Violets Are Blue...

A gentle humming slowly resonated through the air, as if the calm breeze carried it along. The voice was that of a male, a male who sounded majestic and angelic... pretty different from how he actually looked like.

Alec was just passing by. Despite the light mood of the smooth melody he made, his lips were actually curved down to a frown, one which could only be obvious enough if other people looked close enough. Alec did not like going out at this time of the day. That was already pretty obvious through his lazy and almost dragging walk, and the umbrella he held open to protect himself from the sun.

The flowers were a different case though. They were the reason he passed here in the first place. They could always make up for the irritating sunlight, because just like his voice, they soothed his nerves perfectly. Alec would always hear the other voice in his head, laughing at him for this.

But then it stopped. And Alec stopped humming. He turned his head a bit to the side, noticing the presence of the young girl in the chair.

<i>"That girl looks lonely~"</i> Paradox commented. Alec was the only one who could hear him, of course. <i>"Alec, why not accompany her for a bit? Give her a song or two~"</i>

"You know I'm trying to hurry. I'm only outside because we ran out of coffee. And I really need coffee," Alec muttered his answer. He was going to leave, he was ready to turn away, but his feet dragged him closer to the bench instead.

<i>What the..?</i>

"Um... Hi," Alec greeted right as he stopped in front of the young girl. Which only made him feel stupid. Because he did not know what he was doing. "May I... have a seat here too?"

<i>"Hahaha! Smooth, Alec! Real smooth!"</i>

Alec was sure he heard her reply, even though he was also sure he didn't see her lips open. His eyes slightly widened due to surprise, but this kind of surprise did not seem to make a negative impact. Instead, it even erased the slight frown on his face. "Thanks," he said, and gave a slight smile. He then sat down, making sure he wasn't too close. But he wasn't too far either, because this girl just caught her interest. "So, you communicate with your mind... huh? In a way... we're not really so different."

<i>"Oi, oi, don't drag me into this,"</i> Paradox spoke yet again. His voice had a slight tremble in Alec's head, as if he was nervous. Alec wouldn't blame him though. If the girl communicated like that, Paradox might be found out. There wasn't really danger though. Who would care in the first place? They were technically inseparable.

Alec shrugged him off and glanced up. <i>Ah, it really was too sunny.</i> The light hurt Alec's eyes and skin, so he did not put his umbrella away. And instead ended up sharing it with the girl, even though that wasn't really intentional. "Can you also hear my inner thoughts?"

Alec actually didn't mind the questions, but he was concerned about Paradox. And maybe they weren't so alike either; he only said that because his voice affects the minds more than usual, which was somehow also a kind of mental communication, in its own sense. And there's also Paradox, the second identity lurking in his consciousness.

"It's not like I can do what you do," he answered, shrugging a bit. Only to realize that his umbrella was becoming quite a bother, and he had to get rid of it somehow. And so, with much hesitance, he did. He finally closed it and folded it neatly, before putting it down his side. The sun was quite irritating on his head and face, and not bringing a pair of sunglasses proved to be an idiotic decision. He had to close his eyes, or it would feel like they were going to melt.

Why was he there again? Oh, right. He wanted to keep this girl company, just for a while. There's no regret, he liked making friends. Hopefully that was what he was doing right now.

"...It's more like... my voice can get into your head a lot easier than usual. I can easily say 'Stand up and turn around' and actually get a result I want."

He was talking about the mild hypnosis in his voice. His ability of talking things out with people to easily get what he wanted. He usually did that during the evening, telling the guards to let him be while he roams around the school grounds past curfew. It was usually effective, especially to people who had their guards down, or those who have weak willpower.

He turned his head to look at the girl, and smiled at her gently. "Name's Alec, by the way. I suppose I ought to introduce myself since we're in the same school anyway."

Alec was silent for a few seconds. Probably about ten. And he was staring at Violet the whole time, eyes fixed on her despite the sun, while his face went uneasy with surprise. He just used his ability on her, so he was shocked that she wasn't affected.

He decided to shrug it off quickly enough with an actual visible shrug on the shoulders. He smiled, even though what Violet said about his hypnosis being dangerous somehow got to him. "Violet... Nice name. It suits you."

"Hey. Don't sweat it, Alec. Of course she'll think it's dangerous. It IS kinda true." Paradox's voice was calm and steady. Alec could actually see what it would be like if the guy had his own body, and he would pat Alec on a shoulder and smile at him. "But it's you, Alec. She doesn't have to worry so much. Because it's you."

Paradox somehow managed to make Alec chuckle. His eyes became soft on Violet, as he held out a hand and very softly patted her head. "It's true, there are so many things I can do with it. People back home were afraid, too, and started calling me crazy, monster... But I swear, I'm a good person. And you don't seem affected anyway. It's really mild, my hypnosis. Dependent on willpower, and the lack of it."

Alec laughed the topic off, his shoulders slightly shaking. He saw pretty clearly that Violet wasn't all that comfortable, and somehow felt like he had to make it up to her for making her feel that way. Question was, would she let him?

He stood up and opened his umbrella again. Seriously, the heat from the sun was unbearable. The light was even worse. Relieved by the umbrella's protection, he smiled a bit wider at Violet.

"There's really nothing you should worry about, Violet. I'm not going to test it to you again." Again, he laughed. His laugh was gentle and soft, just like his lullabies. "Say, what are you doing here anyway? I was thinking, I should make it up to you for trying my voice on you. Maybe we could go to the cafeteria at least... so I could buy you something at least." He knew taking her to places was suspicious, so he suggested the cafeteria where there was no risk of him putting her in any kind of danger. "Or are you planning to stay here under the sun? It's... pretty hot, don't you think so?"