Hello Cold World (OPEN)

[Harley Carrero]

Harley enjoyed wandering around the grounds of Xavier's Institute for the Gifted, though she often got the feeling that, actually, the institute was originally a mansion... It would be fun to find out, if ever she researched the building. Harley often thought about it, but never actually did it... Maybe she could go to the library in town this weekend, it would certainly be an interesting trip...

Moving to the wall and sitting down on it, looking up at the mansion, Harley began playing with a ball of electricity. It was about the same size as a golf ball, and she merely threw it from one hand to another quickly. It may seem like an odd thing, to be able to throw and play with electricity, but it was quite normal to Harley... Much like how being able to bring forth metal claws at will was quite normal for Wolverine. Oh yes, she'd heard of him. It wasn't odd for Harley to hear the staff talking about him, and usually it wasn't just talking, it was complaining, but she still found out quite a bit from just shutting up and listening...

Ignoring the cold wind that brushed her hair out of her eyes and over her shoulders, Harley paid little attention to what was going on, too lost in her thoughts to notice that she was staring up at the mansion. Dropping the ball, Harley broke out of her thoughts and gave a soft 'oh' before she chased after the rounded electricity. She dropped to her knees to grab it in front of someone and looked up with a small blush. Woops.

"Sorry... Sorry, was just trying to catch..." She held up the ball for the other person to see and smiled as she got to her feet, pushing her hair out of her eyes as she did so.

[Alice Thorne]

Alice smiles.

"No worries Harley." She says. Her hair today was a brilliant lime green. Her eyes matched perfectly. The breeze swirls her hair around, brushing her face. Sighing, she closes her eyes. When she opens them, her hair is shorter. Still green, but shoulder length now.

"Don't you just hate weather like this?" She asks, trying desperately to make conversation. Alice wasn't sure the girl recognised her, she hadn't been at the school long, and was trying to make friends and fit in. Looking around, she sees groups of students running around, laughing, joking. Alice wanted so much to have a group of friends like that, of her own, but she didn't have the courage. Girls hated her, she could make herself look so pretty.

[Harley Carrero]

Harley's smile grew when the girl said that she didn't mind and tried to remember how the girl knew her... Oh, she could remember the girl from somewhere, but not her name. What was her name?! Why was it so hard for Harley to remember just a normal person's name... Okay, maybe not a normal person, because who here was actually normal?

Hearing her question, Harley looked up at the sky as though expecting a storm and shrugged before she looked back down at her hands. She didn't mind the cold... She was fairly used to it by now after living in England, then here...

"I suppose..." She mused softly as the ball shrivelled in her hand. She'd only been playing with it for something to do, and now she had someone to talk to... "Prefer this to when it's boiling hot, if I'm honest." She added in the hopes of keeping up the conversation while her gaze moved to the other girl. Alice! That was her name! Of course it was! How could Harley have forgotten so easily when the other girls were forever talking about her?

"How're you?" The blonde asked, smiling again. She'd decided that, since she could actually remember the girl's name, the five foot three teenager should probably try getting along with Alice... Though, now that Harley had remembered she was so short, the younger girl found herself feeling quite self conscious that she was so small. Gosh darn short genes...

[Alice Thorne]

"So..." Alice shrugs. "What do you do for fun around here?" She asks Harley.

Before the other girl can answer, a group of girls walking past starts shouting abuse at Alice. She closes her eyes so the girl can't see the tears forming. Her mind goes back, bringing up memories of school, She can't help wanting to look pretty. She was bullied alot at school for her looks, but deep down she just wants to fit in somewhere. No one wants her around at home, he mother would rather believe she is dead, and is obviously an outcast here. Why is this girl different? She actually talks civil to Alice.

Thunder claps overhead and the heavens open.

"Follow me." Alice calls back to Harley, while running toward the summerhouse she found on one of her many walks of the grounds. "I know somewhere dry."

[Harley Carrero]

Harley opened her mouth to answer then heard the abuse. Throwing her gaze carelessly over her shoulder, Harley raised an eyebrow. Her arms crossed over her chest and, despite her better judgement of just shutting up, Harley turned to the girls and put her hands on her hips.

"I'm sure you have something better to do with your time, like gawp at whoever and drool over your latest prey." She said coolly to the girls before turning her back on them, ignoring the girls now...

That was when it began to chuck it down.

Gasping, Harley winced softly as the electricity in her reacted with the rain. Sparks began to buzz into the drops, which made the girls laugh until they realised that it was raining. Harley faintly heard Alice's words and followed her without hesitation, buzzing and shocking the rain accidentally as she moved. It wasn't really like it hurt too much, but it felt a lot like when you get shocked with static electricity... That was, each drop felt like that. It wasn't exactly enjoyable...

[Alice Thorne]

In the summerhouse, Alice turns to Harley, she opens her mouth to thank her for standing up for her. However, she is cut short when she sees the rain pouring off Harley. Her face cracks into a smile, and Alice cannot hold back the laughter.

"I... am... so... sorry." She pants between breaths. "You just... you look..." She starts laughing again. "Sorry, you're soaking... but look like... you stuck your hand... in a plug socket. Your hair..." She says before collapsing to the floor, tears streaming down her face.

After a couple of minutes, Alice calms down. Again she turns to Harley.

"But seriously, thank you for back then." She says, looking into the other girls eyes. "No one has ever done that for me before." She says softly, before looking to the ground, embarassed.

[Harley Carrero]

Harley was glad when they got into the dry, though she was still sparking a little, and twitched slightly with each small zap from her. Watching the other girl as she laughed, Harley wondered for a moment why she was laughing until she said 'your hair'. Harley looked up and patted her hair down self-consciously, though soon regretted this as she accidentally zapped herself. Why? Why can't you work with me instead of against me for once? Stupid blo- Harley's thoughts were cut off by the other girl's thanks.

"It's fine." Harley smiled, staying quiet about the fact that she'd been hoping to get a chance to snap at them for a while now, but had never really had a reason. While Harley could sometimes get away with being a little hot headed, she'd suspected that she wouldn't have gotten away with it with those girls. "They shouldn't be such b- female dogs..."

Patting down her hair still, though it had dried a little from the last zap, Harley looked around the summer house. "How did you find this place, anyway?" She'd never seen the place, though she'd also never been this way which could explain a lot. Harley looked at Alice again and finally stopped touching her own hair as she realised what she was doing.

[Alice Thorne]

"It's away from them." Alice shrugs. "I tend to keep away from the other girls as much as possible, you've seen why. On one of my walks I came across this place, quite nice really." She says thoughtfully, tracing her finger along the window frame.

"Anyway," She turns to Harley. "Why did you stick up for me back then?" A frown crosses her forehead.

Sunlight pours in through the window. Alice stops and turns, not hearing Harleys' response.

"Strange," She mutters, walking to the door and opening it, admiring the brilliant sunshine outside.

[Harley Carrero]

Harley nods along with her answer to the shorter girl's question. When Alice asked her own question, Harley shrugged. No, she was not going to tell the absolute truth. That would take too long. Instead, Harley put her hands in her jeans pockets and looked at the floor.

"They shouldn't pick on someone... S'stupid, really." She mumbled. The blonde heard the comment and frowned. What was strange? It was then that she saw the sunlight. Wandering over to the window, Harley looked outside and frowned softly. Odd... She paid it no more attention, though, and watched Alice for a moment before looking outside once more.

[Alice Thorne]

"T'be honest, I'm used to being picked on." Alice mutters, staring at the ground, hands in pockets, scraping her trainers along the damp grass. It was obvious something was on her mind, Glancing at the watch on her wrist, she turns to Harley and smiles.

"You coming for lunch?" She asks before turning once more to look at the clear blue sky. "What weird weather we're having eh?" It wasn't really a question to the other girl, more a thought spoken. With that, she slowly wonders back through the trees, the voices of the other students getting louder.

[Harley Carrero]

Harley literally couldn't understand why people would pick on someone like Alice. She seemed nice enough, if a little weak when it came to stand up to people, but Harley wasn't always someone who'd stand up for herself or others. She found it changed depending on her mood and relationship with the person... As it probably did with most people.

Watching Alice as she moved, Harley was about to ask what was wrong when she was asked whether or not she was going to go for lunch. Harley hadn't realised that it was time yet, though nodded regardless and moved after the girl. She nodded again in agreement with the girl's musings and looked at the ground while ignoring the small sparks that attached themselves to the damp grass.

"What was wrong? I mean... Just now..." She asked before realising that maybe the other girl didn't want to talk about it. Harley pushed her hair out of her eyes and watched the girl. "That is, if you don't mind my asking... And you don't mind talking about it..." She frowned a little with slight confusion then watched the girl once more.