It was three in the afternoon by the time Alex had walked home with a hazy smile and a congratulatory chai tea latte from a lovely market vendor she had discovered on an exploratory walk during her first walk. Her tote bag bumped her leg for every stride she took and a few untamed locks of hair peeking out from beneath her hat tickled the back of her neck irritatingly as the breeze ruffled them, and her sweater was a little too cloying for this heat...but she didn't pay any of it any mind. Jethro had asked her out, and she was suprisingly and exceedingly happy about it. Despite her confusion as to their 'status' after their nights out, and her attempts to be aloof and separate from previous experiences with emotion out of some naive attempt at maturity - she liked Jethro. He was cute, and funny, and he dressed well and smelt nice and pushed her hair up and back in a particular way she liked very much but could never replicate. She smiled again with renewed fervor as she stepped into her flat block and then called the elevator. The doors opened to Kitty's form on the other side, and she looked up from her phone with ever-so-slightly pouting lips (perfectly red with porcelain foundation, a Snow White look Alex knew she wore when she felt homesick) and broke form into a smirk as Alex grinned back at her. "You look sickeningly cheery, child. Did someone you hate die?" Alex didn't stop grinning, but she did shake her head as she swapped places with Kitty. "Jet asked me over for dinner." She said, and the doors closed before Kitty could reply with more than a raised eyebrow and another smirk. - Up in their apartment, Alex locked the door behind her - Kitty had a key - and dumped her bag on the kitchen counter, walking around the table into the attached living area, flumping down on the sofa and looking at the clock that sat on top of the television. Ten past three. Three hours and fifty minutes. Three and a half before she had to leave. She sat in contemplation for a few seconds, and then got up again. She had time. She went to her room and shut the door, closing the latch. She made sure her window was shut tight and secure and then drew her curtains before stepping over to her desk and plugging her phone into her speakers, turning them up as she began to play music. With the scene set, Alex retreated to her bed. Sat atop her covers, legs crossed and pillow laid across her lap, she rested her hands on it palms up, and closed her eyes. Breathing slow, she let herself feel the weight of the air on her palms, feel the rush of breath in and out of her. She felt the buzzing of the molecules and then a spark, and she exhaled, her breath becoming thick and gray as the same smoke began to slowly roll from her palms and spill down the pillow onto her bed, eventually reaching the floor. From there it got easier, and the smoke spread faster, rising by itself off the floor and expanding, worming through the air in a way similar to lightning until Alex's entire bedroom, from wall to floor to wall to ceiling, was filled with her smoke. She moved the pillow from her lap and swung her legs over the edge of her bed, standing and pacing around her room. She swung her arms and watched as the smoke moved around her and then re-settled. She felt comfortable, and she moved her hand toward and away from her face, watching it disappear into the fog, her arm a fading stump. Something banged on her window and she jumped, and the smoke instantly fell to the floor and dissipated immediately, no thought being held to its upkeep. Alex swallowed and breathed, the effort of sustaining her radius always surprising her. She moved over the window and peeled back the curtain, peering into the courtyard below. Oli was standing with his hands on his hips, nose scrunched as he looked up. He waved and pointed at the door, and then walked towards it as Alex disappeared from view. - He was in the apartment within 5 minutes and comfortable within ten, splayed out on the sofa as Alex fixed two cups of tea. She brought them over carefully, shooing his feet off the coffee table as she did so, and sat in a chair opposite. He sipped, blew, sipped again, smiled, and then put it down on a coaster. He looked up at Alex and grinned. "I passed Kitty on the way." He said, and Alex groaned, dropping her head into her hands and peeking through her fingers. There was a smile there, Oli knew, but she was being melodramatic for the sake of amusement. "Know what you're wearing?" Alex looked up. "No. Nothing [i]too[/i] nice. I like him but I don't wanna seem..." Oli smirked. He knew what she meant. "But I can't just wear what I always wear, then it looks like I don't care at all. And my clubbing stuff is too slutty..." Oli gasped. "Your clubbing fashion is hot as hell, girl. I know what you should wear." With that, Oli set his half-drained mug down on the table and jumped up, rushing to Alex's room. She raised an eyebrow and did the same. She found him standing in front of her wardrobe, holding something she couldn't quite see. He turned and threw it at her and she saw that it was one of her shirts, a silver sheen one she wore on nights out. Oli bent down and opened a drawer, grabbing a bodycon skirt and throwing that at her as well. "There you go. Black or silver pumps and some skimpy underwear and you'll do wonders. Classy, but the skirt makes your butt look hella good." Alex chuckled, and nodded, folding the ensemble and putting them on her bed. "Lovely. You always come through for me, Oli." He shrugged and pretended to shoo off her compliment. "It's what I'm here for. So what has he got planned for you two then?" He asked, and Alex knew that it addressed the specifics of the night and the broader situation. She shrugged in reply. "He's cooking for me, apparently. No flatmates -" Oli raised his eyebrows and smirked, Alex grinning as she continued- "and he got an advance of weed from his dealer for a favour." "Dumb dealer." Oli said, sniffing and leaving the room to get back to his unfinished mug of tea. Alex followed. "Or a good favour." And they both chuckled. - Five'o'clock by the time Oli left, three mugs later. Kitty had come back at half past four and waved as she passed on the way to her room - she always studied for an hour after a lecture. Alex had received a text from Tré - who had also heard from Kitty, and who had wished her 'good luck' and a passing joke about her 'little sister growing up so fast' - and then gone back to her room, undressing and then taking a shower. Half past five. Alex did her hair, taming it as much as she could without chopping bits off, and holding it in place with clips and hair spray, and then her makeup. Ten to six. She got dressed, tights, skirt, shirt - buttons, tuck in - shoes. She stepped out of her room back to the living area and stood infront of the full-length mirror Kitty had propped up against the wall. Oli was right, it did have an element of class. And the skirt [i]did[/i] make her butt look good. Six'o'clock. Alex had a beer. Ten past six. She had some water. Quarter past. She went to the loo. Twenty. Twenty-five. She jumped when Kitty cleared her throat from the doorway. "Just go. You look great. If something like you turned up on [i]my[/i] doorway a few minutes early, I probably wouldn't begrudge it too much." Alex smiled. "That was almost something nice, Kitty." She remarked, and Kitty smiled back. "Almost," she replied, "so leave before I have to balance it out." They chuckled. Alex left.