you f o u n d me {taylor}

[dory]

Let it be known that walking into the New York Public Library that day, Theodora Blake felt like a criminal. She stepped into the library, duffel bag and purse in hand, her blue hazel eyes glancing around uncertainly, as if expected to be attacked by police officers at any moment. She had done it for her own good and her own health, and she felt better than she had in a while being bathed with clean clothes and a fully belly. That didn’t make it right, but by now Dory was far past doing the right thing. She supposed she could turn back now and turn herself in…She glanced over her shoulders at the door as she considered this then glanced back forward. No…The consequences were a bit frightening, honestly, and Dory was sure she could take care of herself. She could do this every day. She’d even walk to the public school a few blocks down to get a proper education, so that she wasn’t a completely bad person. Honestly, part of her wanted to go to school. It was Sunday, though, so she’d spend her day in one of he favorite places. Making up her mind about the matter, Dory nodded to herself and nervously walked towards the fiction section.

Exactly twelve hours ago, Dory had run away from Camp Half Blood. It was her and Eden’s new “home”, she supposed one would call it. Eden liked to call it that and Grandma Sheridan liked to reinforce the idea. Dory was tired of the place. Maybe it was “safer”, maybe it was good for them, and maybe it even resembled home in some ways. She had Eden there, and she liked to tell herself that was all she could ask for. But Camp was just like school; everyone loved Eden. They loved her beauty and her kindness and she was the social butterfly. Everyone loved her, and people barely gave Dory a second glance. Dory wasn’t exceptional at anything here. She didn’t like physical activity. Honestly, she was lazy…She liked video games and playing Magic: The Gathering, and reading fantasy novels. The food was okay and you had to bargain with or beg people in Cabin 11 to sneak in good stuff, like soft drinks and snack cakes. Maybe people liked to call it home, but it wasn’t. It felt to Dory what it was: summer camp.

She missed Grandma Sheridan. She missed Ferris. She missed school. She missed New York, honestly. In the small bit of time they had been at their public school, Dory felt as if she belonged more than she ever had. There were others who preferred video games over riding horses and Magic over gardening, junk food over healthy eating, and all of the things Dory enjoyed. Sure, she had always been too shy to talk to any of them, but she felt better about herself there. And why were they were? Because Eden was scared, because Grandma Sheridan was scared. They were small town girls now plunked down in the middle of a big city. Dory wanted to explore it and see it all it had to offer. She wasn’t scared like they were, she wanted to embrace it, but no one listened to her. Then, only a day after the anniversary of her father’s death, Dory decided to do it.

Death had been on her mind all the day before, and it had eventually come into mind: why live with regrets? She didn’t want to be here and the only person who actually cared if she was there or not was Eden. She loved Eden, but she couldn’t stay here. She left her a note reading I love you. Don’t worry about me. With that, once everyone was a sleep, Dory snuck out. If she hadn’t known her real father, she would have begun to think Hermes was, how easily she snuck out of the Camp. Or maybe it was just proof that no one cared if she was there or not. She left with her one duffel bag as full as she could make it and her purse stuffed with money. Part of her felt bad and considered leaving some for Eden, but quickly pushed that aside. One didn’t need money at Camp unless you were dealing with the Hermes cabin and outside food, and Eden would be fine…If she ever needed anything, she was sure anyone would do it for free. Once she got to the road she managed to hail a cab and got herself back to New York with some of the money she got.

It was halfway home that she realized a problem.

Grandma Sheridan was a big pusher for staying at Camp. The city wasn’t safe, she said, and she was the one who brought it up to Eden and Dory to stay at Camp. She couldn’t go home. Grandma Sheridan would be upset that she had run away and would fuss at her. But it wasn’t something she’d do and then let Dory stay. No, Grandma Sheridan was worried about her and would send her back to Camp, no ifs, ands, or buts…And probably a lot of guilt trips. Dory squirmed nervously in the back of the cab and bit her lip, checking the time on her watch. While she was driven back to Grandma Sheridan’s apartment she devised a quick scheme and spent a good ten minutes digging through all of the junk that littered her purse until she found them…A keychain with a monkey face on it and lots of keys. Her car keys and the key to Grandma Sheridan’s apartment. As expected, the cab got there a good fifteen minutes after Grandma Sheridan left for work. Dory paid the cab driver and ran up to Grandma Sheridan’s apartment.

It was empty, to her relief. She was smart…She only took food Grandma Sheridan probably wouldn’t notice go missing and only a small bit of it, despite her desire for those curly Cheetos. She managed to shower quickly and dug out all of the Camp T shirts that crowded her duffel bag and stuffed them into drawers while she filled the new space with more favorite clothing items of hers. She also changed into old jeans and her favorite tank top and even found her old favorite jacket. She dumped her jewelry box into one of the side pockets and plucked out some of her favorite pieces to wear for the day. She even went through her make up and quickly dabbed on some pink lip gloss and black eye liner. It wasn’t often she felt pretty, but now that she had the opportunity to look somewhat good, she was taking it. After dolling up a little bit she took a few granola bars, a bag of candy, a small bag of chips, and two cans of Dr. Pepper. The bag of beef jerky Grandma Sheridan bought went in her hand for a minute before she frowned and put it back. That would be noticed for sure.

With her duffel bag a little heavier, Dory snuck back out of the apartment building (though knowing Grandma Sheridan wouldn’t be back for several hours, one could never be too careful) and began walking. She wasn’t sure where she was going to go…This much she hadn’t thought through. She had no friends she could crash with, no other family but Ferris who would rat her out to Grandma, and just…No one. She didn’t have money for her own place. She was homeless. She’d have to live in an alleyway and would probably get robbed her first day on the streets. Her jaw trembled slightly, and she could feel the tears forming in her eyes, but she held them back and kept walking. She had done this…And she would have to pay the consequences. Mainly because facing the other consequences (I.e. adults) was a bit too terrifying. She didn’t want to face the disappointment on Grandma Sheridan or the worry on Eden…She didn’t want to get yelled at. Besides…This was exactly what she had asked for: an adventure.

And that was how she found herself at the New York Public Library. She had been walking down the street when she eyed it, so far the most tempting thing she had seen in five hours of walking. Her arms were sore, switching around her heavy duffel bag now and then. Her legs ached horribly…She hadn’t been this active since she was seven. To her embarrassment she was even out of breath…Just walking! New Yorkers brushed past her without a car as Dory stared up at the large building before hesitantly walking forward. This would be her safe haven. Maybe she could sleep here overnight…Find a dark corner, a comfortable spot to curl up in for a little shut eye. The place was big…Hopefully big enough to do that…And hopefully not with cameras. Her stomach sank at the thought…Big cities were different from small towns, and for that they were probably more protected…They were probably used to these things.

As she walked in further, she noticed a few librarians. There was a man in his early thirties, probably, at one table who stopped her to chat. She wasn’t sure why until she noticed him checking her out as he began flirting with her. She had learned a few minutes before that that he was the English teacher at the public school she’d be attending tomorrow. Even when she blurted out her age, all he could do was grin, so Dory quickly stumbled off. It wasn’t until a few minutes later, glancing back at him, that she thought maybe she could flirt back…Maybe he’d give her a place to stay. Of course she figured he’d want more than flirting for her to do that. Her stomach lurched a bit and she shook her head. She’d see how this first night went before she considered prostitution. She continued towards the fiction section and then began hunting down a particular author. Dan Brown. She had heard about The Da Vinci Code and Angels and Demons and The Lost Symbol. They seemed like just the sort of thing she wanted to read. It would take a while…Dyslexia was hard to conquer and though she was getting better with reading English, it wasn’t perfect. Not as good as her regular classmates would be, but better than most demigods.

Finally finding Brown, it was easy to find Dan Brown and easier to find all three books, to her relief. She eagerly took them all and loaded them into her arms, grateful she had gotten a library card before everything happened last year. She smiled to herself, feeling somewhat better about this whole thing as she glanced around the area for other books she might want to read. For now, she felt normal.

OUTFIT.
TAYLOR'S TAGGED.

[TAYLOR ABBOT]

Taylor Abbot had never been much of a reader, but school demanded it of her. Taylor drummed her fingers gently on the railing while she rode the escalator downward, descending into the more "fun" part of the library. In her arms she held two big books, one an encyclopedia marked "E," the other a biography of Marie Antoinette. School wasn't her favorite thing in the world, especially being dyslexic and ADHD like she was. But it had to be done. She had a research paper due on the life of Marie Antoinette and her affect on England, and she was determined to get it done today so that she wouldn't have to worry about it.

Her ADHD, of course, disagreed with her.

Taylor set her books down and flipped through the encyclopedia first, wanting to see just how much this thing had about England. She flipped and flipped, sighing and cradling her cheek in her hand when she realized the article was upwards of twenty pages. What's worse was that encyclopedias were not allowed to be taken out of the library, so she would have to take notes on all of this stuff, meaning she would actually have to read it. She sighed again and slipped her backpack off of her shoulder, pulling out the notebook and pen she had brought along. She closed her eyes and took a deep breath, telling herself that she was going to focus, Taylor, focus and get this done. She opened her eyes and flipped back to the beginning of the article, pen poised over an empty page in her notebook, ready to take down the first bit of juicy information that she came across. She sat like that for almost five whole minutes.

Taylor released a puff of air and tossed her pen uselessly atop her notebook, leaning back and raking a hand through her wavy blonde hair. It just wasn't working for her, at least not right now. The letters seemed to float right off the page; she could practically see them jumbling themselves up in her brain. There was no way she was going to be able to read twenty pages of this stuff, that was purely factual and dry and looked like it had been for law school graduates. She sighed and folded her arms over her chest, tilting her head far back until she was looking upside down out the window behind her. She'd never be able to do this.

Taylor glanced at the biography of Marie Antoinette, reaching out a hand and resting it on the cover. This one might be a bit easier to read... then again, she could check it out and take it home, so reading it in the library would be a waste of time. The encyclopedia was the only one that actually had to stay here. She glanced from one book to the other, fully aware that she was wasting time, yet she didn't know what else to do. She would die if she had to read the whole stupid history of the country of England in one day.

"Ugh," she muttered softly, pushing her chair back and standing up before wandering off to the fiction section. There was nothing to steal at her table, so she left it all to save her spot. If anyone wanted to take her history notebook, then by the gods they could have it.

Taylor shuffled along with her hands in her jacket pockets, a slight swagger to the way she walked. Her hazel eyes bounced over the sections - Mystery, Romance, Horror, Fantasy... She had never been one for reading books, but if people wrote this many and other people read them all, well then someone must be onto something. Taylor much preferred doing things herself, rather than reading about other people who did them. She smirked, amused as she walked past a large novel series about a girl and a horse. See, Taylor could have her own adventures like that, instead of reading about some girl doing the same thing. At least, she used to be able to.

Taylor had hardly done more than lay eyes on a horse since her family had moved to New York. She had grown up on a ranch, with her mother and grandparents and her twin sister. Horses had been her life, besides her guitar and her music. When she was with them, everything was wonderful. There were no worries, and when she was riding one it felt like she was flying. It was like she became one with the animal beneath her, and the horse was more like an extension of herself than just a close friend. The two of them could have gone anywhere together, and no one would be able to catch up. Best of all, the horses never judged her. She wouldn't have to worry about one of them finding out she was a lesbian, and then suddenly deciding to buck her off. They just didn't care... not like her mother would.

Taylor's mother, Tia, thought of Taylor as a perfect angel, one who was going places and doing things and becoming successful. Taylor's report cards weren't always fantastic, but if she had done her best Tia wouldn't care. Taylor could do no wrong in her mother's eyes, but she was so afraid all of that would change if her mother found out she liked girls instead of boys... Taylor had heard all sorts of horror stories, about how parents saw their kids as different people once they knew. They were treated like bums who would never amount to anything, and some of Taylor's friends had even been kicked out of their houses and told not to come back. All of the money flow stopped. Taylor didn't want that to happen to her, so she kept her mouth shut.

Of course, everyone else could probably figure it out. The way she dressed sometimes, the way she talked... she just had that feel about her. It was more than just being a tomboy, which she was. It was something else that even Taylor herself couldn't put her finger on. She sighed, sometimes wishing that people couldn't tell. It would be nice to not have a label. She was sure she'd feel as free as she ever did on horseback.

Taylor found herself wandering into the fantasy section, eyes skimming over titles and only picking up a few of the words. She could do a lot of things, a lot of new things in the city that she couldn't have done in the country. Parties, movies, meeting new people... it was all so much easier when there were others around. But she supposed that no matter where she went, she'd never be able to tame a dragon and use it to save the city of New York. That would be something worth reading.

She picked her way through the aisles, turning a corner to see that she wasn't alone. There was a redheaded girl there as well, her arms full of books while she looked for more. She made Taylor smile, standing there in her black tank top and jeans, a look of concentration on her face while she slowly skimmed the titles. Taylor had a fabulous gaydar, and was pretty sure that even if this girl wasn't batting for her team yet, she wasn't far away. What's more, there was that connective feeling there... one like she got around the other demigods at camp. Taylor was known for jumping to conclusions, but she'd probably bet that this girl was a demigod as well.

"Hey," Taylor said casually as she approached the girl. She grinned and nodded to the stack of books in her arms, all fantasy novels. "Those are good ones, huh? I can never tell just by looking at the cover," she said, sighing. She smiled, deciding to leave out the fact that she'd probably be better at it if she spent more time actually reading. At any rate, fantasy novels and this girl beside her were hundreds of times better than pouring over some dull encyclopedia.

"I'm Taylor," she said, holding her hand out invitingly. "I was just looking for something to take my mind off of schoolwork. I was about to ask a librarian if they had any suggestions, but it looks to me like you might know better than they would," she challenged playfully, still smiling easily at the stranger.

This was so much better than Marie Antoinette.

ATTIRE

[/color] what are you wearing?? CREDIT SAM !? of A Changed Hogwarts. Don't remove the credit or I will find you. LYRICS someday - nickelback NOTES notes here WORD COUNT how many words?? [/center][/size][/blockquote][/blockquote]

[dory]

With three books in hand, Dory placed her duffel bag on the floor and held them under one arm, pressed against her side, as she walked further down the aisle slowly, eyes quickly scanning over the spines of the books. She was lucky there were only a few people in the library, and none around her just yet. In New York it wasn’t the smartest of ideas to leave your things lying around. That was one of many reasons why Grandma Sheridan had wanted them to stay at Camp Half Blood. After being mugged several times on their way home from school to being harassed on the bus and Dory has, sadly, nearly been raped twice in the big city. After having actually been raped once, it was a horrifying experience and she had been lucky that people were around both times. One time it was actually her brother who had come out. Ferris was working as a bouncer at 13 and one night, walking around, trying to find the comic book store, some guy had pushed her into an alleyway beside the club and Ferris had come to the rescue. The second time had been by some taxi driver who wanted sex as payment, but her Grandma Sheridan ran out of the house in time to kick him in his freshly exposed manhood. It would have been funny if she hadn’t been so busy shaking and crying in horror and replaying the memory of Dwain in her head.

That was the entire reason they had left Louisiana, after all. Eden had nearly been raped by some creep on the way to Tyler’s house, and when that came out Dory had broken down to confess her own story. Two rapists in one small town. Pineville was their home, but after much pleading and begging from Eden, it had been hard for anyone to say no. Sometimes Dory missed it, though. She missed Adam and Bree. They would have been the best to talk to about everything. Sadly, part of her wanted to use Adam…He was a guy and they had done it once. He had been her first…And part of her wanted to crawl up into his porch swing with a bottle of wine and get just drunk enough for it to be okay. Neither one would have any problems with it, much as things had gone that one night…And Dory wouldn’t have to live with knowing that the last person had been her rapist. She had never gotten that chance, though. Grandma Sheridan had made all of the arrangements as soon as she could, starting that night. She managed to sell the house to an old friend who had been asking her about it for years. She bought plane tickets and easily got them an apartment. They had been out of Pineville by the end of the week.

Things had changed so much in the past year. She had gone from a small town and a small school and a small little life she had lived for fifteen years. Then she had been thrust into this big world of crime and constant terror. A big school where she felt more invisible than anything…Invisible enough to not be bullied nearly so much, but she wasn’t sure which was worse. As sick as it sounded, it felt more lonely being ignored all the time, as opposed to people picking on her. People at least cared enough to notice and pay attention to things. No matter what they said about her and her video games and her books and her clothes, or even about her looks or her ADHD and dyslexia…At least people had cared about it, even if they didn’t act right with it all. In New York no one even looked at her. A few people teased her now and then…Never the same people. But it did feel more like home, more comfortable and relaxing. It was so stupid, but that was her sad life. It was the life she was returning to tomorrow. Back to the same ole school with the same ole people who would ignore her. But it had to be better than living at Camp Half Blood for the rest of her life.

Being at the library made things easy to take her mind off of all of her troubles. It took too much focus and concentration to read and decipher things. She took a few seconds longer than the average person, looking over all of the titles and last times, and if she glanced too fast they’d be nothing but a blur. She didn’t see many familiar names in this area, though she made a mental note to look for V.C. Andrews and Amanda Quick books later on. She’d probably need a buggy or a basket…Maybe a whole trash bag to carry out all of the books she would want to take. She needed a notebook and a pen…Jot down notes, list out all of the books she wanted to read and she could cross them out once she did. She wasn’t entirely sure about the library’s policy for checking things out…If you couldn’t exceed a certain number or not. At the Gunter Branch, Rapides Parish Library you could check out as many as you wanted, but at the one in Alexandria, the big library, you couldn’t check out more than…Twenty, she thought it was. Strange that the smaller library allowed more than the bigger one…But more people in Alexandria probably read for leisure than people in the smaller town. She’d have to check that out soon, too.

Dory was so caught up in all of her thoughts and looking over things, the voice of someone else around shocked her. Instantly she jumped and spun around, dropping all of her books in the process. For a moment she was froze, staring wide eyed at the blond in front of her. After a moment her brain turned back on and she shook her head, blushing furiously and laughing nervously. “Oh…Uh….Hi…” she said, kneeling down to scoop up her books, letting her red hair purposefully fall down to veil her face as she scrunched her nose and silently cursed herself out for a moment before standing back up, smiling sheepishly at the stranger. “Umm…Uh…I’m not…not really sure, actually. I just…uh…heard about them and uh…Decided to come…see for myself,” she said, licking her lips, her arm shaking a bit nervously. She wanted to run and hide. She already felt like an idiot. Reaching up she scratched the back of her head and glanced around for a moment. “They…Seem really good though. You can uh…Well there’s usually a summary on the back so you can usually have an idea if you’d be interested or not…” She fell silent again, feeling even more stupid and mentally cursing herself out. Duh, there was a summary on the back. Everyone knew that. Dory hoped the girl didn’t think she thought she was dumb or something.

Socialization just wasn’t one of Dory’s talents.

The blond introduced herself as Taylor and Dory relaxed somewhat, pausing a moment before hesitantly shaking her hand. “Sorry…Heh…Well, I’m Dory,” she said, hugging her books tightly to her chest as Taylor went on. “Oh?…Well uh…Harry…Potter’s really good. It’s a whole series and…Well I like those books. Mmm…I personally love the Anita Blake series…It’s like huge now,” she said with a laugh, feeling horribly nervous, but she charged on with her babble as bravely as she could. “And…Ummm…The Fear Street or The Nightmare Room books by R.L. Stine are really…Well, I guess it just matters o what you’re interested in, really, those are just some of my favorites,” she said, finishing with a deep breath and biting her lips together on the inside of her mouth while she waited for Taylor to say something or walk off. Either way all she wanted to do was bang her head into the wall and press rewind.

OUTFIT.
TAYLOR'S TAGGED.

[TAYLOR ABBOT]

The instant that Taylor opened her mouth, the redheaded girl jumped and whirled around, succeeding in dropping all of the books in her arms. It made Taylor jump a bit herself, and blink in surprise, bending to grab one that had bounced a little farther away.

"Sorry, I didn't mean to scare you," she apologized, giggling playfully. She handed the book back to the girl, smiling warmly at her. She hadn't meant to surprise her or to catch her off guard... really, all Taylor wanted was a nice little conversation to get her mind off of her homework troubles. Who knew, this girl could be a potential new friend, maybe even one who knew a bit about Marie Antoinette.

Taylor put her hands easily back in her pockets, trying not to look too amused at the redhead's attempts to get herself back on track. She wanted the other girl to feel easy and comfortable, but the fact that she wasn't was really quite endearing. She stuttered through a small explanation for why she had picked the books that she had, as well as informing Taylor that there was usually a summary on the back of the book. Taylor had already figured that out, but it wasn't like she had read many books. If she turned one over and there was a picture of the author on the back, instead of a synopsis, she usually gave up.

The other girl apologized, though for what Taylor wasn't sure, and introduced herself as Dory. Taylor smiled, instantly reminded of the blue fish in the movie Finding Nemo. Dory had been her favorite character, and not just because she was voiced by Ellen Degeneres. The name "Dory" suited this girl quite well.

"Nice to meet you, Dory," Taylor said sincerely, easily falling back into just listening while Dory made her suggestions. Taylor had heard plenty about the Harry Potter books. They were all over the place, and everyone who read them seemed to love them. The only bad things she had heard about them were from conservatives who hated any semblance of magic or "witchcraft." Taylor didn't mind, though. She listened and nodded while Dory offered the rest of her favorite series, glancing around thoughtfully and trying to pick out a few of the books she was mentioning. No such luck, though, at least not for Taylor.

"Hmmm," she said, shifting her weight and folding an arm over her chest, resting her opposite elbow upon it and tapping her chin. "I think I'd really like to read about something incredibly fantastical... something I could never do myself. You know, dragons and witches and goblins and all that. I've heard lots of good things about Harry Potter... how many books are in that series? Because honestly," Taylor giggled, sidling closer to Dory as though she were about to tell her a secret, "I've got a paper on Marie Antoinette to finish, but I just can't get into the note taking... I'd rather distract myself and then see if I can pick it up later," she shrugged. Perhaps reading a fantasy novel would get her mind in gear for reading in general, and hopefully keep her interest while the wheels began turning up there. Maybe then she could switch back to that tired old encyclopedia.

In any case, Taylor was never one to shy away from new experiences. And Dory seemed like she read... a lot. It just gave Taylor an excuse to talk to her, and for now, that was more than all right with her.

ATTIRE

[/color] what are you wearing?? CREDIT SAM !? of A Changed Hogwarts. Don't remove the credit or I will find you. LYRICS someday - nickelback NOTES notes here WORD COUNT how many words?? [/center][/size][/blockquote][/blockquote]

[dory]

Feeling like a moron was nothing new to Dory. She had bad socialization skills and often enough times found she was terrified of people, or at least talking to them. And when she did scrounge up enough courage to talk to someone, she always made references to books, movies, songs, video games, or even Magic that no one had any clue about. Sometimes she would joke about things and accidentally insult someone. Her views on things always seemed to go against the ideas of others. She was dyslexic and ADHD and somehow still one of the top students in her class. She played the piano and the cello. And, most importantly, she was easily scared and a complete klutz. People had made fun of her her whole life, making her very insecure about every little thing. While being highly insecure and shy, she still refused to change anything about herself because she liked herself far too much. It was hard to explain just how she was, considering everything she tried to explain about herself seemed to contract each other.

So jumping because someone said something and dropping her books was usual behavior, it seemed, though the embarrassment never got easier. She laughed quietly as the girl apologized and cringed somewhat at her playful laughter. “Oh, it’s fine. I’m one of those girls who jumps onto the nearest chair when she sees a rat or a roach, so…Yeah, scaring me isn’t hard,” she said nervously, shifting awkwardly on her feet. “I’m like the Cowardly Lion. Oddly I could have been friends with the Lion, which is weird…Big carnivore isn’t scary, but tiny rodents are. Honestly big things don’t usually scare me, which is weird. Which is why this is weird. Not that you’re big…you’re just tall. Not freakishly tall, though, just…Taller than me…Yeah, I’m an idiot, I’m going to shut up now,” she finished, smiling a painful smile as she scrunched up her face momentarily in further embarrassment over her strange babbling.

That was the sort of thing that always happened. Either she didn’t say anything, or she said way too much.

It didn’t help that Taylor seemed to want help finding a book. The moment she opened her mouth, it was like she couldn’t shut it, suggesting all of the books she had recently gotten her hands on and managing to not bring up her insane love of Dr. Seuss. Being sixteen and loving children’s books were a bit odd…Yet another thing high school bullies loved to use against her. That was why she loved to baby sit…When she lived in Pineville she would baby sit all the time and bring all of her favorite Dr. Seuss books, always bringing her favorite And To Think That I Saw it on Mulberry Street, one that never got old no matter how many time she dramatically performed and read it for young children. There was just something very magical about that man and his books, but for now that would remain her dirty little secret, an entire collection of books hidden in her closet at Grandma Sheridan’s apartment. Only her favorite and Horton Hatches the Egg had she brought with her to Camp and were stuffed at the very bottom of her duffel bag.

Taylor went on to explain what sorts of books she wanted to read, and her heart skipped a bit uncertainly as Taylor leaned in to confess why she wanted to read these books so badly. “Ahhh, I see. Ladies in poofy dresses wanting people to eat cake isn’t as interesting as dragons,” she laughed, playing with the ends of her auburn hair. “Well. Umm…Harry Potter has seven books, but the first few aren’t too long so you could just read the first one and be okay. If you want to read things after you write your paper you can finish reading it. Then there’s…Wicked…It has witches. It’s not my favorite, but it’s pretty good…I like the musical better, though. Umm…Anita Blake deals with vampires and shape shifters and she…Well Anita Blake is a necromancer. That’s like twenty books so far, though, I just started reading them…Honestly, because we have the same last name and so I thought it was cool. Umm…Eragon has dragons. Hmm…Well…I love Twilight, I don’t care what anyone says. And…There’s Vampire Academy and The Vampire Chronicles…Mostly different series of books you’d probably like, and I’m probably forgetting, like, a ton but…Well I guess that’s plenty for now…” she said, trailing off into awkward silence for a moment as she glanced around the aisle for a moment. She just wanted to disappear for a while.

The girl was bound to think she was crazy, something she must have been thinking already. But, of course, that somehow didn’t process through the parts of her brain that controlled bodily and verbal functions. “I was always really good at history if you need help and…Well if you decide on a book I could help you find it…I like…Know all the authors and…Stuff…” she offered, mentally scolding herself midway through the offer. She was a glutton for punishment, she swore.

OUTFIT.
TAYLOR'S TAGGED.

[TAYLOR ABBOT]

Taylor liked this girl already. She was cute and sweet and adorably awkward, and Taylor smiled while she rambled on about the Cowardly Lion. She giggled, able to see the resemblance. The Lion was goofy, but everyone loved him. He had actually been Taylor's favorite character in The Wizard of Oz, besides Toto that is. She laughed when Dory mentioned how tall she was, rocking back on her heels to look all the way down her legs to her shoes

"Ugh, I know!" she giggled, shaking her head. She always pretended to think she was way too tall, though she actually secretly liked it. And she was only fifteen, so she probably wasn't even done growing yet. "I'm taller than everybody. If you're a lion, I'm a giraffe," Taylor teased, twirling a strand of wavy blonde hair around her finger.

Taylor was the sort of person that got along with just about everybody. People told her that she had a comfortable, easy feel about her that made them relax, and made them feel like they had known her forever. She took that as a compliment, and supposed that was why she had adjusted so well to city life. She missed the country very much, and would always feel more at home in rural areas, but the city wasn't so bad. There were plenty of people to hang around with and talk to, and even in New York Taylor didn't feel all that worried. She was a smart girl, and more than capable of defending herself, which was why she didn't mind just going up and talking to people. It was how one made friends, after all. And Taylor had a feeling that she and Dory were going to be friends after this.

Taylor giggled when Dory joked about Marie Antoinette, immediately feeling that she and this girl were on the exact same page, no pun intended. "I know! All they ever did was dress up and sit around because they were afraid to get their clothes dirty. Marie Antoinette was a bit more adventurous, I guess, at least for royalty. Which was why I chose her to do my paper on, but that's all I've found out so far," Taylor sighed, with a grin and a roll of her hazel eyes. She listened while Dory went into detail about the different book series taking mental notes on each one. Harry Potter... seven books, but still sounded all right. Dory mentioned not reading all of them anyway. With Wicked, apparently the musical was better than the book. Taylor had never been to a musical before, but she'd probably prefer watching one to reading a book. Anita Blake... sounded good, but twenty books was nineteen too many. Eragon sounded like a good bet, dragons were interesting. And then there was Twilight, which Taylor had seen all over the place, as well as Vampire Academy and The Vampire Chronicles, but Taylor would rather fight or train a dragon than fall in love with a vampire any day.

"Eragon sounds good," Taylor decided, flicking her eyes back to the redheaded girl across from her. Dragons were awesome as far as Taylor was concerned, like snakes and horses and birds all mixed together, and add that they could breathe fire - just awesome. What Taylor wouldn't give to have a dragon, she thought to herself. She giggled inwardly and shook her head. Of course that was impossible, but she supposed that was why people read books and went to movies - to leave reality behind and immerse themselves in the impossible for a little bit.

Dragons were all but forgotten, though, when Dory mentioned how good she was at history. Taylor gasped softly, unable to believe her luck. She was definitely glad she had approached this girl, and it was only getting better. Maybe she could help with that dumb old paper, so Taylor could just breathe a sigh of relief when it was finished. And maybe more than that... with Dory's help, maybe Taylor would actually get a better-than-average grade. She could only hope.

"Oh gods, I cannot tell you how wonderful that would be. Ooooh, you're a life saver!" Taylor exclaimed happily, beaming as she backed up a few steps, jabbing her thumb over her shoulder.

"I've actually got a table back this way, with a biography I found and this dumb old encyclopedia with about twenty pages about England. I just can't get into it... I read the same paragraph like twelve times and still have no idea what it said," she giggled. "Do you need help carrying anything?" Taylor offered, noticing that Dory's arms were a bit full as she lead the way back to the table.

ATTIRE

[/color] what are you wearing?? CREDIT SAM !? of A Changed Hogwarts. Don't remove the credit or I will find you. LYRICS someday - nickelback NOTES notes here WORD COUNT how many words?? [/center][/size][/blockquote][/blockquote]

[dory]

Dory relaxed a bit, smiling a bit easier when Taylor replied. She felt like such a goof, but she wasn’t making fun of her or being offended by what she had said. “Nah you’re not that bad…My sister’s taller,” Dory said laughing, shifting on her feet again. The girl was nice, nicer than most people Dory knew. Her pulse calmed down a bit and her mind was put at some ease. This wasn’t most situations and Taylor wasn’t most people. Dory couldn’t remember feeling…decent around a stranger. Sure, she had freaked a little bit, mainly due to past experiences, but now she felt better, which was more than she could say for anyone else she had ever hung around. The easiest people to be around were her family, of course…The only real friends she had ever had were Bree and Adam. She hung out with their other friends now and then, but the only real ones had been them. Everyone else in her life made her feel awkward or stupid or just like crap. Being around Taylor was a nice change of pace…She wasn’t sure what it was about the girl, but it hadn’t taken much to get Dory to calm down (for the most part).

Of course when she spoke again she still felt silly, but not nearly beating herself up as much over every word as she usually did. She remained cautious, just in case something were to happen…Like in movies how mean girls would be nice to the clueless nerds and then pour an ICEE or something on their head or some other horrible way of humiliating them. Such a strange thing to worry about, things that happened in movies (like Mean Girls) or TV shows (like Glee). But Taylor launched right on in to her views on Marie Antoinette and all Dory could do was smile and laugh uncertainly. “True. So what exactly is the paper about? I mean, not yours specifically with Marie Antoinette, but…Like the assignment in general? I could probably give out other suggestions that you might have an easier time with, unless you had to pick from, like, a list or something,” she offered. English and history were always her easiest subjects and history was probably her favorite. And if Taylor really was as nice as she seemed, it was one way of making a friend in the city.

Of course with the assignment pushed to the back of their minds, Dory launched off to list as many different books as she could think of. It bothered her, the feeling that she knew others but couldn’t put her finger on it and she pondered for a moment over all of them. She blinked, snapping out of it, when Taylor seemed to decide on Eragon. A grin spread across her lips. “Wise choice, my friend. I’m such a dragon nerd…Well, I’m a Dungeons and Dragons nerd, too…Actually, I’m just a nerd,” she laughed, half cringing and rolling her eyes at herself. “Anyway…Oh! There’s The Lord of the Rings…Ugh but I hate those books. It has like mythical stuff, but it’s so boringggg…Seriously, like half of the first book is them walking. ‘We’re walking, we’re walking! Let’s take a break! Ooh, elves! We’re walking, we’re walking, there’s a rock! We’re walking…’ Ugh, let’s stick with Eragon,” she laughed, shaking her head. She could get into some heated Nerd Debates about Lord of the Rings. Their epic Lord of the Rings versus Harry Potter battle was the only thing that kept her from being friends with Evan Dewy in high school. “Christopher Paolini, here we come!”

Before they could get to Christopher Paolini’s Eragon, though, Dory offered her services. She didn’t really want to be alone after everything today, and Taylor seemed like she’d make a good friend. And what better way to make friends then helping them with schoolwork? “Ha…I try…” Seeing Taylor motion the other direction, Dory nodded and moved back a few steps to grab her duffel bag, shifting all three books into one arm before following Taylor to the table. “Nah, I got it. Thanks,” she replied. She never really took help from people, even if the duffel bag made her arm feel like it was about to fall off, and she was sure she’d drop at least one of the books. Luckily she made it to the table without either happening and she dropped the duffel bag on the floor and the books on the table, straightening her clothes and smiling at Taylor. “So should I go grab Eragon or will we be studious first?” she asked.

OUTFIT.
TAYLOR'S TAGGED.

[TAYLOR ABBOT]

Taylor couldn't believe that this tiny little girl's sister was taller than she was, unless she was twenty or something. Taylor was taller than just about everybody her age, and she would only get taller. She had grown used to being the tallest person in her class, usually at the end or near it when they used to line up by height in elementary school. She had always been tall, and while she liked to pretend she had an issue with it, she actually secretly liked it. It made her feel stronger and more intimidating, which was especially important here in New York. Taylor was definitely a girl who could hold her own.

Dory was so much different than she was, different than anyone, really, and it was a breath of fresh air for Taylor. She liked lots of people, but especially people who were different. Individuality was always an attractive quality, no matter what the situation may be. She smiled when the redheaded girl seemed to affirm her interest in Eragon, taking it as confirmation that she had made a good choice. Dory briefly brought up the Lord of the Rings, which Taylor had seen but never read. She laughed at the girls synopsis, hazel eyes twinkling with pure and refreshing amusement.

"I never read the books, but I'd say you're not far off as far as the movie goes," Taylor agreed with a giggle. "I had a seventh grade teacher who summed it up about like that, only his was more about how Frodo kept "dying." He had a theory that it was because Frodo couldn't fight for shit and he just wanted to get out of the battles," Taylor giggled, rolling her eyes as she remembered how passionate her teacher had been about the topic. He had gotten the whole class laughing.

She waited up for Dory for a moment while the girl grabbed her duffel bag, which struck Taylor as a bit odd. Who brought a duffel bag to the library? Oh well, she didn't know much about this girl. For all Taylor knew, she was on a trip and in between buses or something, and stopped at the library to pass the time. It was one possible scenario, but who knew? Taylor offered to help, but Dory insisted that she had everything together... Taylor wasn't exactly sure she believed her, but smiled and stuck close while they moved through the shelves, ready to help if Dory dropped anything. They made it to the table without any incident, though, and Dory asked what they should do first.

"Hmmm," Taylor mused, glancing out the window at the city, watching the people and vehicles pass by. Eragon sounded tempting, but she really did need to get this paper done... She would be needing a break before long as well. "Let's be studious first, until I simply can't stand it, and then you can show me all about Eragon," Taylor decided with a bright grin, taking a seat in her chair again. She glanced back at that horribly familiar article and sighed, picking up her pen and tapping the capped end gently against her temple.

"I don't have a ton of leeway with this," she said in response to Dory's much earlier question. "We're talking about the history of England, and there was a bunch of people on a list that we had to pick from, people who had a good amount of impact on the way the country went. Once we picked a person, we have to write a four-page paper about the way England was before that person's influence, and show how it had changed afterward. And we have to back it up with some life experiences from the person themselves," Taylor sighed, wrinkling her nose. "Marie Antoinette interested me the most, so I ran right up there and picked her. But now I'm obviously stuck," she giggled.

ATTIRE

[/color] what are you wearing?? CREDIT SAM !? of A Changed Hogwarts. Don't remove the credit or I will find you. LYRICS someday - nickelback NOTES notes here WORD COUNT how many words?? [/center][/size][/blockquote][/blockquote]

[dory]

After giving numerous suggestions for books to read to Taylor, Dory’s own head was buzzing with ideas of what to read…She still wanted to read the three Dan Brown books first, and she knew one book would take her a few days trying to get through it with dyslexia, but already she was making plans for when she finished those. She wouldn’t mind rereading the Vampire Academy books and honestly Eragon wouldn’t be too bad to go back over, either. Then she wanted to read Lie by Moonlight by Amanda Quick again…She’d probably start with that one, actually. Of course, she couldn’t do much about reading books at the moment. She had agreed to help Taylor with her assignment, and honestly she figured she’d enjoy this more. She liked history and she liked English and she liked Taylor well enough so far. And having at least one friend in this big city on her lonely journey was good.

“Mmkay…Well Marie Antoinette makes a good choice, and I know a good bit about her in particular so we can probably stick with her,” she said, pulling up a chair and pulling the encyclopedia Taylor had towards her, glancing over it a bit. “Four pages isn’t so bad. The hardest part is always coming up with a thesis statement, but the rest kind of comes easy after that…Teachers normally just care about the thesis anyway, you could probably get away with garbage if your thesis is golden,” she laughed, shaking her head. All of her English teachers since eighth grade year had drilled the importance of the thesis statement into her head, so that tended to be the only thing she worried about. “This shouldn’t be too bad,” she assured Taylor with a small smile before listing off important facts about Marie Antoinette while flipping through the books. Not bad at all.

OUTFIT.
TAYLOR'S TAGGED.