Jamison Johnson

Too bright. So much light, so much sound, so much…. much. Too big. Too loud. Too bright. Life was too much sometimes. A homeless teen just waiting for a chance to breathe. || Student || Dumfries || 18 || Currently living in Wardlaw ||

[oliviatheriot-blog]

Somehow, she’d gotten grass stains on her skirt and stockings — even a blouse, again. Well, not entirely ’somehow’, Olivia always knew how she’d gotten them, but the consequences of extra laundry and a lack of uniform never bothered her until she was faced with a dilemma for the next day. This was why she was now hauling around a large bag of her laundry, not properly labelled or sorted ( of course ) down the hallway, trying to beat curfew.  

Passing by a figure, she glanced over, slim strands of honeyed hair falling across her face, her shirt slightly untucked from all the lifting. “Do you have the time? It’s never where it should be.“

[itsjamisonjohnson-blog]

He paused, cocking his head at the girl he knew mostly through Alfie as he turned her words over in his head. Never where it should be? She realized, surely, that time wasn't a physical thing, that there wasn't a way for it to be anywhere? But from what little he knew about her, the strangeness of the comment wasn't unusual, so he reached into his pocket for his phone and turned it on, waiting for the little screen to light up so he could report the time.

"Nine forty-two." It took him a moment to add, "Do you need help?"

[elizarosales-blog]

“Hmm. Yeah,” Eliza responded, not particularly interested in drawing the conversation out when it seemed clear that neither of them much cared.

There was a peculiar emptiness to his words. A familiar emptiness, if she was being honest, the tone that came from someone who was tired and just had to force words through their mouth. Eliza had never been on this side of a conversation though. Sure, she knew other people that could be quiet, like Amelia sometimes, but this boy treated speaking like a herculean effort almost, walking too, and perhaps even living.

Maybe he too just wanted to sink into the ground below them and disappear.

“You don’t have to talk. I promise I won’t think you’re rude.”

[itsjamisonjohnson-blog]

She seemed as loathe to force the conversation to keep going as he was, and for some reason that soothed his nerves. At least he wasn't the only person in existence that didn't thrive on conversation. Most people pushed for conversation, push for more words and more interaction and more participation. It was why most people were so exhausting.

Not Eliza though. More so than not pushing for further conversation, she was actually giving him the okay to not talk at all. And for that she earned the first genuine smile he'd offered someone in… a while. "Thank you." He said, taking her up on her offer and letting their walk back to his new dorm be one in silence, just the solid thump of shoes on concrete as they walked.

[ameliafbarlow-deactivated201607]

Into Town

[ameliafbarlow-deactivated201607]

Amelia had noticed he hadn’t said much back, but that didn’t offend her. Not everyone was adept at small talk and she didn’t think it necessary to hold that against anyone.

“That’s a good sentiment to have, I think. Why worry about what you can’t change?” As if it was that easy. Amelia wished it was. She smiled at Jamison, finding him interesting in a sort of innocent way. He was less intimidating than some of the other boys and his awkwardness was endearing. “Magic can be cool, yes. It can be dangerous and scary, too, however. I know some of the boys are having trouble adjusting. Even some of the Wardlaw students have trouble with magic, honestly.” Amelia said rather matter-of-factly.

They were coming up on the town, the bustling square beginning to swallow the students into the crowds of people. It was less uncomfortable now that it wasn’t a throng of students. Now, they were all just people. “Were you planning on doing anything in particular today?”

[itsjamisonjohnson-blog]

"Exactly." He agreed, grateful that she seemed more understanding than offended. He nodded in agreement about some of the other boys. "Yeah, some people aren't exactly thrilled with the idea, and I suppose I can see their point; I just don't feel the same." He couldn't deny her comment made him curious; not thinking about magic meant it was easy to not get too worked up about it, but it also meant he hadn't thought about the darker side of it. "Dangerous how?"

It was easier to breath when not surrounded by throngs of people, and he smiled as he shook his head. "Not particularly. I'll probably end up getting a few books; I usually do. But coming out was just a better option than staying back this time. Yourself?"

[itsjamisonjohnson-blog]

ef: you know what i hate?

ef: i hate the fact that i have to dl porn just to get off in this place because they fucking switch wifi off

ef: and before u say "use ur data", consider this:

ef: what the fuck will i tell my mum when i go over my limit?

ef: its ok i used 2 gb in 4 days it was for a good cause (that cause being my BONer) ?????

jj: uhm, I'm pretty sure you have the wrong number. this is Jamison. you could tell your parents you were streaming movies or something after hours though.

[itsjamisonjohnson-blog]

The awful replier that is me is back from my internet overuse and on replies now! I’m so sorry to everyone waiting on me! 

[ameliafbarlow-deactivated201607]

Into Town

[ameliafbarlow-deactivated201607]

After his response, Amelia conceded, “Fair enough,” and smiled a bit. At least he was nice, this one. Mostly they had been, the boys, but she got nervous every single time she met a new one anyway.

“Lovely to meet you, Jamison.” She replied, then listened quietly as he explained his feelings about Wardlaw in a rather roundabout way. She was beginning to see why he might not have been paying attention to walking. His mind appeared to be a swirly kind of place.

“I think that’s understandable. From what I saw of Dumfries, it was an old campus like this. Although, I doubt it had all the charms on it. Opening doors, chairs pushing themselves in, and the like.” She giggled quietly.

[itsjamisonjohnson-blog]

Lovely, that seemed an odd thing to say. She didn’t know him, for all she knew he could be an awful person. He didn’t think he was, but that wasn’t really the point. All he offered for his thoughts though, was a slightly uncomfortable smile. 

A moment too late he realized he should have returned the sentiment, but the conversation had already moved on and he just kept muddling forward, trying to remember when he’d been reletively good at this; at meeting new people, making new friends. He’d known his fellow Dumfries students for... ever, it seemed. He didn’t have to work to know them, to talk to them; he was already so ingrained in the Dumfries social strata that he barely needed to make an effort, even before his mind was clouded with little pills, when it was just crowded with random, sometimes useless information or answers to the next test. 

That hadn’t hurt when he felt the need to socialize, having seemingly all the answers. 

The mention of magic made him shrug. He had bigger things to worry about, though he knew some of his schoolmates didn’t feel quite the same way. “It’s taking some getting used to,” he admitted. “But it is what it is, I suppose. There’s nothing I can do about it, so why worry about it.” Another too long moment, and he realized that may insult her, be too flippant about her and her fellow Wardlaw’s abilities. “Not that it’s not cool, of course.” He amended, hoping to ease any insult he may have stumbled into. Girls could be finicky about what did and didn’t insult them. 

[ameliafbarlow-deactivated201607]

Into Town

[ameliafbarlow-deactivated201607]

She’d expected a bit more… anger. He mostly just seemed confused, like she’d woken him up from a nap. She smiled politely and nodded, “I’m okay. But really, it was my fault - I wasn’t looking where I was going.”

The haziness in his eyes felt familiar to her. She had often been in a fog over the past few years, although she assumed he was groggy for reasons that didn’t involve chronic pain. Then again, she’d never know, probably.

“Um,” She cleared her throat, trying to make the apology-turned-conversation a bit more pleasant now. “My name’s Amelia. What’s yours?” She made her face rest in a friendly expression. “Are you liking Wardlaw so far?”

[itsjamisonjohnson-blog]

"Neither was I." He reasoned.

She introduced herself, and he realized the conversation wasn't going to end there, as he would have suspected it to. "Jamison." He answered, not furthering the conversation, though it didn't seem necessary; she was willing to keep it going. Good; maybe he wouldn't have to lie to his parents about socializing today after all. "It's… new. But that's redundant I suppose." He said with a chuckle. "It's like Dumfries, but not; same classes, different teachers; same heavy library, different people, old buildings but not the ones I'm used to." He couldn't remember the last time he'd spoken so much, and to someone he didn't even know at that. "Is it strange having us there?"

[elizarosales-blog]

Jamison. It sounded like an old family name. The kind of name you were saddled with, never to quite grow into it.

A breeze caught her hair up, sending it flying around her face. It truly was a beautiful day; At last, the English winter had been dreadful, cold, gray, and seemingly endless. A far cry from winter in South America. 

She startled a bit when the boy spoke again. She hadn’t really expected him to make conversation with her. He hadn’t seemed the type for small talk and that was what this was-there was no way he actually cared about her routine, surely. 

“My routine?” she asked, quizzically. “No, I wouldn’t have offered if I didn’t already want to walk back. If you want to talk about ruined routines, all of you Dumfries boys being here has shot our normal through the heart. I suppose it’s much worse for all of you though.”

[itsjamisonjohnson-blog]

Her hair flew around her face, obscuring it from view for brief seconds at a time, and the wild strands distracted him as she answered, delaying what should have been the sting of her words. The strands caught the light as they played about her features, made her almost dream-like, like she was only half there, half existent, and half a dream, hidden in the light of her hair. Though for her words to sting, he supposed he'd have to be worried about what the girls thought of them being here, about their lives that were interrupted with the merger.

And it wasn't that he didn't care about the girls. It was just so much effort already just to worry about his own affairs. He didn't have the effort to spare to worry about everyone else.

"Oh good." He replied vaguely, meaning good that he wasn't interrupting her routine, though he realized a split second too late that it might be construed a different way, and amended, "that I'm not interrupting right now." He trailed into silence for a moment before adding the proper apology her words implied wanting. "I'm sorry for the inconvenience. It's worse for both in different ways, I'd think." Though to be honest, he didn't think much on it; that too, was a little too much effort than he had to spare.

[itsjamisonjohnson-blog]

wcdncsday:

“long time no see.” wednesday gave a fake smile, open-mouthed and plastered on her face like an advertisement for a dentist’s office. jamison looked the same as he ever did, the same as they all do, but it pleased wednesday somewhat to see him in her territory – wardlaw. he was out of place here, and she was completely in control. not that she wasn’t, always.

“i’ve missed you,” she lied, and just for the added effect: “how’ve you been getting along without me?” not well, she hoped.

He nodded instead of responding; it had been longer than usual since he'd come looking for her, the boys had been under more watch with the fire and the transferring over to Wardlaw, making sure they weren't getting out of hand, making sure the students were respecting boundaries, the like. He hadn't had a chance to slip away to Wednesday… though he desperately needed to.

I've missed you. He looked up in surprise, wanting… he wasn't sure what he wanted, maybe confirmation that she'd said it, confirmation that he'd heard it, confirmation that that had happened. He wasn't even sure how to respond to that, so he didn't. He skimmed over to the next question. "Fine." That was too quick; too obviously a lie, but there was nothing to be done about that now. "It's been- a lot, the fire and the move and the… everything, really. But I've been- I think I've been fine." She would know the lie; it seemed she always knew the lie. But again: nothing to be done about that. "How have you been?" It was a starter question, a question he didn't need an answer to, a question leading up to what he really wanted, what he really needed.

[itsjamisonjohnson-blog]

[itsjamisonjohnson-blog]

In the Library

[itsjamisonjohnson-blog]

alfiepowell:

Alfie was getting used to it now– the way the library was set out. He had found the book he needed with relative ease this time, subtly avoiding the magical section. The real problem was when he needed to find a seat and it was like there was a designated seating plan, though different from every other time he had been in there. Girls sat in groups, whispering across the table, spinning books to show the others an interesting passage. As he walked past them, their eyes turned to look him up and down. Their mouths stayed closed in a tight-lipped scowl, but they were saying more than enough.

When he saw Jamison tucked away in the corner, he felt a sigh or relief escape his lips. He made his way over, book tucked tightly under his arm, but he looked too engrossed in his book for Alfie to interrupt him. Bouncing on the balls of his feet, he stood as patiently as he could manage until he was finally acknowledged. He let out a small laugh, slipping into the seat next to him. “Thanks, I didn’t want to interrupt anything, but everyone else in here is a bit…– territorial.”

He smiled, though it was a little vacant, at the sight of Alfie. The other boy was nice, overwhelmingly so in comparison with Jamison, who's version of nice was shy-tinged smiles and usually silence. But with the edges of calm still hanging around his brain, he didn't find the presence of someone else too much. He was too calm, too dazed even, to have that bother him when it normally would.

"Territorial…" he thought about the sideways looks the boys had gotten since arriving, the secretive giggles behind delicate hands, the judging gazes that told the boys they didn't know anything about the girls, not really, and he nodded in agreement. "That's a good word for it." He didn't bother moving his things out of the way; his bag was forgotten under his chair and the book he'd been staring at was the only book he had out. His skin heated uncomfortably, though it took a second too long to realize it was because anyone truly studying could tell if they took the time to realize he probably wasn't studying. "You're not interrupting anything, don't worry. Even if you were, safer here than trying to break into one of their-" he nodded to the nearest table of Wardlaw girls- "circles." It was meant as a joke, though it came out a little flat, but he didn't really notice.

[itsjamisonjohnson-blog]

In the Library

Words swam on the page in front of him, a page that hadn't been turned in… he wasn't even sure how long. The pills were doing their job, and he stared almost blankly at the page, not reading anything, not even properly acknowledging the words, just staring at the page, his mind half swimming in the black (not fully though, not during school hours, he tried to keep school hours semi-coherent, lest someone get suspicious now that he had something to suspect), already escaped from the too bright day by hiding in the darkened library, surrounded by unfamiliar stacks and the unfamiliar-yet-somehow-familiar dark mahogany of old bookshelves.

He gave the appearance of studying, the appearance of being engrossed in his book that hadn't been touched in over half an hour. He wasn't sure how long the body standing next to the table had been there, but eventually he realized there was someone there and looked up, trying to catch up to the moment. "No one's sitting there, if you're looking for somewhere to sit…" He offered.

[ameliafbarlow-deactivated201607]

Into Town

Among the gaggle of students heading into town, Amelia stood a bit further off from the rest. She fiddled with the hem of her denim jacket, her gaze nervously bobbing around at the various backs of heads. She was mostly behind the crowd of people, following suit. Some of them had been into town before, but for Amelia this was her first year to have the opportunity, obviously.

Without realizing it, she stepped on the back of someone’s heel. Her fingers darted to her mouth, although she didn’t touch her pink lips so as not to smear her lipstick. “Sorry about that!”

[itsjamisonjohnson-blog]

Another day, another way to avoid his weekly phone call with his parents. Sometimes he managed to put it off enough that he only spoke to them once a month. But so long as he had interesting enough reasons, sociable enough reasons, they didn’t often mind. It was only when he couldn’t come up with good enough reasons that they started to worry, started fretting and judging and asking and pestering.

On the down side, it was town. And with quite a few students. On the plus side, the day was the kind he preferred, not too sunny, everything painted in cloud-filtered light and making the world softer somehow, easier to take, easier to drift away in. And that was exactly what was happening, even as he walked with the movement of the crowd; drifted away within his mind, forgetting where he was and what he was doing.

But then the back of his shoe didn’t move with him, stayed pinned to the ground and he tripped a little, bringing him crashing back to reality to catch himself before he actually fell. He turned to see a dark haired girl- a Wardlaw girl, not a townie- apologizing with a delicate frown, and he found himself shaking his head, shaking off her apology. “It’s fine. I should have been paying attention.” He hadn’t meant for that to come out with the edge of bitterness. It wasn’t this girl’s fault he didn’t want to be in the moment. He cleared his throat, tried to make his tone friendlier. “Are you alright?”

[elizarosales-blog]

The first thing Eliza noticed was that the boy seemed almost dazed, unfocused, out of focus. The way he’d blinked so heavily before speaking to her, the brief spike of dull surprise that had ebbed off him when he seemed to notice her. It would’ve been a little troubling if Eliza hadn’t come to know all sorts of oddities at Wardlaw.

The second was the undercurrent of something else, something that reminded her unpleasantly of her mother towards the end, something heavy, muffling everything.

She recognized him from classes and meals. It was easy to take notice of the other person, like her, hovering on the periphery of things, silent and cautious. After all she knew better than most that it was the quiet ones you should keep your eye on.

She’d spent too long staring already. “The boys are all in the East wing,” she said, “I’m heading back anyway, I can show you where it is.”

“I’m Eliza, by the way,” she added as she took a few leading steps in the right direction, wondering if he would follow her.

[itsjamisonjohnson-blog]

She seemed to take her time studying him; he felt himself fidgeting the longer she watched him, wondering if she was waiting for something further from him. But she didn't ask him for anything beyond what he'd asked of her, and he felt his shoulders uncoil a little.

He followed her almost unconsciously, mimicking her steps back toward the buildings, nodding in agreement to a question she hadn't asked, to her offer to walk him back. "Thank you." He tried to make his voice a little more lively, a little more normal. He was aware not everyone would be willing to walk him back to the dorm he'd been placed in, aware that if he didn't want to arise questions- he'd never cared before but before he'd never had anything real to hide; everything was different now at Wardlaw- he should at least pretend to be on the same level as the other students.

She was introducing herself, something he almost missed thinking about how he should be acting more social. Great start. This was why he didn't bother; even thinking about being normal made him misstep being normal. "Jamison." He returned. What to say next? To announce he was one of the Dumfries transfers seemed stupid; she obviously knew that based on the simple fact he wasn't a girl. To say he was new was the same problem. Could he turn the conversation to her? That seemed safe enough. "Am I interrupting your routine?"

[itsjamisonjohnson-blog]

zarawardlaw:

Zara laid on the ground, the strip of skin above her stockings and below the end of her skirt scraped and covered in grass stains. Her broom was next to her. “I guess falling off my broom all class isn’t exactly a great thing to add to the family legacy.” She covered her eyes with one arm, clutching the handle of her broom in the other. “Just leave me here on the pitches to die.”

He fidgeted, unsure if she was serious or not, unsure if the girls were supposed to be casually mentioning their magic to the boys, unsure if she realized it was just him and not one of the others she was playfully bemoaning to. At least, he thought it sounded playful.

But either way, he felt strange just leaving her, so he knelt down next to her, eyes on the grass, her stockings, her shoes, anywhere but her bared skin or blazing hair, brighter still in the sunlight. "I don't think leaving you to die is really a viable option. Can I get someone for you?" He offered, able to muster a playful smile, though it felt a little weird on his lips. It'd been a day or two since he'd had to play social for someone, since he'd cared to play social with anyone.

[itsjamisonjohnson-blog]

elizarosales:

Leaning over, Eliza sucked in a desperate breath, lungs burning with the influx of brisk April air. Her legs trembled. The run had left her exhausted yet it hadn’t eased her desire to run away. Staying was a death sentence but she was smart enough to know that running was too. With the benefit of time, Eliza was certain her aunt and grandmother had known where they’d been all along. She wouldn’t make the same mistakes as her mother.

Eliza straightened back up, taking in Wardlaw’s sprawling castle, such a beautiful prison. She wasn’t ready to go back in yet, back to studying for their scrying practical, back to her life, back to her phone.

That was how she’d ended up on her 4 mile run around the school grounds-a phone call from her aunt. It was just one of her typical “checking in” calls in that it left Eliza’s skin crawling. She’d tried once during the conversation to bring up the possibility of her staying at school over the summer but Sonia had blazed right over her as always.

Shading her eyes against the afternoon sun, Eliza spotted someone coming towards her, across the pebbled driveway and through the grass. She squinted, all but blinded by the sun, trying to see who it was.

He wasn't even sure what had possessed him to go waltzing around the grounds today of all days, except that his alternative was a check-in phone call with his parents. He'd suffer any amount of sunlight to avoid that. And getting out of his room or his study cubicle, as innocuous as it was, was a good thing to keep his parents happy, keep them thinking he was functioning as they wanted him to. Plus as far as they knew, he was out with Griffin or Elliot or one of the other boys. Perfectly normal and perfectly functioning.

But the sunlight was practically blinding, and he'd only been out for barely ten minutes before he was mentally berating himself for the decision. But he was still unfamiliar with the grounds of Wardlaw, and in all honesty hadn't been paying attention to the various twists and turns he'd been taking, and wasn't entirely sure how to return to his dorm. Or even just the library. Preferably his dorm though. There was a little hidden pocket in back of his suitcase that he needed to get into.

Life was getting too much to handle again.

He blinked, and suddenly there was a girl practically in front of him. A few more blinks, anchoring him to the moment, and he offered an unsure smile. "Hey." He greeted. He recognized her, though he couldn't have said her name. She was quiet, a peaceful is somewhat nervous presence among the chaos of the two schools merging. "I've gotten twisted up; could you point me to the dorm we're staying in?" He asked, assuming she'd know the 'we' meaning the Dumfries boys, and not anyone else.

[itsjamisonjohnson-blog]

wcdncsday:

              She files her nails in the stairwell, sitting on the edge of the bannister, so short that her feet swing down below her. She whistles a low, melodic tune. This is what she does in her free time, sit around and wait for someone to come by so she can r u i n their day. Impatient to wreak havoc.

             The door swings open. Wednesday Watanabe looks up with a smirk in her eyes, but her face stays steady, and she continues to hum. “Look what the cat dragged in.”

He paused at the sight of her, the sound of her voice, freezing almost like a rabbit confronted by a predator. But that was ridiculous, wasn't it? Wednesday wasn't a predator, not to him, right? She was his friend, she understood what he wanted from life, knew how to help him, knew him arguably better than friends, than his own roommate; she was the only one, after all, that helped him get what he so desperately wanted.

"Hey Wednesday." He greeted, meeting her eyes for a brief moment before looking away, around them both, at the wall, her shoes, the stairs beyond her, only meeting her eyes in the first moment she spoke, quickly turning them away one more one he'd met those sharp eyes, eyes like knives that pierced right through him.