somewhere a clock is ticking . (trevor)

[PENELOPE JANE HIGGINS]

I'VE GOT THIS FEELING THAT THERE'S SOMETHING I MISSED ---------------
Studying was a favorite pastime of Penny's, and yes, she was aware of how pathetic that was. But really, what was the harm in putting in some honest effort to actually do well in classes? Sometimes it amazed her how some of her classmates were still in school with all the partying they did. Of course, their rich parents wouldn't even hesitate to bribe the school with a new dormitory building or a new wing of the library to keep the professors from flunking their children... just as her parents wouldn't hesitate to do the same thing for her. It sickened her a little to know that she needn't really work as hard as she did in school. All because her family had money. Yippee.

She was in the midst of writing a short story for her literature class, or rather, she had written her name in the top right hand corner of the sheet of paper and that was about it. This story was supposed to be in imitation of the style of William Faulkner, which was proving to be pretty god damn impossible. Penny resisted the urge to chew on her eraser as she stared at the blank page on the table in front of her. She could be using her MacBook to write this story, since she was a much faster typist than she was at actually writing, but for creative things she found that she liked the raw feeling of the pencil and the paper. Although of course, at the moment her pencil and paper weren't being put to any sort of creative use, because apparently she was brain dead. She had half a mind to give up for the night and try again tomorrow.

Penny was seated cross legged on a cushy couch in the basement of the library, with a small round table pulled up in front of her. It was mid-afternoon; she'd just gotten out of her last class a few minutes before. Yes, she'd come straight to the library, as she usually did on Mondays. Okay, and on every other day of the week. Penny wondered what her roommate Ella was up to, if she was in their room or out doing something else. "God damn it." Penny leaned back and put her hands over her face, wondering why she couldn't for some reason string a few words together. Sometimes she wondered why the hell she wanted to be a writer and put herself through this torment for the rest of her life. She rubbed her eyes for a moment, probably completely smearing her mascara, and then let her hands drop back down into her lap.

tag// trevor
word count// 446
notes// sorry that it took so long and kind of sucks. haha.

[TREVOR RYLAND MATHIS]

Trevor had awakened from his slumber only minutes before. Or, rather, about a half an hour before but who was counting? Really. He shook his head as he shoved his hands deep into his pockets and walked about the campus, looking for something, anything to get into. He missed having sexual breakfasts. You know, when you woke up with a girl in your bed and, instead of eating, you got laid? Yeah, one of those. No, Trevor was not a pervert by any means. He was a guy. A twenty one year old warm blooded male who loved velvet crevices. Yeah, you probably didn't want that image, but hey, you're the one rooting around inside of his head. Trevor laughed to himself as he thought about it and shook his head, trying to clear his mind for a long moment. But to no avail. However, with a smack to the forehead, his mind was clear and he realized where he could go.

The library basement. Yeah, he had gotten into a lot of trouble there over the years, but hell, he had had a lot of fun doing so. No, he wasn't looking for trouble today but if it happened to find him, then so be it. With a shake of his head, he thought of a familiar phrase. Copperboom. Now, out of all of the things he could think of, why did he have to think of the Gilmore Girls? Really? He guessed it was because it was his mom's favorite show but still. Why was he thinking of his mother at this exact moment? Considering all the vile thoughts that had just flitted through his mind not even five minutes ago. Eww. Rubbing his forehead, he headed down into the basement and realized why he had had such a thought. There sat Penny, straight ahead of him. She looked like that girl Alexis Bleidel from Gilmore Girls, didn't she? Since he didn't really know the show, other than that one of phrase and the main character, whatever her name was. His mother had used that phrase on him many times once she had heard it. It was their slang for hurry up, he vaguely remembered. Yeah, it had been used on him quite a lot on many a school morning.

Shaking his head, he headed over towards the small round table that Penny was occupying, pieces of paper in front of her and a traditional wooden pencil clutched in her hand. She looked tense as she stared daggers at the blank page before her. And, if the curse that left her lips was anything to go by, she wasn't amused. Trevor watched her rub her eyes for a moment before her hands dropped back down into her lap. He approached her and laid his hand on top of her head, his tall frame towering over her sitting one. None too different from when she was standing next to him. "Having a rough time?" he asked, curious and genuinely concerned. Maybe he could help her.

[PENELOPE JANE HIGGINS]

I'VE GOT THIS FEELING THAT THERE'S SOMETHING I MISSED ---------------
As lost as she was in her own head, Penny didn't notice someone approaching her until she felt a hand on the top of her head, at which point she jerked her face up to see who it was, a little startled. Oh. It was Trevor Mathis, one of those unfairly attractive types that she'd actually recently become pretty good friends with through a class they'd had together. Something fluttered in her stomach, but she ignored it. There was no need to be jittery. He was just a friend, after all. Penny laughed and leaned to the left so that his hand would drop from her head. "Hey, you make me feel like a little kid," she protested. Her father always used to pat her on the head absentmindedly whenever he passed by her. Penny let a puff of hair blow out through her lips as she considered his question.

"You could say that," she said. She scooted over so that he could take a seat next to her on the couch if he wanted to. "I just wish this stupid story would write itself. But that never happens, does it?" Penny unconsciously ran a finger through her hair, suddenly realizing that she hadn't bothered doing anything with it this morning, so it was in somewhat of a wavy mess. Well, great. She hadn't planned on running into anyone at the library. But what did it matter what she looked like, anyway? Penny made an effort to slow the tumultuous train of her thoughts. It always ran out of control, and there was little she could do to stop it. At one point, her parents had been convinced that she had ADD, but a trip to the doctor had made it clear that she was just sort of a neurotic mess. Awesome!

Something occurred to her and one of Penny's eyebrows quirked up. "What are you doing in the library, anyway?" she asked with a hint of teasing. It wasn't that Trevor wasn't studious... Well, maybe it was, a tad bit. Anyway, if he was, Penny didn't see much of it. And she was in the library probably more often than anyone else, so she knew who came and went regularly. "Doing a documentary on the fascinating lives of those who study too much?" she joked. Trevor was a film major, which Penny found quite intriguing. She didn't even know how to work a video camera -- she was hopeless with electronics. Her laptop often turned on her and decided that it wouldn't work for someone as technologically-challenged as she was. And that was why she was writing with a pencil and paper. Or well, trying to write. Ugh. But she welcomed the distraction of Trevor's presence. Somehow he usually had a calming effect on her.

tag// trevor
word count// 482
notes// n/a

[TREVOR RYLAND MATHIS]

As he placed his hand on Penny's head, he could tell that she was somewhat startled by his presence but she welcomed it all the same. She moved her hand out from under his hand after a few moments and commented that he made her feel like a little kid. "Aren't you?" he asked with a playful tease, a grin breaking over his handsome features as he watched her shift over and make space for him on the couch. He asked if she was having a rough time and then took a seat beside her as she commented that he could say that and then admitting that she wished the stupid story would write itself. She then asked a rhetorical question about it never happening. Trevor laughed and shrugged his big shoulders, "Depends on how you look at it." he confessed truthfully. With him, the stories almost literally wrote themselves through images and dialogue. One moment he had an idea, and the next he had a script for a film. He shifted in his seat as he listened to her, focusing on what she was saying. When she looked at him with that sense of skepticism, he grinned innocently. The grin growing broader when she asked what he was doing in the library as if it was something odd for someone like to him to do. Which, in a way, it was. It definitely wasn't everyday that you caught Trevor Ryland Mathis in the library. A rare find to be honest.

Almost as rare as...finding a Harry Potter film that he liked. It didn't matter to him that a bunch of his friends loved it nor did he care that some of the girls he had dated had absolutely loved Daniel Radcliffe. He'd even heard of some of his friends back home drooling over AVPM or, A Very Potter Musical or some shit like that. Sorry, anything along the lines of Harry Potter or a musical for that matter killed him. He couldn't fathom how anything that involved girly singing and dancing around like a bunch of morons could possibly be fun and/or entertaining. Ugh, he wanted to gag just thinking about it. Especially when the word Disney was crossed with the word musical. As in High School Musical, created and cast with Disney Channel stars. Gag. When Trevor heard her second comment, about him possibly doing a documentary on the fascinating lives of those who study too much, he laughed out loud. "That would definitely be an interesting concept." he mused. "You could be my main subject." he said, grinning as he teased her further.

Looking down at the blank page that sat before her, he noticed that nothing was written on it but her name. He slowly shook his head before he glanced back at the girl next to him. Ugh. She was beautiful. But, however womanizing he seemed times, a womanizer he was not. Meaning, he didn't possess the skill needed to woo a girl outright. At least, not without a few drinks in him first. After a moment, something overcame him and he gently laid his hand on her back in a friendly gesture. Nothing more, nothing less as he leaned look at the paper again, knowing that it was as blank as it had been when he had looked away from it a second ago. "Maybe I could help?" he said with a small shrug, not removing his hand from her back. "What do you have to do?" he asked, looking back at Penny for a moment. Both hoping that she wasn't uncomfortable with what he was doing, as innocent as it was, and wanting to be able to help her out.

[PENELOPE JANE HIGGINS]

I'VE GOT THIS FEELING THAT THERE'S SOMETHING I MISSED ---------------
It was a stupid joke she had made, about the documentary, but if he thought so, he didn't show it. Penny couldn't help but to smile back as he grinned at her. God, he had a really great smile. It was infectious. Penny laughed. "You know," she said thoughtfully. "I've never seen a film or anything of yours. That you've made." She was sure that he had to be at film making. After all, he was an intelligent guy, and he clearly had a passion for it. I wonder what his films are about? she wondered. "I mean, you don't have to or anything. I don't know if you like to show people your work... I don't really like people reading my writing." Penny wondered if that sounded conceited or something. But she was genuinely interested in his filmmaking, and although she hadn't thought about asking before, hoped he would oblige her request sometime and show her something he had created.

At Trevor's offer to help, which was really very sweet, Penny sighed inwardly and thought, If only. Sometimes she felt like she was the only writer in the world with such horrible writer's block, but of course that wasn't true. If it were, writer's block wouldn't even have a name. But it sure felt like it! Maybe she just needed to stop feeling sorry for herself. Penny was about to respond to Trevor's question and launch into a rant about the impossible assignment, but her breath caught in her throat as she suddenly felt his hand settle on her back. She froze, her left hand set on the desk in front of her, clutching the pencil, while her right hand was poised awkwardly a few inches above her right leg. Oh... Penny mentally shook herself and tried to relax. She felt like a gawky thirteen-year-old all of a sudden. What was her deal, anyway? He was just putting his hand there, being nice. It didn't mean anything. Did she want it to?

"Um," said Penny intelligently, trying to make her heart rate slow down. Cool your heels, he's just trying to be helpful, she told herself. Right. Composing herself, Penny continued, "Well, it sounds simple enough, I guess. We're supposed to write a short story imitating the style of William Faulkner. The thing is... Well, if you've read Faulkner, you know that his writing style is very... Very unique. And I have no idea how to imitate it. Or what to even write on." Frustrated, she let the pencil drop from her hand onto the desk. It rolled off the table onto the floor, but she didn't retrieve it. She wished Trevor wasn't here witnessing her be such a baby, but she was genuinely extremely frustrated with this assignment. "Sorry," she said, turning her head toward him and giving him half a smile. "I just... have no clue. My writing sucks lately, if I can even write at all." She paused, wishing she hadn't said that. "Anyway, I might just try and do this tomorrow or something. It's not due for a couple of days."

Yes, Penny had scarcely been assigned this project, but she liked to get a head start on things. That was how she had always been with school work. Diligent and conscientious -- two words teachers constantly used to describe her. Not exactly thrilling or attractive. Penny was still keenly aware of Trevor's hand on her back. It seemed to burn right through the fabric of her shirt, but she sort of hoped he wouldn't move it.

[TREVOR RYLAND MATHIS]

Trevor listened as Penny stated that she had not seen any of the films he had created. He thought that over for a moment and realized that what she what she said was, in fact, correct. Huh. He listened as she told him that she didn't have to see it or anything because she wasn't sure if he even wanted to show his work. She also admitted that she didn't like sharing her writing, and that made him wonder why. Trevor didn't mind if people saw his work as long as he had deemed it worthy of viewing, because he knew that some of his earlier work was, honestly, complete crap and not worth the time, effort, and money he had put into it's birth. However, his current film, NO REGRETS, JUST LOVE was coming out perfectly. In his opinion, it was beautiful in it's composition and overall chemistry. And, no, he wasn't tooting his own horn or blowing smoke up his own ass. He would still think it was wonderfully done even if he hadn't been the one to bring it into creation. It was partially a love story, yes, built off of the lives of himself and his best friend Ben and their trials, and errors, throughout the dating game over the past few years. Okay, he really needed to stop patting himself on the back like some cocky SOB and turn his attention back to the female next to him. With a warm smile, he spoke up, "Oh, no. I don't mind if people see my work. I apologize for not having invited you for a private viewing of something sooner." he told her both confidently and apologetically. "I have a film called NO REGRETS, JUST LOVE that will be finished soon and I would be honored if you were one of the first ones to view it and give me feed back. Ya know, before I set it up at the film festival and all." Trevor tacked on with another warm smile plastered on his face as if permanently stuck there.

After a few moments, he asked her about her assignment and rested her hand on her back in a friendly manner. Trevor could feel the heat from her body radiating into his palm and it was enough to send a chill racing up his arm. Interesting. He tuned into her words after a moment as she explained that she had to write a piece that kind of imitated that of William Faulkner's. She commented that his work was unique, to say the least, and that she didn't know how to imitate it or even what to write on. Trevor paused for a long moment, unconsciously chewing on the inside of lip as he became caught deep in thought. However, he was drawn back from his thoughts as she apologized and said that she just had no clue and that she could just wait and do the assignment tomorrow. She even commented that her writing had been sucking lately. Trevor looked at her, his hand still gently placed against her back as he looked at her, pausing again to regain his thoughts.

"Well, I haven't read much of Faulkner...but what I do know is that he writes about family reputation or something like that. Mostly like downfalls or whatever." he said with a shrug. "Again, I haven't read too much by him so I can't say I'm an expert." Trevor sighed softly, "I know there's one work that's a series of inter-dispersed monologues that creates the whole story. As I Lay Dying, I think it's called." His hand began to almost unconsciously take on a mind of it's own and began to rub slow circles against her back. "Maybe you could focus on creating a character through a monologue or something." God, he said 'something' a lot, didn't he? What was wrong with him today? It was as if his theater genius had gone completely out the window as soon as he had stepped within five feet of this woman. He felt like a moron within his own mind. For some reason that made him think of Twilight and how clumsy and awkward Bella Swan was. Dammit, he was not going to compare himself to a fictional teenage girl. Nope, wasn't going to happen. And, he was certainly not Edward Cullen either. Ugh.