NOTE!!!!!
This will not precisely follow the novel-in-progress that I started AFTER I started the RP (what can I say this story is way too fuckin' good to pass up and not make a novel). And if it was things would be very different. I'll admit, other than my name being changed and the last 3 sentances, I barely worked on this.
Below is actually all an 'excerpt' fom the novel which I've been working on today.
Anyways, gimmie your opinions, after the first night in this, things will change for us.

Also, I've erased a couple of sentances from the excerpt. In the novel, it's set in Montreal. What can I say? I have the advantage of knowing my home-turf for the novel, so it requires very little research and much more story telling.

Anyways, shall we now? I'm rambling.

(anything you'd like to change from yourself in the novel form, PM me.)




Week One
Room with a View


God answers all our prayers, but sometimes the answer is no.
-Author Unknown.




If I had known then what I know now I never would have left the car. As the door was closed, I smiled to my father. “Thanks for the lift, dad,” I said, my father, with his eyes beaming happily behind the glasses he wore, nodded. “No problem, Tristan. Have fun.” Nodding in return, I assumed that I would that night. “Will do,” I said. “Call me,” was my father’s reply.
“Will do,” I repeated,
“Enjoy yourself,”
“Can I go now?” I asked playfully. He could see I was kidding about, and with a smile and a wave, he departed after we said our goodbyes. I turned and faced the hotel.

Putting it out of my mind, I winced as a drop of perspiration hit my waist as I moved along. Walking inside, and tugging at my navy coloured Harris Tweed jacket, I sighed. I didn’t like how alone I felt striding through the main lobby. As I walked up to the oaken desk, I smiled at the receptionist; a short, blonde haired woman who was quite slim. And actually, in my mind, kind of cute, “Yes, how may I help you, sir?” She asked, glancing at her name tag, I noticed she was ‘Becky’. How appropriate, I thought with a grin. “Hey,” I said, not taking in the fact that she’d called me ‘sir’- clearly she didn’t realise how old I actually was. “I’m here for a meeting?”

“Oh?” She seemed surprised, at that I feigned to be slightly hurt. Though I knew she could tell I was kidding around. “It was made for the party under the name Merrick Rice? I’m one of the guests on her little list.”
“And your name, please?” She asked, I could tell she was just doing her job as she didn’t seem all that phased or suspicious. Again tugging the Tweed jacket onto myself more so, I smiled a little. “Tristan Lewis?” I nodded, smiling a little bit more confidently.
“Your party should be here soon,” she said, I could tell she was just trying to make me more comfortable. Nodding again, I puffed my cheeks for a moment and exhaled loudly. “How soon do you think they’ll get here?” I asked nervously, she smiled at this. I knew she could tell I was very nervous.
“Don’t be so nervous.” She said, trying to sound comforting. Giggling to herself, she reached into her pocket and over the table gave me five dollars. I slipped it into my wallet as quickly as possible; I knew she probably wasn’t allowed doing that. “What’s this?”
“Get yourself a drink, cutie.” She said with a wink. I smiled with one thought in my head: She definitely didn’t know my real age. Winking in return, I walked over to the lounge where she’d told me to wait.

In minutes I'd see my friends, people I'd never actually met before. In minutes I'd be happy. In 3 Weeks, though?

We'll all wish we were never born.

"You sure you'll be alright?" Reagen's uncle said, his voice emitted clearly from Reagen's cellphone.
"Yes, yes, I'll be fine. If anything goes wrong, I'll call, it's perfectly fine," Reagen replied, chuckling at his uncle's worry. Despite being 13, Reagen understood a lot about being independent. He knew that it was more likely that everyone you met was out to get you than the alternative, and he was ready for that. If it turned out he had been invited to some gang-rape party or whatever, he'd be ready...
"Okay... Good luck, Regs, don't do anything stupid," His uncle said jokingly, and Reagen laughed again. It would be the last time he talked to his uncle....

Reagen walked into the hotel and already saw who he recognized as Tristan from pictures that had been posted on the boards. "'Sup man," Reagen said nonchalantly, and walked to the desk.
"Hello, are you with the same party as this gentleman?" The woman asked, gesturing towards Tristan.
"That'd be him. Reagen Farnswirth under Merrick Rice?" he questioned, and 'Becky' nodded. "Cool, cool. So was he the first one here?" Reagen asked, and she nodded again. "A'ight, cool. Thanks, man," Reagen de-emphasized the 'a' in man, making it sound more like 'mon'. He was wearing his black hoody, grey, loose jeans, and his sunglasses on top of his head. She seemed somewhat... away, from him. He got that a lot. He kind of looked like a punk or a thug.

"See ya," He said, throwing up the metal hand-sign to Becky, simply out of habit, not caring that it wouldn't do anything good for his reputation, and sat down at the lounge, on a couch across from Tristan. "So here we are... waiting..." He said, and pulled a book from his luggage. It was 'Maximum Ride', the second book. It had been recommended to him by a girl he knew from school. He hadn't been too impressed by the first book, but the fact that he had started the series forced him to read all of it. "Just hope the other guys get here soon," Reagen said, not looking up.

The doors to the hotel opened again, letting in the street noise. A couple people looked up, including the receptionist, to see who was there, but there wasn't anyone. The receptionist shrugged and looked back down to go back to work, but then she saw a young man standing there, who hadn't been there a second earlier. Quickly, she glanced at the man, who stood there, his hands shoved into his pockets, headphones around his neck. "Um, may I help you, sir?"

The man looked up at her, from wherever he was contemplating, and gave a slight smile. "You might be able to." he said, his voice pitched low. "You see, I'm looking for some people. Some very dangerous people. They're under the party of Merrick Rice?"

"Dangerous? Umm...Well, there are two from the Rice party over there....Are they really dangerous?" The receptionist asked, a slight tremor of fear in her voice. In this day and age, it was to be expected.

"Indeed. They're both killer....story writers, that is." His smirk turned into a full blown smile, jokes in his eyes. "Sorry to scare you like that." Taking one hand out of his pocket, he gave her a slight salute, then turned away. The receptionist sighed, and looked down, only to find a five dollar bill sitting there, where there hadn't been one earlier. Totally confused, and slightly in awe, she looked up the back of the man as he walked away, and wondered exactly who he was....

David strolled up to the other two. "Merry met, me comrades." he said, throwing himself down into a chair across from the two of them. "How does this horrid looking day find you?"

"You have your cell phone?"
"Yes."
"Your charger? Camera?"
"Yes."
"Wallet?"
"Yes .."
"All right. I've got your number, you have mine in your cell, if anything happens, call. Don't go out alone, there's are so many freaks out there, you just never know ..."
Meagan let her mother go on like that for a little while longer, nodding and adding disinterested "yes"'s and "no"'s where necessary. They'd gone over this a hundred times, alone, another fifty with her father, another twenty with her Oma and Opa, ten with her Tante, and a surprising two with her Grandmother. It was starting to get old.
In fact, she was surprised her mother even let her go at all. She'd always disliked her talking to "complete strangers" over the internet, and was strongly against it. But she'd talked and phone called and emailed her way out of going with a supervisor, and she was finally there, in front of the hotel, in the heart of New York City, about to meet friends she'd never truly met before.
"... and don't lie to me, Meagan. You know you can't do that. I always find out if you've done something wrong."
"Okay, okay! ... can I go?"
"... yes. Be safe."
"I know, I know ... bye Mom, love you, see you later!"

And the next thing she knew, she was out on the street, looking like a lost teenager with a suitcase and an orange backpack.
"God I feel stupid ..." she mumbled under her breath as she looked down at herself, alone and suddenly very vulnerable. 'Oh, buck up ..' her conscience told her.
She did.
Slipping into the straps of her backpack and taking the handle of her suitcase, she stepped through the expensive looking glass doors and into the air conditioned lobby of the hotel. The lounge next to the lobby could just be seen from where she was, and as she approached the desk, she could make out a few of her friends, waiting for everyone else. Already she blushed profusely, and, to hide her sudden nervousness, continued on to the waiting receptionist.

Why did she feel nervous, all of a sudden? She'd known them for long enough. They were friendly, open. Welcoming. And yet ... would they like her, now that they saw the real her? It was easy to look brave or "cool" from behind a computer screen. You could correct typos. And, when all else fails, there was "brb" and "lol". Now, she had nothing. She was exposed for all the world to see. She felt .. naked.
She glanced down and, thankfully, was not naked, but far from it. Runners, jeans, form-fitting dark green shirt, black zip-up sweater ... she was casual. Hopefully, everyone was the same.
Knowing them, they would.

"Hello, can I help you? Are you here alone?" The blonde receptionist ask, her tone a practiced friendly. It must've been unusual for a fifteen year old to just be dropped off in front of a classy hotel in the middle of New York.
So typical.
"Yes, I'm looking for some people ... the group under the name Merrick Rice?" The receptionist just smiled. "Such a popular group today. So punctual, too ... there are a few more people just waiting in the lounge over there -" she gestured to her left with her hand. "- why don't you go join them?"
Meagan smiled. "Ah, thank you. Have a good day."
"You too."
Such a shame manners would be meaningless in the three weeks to come. Despite that, she straightened her back, picked up her bags, and walked forward ... and immediately felt stupid for having so much with her.
"Uhm ..." she murmured, her eyes a little downcast, blushing again. "... am I the only one who actually packed enough for three weeks?"

“There you are Sir,” she said, handing the cabby a twenty. “Oh, no thanks. Keep the change.” She got out of the cab, going to the back as he popped the hood from inside the car. It came as no shock to her that he did not bother to get out of the vehicle to help her. She had heard enough stereotypes about New York hospitality.

She grabbed her suite case from the back, thankful that the thing had wheels when it hit the pavement hard and she could just role it in. She was still uncertain why she had brought a few of her D&D books to begin with… There was no guarantee any of them would be interested in playing and she wasn’t so sure Draz was going to be there either. Ah well, there were there. If they didn’t want to play it was there loss.

Entering the hotel she took a quick glance about, her eyes briefly falling upon a small party of people she thought she recognized from the pictures from Shadows. Hmm… she though. So… Apoc is here… And cuter in person, I might add... And… Is that Juv… maybe? I wonder which ones the other two are… Now she really felt awkward. Looking at them in person reminded her once again how much older she was. And the noob of the group to. She sighed, wondering why she had agreed to come in the first place. Everyone knew each other so well and she still felt slightly uncomfortable on the forums.

“Hello. Can I help you?” she heard from behind her as she approached the desk, though her attention was still on the group.

“Huh… Oh yeah… I’m here to check in… The reservation is under the name Liari Castonguay.”

“Ok… Give me one second… Yes… Here you are. Room 398,” the receptionist says, turning around to grab her key to the hotel room.

“That would be on the third floor, right?” Liari asks, fairly familiar with the way such building numbered their rooms. She’d worked as a security guard for some time now in the heart of downtown Calgary for some time now, after all. Sure, they were mainly office buildings, but the general rules still applied.

“Yes, of course. Would you like anyone to take your bag or perhaps show you up to your room?”

She smiles, shaking her head. “Oh no. I’m fine, really. I got it. Umm… That group over there… Is that the Merrick Rice party?” She felt a little sheepish for asking. So far the average age was about 16 or 17 and here she was 21. She just hoped that the receptionist didn’t get the wrong idea and call the cops on her or something.

“Yes it is… Why? Are you her?” she askes, no doubt assuming that by her age.

Liari laughs. “No, no. I’m just a friend. I should be on that list as well. Same name.”

“Oh,” she says, scrolling down the list a little dubious. “Oh yes. Here you are.”

“Ok, thanks,” Liari says, grabbing her suite case and making her way over to the rest of them before the receptionist could ask more questions. “Hey guys… How’s it goin?” She asked, taking a seat in one of the farther corners, somewhat separating herself from the rest. She looked to the two she did not recognize, trying to figure out which screen names they both belonged to. "I'm Crim, by the way."

"Yes," Tristan replied in Reagan's statement. Tugging on his Tweed jacket again, and pulling down the collar of the maroon turtle neck, he felt hot. And he noticed, other than the cargo-pants, was he a little over dressed...? Everyone else was completely casual. He looked at David as he approached and raised his hand in greeting before taking out another piece of gum.

His version of cigarettes. Yay for being Straight Edge.

Oh well. He noticed his voice was almost the same as David, which made him proud. Sometimes the tone of his voice would surprise people greatly, he was always mistaken for his father on the phone. He was even almost the same height as his father was. He smiled, remembering a time in biology.
They had been talking about the effects of testosterone, apparently his voice was the deepest in the class. His reply to such was a laugh and a throaty bellow of the words 'I am superior!' which he had thought demasculated maybe half of the class.
But that was the past. And sadly, he didn't know it though, it'd be the last time anything was ever said in that biology class.
He looked past Meagan as she approached, his cheeks starting to become hot, and both Reagan and David would have known why. She was someone he'd always wanted to see, and now that she was there, he was suddenly very shy. Becoming quiet, he stared past her to a television screen, looking at events in Afghanistan.
Suddenly, something intrigued him, he saw his home city on the television. Getting up, he brushed past Meagan, mumbling greeting. He walked near the television, leaning onto a table like a serious interrogator would to a culprit. Staring, he frowned at the words he saw and read from CNN:

Mysterious infections of a new form of flu virus has spread across North America. People think this originated somewhere in Montreal, Quebec where new medical facility Novictus Pharmacuticals is starting a new chain of research on advancing the human immune system.
Coming up: Has the common cold become deadly? And a new bomb threat tape from Afghanistan has been added to the pile - More on this after our break.

"Jesus Christ..." Tristan mumbled, as he walked back to the table he unbuttoned the one button on the Tweed, and let it flow behind him as he strode. Slumping into the chair, he had his thumb creeping under his chin with his middle and index fingers resting near his temple. With this, he stared out the window watching how the city worked once more, completely quiet. His friends now slightly forgotten. They all knew, because of his brother, that he was quite sensitive about World Affairs. And sometimes, it just got to him how damned cruel humanity was. He wished majority of them would burn in hell.

He'd get his wish, little did he know.

A minute after, he sighed, and looked over at Meagan, smiling. "Sorry about my delayed greet." His gaze glanced over all of them, "We're missing a few. Maybe we should put our stuff in our rooms first. Also, have roommates been settled or no?" He asked calmly, pleasantly. He wasn't sure if they'd been informed, maybe they'd been too busy. Merrick had sent him a message: She could only pay for a couple of rooms. Maybe 3 or 4. So there were about six people, maybe a bit more. That meant people would have to gang up in twos.
He didn't mind who he was paired with though, they were all great people and he'd enjoy his time. Though he had a feeling what the late nights would bring in a room with each of them.

With David he'd probably stay up most of the night talking about philosophy, the supernatural, history, and things of the sort.

With Reagan he'd probably talk about literature, gaming, and ways of molding a story. Maybe religion too.

Meagan was undecided in his mind, he didn't know what a late night would store for the two of them. Chatting probably, late night movies. God knew. If anything else he was probably too busy at that moment to think of it, sadly.

Crim, the new addition who had just arrived... he didn't know about her either.

He shrugged, taking out a piece of paper, and drawing up a little diagram of who was there and who was coming. They were on the third floor. Yay. And he also drew what rooms were what, what their geometry was according to maps he'd looked at, and who would be in which. He didn't write who would be in which, he just assigned people numbers on the table, and he'd let everyone talk about it.

As Liara introduced herself, he smiled, putting up his hand in case anyone needed him to be recognized, remembering a time in school when he was about to open a door. He was half way through opening it while skipping class, when a student behind him said 'Halt an Be recognized!'... He liked that kid.
"Apoc here. Call me Tristie if you want. Or Tris, Tristan, Techie, whatever. I'm indifferent...." He shrugged. "Slainte Mhath, by the way with your unpacking everyone." Gaelic, meaning Good Luck. He had one time where a shirt 'attacked' him... he burned the shirt soon after. Oh well, better to have loved and burned.

"Yo." Reagen said to the new arrivals, saluting to each of them with only two fingers, as was his custom. He noticed Tristan walk over to the television, but tried to ignore the news. He didn't like the news, they only gave you the bad news, and never the good. Good news never brings in ratings...

After Tristan's little... 'episode', things went on as normal. When Tristan brought up roommates, Reagen chuckled. "Roommates, huh? Now this is interesting... This should be fun," Reagen leaned back on the couch. If everyone chose their own roommate, it would give a lot of signs as to who chose who. Of course, everyone knew the relationship between Tristan and Meagan, so Tristan, out of shyness, would probably refrain from choosing Meagan as a roommate, as it would seem too... 'forward'. Liara, being the more, 'new', addition to the group, would probably be too nervous to pick anybody immediately. David was pretty unknown to Reagen as far was who he might want to room with, and Reagen would, as usual, simply take whoever wasn't chosen by the time everyone made their move. He never liked initiating anything, and preferred to let things roll, and roll with it if it suited him.

This was how he would get his kicks, some of the time. He always viewed other people from a scientific perspective, as if watching from a one-way screen. He didn't like being direct. Maybe it was because he enjoyed analyzing people, or maybe it was because he had nerves of water when it came to people, no matter what relation. It didn't matter, because it wasn't going to change one way or the other.

"I'm pretty solid with whoever I get, so I'll leave it up to you guys," Reagen said, and brought his book back up, but focused more on what they would choose than his book.

David stood, shrugging off his hoodie and turning to hang it off the corner of his chair. When he turned, his wrists were outwards to show his tattoos, but he quickly hid them. "I'm good with anyone, really, though I think for decency's we should keep boys and girls in different rooms?" Though he demeanor didn't show it, he had been raised to be a gentleman. But weeks in the woods gave him a rougher edge. Idly, he reached up and scratched at his beard. The itch grew worse, and David really started on it, almost like a dog. He was really getting into it when he realized he was in company that didn't know his ways. Sheepishly, highly embarrassed, he brought his hands down, and in another unconscious gesture, he instantly went into military at rest, feet spread and hands clasped behind his back. Again, he caught himself doing this, and gave up, throwing himself into his chair, palms up to show his tattoos again. His gaze went down to the left one, of the skull and crossed scythes. Idly, he reached over with his right hand and rubbed at it with his thumb.

"Personally, I would like to bunk with Techie for a while." David said, still rubbing at his tattoo's. "Or, here's an idea. We'll switch off bunk mates every two days. Keep things interesting."

(wow you guys are quite the overachievers, im going to be challenged to keep up, will edit this post with my post)

(( O.O alright alright I'll post later on today...too tired and can't think!))

(Don't like to go out of continuity.... POKE?)

There he was. Tristan Lewis. The one she'd been daydreaming about all that time ... the one she always wanted to meet. Within reach. She smiled at him ...

And couldn't help but feel somehow disappointed at his actions.

He'd looked right past her. No, straight through her, just to see the TV. He didn't even say hello ... he just, mumbled something under his breath and walked right on by. She turned to watch him leave, then glanced up at the TV herself. But without her glasses, she couldn't make out just what had caught his attention. So she turned back around and stared at her feet.

So ... that was it? That was what she'd been looking forward to most about that entire trip?

No ... he wasn't like that. Something important must've caught his attention. He wouldn't do that deliberately.

So instead, she looked up and forced herself to look, at the very least, simply curious, as she glanced over the faces she saw around her. Unfortunately, she didn't know much about ... well, any of them. She assumed she knew who David was. The other boy and girl, however, she couldn't make heads or tails of. At least she knew she was among friends.

Liara introduced herself. She was fairly new. "I'm Meagan .. or Juve. Nice to meet you all." And she offered them a shy smile.

Tristan came back then, apologizing, and moving on to the subject of roommates. He was very casual ... so she assumed she'd have to be casual, too. There were two girls, and three boys ... that left one person without a roommate ...

So who did that rule out?

"Well, it's still fairly early. Why don't we wait a little longer before we get settled in? We've got time." It seemed fairly logical to her. They could at least wait until everyone got a roommate. Right?

"Ah, I don't believe I introduced myself to the rest of you, did I?" Reagen stood up, laying my book down on the couch. "I, am Reagen Farnswirth. You may know me as Stranghill Olganis," He did a small bow, just for fun and effect. "When are the others going to get here anyway? I mean, we're all registered under Rice, and Rice isn't even here!" He chuckled, somewhat annoyed and somewhat amused. Reagen often would refer to people by their last names when given the chance, though he didn't really know why. "But, that's kind of off-topic, we're still picking roommates now, aren't we? Though, it is kind of hard when we're an odd number, isn't it? If we're not going coed, and David is going with Tristan, than it means Meagen is going with Liari, and I guess I'm just hanging out until another guy comes."

"True enough," he replied. He looked over at David for a moment, "T's'up with the tattoo, ner vod?" He asked, they would all mostly know what he was saying in Mando'a. They always did it seemed unless he threw something out there. "Oh, Meagan," he said, though he had noticed her before. He walked past her, taking her hand, "wanna talk to you for a second..."

As soon as they were out of sight, he spun her around similar as one would their partner in a dance. As soon as she faced him, his hand was on her waist and she was pulled into a deep kiss. Smiling coyly, he winked. "Been waitin' too damned long to do that... Let's get back to the others. We'll pretend we spoke. I just really couldn't help that." He smiled and together they walked back. Not even giving her the chance to speak. My, wasn't he considerate?

"So!" He started, smiling a little. "Okay, so I'll be with Robertson..." He said, and looked around, noticing Reagan was right. "Hey yeah... Oi, who has the schedule for this thing? What time were we all supposed to be meeting?" He asked, and looked at Meagan in way of an apology for before.

Well, that explains the hurt look on her face, she thought to herself when Meagan introduced herself. While the news didn’t exactly catch her attention the way Tristan slighted her did. Like the rest of Shadows Liari was well aware of the relationship between the two. In the more recent weeks Liari’s been spending a lot of time chatting with the two of them and was beginning to grow quite comfortable with both.

She eyed Tristan, trying to hide her concern, not wanting him to feel uncomfortable with a near stranger being worried for him. Though she had only been around Shadows for only a short time he had already opened up to her a fair bit and because she could relate to him on a few levels her more maternal side sought to try and fight the demons similar to the ones she had fought and in many cases were still. She could tell he didn’t deserve them… Tristan had a lot going for him.

It was not an unusual thing for her either, and really not something she could help. The same protectiveness came out over many of the people whom Liari had come to call friend. There were even people older then her that made her feel that way. Hell, even as a child she had it. The truth is when she came to call someone friend they might as well be family to her and for four and a half years family had been all she had. When a friend came to her with something weighing heavily on their mind she did her best to listen and try and when she could she would go out of her way to help in anyway possible.

Liari’s concerns were lost, if not forgotten, when he caught himself and took Meagan aside to ‘talk’. A small smile spread on her lips, figuring she knew exactly what he wanted to ‘say’ to her. She found it cute the two felt the need to hide it from the rest of them.

“Fine with me…” Liari answered, shrugging. “Truth be told I was prepared to pay for my own room if it came down to it. I put aside some extra cash in case Merrick came up short or in case we decided we wanted to do something else then what we had initially planned. That’s kinda the nice thing about being an adult with disposable income.” She said, happy she was able to do that much for the group at least. They were all teenagers after all, and deserved to have fun. “But I’ll tell you all right now, I won’t be buying anyone smokes or booze. That is not negotiable.”

She looked over at Meagan, adding with a slight grin, “Be warned though, I do love my midnight walks. Hope that won’t be too much a problem.”

She reached into the pocket of her suitecase, pulling out the printout of the activity schedule. "Here you are Trist..."

The taxi sped off and Courtney gripped her suitcase's handle as she stared up at the building. She was a small town girl and wasn't used to this stuff. She felt her cell phone vibrate in her pocket and simply ignored it as she headed to the front doors, knowing her luck, she was late, or the last one to show up, but she had panicked in the plane terminal, since she'd never flown before. She walked through the doors, and spotted the receptionist. She didn't even noticed the others, as she had her ipod blasting and her attention on the receptionist.

"Hi umm.. There's supposed to be a group under the name Merrick Rice?... I'm with them.. my name's Courtney Sutherland.." She said hesitantly, struggling to pause her music so she could hear 'Becky.' She didn't hear her, but saw her point towards a lounge, and she frowned, before looking back at Becky and smiling after seeing a group of people there. "Thanks." She said before heading over to the group.

She recognized Tristan instantly, same with David. She smiled shyly, and moved to sit beside an older girl she didn't recognize. Her suit case rested easily against her simple tight blue jeans, she played with the cuffs of her grey
"Forgotten Kingdom" hoodie, it was just a little obvious she was nervous. "Uhh.. sorry to..umm interrupt...I be Twitch...err...Courtney." She said, cheeks pink with embarassment as she just knew she interrupted something.

( seriously this is the 4th time im going to post my intro, no really, 4th attempt)
Kyle threw his weight against the back door of the taxi that had finally arrived at the front of the brightly lit hotel entryway. This door had been a pain and he had tried everything in the book to get it open. Giving up on the "nice" attempts, he scooted across the seat and let loose a foot with the ower that only year of soccer and field goal kicking could produce, which caused the door to open with a crash.

The door panel fell of onto the pavement. "Dude get your crapmobile fixed," Kyle said stepping out and throwing the panel back into the seat, and kicking out with each leg to get the feeling back in them."Fuck you kid" came the cabbie's reply in the thick native brooklyn accent.

This was not the first trip to the Big Apple for Kyle, he had been there on vacation once before, but did not get to see the one thing he had wanted to most, Yankee Stadium. So when his on line friends planned a meet up, he jumped at the chance to go again. Now he stood before th place where he was to stay for longer than he knew.

He walked to the back of the taxi and pulled his uitcase from the open trunk, and slammed it shut. he watched the battered car speed off like a rusted bullet out of a outdated gun. Kyle walked into the lobby, noting the structure of the walls and the fancy decor around him. Walking up to the table, he looked at the woman working the front, who beat him to the punch and offfered him his card promptly.

Kyle then walked into a lounge area where he saw his friends for the first time. "Hey guys how is going" came his first words to the group." so, this baby seal walks into a club..." he joked setting his case down and strolling all the way t them.

[Removed by Me. Changed my mind on posting it now]

Ashley flew out of the taxi hoping she hadn't missed her friends at the hotel. It had taken her a month to convince her mother into letting her go, and she didn't want all the money and effort to have been wasted. She grabbed her bags out of the back and threw the cab driver the money and ran inside.

Breathless, she stopped at the desk and nearly colapsed onto it. She grabbed for her inhaler, 'Damn city and it's damn pollution and my DAMN asthma!' she thought as she took a breath to finally speak to the receptionist. "Ashley Taylor. I'm here for the Merrick Rice meeting thingy...." It repulsed her how stupid she sounded, but she was more worried about missing it than about what she'd called it.

The lady behind the desk, Becky, pointed to the waiting room where there were already a small group of teens forming, amung them, Courtney, one of her good friends who'd introduced her to Shadows. "Right over there miss. Can I have your bags taken to your room?"

"Uh.. no thanks, I'll take them up myself." Becky nodded and Ashley practically ran into the other room smiling widely.

As soon as she was out of the door way, she dropped her suitcase and ran to give Courtney (or as known on Shadows, Midnightfire) a hug. "Heya guys!!"

(I'll just do a bit of a time-skip. It's now slightly late at night, we'll say nearing 10, so about 9:45 pm. People will be in their rooms. If you're not sure who you're rooming with either PM them to make sure, or just room with whoever you want.
NOTE: Roommates are all the same gender. And there are between 2-4 people per room. I'm all ready rooming with Orpheus ^_^'

I guess we'll all be settling in our rooms and whatnot.)


It had taken him a short while to unpack. He had done it all while David had hit the shower earlier that afternoon. They'd started settling in their rooms around the evening. And now that it was nearing ten at night, Tristan was tired. Not tired for sleep.
He was tired of living, and seeing the same things. Routine. He was tired of it. But, he also knew that he needed routine.

It kept him sane.

Shuffling in his chair, he didn't exactly know where David was. He had set up the chair in front of a window. Staring into the streets.
The only three lights in the room were two bedside lamps and the television. Though Tristan was playing light jazz music in the room as he sat there in the dim light.
Music playing in his ears, he sat there, a bottle of carbonated water on the floor beside him, and a glass in his hand. Sipping it for a moment as he stared into the street, he smiled gently to himself.

He knew they were there. The ghosts he carried with him. All of them settling in around him. He knew what each of them had looked like, how they worked. Where they really were he didn't know. They could have been dead or wandering somewhere very far away. But each of them were settled now.

Samantha, a lover who had disappeared. The first ghost in his life.
His great grandmother. Stubborn woman, and the pasta recipe which was so good died with her. He smiled. She never did give good instructions.
Wade, a good friend of his long gone like the rest.
Kordale, or Bill. His first teacher of morals and of religious views. What was right and wrong. And things of the sort.
Ayame, or Kat. The second lover to the disappear. He had cared for her greatly. People had supported him at the time. But he knew she had given up on being around any longer. He only refused to believe it. And it was Wade who had helped him.
Selene. Yet another lover. She and Ayame had fought tooth and nail to be with him. Eventually, Tristan had chosen to be with Ayame. After she disappeared, he had no one to turn to. And decided Selene was a good support. She too had disappeared shortly after.
Ashley. The first woman he had really fallen in love with. The first woman to really help him in his life whenever he needed it. A friend and partner once upon a time. Those times were past.
Morgan. His biological older brother. A great man, though had changed dramatically shortly after he joined the Canadian Infantry. He was still around, but they barely talked anymore.
Bronwyn. His biological older sister, caring for him much more now that their brother was gone. The eldest in the family on the children's side.
Marcus-Alexandre. Or, Marcus. A teacher and older brother to him, as well as Morgan's best friend. Tristan was always conflicted when iit came to Marcus, he didn't know what was a lie and what was truth. So decided to cut him out.
Paulina. A woman who was a bit of an older-sister figure when his own wasn't around. A very kind and generous woman, always willing to help him. Lost in the current with the other ghosts after he had moved farther in life.
Chloe, or Coco. A very eccentric girl a year older than him. Though also a constant liar.
Sam. A very strange girl who was such a mislead person.
Alex. A good kid, didn't know when to quit though.
Vincent, a boy who was once a younger brother to him.
Adrian Myers, a great friend to him and once similar to family.
Adrian Rheault. A very mislead soul. Always in trouble but had a very good heart.
Sierra. A girl who had tried guiding Tristan from time to time though her advice was never good in the eyes of Morgan.
Jay. A younger boy, relative of Adrian Rheault and Marcus-Alexandre, a friend once upon a time.
Alex. A friend-turned-junkie. Poor bastard, Tristan thought.
Amanda. A girl he'd once been attracted to and who was once upon a time, his best friend.
His grandfather. A Leukimia patient. Tristan knew there were high chances the man would die, so had become one of the ghosts.
Uncle Ken. Never met the man, but Tristan knew the man was watching him.
Riccardo. Once his best friend.
Marco. Riccardo's younger brother, someone Tristan had tried guiding.
Kenevan. A violent man by tease. But also a very kind man depending.
Dave. A teacher for Tristan along with Marcus and Morgan. Tristan had cut Dave out of his life completely once he realized Dave's darker side, and was nothing short of disgusted.
Keenan. His 'twin' brother. Barely around anymore but still there with Tristan, always supporting him.
Storm. A kesshond-breed of dog. His family had to put down the dog not even threee months before he ended up in this hotel room. Put down... Because of senility.
Emmanuel. A younger brother to Tristan. A boy who had looked up to him as a rolemodel.
Ana. A younger sister in a way. Raped at a young age. Tristan couldn't look at a MISPER poster again the same way, without being afraid for the child or disgusted.

And then there were the present people. People he knew someday he'd lose. Like Meagan, possibly. Or Orpheus, a teacher to him in some ways. Raziel, a sister to him. Crim, a mother figure in a way. Rez, a friend and brother. Stranghill, a good friend. And then Twitch, a younger sister to him,

These were all of his ghosts. Maybe more, he didn't always remember. He sighed, sipping the water yet again. "I can't believe it," he mumbled. Then there were always four ghosts that hung nearest him. Never to go away or ever to be forgotten.
Matt. An older brother once upon a time. Disappeared without a trace, leaving Tristan alone. Seven years gone. Seven years of anger from Tristan to the man. This was a man he once loved. Now a man he almost hated. Despised. And all because of the abandonment.
Mark. A man who was once like a father. Matt and Mark had been so important to him. And all three of them seemed to love each other. Mark had once called Tristan very mature for his age.... Yes, of couse. Tristan though, staring out the window.
Grown up. Much too quickly.
Hyde, or Sykes. Tristan's darker side, always the closest to him. Always the one tempting him. His personal devil along with Matt. Two men he hated.

And then there was her.
Another Samantha.
Ironic that the first name in his little list was also the last in the list. It was funny... It was a woman who had once decided to date. Which was a grave mistake... Very literally. Though, she was also the reason why he had come to value human life so much....
Because through only words, he had the ability to take it away.... Take it all away.
She was probably the only person with him because of nothing but guilt. Regret. A woman who had fallen very madly in love with him. He had broken up with her... Said those three words 'I'm leaving you'....
Such a grave mistake.
Because of those words... She had committed suicide. Hanged herself. If it had been through any other form. He would not have believed that she did it.... But she did... He saw it... He actually had seen it.
And he regretted it deeply.
That was a girl who he had been the death of... Talk about love to die for.

Tears welled up in his eyes, blurred his vision. Taking a long gulp of the carbonated water, he looked down and shut his eyes tightly. As he opened them, he saw three tears had escaped and landed on his palm. He clenched it into a fist, and spoke to the room around him. "David...?" He called weakly. He wasn't sure if the man was in the room still. Or if he'd always been there. But he wanted to make sure. "Are they here... Are they really here...? Or do they just follow me...?" He asked.
The question was ridiculous. And he knew a high chance that David didn't know what he was talking about.
But he needed to ask. And as he stared at his tears, he couldn't help but wonder.

... Did he really deserve all the ghosts he had?

(OOC: Long post of mine I know. And I know most of it seems pointless to the plot. I guess I just wanted a bit of depth... Both with the character... And myself. I'd also like to clear up a question you may have had while or if you read all that.
Yes, all of those people listed are real, and how I described them was how they were to me. Those are my ghosts... And I guess now, anyone who read that... You now know a lot more about my past than I tell a lot of people. I guess I trust you all enough to list all that. I guess this post was also a way for me to vent a bit. Ah well. Doesn't matter.)

David walked out of the shower, changed into a pair of sweatpants and a plain white shirt, a towel hanging off his head. HE stopped just outside the bathroom, and blinked once or twice, eyes adjusting from the pitch black of the bathroom to the dim lights and the crowd of people standing there. Shaking his head, David grinned a tad bit, just a little smirk, and brought his fingers to his lips, putting on at each end, and whistling, REALLY loud. He watched Tristan jump nearly out of his chair, the crowd of ghosts turn to stare at him, and a hand phase out of the wall to grab his. He looked down at it and smiled, looking up to watch the rest of the body phase out.

It was a girl, about his age, with long silver hair, and eyes of the same color. She stared at him, wondering what he wanted. David jerked his head in the direction of the crowd of ghosts, and she nodded, smiled, and got to work. Through the crowd she went, touching shoulders and holding hands, and each one she touched disappeared, smiling. David followed behind, snagging a chair with one hand and pulling it in place next to Techie's, staring out at the city.

"I've never liked New York City. It's basically a giant hole of greed, avarice, hatred, vanity, the worst of America's worst. At first, I didn't plan on coming here." David looked out at the city, glad the glass blocked noise from below. Idly he rubbed again at his skull tattoo. "But somebody told me I would regret it if I didn't come along with you guys. That I would miss so many things." David looked back at the room. There was only Alexis there, moving over to perch on the arm of his chair. "Well, that's a job well done if I ever saw one."

(idk who im rooming with, so i guess ill leave it open to whoever)

Kyle sat about in his bed, fortunate enough to have packed his 360. The rooms all had internet, so he merely got online and played some Halo with a few people, knowing there was not much to do this late at night. Kyle wasnt realll a day person, and this trip would definately test him. He preferred the night, and generally could not sleep in the dark, not that there was any worry of that here.

Temporary insomnia aside, he sighed and waited patiently for his roommat to get done in the bathroom so that he could use the facilities, aqnd take his shower before forcing maybe a few hours of rest he could from the night. he chatted with some of his friends online, and B.S.'ed with his clan leaders, while trying in vain to get his ranking back up to a respectable level.

Getting bored of this, Kyle turned on some music from his Zune, flicking it on and choosing one from his full playlist. He set his head against the wall, and began to think of the crap that had happened right before he left.

This trip could ot have come at a more opportune time, because the day before he left he had been dumped by his girlfirend of three years. this of course came on the anniversary of the death of one of the most important peple Kyle had in his life, his grandfather, who was a Deacon in the catholic church in his home town.
It had been two years since he had really let anything out or cried, and not because of the macho steryotype, but because the shock never really went away, and the memories just kind of hung there. These two events coinciding on the same day had sent him into a fit of tears that took a little over 5 hours to completely be rid of.

( yeah thats mostly true, so im not really at the top of my game right now, especially with the MG bull that happened)

"A'ight, all set," Reagen said, walking out of the bathroom after setting up everything he'd need. "360, huh? I woulda' brought mine and some games, but it's kinda busted right now," He commented on the 360 Kyle had been playing. "It's too bad, I got quite a few games, man," He continued, and opened his suitcase. He pulled out his iPod Shuffle and began flipping through songs until he heard the intro of Streetlight Manifesto's, 'A Moment of Silence' and then pulled his book out again. "Wonder what channels they got," He said, hopping on the bed while still looking at his book with one hand and grabbing the remote with the other. Holding the book just below his eyes, Reagen started flipping through channels until he saw a channel playing Pulp Fiction. "Man, I loved this movie," He said, laughing, and put the remote down while bringing his book up. "Hope you don't mind that I won't be talking much. I'm trying to finish this book so I can start Christopher Hitchen's 'god is not Great'. Can't wait to finish that one, a whole new load of ammo against those dumbass religious bastards." Reagen didn't know nor care whether Kyle had a positive view on religion, it simply wasn't in his nature to consider it. He figured that everyone should have at least the half-a-mind it takes to realize that god can not and does not exist, and if they can't, then they don't deserve the consideration.

"You heard of that movie coming up? 'Religulous'? I haven't seen any previews, but I've been reading about it. It's a comedy in the form of a documentary on religion, hosted by a guy who doesn't believe in it. It sounds great..." Reagen wasn't even looking up from his book. He read all the time despite his eye condition, and had gotten so into it that he could read and still carry a conversation (at least kind of). He was almost done with the book, and was at the climax, so it was practically impossible for him to put it down.

Liari was bored as she flipped idly through the channels on the television. In her mind there was nothing on. Aside from work and her RPing she really did nothing else… And unfortunately for her the desktop did not fit in her suite case. Well, she was currently addicted to House MD, but that wouldn’t be on for a few more hours. Finally deciding it was pointless to continue searching she decided on The Simpsons, with a groan, and reached over and pulled some of the D&D books from her suite case and opened up her DMG, PHB and MM, as well as the notebooks to the last place she was looking at. “Remote’s yours if you want it,” she told her bunkmate, not really caring at this point. TV was so lame now adays. Well, even if the group was not interested in playing D&D with her here, at least she would have an adventure ready to play with when she returned back home to Calgary.

Or so she though.

The more she tried to focus on the words before her the more her mind turned to the various sites she RPed at. She had somehow ended up with Mod or Admin status for nearly all of them and it was driving her crazy not having access to them. Realizing it was now useless, she repacked her books and flopped back down on her bed as she stared up at the ceiling. This was going to be a long trip.

"Hungry?" she asked. "I'll order pizza..."

Ashley sighed as her roommate lost interest in the TV. She too had flipped through the channels earlier, looking for CSI, or Without a Trace, only to be thwarted by cable television. A laugh at herself slipped through her lips as she lay with her eyes closed on the bed. She wasn't sleeping, and did,'t think she would for a while. Home time was Calgary time, but she'd always been a night person; a night-owl, as her mother said.

She thought of her mom, and how much effort had been put into getting to the big apple, how many hours she'd spent fighting with her mom to come, and how many more had been spent arranging travel plans. After some time, she opened her eyes to stare at the bank ceiling, wondering if Courtney would be comfortable with her roomie, which lead to her thinking about her own.

As if on cue, her roommate asked about pizza. She rolled to sit on the edge of her bed, "Sure. Pizza sounds cool. I'm vegetarian though. So whatever you want is good as long as there's no meat on half." Without another word she looked her roommate up and down, knowing that she'd never RPed with her before, 'Must have come around when my computer stopped working.' She thought to herself. "I'm Ashley, by the way." She offered her hand for a shake.

“On half…” Liari asked absentmindedly, then chuckled to herself. Liari came from a family of large eaters and could easily down a medium pizza by herself in one sitting. Hell, at times she could even eat an entire large. “Believe me, Ashley, that shouldn’t be a problem,” she said, shaking her hand. “I’m Liari, but you would know me as Crim on Shadows.” She smiled. Well, at least her roommate was talkative enough. Liari herself wasn’t too much a sociable person and usually started to feel uncomfortable as groups reached about six people including her, but on person-to-person bases she could converse easily enough.

Getting up off her bed she took a moment to stretch as she looked around the room and spotted the phone books. “Err…” she stumbled a moment on her thoughts. “I have no idea where to order from…” Liari was Canadian and had never been to the states. She could have always called her aunt in California and ask her, but that was a head ache and a half she did not need. Sam had been trying for years to convince Liari to try and visit her but she had always come up with one excuse or another not to go. Truth be told Liari had never really wanted to travel to the states at all. She loved Canada and loved her home.

“I’ll be right back,” she told Ashley as she went for the door. “Someone here has to know a good place for pizza.” And besides, it gave her a chance to find out what everyone else would wanted too.

It was later now, and Meagan leaned on the railing of her balcony, the sun slowly setting over the Big Apple.
She liked apples.
Suddenly, she wished she had an apple.

In all seriousness, though, she was ecstatic. She was here. She was really here. On her own, in the Big City, with all her friends ... with a certain someone. How had this happened? Was it really happening?
She twisted the skin on her knuckle, which honestly, didn't hurt at all - she could've sworn she had extra skin there. Yep, this was real. She smiled.

She'd unpacked already, but decided to save the shower until later on. She was comfortable - though slightly cold, a simple black hoodie [with bambi on the back - hey, her mother picked it out, she liked it] fixed that problem. Her roommate was just in the room behind her, and she figured it was high time to be social and introduce herself. She knew her, but only because she'd seen her around a few times, maybe read one or two of her posts.
"Hey! So, ugh .. what's up? Did you wanna go do something, or should we get something to eat? Wait - better thought, let's go to the restuarant in the hotel with everyone else. We came here as a group, right? So then, let's do something as a group!" She smiled, then remembered her braces. Oh God, why couldn't they have come off before she got there?
Damn orthodontists.

Ashley laughed quietly to herself at her roommate's reaction to "half". 'Big eater,' she thought. "Oh Crim - er - Liari, hehe! I've seen you on, but never really had the pleasure of speaking with you. I'm Sorha on Shadows. I'm glad that we get to meet."

She leaned back on her hands and watched Liari curiously as she visibly stopped to think before heading out the door to ask anyone if they new a good pizza place. This was a normality for her, watching things, observing actions and reactions, but she thought that watching her friends that she'd never met would be particularly interesting, seeing as she'd now be seeing them in reality, not just her imagination.

For now though, she laid back down on the bed, staring at the ceiling again.

This place was so big, so different then the small little town she was from, where she grew up. She'd never been to the states before, to be honest, the farthest she'd been from her small town was to Edmonton, which was what.. a 3-4 hour drive? she sighed with frustration, wishing she could travel more. Her boss, Von, hadn't been to happy when she told him she'd be gone for a while, going to 'The Big Apple.'

Courtney glanced over towards teh balcony having unpacked a while ago, towards where Meagan was leaning against the railing and sighed, the secrets that floated around were insane, but they weren't as bad as they used to be, back when Sam was still on the board. She bite her lip, an odd habit of hers, and cracked her neck while laying on her bed, staring blankly towards the t.v. She actually jumped when Meagan spoke, and she put her hand to her racing heart, it wasn't often that people made her jump, having been raised with siblings who liked to jump out from around corners or out of closets.

She laughed softly as Meagan changed her thoughts, and she twitched before moving up into a sitting position. "Sounds good to me, haven't ate since the.. the.. plane." She said with a shudder, remembering how high up in the air she'd been for what felt like days. She knew she had stuttered, she tended to do that quite often, just as she had to usually repeat herself since people had trouble understanding what she said; saying she had some sort of accent she wasn't aware of. She got to her feet, pulling her grey hoodie down so it was covering part of her tight black pants. "Who to drag with us first..?" Although, she had a feeling who Meagan wanted to get first; she smiled slightly.

Tristan smiled, looking at the streets with little more than a bit of curiousity. He couldn't believe that he was here. With all of his friends. As he saw David clear away the ghosts, he smiled. He could see the girl if only because A: He knew of her. B: He had seen death before. Which, slightly helped. He guessed his beliefs also helped.
"David," he started nervously, deciding to walk over and reach into the fridge. He took out two apples, tossing one to the larger man. "I have a question. You trust me with your secrets, correct?" He asked, the man had almost become like a guide. An Advisor, so to speak for Tristan. Though, he didn't wait for an answer, he pointed curious to David's wrists as he took a bite of the apple. "The cross scythes and the skull. I remember one of your stories- about a thief -had someone who got that mark from a woman in a manor... Were you that thief? Or, was it inspired by a real event?"
Leaning a bit closer, he decided to treat it with caution but be straightforward. "There's a lot about yourself you've never told me. And you know a lot about me. So why not share?" Pointing towards the man's wrists again, he smiled. "That's not an oridnary tattoo ner vod."
He decided to stare out the window again, calmly waiting for an answer. He didn't know if one would come. Changing the subject a little, but not retreating he smiled. "The gang should be looking for us soon," he said simply.

( okay so guys here is the deal, ive been really sick the last week, even got myself into the hospital, and i just got home yesterday)


"yeah i havent heard about it, im not really into religion" kyle siad as he continued to rank up in double matches, he was on his third gamertag, and the two previous ones were maxed out.

"halo is so easy, people are not very bright, and when they get into groups its even worse, i really wish there was a zombie apocalypse, all the dumb people would die." This statement would come to haunt him in the next few days.