Stay Silent • •

[Gwendolyn Hope Watson-Ward]

It wasn't very often that Gwendolyn used the computer labs at the university. She had her laptop and a pretty nice set up desktop at home, but today she had spent a good portion of the afternoon and early evening tucked behind one of the university’s monitors. She had a project to work on and with her uncle out of town on a business trip, the house was far too big and lonely for her liking. Even if she did hide out in her room a lot, Gwendolyn liked to hear him moving about or see him whenever she went down for meals. As for her laptop, Gwendolyn had set out in a rush that morning and while she had packed her laptop in her bag, she had forgotten to grab the charger, so after a morning of taking notes in class it had died. Luckily the computers in the labs had all of the animation equipment she needed to work on her latest project and since she kept everything back up not only on her own computers, but also on three different USB drives, Gwendolyn was prepared.

With her headphones, a Disney soundtrack on and Skittles to keep her going, Gwen was set for some time. She didn't even notice the hours ticking away as she worked or the people who came and went around her. She had lived her whole life in a very solitary bubble and even now she was more comfortable staying like that. Her uncle hoped that she would become more sociable and move on with her life enough to live outside of her shell, but so far Gwendolyn slipped back into her comfort zone without even thinking about it. She didn't even notice the guy hovering behind her watching her screen when she ran through what she had so far to see if there was anything she didn't like or that she wanted to touch up before moving on to the next part of her project. She truly did live in her own little bubble.

It was coming up close to the end of the class day when Gwendolyn felt her eyes growing heavy. She hadn't slept well for the last ten years and she hated relying on sleeping pills, so she didn't. However that meant she frequently found herself needing breaks or a nap and they didn't always come at the most convenient of times. The young blonde didn't really want to leave the desk for fresh air, so instead she just saved all of her work and then opened up the internet browser to find something that might give her mind a little bit of a break. Ever since she was a young girl, Gwendolyn had loved cartoons and she never felt like she was too old for them. She didn't even mind watching whole series time and time again. Today she wound up clicking on the link to watch Adventure Time, even though she could probably quote the episodes. Her headphones were in place so she didn't disturb anyone around her, but Gwendolyn didn't realise that she kept nodding off. She had made a reasonably good pillow out of her tucked up knees and the sleeves of her cardigan that she barely noticed that this wasn't her room and that the sky was darkening more and more each passing minute. She would be there all night if someone didn't wake her up.

• • •

TAGGED! Simon! <3
WORDS! 598!
OUTFIT! Sleepy Sweetie!
LYRICS! A War Inside - - - We Came As Romans
NOTES!

[Simon Arden Whitley]

Simon didn’t spend a whole lot of time on the school campus. Not unless he really had to be there did he stick around long after his classes were through. He had a sweet set up at home and it was there that he liked to work. He wasn’t a social outcast or anything like that; hell he wasn’t even all that shy. But he liked the options working in his apartment provided. He could blast the music if he wanted or he could keep it silent and hear only the sounds of his fingers hitting the keys. He could play his own music or switch it up with a television show in the background. He could do whatever he pleased and there was no one there to yell at him for making a mess and not picking it all up immediately as a Smartie bounced off the computer desk. His sister was hardly home after developing a few dozen cases of friendship so the apartment was more often than not empty.

Not that Simon minded that all that much but it did mean that occasionally he actually felt how quiet it was and that he didn’t like. Even with Tex curled up on his bed next to the desk, it could often feel too empty. So Simon usually packed up his things and hit the library or just went to Font earlier than he needed to be there. He’d worked there since he’d found himself in New York and liked the place well enough to keep going back at every shift. He didn’t have a shift that night; it was his day off which was why he scheduled the group project meet for that night. But the group thing fell through and instead they chose to assign each member a task. Simon was fine with that, he worked better alone at first anyway. So he could easily get through his portion easily enough, maybe even that night if he got on a roll with it.

He stuck to the labs simply because it would be easier for the other group members to attach their sections to the whole, passing by another girl as he went. He paused seeing the work of the girl for longer than he probably should of since he had a project of his own to finish. It was hardly a major one but it was still something that had a grade attached to it and Simon wanted the best one he could get. Settled at a desk, Simon went to work on his project, completely forgetting the room around him as was habitual when he seriously got down to business. Animation may not have been his entire life but it was a rather big part of it and everything he did for a class, he did to the best of his abilities. He missed nights out with friends to get some school work in though as he actually needed a job to survive in New York, he didn’t miss a shift.

Quite some time later, Simon leaned back in his chair to stretch out his stiff limbs and roll his neck from side to side. He’d been at it for a while and now, his portion of the assignment was done, just needing be uploaded to the group account and saved. As he was waiting for that, he started packing up his things and looking around noticing he wasn’t the only one still in the room. He could have sworn throughout the time he was there the people who were there had left and those who showed up were also long gone. Once saved, Simon closed down the computer and double checked that he was completely logged off. He was a picky person when it came to the computers he used. His friends often joked that he was paranoid but he would rather be safe than show up in case to see his work with someone else’s name on it. He started to leave when he realised the only other person in the room, the girl from earlier was actually asleep. She couldn’t stay that way, security would be coming through soon enough to lock it all down. “Excuse me.” He said, softly shaking the girl’s shoulder to wake her up. “Hey, you got to get up. They’re going to lock it down soon.”

Tag || Gwendolyn Hope Watson-Ward
Words || 729
Clothes || Coming Soon!
Music || Roll Your Window Down ---Scotty McCreery
Notes || <3!

[Gwendolyn Hope Watson-Ward]

Gwendolyn didn't at all mean to fall asleep in the computer labs. She hadn't meant to fall asleep at all. In the last ten years sleep hadn't exactly been a loyal friend to her and cat naps were all she was ever able to manage. Gwendolyn didn't complain about it though; she was too used to it. She got enough to make it through and when she did fall asleep at inopportune there was always an excuse she had ready, but usually she just blamed the night before and a bad project or something similar. Not that too many people ever asked her about it. Gwendolyn wasn't the most sociable of people and living in her shell was something she had never been able to break away from, even when she wanted to try. She was introverted and keeping to herself was all she really knew. When she felt someone shaking her, Gwendolyn almost fell out of the seat as she startled away. Blinking as she stretched her legs out, she looked at the time on the computer monitor and groaned, dropping her face to her hands. Taking a deep breath, she pushed her tangled mass of hair from her face and looked back around the now empty computer lab, slowly getting her bearings again. “Um, thanks.” She mumbled, her voice still thick with sleep as she pulled herself from that post nap haze. “I never meant to fall asleep.” She added, more to herself than to the guy who had kindly woken her before she found herself locked in the lab overnight.

Checking that her work was saved, Gwendolyn quickly swiped through the logging off process and tossed her things back into her bag, sliding her chair under the desk before she left. She exited the room with the kind stranger, but she never said anything to him. Instead she closed her cardigan over herself and wrapped her arms around her grumbling stomach. Another nervous trait of hers, but Gwendolyn never had anyone call her out on it. The cardigans covered the faint scars still on her arms and she frequently wrapped them around her body like some kind of safety blanket. She kept her head down and kept moving at a slow but steady pace until she was outside the building. Then she noticed how the evening had drawn in already and her heart dropped; the expression on her face matching. Gwendolyn would have to walk the distance home as it got darker and darker and the sky was already almost black. She wouldn't take a cab or vehicle of any kind even when she had the money to do so. It could be a raging thunderstorm and Gwendolyn would always opt to walk despite arriving home soaked to the bone and shivering. Ever since the accident in her childhood she had never liked being in any kind of vehicle and in the past her uncle had to force her into cars or get a prescription for medication that would keep Gwendolyn subdued or asleep for the duration of their travelling. It was why she very rarely left the city and why it was even rarer for her to go on vacation.

• • •

TAGGED! Simon Arden Whitley
WORDS! 584!
OUTFIT! Sleepy Sweetie!
LYRICS! A War Inside - - - We Came As Romans
NOTES!

[Simon Arden Whitley]

Simon didn’t usually like going into the computer labs when he had a perfectly good computer at home but this was a special situation and it was better off done in the lab. He didn’t particularly enjoy group projects for this reason alone but what could he do, really. There was nothing but to grin and get through it as painlessly as possible. Lucky for him, the group assignments were few and far between in all his classes or Simon might have been thinking about a different major! At least he could admit he liked the people he’d been grouped with. They got along well enough in class that he didn’t feel like he was forcing himself to do his part of the work. Of the four of them, there was only one who slacked off but he didn’t actually seem to do it on purpose. It was like his attention span just couldn’t handle the required workload of an assignment. So maybe a group project, where he only had a small part to do would be better for him. Simon sure as hell hoped so since he expected a good grade from himself.

It was a long and laborious night by the time Simon had uploaded his work. He was impressed his eyes weren’t crossed now that he wasn’t looking at a computer screen and all the coding his section had needed. It was a lot to get through but Simon was confident about his work and thought it was some of the best that he’d done so far that year. And thankfully, it was all done and he didn’t have to look at it again until the finished product was in front of him and the rest of his group and they could work out the kinks of the project. With everything gathered, he expected to go home, grabbing something to eat along the way and see if his sister was home yet or if she was going out with her friends again that night. He was happy she’d found herself some friends so easily. She needed them.

Simon smiled softly at the girl in front of him. He knew how it was. You get into your work so much that time just seems to stand still and the world around just ceases to exist. He’d done that himself too many times to count. “No worries. I’ve done it myself a time or two. I'm Simon, by the way. I'm an animation student here.” He admitted, chuckling. Simon didn't want to scare this girl so he'd given her his name, his major, both things that could be easily found if she wanted to check. He wasn't interested in scaring her, only to help her since it was what he'd want if it were his sister. “Come on then, it’s late. I’ll walk you to your car or dorm building.” He offered because it was getting late and he’d stories about girls walking around anywhere at night. He would want someone to walk his sister to their shared Civic if she had it with her and not just leave her stranded somewhere. “ I'm starving, are you hungry?” He asked as his stomach decided it was time to inform him of its needs. He was starving.

Tag || Gwendolyn Hope Watson-Ward
Words || 546
Clothes || Gorgeous Geek!
Music || Roll Your Window Down ---Scotty McCreery
Notes || <3!

[Gwendolyn Hope Watson-Ward]

Gwendolyn didn't usually spend too much of her time on the university campus like some of the other students. She didn't really make friends easily, so she didn't spend her free time with classmates. She had everything she needed for projects and assignments back at home so unless she had to pick something up from the library, Gwendolyn mostly only ever went to her classes and then went home. If she had an hour or so to kill in the middle then she might grab lunch or mooch around the campus store, but Gwendolyn wasn't one of the students who made the most of the campus' many facilities. She was much more comfortable spending her time at home, even if her uncle often encouraged her to try to step out of her little bubble more. Gwendolyn felt like she did that each weekend shift she worked at Broadway though. She just wasn't ready for anything more than that. Not yet.

However, if there was one thing she liked less than the crowds it was the silence. The Manhattan townhouse her uncle owned was too big for one tiny nineteen year old. Their housekeeper would be there from seven until seven five during the day, but after that Gwendolyn would be there on her own for the rest of the night and not even the plumbing groaned. The silence left Gwendolyn with too much time to think and then the nightmares and the memories she worked painfully hard to forget tended to come flooding back to her. It was just easier to try to stay away from it for as long as possible. Her plan for when she did get home would be to turn the TV up loud and to play Disney movies while she continued to work or relax. After that impromptu nap she wasn't exactly sure when sleep would claim her again, or if it would even come for her again that night. It was already pretty late now.

Gwendolyn tucked her long hair behind her ear and managed a shy smile. “Gwendolyn. And...ditto.” Animation was the only thing she truly saw herself doing as a future career. It had been the one thing that had helped her move through the darkest hours of her own life and she wanted to offer the same hope and salvation for others who might need rescuing in the same way that she had done. Her past was not something she would wish upon anyone else, but she knew others went through similar and worse than what she did. She twisted the small stud earring in her left ear and swallowed hard, shaking her head slowly. “I don't have either.” She explained softly. “I live across the city. I just walk it.” For Gwendolyn there was no other option for travelling and she wouldn't want to put someone out of their way. She adjusted her bag on her shoulder and nodded her head silently. It was only after that, when another silent pause had gone by that Gwendolyn realised that Simon might not have been paying attention to her for silent gestures. “Yeah. I could eat.” There would probably be something prepared for her when she got home with re-heating instructions, but Gwendolyn had a terrible habit of ignoring those meals and ordering in. It wasn't that she was unappreciative of the effort the housekeeper went to, but her own cookery skills were lacking. Even re-heating could result in disaster.

• • •

TAGGED! Simon Arden Whitley
WORDS! 586!
OUTFIT! Sleepy Sweetie!
LYRICS! A War Inside - - - We Came As Romans
NOTES!

[Simon Arden Whitley]

If it had been up to Simon, he would have done the entire project by himself without a single complaint. It would have been four times more work but at least he could do it at home and not have to worry about it being on the school’s server for whenever his partners got around to doing their part. There was a plus side to it all though, it was logged when he worked on it himself so it would be clearly stated that he’d done more than his fair share when the professor went in and had a look. The overall project might get a barely passing grade, but he wouldn’t. And in the end, that was what mattered to Simon. He wasn’t fond of group assignments to begin with and then he got stuck with this group who seemed to do everything the last minute. It was driving Simon crazy.

But he wanted to be a game developer. He wanted to bring some entertainment to the masses and the only way to get there, was to pass the class. It was a burden he was willing to deal with; especially since he met some interesting people while being stuck in the school’s computer rooms working most of the night away. He really didn’t know how it had gotten to be so late. It was like he blinked and hours just flew by. If only his shifts at work did the same thing. But of course, those had to lag on and on with little to show for it. Well, at least he liked working at Font. There had yet to be a dull moment there; even during the staff meetings! “Pleasure to meet you, Gwendolyn.”

Simon didn’t usually get his car from its parking spot unless he needed to go somewhere further than his feet or the metro could take him. It wasn’t often he needed to leave the city so he tended to leave the car parked and walk wherever he needed to go. It was simpler, saved a ton of money on petrol since he didn’t have to fill his tank as often and he got a good workout; especially when he had a heavy bag to lug about. “So will you let a fellow animation student walk you home?” He asked, again, making sure she was going to let him. He didn’t live near campus either. It was easier and cheaper to find an apartment further away from campus than it was to find anything close to it. Student places were filled by the time Simon rolled into town so he’d had to make other arrangements. But it had all worked out for him. He’d found a two bedroom apartment in a rent controlled building and was paying a serious fraction of the cost of any other place in the city. Miracles did happen. “Do you fancy anything in particular? There’s a good diner down the street and a great pizza joint about a block that way.” Simon said, pointing in the general direction of the great little pizza place he’d discovered one night after staying late at the library a few months back.

Tag || Gwendolyn Hope Watson-Ward
Words || 563
Clothes || Gorgeous Geek!
Music || Roll Your Window Down ---Scotty McCreery
Notes || <3!

[Gwendolyn Hope Watson-Ward]

Gwendolyn knew her uncle wished that she had been able to come out of her shell more, but she had always felt so different to the children she had gone to school with. None of them had been through the kind of trauma she had. Even those who had lost a parent or a sibling had lost them usually to an illness or had had other family who had been there to help them through. Gwen had her uncle, of course, but back when the accident had happened he was practically a stranger. It had taken a long time for her to open up to him and that was with the help and guidance of doctors and child therapists who were trained to help those who came from tragedies like Gwendolyn. She knew she was still suffering in many ways, and that most of college scared her rather than helped her, but she did have a small slither of hope that something may still help her confidence a little bit before graduation came in a few more years.

Beyond that all she wanted to do was to make happy animations to bring some light to even the darkest of days. Disney movies had helped her when no one else could and Gwendolyn wanted to be a part of that. Maybe not specifically Disney, but she wanted to be someone who had the power to make the characters come to life who little children would fall in love with and cherish long after they had grown up. It wasn’t something she boasted to many people, in fact only her uncle and her therapist knew, but it was her little dream and it was the reason she had to get out of bed in the morning. She could only nod at Simon right now though. Her social skills had always been lacking, not just around strangers but even with those she considered herself close to. That group wasn’t very large though since not too many people stuck around once they realised she wasn’t the greatest person to hang around with.

Her eyes widened, and for a second Gwendolyn suspected she was doing a rather fantastic impression of Nemo. “It’s really quite a walk. I mean, it’ll probably take you way out of your own way.” She didn’t want to impose on anyone, least of all someone who had just met her. “Not that I’m not grateful for the offer.” It was dark out, and it would be even darker by the time she did make it home, even if she walked quickly, but it just wasn’t in her nature to say ‘yes’ to offers like Simon’s. Gwen didn’t know what she was afraid of, but there was always a fear there that she couldn’t understand. Her eyes lit up though at the mention of a diner. When it came to quirks, Gwendolyn had many, and a love of diners was one of them, even if she wasn’t all that fond on leaving her uncle’s house. “I like diners.” She said quietly, moving her hair across her face shyly, covering her mouth with blonde locks.

• • •

TAGGED! Simon Arden Whitley
WORDS! 528!
OUTFIT! Sleepy Sweetie!
LYRICS! A War Inside - - - We Came As Romans
NOTES!

[Simon Arden Whitley]

Simon had wished when he’d left San Diego behind that Jessie would have tagged along but she had her own life to lead and he couldn’t be a presence in that life. He needed to be on the east coast, attending classes and pulling tricks whilst he poured drinks at Font. He’d taken enough time away from his education and it had been high time he returned when he’d made the conscious decision to do so. What it all meant in the end were missed phone calls and Skype call tag and text messages that were more cryptic on her end than anything Simon had ever known. Simon for his part, didn’t exactly tell her everything either. His parents wouldn’t have been overly pleased with the fact that he was earning a bit of extra cash by tending bar. They would have preferred he find a nice, safe place on campus.

And telling them the only place he’d ever find a job like that would be in Mayberry wasn’t allowed. Not that his parents wouldn’t find it funny. It was just that his child psychologist mother would go on a long winded rant about being sarcastic and what it really meant about a person and his father, would just sit back and laugh at the mother and son argument. He had learned long ago to step back whenever the pair of them started in because it was far more amusing to watch than to get involved with it. And it always ended with a good laugh because the pair always lost their trains of thought and ended up talking about absolute nonsense. At least his parents supported his desire to be in animation and didn’t fight him over that. It was one of the few things they didn’t argue over.

It had always been obvious that Simon liked it and was good at it. His parents were many things, but they weren’t the type of people to tell him to give up on a dream. And they taught him to be polite and considering. He might not always act like that, he was trying to sort out a reputation of his own in New York, not that it was going well or anything but those lessons hadn’t completely disappeared. No matter what he did, he was a sweet guy. “I don’t live anywhere near campus anyway.” He admitted, chuckling. “Besides, I’d want someone to offer if it were my sister trying to walk home alone in this city.” He continued easily enough. He hitched his bag higher onto his shoulder, adjusting it so it rested comfortably while Gwendolyn debated his question about food. He was pretty damn hungry but if she wasn’t interested, he would wait until he got to his neighbourhood to stop at the diner there. He straightened, his smile brightening up. “Great! We can get some pie!” He said, holding his hand out to help her up.

Tag || Gwendolyn Hope Watson-Ward
Words || 528
Clothes || Gorgeous Geek!
Music || Roll Your Window Down ---Scotty McCreery
Notes || <3!

[Gwendolyn Hope Watson-Ward]

Sometimes Gwen sat and wondered what she’d be like if her family had survived the crash like her. She thought about what they’d be like now, and if she’d be quiet or popular. Growing up without them was tough. Hearing kids in school and even college talk about their siblings and parents, complaining about something they had done or squealing in delight over a gift or good news only brought back those ‘what ifs’ for Gwen. Her uncle had done his best with her. She couldn’t fault him there. He had no children of his own, had never married and had taken a very broken and traumatised little girl into his home and done everything he could to put her back together again. Nothing had been perfect, but he had tried to be all that Gwen needed when she needed it. She knew she hadn’t been easy for him, and she knew she still wasn’t, but she couldn’t change that. All she could do was show her uncle that she appreciated everything he had done for her, and she had done that by adopting his last name, adding it to her own. He was her family, all she had left.

She still had memories, which is how she knew she had missed out on a lot. All of those good memories of her childhood eventually merged with the horror of the crash though, which led to her quirks showing and Gwendolyn retreating into herself more. She had seen more doctors and therapists than she cared to recall and all of them had offered the same advice that had eventually started to sound more and more like “get over it.” Of course, they never said those exact words, but that was how she interpreted it when they asked how many years ago everything had happened, and emphasised how much of a future she could have if she looked beyond her past. Ten years was a long time, but not when she could remember the horrors like they had happened the night before on another sleepless night. Gwendolyn hadn’t found anyone in the world who could understand, not truly. It hurt sometimes, but that was when she relied on Disney most of all, and then she remembered the reason why she stepped out of the door most mornings and forced herself through a day of college.

She would help kids like herself who needed the escape. They needed the fairy tales and the characters, the bright colours and the song. They needed hope. At Simon’s mention of a sister, Gwen’s gaze darkened for a moment. She wondered if her own brother, Leo, would have been this caring. She couldn’t help it. ‘Trigger words’, one doctor had said years ago, and they still affected her now. She wrapped her arms around her skinny frame, almost as if she could protect herself that way from the sad memories. “I walk alone all the time.” She mumbled, unable to think of anything better to say. “But thank you.” She looked back up at Simon once she was sure her eyes weren’t watery. Gwen managed a small smile at his enthusiasm for pie and took his hand when he offered it. Normally she wouldn’t have, but he seemed nice enough and she was oddly comfortable in that particular moment. She thought about it for a second and put it down to his excitement for pie. She couldn’t say she’d seen anything like it before now. “Pie it is. But it’s my treat.” There wasn’t much conviction behind her words, but she wanted to pay Simon back somehow if he was walking her home.

• • •

TAGGED! Simon Arden Whitley
WORDS! 613!
OUTFIT! Sleepy Sweetie!
LYRICS! A War Inside - - - We Came As Romans
NOTES!