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[b]Featuring: DeShawn & Alina[/b]
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[indent][indent][color=darkgray]The wait for his Libertine lady had left Dee somewhat directionless. Without the person to give a tour, all he could do was simply wait for the bell. As he listened to the [url=https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=61snp8e6l_s]latest track[/url] from one of his favorite artists, he continued to casually scan the hallway from time to time hoping to see a sticker with Alina Zebrecky stuck to the breast of some face he had never seen. It wasn’t until all hope was lost and the last beat of the song had ended that in the silence, DeShawn decided it was time to leave. He turned towards a set of double doors, only for them to swing open violently and he almost collided with the girl powering through them. 

[color=CB8DEB]”Hey yo, shawty where’s the fire? You ok?”[/color]

Alina had to shake her head for a moment. After what had happened in the corridor, it was probably a good move, but following the near-crash, she had to kind of reset anyway. There was a boy there, an admittedly very good-looking boy, but she didn’t want to base a first impression on that. [color=73C2FB][i]At least he asked if I was OK. That’s one person in this school with manners, I guess.[/i][/color]

[color=73C2FB]“Yeah, yeah, I’m… no. Not really OK,”[/color] she admitted. [color=73C2FB]"I’m kinda lost at the moment. Today has been a rough start.”[/color]

[color=CB8DEB]"I can see that.”[/color]

DeShawn took a step to one side to give the poor girl some breathing room. She was obviously a bit out of sorts and him crowding her with his great size was probably the last thing she needed. He refrained from putting a hand on her shoulder as much as he wanted to because he knew that personal space could mean a hell of a lot to someone. The linebacker didn’t recognize the young woman’s pretty face, she was obviously one of the new faces brought in by the school mergers.  

[color=CB8DEB]"You know, there’s a little balcony just off to the side there. You’ve got a few minutes before the bell, why don’t you step outside there for a time and get your bearings. This place can be real overwhelming sometimes, especially when you're new. Trust me, that was me last year. A new school doesn’t really take into account your own self and your own personal shit.”[/color]

Dee pointed over to a set of double doors just off to the side of the hallway. The balcony was usually sealed for some reason or another but DeShawn had broken the lock a few semesters past with the intention of making it his own private Idaho but he has found himself sharing it with a few lost souls now and again. 

Something told Alina she should be cautious with this offer that the boy was making, but he was also speaking a lot of truth. There was nothing really helping her situation here, it certainly wasn’t making anything any clearer. Some time outside would probably help. [color=73C2FB]“I could use some fresh air. I could use a lot of things.”[/color] 

As the gentleman led the way, she tried to think about what exactly happened and what if anything she got out of Cas. It seemed like he was looking forward to this as much as Niki was. So why wasn’t she more excited about this? If she wanted to make a change in her personality or reputation, this was the time to do it. What was stopping her? [color=73C2FB][i]How can I change to something if I have no damn idea what I can possibly change to? What the hell am I supposed to do in this place? And then next year! What the hell. I don’t even know.[/i][/color] Alina was however interested to see just how her unofficial tour guide was going to offer her this outdoor space. 

It felt strange leading a complete stranger to his secret safe haven but there was just something in her eyes that was telling Dee that she needed something like this right now and if there was one thing that DeShawn couldn’t resist, it was someone in need. He almost had what one could call a compulsion to step into matters where one needed help, much to his own detriment. This had led Dee to more fights and conflicts than he would care to admit but he just could not help himself; the boy had a savior complex almost as big as his six two, two thirty frame.

The giant teen opened up the doors for Alina and took a step to one side. The balcony wasn’t anything special or inherently beautiful; in fact, it was probably if anything a little ugly looking. There were a few slabs of concrete and cigarette butts decorating some questionable looking plants and candy wrappers below the ledge that overlooked the city of Columbus. It wasn’t any kind of breathtaking but for what it was worth, it was some quiet.

[color=CB8DEB]"It ain’t much but it’s yours. Chill here for a time, get your head right, and when you’re ready I’ll see if I can’t get you where you need to go.”[/color] The linebacker grabbed a chair that was sat by the other side of the door and put it out onto the balcony. 

[color=CB8DEB]"Name’s DeShawn by the way, DeShawn Marcus; welcome to Rosefell.”[/color]

The view paled in comparison to that which the patio at home offered, although the cigarette butts made it feel a little more like she was back in the sanctuary. Hard as Niki tried to hide that habit. But it was elevated away from the world below. The muffled sounds that could be heard were inconsequential in relation to the sounds of traffic, but it was something for Alina to focus on aside from the constant humming of her own brain.

The giant boy pulled up a seat, signifying he didn’t have anywhere else to be, which was good for Alina. She didn’t want to be anywhere at the moment right now, so this was as good a place as any. There was a slight breeze passing alongside the school, allowing the loose strands of her hair to be somewhat picked up in the winds. It was something to feel.

As the boy spoke and confirmed his name, Alina didn’t look back, but she did smirk. [color=73C2FB][i]That’s pretty funny. Maybe this school felt like it had to make it up to me after… whatever the hell all that was this morning. Maybe it’s really trying to pull me into being involved in this place before I get out of here.[/i][/color]

[color=73C2FB]“If you’re the person I think you are, I think it’s your assigned duty to get me where I need to go, huh DeShawn? Because I’m guessing you’re looking for a girl named Alina to show around this place."[/color] She finally turned around. [color=73C2FB]"Well, you found her.”[/color]

[color=CB8DEB]”Oh shit.”[/color] 

Dee was shocked by the girl's admission; she was the girl that he was looking for! Damn; Lord above did work in mysterious ways. Faith was a big thing for D, there was a reason he had a rosary around his neck. He was not a bible thumper but he did believe in a power higher than himself. It was something that he had learned from his old grandma back in Baltimore. For Dee, everything had a purpose, everything happened for a reason and there was no such thing as coincidence. Thus this “chance” meeting with Alina probably had some deeper meaning than his dumb, probably concussion-addled brain could currently and properly comprehend.

[color=CB8DEB]"Well well well, Alina Zabrecky, it’s a pleasure to meet you. Shame it’s when you ain’t feeling your best. Imma be straight with you, girl. I’m more than happy to step outside and wait for you to get yourself correct before we get on with our pre-ordained tour but if you wanna shoot some shit, then yo I’m down. Sometimes a stranger is better than a friend.”[/color]

[color=73C2FB]“Well if we’re going to be straight here, you didn’t have a chance of catching me at my best right now, DeShawn Marcus. Not at this point.”[/color]

The conversation with Niki on the ride over now played back in her head, how perceptions were made based solely on the names of their assigned tour guides. Right now, DeShawn was offering to be a lot more than she expected out of this arranged pairing. At least he was proving to be someone willing to listen and not just rush her around the school in an effort to be done with the task as soon as possible. [color=73c2fb][i]Hope they are getting as much out of Hunter as I seem to be getting right now.[/i][/color]

[color=73C2FB]“And since we are being that straight, I’m fine staying here for a bit. I don’t know how much I want to be moving around at this point. Especially after we nearly put each other in the infirmary back there. But yeah, you’d think with basically all of Liberty moving over to this place, I’d have a lot more to lean on going in. But I don’t, and it sucks. And now I’m not sure how the hell I’m going to fix that.”[/color]

[color=CB8DEB]“Fairs. There’s not much to look at in this place anyway.”[/color]

DeShawn placed himself against the balcony, leaning back a bit whilst trying to not get whatever the damn hell that white stuff was on the railing on his brand new shirt. [color=CB8DEB]"All the classrooms have their name on the doors so you can’t really get lost. Your usual gear is on the first floor, maths, English, etc, electives on the second, cafeteria on the ground, and gym and field off to the back. There’s your tour.”[/color]

Number Forty Four had learned a long time ago in another life to keep his head down and his mouth shut. He was not known to anyone to be much of a talker but sometimes, people needed to hear his words because he shot straight in his own kind of way.

[color=CB8DEB]Now as far as your other thing; now I ain’t the type to wax philosophical, there’s better people than me for that but what I can speak on is experience. I was new here last year, didn’t know a soul. Like, it was hard to start. I’m a pretty motherfucker but would you come near me on a good day? Hell no, people be afraid and whatnot. So ya already got me beat on that. What I’m tryna say is you gotta look at all this like it ain’t no thing, cos it ain’t. You are a strong ass woman about to enter a new world and dominate. Ain’t nothing to fix. You don’t need no one to lean on cos they gonna come to you. I got a feeling, ya feel me?”[/color]

Maybe Alina could decipher that, maybe she couldn’t but he didn’t know how to say it any better. This was a strange new world she was about to enter and to feel alone was natural but time beset good fortune and friendship. Maybe Dee could be the helping hand for her this time around?

If nothing else, that was about the level of touring Alina expected, so it was nice of DeShawn to get it out of the way with ruthless efficiency. She didn’t expect to be riding that kind of wavelength with someone already, but it was nice to be able to have someone willing to work with her in this… state she was currently residing.

And it seemed like DeShawn had some level of experience with this sort of thing. She listened to what he had to say as he quickly confirmed that he was in her shoes just last year. But that was where their paths diverged.

[color=73C2FB]“The people leaning on me are part of the problem, though,”[/color] Alina admitted as she continued to do likewise on the balcony railing. [color=73C2FB]“And I haven’t been strong enough to keep them up. Plus, my main pillar isn’t around anymore, because she moved. So I’m coming into this trying to hold up a bunch of shit, and that was before this whole school switch, and I just don’t know, dude. I really don’t know how I’m going to keep going with this before everything just falls apart.”[/color]

Dee glanced down at the girl whom like so many he dwarfed in stature but who so obviously matched him in heart. Through the weight of her words, he could see that she was carrying a lot. Indeed in his relatively short time at Rosefell DeShawn had become a confidant and glorified baggage handler (in both senses of the word) for way too many of his newfound compatriots. Perhaps they were working with the assumption that the broader the shoulders, the more they could carry? Any which way it was painted, for a place that had nothing, Rosefell had a lot going on inside its walls.

[color=CB8DEB]"I don’t know what kind of stuff you’re carrying, girl but my two cents? If it’s getting too much or if you need to lighten the load then just do it. Don’t think on it too long. It ain’t your responsibility to be everybody’s Supergirl. Take today as the first day from a fresh start”[/color]

There was no way of knowing if anything he was saying was making any kind of difference; he didn’t know Alina from Adam but he hopes that just saying some of this out loud was some kind of help or therapy for her. He put a tentative hand on her shoulder and smiled.

[color=CB8DEB]"Do what you feel, not what they want”[/color]

[color=73C2FB][i]What do I feel though?[/i][/color]

That was the million-dollar question. It seemed like it had been so long since Alina even thought about such a thing. For so long, she defined herself as being able to protect those she needed to protect. One way or the other. So now that Niki was running off by themselves trying to deal with things, and Cas was stepping ahead himself, where did that leave her? What did she feel? What did she want? 

She tried to think but was drawing a blank. The hand on her shoulder wasn’t half bad though.

[color=73C2FB]“I feel like I still need to do a lot of work trying to figure that whole side of things out,”[/color] she told Dee. [color=73C2FB]“Supergirl was kinda my thing for a while. Now? Now I guess I don’t know. Maybe I just need to try and figure that out sooner rather than later. Maybe some kind person can help point me in the right direction?”[/color] The question was meant to be rhetorical, but there was physical contact that Alina was pretty good with right now and if DeShawn wanted to continue offering up support in one way or the other, she was going to jump at the chance to have it.

Dee offered her a supportive smile; he felt like he had only really scratched the surface of what was going on inside of Alina’s head and yet in some strange way he felt like that was for the best. She seemed like the type of girl that probably needed to let out this kind of stuff in small doses, much like himself with much of his venting of frustration and feeling coming on the court with Jo, a party with Hunter, or a night with Melissa. Perhaps a balcony conversation with a stranger like him could be her way of getting the poison out of her system.

He glanced down at his watch and noted the time. Pushing himself back up to his full huge frame, Dee placed his other hand on Alina’s free shoulder for a brief moment before removing them both and placing them into his pockets.

[color=CB8DEB]"Well baby girl..”[/color] he began [color=CB8DEB]"Take a breath and get yourself correct. It’s day one...ish and imma get you where you need to go. So...where to first?”[/color]

Alina heeded the advice, taking in a deep breath of the outdoor air before planning on heading back inside for whatever Rosefell had in store. [color=73C2FB]“Well, you did such a good job with the ten-second tour… let’s just go inside and you can show me the area. If there are any other hidden oases like this one around, I may need to know where they are in the future.”[/color]

She finally eased herself off the railing that felt like it was tethering to the world for a minute before DeShawn started talking. Another deep breath escaped her lips. [color=73C2FB]“So lead the way through the promised land, DeShawn.”[/color]

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