Fifth Floor Common Room [afternoon]

[justwantsquiet.livejournal.com]

Despite the disturbing phone call from her brother that morning, Sookie hadn't forgotten her promise to Tim. So the afternoon found her heading up to the school to wait for him, already thinking back on the tricks she'd learned from the other telepaths on the island, and just from her own experience. She suspected that Tara's little 'lalala you can't hear me' trick might be a hit, honestly.

It was all a good distraction from the morning, honestly, even as she dug out some Oreos and sodas from the cabinets while she waited. Not that she was hungry, but it was in her nature to be a good hostess, okay.

[Sookie's here for Tim, but it's an open common room, if you have reason to be up there!]

Comments

[boywonder03.livejournal.com]

"Hey," Tim said. He sat down on the couch at a safe distance from Sookie - not too close, not too far. "You look really nice," he said. "Did you do something different with your hair?"

[justwantsquiet.livejournal.com]

"Kinda," she said, blushing faintly. "It's a long story. But thank you. How're you?"

[boywonder03.livejournal.com]

"Haven't had any life-changing experiences since we last talked," Tim smiled. "You?"

[justwantsquiet.livejournal.com]

"Eh, I have to go home for the weekend again," she said, sighing a bit. "So really, it's sort of a happy coincidence we scheduled this today rather than later."

[boywonder03.livejournal.com]

"Not bad news, I hope?" Tim asked.

[justwantsquiet.livejournal.com]

"My brother's in trouble," she said, waving a hand dismissively. "Which, really, isn't anything new." Except this time it was entirely different than usual. "But anyway. Are you about ready to get started, you think?"

[boywonder03.livejournal.com]

"Yeah, I'm ready," Tim said. "I think. What should I do?"

[justwantsquiet.livejournal.com]

"Okay, I'm going to try and teach you to shield against me, first, 'cause I'm the easiest kind of telepath to deflect," she said easily. "I'm only able to pick up surface thoughts. I can't dig through your head and pick up your mom's maiden name or how old you were when you learned to tie your shoes or anything. So the first method at keeping out a telepath who you don't want in? Think something obnoxious."

She smiled. "My best friend back home actually thinks things like, 'Lalalala, you can't get in here,' if she thinks I'm listening or she's trying to hide something -- 'cause honestly, nine out of ten times, I'm not trying to listen, anyway. So try that -- just think really hard about an annoying song, or say a word over and over in your head. If you do it successfully, I won't be able to pick up anything but that."

[boywonder03.livejournal.com]

Tim frowned. "Are there people here who can dig through your head?"

[justwantsquiet.livejournal.com]

"I'm honestly not sure," she said. "There are stronger telepaths than me, for sure." She didn't want to betray Karla or Emma, because she was fairly sure they both could. "And some people can manipulate your thoughts, too. I can't."

[boywonder03.livejournal.com]

Tim had a song stuck in his head anyway, so he focused on the lyrics of that. I'M YOUR BIGGEST FAN, I'LL FOLLOW YOU UNTIL YOU LOVE ME!

[justwantsquiet.livejournal.com]

Sookie gave his mind a light poke, arching an eyebrow at what flooded into her head. "Wouldn't have taken you for a Lady Gaga fan."

[boywonder03.livejournal.com]

"I'm not. It just got stuck in my head," Tim said, keeping the song in the front of his thoughts. Behind that, he was thinking that while he wouldn't consider himself a fan, the song was pretty catchy.

[justwantsquiet.livejournal.com]

"It's going to be stuck in mine, too, now," she complained lightly, but she was smiling. "But good job. That's the easiest way to block someone like me. But, it's not really enough -- I mean, I'd lose interest, but someone who was really determined to get in your head wouldn't. So the next thing I'm gonna teach you is harder." She bit her lip considering how to explain it. "It's sort of like...deliberately thinking white noise. Not the same way you were thinking about the song, but just -- being hyper-aware of your surroundings, and mentally projecting static. Am I making any sense?"

[boywonder03.livejournal.com]

"You are, yeah," Tim said. He relaxed, closed his eyes and his hands fell naturally into a meditation pose. He pushed his other thoughts aside and concentrated on the white noise. Visuals came first, then sound, then what he imagined the feel of white noise would be - the pins and needles of a limb that's fallen asleep and is just starting to regain feeling.

[justwantsquiet.livejournal.com]

Sookie delved back into his mind, and while it wasn't fully the relaxation she felt around, say, vampires, or even around the supernaturally-inclined, it was faintly similar to the light fuzzing of thoughts she experienced when she deliberately listened to Bobby.

"That's perfect," she said, grinning at him. "I mean, it's not going to hold up against really strong telepaths? But it'll do well enough for most people here in Fandom, if you don't want to be heard. Most of us are pretty courteous about that kind of thing. If someone's blocking, it means they don't want to be overheard."

[boywonder03.livejournal.com]

"Good," Tim smiled. "I guess I just need to figure out how to do that while I'm doing other stuff."

[justwantsquiet.livejournal.com]

"That's the trick," she said, smiling. "That's why my shields frankly kind of suck, personally, though I'm trying to keep y'all out of my head, so I don't have to hear. But if I'm stressed, I can't hold 'em up."

[boywonder03.livejournal.com]

"You have to concentrate not to use your power?" Tim asked. "That's unusual."

[justwantsquiet.livejournal.com]

"Yeah, I'm a special little snowflake," she said, rolling her eyes good-naturedly. "It's awful when people are upset and stuff. It's why I hate the cabins so much. But -- yes, this is what I mean. I will keep out of your head the very best I can, but if I catch a stray thought from you, it's not intentional. I can go into people's heads on purpose -- as you just saw -- but most of the time I just want quiet. So people who can shield are kind of a godsend."

[boywonder03.livejournal.com]

"Yeah, sounds like a rough power to deal with," Tim said. "I'm actually glad I don't have anything."

[justwantsquiet.livejournal.com]

"There are perks," she said, shrugging. "But yeah. I'd take normality over this any day. But hey, at least you've got ways to adapt to those of us who're weird."

[boywonder03.livejournal.com]

"I'm working on it," Tim said. "It'd be a tough place to go to school if you weren't adaptable."