being in Willowbrook had ever stopped her before. And yet she hadn't since she'd arrived. Instead she'd pretended she was just like everyone else. Normal. Just normal.

Normal was boring. Pulling out her iPod, she stuffed her headphones in, successfully blocking out the thoughts of every single person nearby. She cranked it up loudly and sat down on a staircase, ready to be normal and completely bored for the rest of the day. Every time she'd tried to talk to someone they'd hurried off after some lame excuse. Being alone wasn't easy for Ryder. Pulling the drumsticks out of her messenger bag, she played along with the drummer in the song, bobbing her head with the steady beat.

Someone yanked an earbud from her ear. She glared up at the girl who sneered back down at her.

'Some of us don't want to listen to you play badly.' The girl said.

Ryder grinned in reply and hopped up on top of the concrete wall that marked the edge of the stairs. With only one earbud still in, she stared down at the girl and tried to ignore her nasty thoughts. "How about singing? Do you like listening to that? Because I have the perfect song, really. You'll love it."

'What? No-'

Ryder cut off the girl's horrified denial with a bright smile, belting out the chorus of Don't Stop Believin'. Truthfully, Ryder didn't really care for the song. But the look on the girls face was priceless, especially when Ryder started dancing like an idiot while she sang. A shame Ryder couldn't actually dance well. The song wrapped up and she bowed, glancing over to find the girl hurrying down the street, face completely red.

JUMP UP FALL DOWN GOTTA PLAY IT LOUD NOW ---
DON'T CARE MY HEAD'S SPINNING ALL AROUND NOW

this post is for Damian. it happens to be 000 words long without all this nifty coding. speaking of which, this template was made by PANIC! ITS LAUZ @ CAUTION. that graphic up there is by credit. the lyrics are from till i forget about you by big time rush. now all i have to say is C:

[Damian O'Callaghan]

[atrb=border,0,true][atrb=style, width: 400px; background-color: 000011; padding-bottom: 20px;] damian o'callaghan And over the ashes the stories are told Damian wasn’t sure why he’d gone into Willowbrook. His mom had called earlier about Christmas break, and that always made him uncomfortable. Not that he had anything against her or the rest of the family, but . . . he still hadn’t gotten any of his old memories back, and he knew that upset her – even though she tried not to let it show. He usually left the dorm after he talked to her – he always felt trapped there then. He just wasn’t sure why he’d picked Willowbrook when there was plenty to do around campus and (even though this wasn’t his first year) he was pretty sure he hadn’t seen it all. There was a chapel somewhere, and the Catholic in him couldn’t help being curious . . . though the bitterness in him couldn’t help thinking it was sort of pointless to go look at a chapel in his current condition. Somehow, though, he’d never gotten around to it, and today didn’t seem like a good one for it either. So he wandered the streets of downtown Willlowbrook and tried not to be noticed. Students weren’t technically supposed to use their powers in town, but he was not getting out that cane out that Mr. Sage had given him. The can had actually been sitting in his closet since the end of his first semester at the school, and as long no one asked about it, that was where it was going to stay until he graduated. He sighed, watching as the air skittered across the sidewalk and swirled around ankles of people walking in either direction. Snippets of conversation floated in on the edges too – pairs of girls giggling shrilly as they passed him, a man on a phone discussing some business deal – but he refused to focus in on anything. Until . . . the singing was way up the street, but h was so intrigued that he moved in that direction before he’d realized it. Who would be singing at the top of her voice in the middle of town? He had almost reached the source of the voice when someone hit him – hard – and spun him around until he ended up sitting down facing – he thought – the other direction. He blew out a puff of air in time to see someone practically running to get away. What in the. . .? Damian ran a hand through his hair and frowned with confusion into the darkness. After a second, he twisted around to frown up the sidewalk behind him, “I thought your singing was alright, but I’m not sure your friend’s a fan.” He smiled in the general direction of faint music and he thought was coming from headphones. words, tag, outfit, notes

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[Roxanne Ryder]

DANCE HARD LAUGH MORE TURN THE MUSIC UP NOW

( party like a rock star ! )
C A N I G E T A W H A T N O W ?

Why the girl would be so humiliated was beyond Ryder. After all, Ryder was the one who was singing and dancing in public. She should be the one embarrassed. Of course, maybe the girl just didn't appreciated being serenaded by Ryder's song choice. A smile tugged at the corner of her lips in amusement. The girl made good time, moving down the street quickly. Unfortunately she also seemed to be completely oblivious to the fact that she wasn't the only one on the street. Ryder watched with a mixture of horror and surprise as the girl slammed into an innocent bystander and he fell to the ground.

Hopping down from her ledge, she walked slowly over to him. Being the cause of his unfortunate accident made her just slightly guilty. She had to stop herself from snooping in his thoughts to check if he was okay. No using powers, she reminded herself sternly. No powers for the rest of the day, that's what she had promised the professor. The worry disappeared from her face when the guy turned around partially to talk to her specifically.

Grinning, she couldn't help but laugh. That wouldn't be the worst review I've gotten. But I've got to say, you're being awfully nice to the person responsible for you winding up on the ground. You must not have seen the dancing." Anyone who'd seen the dancing probably would have went running away. Ryder glanced around. Now that she thought about it, the streets had cleared out some since she'd started her performance. With her luck though, a video would show up on youtube or some other site that showcased her wonderful skills. She walked over to the guy and offered him a hand. "Let me help you up." She withdrew her hand jokingly for a second. "Unless you're the manly type and this will scar you for life."

JUMP UP FALL DOWN GOTTA PLAY IT LOUD NOW ---
DON'T CARE MY HEAD'S SPINNING ALL AROUND NOW

this post is for Damian. it happens to be 000 words long without all this nifty coding. speaking of which, this template was made by PANIC! ITS LAUZ @ CAUTION. that graphic up there is by credit. the lyrics are from till i forget about you by big time rush. now all i have to say is C:

[Damian O'Callaghan]

[atrb=border,0,true][atrb=style, width: 400px; background-color: 000011; padding-bottom: 20px;] damian o'callaghan And over the ashes the stories are told He could hear footsteps coming toward him, and judging by the lightness of the step, he guessed it was most likely a girl. Judging by the slight increase in the sound of headphone-music, it was the – the one who’d been singing. She laughed at his weak joke, and his own smile grew. She had a nice laugh, and for a second he had an irrational urge to make her laugh again . . . and then she was talking and he let himself be distracted with a laugh of his own. “Guess some people just don’t appreciate real talent.” He smiled again, and then frowned thoughtfully in front of him at her next words. He had thought the running girl had hit him . . . of course, she had been running from this girl . . . Still, he wondered what she expected him to do? Pitch a fit and scream at her? He hadn’t hurt himself falling down, so he figured there was nothing to be upset about. Realizing too late that she was still behind him, he twisted around to shrug at her. “Well, I’m down here and you’re up there. I can’t really do much but punch your ankles.” He put his fists up to show he was willing to do it if push came to shove, and then dropped his hands back into his lap. Her dancing comment made him hesitate as he tried to decide how much to give away. He’d gotten used to people knowing he was blind, but he still wasn’t thrilled with the initial finding out. After a second, he just shook his head and scooted himself around so he was pointed in the direction of music. “No, I’m afraid I missed it. Too bad, too; it must have been something.” He nodded back over his shoulder at the long-gone girl, even as he strained to hear if the music-girl had moved. He was hoping she wouldn’t just leave now that she knew he was hurt/angry – he was happy to have a distraction from thought of his mom and the great gaping void that started outside his memories of Silas. He didn’t like it. “Can . . . can I ask why you were singing and dancing?” When she drew closer, he couldn’t help flinching in surprise. But she was only offering help, and he relaxed enough to flex dramatically and smile. “The manliest of manly. But I’ll take the help.” He blew out a breath of air in what he hoped was a discrete manner, and then reached for the outstretched hand. “I’m Damian O’Callaghan, by the way. It’s nice to meet you.” words, tag, outfit, notes

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[Roxanne Ryder]

DANCE HARD LAUGH MORE TURN THE MUSIC UP NOW

( party like a rock star ! )
C A N I G E T A W H A T N O W ?

"I'm not exactly known for good balance. So you could do a lot of damage from down there." Ryder shook her head at the thought of anyone really trying to punch someone while they were on the ground. That probably wouldn't go so well. Still, it presented a funny image, especially if it included the guy who was still currently on the ground. He seemed a little too level headed for anything that bizarre. She watched him scoot around with a slight smile, so that he was actually facing her now. "Hm… Well I'm sure if you asked around someone would have a video of it. It was certainly something."

She raised her eyebrows slightly in at his question. Why? Ryder got asked that question a lot, but it never failed to amuse her. "Why not? People are really far too serious." Then she shrugged, running a hand through her hair and taking out the other earbud from her ear, stuffing them both into her pocket. "I don't really care for being stared at for no apparent reason, and she was being rude about it. So I figured I'd give her an actual reason to stare." Admittedly, it was pretty stupid now that she was explaining it to someone. "Okay, so the logic made sense at the time."

"Damian, huh? I think I've heard the name before." She took his outstretched hand and helped him back to his feet. "You go to Silas by any chance?" Please say yes, she begged quietly. She'd been out at Willowbrook for what felt like hours, and she hadn't run in to a single Silas student or professor. Of course it was also winter break, so not as many people were still hanging around town. Ryder frowned, it wasn't like she really had a home to visit, or even family who wanted to see her. So sticking around Silas was her best bet. "Oh, and I'm Ryder. And since you gave me your first and last name, I feel like I should clarify that Ryder is my last name."

Realizing that she was still standing unbelievably close to Damian, she took a casual step away from him. "So what are you doing in Willowbrook on this exceedingly boring day?" Turning away from him, she hopped back onto the cement platform that she'd been standing on just a few minutes ago, only this time she sat down, swinging her legs back and forth like a little kid. "You have my undivided attention, for as long as I can focus." She grinned over at him.

JUMP UP FALL DOWN GOTTA PLAY IT LOUD NOW ---
DON'T CARE MY HEAD'S SPINNING ALL AROUND NOW

this post is for Damian. it happens to be 000 words long without all this nifty coding. speaking of which, this template was made by PANIC! ITS LAUZ @ CAUTION. that graphic up there is by credit. the lyrics are from till i forget about you by big time rush. now all i have to say is C:

[Damian O'Callaghan]

[atrb=border,0,true][atrb=style, width: 400px; background-color: 000011; padding-bottom: 20px;] damian o'callaghan And over the ashes the stories are told Her balance joke made him laugh, which he felt was okay because he wouldn’t actually take out her ankles. For one thing, he (so far) liked her well enough, and for another, he had been taught better than to hit a woman. Or . . . he thought he had. He probably had, right? The video suggestion pulled him away from his thoughts, and he grinned half-heartedly. “I’ll get my roommate to find it; he’s got a knack for that kind of thing.” Meaning, if someone was making a scene, Shiloh would know about it in no time. (Damian thought this was so Shiloh could know if his status as “most disruptive” was being threatened, though he’d never say it where his friend could hear.) Yes, Damian thought he liked this girl. There was something very endearing about her answer, though he only chuckled and shook his head in amusement. “I dunno about serious; people seem pretty crazy to me. But . . . I guess the people I hang out with are sort of weird anyway.” The people at Silas were far from the normal type. He couldn’t bring himself to admit to being from Silas just yet, though, so he didn’t add any explanation. “Nah, it makes sense to me. Ask and ye shall receive, right?” It made him nervous for a moment that she might know his name, but he tried not let it show in his grip as she helped him stand, and she eased it with the reference to Silas. Did that mean she was a student too? He dearly hoped so. The people of Willowbrook tended to act oddly around him, and he just wasn’t in the mood for it. “Aye, second year now. Ye too?” Please say yes. “It’s a pleasure. Not many Americans go by their last names. It suits you, though.” Which was maybe a weird judgment to make after having just met her, but . . . oh well. Too late now. He had to admit it made him really curious about her first name, but after a moment of thought, he decided it would be too rude to pry. So instead, he smiled at her words as she stepped back – he hadn’t thought about how strong the clean, vanilla smell of her was – and tried not to flush in embarrassment at how close they’d been. He kicked himself mentally for acting like a twelve year old who’d never had a girlfriend before (had he ever had a girlfriend?), hoping she couldn’t see any of his thoughts written on his face. He chuckled and flourished a bow as he heard her settle on the wall. “As long as you can focus? I’m honored.” He hid his indecision at answering her by taking several cautious steps toward the wall with the intent to pull himself up as well – he misjudged, though, and smacked his foot, and then hip against the cement. “Mostly I’m just having brutal day.” This time he managed to get on top, and he grinned weakly at Ryder and shrugged. “I’m after a call from me mum today and . . . didn’t want to hang around campus after that. Cabin fever, you know?” He really didn’t want to think too much about the call, or the way his mum had sounded, so after a second he tilted slightly in her direction. “And yourself? Besides entertainin’ the masses.” lots of words, Ryder, outfit, <3

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