Out of the Box (Gabe)

[Avery Jacobs]

The annoyance had died down quite a bit in Avery’s expression, though it was most certainly still there. So what if she had shared her opinion on a few things? She was simply trying to correct the mistake she had made years ago. Because she hadn’t tried to fix the fight between her father and her brother, her mother had to drive out into a storm and crash into a tree. The brunette’s face tightened at the memories bubbling back up after about three years of almost always keeping them buried inside. She took pronounced, aggravated steps as she made her way to the guidance counselor’s office.

It wasn’t like she hadn’t been in that situation before anyway. Avery paused her annoyed expression to make a cold smirk at the thought of some dumpy guy in a suit asking her stupid idiotic questions. Just the very thought of it annoyed her to the bone. They pretended to be all chill, trying to get her to answer their questions so they could just file her away as some case fixed. Avery smirked again; she didn’t need to be fixed. It was the counselor’s that needed to be fixed if they thought everyone fit into small categories.

Still, the girl wasn’t feeling all the good about breaking her promise to her grandmother for the first time. She had sworn to stay out of trouble and if this counted she technically had broken her promise. Avery sighed, she had only been trying to express her opinion. Deep inside, the brunette knew she had only been trying to test the teacher. It gave her such a rush, what else was she supposed to do? She felt as she was fixing the thing she hadn’t done before the thing that mattered most to her was gone. Avery chewed her bottom lips as she cleared her expression to make a snarky, intimidating impression. She would show this counselor she didn’t fit into all his categories just as she had the other. Holding up a hand, Avery made three pronounced knocks before crossing her arms over her chest and standing up tall.

[Gabriel Reese]

"Yes ma'am, yes ma'am... Uh-huh, I see… Yes, I'll speak with her whenever she gets here. Thank you." Gabe sighed as he set down the phone in his office, cutting conversation with the teacher who'd just called him to inform him, rather unkindly, that she'd sent a student to see him. The man didn't mind the teachers calling him up, but he did wish that some of them were a bit nicer in the way that they spoke, though, he supposed, an irritated teacher was just an irritated teacher.

He stood up and grabbed the Dr. Pepper he was drinking and crossed over to his bookshelves, running a finger down the spines of the books and magazines until he found the one he was looking for, the latest issue of the Thoroughbred Stallion Directory. It had been sent to him just a day prior by his old trainer, who'd added a note on the inside cover to check out page fifty-two, where the woman had apparently taken the liberty to buy a few lines just to state that the stallion she'd trained, his stallion, was a stud no more, as he'd been gelded, but that frozen semen was available for Jockey Club registered mares only.

Gabriel flipped through the pages until he landed on the right page and gazed at the ad the woman had deemed fit to place, grinning at the picture of his horse back before he'd had him gelded and reading through the words on the ad. He had to admit, the woman had done North justice in her wording and picture. The counselor was pulled from the magazine upon hearing a knock at his door… well, three rather short knocks. The sounding reminded him a bit of an officer's knock. He figured it was the student who'd been sent to see him, and took a moment to glance down at his clothing, almost laughing aloud as he knew that he wasn't what any student would be expecting with his dark-wash jeans with the rip at the knee and his Metallica t-shirt over a black long-sleeved shirt and his sunshades perched atop his head. With another silent chuckle, Gabriel set the magazine on his desk to peruse through at a later date as he crossed his room and took a sip of his soda as he reached the door, opening it a moment later. "Good afternoon, Miss Jacobs." He said as he swung the door open, glad that he'd correctly identified the girl based on the teacher's description of her.

[Avery Jacobs]

Avery nearly growled under her breath as she waited patiently for this guy to come and open the door. She had been quite firm with her knock, which in her opinion, was quite fair of her to give him a heads up. The brunette liked to make her entrances very known, no matter the situation. She prepared the snarky, rebel stare she would give this guy when he opened the door. Based on this fact, the prepping crumbled away as the young face peered at from inside. Avery stood, shocked at the man in front of her; the girl’s expression turned incredulous. If it had been a different situation, she might’ve even dared to compliment his shirt.

Still, her view on the much judged guidance counselor wouldn’t change so quickly. Avery regained her collected, somewhat rebelish look as the man’s voice met her ears. A small, teasing smirk played on her lips as he had called her a “miss”. The brunette strolled through the door, not waiting for the welcome. Her blue turquoise orbs glanced around quickly as she assessed the office. It was spacious, and despite the professional looking desk, the whole thing screamed to suit comfort. Avery flopped herself onto the black couch, immediately liking how comfortable it was.

The brunette fixed the man a stare, with a testing glint. “Alright, get on with it. Tell me all the blah, blah, blah stuff.” she said somewhat nonchalantly, tossing him the same bored look as she waited for his reaction. Perhaps, he would go off like a bomb. She nearly chuckled at the thought, but held her dark humorous gaze. She had already planned the hell she was going to give that stupid teacher when she got back to the class. Avery crossed her arms, trying to show him that she would be deciding the amount of time she spent in here. Perhaps she would be able to get him all riled up. Avery snickered.

OOC: Yeah, she's not very nice.... Sorry bout' that xD

[Gabriel Reese]

Gabriel bit back a grin. He did enjoy shocking the students who came to see him. He mentally wondered if it would become one of his habits as the years went by, him trying to shock his 'clients' just for his own amusement… he mentally scolded himself and turned his attention back onto the girl who had, he saw, walked on in and taken a seat at the couch.

Gabe gave her a nod, pleased that he hadn't had to straight up tell her to come in. He chose to walk back to his desk and behind it, picking up her file and filing it away silently, all the while keeping an eye on her from his peripheral vision. Reminds me of someone I used to know… He thought, hiding his smirk. So far, just from her attitude alone that he could read from her, she reminded him strongly of himself… back before he got 'straight'… mostly straight… Eh, whatever…

Gabe re-crossed the room and sat himself down across from the girl, settling back in the leather armchair that went with the couch. He took a sip of Dr. Pepper as she spoke and fixed her with am amused look. "I'm curious as to what you did or said to your teacher to get her so upset." He stated, ignoring what she said for the moment, curiosity in his voice as well as a lot of amusement and a dark-humorous gleam in his own eyes. He may be a counselor, but from his teenage years, he still enjoyed hearing about people giving authority figures hell. Hell, he still gave people hell at times… That poor waitress… His lips curved into a malicious smirk as he thought about the waitress who had waited on him and Delilah the other night and the trouble they… he… had given her. The smirk was gone in a flash, though.

The man could tell that she was trying to set 'the tone' for their meeting, and, to an extent, he rolled with it. Gabe was just relaxed like that… now. He chuckled softly, "She was pissed." He told the girl, though he figured she knew that already. Yeah… Gabriel definitely wasn't the typical counselor, but he also approached everyone who same to see him differently, as he knew better than most that a single, set way wouldn't work on everyone and was detrimental to people in general. He wasn't a stuffy old man who told people that they were wrong or anything, his job was simply to talk, learn, and help in any way he could.

[Avery Jacobs]

Avery nearly frowned at the man as he seemed to be messing with some sort of file. The fact he had something on her annoyed the crap out of her, and she made a face when she thought he wasn’t looking. No, he wasn’t the counselor type she was expecting, but he still held the title which led her to as most would, judge him. While Avery was pretty strict on herself about being fair, it didn’t apply to grown up and teachers. Over the years, she had been hardened by her hatred on the subject of life and the annoying teachers that pressured her when she really didn’t need it. The girl now held a grudge.

The brunette raised brow as the counselor crossed the room and sat in the seat across from her. She held the annoyance of the fact he wasn’t angry inside, though it threatened to burst out with the amused look he gave her. Why wasn’t he blowing up like anyone else would? Her brow shot even higher as he expressed that he was curious about what she had done. At this, the girl let off a somewhat miffed smirk. “Did you know that curiosity killed a cat?” she asked in a teasing tone. Avery had already decided she wasn’t going to give it all up just yet. She wasn’t done trying to make him go mad.

To her complete surprise, she found her dark-humored expression mirrored in his. They girl let off the same incredulous look she had made at his attire, but quickly regained her footing and looked a slightly more shaken than the first few minutes. Who was the counselor? When the man obviously reacted smoothly to her setting the tone, Avery wasn’t even surprised. After the first few things, it was obvious the man was a bit different from the others. The girl doubted he was completely however. She would see to him blowing up like everyone else and calling her a troubled child with no future.

The brunette smirked again as the man went onto to state the obvious. She made a wry smile “And you’re not?” she stated more than asked. Avery was blunt, and she didn’t enjoy having the obvious not pointed out to her as she liked making things confusing for those she didn’t like. At the moment, this counselor was confusing her and she was beginning to get the feel that she didn’t have him all figured out. This very fact was scaring her slowly, little by little on the inside.

[Gabriel Reese]

Gabriel had to hide a small grin of amusement as he saw her frown from the corner of his eye while he still stood near to his filing cabinet. He knew that it would be much easier to store everything in him computer's memory, but the man also knew that computers tended to fail right when they were needed the most, so, as a precaution, he chose to keep all his personal files on paper.

The man laughed softly at her questioning of him and nodded slightly, waving a hand in a fashion that told that he really wasn't too concerned. "Curiosity may have killed the cat, but at least the cat died happy." He shot back to her, giving her a smirk of his own. He could tell that she was trying to upset him, and to her disappointment, he wasn't going to let her get to him. Not much did, anymore… after intense anger management courses, along with several months of pure willful training to keep calm in even the worst situations, nothing really got under Gabriel's skin any longer. He was very proficient at just brushing things off or going along with them.

He enjoyed her bluntness, and let a small smile slip onto his face as he leaned back and surveyed her, taking in her appearance, clothing, and general look. She's trying to make me mad. She expects me to be angered by her words. He shook his head slowly, "Why would I be mad?" He questioned her, raising an eyebrow, "I'm not the teacher who sent you here. In fact, I'm rather glad you're here. Gives me someone to talk to." He told her, watching her expressions carefully, though seeming to not pay much attention to her as he glanced out the large bay windows.

[Avery Jacobs]

Avery liked messing with people she didn’t like. She absolutely hated it when people messed with her, so it was only right that she gave the same medicine to people she wanted to protect herself from. Counselors in general truthfully sometimes scared her. Well, the good ones anyway. How they hit questions so close to home and tried to ‘figure her out’. Avery really didn’t need someone to figure her out because for all she was concerned, she was strong now. Not weak like she used to be. The brunette needed the shell she put around herself. Without it, bad things happened as she had learned many years ago.

Avery made a tight smile as the man surprisingly answered back with a smart quip. Inside, the fire was already flaming. She twitched, her intense stare dropping off the man as she started to look anywhere but the counselor. The brunette sucked in her cheeks before replying “And you would rather be happy and die instead of be sad and alive?” she asked bluntly, wondering if he ever thought that. She had used to think happiness was the way to go. Suicide. Just the thought brought back terrible memories. Her mother. Avery inhaled sharply, her body now squirming under the man’s gaze.

The squirming turned into a bit of pent up anger and glared at the man, her cool act losing its cool. “And what happened if that cat had two kittens and boy cat she was in love with?” she asked furiously. “Do you really think that mom cat would have died for happiness instead of her family?” she asked, her voice low and dangerous. She gave the man a rigid stare, furious that he had gotten to her so easily. She had always been prone to blowing up in a counselor’s room. She cursed on the inside, annoyed at the fact she hadn’t managed to keep her act for as long as she wanted to.

She raised a brow, her small burst of fury over with for then as the man responded to her not question. Avery made a somewhat confused look when she thought he was looking away. “Well isn’t that what you are? The teacher’s guard dog? To shout at the students for them?” she asked, quite bluntly, not hiding the evident annoyance in her voice. He wasn’t mad? Avery frowned, very annoyed she couldn’t mess with him. Hopefully that would screw him up. Avery pressed her lips together as the man said it gave him someone to talk to. “Oh, you think I’m good company?” Avery let out a little cruel laugh, determined to make this stupid, confusing man get mad.

OOC: Yeah... Kinda pissed off at the moment for family reasons so she's being a little over mean and sensitive...

[Gabriel Reese]

She's mad. Definately mad. The thought crossed his mind right before her question, and he used a moment or two to stare at the girl, studying her expressionisms. "I would rather be happy and alive, if I had a choice, Miss Jacobs." Gabe answered her question delicately, wondering where she was going with her words. "Though, if I had to make a choice, I would rather be happy and die. Everyone is different, though, and I can't tell you what everyone would want, just what I personally would rather want." He said slowly, brows furrowing as he watched her.

A small half-smirk tugged at his mouth upon seeing her moving slightly. It was so obvious that she was upset and about to 'lose it' as the teenagers called it. When the girl finally did reach her breaking point and let loose with a barrage of angry questions, Gabe waited patiently for her to finish. When she did, he stood up, recrossing the room and pulling not just her file, but also her brother's file... and grabbing a bottled water... before sitting back down. He hated reading files when he was talking to a person, but sometimes it was necessary. With that thought in mind, he flipped open both files and skimmed them, narrowig his eyes slightly as the words blurred. Gabe frowned. Forgot those darned glasses...

The man tapped the files with his index finger, thinking on the girls angry words. Boy cat? Mom cat? He glanced at the girl again, getting a glimpse of where her anger was coming from. "Are you upset with your brother, by any chance?" He asked her slowly, "I see from your files that you mothr died in a..." He looked back down, "... thunderstorm. Was your brother, mayhaps, a favored child?" Or did it seem to you that he was favored...? Gabe was smart, he caught onto things pretty quickly if given a few minutes to analyze things, and he could see that the girl seemed to have emotional issues that went deeper than most. "Have I shouted at you?" He questioned her, answering her blunt questions with one of his own. "I'm not a guard dog, I think that 'term' would be reserved for the campus officers." He told her, grinning slightly at the thought. "And yes, I think you're good company. Anyone who comes down could be considered 'good company' if they save me from death by boredom."

[Avery Jacobs]

When the sixteen year old got mad, she lost her focus and goals as most people did. This being said, her earlier hopes of keeping her cool and actually getting the counselor mad was backfiring terribly. At the moment, Avery’s temper was heating far too much to fight against it. Her body squirmed, as if the man’s eyes were quite literally boring in her body, disliking the knowing glint in his eyes. It was the look of someone that knew exactly what he was doing. And whether she liked it or not, Avery realized she was walking on thin ice with this one. She had judged before thinking and now she was making a fool of herself.

Finally, the girl’s restraints exploded into nothingness. She shot out from the cool, aggravating demeanor she was attempting and furiously questioned the counselor. Avery was not going to use the names, but rather the cat analogy seemed to work just fine. A seething look fit right onto her face as the man answered her first question, furious that he would choose to be happy and die. She wasn’t done with her question yet however. Avery snapped back at him, her eyes full of fury “Well you know what? I would go and live. You know why? Because I freaking care about the people that need me.” she nearly shouted across at him. She then asked a few more angry questions, her voice cracking a bit at the end.

It wasn’t fight against this counselor anymore. It was a fight against the past and everything that had ever gone wrong in Avery’s life. She was putting it all on the person in front of her however, just as she had put her anger on Leo. She had to blame someone. Avery huffed, inhaling and exhaling, looking out the window as she tried to calm herself down. Chill Avery… Deep breaths. she thought to herself, somewhat having déjà vu of an all too familiar moment back home when her father had sent her to a therapist.

When she finally had calmed down a bit, Avery realized the man was reading a file. A file that she could bet a billion bucks on was hers. She scowled furiously. “Oh, so you get a file to read about me and my messed up life? How about me? How come I can't get a file to read about you?” She asked somewhat sarcastically, knowing that she wasn’t the only one with problems in the worlds. Certainly, the man had his own if he was able to stand not getting mad this long. Her body turned rigid, hard as stone as the counselor asked about Leo. She sucked in her cheeks, a habit to warn people about the potential explosions. Avery glared at him as he asked the next questions, then her eyes lit in surprise at the last one. “Favored?! No!”

Leo had never been any sort of favored child, just the one that messed up her life. Starting all with that damned horse he had gotten. If he had never gotten so prioritized with his horse, her father would never have gotten pissed and her mom wouldn’t have gotten stressed. Then maybe, she wouldn’t have killed herself accidently or not, and her father wouldn’t have become a drunkard, and lost the farm. Avery sighed, holding her hand up to her temple. “It’s none of your business.” she snapped, beginning to feel cornered as the memories engulfed her head.

As the man moved onto her next question, the girl stifled a sigh of relief at the change of topic. Still, as a normal female, she didn’t like admitting to being wrong. The brunette gave the man an annoyed look before grudgingly replying. “No.” She gave the man a look as he answered her slightly blunt question before giving him a sarcastic response “Well, I hate to be the killer of non-boredom, but are we done here yet?” she asked, letting him know she was done with this little thing and she wanted to get out before he could hit even closer to home with his questions.

[Gabriel Reese]

Gabriel knew the explosion was coming, and he was ready for it. He waited patiently for her rant to end, leaning back in his chair and filing her words away mentally as she yelled. He didn't mind the yelling; that was part of what he was there for. Gabe's duties as a counselor went much further than just evaluating 'troubled students' for the teachers. He was there to talk to, to listen, and to give the students an 'out' to vent and rant and rave in general. He was there to help, not hinder. "Everyone is different, Miss Jacobs." He told her calmly, as though they were speaking of the weather. Gabe wasn't going to yell back at her, that wouldn't be professional, no matter how badly he wanted to get snarky. He wasn't about to lose his job… besides, he had the training for such types of persons. "Just as you would rather be miserable and live, I would rather be happy and die, and the next person may choose a completely different option. Everyone is different. Everyone has things that they value intrinsically, and they are rarely the same things that another person values."

He glanced up in surprise as she seemed to get upset about him having a file on her, and swept his arm back to his filing cabinet. "We keep files on everyone here." He told her shortly, eyes widening a bit when she grew sarcastic. Gabe felt a tension headache coming on and closed his eyes, rubbing his temples for a few moments. "Fine." He said to her, not quite snapping but coming close. Relax, Gabe… "If it will make you a bit more… agreeable." He set the file down and strode to his desk, nearly jerking the drawer from the desk. He was keeping calm with Avery, but his motions showed that he was a little frustrated. Gabe was just excellent at keeping it hidden. He nearly ripped a surprisingly thick folder from the confines of the desk and strode back to the girl, standing before her. "Here you are." Gabe's voice was tight, but he forced himself to relax and not chuck the folder in the girls lap. He would acquiesce to her, as, upon thinking about it, he could understand the frustrations of speaking to someone you had no clue about.

As he sat back down, the frustration on his face vanished as he eyeballed the file that held his life… the file that was in her hands. A small smirk threatened to make its way onto his face as he thought about the contents. He had files on everyone, staff or student, at BRRA, but his own file was something he himself had been given by his counselor when he left her sessions. 'So I could see the improvement myself'… "It's fully updated. August two-thousand and eleven is when my counselor and I parted ways. Anything after that date is my own notes." He figured it may throw her off her guard again, to be able to read and know him through his own file, that and the fact that he was willing to let such personal things be seen and read by others. Gabe didn't mind anymore, he was past the life he used to lead… the life that would have definitely had him in prison by now if he still lived it.

Guess he really wasn't a favored child. He thought, seeing the surprise on her face. The man took a sip from his bottled water and shook his head, "As much as you 'hate' to be the killer on non-boredom, I 'hate' to be the bearer of bad news. No, we're not done yet. In fact, I think I may ask to schedule regular appointments, as you seem to have quite a bit of pent up anger at something, and I would hate for you to miss classes due to your teachers sending you to me whenever you blow up on them. If they know you have regular appointments with the counselor, you'll not miss a class unless you skip." He told her, wondering how she'd take to that.

[Avery Jacobs]

After her little episode of nearly shouting the windows off the room, Avery’s sat stiff and red as she fumed off the rest. She gave the man in front of her deathly eyes, spewing hatred and fury out at everything her vision touched. Avery was not seeing the man anymore. In his place sat her father, drunk and angry screaming vague things. Anger had tinged her heart at the sight of that and Avery was whisked out of the room, back to the coffin her mother’s body had been stored in. There she sat, beautifully decorated as ladies came up and gave her smothering hugs that didn’t mean anything to Avery.

The words coming out of man’s mouth didn’t even reach her brain at this point, and Avery was quite ready to break down right there and cry a storm out. However, there was one problem. Avery Jacobs most certainly did not even shed one tear, let alone a bunch and this was no exception. Lip slightly quivering, the brunette forced herself to take deep breaths and face this crazy counselor that didn’t even act like a counselor in the first place. She watched him, rather intensely as she attempted to remind herself that this wasn’t about that night, it was about that stupid teacher.

Eyes turning flat and emotionless once more, Avery sucked in her cheeks as he finished his speech about everyone being different. She agreed, but refused to add a comment on it. She wasn’t in the mood. Rather, Avery was quite ready to get out of this room before he realized everything. The brunette snapped even more as the man went onto explain how they kept files on everyone, but he wouldn’t give her his file. She made a cruel smirk “See, I knew you weren’t gonna-“ The brunette’s eyes widened in shock as the rather thick envelope was handed to her.

Unable to do away with the obvious surprise on her face this time, the brunette numbly lifted the top flap of the file and looked at him carefully as if to ask his permission. While she may have taken her anger out on the man, Avery decided he was serious when he explained when it had been updated. She nodded slightly as she dropped her eyes the files before her. Taking nearly about five minutes before she glanced back up at the man, a new respectful look was held in her eyes. She bit her lip, looking down. “How did you do it?” she asked quietly, wondering what he had done to release the anger and hatred she always had rotting inside of her. She couldn’t help but feel somewhat connected in a way toward this individual, though she wouldn't admit it in a million years. Or so she thought.

Her raised eyebrows reappeared in a snarky sort of look as the man went on to tell her that she was most likely going to have regular counselor sessions. Avery groaned under her breath, thinking what part of this he had enjoyed. Why didn’t he just say she was just angry and she would say sorry to the teacher, then send her on her way and call his job done? Avery gave him an annoyed look, but decided perhaps, he actually had some truth to his words. “So I’ll be excused for being ‘mean’ because I’m classified as crazy?” she asked quietly, for once actually serious. Was she crazy? The brunette snapped out of it and fixed a look on the man “Okay… Wait a second. I do not have pent up anger. I have a temper. It’s normal.” she said, annoyed by his accuracy on her feelings. How did he read her so easily. She thought back to the file realizing she wasn’t going to be able to pretend as easily with him. Avery sighed, these were going to be long days.

[Gabriel Reese]

Gabe had to hold back his laughter that threatened to bubble out from him at her more than obvious surprise when he tossed her his own file. Again, he wondered if he was going to turn into the type of counselor who still dressed like a teenager when he was in his upper years, if just to see the shocked surprise on his 'clients' faces. He frowned momentarily and picked at his shirt. Yes, he knew it would be so much more professional if he wore the dark sweaters and slacks with nice shoes, but he wasn't that type of person. He was a jeans and graphic t-shirt and muddy boots type of person.

When she seemed to ask his permission with just a look, he gave her a slight inclination of his head, telling her silently to go for it. He'd given her the file, she could read it. He didn't mind. He took the few minutes of silence to once again review and make small notes on her own file, comparing and contrasting things between hers and her brothers and storing things in memory.

Upon hearing her soft spoken question, though, he glanced up, a quizzical look on his face for a split second before it disappeared. "How did I do what, Miss Jacobs?" He asked her, "There're lots of things I've managed to change, and some I'm still working on. You'll have to be a bit more specific for me to answer that question." He told her seriously, trying to convey the fact that he would help her and answer any question she asked of him to the best of his ability.

"Oh, I wouldn't go as far as to classify you as 'crazy', but you're more than welcome to spread that rumor around if you wish to." He told her, his easy grin lighting his face back up. "No, you'll be excused because you'll be having regular sessions with me, which means your teachers will assume that I'm counseling you for some issue or whatever, which wouldn't be too far from the truth, just, due to my contract, I couldn't give anything that you tell me or that I assume and think away to other people, not even your father. You can use me to be a sounding board to vent to, scream at, cuss out, of just talk to… basically whatever you want short of punching me and a few other things that could possibly get me fired." He said to her, giving her a look, "Everyone has a temper, Miss Jacobs, but I can recognize pent up anger when I see it."

[Avery Jacobs]

Avery didn’t like to give anyone answers about herself. She didn’t like to see that look in the man’s eyes that showed her understood. Still, in a weird, crazy way, it comforted her in a way. Still, the brunette didn’t want to make any moves that showed she was going to go along with this whole counselor thing. She wasn’t going to crack. So she’d had an outburst? Avery didn’t think she was cracked just yet. The mask had come off for a few moments, but in her small moments of fuming, the girl had reapplied it as best she could.

She couldn’t help but feel as if Gabe saw right through it however. Avery felt revealed under his intuitive gaze, almost as if he could read her mind. Still, she relaxed her already tensing muscles with the disbelief of reading minds and there was absolutely no way the counselor could read her mind. He still could understand it however and it this was the main fact that scared her. He seemed to understand it. Avery inhaled slowly, slowing down her accelerating heartbeat and forcing herself to calm down. It amazed her how she’d managed to turn a conversation about making a teacher angry into her past. How did that work out? The girl couldn’t help but feel a bit stupid.

Her thoughts were put on hold as she realized she had done it again. She’d let him a bit, and now he’d asked her to be a bit more specific. Avery glanced up, not exactly meeting the man’s eyes. She was somewhat afraid now, afraid that if she had to say something he’d hit right on the spot and make her talk about it. And talking about her past was perhaps the very last thing Avery would do. Shaking her head slightly at his question, the girl closed up, not quite ready to ask him the question she was dying to. “Nevermind…” Her voice came out small, and she looked down once more, hoping he’d just leave it be.

Avery smirked slightly, trying to come back to her earlier cool attitude. She wasn’t planning on spreading that rumor anytime soon due to the fact she was quite okay with her current reputation of being a tough girl that didn’t take crap from people. Perhaps the least craziest girl in the white dorm. She raised a brow as he went over confidential agreement stuff, but bit back her words. He wouldn’t be able to tell anyone? Avery cocked her head slightly, wondering what his purpose was. Why did he just simply want to help her then? If it wasn’t telling the teachers? An annoyed look lit her face as he replied back to her proclaim of not having pent up anger. “Sure…” Mr. Professional Counselor, of course you can tell… Avery made a face, before crossing her arms tightly over her chest.

[Gabriel Reese]

Gabriel kept the friendly grin on his face as he watched her. He knew that look, she was thinking. Thinking of what, though, he didn't know. But he knew she'd speak when she chose and to push her would be too much. She needed to come around on her own time, not his, and that's what he was there for, for her, and anyone else he spoke to, to come around and talk to him freely on their own time. If he pushed too hard, it would only make people resent him, and he definitely didn't want nor need that.

His grin softened into a small, understanding smile as she finally spoke, voicing a 'nevermind'. Her tone was unsure, though he guessed that she probably tried to keep that hint of nerves out of it… it didn't quite work. Gabe simply nodded, making the choice to let it go for now. She'd approach him about it one day, whatever she had wanted to ask, and when she did, he'd have answers for her. "It's alright," He said, nodding to her again, "I'm not going to push it if you really don't feel like asking me whatever's running through your mind." Most counselors would, he knew, but not him.

Gabe watched curiously as she visibly tried to cock her earlier attitude once again. Still though, he saw the small gesture of slight disbelief. He watched as annoyance lit up her features and mentally sighed. "Miss Jacobs." He said to her, leaning forwards and resting his hands on his knees. "Believe it or not, I do want to help you out with whatever issues or problems you may or may not have. I would appreciate it if you could try to work with me. Even if I'm just a sounding board for you to vent your frustrations to… It's always better to have at least one person on your side. I'm not taking sides here, as a counselor, I'm neutral grounds, but I can listen. Sometimes just having someone who'll listen to you can help immensely."

[Avery Jacobs]

In all truth, the girl was not feeling too happy about the particularly friendly grin on the man’s face. For some crazy reason, she wished for him to shout at her so taking her anger out on the poor counselor would be a lot easier. Avery was a fair and honest person almost one hundred percent of the time except when it came to condescending adults. Gabe wasn’t exactly a condescending adult however; Avery had simply entered the room with that judgmental thought already in her head. It didn’t seem fair to scream and blame him for everything when he was being so nice and the girl’s guilt was growing horrifyingly so.

Still, the brunette was unable to keep the quite thankful look off her face as the man’s face turned into one of somewhat understanding. It was almost like he wasn’t going to push at the point Avery seriously wasn’t ready to get into at the moment. For the next few seconds, Avery felt an almost unbelievable shred of trust being passed over to the man at his agree to keep quiet. The teenager shifted her eyes down, unable to thank him but tried her best to show she was grateful with a little modest nod. Her pride was already far too broken at the moment to admit to her weakness, but she felt for once she could to this man if she had to.

At the mere thought of pride, Avery raised her head an inch, trying to get back the feel of control she’d had before. Of course, it was a bit on the failing side. The girl gave him an annoyed look and was somewhat surprised at his response. He hadn’t shouted at her… He’d actually…. asked. Her look turned confused, wondering what he was trying to do. Avery shook her head slightly, trying to ease her guilt as his words went on. She couldn’t help but feel as if he was right about the venting thing. She did feel a whole lot better than she’d felt earlier. The brunette sighed slightly, not nodding or shaking her head.

Finally, Avery gave the man an actual curious look “Why? Why do you want to ‘help’ me as you call it?” she said, her voice curious. None of the counselors back home had actually wanted to help her. They just wanted to make sure she didn’t act up again so people knew that they were doing their job. Gabe actually looked genuine however and Avery was beginning to get quite confused.