* not meant to be like this, [archer]

[NELL DOE DALE]

Nell sat on the comfy recliner with her laptop on her crossed legs. She enjoyed the heat from the whirring of its inner workings, even though the common room was kept at a mild temperature. Flowers bloomed even during the winter, and their scent filled the air like a heady perfume. It was a haven for the Earth elementals, of course. She leaned into the back of the chair as her finger glided along the mousepad. It had taken her a while to get used to computers, and to technology in general. She’d grown up in the projects, laptops were a luxury she had not been exposed to at all. Luckily she was clever enough that once she’d done enough with computers, she got the hang of it quickly enough. Of course, there were some things she’d never explore, what with Josh’s warnings about the internet before. She’d taken him very seriously.

She reached over to the end table on her left, carefully moving her hand around the space above the table to feel for the cup of coffee she had gotten that morning. Nell thought that maybe if she substituted food with drinking, it’d make it easier. She was wrong. Drinking on an empty stomach also wasn’t good, and she’d never so desperately yearned for the ability to consume something without feeling nauseous. Her love of food was still there, after all, but now she could barely touch it. She didn’t tell her therapist about this, but she knew if she did, he’d easily blame it on the meds. What he didn’t know was that the problem had been before she’d even started taking the Prozac regularly, which she was doing now. Every morning and afternoon, and she was due for a dose in a little bit. It was better to take with food, but that wasn’t an option she had. She’d never hated her situation so much, not even when she was living with her mother.

Taking a sip, she set the cup back down on the wooden table as she scrolled down the page. She needed a new job, having recently been fired from Blackjack when they discovered she was underage and had been working when she was a fugitive. She went about it reluctantly, much differently than how she usually would have approached it. Normally, she’d have gone around looking for interviews and places to work, but now she was content to sit in her sweats and moccasins, hair thrown up in a messy bun as she searched the classified. Of course, there was the chance that once she got out she could bring herself to do all that, but that was the problem. Right now, she didn’t have a reason to go out. She was done school for the day, but she didn’t want to face the freezing weather and had decided to hole herself up in the door. Of course, she’d really like to sleep. Love to sleep, actually, since it was something had become a hobby as of late. But she knew getting a new job was a priority. She wouldn’t mooch off her father for revenge anymore, and she wasn’t going to ask her rich boyfriend for money. Nell liked her independence, liked owning an apartment and being responsible for herself. She wouldn’t give that up for anything.

After taking another sip, she lifted her eyes from the screen and smiled when she saw a familiar face. ”Hey, Archer,” she greeted cheerfully, waving at him as if he weren’t only a few feet away. ”It’s been a little while. Sup with you?” She always liked asking after her friends, especially if she hadn’t seen him in a while. With a bit of a devious—but still good-natured—grin she questioned, ”How’s senior year been treating ya?” She had come to the Academy during her senior year, that’s when she’d met him. Well, that’s when she met a lot of her friends, actually. She’d only been free for a year, and had a helluva lot catching up to do in terms of elemental work with all her supplementary classes. Now she was in college, and in the process of deciding what she wanted to do with her life. She was pretty sure she wouldn’t find it on the website she was on now.

outfit,

[archer]

archer flicked through pages of shakespeare, rather bored and somehow amused at the same time. on his own time, he would usually read some of shakespeare - if he was feeling in a rather strange mood - but it was an assignment from his english class. as he read the lines, he could hear the voices playing around in his head, all british in nature. he couldn't suppress the smile that fought it's way onto his lips. he didn't want to sit here, holed up in his dorm room, reading shakespeare - but he had almost no other choice. an essay on midsummer's night dream were due tomorrow, and he'd barely written a sentence, let alone read the actual book. imagining the voices of the characters was simply a plan to keep him entertained for a little while longer. but it wasn't really working, and soon enough, he was sighing and letting his mind drift to different subjects.

archer flopped himself backwards onto his springy bed, the impact of his body against the mattress causing him to lift for a matter of a second before he crashed back to the bed. he plopped the old book down over his face, the rough pages scraping against his soft skin. he could feel his warm breath falling back over his face as it pushed against the pages of the book, and although it bothered him, he made no move to change his position. he could feel himself questioning shakespeare again, no matter how annoying the antic was. had shakespeare really talked like this? had he really meant every word he wrote down? who was he trying to make fun of? the endless questions ran through archer's head until every inch of his brain was matted with shakespeare. it was insufferable. intolerable. so he decided that he needed a rest. treat himself with a tiny break, maybe a snack, and then go back to work. maybe that would work.

archer hopped off of the bed, scrambling towards his jacket that lay alongside his bed on the floor. despite the fact that it was quite warm in the dorm room - his sweats and v-neck were enough to keep him warm - he knew that out in the hallways there was always a small, invisible draft. he picked up the sweatshirt with nimble fingers, yanking it over his head and ruffling his brunette hair. he fixed the sweatshirt on his body, so it wasn't twisted to the side or anything of the sort, and proceeded to exit the dorm. he closed the door behind him, and started to stride down the hallway to the small kitchen the dorm room had. it wasn't much of a kitchen - rather a storing place - but it was ideal for snacks. a whistle crept out of his lips, and all of a sudden his was whistling a tune in the eerily quiet hallway. all too soon, he was entering the dorm common room. his eyes absorbed the room, and the one figure on the small couch. nell shepherd. archer could feel the small twist of his stomach, that nervous, unhinged feeling, but he decided to ignore it, and to avoid nell until she noticed him. if she even did.

archer walked as quietly as he could manage around the couch, quietly hoping that nell would stay absorbed in whatever she was doing on her computer. he awkwardly made his way to the store cupboard, opening it with a careful precision. he infiltrated the stocks, picking out a pack of crackers, and closing the door quietly. as he was heading back toward his dorm room, a familiar voice broke out across the room. "hey, archer." archer pushed back whatever untrusting feelings where lingering inside of his stomach, and turned to nell, a friendly smile flitting across his lips. he raised a hand and waved back to her. "hey, nell." he responded happily, making his way toward her on the couch. "it's been a while, sup with you?" she asked cheerfully, as he plopped down beside her on the soft couch. "oh you know me," he said cheerfully with a mock wink and a small chuckle. "reading shakespeare, making friends. how about you?" he asked happily enough, a small smile lighting his already bright features.

it was strange, talking to nell like this. like everything was normal. even when they both knew that it wasn't the same as it was before. archer wasn't sure what it was, but there was something about nell that unsettled him. he wanted to trust her again, but some nagging feeling in the back of his head urged him not to. so he was on the fence, unsure of what to do. "how's senior year been treating ya?" he let a smile creep onto his features, pushing an arm over the back of the couch. "let's just say that i can't wait until it's over," he said, over-exaggerating a sigh and rolling his eyes sarcastically. "how about college? isn't that stuff crazy hard?" he said, half-sarcastically. he was peering over at her, before he finally noticed the laptop on her lap. he nodded toward it, in a completely general gesture and finally made a comment. "i've never been able to use those. i'm sure technology hates me," he said cheerfully with a small chuckle, trying to lighten the situation. if that was even possible.

[NELL DOE DALE]

Nell didn’t realize that her friend had been trying to avoid her, trust a safety net for her. It was always the benefit of the doubt, and she never suspected her friends of anything. Archer’s enthusastic replied continued to craddle her in the confidence that he was at least one person who didn’t know about the trial, about the murder, about something she would rather keep secret. It was hard, noticing the calls tapering off, the friends who wouldn’t meet up with her, and having a gut feeling about why that was. She’d made friends easily enough before, and to suddenly have them disappear? It was obvious what had happened, and she hated it. I’m the same as before, she thought, except now the people who she loved understood that she had lied to them. Or rather, hidden from them.

She loved his airy demeanor, and let herself be caught up in it. He made it better, the dull ache that was always in her now, no matter what happened. She shifted the laptop a bit so that she could better communicate with her fellow Earth. ”Ah, making friends with your Shakespeares?” Nell joked, lifting her eyebrows. As an English Lit major, she was a dork enough to make the joke. ”Tell me, how is Hamlet then?” Her laugh was soft and trailed off a bit, a content expression of amusement. Unbeknownst to her what was really going through his mind, she tapped her fingernails against the computer. ”Ah, on the hunt for a job. Economy’s tough, yanno. I was thinking of joining the circus. Becoming a clown. I can juggle.” She nodded as she said this, taking another sip of her coffee. Even though she kept a straight face, anyone with friends could tell when a friend was joking. And we’re still friends, thank God. She didn’t want to lose anyone else, and it was almost desperate, the way she clung to some relationships. Her friends were the most important things to her. Without the people she cared about, she didn’t believe there was a purpose for herself. She lived for others.

She clicked her tongue when he expressed his desire for the year to end, and said, ”It’ll go by faster than you think. Careful what you wish for, and all that cliché junk.” She waved her coffee cup around in gesticulations and then chuckled. ”I need to stop talking like an old woman.” She wasn’t that much older than him, probably only a year or two. This year she’d be turning nineteen-years-old—that is if she could remember her birthday. The only reason she hadn’t forgotten last year was because her father had taken her out to eat with Jane. Even though her boyfriend had felt bad about it, she forgave him for forgetting too, especially since she hadn’t given him an exact date. It wasn’t that important of a date to her, not without Tilly around to celebrate it with. ”Ah, easier than my senior year I have to say.” She winced a bit, apologetic. ”Not giving you much hope, am I?” She didn’t explain that it was because she had to take supplementary classes, because she disliked talking about herself. Nell was more interested in other people than she ever was herself. ”Don’t worry, I’m sure you’ll be okay. How have your grades been so far, or do you know?” It was only the beginning of the year, but if you got off on a good foot, it was always nice.

Nell laughed. ”Ah, the caveman mentality.” The laptop she had was a revenge-purchase when she was draining her father’s bank account like a parasite. He had thought that she’d forgive him for walking out on the family by getting her a new car and giving her access to his bank account—she’d proven him that getting his daughter back would take a lot more than unlimited money. All those years ago, she didn’t need money, though it would have been nice. She had just needed her father to take care of the broken home. It was amazing how far she’d come with him to only revert back to…whatever stage they were now at. She was avoiding him, screening his calls, and she was sure he was aware. Especially because the last time she had visited was Christmas. ”This baby is actually pretty nice to me. Now, kitchen appliances…” She trailed off so he could infer. Nell was hoping it was just her crappy apartment and its faulty electricity that made her have to go out and buy a new coffeemaker or toaster every week. It was logical, considering what else went wrong with her apartment. There were a few occassions when she had to call Josh up for help, whether it was because she flooded the bathroom or burned a wire. ”How do kitchen appliances treat you?” It was only half-joking, because she actually wanted to steer conversation aay from herself.

outfit,

[does archer know about the murderer thing? because he could have heard from the news or people talking. otherwise, i don't think there would be a reason for him to distrust her because she acts the same. xD]