7/24 Instance: Metal Therapy

[Starfish]

Timeline: Current.


Christopher: Chris pounded away at the heated metal trying to decide what to make of this. Today was a bad day, mostly because nothing came to mind but Sophia, so he just hammered harder at the metal.

Cessily: Cessily was greeted by a loud banging sound when she headed for the school's art room, making her wonder whether someone was already busy with crafting sets and props for Lorna's project. Stepping through the door, she noticed the bright shine coming from the adjacent crafts room.

Cessily: Curious about any metalwork in progress, she headed straight for the doorway and peeked around the corner, spotting Chris as he was swinging wildly away at a piece of metal.

Christopher: Chris hammered harder at the piece of metal. "Fucking turn into something already." Her groaned.

Cessily: "Maybe you should try again with some more malleable metal." Cessily chuckled and walked in, peeking over Chris's shoulder to see what he was working on. "Fortunately I've never had that problem."

Christopher: Chris jumped a little and the searing hot metal almost caught him. "Holy shit don't scare me like that. And are you suggesting I work with some other sort of metal?"

Cessily: "Sorry, didn't mean to scare you," Cessily said, giving Chris an awkward smile. "And nah, I'm sure you know what you're doing. That was just my lame attempt at humour. Since I'm made of metal and can change my form, you know..." She sighed. "Yeah."

Christopher: "Well I know a certain metal I haven't worked with in forever." He gever her a smirk and picked up the metal with his tongs.

Cessily: Cessily arched an eyebrow, before glancing down at the piece of metal. "So, what are you working on? Anything special for Lorna's project, perhaps?"

Christopher: "Nah I'm almost done with all that. Just workin out some aggression."

Cessily: "Oh, I see." Cessily looked from the metal to Chris's face and back again. "Now, I guess that's certainly one way to deal with any pent up aggression. Though, I've heard talking also helps." She smiled again.

Christopher: "Yeah... Beating the hell out of a piece of metal works well enough though."

Cessily: "If you say so." Cessily nodded slowly. "I won't bother you if you'd prefer to be left alone, but if you decide that talking may not be so useless, after all..."

Christopher: "It's fine Cess. I miss hanging out with you." He wiped his face off with his shirt. "I can take a break for you."

Cessily: "Well, nothing probably wouldn't make tormenting a defenseless piece of metal necessary, would it?" She leaned back against a nearby counter. "Mind telling me what's on your mind?"

Christopher: "Lot of things babe... lot of things." He frowned and pulled up a chair.

Cessily: "Good that I have a flexible schedule then, no?" Cessily smiled. "Why don't you just start with the first thing that comes to your mind?"

Christopher: "Just got my head all fucked up with relationship shit. Well ex-relationship shit now..."

Cessily: "Oh, I see." Cessily pulled herself up no the counter to take a seat. "Though, that's a welcome change." She paused to frown for a moment. "Uhm, guess that came out wrong. What I wanted to say is that there have been so many students traumatized by what happened to that poor kid that it's hard to keep it from affecting me."

Cessily: "You're in luck, though." Her smile returned. "One could say relationships are my expertise."

Christopher: "Yeah. I feel bad for that poor kid. But stuff like that happens. People are fucking horrible."

Cessily: "The majority of them are actually pretty decent," Cessily replied. "Sadly, it only takes few to ruin the lives of many." She paused, giving the boy a long look. "So, what's the matter? Broken heart? Blue balls?"

Christopher: "I'd say broken heart but I dunno. I'm just pissy about Sophia leaving I guess."

Cessily: "You really liked her, didn't you?" Cessily smiled sympathetically at the boy, idly kicking her legs back and forth.

Christopher: "Yeah.... I mean we were together for what two three years?"

Cessily: Cessily nodded. "That's not easy; trust me, I know. Sadly, it's part of this whole college life." She let out a sigh. "You make good friends, and before you know it, they graduate and leave."

Christopher: "Yeah. Just thought we were gonna last." He ran his fingers through his hair. "Now just about everytime I even think about that kind of stuff with another girl I feel guilty."

Cessily: "I thought the same with my first boyfriend here at the school, but eventually life put us on different sides of the planet, and there was little we could but move on." She showed Chris a quick smile. "Why do you feel guilty, though? Because you feel like cheating when thinking about other girls?"

Christopher: "Basically." He frowned and pulled at his hair. "And what happens if I start up a relationship with someone else and she does come back... then what. Life's fucking confusing Cess."

Cessily: "Especially at that age, isn't it?" Cessily gave him a wink. "I know you may not want to hear it, but what makes things like these so complicated is that there's rarely a quick and easy solution. It's all a long, slow, and often painful way to figure out who you are and what you want, among other things."

Christopher: "Yeah.... I've noticed that. Worse thing is every where I turn it seems like someone wants me to make that decision."

Cessily: "Ah yes, demands and expectations from friends and family... what's not to love?" Cessily chuckled dryly. "One tip I can give you here and now, however, is that you shouldn't let yourself feel pressured."

Christopher: "Yeah. Feeling pressured. Cuz anything about college keeps that away."

Cessily: "You may not be able to stop those around your from expecting something from you, but you certainly can make it easier for yourself by not dwelling on it too much." She nodded. "And you have to accept that other people need to make their own decisions. Even if you old girlfriend returns someday, no one should expect you to wait that long."

Christopher: "Doesn't mean it won't be awkward and I won't still have feelings for her..."

Cessily: "Of course, you never can be sure of those things. There is no perfect way through life, Chris, and you certainly can't plan ahead for anything that might happen." Cessily paused for a moment. "Sometimes we do make decisions that eventually turn out to be mistakes, that's just part of life."

Cessily: She smiled again. "But sometimes you have to decide between taking risks and stopping to live your life completely."

Christopher: "Can't just decide to hide in my room till this all goes away." He laughed a little. "Or hammer my troubles away on a piece of metal?"

Cessily: Cessily laughed. "Oh, if hammering away at things helps you work out your frustrations, by all means go on. It's important not to bottle up too much."

Christopher: "No comment." He laughed again. "Yeah I know that. Just makes things worse."

Cessily: "Remember there are many other things you can do for therapeutic reasons," Cessily said. "The Danger Room can be amazing for that kind of things, and it help hone your abilities. And should you ever feel like doing something productive with all that pent up energy, there's always some kind of art project going on."

Christopher: "Yeah, I know I've been working out a lot. And making a shit ton of stuff. I'm sure prof Drake's runnin out of room for my stuff."

Cessily: "Hey, at least there's a good side to things then, no?" Cessily put on a wry smile. "Your grades should benefit from it."

Christopher: "Hah. My grades are fine though. That's not the problem." He frowned. "The only thing that bothers me about this is I can't get on with my own life. I mean, I think about doing something with someone or movin on with someone and I just feel fuckin horrible..." He sighed.

Cessily: Cessily nodded. "Sounds to me as if you needed closure," she said. "How did you two part ways back then? What I is, was there a fight or anything? Maybe you can still contact her?"

Christopher: "She left, and she said we'd take a break till she came back. Cept she's not gonna come back as far as I know and to me that means it's over. We haven't really talked about it. And I think that's why I'm all fucked up over it." He sighed. "I mean I don't want it to be over.... But I can't move down there, and she's not comming back up here. So I don't see any fixes."

Cessily: "I see..." Cessily bit her lip. "Doesn't look like there's a really painless way out of it, no? Well, if you're interested in my advice, I'd say you should try calling her, or at least write her a letter if you know her address. Get a clear statement, you know?"

Christopher: "Yeah. I've been putting off calling her..."

Cessily: "I know it's a tough thing to do," Cessily said, "but you can believe me when I say you won't stop having doubts until you go through with it."

Christopher: "Yeah...." He sighed. "Guess I'll have to just get this over with sometime..." Chris ran his fingers through his hair again.

Cessily: Cessily hopped off the counter and stepped behind Chris's chair, putting her hands on his shoulders to give him a good squeeze. "No matter how it goes, I promise you'll feel better afterwards. Eventually."

Christopher: "Thanks babe." He leaned back and looked up at her giving her a smile.

Cessily: "Anytime, sweetheart," Cessily replied and grinned down at Chris. "You know my door is always open, so feel free to stop by and chat whenever you want."

Christopher: "Same with mine." He reached back and poked her. "Even though you're a teacher now that doesn't mean we can't still be friends right?"

Cessily: "Oh, I very much hope so!" Cessily laughed. "Just because I'm a member of staff now, doesn't mean I'm too boring to be invited to student parties. I'd feel insulted if you guys treated me any different."

Christopher: "I'm sure I could cook up a party for ya Cess." He laughed a little.

Cessily: Cessily grinned. "Really? Tell me if you need any help with that." She thumbed over her shoulder. "So, I guess I should get back to work, if you don't need me any more... I'm sure you still have some hammering to do, no?"

Christopher: "That's no fun. We haven't gotten to hang out in forever." He frowned.

Cessily: "You can always come along and help me," Cessily offered. "If you're not scared of making some more set pieces for Lorna's project."

Christopher: "Hah that's my job babe." He prodded her and smiled now that he wasn't thinking of his issues. "And maybe we'll find something fun to do along the way."

Cessily: Cessily smirked, looking back at Chris over her shoulder. "We'll see, okay? One step after the other."

Christopher: "Lets get going then." He got up and grabbed his shirt.