April & Ethan // something i forgot to mention

[ATLANTA MAE TISZA]

OUTFIT

Atlanta knew nothing about what April was going through. Well, she understood the fear and loneliness and all that, but she knew nothing about the shape changing part of it. The only person she knew reasonably well with powers like that was Ethan, her only real friend in this town, probably because he was gay. In any case, she had called him up and told him to come over for lunch to meet her sister.

Atlanta, not really the home maker type, but having grown up in the south and trying to be welcoming in this case--not that she ever put too much into meeting with Ethan before, was making lunch. Honestly, she was making pasta salad, which wasn't much special, but she knew he liked it.

She stood in her tiny kitchen, stirring some vegetables into her bowl as April sat in the living room painting her toenails. Atlanta cracked a window to waft out some of the polish fumes, causing a cool breeze to blow through the house.

[APRIL EVANGELINE TISZA]

OUTFIT

Now that she'd found her sister, April wasn't entirely sure what to do. When she'd left home, she'd made it her mission to figure out where her sister was because she knew no one else would accept her. She hadn't planned further than that. She also hadn't quite accounted for the fact that, while Atlanta would understand what it was to be an outsider, she wouldn't understand exactly what was going on with April. After all, Atlanta had never developed the same oddities that April seemed to have acquired. Fortunately, though, Atlanta had been in Heatherfield long enough to have made acquaintances with people, and she did have a friend whose powers seemed to be similar to April's. She'd invited him for lunch, and April had to admit, she was more than a little nervous.

She'd curled up on the couch in the living room with her iPod and a bottle of nail polish and was currently painting her toenails to distract herself from from her anxiety. She might have been better off helping Atlanta in the kitchen, but she wasn't a particularly gifted cook. Besides, she was still getting used to coexisting with her sister, and she wasn't entirely sure she wanted to try making small talk while they were both crammed into the small kitchen.

After painting the last nail, she capped her polish, blew lightly on her toes, and carefully stood, stretching and glancing down at her outfit. She'd become quite fond of short shorts since leaving her parents' house, even if the weather wasn't particularly well-suited for it. Even so, though, she'd never dressed this way when company was expected, and she was feeling a little unsure. Pausing her iPod, she tugged the earbuds out of her ears and tucked the whole setup into her pocket. "This friend... Do I need to dress up for him?" she called, hoping her sister wouldn't say she needed to. She was comfortable. She just wasn't entirely sure what the rules were in this new place.[/blockquote][/size]

[ETHAN REID DEXTER]

Ethan pursed his lips as he stared into his closet. He wanted to make a good impression on Atlanta's sister. She was an amazing friend, and he wanted her family to like him. Even if it was only her sister. He'd never really asked about her family. He picked out the his 'Grumposaur' sweatshirt, and a grey vest shirt. He pulled them on his head then ran across his room, clad only in sweatshirt, vest and boxers to pull on a pair of dark blue jeans.

He looked at himself in the mirror. Satisfied with his appearance, he raced down the stairs. It was getting pretty close to lunch time. He hurriedly pulled on his pair of black converses and a scarf and hat he owned. He slammed the front door shut and pulled his keys from his backpack. He chucked his bag onto the passengers seat of his car before driving off. He would have been late if he'd walked.

He drove up to the front of her house, then a little further down the street till he found a suitable parking spot. He opened the door, and stepped out of his car. He jogged to her front door, and straightened his hat. He lifted his hand to the door, and gently knocked 3 times. Then knocked again a little harder. When the door opened, he gave a warm smile “Hello!” he greeted warmly.

outfit

[ATLANTA MAE TISZA]

"Nah," Atlanta shook her head. "You look fine." She added. Ethan was gay, so there was no need to dress to attract him, but of course, he was gay, so generally he could put an outfit together. Even so however, April didn't have to go out of her way, and who knew what she actually brought with her, or bought, given her new love of short shorts.

Atlanta smiled as she heard a knock on the door and hurried to set down her food and take off her apron. She pulled open the door and greeted him with a smile. "Hey," She said stepping out of the way so he could come into her tiny abode. It really was too small to have 3 people even on it.

"Ethan, this is April, my sister." She said by way of an introduction. "She's a shifter too and I know jack shit about shifting..." Atlanta laughed with a shake of her head. Hopefully when April found out that Ethan was gay she wouldn't get weird. Atlanta hadn't thought to remember how conservative home was.

Atlanta went into the kitchen, which really wasn't a separate room, it was more like a designated corner. She made three plates of the pasta salad and poured three glasses of water for them all and brought everything to the little coffee table.

[APRIL EVANGELINE TISZA]

April was happier than she might have admitted when Atlanta told her she didn't have to dress up for their guest. Dressing up would have been difficult since the vast majority of her current wardrobe was made up of overly short shorts. She had a grand total of seven outfits including the pants she'd left home in, several pairs of shorts she'd purchased, and a hodgepodge of shirts she'd either brought from home, found somewhere, or managed to buy along the way. It wasn't much, and most of it was very poorly suited for the current weather, but she didn't really have the money to go out and bulk up her winter wardrobe at this point. She'd have to get a job if she decided to stay. Provided anyone would hire a seventeen year old runaway, that was.

At the sound of a knock, April whirled around to face the doorway. Really, she could have probably answered it faster than Atlanta had, given the fact that the girl had been holding a bowl of pasta salad and wearing an apron. But she wasn't quite comfortable enough here to parade around acting like she owned the place, so she settled for shifting nervously on her feet as Atlanta made her way to the door.

The guy on the other side was obviously attractive and very well dressed. Having lived in the sort of home where heterosexuality was assumed, April instantly determined she ought to pay him a bit of extra attention. Offering him a bright smile, she let her yellow eyes travel pointedly upward from his feet. "Pleased to meet you," she told him. Her impeccable manners had not changed, but maybe that was just because this was someone she wanted to like. Her cheeks colored slightly as she remembered the argument she'd had with a strange boy in the woods the day before. There was nothing polite about that.

Shaking her head, April forced her attention back to the situation at hand. As she and Atlanta had come to realize, the changes in her appearance and athletic abilities seemed to point towards her being some sort of shifter. She hadn't yet become anything other than herself, of course, so it was only speculation at this point. But April figured it made sense, and she was glad to have someone around who might understand her. Sinking down onto one corner of the couch, April gestured for Ethan to take a seat. "So how long do you figure my eyes will stay like this?" she asked without preamble. That was the thing she most wanted to know at this point, since her feline eye color was the one thing that prevented her from passing as normal.

[ETHAN REID DEXTER]

Ethan smiled at Atlanta and kissed her cheek as he walked in. “Hey dear.” he greeted and then walked into the living room. Ethan chuckled when he realised that Atlanta was wearing an apron, and indeed holding a bowl of pasta salad. “Very domesticated Lanta” he teased. He loved Lanta but she wasn't exactly a cook. Though he'd seen the bowl and pasta salad was not a hard meal to do.

“Pleasure to meet you too, April” he grinned. It was always great to meet people and she was a shifter like him. It made it even better. He'd not met many shifters. He didn't even begin to think about all the leg she was showing. He only thought that the shorts were really cute. He sat down, and made himself comfortable, pushing his shoes off with his toes. He had been a little shocked by the yellow eyes, but it didn't phase him. He'd turned himself pink when he was a baby. But that was when he was a baby...

“I honestly have no clue. I used to metamorph as a child.” he shrugged. “I'm sorry, that was so unhelpful” he added. “I guess a little while. Maybe till you learn how to shift your eye colour back.” he added with a thoughtful frown. “I can't do that... change my appearance... not anymore. I think every Shapechanger is different” he gave April a quick smile before turning to look at the food on the table. “Looks good” he told Atlanta.

[ATLANTA MAE TISZA]

Atlanta chuckled and stuck her tongue out at him. "Hey, I grew up in the south, I know how to do stereotypical shit." She teased him. Atlanta realized this would be rather different for April. Atlanta had always been a little loud and uncomfortable with how things were at home, but here she made no apologies, she cursed and flaunted her body, she teased her friends and lovers, she was openly bi....

Atlanta went back to plating up food, while trying to listen to what they were saying-- which wasn't hard given that they were all basically in the same room. It made sense that she wouldn't be able to control it until she learned, and then all would be well... but how did one learn?

She sat down with the food and elbowed Ethan at his comment. "It is good," She protested with a wink. "And please tell me you turned into like a baby puppy or something as a kid and that there are photos." Atlanta said, taking a forkful of food into her mouth.

[APRIL EVANGELINE TISZA]

Almost as soon as she'd determined to show off a bit for the guy, April started putting pieces together mentally. He seemed very familiar with her sister. While Atlanta was a sexually charged person in general, she also seemed more comfortable around this guy than she did around most. Granted, April had only seen the way she'd behaved around guys at home, which might not have painted a fair picture, but it was still obvious that her dynamic with Ethan was something special. April tucked the idea away in the back of her mind, determined to discuss the issue at hand first. Namely, her apparent shifting abilities.

A frown tugged at her lips as Ethan admitted he didn't know how long she'd be stuck with cat eyes. On one hand, it made sense that all people with abilities like this would be different. After all, people without abilities were different, so having supernatural abilities couldn't really negate the concept. Somehow, though, she'd hoped that there was just a series of phases she would go through and she could have at least a loose timeline to rely on. Letting out a huff, she directed her gaze toward her toes. "And how the hell am I supposed to learn?" she grumbled, embodying the stereotypical angsty teenager for once. Arms crossed, she continued to focus on the bright hue she'd applied to her toenails, silently lamenting the unfairness of it all.

Her musings were quickly interrupted when her sister emerged from the kitchen, bearing plates of pasta salad which she placed on the coffee table. Rather than picking one up right away, April watched her sister and Ethan for a few seconds, noting the easy way that Atlanta teased the boy. There was definitely something going on there. Frowning, April turned her feline gaze on her sister. "So are you two an item or what?" she asked, slightly hurt that Atlanta wouldn't have mentioned it to her before Ethan came over.

[/size]

[ETHAN REID DEXTER]

“You fail to remember, so did I” he teased back. “Then again, I can't exactly cook much either” he chuckled. Ethan wasn't that much of a cook. He could cook if he put his mind to it, but quite a few times he'd burnt stuff. Ethan chuckled at her very typical teenage reaction. Had he ever reacted like that? Probably he had. He shook his head, “Practise, and study” he chuckled. “Thats how I learnt anyway” he added. He was not sure if she'd like the answer.

He turned to Atlanta, and bit his lip giving her a wided eyed stare, then mouthed 'Sorry'. He looked at the food and the table, and leant forward to take a bite. “It's good Lanta” he chuckled. He shrugged at her dear friend. “Probably some pictures of me bright magenta or some crap like that” he answered feeling comfortable enough to dvulge such information. “I was more into changing colors as a baby than actually changing shape.

He took another bite, and then April asked "So are you two an item or what?”. He choked on the food in his mouth. What was it with people and thinking he was dating his friends? He looked up at Lanta. This was her family - was he supposed to explain this? “No we aren't” he told April, laughing after the shock wore off. He was fine with April knowing he was gay, but he figured he'd wait for Atlanta's reaction before explaining further.

“So you are here to learn?” he asked after a moment. “about shape changing I mean” he added. “I suggest meditation” he chuckled, what teenager wanted to meditate. That was why he hadn't actually learnt many forms till he was at least 18 years old.

[ATLANTA MAE TISZA]

"Well, you can make pancakes," Atlanta pointed out, thinking back on their stay in day, movies, food and face masks. "That counts." Even if they were boxed pancakes of course. Not many people made them from scratch anyway.

"Aw lame, I wanted to see you as a puppy," She teased him, secretly pleased that he liked the food. Atlanta wasn't a bad cook, she certainly knew how. In the past it had been a punishment though. Baking was something she actually enjoyed and was good at. Bread stuffs and pastries were more her style.

When April asked if they were dating, Atlanta couldn't help but crack up. It made sense that she would ask that. They'd grown up in a very hetero-normitive environment and Ethan and Atlanta were very chummy. Atlanta figured she'd just spell this out and spare her sister the figuring it out. "Honey, he's gay." Atlanta said, patting April on the knee lightly.

Atlanta jumped in to answer for April, or at least explain a little. "More to find me, powers wouldn't go over well where we come from."

[APRIL EVANGELINE TISZA]

It was only natural, based on the easy manner the two interacted with, to assume that there was something more than the casual acquaintanceship that April had known Atlanta to keep with guys she wasn't dating between them. April arched an eyebrow as she watched them, momentarily forgetting her frustration with the fact that she wasn't going to be able to control her apparent shape shifting abilities very soon. She didn't even know where to start. Practicing wasn't an issue for her, really, and studying wouldn't be either if she even knew what she was meant to study.

Her question seemed innocent enough, and April was very much confused by Ethan's response. She frowned at him before turning her gaze to her sister, who seemed to be much less surprised by April's assumption. Atlanta gently pointed out Ethan's sexuality, which wasn't an option April had really considered. Obviously she knew that gay people existed, but she'd never actually met one, and therefore never had reason to think that a guy hanging around with her sister might not be interested in her. It did explain a lot, though, from the way he had completely failed to notice her preening to the fact that there was very little tension between him and her sister. "Oh," she murmured in response, quickly following it with a more drawn out, "Oooh," as the concept really dawned on her. Tilting her head, she regarded Ethan curiously. "No wonder you're so fashionable!" Her only knowledge of homosexuals was limited to what she saw on television, and it did appear to her that all gay men took a healthy interest in fashion.

She was still focused on making sense of this new information when Ethan asked whether she'd come to Heatherfield to learn about her powers. Truthfully, April hadn't really even realized that they were powers until she'd gotten here. All she knew was that she was obviously different, and Atlanta was the only member of her family who was likely to still accept her. Fortunately, she didn't have to explain all that, as Atlanta stepped in to answer for her, giving April plenty of time to process the rest of what Ethan had said. "Wait, wait... I'm supposed to meditate?! Like that guy in the Karate Kid? All lotus position and 'Ohm...' and stuff?" she demanded, attempting to tuck her long legs into such a position. Being unaccustomed to tucking herself into small, contained positions, she failed miserably and ended up settling for indian style. "I'm pretty sure that's not happening."

Shaking her head, she reached for her own lunch, which was sitting forgotten on the coffee table. After a couple of bites, she regarded Ethan. "So do you know any decent looking guys who aren't gay and might want to get me out of my sister's hair for a while? I love her and all, but I'm so tired of having nothing to do!" Part of the beauty of getting out of their parents' house was being able to spend time with whoever she wanted to, and April was taking full advantage by attempting to get some experience with guys.