[IC] Fateful Convergence

[Vocalia]

"Affirmative." Alexis sat up and gently brushed her fingers against Vincent's cheek one last time. "I look forward to another observation period with you," she said and gradually faded away as she scurried back into Hayley's subconscious, the blonde now wide awake after a good rest during the night. Well, look who broke the curfew, she jokingly said as she felt Alexis returning back into their shared subconscious. "My most sincere apology." she replied, but she sounded oddly calm and blase, almost as if she didn't regret staying until she was busted by Isaac.

Opening her eyes, Hayley yawned and stretched her arms. "Man... And I thought I was rebellious," she remarked.

[Daxam]

Isaac says nothing. Instead, he sits up, his face beet-red, and looks at Hayley for a few, long moments. Then, he chuckles and says, "It's funny. In my head, Alexis is apparently Mediterranean and, although she's beautiful, I still think you're better looking." Leaning over, he pecks Hayley's lips before asking, "How'd you sleep last night?"

[Vocalia]

"Well, I feel refreshed right now, so I must've slept well," Hayley replied with a bemused chuckle as she gently pinched Isaac's nose after he pecked her. "I hope you had a good night rest. Also, Mediterranean? Wonder why. Then again, it might just be her preference," she said with a shrug, but then noticed his beet-red face. "What's wrong? What exactly did you see anyway? Was she doing anything funny when you busted her and horndog Vincy?"

[Daxam]

Isaac looks away from Hayley and clears his throat, ignoring Vincent's steadily building laughter. A few moments later, Isaac sighs and says, "Well, that's not all...The two of them were making out and she was, well....naked..." It's not like I made her strip, Vincent says. When she showed up, she was already bare to the world! And you have to admit it, Isaac, she's fucking hot!

[Vocalia]

Hayley was stunned in silence with her jaw slack, but she was cursing her heart out inside her head. You can manifest a whole lot of things, do some crazy shit, and turn into a hot chick, but you can't even be bothered to cover up a bit?! she fumed. "Vincent has deemed my disguise to be acceptable. I am not bound to the concept of prudishness or pride," Alexis replied. "Fucking psycho... He really is a bad influence," she muttered in annoyance.

[Daxam]

Hey, if she wanted to put on clothes, she could've and I wouldn't have said anything, Vincent says. She can do whatever she wants if it feels comfortable. Isaac responds, Does that involve trying to get into her metaphorical pants? To that, Vincent stays silent, making Isaac roll his eyes. Sighing, he lays back and says, "Should we get out of bed now or just lay here for a little while longer?"

[Vocalia]

"Let's get up soon... I don't want Vincent influencing Alexis more than he already has," Hayley replied with a groan and hopped off the bed, gazing out the window. "Hmm... It's a bit dark outside. It might rain soon," she said, noticing the telltale dark clouds up high in the sky. She felt as if the rain had arrived to wash the blood-stained streets and their sadness, seeing that the weather had been nice yesterday when Sarah was killed.

[Daxam]

Isaac stands up and turns to Hayley, who was standing by the floor-to-ceiling window that made up one wall of their room. Seeing the dark sky, he sighs and walks over to his girlfriend. Wrapping his arms around her, he rests his head on her shoulder and says, "At least we don't have anything we need to do, today. Looks like it's gonna be a big storm."

[Vocalia]

"True. We can always relax and wind down for a change," Hayley replied, placing one hand on top of his and another on his head. "Well, we could always get to know our new friends. Not exactly looking forward to being buddy-buddies with psycho mafia and bleach hair limey, but, hey, at least the crazy woman's twin is a decent girl and she seems to be quite nice."

[Daxam]

Isaac chuckles and kisses Hayley's cheek, saying, "Well, at least we'll all be able to get along...hopefully." Releasing his girlfriend, he walks in front of the dresser and pulls out some clothes, saying, "I'll go ahead and use the bathroom, first. See you in a few minutes."

In the room across the hall from Isaac and Hayley's, Nigel slowly opens his eyes to find himself face-to-face with Aria, who was still asleep, her lips parted slightly as she softly breathes. Smiling, he moves closer to her and gently brings her into a loving kiss, deciding to wake her up that way. "Good morning, love," he whispers, his lips brushing against hers as he speaks.

[Vocalia]

Yawning softly, Arlia stirred and was awakened by Nigel's greeting kiss, looking at her beloved with nothing but love and passion for the man right in front of her. "Buongiorno, il mio amore," she replied and pushed herself close for another kiss before breaking away and giving him some space. "Did you sleep well?" she asked as she felt her sleepiness being washed away by the morning air.

[Daxam]

Nigel smiles and pulls Arlia closer, saying, "Actually, I did. Given what happened yesterday, I didn't think I'd be able to get any sleep." Touching his forehead, he then whispers, "It's amazing what sleeping in the arms of someone you love can do, is it not, my love?"

[Vocalia]

"Indeed... I was surprised I could get any sleep at all," Arlia remarked and lovingly nuzzled Nigel with the tip of her nose. "I'm happy to know that I can still bring you comfort and ward off your nightmares. It's the least I could do to help you, my dear." A sudden crack of thunder caused her to flinch, squeak, and whimper in fear. Looking out the window of their bedroom, Arlia noticed that it had started to rain. "Ah... No wonder it's a bit dark outside... I don't like bad weathers like this. It reminds me of my own father..."

[Daxam]

Nigel gently rubs Arlia's back soothingly, returning her nuzzle as he quietly says, "It's alright, love. I'm here, you don't have to worry about anything anymore." Smiling gently, he pecks her lips before adding, "If you want, you and I can spend the day in here after breakfast. I can't think of anything else I'd rather do than lay here with you in my arms, love."

[Vocalia]

"I would be lying if I say that I don't want you all to myself, just for today," Arlia replied, her arms lovingly wrapped around Nigel's torso as if glued by a velcro patch. Looking at the dark, stormy cloud, she sighed and mused. "It looks like a storm is brewing and that thunder was quite intense. I'm glad that we're all safe inside. That could've scared someone!"

Arlia wasn't aware how true her words are, let alone how close it was to home, as Hayley, upon hearing the thunder, was reduced to a sobbing wreck and had locked herself inside the bathroom as a result, having heard the loud boom while she was showering. Now, she helplessly curled up under the drenching, warm water, whimpering and closing her ears in the hopes that she wouldn't have to hear anything else.

[Daxam]

Isaac had been looking outside when he saw the fork of lightning arc across the sky, followed by an ear-shattering clap of thunder. Wow, Vincent says. It's almost like Sarah's death pissed off mother nature. Isaac was about to reply when he heard something, other than running water, come from the shower. Walking to the bathroom door, he knocks and calls, "Hayley? Are you okay?"

[Vocalia]

All Isaac and Vincent could hear from the locked bathroom were whimpering noises from Hayley and what sounded like muttering, but from where he was standing, it would be hard to tell what she was saying. Still, it's clear that something bad had happened for her to not respond straight away to Isaac's call and to not even shut off the shower to check on him.

[Daxam]

Hearing nothing but muttering and whimpering, Isaac immediately opens the door to find her huddled in the shower, in fear for her life. Not even caring that she was still naked, Isaac quickly strides over, shuts the shower off, and wraps his arms around his girlfriend. Gently rocking her, he rubs her back and quietly says, "It's alright, Hayley, I'm here. Are you okay? What happened?"

[Vocalia]

The moment she felt Isaac touching her, Hayley held onto him and whimpered like a frightened child, no longer bothering to put up a brave front. "Make it stop, Isaac... Please, make it stop..." she muttered like a broken record. Not even Alexis knew what had caused her "operator" to suddenly shut down after the thunder boomed and go into a state of trauma, so she kept herself busy delving into her memories and subconscious to look for answer.s

[Daxam]

Hearing Hayley whimper in fear and beg him to make it stop, Isaac felt as if something had clutched his heart and refused to let go. Pulling her closer, he rubs her back and quietly says, "I'm sorry, Hayley, I really, really wish I could. I don't want you to suffer like this..." So, unable to make the storm stop, he does the next best thing: he continues to hold her, gently rocking back and forth as he rubs her back, doing his best to help her.