[IC] Fateful Convergence

[Vocalia]

Hayley latched onto Isaac as if she was attaching herself with a giant slab of velcro patch. She was ashamed that her confidence and courage crumbled into dust at the telltale sound of lightning and thunder. It had been a long-standing phobia she had ever since she learned that her mother had passed away, though she wasn't sure why since there was a giant, blank gap within her memory lane. Still, that phobia haunted her to this day, so having Isaac by her side was an immense relief for her. "I-Isaac... Please take me away... Anywhere is fine... Just please make the noises stop...!"

[Daxam]

Isaac wasn't sure how he could get Hayley out of the bathroom and somehow make the sounds go away. Then, an idea hits him. Quickly, carbon begins gathering all over the bathroom, forming thick walls around everything, except for the light. When he was finished, the only sounds left were the couple's breathing and Hayley's quiet whimpers. "There," he quietly says, his voice echoing quietly off of the black walls. "Is that better?"

[Vocalia]

"Y-Yeah..." As the sound of rolling thunder subsided and faded away, Hayley gradually returned to her senses just in time for Alexis to finish her investigation. She decided to give Hayley time to recover from the traumatic shock before taking over. "I'm sorry, Isaac... I didn't know what came over me," she said with a sigh and grabbed onto a nearby towel to dry herself, not particularly concerned about her nude state.

[Daxam]

Isaac reaches out and gently moves Hayley's hand aside before grabbing the towel himself. Wrapping it around his girlfriend, he then wraps his arms around her and says, "You don't have anything to apologize for, Hayley. It's not your fault that you're afraid of thunder and lightning." Pulling her closer, he kisses the top of her head and adds, "I don't think any less of you because of it, don't worry."

[Vocalia]

Relieved to see that her spectacle didn't end up spooking her boyfriend, Hayley smiled and replied, "Well, glad to know that you won't love me less just because I have a mental breakdown every time a storm rolls in. I was never fond of lightning and thunder." She dried her body and hair, looking at Isaac with a sigh. "I don't know why I was so scared of them, but I know that I can't stand them for most of my life. They're the two things capable of reducing me into a sobbing wreck, as you have seen. Yeah, not exactly my best moment, but at least it's still normal."

[Daxam]

Isaac smiles and says, "Yeah. Just another reminder you're human. Which is a good thing, mind you." Chuckling, he brings Hayley into a brief kiss. Pulling away, he touches his forehead to hers and stays quiet for a few moments. Eventually, he asks, "Do you want me to soundproof the bedroom and we can ride out the storm in there?"

[Vocalia]

"Sounds like a good idea. Wouldn't want to let the others know I had a meltdown and don't get me started on that mafia bitch..." Hayley rolled her eyes at the thought of Arlia laughing at her and her deep-seated phobia. "We do have our own TV set here, so that's one good thing. We should just get some food and we wouldn't have to leave the room for the rest of the day. Judging from the pitch black sky outside, that ain't some one-hour passing storm now drenching the Capitol."

[Daxam]

Isaac smiles and says, "Sounds good. There isn't really much I wanna do, anyway." Standing, he helps Hayley to her feet and says, "I'll give you a few minutes to finish up while I grab the snacks and whatnot." Pecking her lips, he turns and heads toward the door, saying, "I'll see you in a little bit."

[Vocalia]

"Alright, try to grab a lot. I know we would be burning through them pretty quick." With Isaac gone, Hayley went back to business and dressed herself up, but unknown to her, Alexis had sneaked back into Isaac's body with some information about Hayley phobia. "Isaac Ryder, Vincent, I am here to inform you that Hayley Summerland's phobia appears to be rooted to her memory. Unfortunately, I am unable to further analyses the cause as it appears to have been blocked from outside access. Even I cannot overcome this block."

[Daxam]

As he stepped out of the room, Isaac found Eryn and Sean cuddling on the couch, still fast asleep. Smiling softly, he walks into the kitchen and begins grabbing whatever snacks he could get his hands on. As he did so, he felt Alexis slip into his mind and tell him and Vincent about Hayley's fear. I'd let it go, Isaac says. If she blocked it out, then it wouldn't be good to make her remember. If it's really that bad, then remembering it would probably destroy her.

[Vocalia]

"That is a possibility that cannot be ignored," Alexis replied in agreement and seemed to be very cautious about threading the water with regards to Hayley's memory. Prioritizing her safety over everything else, she decided that she would need a more thorough and conclusive analysis before tampering with her head. "For the time being, I will continue to monitor my operator for any signs of debilitating trauma and refrain from acting without proof or evidence of action. I will heed your advice, Isaac Ryder."

[Daxam]

Alright. ISaac says as he starts making his way back to the bedroom with an armful of food. And just call me Isaac, alright? You don't need to use my last name. A few moments later, after some careful negotiating with the door, Isaac steps into his and Hayley's shared room and says, "Hey, I think this is enough for the two of us for now. Is there anything good on TV?"

[Vocalia]

Hayley lazily flipped through the channel, looking for anything interesting to watch. "Well, nothing much. Since it's pretty early, all I'm seeing are some stupid talkshow bullshit and morning news," she replied, then noticed the snacks Isaac had carried for the two of them. "Ooh, looks like you've got yourself a booty," she teased with a chuckle as she flipped into another channel.

[Daxam]

Isaac chuckles and lays the snacks on the bed before climbing on. Wrapping one arm around Hayley, he hands her a bag of chips and grabs a package of snack cakes for himself. "This is nice," he says. "You and me, just hanging out during a stormy day. I didn't think sitting around, doing nothing would feel this good."

[Vocalia]

"Man, I would've been driven nuts by now if it hadn't been for you," Hayley replied with a nod of understanding, then said, "Still, it's nice to just sit back, relax, and not strangle anyone." The blonde promptly threw herself against the soft pillows just as Alexis returned to her body, ripped open a bag of chips, and began to devouring its content. "Isn't this shitty weather common in the Capitol? I swear I can count the numbers of sunny days in a year here with my fingers."

[Daxam]

"As far as I know, it's common," Isaac says, munching on his cake. "The Capitol's a coastal city and its climate seems similar to London or Seattle. Sean would know why, so it'd be better to ask him." Reaching over, he picks up the remote and flips through the various channels before finding a movie. Setting the remote on his lap, he rests his head against Hayley's, sighing contently.

[Vocalia]

"Back in my hometown, it's sunny most of the time with a chance of fucking grill weather. I actually like the rain every now and then, minus the pesky lightning and shit," Hayley replied and gently ruffled Isaac's head, her eyes now looking over at the TV. "I don't know if I've told you, but I only lived in the Capitol because of my parents. I was originally born and raised elsewhere. The other half of my genetic contributor still rots there, which was why I stayed here."

[Daxam]

"You never told me that," Isaac says, glad there were still things to learn about his girlfriend. "I always figured you lived here all your life, seeing as how you knew the streets so well when we met." Looking down at her, aware he might be stepping into dangerous territory, he says, "You also never really told me anything about your father. What...what did he do to you?"

[Vocalia]

Hayley would normally rebuke people who questioned her about her parents, given that she was now a motherless woman, who didn't even remember why she was motherless to begin with, with a deadbeat for a father. However, Isaac was one of the very few exception to that rule, given that they both knew each other for quite a while by now.

"He did lots of shit to me when I was young, mostly along the lines of getting drunk, beating up me, and pissing off. He was pretty upset about not being the main breadwinner in the house and started making some fucked up mess, which was why my mother divorced him when I was 8. He started drinking since I was 5 when mom's job was booming while his stagnated. That's also about the time when he got the idea that a young me would make for a nice punching bag, so he'd go around kicking my ass for the smallest mistakes I made and even when I wasn't doing anything wrong at all. When I moved back in after learning about my mother's death, it didn't get any better. In fact, it got a lot worse. He didn't just beat me, he started saying shit about me and moving on to forcing me to make money to fuel his booze binge. My grade suffered and I barely graduated high school with him making my teenage years a nightmare. Social service didn't do shit and the supposed support for "domestic abuse" might as well be non-existent."

"At one point, I got so pissed off that I confronted him the night of my seventeenth birthday." Smiling ruefully, she tilted her head to the right, swept her hair aside, and showed him a pink scar, normally hidden by her blonde mop, on her neck just below her ear, right where her carotid artery was. She gestured to Isaac where the scar was and said, "See this? Sweet seventeen gift from daddy dearest: a nice broken beer bottle to the neck. Lucky it didn't severe any major artery or I wouldn't be walking here. Still, that finally got the police's attention and he was detained for attempted murder and domestic abuse, but I just about had enough and decided to just leave the damn place."

[Daxam]

The more Hayley talked about her father, the more pissed Isaac got towards him for hurting his girlfriend, even if it was years ago. Leaning over, he gently kisses her scar and touches his forehead to her temple, saying, "I promise, if I ever see that dirtbag, I'll give him the same treatment I gave Sarah's killer. I only wish that I would've been there to protect you from him."