Books Full of Nothing

[Macy Deltine]

Steve sat at his desk, reading a textbook on Electricity Control that he was meant to read for his class a few days before. He hadn't gone in a while, so he guessed that he needed to turn up sometime, so he didn't completely flunk this year. He moaned, and ruffled his hair, letting his mind wonder for a second, but he made it turn back to the book again.
In the early 19th Century, Martin Trevors, a scholar from England, found a tribe in Australia, that believed the lighting was a sign for the gods, and the few people that could control electricity were.....
Steve didn't need to know this. He didn't need to know the history of some people that he didn't know, and whatever else the threw at him. He set his head on his desk, trying to block the information that he had just read, but unfortunately, he was still remembering it.
He stared out the window that looked over the forest, and sighed. Some knocking came from the door, but he thought it was someone for the other guys.
"Came in." He called, over, still staring out the window.

[Jude Dorrian]

Jude pressed lightly forward and the door swung open at Steve's command. Nodding his head in greeting as he entered, Jude closed the door behind him.
The dorm was completely empty. That was usually something y'all could count on, 'cause most of the guys that spent their nights were out and about; either with their friends, girlfriends or out playing some kind of sport.
But Steve was usually on his own, which was kinda nice, in a way, 'cause it wasn't usually too hard for Jude to find him, if he felt like a conversation.
Like today.
"Hey," Jude smiled.

[Macy Deltine]

"Oh, hey. Can you pass me that shoe, there?" Steve asked, pointing to a nice, new trainer sitting near Caleb's things. It did have a brother, but Steve had already gotten to that one. He was still uptight at Caleb 'Holden' Anderson and his friends, when they had decided that Steve didn't need any to use any of his new paints that he had bought in Cardsdale earlier that week. "So, what's up?" He asked, while beginning to tap his desk, rapidly. He closed the book that he was attempting ro read, and set in on the floor by his bed.

[Jude Dorrian]

Jude picked up the shoe on his way across the room, tossing it to Steve. Reaching his friend, he sat down on his bed, watching Steve at his desk.
"Nothing really," Jude shrugged. "And yourself? Y'all don't look too messed up today."

[Macy Deltine]

Steve focused on the shoe for a second, making it burst into shreds. He then picked it up, opened the window, and tossing it out, he replied to Jude. "Yeah, well, everything below the neck works fine." He closed the window again, and turned around. "So, how's life, my man? With me, it's full of, y'know, delicious meds, some mocking from peers, skipping a couple of classes, the usual." He said, stratching the back of his head. He felt something in his tangled mess of hair, and pulled out a twig. "Hey, what do you know.." He said, placing it on his desk.

[Jude Dorrian]

Jude stared at the twig for a couple of seconds.
"Steve, y'all really ought to think about brushing your hair every once in a while. Maybe not everyday, but every week or something would be enough..."
Hows life? Well...
An old Frank Sinatra classic just hadn't stopped playing in his head since he and Ailith had gone bowling...
"Awesome," Jude said softly. "My life's kinda awesome at the moment. How's Macy?"

[Macy Deltine]

Steve thought for a moment, trying to answer Jude's question. "Macy's good. She asked me where we were the other day, and I told her that I was was where she was, or something, and she started crying, but she's a girl. But, yeah.." He said, finding a bug crawling across his desk. He put out his finger, so it crawled onto it, and started wondering across his hand. He finally stood up, opened his window again, and set it on the windowpane on the outside. "But, yeah, I think I'm inlove with her." He said, wiping his hands on his shirt, and turning back around to Jude.

[Jude Dorrian]

That Sinatra song just kept getting louder.
"What?!" laughed Jude. "You are? Then why the heck didn't y'all tell her that instead of letting her cry?"
Just like Steve, of course. But Macy would understand.
Macy loved him too, after all. She could forgive him anything.
It wasn't debatable. Sure, Macy hadn't ever said it, but Jude just knew, just by the way she got on with Steve; by the way she'd sobbed when they'd found Steve in Cardsdale, how scared she'd been, and how hard she'd fought against Deron...
Jude knew. He just knew.

[Macy Deltine]

"Well, I wasn't planning on her crying, anything, it wasn't anything major. Like, she hugged me a couple of seconds later, I swear, that girl should wear a mood ring, or even better, have mood hair." He said, looking though his bookshelves, that held little books, but more cds and old artpads that he had filled up. "But I don't think I'll tell her, cause I don't think that she'll be..I don't know, okay. But anyway.." He said, shaking his head, messing up his hair that was already messed up. "And you don't tell her, either. Okay?"

[Jude Dorrian]

The record came to a sudden, whirring halt.
"What?"
Maybe the title 'Bonkers from Yonkers' really wasn't so far off.
Then again, Jude had to reason, he'd never... exactly... meant to tell Ailith that he loved her. He'd just sort of... shouted it at her. It'd had just been his own stroke of luck that she'd said it back.
But this wasn't about him and Ailith. Steve and Macy... it was... he was certain...
"I don't understand," Jude said blankly, "er... why ain't you gonna tell her? She'd be happy, sure, wouldn't she?"

[Macy Deltine]

"How am I meant to know? She'll probably freak out or something. But, don't worry, I'm not telling her. Anyway, I don't think that she'll be albe to take it, since she's still trying to get over being tortured and whatever a while back. But she's stronger than she thinks, but still I don't want to hurt her anymore than she is, so I'm not telling her. Anyway, we've got something good, you know." He said, laughing. "Like, we can be so..normal around each other, it's nice." Steve smiled, looking out the window again, watching some clouds, that looked like they were going to part any minute to release a beam of sunlight. "Maybe sometime I will tell her, but not until I know she's okay with it. But, um, yeah, sorry I keep talking about her." He said, looking down, finally feeling the sun that had been trapped come out, and shine into his room.

[Jude Dorrian]

"No, you're fine," Jude grinned. "Real fine. It's probably a good idea for you to wait- probably better than what I did."
He hadn't told Steve about his recent triumph, but he felt that he should. It was one hell of a story to tell, and it would probably be heartening for his friend, who was in pretty much the same situation.
They were both in love.

[Macy Deltine]

"Yeah..." Steve said, half-listening. He was setting his pencils neatly ino rows on his desk, in order of tone. When this was done, he turned around, and then realised that he was meant to say something. "Oh, um, what did you do?" He said, rubbing his nose, hoping that is was the right question, and not have Jude turn around and say 'What the heck are you talking about?' He nervously tapped the desk, as he always did, and realised that his hair must have gone blue-ish, so he ran his figners though it again, changing it back to green.

[Jude Dorrian]

Steve wasn't really listening, was he? Ah, well, that made it easier. Jude may be the kind of person who listened to other people a lot, but he found it sometimes turned out easier if other people didn't listen to him. Meant he could talk about just about anything and they'd still be smiling at him after.
"I kinda... yelled I loved her at her when we went bowling."