Out of the Box (Gabe)

[Gabriel Reese]

It had been plain to the man from the moment Miss Jacobs stepped inside his office that she had him 'pegged'… at least, in her mind. But she hadn't, and he'd thrown her for, not one, but several loops… and finally, finally it seemed as though they might start actually getting somewhere. Gabe wasn't one to lie to himself, though, he wasn't one to believe that in just one session she'd be spilling her lifestory. If she did, he'd have even more work to do.

Her emotions were her main downfall. Try as one might, no one was emotionless, and it was impossible to train oneself to be emotionless, as the involuntary reflexes a person had betrayed the truth to their actions and words and thought. Gabriel had been trying to keep her a little off balance since she'd arrived at his door, and, he was pleased to note, he had. In her moments of shock and surprise, he'd gotten a glimpse of who she was, and it would better enable him to do his best to help her in whichever way she wanted or needed, as long as it didn't get him fired.

There go those emotions again. His smile never left his face as he caught her annoyance, then the confusion. Her question sent him on a momentary side-trip, as it was almost word-for-word the same one he'd asked his own counselor. Need to write to her sometime…. He sighed and leaned back, taking another sip of his water and absently noting that he was almost finished with it. "Why do I want to help you, Miss Jacobs…" He said as he studied her question, finally, he motioned to her. She still held his file, after-all. "You have the answer sitting in your lap." He said. If she were smart, she'd figure it out, if not, well, he'd be more than willing to inform her, but the simple answer was just that; … because there're still people out there who care…

[Avery Jacobs]

Avery was quite aware of her temper when she was in calmer moods. However, as soon as it lit off, there was absolutely no way to go back. Fortunately, the screaming only usually lasted for a few minutes. The grudges tended to last for years. Poor Leo had been the main taker of her temper earlier and Avery had managed to get in into her mind that it was her older brother’s entire fault that their mother had died. This in turn caused her to grow quite grudge against him, or really, against seeing him. She wasn’t sure if she hated him because of what she’d thought he’d done or because of her guilt for putting him through so much.

The brunette wasn’t sure of much anymore. Slowly, her controlling behavior over herself and others had dwindled down quite a bit, but a numb setting had seemed to be taking over her mind for the most part. Avery was starting to be unable to figure out what was right and wrong. Especially, when she was in what she felt as a ‘dangerous’ situation and she wasn’t in control. The brunette ran a hand through her brown locks, shaking it out of her eyes. She needed to watch this man, this man that seemed to have known her before she even entered this d**n room.

Avery held her hardened gaze on the man as he took forever to answer her question. She tapped her foot somewhat in a show of impatience while he took a sip of water and finally answered with somewhat of a riddle. The brunette arched her eyebrow to his answer, before looking down at the large file still in her lap. Her fingers had been absentmindedly (or nervously) playing with edges, fraying them a bit. Avery sucked in her cheeks in self-realization. As much as she hated to admit it, Gabe was actually quite a bit like her… She nodded slightly, tongue tied before she could come up with some difficult response. “Alright... Whatever you say…” she said, trying to show an uncaring tone, but it came out quite cracked and Avery realized her emotions were starting come out. The girl clamped her mouth shut.

[Gabriel Reese]

He glanced at the girl upon her words and gave her a small smile upon hearing the cracked tone. However, Gabe didn't comment on it and instead rose from his chair to cross the room to where the thermostat was. He pressed the button to lower the temp from seventy-eight to sixty-nine. It had been quite cold that morning, upon his arrival to the office, but now it was getting a little warm. A few minutes later, the man had sat back down across from the girl.

"Would it be too much to ask that you cooperate with me, just a little?" He asked her seriously, "I'd like to know about you, from your own perspective, not from what I read on a file that may or may not be completely true. Of course, the same conditions would go for you as well, if there's anything about me you'd like to know, you're welcome to ask, or call me out, if you so wish. Just… tell me about yourself." He gestured to her slightly, conveying his words by both hand gesture and vocals. "How do you see yourself? How do you think others see you? What are your future goals? Academically and in life? Whatever you feel ok with me knowing."

Gabriel sighed as he waited in silence, well, not 'waiting', but more just sitting. She just didn't seem the type to be too talkative unless he asked for it and he wondered if she'd speak up more than what she had already offered. He closed up the files on his lap and leaned forwards, holding a hand out for the one she held. "May I?" He asked for his own records back, "If you'd still like to flip through it, feel more than welcome, just, I do need it back before you leave here." He told her, a crooked grin playing on his face.

[Avery Jacobs]

Avery had already figured she was losing a battle she’d begun. She also had figured that she’d begun it with the wrong person. The counselor didn’t seem to want to fight with her at all, quite genuinely so and she soon found out she was making a fight with herself. The more rational, but quite shy side of Avery was actually managing to win it and the brunette was feeling a part of her losing her pride. How could she let her emotions run loose like that? Avery sighed, wanting to play with her fingers as she’d done when she used to wait outside the principal’s office.

Of course, it was not middle school anymore and something made the girl want to look extremely strong. Under the man’s gaze however, this want was clearly backfiring. She watched somewhat warily as the counselor stood up, half afraid he would come closer and see her obvious attempts at hiding her emotions closer. Unconsciously, the brunette backed toward the couch, remembering a similar situation with her drunken father. The memory hadn’t appeared in her head in a while and Avery shivered at the thought before watching as Gave went to fiddle with the thermostat. Her eyes held a hawk like quality as they stared and Avery felt a bit insecure.

When he finally sat back down and asked yet again whether it would be hard for her to cooperate with him, Avery let out somewhat of an exasperated sigh. Still, despite her frustrated signs, she gave the man listening ears as he went on to ask her somewhat personal question. Hesitating a moment and trying to gather what she supposed she could tell him, Avery broke eye contact with the man. Finally coming up with an answer that didn’t touch the base too much she smiled in that smug way of hers “Well… I know I’m not crazy.”

Avery tilted her head in actual thought as his next question however, realizing she hadn’t thought of that. Stuck in the thoughts that it triggered, the girl responded in almost drifty voice “Well… I want others… to fear me.” She said softly, looking down before snapping her gaze back up to explain in a voice that was perhaps a bit defensive. “I mean, I just don’t want people screwing with me.”

The brunette looked down once more at the last question, realizing she really didn’t have an answer to that one. She had been to occupied trying to keep the grudge against her family, and really everyone to bother with goals. Finally responding in a very, very soft voice, Avery didn’t meet Gabe’s eyes in a sense of insecurity. “I don’t know.” Happy to get that over with, she nodded almost immediately to his question in getting his files back. They were scaring her a bit, and making her think way to hard anyway. “Here.” Avery said in a somewhat firm voice, and handing them actually quite gently back to him.

[Gabriel Reese]

Gabriel had watched her reactions carefully, studying and analyzing each emotion that appeared on her face or in her eyes. He'd seen the small twitches and gestures she'd performed and thought he had a pretty good read on her personality by now, but as always, he kept his mind open to different views that she may give him. She reminded him so much of himself that it was almost scary, though unlike he, she didn't seem to be on the verge of choosing life as a criminal, and for that he was glad. He didn't quite know if he could help her change if she was set on that path like he'd been. Even now, on his monthly phone talks with his counselor, the woman never passed up a chance to inform him of how may times he'd left her wanting to pull her hair out.

He chuckled softly, inclining his head to her, "No crazier than the rest of humanity, huh?" He joked before settling back to hear her out once more. Gabe was beyond relieved that she'd chosen to work with him, though he could tell that she was frustrated. He wasn't too surprised at her admission of wanting others to fear her; he'd been the same way, though he'd backed up his 'want' with punches. "That's understandable, Avery." He said, using her first name for the first time so far. "But do you know why? If you don't want people 'screwing with you', that in turn translates to a fear. So, why? Why do you feel the need for people to fear you to the point that they won't mess with you?" Gabe hoped they could walk through the issues that seemed to just keep cropping up, hoped he could lead her to think and find the answer for herself.

He took the files back silently, mentally noting her lack of an answer to his other question and dropping it for the moment as he chose to focus elsewhere.

[Avery Jacobs]

Coming into the room, Avery had been quite sure that this stupid, little counseling session would last about five seconds and then the counselor would get pissed off and sent her off with some kind of morning. She had found herself in many situation as such, particularly in the principal’s office as well. She’d gotten into a police station as well, though it had been for witnessing something. Of course, at that point she’d been terrified and realized she was hanging with the wrong people. Leo had realized it too and had come to pick her up before anyone found out.

Avery squeezed her fingers together at the memory. She gave the man an annoyed stare that sparked a bit of slight amusement as his joking. It seemed as if he was so proper and serious at one point, then joking and light at another. The brunette kind of preferred the light and easy type, but that was because when he was like that, she didn’t actually have to answer seriously. Not that she was going to even in his seriousness. At least she hadn’t thought she would when she’d come in. Still, now she was flustered and emotional, and Avery was blurting things out whether she liked it or not.

She smirked slightly, realizing the truth in his words. If only Gabe knew. Avery felt as if she was the weirdest person on the planet at very, very rare times, but still there were times as such. She doubted others would ever be having a similar chat with a counselor as she was now, and wondered if the man every got people like her. With his easy way of treating thing and somehow getting her to work with him, she figured he must’ve.

Avery cringed slightly as the man went on to talk about the little answer she’d given him. It amazed her how dead on he was with her emotions from the little tiny piece of information. Fear was something Avery didn’t like to admit having, especially in front of a counselor. Looking downwards, the girl realized she couldn’t exactly deny it now that he’d figured it out. Struggling for some sort of reply, she responded with a tiny voice “I don’t know… Cause I don’t want to get hurt again?” Avery asked quite thoughtfully to herself before hardening her gaze and shaking her quickly. “I-I don’t know.” She sighed and turned her gaze to the window.

[Gabriel Reese]

Gabe gave the girl a lazy grin as he caught the hint of amusement in her eyes. There wasn't much, but at least there was some part of her that felt amused by his words. Honestly, she seemed, to him, to run in circled. One minute she was annoyed, or on the verge of screaming at him, and the next she was amused or confused. He knew her lack of ability to stick to one emotion was partly caused by him keeping her off balance, and Gabe was secretly glad she couldn't keep one flat emotion on her face. He liked seeing a lot of expressionisms.

She was the first person he'd counseled who acted so much like he had, and Gabe mentally frowned. He was mostly going on pure luck at the moment, as she was also keeping him on his toes, though she probably didn't realize it. He actually felt sorry for the woman who had counseled him for years, and he made a mental vow to call her up sometime and apologize to her.

"... and why do you think you'll get hurt again? What happened to make you think like that?" Gabe asked the girl, eyebrows raising slightly in concern as she suddenly seemed to deflate. "Take your time, I don't need an answer immediately. Think about it." He said to her, knowing she was listening even though she was staring out the window.

[Avery Jacobs]

Despite her want to make the guy be a terrible, terrible person in her mind, Gabe’s lazy grin threw off her assumptions. Avery quickly realized she was looking at him like she’d had him all figure out. Of course, she did this to most people, but then most of the time she was correct or didn’t want to waste her brain power on talking to people that she didn’t want to waste her breath on. Still, she was a stubborn person and quickly reined in the amused look she’d had earlier. Despite her actions, her eyes still grinned in difference to her nearly bored expression.

As the time passed by, Avery had been trying her best to maintain her cool, collected look; the one that displayed she had a lot of power and pride. After going through the man’s questions and comments and the way he’d thrown her judgment completely off, her act was slowly deflating. Avery had soon panicked, and was quite sure she looked like a crazy person, but at this moment, the girl honestly couldn’t care less. Still, she was a stubborn kid and was determined to give Gabe a hard time. No matter how much that look in his eyes told her he actually did have her all figured out.

Avery frowned slightly as the counselor went onto delve more into her earlier answer. In her daze of unbalance and loss of pride for a few moments, she’d been quite revealing with such things. Avery kept her gaze toward the window, not trusting herself to speak for a few moments. Quite a bit thankful for the man’s assurance that she didn’t have to answer straight away, the brunette took a very inconspicuous deep breath. She hated this. She hated talking about her past. She didn’t ever want to speak about it. Avery felt a small ounce of surprise as she realized – she might’ve actually wanted to tell Gabe. His voice was so reassuring and calming and even though it was persistent, he seemed to be oozing with the type you could trust.

Still, Avery was wary. Finally, the girl sighed. “Because…. Because…” Avery sucked in her cheeks; her muscles tensing up as she kept her gaze on the window. “I just… I can’t …” The brunette sucked in a deep breath and turned to look at the man finally, her gaze hardened. “Can I please go now?” she practically begged, wanting to run out of the room and actually shed a tear due to everything resurfacing. She didn’t like this. Avery was quite happy with the way she’d packed everything into a box and kind of let it hang there. With Gabe poking, it felt as if it was just yesterday her mother had died and her father got drunk and he… Avery stopped the thoughts there, breathing in deeply.