Private Finished Caught in a daze [Chloe]

==> Hal.

"What to do..." Hal muttered to himself as he weaved through the students scattered in the hallways. His classes ended early because his teacher was apparently not going to show up so now he had the entire afternoon all to himself. He had a lot in mind: he could go study, practice projection, sketching, cooking, or just waste time play video games. Usually once he's started on one, he couldn't do anything else after. He'd have wasted all the hours he had until he needed to sleep.

Hal quietly slipped out of the crowd as he turned to walk down a staircase, still in thought. Before he even reached the bottom landing, his vision suddenly blurred. Shit, not now-- He started to panic the second he realized he couldn't move his physical body — but he wasn't going to give in to his dizzy spells.

Focusing all his attention on keeping control, he closed his eyes which... wasn't really much help and he ended up missing the step and stumbling down the stairs. He waited for the cold floor to meet with his face but the moment never came. Instead, his fall was cushioned by something he didn't notice earlier.

It took Hal three seconds to realize that his fall was caught by someone who was (unfortunately) passing through before he pushed himself up. It took him another two seconds to realize he had fallen on top of a girl.

"...Um..."


[[tag for @Kait]]

Hal probably had worse days but this was undeniably awkward. He was pretty sure he has never seen this girl anywhere before and that this was not a good way to make an impression.

"I-I-I'm sorry! I didn't mean to--" Hal stammered out as he scrambled to get up, only to fall back down on his butt. His face couldn't hide the blush that was creeping up to his cheeks. He couldn't believe his dizzy spell threw him in that kind of position (literally).

Didn't quite help that the girl had this look on her face that made it look to him that she looks amused. This was the face that meant he won't get out of things that easily. Somehow this is going to get worse for him. Usually.

"I-I'm s-sorry that wasn't meant to happen, it's-- I lost my balance and I-- Please forget about it ever happening..!" His spoke quickly, not even leaving a pause. Though even as he spoke, his gaze was turned down to his side. He couldn't look her in the eye. He wanted to cover his face. Why do these things keep happening to him?

She was laughing at him. Yep, this was going down that road again. Hal's shoulder's dropped. If the case were any similar with his roommate, it would have been easy to compose himself, but he wasn't all that good with girls unless he had a good start. And by 'good' that would mean anything but looking like a fool in front of them.

Too late for that, though. He failed that opportunity.

'Don't worry about it', the girl said to him, making him look to her direction in reflex. He wasn't so much as startled to see her towering above him as he was seeing her lower half. What in the world--?! Hal knew Starlight had a hodgepodge of students. Faes, vampires, and every weirdo in human mythos but this was nuts. A demon? Her calm reaction seemed to work well if that was the case.

Hal was too much in thought that he almost didn't hear her speak. It was only until she lifted him up that his thoughts returned to reality. "Hey, I-I'm not a kid..!!" he said, struggling a little when he realized he was off the ground for a moment. He stopped when he saw her smirk. He swore, this person wasn't human.

The other student spoke again when she had lowered him back down. 'Maybe we should introduce ourselves.' she said, reaching her hand out for a handshake. Hal turned his gaze away. He wasn't entirely sure about associating himself with what looks to be a demon but...

Hal hesitated for a second before he reached out to shake her hand. "H-Hal." he said, and just as quickly, he withdrew his hands to his side. "What are you even supposed to be?" he unintentionally said aloud. His reaction was as immediate and his distress couldn't get anymore obvious, "S-sorry, that wasn't supposed to come out!!"

Way to make an impression.

The girl-- Chloe's reactions weren't helping Hal to compose himself. He doesn't know how he ends up running into these sorts of people who want to torment him. And she seemed delighted about running into him and tormenting him, judging by her tail. A tail... huh. As if he wasn't already terrified.

Her grin was suspicious. Hal doesn't really know how to read people but he doesn't feel like he wants to anytime soon. He's okay with dizzy spells and chances of accidentally short circuiting electronics for now.

Summoned? Mistaken for a succubus? He wasn't really going there, but thank heavens she wasn't. Sex demons are the last thing on his list that he wants to see. But that doesn't cross out the chances of her being another kind of demon. Anything summoned has a 99% chance of being demonic.

"S-so what..." he began, shoving his hands down his pockets. His voice was lowered and his stance was a little more too defensive. "You're some other kind of demon then?" She could be anything at this point. Maybe it would have been safer for Hal's paranoia if he had turned away than converse with her, but Hal never made good decisions about these things. It would have also been better if he didn't ask but Hal's forte was digging his own grave.

Suspicious. Hal raised an eyebrow skeptically. While he believed in the supernatural (due to his condition), the existence of alternate universes was another thing. Funny-looking humans was also another thing. To Hal, funny-looking humans ranged from those with tree bark-like skin, excessive hair, and parasitic twins. This on the other hand was another thing to look into.

"Yeah, that story sounds believable. Summoning beings from alternate realities." he said sarcastically. Hearing his own voice ring out again, he covered his mouth in frustration. "S-sorry, I think too loudly." he said after a second. His inside voice rarely worked, unfortunately for him. Hal shifted awkwardly at his own behavior. He was making things worse for himself again.

At the mention of souls, Hal finally looked at the girl in front of him right in the eye. "Yes, of course souls are a thing! Ghosts are a thing! They're real!" he said defensively. Ever since he learned he could astral project, he also started seeing spirits around him. He started believing in the supernatural. For someone to question that souls exist upset him. The lightbulb closest to them even flickered.

Crossing his arms in front of him, his expression softened and responded to her question. "I can project an astral body. And I can see spirits too. I'm very well connected to the spiritual plane." he said, almost childishly.