White Walls

4

Lorna sat in her bed, still in slight awe over the abrupt gaining of a new roommate. However, her face remained expressionless, not intentionally but instinctively. No warning was issued, no hinting had occurred, no information was discussed beforehand, but here stood another person who apparently shared the same traits as she had. If they wouldn't discuss something as important as an addition of another person to her company, what would they discuss with her? What was her origination? His purpose? Why now? She looked up at him. He was clothed in the same attire as her, had an athletic and tall build  that towered over hers. His tanned skin seemed like a splatter against the white wall behind him and contrasted his clothes. His expression was calm and he appeared to be waiting for her to complete her silent rant and sudden intake of new knowledge. However, what struck her the most was his eyes. His light blue pools held an unspoken intensity in them, they were full of many emotions despite his expression being one of patience and serenity. His gaze calmed her but managed to rid her of willingness to speak. Interesting, she thought, another contradiction.

"Raiden." The new voice shocked Lorna out of her thoughts, effectively reminding her of his consciousness. She looked at him and raised her brow, quizzically. 

"My name is not 090600." He continued. She sensed significance in his placing specific stress on the word 'Not' but chose to ignore it for the time being.

"It's Raiden." He drew closer to her, not breaking past a comfortable distance, and held out his hand.  Lorna stared at his hand for a brief moment, shortly perplexed as to why he offered it, then remembered it was a customary introduction practice. She slowly began raising her hand to meet his and grasped it as firmly as her mind would allow.

"030600." She moved her hand to shake, but his remained still. Lorna brought her eyes up to meet his in an attempt to understand why he hadn't been returning the gesture. 

"What's your name?" He stared intensely at her, his eyes somewhat unnerving Lorna. She was once again confused, she had just completed the required action. "I will not call you what they do."  He seethed, his grip tightening even more.

Lorna hesitated, not missing the obvious resentment in his tone, but answered nonetheless. 

"Lorna.." She stated simply. His eyes lit up like a young flame and he smiled genuinely, his entire presence and atmosphere following suit. 

"Nice to meet you," He grasped her hand and shook firmly as if to pull her from her distracted state of mind. His eyes pinned hers, and she could barely defend herself against the hypnotizing gaze. "...Lorna."

Men brought in his living furniture not too long after their small, significant exchange. A bed, a small chair, a few books unfamiliar to her were added to what used to be her bookshelf, and a particular blue notepad and pen. Lorna's stare remained fixated on the book. It seemed special to him, as it lay separated from the others. Raiden stared at it with sentimentality and a hint of despair in his aquamarine lagoons. Strange, she thought. His fingers treated it as though it were fragile, like it would break or disintegrate in his hold and muttered something her ears missed. Lorna's attentive stare didn't go unnoticed. 

"It was my father's and now it's mine." She was about to nod in understanding, then came to a realization. 

"You know your father?" She questioned, genuinely curious. Lorna let her composure slip entirely. How did he know his father when she lacked any recollection of hers? Her curiosity overthrew any thoughts of envy. Raiden's face darkened significantly and orbs full of animosity burned into what Lorna believed to be her. 

"I knew my father." He seethed. Curious, she internalized. She wondered what had happened that upset him that much. Lorna observed without a further sound or word. She sought to memorize his expression, looking at the new frowning features on his face. His glare softened and his face retired to its original tranquil state with time. Lorna, however, still sensed his slight agitation. He exhaled in attempt to release tension, she supposed. 

"I'm sorry for getting upset." Raiden and Lorna's eyes connected by his intention.Why was he apologizing? He hadn't hurt or affected Lorna in any way. Wasn't she at fault for upsetting him? Lorna nodded in acceptance of the redundant apology and decided to resort to comfortable silent reading. Soon after, she shifted uncomfortably, which had never occurred previously. Lorna discerned the source to be the added presence to her, or should she call it their, room. She was, at first, completely dismissive, and deemed the action unintentional because, should this boy have grown up in the same conditions as she, he probably hasn't ever witnessed another human his age or of the same disposition. However, she soon grew even more familiar with the sixth sense of physically feeling another's perpetual stare. The female had obviously known these people were watching her, they persistently stressed on the fact that she was there for observation purposes but she never thought that she'd experience it to this extent, and actually be distracted by it. Her reading had slowed, and she vexatiously moved slightly more than often. The authors of books are to be praised for their somewhat accurate depiction of human interaction, she decided that they were only partially authentic because she hadn't the need to engage her observer as to why he'd been staring. Raiden's face contorted in confusion, and it seemed the confusion involved none other than the other entity in the room. 

"You..." He initiated carefully. "..didn't know your father?" 

While he was correct, Lorna wanted to know what drew him to this conclusion. What was his train of thought? She also wished to know why he was treading so carefully on this topic, it seemed a simple enough question. 

"Not at all, to my knowledge and memory." She answered without looking up at him. Raiden sucked in a breath he probably didn't know was completely audible to Lorna, and his eyes filled with undue concern. 

"What of your mother?" Lorna responded with the same answer. She hadn't known any of them. 

"No family?" 

"I do not know." 

Raiden thought she had been too undisturbed by this, and began to pity her. Lorna caught this unwanted pity and wanted him to stop his outright misapplication of emotion.

"You're..not worried or bothered by this?" He asked quietly, the exceedingly cautious tone remained. Lorna tilted her head up and stabbed her eyes into his. The sudden movement shocked Raiden, and Lorna deduced him to be tremendously more expressive than that of herself.

"I find it kind of..inane..to be worried or concerned about people I do not know." 

Raiden's lips pursed while her eyes returned to her book, both having their own reasons for reluctance to continue on the matter. Lorna sensed that the uncomfortable feeling had ceased, and inferred that he had finally ceased his troublesome staring. The two of them remained practically silent until the scheduled resting time was signaled by the room's significant dimming, save for a few small movements, a few trips to relieve themselves and the sound of breathing. Lorna got up routinely and placed her book into its place on their bookshelf. She returned to her bed and laid down while letting out a breath she had been unaware was suffocating her. The blue eyed male looked over from his bed to hers. He saw her close her eyes but knew she lay awake. Her eyes were fighting beneath her eyelids.

"No offense, but you don't seem like a person."

Lorna heard the statement and masked her confusion well. She didn't understand. She was obviously a person. She spoke, she had human features, she thought. She sighed, realizing that distracting herself or starting a new train of thought would hinder her designated resting period, which would affect her day entirely. 

"But I am." Despite her almost assertive tone and sound logic behind her statement and reasoning, it sounded as though Lorna was attempting to assure herself on the matter.