Stalling (OPEN)

People had debated for years - and the word "years" was used here because the actual amount of years was quite unknown by anyone - whether situations could ever truly be described as a "coincidence." One side argued that everything had a purpose - that destiny decided our fate and nothing would ever occur without some sort of otherworldly plan dictating it. The other, of course, figured that whatever happened, happened, and would only happen when the involved individual(s) made it so.

Somehow this debate was likely the last thing on anyone's mind at this point.

Shouting would be heard from the hall outside her room, and it soon became obvious that someone was chasing someone else (or something else?). Then it became apparent that the individual committing the chasing was actually at least several individuals, and they seemed to be chasing just one other.

He knew this hallway. He had been there once before. The first time he had ever arrived here, in fact. Tara's room was nearby, and considering the situation he wondered if she would allow him refuge inside her room. Unfortunately, his memory had become somewhat hazy lately, considering recent circumstances. He immediately took a sharp left into a room with a sliding door only to be greeted with the shouts consisting of pervert and psycho before some mystical force - likely created by a girl inside that harnessed telekinetic abilities - sent him flying out of the entrance and into the wall opposite.

Whoops. Girl's bathroom.

He held his head in pain while trying to stand, the footsteps of those pursuing him getting closer. "Oh, right.. Tara's room is the next one down.." He said, laughing to himself cheerfully despite the situation. He hobbled over to one of the doors and prepared to knock, but quickly decided against that option when he realized the door was not only unlocked but his pursuers were about to come around the corner - and if they saw him enter the room the entire thing would be pointless.

"Tara, I'm coming in!" He said, barging into the poor young girl's room and closing the door behind him, resting his back up against it in a sigh of relief. His pursuers could be heard outside, and they were clearly confused.

"Apologies, Tara, I did not mean to -" Wait. That wasn't Tara sitting on the bed. He simply gawked at the young girl and blinked a few times. "Tara, did you suddenly revert your height? I must say you are far shorter than you were but a few days ago." Either he was joking or he really did think the girl in front of him was someone he knew.

—

"Darn that Alistair... how does he do that..?" One of the people outside muttered as the pursuing group gave up and dispersed.

He considered her words before pausing. "Wait, someone else!?" He rushed to the door to lock it. "That would not be a good thing, certainly." The last thing he needed was her room mate or something along those lines to barge in and cry out because an older teenage boy was in the room! But she probably had a key anyways... regardless, he figured there was no reason not to lock the door.

He noticed a presence within his mind. This girl had telepathic abilities, but he was unable to discern to what extent. It could be something as simple as empathy, or something far more complicated such as mind control. His mental barrier was quite powerful, but he rarely ever hid his emotions behind them. After all, emotions were the best part of living, in his (weird?) opinion. She would find that, despite the situation he seemed to be in, he was in no way "afraid" or even "concerned". The only emotion she would be able to gather from him is pure happiness and a carefree spirit, despite how he may act.

Although something would seem off. Something about his incredible positive attitude seemed beyond that of a normal human. In addition, if she were able to detect his state of mental health, she would find that something had recently damaged it very badly, although he seemed to be recovering rather well.

"I do apologize for my abrupt interruption, m'lady. It was certainly not my intention to disturb you." When he returned from the door once again, he bowed politely to her in not only greeting but apology. And yes, he did just refer to a much younger girl as m'lady. "I do sincerely hope I have not frightened you, for you see I seem to have miscalculated the location of my dear friend's dormitory. Or perhaps she has recently moved to a different location."

Of course, having his own empathic abilities as well - although they were not nearly as strong as her's - meant he realized her discomfort right away. Not that such a thing was unexpected, after all a complete stranger had just barged into her room. "A pleasure to meet you, Miss Sophie. I am known as Alistair Fordren, but you may simply refer to me as Alistair. I have also been referred to as perv several times, but I have yet to decipher the meaning behind such a name. Regardless, it is irrelevant to me how you decide to refer to me." Yeah, he was actually serious there. Not that the 'perv' situations were ever actually his fault — simple misunderstandings due to bad luck is all.

"I see, yes I suppose we were rather loud out there." He happily accepted her offer to sit. "However, they were not bullies. Rather, they were the school's prefects. I believe they were anyways, I am not entirely sure on the school's layout of things considering I am not actually a student here. In fact, I believe that is the reason they were chasing me. I am technically trespassing." He mused, looking up at the ceiling as he did so. In reality, he had done much more than trespass. He had hacked into the school's mainframe multiple times, retrieving classified information for reasons unbeknownst to the school's higher-ups. What puzzled them the most is that he easily had access to important documents such as financial and personal student information, and yet not once had he ever seemed interested. This was what puzzled everyone the most.

Of course, some of the things he had just told her probably wouldn't go over very easily, despite the fact that he said them so nonchalantly.

"A reason? Oh, indeed. Various reasons, in fact. I am, uh..." Delicate situation, here. He couldn't give away too much information. "Hunting treasure." Technically not a lie. "Yes, I believe there is treasure hidden somewhere on this island, perhaps even under the school." He smiled in excitement. If she was able to use her empathy to detect lying, she wouldn't detect any false words coming from him.

He crossed his arms and considered her words about being new. "Then it looks like you just found your first friend!" He jumped up in even more excitement than when he had mentioned the possibility of treasure. In fact, it was rather overdramatic, despite his emotions showing no hint of exaggeration. "Hmm.. What should two new friends do together? How about ice cream!?" He shrugged, awaiting her answer.

A third party might've warned this poor girl were they to have the chance...

"Hmm. I'm afraid I have run out of locations for the treasure. I do not believe it actually exists as I thought it did." He, of course, purposely left out the part about the 'treasure' being an incredibly dangerous artifact of evil that could destroy the world. Whether or not it was actually here on the island was irrelevant — he certainly did not want a young girl to find it.

He seemed even more excited when she accepted his ice cream proposal, and had immediately turned to walk towards the door when she asked him a question. He turned to her with a confused look. "I am not sure I understand your question, m'lady. Why is it I should be concerned about getting caught?" His emotions would hint he was genuinely confused about her question. Apparently he had forgotten all about what had just happened no more than ten minutes ago.