Window to the Soul

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A small and soft chuckle slipped from Ava’s mouth at hearing his awkward response. It was funny how someone else’s awkwardness made one more comfortable and confident. Ava had no plans on making him any more clumsy or embarrassed, so her little laugh was kept short and she herself decided not to say anything, allowing the silence between them to stretch. The quiet was something that she didn’t mind, that she never minded. Most times, she found herself searching for it when her mind and the world around her both were in turmoil. However, even though there was silence between them, the forest wasn’t soundless. Cracks of branches, rustling leaves, tweeting of birds. It was all so different from the cities, but it reminded her the simple days in the countryside of Britain she had enjoyed as a child.

“Huh?” Atlas’ voice dragged Ava out of her wistful remembrance and back to the present time. She had barely caught what he was asking before frowning slightly at her ankle. She temporarily debated with to answer “yes” and then “no” or the reverse way around. The real question was whether she wanted help or not. And it wasn’t as if she could just ask Katherine, besides the fact that the girl was no longer around as she probably dipped off ahead again, being tired of being ignored. But also because she was dead. “Ummm…” Ava hummed, glancing at her throbbing ankle. It would probably be swollen once they made it back.

“I think it’ll be alright once I can sit down again,” She told him, glancing back in his direction and chewing the bottom end of her lip. “But, can I just lean on you a little? I promise not to knock you over.” She smiled, feeling bad for having to ask even more help from him, especially when she knew he was in a hurry to get back. “How much farther until we are there?” It couldn’t have been much farther, right? At least, that was what she hoped.

Ava did want to be able to walk properly when school started. She would be the new kid that all the smalltown kids would have their eyes on. And she had a feeling that she would stick out like a sore thumb for a while, so if she needed to dodge and hide it would be easier to do with a functioning ankle.
 
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"It's really not that long until we're out of the forest,"
Atlas Shrugged, "So it depends on where you're going after that I guess," he didn't particularly keep track off where people in town lived, sure it was small, but he had no reason to, he just knew Ava's uncle didn't live next door or he would have probably already met her.

"I can help you as far as we walk together though," he decided. He knew he technically could help her all the way home, it wasn't like he had anything else to do that day, in fact, he had very much planned to follow his hiking trail and be outside for another couple of hours, maybe stop somewhere and do some sketching but that wasn't happening anymore. Even if his mom texted back he'd probably feel off until he got home, "Just... hang on,"

He brought out his phone again, checked to find that there were no texts, which wasn't weird, it hadn't been that long and if she was busy she'd still be busy. He locked the phone, then unlocked it and locked it two more times before pocketing it, "Okay sorry, here--" he reached out an arm and allowed Ava to support her weight on him, for once he was happy he was on the shorter side because that made this a little easier and it was one less awkward thing they had to deal with. Atlas still felt pretty awkward though. Ava was nice and all but he still didn't perticularly enjoy being this close to a stranger.

They started walking like that instead, Atlas' arm under Ava's and Ava's around his shoulders. Altas was quite for a little while as he was just kind of figuring out how to support her in the best way, but after a moment or so he decided the silence was kind of making things awkward at least in his brain, so he decided to fill it with the first question that came to mind, "So, uh, where did you move from then?"
 
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Knowing they'd soon be at the end of the woods and into the town relieved Ava. Normally, she enjoyed long walks in the forest, taking in the beauty of nature and even catching glimpse of it with her camera. But having a sprained ankle and being drenched while also walking in the cold, it was next to impossible to enjoy anything about her current situation. She only tried to stay warm and doing her best not to wet Atlas too, meaning she attempted to not lean on him as much as possible. His support made it easier to walk, at least, it was easier on her ankle. The lack of pressure she put on it helped to ease the pain. She mumbled a small “thank you” to Atlas as they continued their walk. If he wasn't in such a hurry to get somewhere else too, she would have invited him over for a hot cup of tea to show her gratitude. It was the perfect beverage for this weather especially.

“The big apple, the city that never sleeps, New York.” Ava said, feigning her excitement. It was the place where dreams came true, but for Ava, when she first arrived it was the city were her nightmares came alive. That was years ago though, it was long before she attained her curse. She could have argued those were simpler times, if they weren't all the same more torturing. Living was no longer a struggle, but they were all the same agonizing with only few moments of joy that slipped away.

“I'm sure you can imagine this is a huge change of scenery.” Ava shrugged a single shoulder. “it’s almost the exact opposite to what I'm used to. I haven't lived in a close-knit town since my younger days living in the countryside.” The countryside of of the United Kingdom. Those were the days that she honestly could say she enjoyed and mixed. After all, it was then that her mother was amongst the living and her father still loved her.

Ava sighed, reminiscing on the past was too painful. And she didn't like to speak about herself. “Have you lived here your whole life or moved here some time ago?” She asked, hoping to steer the conversation off of herself.
 
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"nah, we've always lived here,"
Atlas said, it was really interesting to hear Ava was from such a big town though, he wondered what that ws like and hoped that maybe if they did end up talking at some other point she could maybe tell him about it because it seemed interesting, even though she didn't seem to agree, "we drive up to Bangor and stay there sometimes though because we have some relatives there and... yeah." he would have shrugged after that kind of awkward end to the sentence, but he couldn't really while helping Ava support herself. He had just without even thinking about it almost disclosed too much information. The second reason they went there was therapy. Owlwick was tiny so in terms of health care and whatnot, there weren't that many options. They had a little hospital clinic, and the school had a counsellor to go to. But if you needed help for bigger things you kind of just had to stick it out and drive an hour or so up to Bangor. When his dad had been in the worst stages of his illness they had essentially just temporary moved in with his aunt and uncle who lived there. That was the only time he hadn't really lived in Owlwick, but as much as his dad's death didn't phase him as much as it should have, he still didn't want to actually talk about the time where he had thought he would never see him again. And he didn't want to talk about his own therapy sessions either. Then he'd just get labelled as crazy.

"I can't really imagine living in such a big town though, I guess it's because I've barely even been to a big city like that, but I don't know, I like living here, there's a lot of nice nature,"
At about the same moment he mentioned the gorgeous nature they stepped out of it. Onto the pavement. Owlwick, despite being so small was a fairly old town, with a lot of cultures which was why a lot of tourists came to see it, the town centre had a lot of cobblestone roads, but when you got more to the outskirts of town there were both some paved street, as well some simple dirt roads, a little bit of everything, with other words.

The place they were now was just one of the streets in one of the neighbourhoods in town. Atlas' neighbourhood to be precise, he had entered the Forrest not far from where they were right now, rather than to actually go to one of the hiking trails. He knew these parts of the forest well as he had grown up exploring it and they had excited it about where he had expected.

"I'll probably go somewhere bigger for college though," Atlas finished simply and then continued off the topic of the conversation, "So uh, do you find your way home from here? Depending on where you live could follow you a bit but I really have to get home so..."
 
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The closest city was an hour or so away and it wasn't as if it was a very big one either. Ava wasn't the least bit surprised, Maine wasn't a very big state. Still, Ava was unused to being in small towns where everyone knew each other, where it was common to see the same face again and again when going out. It would be harder for her to his, she wouldn't be able to blend in and disappear when she'd like. Out of everything, that was her biggest concern. Ava would not be able to become like the ghost she was able to see every day. Knowing that made her slightly anxious, drawing her into her own thoughts before just as quickly being pulled out of it by Atlas’ voice. Her brown eyes glanced back to the strawberry blonde boy and blinked once before nodding her head. “There is a lot of nature here,” mumbled Ava, looking up at the tree branches and through the leaves. And nature was reason enough for her to relax. She quickly reminded herself the reason she had come in the first place.

They had smiled. civilization, finally. Ava removed her arm from him and stepped back gingerly. The pain in her ankle was nothing but a dull ache now. From the looks of where they stood, she knew her way back and deducted it wasn't far at all. “I can make it on my own here, you've helped more than enough. Thank you, Atlas.” Ava offered a smile because she was, in fact, grateful and wanted to show it despite being indifferent most of the time. However, he seemed slightly similar on the social scale as she was. Perhaps, he would talk to her at school. She wasn't entirely sure if she wanted friends, people often stabbed people in the back and Ava didn't want that to happen to her. But loneliness was almost just as suffocating.

Besides, Atlas seemed nice.

"Next time I see you will be at school if you're popular please keep little oh me in your thoughts.” Ava brushed back her wet red hair as she jestered. “I got lost in a forest, jumped into a stream, twisted my ankle and had you lead me back while I leaned against. I think I've left a good impression and we've been through a lot together, have we not?” Even as she joked, thinking back on it, Ava concluded she must have seemed like a real dolt.

Taking one step at a time, the redhead girl began walking backwards, limping slightly. “See you later.” Those were her parting words before twirling around and hobbling her way home to the scolding of her "uncle” and the comfort of hot tea and blankets.


Being the new kid was awful. Being the new kid in a small town … Well, you were practically a superstar.

Ava had never felt more nervous with every eye on her the moment she had walked onto school grounds. It dawned on her that most of these kids probably grew up together and she was the outsider. Not to mention, she was a city kid. She was the most interesting specimen around to them all, it mattered not if she was social or not, they were going to talk to her and pester her until they got bored. And who knew when that would be.

Subconsciously, she pulled her maroon beanie hat over her head and over her ears. The tips of her ears tended to become red whenever she was embarrassed or nervous. Hell, who was she kidding, Ava often blushed like a little tomato when put in certain spots. However, it was the red tinge on her ears that she could not prevent no matter how cool she played it. But she was able to act like ice for the first couple of minutes before her first class.

"Good morning, everyone.” The homeroom teacher, Mr Blake, greeted the noisy classroom that only quieted down the moment Ava followed him into the room. Every eye was on her, it made her skin crawl. “Today we have a new student, please be welcoming to miss Ava Dillinger.”

"Um . . , hi.” Ava greeted with a simple and awkward hand wave. Her eyes scanned the classroom, observing the different looks she had been given until she spotted a single familiar face. Her eyes lit up and she couldn't help the soft but brief smile. It was quick, but it had been there and it had improved her looks in more ways than one by the new looks she received.

"Let's see, why don't you sit over there, next to Atlas.” Mr Blake pointed, but Ava had begun walking before his directions.

She placed her backpack on the back of her chair and sat. “We meet again.” Smiled the redhead.
 
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In Atlas' opinion, it was kind of impressive how even the smallest of high schools still managed to have people who were popular and people who weren't. And it felt even less based on reason in Owlwick. It wasn't like they had some football team or cheerleading squad who everyone knew off while everyone else was a nobody, no, everyone knew who everyone was. But he supposed the reason some people were more influential than others was due to a combination of charisma, being attractive, harassing people they didn't like, and being the people who threw the occasional bonfires at the beach which had alcohol and who seemingly everyone but Atlas and whoever they were disagreeing with at the moment were invited to.

But at the end of the day, most people stuck to their friend groups, occasionally mingling with other people. Atlas did not have a friend group though. Sometimes his one friend, Alicia Peterson, would be sweet and invite him to hang out with her and her friends but they didn't really like him. So that was why the seat next to him, without fail, was empty every single class. And as usual, it was empty when Ava was being introduced that morning.

She had been the hot topic in all friend groups ever since it had been announced that she would join them. Who was she? What did she look like? Who would get to be friends with her? But Atlas was the only one who had actually met her, so when everyone else was staring at her with utmost curiosity as she introduced herself, Atlas caught her eye for a moment and smiled. The smile faltered a little when Mr Blake instructed Ava to go sit next to him. Not because he didn't want her there, on the contrary, he had probably silently hoped it. It was because a couple of the guys to his left immediately started to snicker. Apparently, the new girl being placed next to the crazy kid without even knowing it was hilarious. Atlas decided to just ignore it and put on a smile again, which he directed towards Ava as she came to sit down.

After Atlas had departed from Ava he had practically run home only to find that his mother was perfectly fine. She hadn't had access to her phone because she had been in the shower. This was much more a logical explanation than that something bad had happened, but clearly Atlas' brain didn't always think logically. As soon as he was sure his mom was okay, he had fed his pet rabbit Rebeccah, and he had discretely said hello to his dad, hopefully without his mom noticing him talking to thin air, suddenly Ava had been very much back on his mind. The whole experience felt kind of surreal, because it really had been kind of weird. The girl had summed it up quite well right before left, even if it had been in a joking manner.

Ava was a bit of an oddball, he had decided. But he was kind of weird himself sometimes so he liked that. And between that, her clearly putting up with his awkwardness and Atlas still feeling that maybe there was something more to her, what with the ghost following her and all, he kind of wanted to be her friend. So seeing her act so friendly and having her seated next to him now, before everyone could tell her about everything they found wrong about him, made him kind of happy. Though he was still very much anticipating her befriending other people and not talking to him the moment she got talking with everyone else.

"So we do,"
Atlas said, quietly, not wanting to pull more attention to them than they already had. Or well, Ava already had, she just happened to be sitting next to him which caused people to sometimes curiously peer over at them even as Mr Blake started class as normal, "It almost feels a little wrong to be in such a normal place, though I guess there are fewer bodies of water to fall into here," he was joking but also trying to remind her of their last encounter, that she clearly remembered, almost as if he was afraid that she'd forget. Or maybe as if he was trying to make sure she remembered so she would want to be her friend.

"How's your ankle?"
he added, politely, quietly but also a little awkwardly. He wasn't very good at social interaction normally, and much less so with people looking in his general direction, probably interested in hearing what was being said to the new girl.
 
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So, he could smile, Ava noted with a slight smirk.

It pleased her to see that he wasn’t at all annoyed to be not only seeing her again but maybe just a tad happy. Probably not nearly as much as her, she was standing in a sea of strangers except for him. Just as to the rest of the school, she was a stranger, a foreign new specimen to examine and get to know. Would they like her? Hell, if she knew, but they would bother her as soon as the bell rang and they were given time to speak with her. Needless to say, Ava wasn’t the least bit excited to be surrounded by other teens who knew almost nothing about living outside of their little town, their kingdom. She would soon figure out how she would fit in.

Ava wasn’t deaf, she clearly heard the snickering, as quiet as it had been, coming from a group of seated boys to their left. However, she didn’t bother herself by sparing them a glance or any sort of attention. She was slightly curious as to why they were laughing, but it was obvious to her that whatever the reason, it didn’t seem like it was a positive reason. Whether they were laughing at her, which was highly likely, or not, in the small school that they all attended, she was certain she’d find out soon enough. So, she focused her doe brown eyes on the boy she had met not long ago before shifting her gaze to the board temporarily.

And he joked too.

“Aha,” Ava laughed a soft a sheepish laugh, ruffling her bangs, slightly embarrassed recalling the day before. “It does feel a bit weird, but I promise you won’t have to be helping onto my feet this time.” As an afterthought, she reached into her bag and pulled out her notebook along with her pencil case. Besides at least knowing one person, she was also happy that she wasn’t starting in the middle of the school year. For a girl who had been living many years, she wasn’t a super intelligent person. Though clever, Ava hadn’t spent all her years educating herself. Not to mention, there was always something new to learn every decade or so. It was hard to keep up, especially if it wasn’t your priority, and it certainly wasn’t Ava’s. Before coming to Owlwick, she had been working a full-time job, something she hadn’t exactly enjoyed nor had the need to do, but it was easy to busy herself than doing absolutely nothing and letting the feeling of uselessness and purposeless sink in. Those line of thoughts led her down to a dark and painful place.

Brown eyes blinked and shifted to her ankle when asked about her ankle. “Oh,” Ava nodded her head, almost oblivious to some prying eyes, but kept her voice down nonetheless. “I can walk on it now, well, kind of.” It would heal soon enough anyway. “Thanks for the other day, I promise I’ll pay you back.”
 
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"Eh, you don't have to worry about that,"
Atlas said with a soft smile, she really didn't owe him anything, but it was a pretty clear indicator that she was a good person, which was cool and just more reason for Atlas to feel like he actually wanted to be friends with her, even if that might not happen in the end, "anyone would have helped," he shrugged and then turned his attention to Mr. Blake who was starting homeroom, to talk about anything that happened during the week and so on. It was never really much in a small school like this but Atlas still did his best to pay attention. He wasn't always the best at it, so that was why he had to try harder. He wasn't used to having someone next to him during class time though. It was a little distracting. Not only because it was something new and different but because it was someone he was friendly with, which was even newer and more different. He had been seated next to Alicia a couple of times, and when he was paired up with people for group work he sat next to them, so it wasn't like he hadn't ever sat next to anyone in class before, but still.

It was also distracting because it was as if everyone was taking turns to look at them. Throwing the occasional glance their way on regular intervals. Or well, at Ava. But Atlas was sitting next to her so it felt like they were looking at him. And usually, they only looked at him this much when he had done something weird. Like when he was fourteen and had had a very public meltdown because he couldn't remember if he had locked the front door when leaving home, something that always was an issue for him, or that time just a year ago when some very noisy spirits had taken to following him around for a while and he had ended up bursting out 'shut up' at them in the middle of class. So needless to say he didn't have very good experiences with people looking at him.

Homeroom was fairly uninteresting, most people seemed more interested in Ava than anything. The most notable thing that happened was Mr. Blake asking if Atlas could show Ava around. Atlas said, yes as if there was anything to show and as if their classmates wouldn't push him aside so they could talk to her the moment class was over. After homeroom there was history, and their teacher simply came into the classroom in the shift between classes. There was a small window of five minutes or so between the two classes since they didn't need the time to go change get their books.

But five minutes were still five minutes, and they were expected to keep in their seats so Atlas decided to take the small moment to talk to Ava, seeing as it might be the last chance he got to talk to her before their peers informed her he was crazy, "there actually isn't much to show you, like all the classrooms are just in this hallway and the rest is pretty easy to find. Small town, small school you know,"
 
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Homeroom wasn’t so bad, Ava concluded. Perhaps that was simply because she knew at least one person and was seated right next to him, nearly making others back off. And Atlas was nice, despite him saying she didn’t need to pay him back, she still wanted to. Wasn’t it always that way? Didn’t people return the favour because they wanted to and not always because the had to or felt the need to? Either way, that was how Ava felt. Besides, it gave them another great excuse to hang out even. Or perhaps they were already on the level to ask each other to hang out. Either way, she was determined to make him her friend even if he was her only friend. Ava was used to hanging out in small groups, that was how she had lived for years, after all. Finding and making good friends were hard to do even when you weren’t socially inept like how Ava was. Funnily enough, he was just as awkward if not more during their first encounter. Then again the circumstances had been weird. Now, he was much warmer and so was she. Ava was particularly excited for the day ahead of her, but she wouldn’t let the dark cloud hanging over her head make her run away on her first day of school.

After class had ended and Atlas, whom she was grateful for instead of a stranger, was appointed to give her the grand tour. Ava stayed in her seat and instead replaced her books with the History. If anyone knew about history, it was Ava Dillinger, she expected to ace this subject over many others, it would be a breeze. She wouldn’t be surprised if she fell asleep during class. Instead, she placed her elbow on her desk and propped her chin up on her palm, silently listening to Atlas. From the outside, the school hadn’t looked too large in the least, so Ava wasn’t at all surprised to hear that all the classrooms were down the very hall she had walked in not too long ago. The brightest side of it was that Ava wouldn’t have to worry about getting lost. On the other hand, it meant bumping into others more frequently.

“What about the gym?” She asked, tapping her fingers against her desk. Ava hated PE, she wasn’t out of shape per se, but the only exercise she ever did was when she went jogging or hiking. She couldn’t even do a single pull-up, she was that weak. It’d be embarrassing to have to display any sort of weakness of hers to the school. “Do you guys have a pool? Or any room for extracurricular activities?” It was best to know all she could about the place she’d have to spend hours at five times a day.

“Oh and the cafeteria. Is there some sort of meal on the menu I should be beware of?”
 
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"The gym is the building across the schoolyard, it's not super big though. And the library has some group rooms you can book for any extra activities, but when don't have a lot of organized stuff with the school, some sports teams maybe, but I wouldn't really know, I just kind of go straight home unless I'm dragged into doing after school art with a friend. We definitely don't have a pool, you'd have to drive somewhere else entirely for a pool, unless you know someone who has one in their backyard I guess. When we've done swimming for PE we just kind of go down to the sea and hope it's not ice cold,"
He answered Ava's questions, finding himself less awkward than when he had been in the forest now that they actually had something decen t and expected to talk about.

"As for the cafeteria food I think it's okay, but I don't ever have the meats and I guess that's usually what schools tend to mess up? So you'd have to ask someone else about that. Anything plant based I can vouch for, but I just kind of bring food from home a lot because there aren't all that many options when you're vegetarian," he wondered if he would have lost Ava by lunchtime. Probably. That would be when everyone would want their hands on her, in such a small town everyone would want a chance to be the people who befriended the new girl. Atlas wouldn't blame them, there wasn't really anything shallow about it if you just wanted to get to know a new probably interesting person. But Atlas just kind of wanted a friend at all, and Ava seemed like someone he'd get along with. Seeing as they had met wandering around in the Forrest and she also spoke to dead people, or at least one dead person, even if she probably couldn't see her.

He was just about to ask if she'd want him to show her what in the cafeteria was good, just as an excuse for them to have lunch together, but the next class started so there was no chance to. Atlas let out a small sigh and turned his attention to their teacher and kept it mostly there for the next hour and some. Occasionally he'd glance over on Ava, or on the people who was glancing over at her, chewing a little on his thumb nail as he feared what would come after class. How long after class was over until people outed him as the town crazy person?

The lesson consisted mostly of a lecture as well as some nice just answering questions. History was not Atlas' best subject by any means, and he'd easily get a little distracted if that was the case and think about other things, Ava and his classmates today. Answering questions maybe wasn't the best in that case, but it sure beat pairing up with people who wanted nothing to do with him to do some other assignment. Soon enough class was over and after being dismissed people started to rise from their seats and walk out the classroom, chattering amongst themselves and casting glances over at Ava as they walked out the door.

Atlas quietly packed his own things and when he was done he stood and slightly awkwardly asked, "So do you actually want me to show you around, even though there isn't much to see?" as much as he wanted to be her friend, she might want to talk to other people and get to know them too, and he wasn't one to stop her from doing that.
 
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Ava could easily say that Owlwick’s high school was the smallest one she had ever been to.Though, to be fair, she had never been to many schools except for boarding schools and the few she had business within. Not to mention the town of Owlwick was small in itself, not much happened there at all, which was why she moved to the city in the first place. Ava knew immediately, she’d find her way around the school property very fast and would need no help with it at all. The only struggle she could think of was getting through the rest of the day and all that it would throw at her. She was going to need a smoke before long lunch period came along in order to sustain life, because surely that was when the other kids would approach her. The fact they hadn’t come up to her now was a surprise in itself, one that she was happily willing to take in stride.​

“That’s okay, I think I’ll see everything sooner or later.” Most likely sooner considering the size of their school. Ava reached her hands over her head and pulled down her beanie to cover her red curls except for the bangs sticking to her forehead. “Is there anything worth seeing outside?” Asked the girl as she shoved her hands into the pockets of torn her jeans. While she was curious to know, she also just wanted to get a breath of fresh air before she inhaled a stick of toxins to relax herself for the coming storm. ”Let’s go outside.” She didn't wait for an answer.​

With a slight smile, Ava took his wrist, wrapping her slender fingers around it softly, and led the trudge to the courtyard outdoors, as small as it was. The woods not far from the school’s land was more appealing in her opinion. There were a few other teenagers out, but being a rather introverted person unless she wanted to be otherwise, Ava ignored them and the inquisitive glances that went along with them. Instead, her gaze rested on an empty picnic table and chose to sit there for a break.​

“Sorry,” Ava released his wrist before plopping down to sit. “What do you usually do during break period?” She proceeded to take out a lighter from her the pocket of her jacket and the cigarette next. It had been a pain smuggling the items into and out of the house. Taylor was particularly strict about smoking.​
 
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Atlas didn't get a chance to answer Ava's question about how the outside looked, which probably would have been something about it not being that interesting but that he liked it because it was close to the forest and he liked being outdoors, because she grabbed his wrist and pulled him along with her. He didn't protest, at least he didn't have to deal with the awkwardness that was asking her if she actually wanted to go meet some of their classmates instead of hanging around him. And if anything it was almost a little exciting.

They made it outside and past curious eyes, they still tracked a few looks by other people who had made it outside but some of those hadn't even been in their class that morning so no one was approaching them. Atlas would have honestly thought Ava would have attracted more people by now, but maybe thanks to Atlas being assigned to show her around people were holding off, or because they hadn't noticed them hurrying outside. That was a pretty viable reason as well. No matter what Atlas felt pretty happy about it.

"Don't worry about it," Atlas said with a small shrug and sat down on the bench across from Ava, subconsciously he let his other hand rub the wrist she had held a little, she hadn't held it hard or anything, and she wasn't one of those people who was terrified touch would contaminate them or something like that. It was just an odd feeling to not have people avoid touching him as if he was contaminated with something, something being crazy, at school.

"I don't really do much I guess," Atlas said, trying to formulate 'I only have like one friend and even she spends more time with other people so I'm mostly just alone' in a way that didn't sound completely pathetic and off putting. He felt like not having friends would kind of indicate that he maybe was an unpleasant person or something, "Sometimes I like going out to the forest, because it's calm, and sometimes Ms. Bennet, she teaches art and English, will open up the art classroom for me and I'll hang around there, I'm not super social so..." he started to make his excuse, but trailed off as he saw the items Ava was bringing out of her pockets.

"You're not to going to smoke that are you?" Atlas asked, but why else would she take out a lighter and a cigarette. It was just that he didn't want to believe it. Smoking was so stupid in his opinion, at least at this point in time when every one got it drilled into their heads that smoking kills the moment they could comprehend what that meant. And Atlas would never understand why you would expose yourself to something that caused an illness that people got even if they lived their healthiest life and killed them and tore apart their families. "You know that they cause cancer, right? And kill you," his voice wasn't angry or harsh or anything, more stern, which maybe wasn't the best way to tell someone who practically still was a stranger that they could die, but Atlas wasn't really known to talk about death in the most normal way.
 
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That was the first time in a while that Ava had heard anything of the like regarding smoking. It mainly had to do with the fact that last group of individuals she hung out with were smokers herself. Though, unlike her, those people really were being slowly killed by the toxins within the little rolled up stick. She on the other hand would continue to live as healthy as ever. It was just one of the only perks of being immortal, and a con of making friends and getting close to others.​
Ava paused, blinking her brown eyes as she rolled the stick between her fingers. It wouldn't kill her, but how on earth could she explain that to Atlas. Hell, she'd be truly be happy to smoke them if they caused death, but the last time she had a taste of it was years ago. Again, it was not something she could simply come out and say "uh, yeah, I can't die". Even thinking it sounded obnoxious and foolish. So, despite feeling the great urge to light her cigarette and smoke it until she was more relaxed, she put it away for now.​
"I wish." Ava mumbled underneath her breath so quiet only her ear could pick up her own voice. Instead of smoking, she fidgeted with the zippo lighter in her hand, closing and reopening the cap. "Well, I would have smoked it if you hadn't mentioned cancer." She breathed, straightening her back and leaning back in her seat.​
"Also," She began, offering a secretive lop-sided smile. "I'm not very social either. I'm too difficult to get along with half of the time." Which was true, most times she pushed people away. Ava only needed a few people in her life, and she selected them herself. Atlas was kind enough to help her back the other day, therefore she deemed him to be good, and wasn't at all surprised to know he didn't have many friends.​
 
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He would have felt bad about not letting her smoke if it wasn't for her own good. He got that some people relaxed and calmed down by smoking, and that today probably was a stressful day for Ava, especially if it was as she said and she wasn't very social. But smoking was bad. And maybe he had some selfish reasons for it too. Smoking made him kind of anxious and he seemed to have been able to avoid Ava thinking he was weird up until now, so he wanted to avoid that. Though maybe he had already messed up his chances by suddenly being so ant-smoking.

She didn't seem to mind too much though, she hadn't taken so much offence she had stood up and walked off, and she was still talking to him, and mentioning that they had something in common, which was nice. Atlas still brought his hand up to his mouth to chew a little on one of his already bitten-short finger nails though. He wasn't really sure what was the best way to respond.

"Well I dunno, I don't think you seem very hard to get along with," he settled with saying, he couldn't know for sure, but he also didn't have to be a total asshole, "But then again I dunno how reliable I am since I don't really hang out with all that many people either," he joked, shrugged a little and forced himself to stop biting his nails and try to be a little less awkward.

"But hey at least we're anti.social together for now," the for now, he felt was important. Sure Ava was cool, and the idea of actually having a friend that was his friend before other's was really nice, but he didn't want Ava to feel forced to hang out with him. She was saying she wasn't very social, but it could be to make him feel better, or it could be in comparison to very extroverted people and maybe she'd like to have the option to actually have some more friends, because Atlas was pretty sure being friends with him killed your social life. Alicia was just an exceptions because she was ridiculously sweet and no one really had the heart to be mean to her.
 
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"You're pretty nice," Ava stated, the corner of her lips quirking into a half smile. And she meant it. Ava typically didn't give other people compliments unless she meant it. Or unless she was being totally and utterly sarcastic, but she wasn't being that in this moment. She hadn't been around Atlas too long, but she felt it was safe in concluding that he was a sweet person if not a little anti-social like herself.​
Ava wouldn't mind being anti-social with him.​
The redhead stretched her long legs out underneath the picnic table and sighed. It was strange and a bit unsettling not having her cigarette and letting the toxins permeate her body and calm her when she couldn't do it by her own will. I(f she wanted to smoke she would have to do it when she was alone because it seemed even the only other person she knew in Owlwick -- besides her own family -- disapproved of it too.​
"I'm sure if people talked to you more you'd have a decent amount of friends." It was her honest opinion and point of view at least. He may have been a little awkward and odd, but she didn't think there was anything wrong about that. She had been to the different cities and seen all kinds of people befriending each other. "So, you have an art room in this school ... what about a music room?"
 
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Atlas refrained from sighing when Ava said he'd probably have more friends if people talked to him. She was trying to be nice, but she clearly didn't know the situation. It wasn't quite as bad as saying he'd have more friends if he talked to more people, so maybe she kind of got it.

"Yeah, we do, we don't have a huge amount of instruments or anything, I don't think," he said and tried to recall what he had seen around the music room over the years, "like there's a piano and some guitars, and some random stuff like i think there's a couple of xylophones no one has used in years," he shrugged, the art room was the same, sure they hade some acrylics and watercolour pallets, but the amount of things they had weren't endless, some paints were just old and dried, because they didn't really buy in anything new until someone made specific note of the fact that they needed something. It wasn't like the school or the town didn't value the arts or anything. Owlwick was a town known for it's craftsmanship and tourists would often leave with some carved wooden decoration or whatever. It was just that the school was small and old. Even the science department didn't have super new equipment. If it had been purchased once there was no reason to repurchase.

How the school was stocked up on things wasn't as interesting as why Ava might have asked her question though and Atlas curiously asked, "Do you play something?" He had seen Ava walk around with her camera in the forest, it wasn't too far fetched to imagine that she liked to express herself in other way as well, and if she did they had something more to bond over and maybe their friendship would stick. Atlas didn't play any music, but he liked music, and he liked creative things, so it was something.
 
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Ava's eyes lit up the moment Atlas confirmed that their small little school did have a music room. If there were no bars to sneak into and purchasing alcohol and cigarettes was a difficult task with the age cap, then music and photography would have to fill the void until she found a way to get her intoxicating substances to cope. Not that Ava was a drunkard, after drinking so much she could hold her drink. With that in mind, it sometimes lost effect. And smoking just calmed her done, put her at ease.​
Music, however, did the same.​
"I do, as a matter of fact." She smirked and rose from her seat on the bench to sit on the table instead. Her feet landed on the bench as she turned her body to face Atlas. "I play guitar. I fucking rock at the guitar, not to brag or anything." She smiled. Acoustic guitar, electric guitar, it matter not, Ava was practically a professional in playing the instrument. "I used to be in a band." She swayed slightly at the fact she was so very proud of. "Needless to say, it flopped."
"Oh! And piano. " Because in the Victorian Era basically every snobbish aristocrats children had to excel in some form of art. Ava had to sit in front of the instrument for long hours of the day, being hit with a switch when she missed a note or whined. The redhead loved the instrument but hated the classes. "I have a list of classical songs ingrained in my head."
 
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Atlas smile a little as he heard that Ava really was artistic in more ways that one. It was really fun to hear and he was even allowing himself to get a little hopeful that they'd maybe be able to be somewhat friendly later. He still had to remind himself that by lunch things might not look so hopeful anymore but it was hard to completely push the feelings away. Plus it was kind of fun that he could really imagine Ava being god at the guitar. The way she dressed was kind of alternative, as opposed to Atlas' kind of really nerdy sense of style. He kind o hadn't expected the piano though had when she mentioned it, or rather classical songs, he instantly became to excited to not really show it.

"really? That's cool, I haven't really known anyone who likes classical music enough to learn to play an pieces," he asked, still his normal and calm said but his voice picked up a little in speed as he just threw out what came to mind without really thinking about too much, "I really like classical music, we should try to get a hold of the music room later so you can show me,"

Thank he caught himself in his own optimism and excitement and awkwardly added, "you know, if you want to, " because he had gotten himself a little too caught up in the idea of having a friend with similar interest that he had forgotten that Ava would probably want to talk to more people before locking herself too much onto Atlas. This was her first day in a new school and so fr she didn't seem to have had a chance to talk much to people other than him.
 
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"You're sweet," Ava chuckled softly, because she couldn't help it and it was true. Though she had only meant him twice, he had never once been rude to her. On the contrary he had been exactly what she called him out to be, sweet. Naturally, he could deny it, but now she had already been given this view of the boy. He had helped her out the pond and out of the woods when she had gotten lost and twisted her ankle and even shown her around school.​
The teacher had instructed him to do it, but he didn't look the slightest bit adamant about it. Plus, he was so awkward, something that could be annoying to others but Ava appreciated it as she knew she wasn't the most normal person. But he was also a bit odd, there was something different about him that she couldn't quite put her finger on yet.​
"I would love to play you some piano, maybe Beethoven or Mozart. And maybe you could draw me a Picasso since you seem to like art." She was only half joking, obviously. Ava hadn't seen any of his work but if he was in the art room for as long as she imagined him to be, she was certain that he had skill.​
Before she could say anything else on the matter the school bell rung indicating the next class was only a few minutes from starting. Ava sighed and stood up from her seat on the picnic table. She knew for a fact that she was going to hate school and she hadn't even had a smoke yet. "We can talk more about it at lunch."
 
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With the promise of Ava playing something for him at some point and the implications that they would hang out at lunch too Atlas felt pretty hopeful about their friendship. Of course that turned around the moment they were back in the school building. Ava was still getting a glance or two, but the hallways weren't crowded as it had taken them a moment to get inside the building, but when they got to class people really started to look again. It wasn't like they were intensely staring but the people who were social were throwing glances and talking among friends, probably discussing if they should invite Ava along to lunch later. One of the girls i the group that considered themselves popular, however popular you could be in such a small school, even said hello as she passed to get to her seat after he and Ava had gotten seated.

Suddenly Atlas remembered that Ava probably could be friends with anyone she wanted, no matter how anti-social she claimed to be. And since he never really was anyone's first choice his hopes sank a little.

Atlas just kind of sighed and started to get out his things lining everything up on the table and counting them in his head as he did. Further confirmation of the fact that Ava probably was better of with other friends came when Eric, a guy who seemed to over the years have made it his personal mission to make sure Atlas knew his place, and who also was one of those people who looked good, knew they did and used it to their advantage and thus also had gained the same kind of popularity as the girl who said hello to Ava earlier, passed by their table. He din't say anything, just pushed the pencils Atlas had lined up out of the line and snickered when Atlas froze up and just stared at his desk until he in a frustrated motion collected his things again and redid the process of laying them out while counting in his head. Eric just seemed to like remind everyone that Atlas was weird and he tended to succeed.

There wasn't anything Atlas could do about it though and class was starting anyways. At least it was math, which he really liked.

Classes continued on until it finally was time for lunch. The closer they got the more Atlas dreaded it. It was silly because he didn't really know Ava so it shouldn't be a big deal if she wanted to hang out with anyone else, but he still felt almost as if that was unfair on him, because he talked to her first. Of course that was dumb and childish so he said nothing and when class was over he instead collected all his things quickly and stood with the words, "I guess I'll show you the cafeteria?" and so they were out in the hallways before anyone got a chance to get a hold of her.

Though it didn't take long for someone to catch up and the girl who had said hello to Ava before class along with her friends joined them and thus Atlas slowed down to a stop so Ava could get a chance to talk to them, kind of giving up.

"Hey, it was Ava right? Do you have anyone to sit with at lunch?" one of the girls said, Emma, she had long brown har and looked a lot nicer than she was.