Lolli-Olli {Oliver}

[Naomi Daily]

How long had it been? A few months if anything, and yet those few months had completely wiped Naomi’s energy. For the past week all she had done was sleep in her dorm, barely managing to wake up whenever Kim came in and have a brief conversation before passing out on her yet again. She felt absolutely horrible for treating her roommate in such a way, and they had so much to catch up over! But she was just so gosh gone tired all the time. At least it made her realize she needed to condition herself for long term use instead of the quick flare up she had been used to on the island. If nothing else, she could say she used the trip to further her control over her fire.

All of these thoughts were passing through the fire manipulator’s sleep filled mind as she shuffled around her dorm, attempting to put her uniform together. However, in her sleepy haze she couldn’t quite find all the pieces to her uniform. Instead she settled on throwing her white blazer over the black tank top she wore, pinning her badge to her chest. She glanced at her closet for a brief moment, debating whether or not to attempt the struggle of a skirt and dress shoes, in the end making the wise decision of not bothering. Instead, she kept on her fuzzy hello kitty shorts and only tugged on a pair of socks, which thankfully matched. After all, we couldn’t have an unlatching pair of socks now could we? That’d be horrendous.

As she walked down the hall she couldn’t help but grumble at the whole situation. Barely anyone knew she was back at the school and she wasn’t even supposed to start patrols until next Tuesday! It was ridonkulous that she was doing it on a Monday night, not even knowing who she’d have to wander the halls with. The only reason she was here was because Mer had called her and requested she fill in for her. Why? Leprechauns had taken a late night snack which just so happened to be Mer’s arm and she had to have the turtles operate right away. Or maybe something else, she had been half asleep while she listened to Mer’s voice on the other end. Nah, it was probably the pesky leprechauns again.

It wasn’t long until she made her way to the front of the Media Room, probably a good few minutes late, where they would start the patrol. She came to a stop and waved to the other prefect. “Hai, do you mind if we take the short route? I’m sleepy…” She said, yawning at the end of her sentence before fully opening her hazy, sleep filled eyes. “Oh, hi Ollipop. I didn’t know it was you I was gonna be patrolling with. We can go wherever you’d like, I don’t mind walkin’ around with you.” She yawned again, stretching a bit. Her mind not fully registering that this was the first time she had seen Oliver since she had been taken off the island.

[Oliver Grey]

Oliver sighed a bit and laid on his back in bed, an arm over his forehead. The blonde boy knew he should have gotten some rest before patrols, but...sleep didn't come easily to him now-a-days. Every time he closed his eyes he could hear screaming. See people dying around him. When the dreams took him he saw his parents, that same look of frustration and anger they'd had on their faces just before the fire consumed everything burned into his mind like a brand. Lucky for Oliver he could operate on no sleep, or rather he could force himself to. But it didn't make the nights any easier. It never did.

When his phone alarm finally went off; it felt like he'd been laying there forever; Oliver sighed and pushed himself up into a sitting position. Bodily he was exhausted. But he couldn't be easy on himself. The students needed him. The prefects needed him. He rolled his shoulders and pushed himself out of bed, a web of white electricity flashing around his head as he mentally perked himself up so he would be competent. He brushed down his recently cut, and now quite frizzy hair as he pulled on his uniform, stretching as he finished and checking in the mirror to make sure he looked presentable. He hadn't been told who his patrol partner would be this evening; it was mildly unusual, but he wasn't worried about it. Whoever it was he was sure he could make it work, even if he had to keep quiet all night, though that would be painfully boring. He sighed and nudged his way out of his dorm room. Well, Gray...let's get to it.

Oliver made his way down the hall with his hands in his pockets, looking to and fro at the almost hauntingly empty hallways. Most of the students were in bed right now, and for that he supposed he should be grateful. This school was a trouble magnet, and seeing it quite was certainly a welcome change. Since Meredith had returned to control of the prefects, things had seemed quieter. Maybe it was because she knew how to keep them organized, or maybe it was because evildoers weren't quite so excited to cause mayhem when there was a girl around who could rot their hearts in their chests. Either way, it was a welcome change. Still, Oliver couldn't help but think about all the friends that had been lost to get here. The kids who would never see their family's again. Friends *he* would never see again. The boy shook his head quietly to himself. It was too much. It was all too much. Damn this place...

After what seemed like an eternity of walking through empty halls, Oliver made his way into the Media Room, where they were to meet for the evening's patrol route. He sighed and went in, closing his eyes and leaning against a desk while he waited for his partner, who was late. He kept his eyes shut as he heard footsteps approaching, and was just about to chastise the poor prefect when suddenly she spoke in a cute, sleepy voice. There were very few prefects Oliver recognized strictly by the tone of their voice. Kim was one, as well as his subordinate and friend Zander, and Bridget...who's name he didn't want to think on right now to avoid crying in front of a stranger. Or...was it a stranger? There was only one other person who could recognize on voice alone, and...

The blonde boy opened his eyes and stared for a few moments while she continued talking. No...no, that's... Naomi was gone. She'd disappeared in the fighting, never been found. Why hadn't anyone told him that- Before she could finish speaking and before he let himself continue further, Oliver ran forward and wrapped her up in a tight hug, a little wetness forming unbidden under his eyes and his voice thick. "Naomi...Y-You're alive...

[Naomi Daily]

Sleepy-hazy minds were never fully operational and that was okay most of the time. This time, however, it wasn’t all that okay. Not when your sleepy-hazy mind forgets that you haven’t seen one of your closest friends in forever and that it was likely that said friend thought you were dead. But those were only minor details, right? They didn’t matter in the grand scheme of night patrols and sleepy-hazy girls. The only problem was they actually did kinda matter to the rest of the world. Especially said friends who had to grieve and somehow manage to keep going on in their lives. Yep. That’d definitely explain why Naomi suddenly felt a pair of strong arms wrap themselves around her.

Her eyes popped wide open for a moment as her tiny arms wound around his shoulders. She forgot what it was like to hug someone like this. Tight and caring, warm and protective. She missed it. She couldn’t express how much she missed it, especially after…he… died. Just as much as she missed the comforting hugs, she also missed Oliver himself. Before she left they were friends, good friends, since him and Kim were kinda a thing. She could ramble to him about anything and he’d go along with it or laugh with her. That companionship had been sorely missed while she was away and kept strictly at arm’s length from everyone.

As her mind started to turn back to the months she had spent controlling wildfires and hopping from base to base, she shook her head a little. She didn’t want to go back, not to being alone and trying to cope with missing her other half. Instead she pulled back from Oliver slightly and offered a sleepy smile to the blonde. “Naomi Daily, reporting for duty,” she responded in a slightly exhausted voice before she took advantage of his arms around her. She promptly leaned back into the hug and she rested her head against his shoulder. “Alive and tired and sorry for being late, Ollipop. It took a while for me to find clothes… sorta.”

For a moment she closed her eyes again, her tiny fists curling around his uniform. She let herself sink into her friend to find that missing connection that she had longed for while she was gone. Naomi took in a deep breath, his scent flowing over her in a comforting wave. Maybe she needed to go out and people more often, that might help all this people sickness. It’s kinda like homesickness but for friends and socializing and talking. All the things that Naomi pretty much lived off of. “I missed you, Ollipop,” she said in a small voice, a soft smile on her lips.