---

---

Tessa needed air. Her mother and grandmother were fighting again and it was driving her nuts. She walked out through the front door not even noticed as she passed right by them. The part of her head that always started aching when she activated her power let her know that it was indeed active. She only kept it up long enough to get off their street unnoticed. There were a few people that might tell her mom she was out and about if they noticed.

Once she was a few blocks away she let the power drop and felt the headache take a back seat, even after the advil she had had earlier the headache was impossible to kill. Tessa figured that’d just be something she’d have to get used to when she used her power now. At least it wasn’t a bloody nose.

The air was warm, and felt nice as she walked, wandered more like. Lost in thought. Everything that had happened that day ran through her mind. The meeting, the text from Nina, and of course that the next day would be the stupid memorial. Her therapist had brought that up, asked her how she felt about that. Irritated she had tried to disappear, but apparently when someone was watching her she couldn’t vanish from their sight.

Now though things just sucked. Her head hurt and her heart ached. If she weren’t so mad at Nina she’d probably take her up on the chat, she could use her best friend. Tessa’s thoughts were cut into when she heard a motorcycle round the corner, she glanced over her shoulder curious as to who it might be.

Everett hadn't been gone for more than five minutes. Stopped at a stop sign he looked both ways. All he could see was a figure a couple of blocks down. It was the only person that was gonna be as miserable as he was gonna be tomorrow. Tessa, she lost her sister. He lost his parents, one would think they be close but they did a decent job of keeping away from each other. It was almost like a talent for the both them.

He sat there for a moment, thinking of what he should do. The smart thing to do was to leave, and not talk to her. It was just gonna piss him off more to talk about tomorrow but Everett wasn't one to run away from a little hurt.

In his pack he could feel the helmet he’d let Nina borrowed get heavy. With a heavy sigh he pulled it out and slipped his arm through the visor. Pulling right up to Tessa, he held it out. “Nice day for a ride. How about it?” There was a certain sorrow in his eyes, one that only Tessa was really going to understand.

Tessa was torn. This was Everett, an old friend of Janice’s. She had avoided him, much like she had avoided anything to do with Janice’s life as much as she could. It only took one serious look at him though for her to take the helmet without a word. She slipped it on and climbed onto the bike behind him. “Can we leave the town, just for a bit? Anywhere but this stupid place.” Her voice sounded wet, as if she had been fighting tears.

“Yeah… just hold on tight. We don't need another death around here.” That was far from the best thing to say, or to hear. Yet, there was a truth to it that hit home more for the both of them. Tessa’s arms tightened around him either way.

He popped his bike into gear and took off. Still heading north. There was a place out of town, an old dirt road, long forgotten by the people of the county. It was quite, peaceful and good hour and half outside of town.

The dirt road lead to a hill side, one that you could see for miles around. It was the stuff that postcards were made of. The ride was silent and as enjoyable as it could be, given all the goings on in both their lives. As they reached the top of the hill. Everett killed the engine, letting it roll to a stop. He relaxed waiting on her to hop off so he could put the kickstand down.

Tessa climbed off the bike, and removed the helmet. She handed it over to Everett when he was ready. At first she was quiet, what could she say to him? They had barely spoken in over three years. She finally decided for, “Thanks.” Simple and to the point. There wasn’t anything else she could say, at least not yet.

Everett didn't reply, he hung the helmets on the rear view mirrors and walked towards the edge of the hill. Lighting a cigarette and exhaling, he just sat there taking in the view. It took awhile for him to say anything. Partly not wanting to, partly because he was worried how far down the rabbit hole this was gonna go. “How yah been Tessa. It's been what…? Six, seven months?” His focus stayed on the landscape.

“Oh I’ve been okay. Mom’s been making me go to a therapist. He’s pretty useless. It’s not like you can actually talk to them about what you’re really thinking. If you do they send you in for more serious tests.” Tessa looked out at the land laid out before them. It was a beautiful view, something she hadn’t seen in awhile. “I think mom’s getting more religious every day. Throws herself into it like it were her only lifeline. Grandma is getting more insane, half the time she calls me by my aunt’s name who moved to Utah fifteen years ago.” Tessa took a deep breath. “And then today happened.” Today was just too weird to even start on.

“Most you've said to me since we laid your sister low… Don't be so hard on ‘em. Not that they can handle this shit any better than we can... I'd rather lick a bear’s ass than deal with that memorial horse shit tomorrow. I don't see why they can't let a sleeping dog lie.” Everett held out the pack of cigarettes, not knowing if she smoked or not. “Coke in the backpack if you like.”

“Thanks.” She took a cigarette, she had smoked a few times, but wasn’t a serious smoker. The coke sounded more appealing. As she turned to grab one, a tear was visible on her face. “Sorry I’ve been such an ass.” She said as she lit the cigarette. Tessa took a drag and then looked at Everett seriously, “Did you see the eclipse yesterday?”

“I ain't mad about it. Yeah I saw it, I was talking to Momma and Daddy when I saw. Shits been weird ever since. Ain't like they were so normal before.” He said getting to his feet. He saw the tears on her face. He reached out and wiped them away before going to get a Coke of his own. “You going to the service tomorrow?” His voice was starting to get a little shaky.

“Hell no I’m not.” Tessa finished cleaning her face, “Sorry about that.” She sighed. “I can’t stand that stupid service. I went last year, mom made me. I can’t do it again.” She took a deep drink from the coke.

“You ain't gotta have the whole fucking town over to celebrate the lives of the fallen. Fuckin Aunt Lou says it's what they would want. I can't even say no to that, she's right, Momma would do that for the town. Don't mean I wanna sit through that shit.” Everett sighed as he took another drag.

“I’ll disappear if I have to.” That probably made no sense Tessa thought, but it was true. She had the power to now. The power to not be where she was made to be, as long as she was careful about it. “I don’t think Janice would appreciate it.” The name caught in her throat as if from disuse. She took a drag, and then continued. “I think Janice would like the trees, but the service, every year, she’d call it something like ostentatious. Or she’d say people were living in the past too much. That we all should move on, but how am I supposed to move on when half of me has been taken away? How am I supposed to exist and live when the person I was going to be was always someone who was one of a pair? And now that other part of the pair is gone forever.” Tessa was shaking and tears had welled up in her eyes again. “I feel like everyone just wants to live in this pocket of life that we had between finding out what was going on and what happened. It’s stupid and redundant and I just don’t want to be here anymore. I don’t want to have to deal with any of it anymore.”

“Be happy you got the option to leave. I got three miles of land and rights to pay for. Ain't a one tells a fifteen year old about how to pay off almost two million in debt. Just got word last week, I'm one of the top rated high school football players in the state. Doubt I'll even be able to play college ball without losing half the fucking land I got. Aunt Lou might go hungry. And you know damn good and well your sister would be in the kitchen helping my Momma cook up elk for this town…” Everett's sorrowful voice finally gave way to a tear. “I ought not complain. I got it better than most, but I'd see the whole of that town burn for a little more time with em.” Everett sniffed and tried to shake the sorrow away. It wasn't working as well as he'd hoped.

“Same.” Tessa had tears pouring down her face too. She leaned over and wrapped her arm that was holding her coke around Everett. “I’d do it myself if it’d bring them back for even just one day.” The power she held was nothing compared to what that would have meant. She’d give up the superpower in a heartbeat to see her sister again.

Everett wrapped an arm around her. “It'll be okay one day… Or we'll both get lost in a bottle. Whatever comes first.” His free hand was clenched in a fist. One that started glowing brightly, responding to not only his sorrow, but anger at the situation. When he looked at his hand and opened up it, he could see a small picture, one of him and his parents. The picture was no bigger than his palm and fading in out. Unable to hold its form. “Well, I got this going for me…”

Tessa stared at the bright light. “Right the eclipse.” Tessa wiped at her face again to rid it of her tears. “So there was an emergency meeting for the astronomy club. You’re not alone. A bunch of us have powers now. Here I’ll show you mine. Close your eyes for a second, and count to five. When you get to five open them again.” Everett did as he was asked. Tessa focused on the thought that she knew would make her invisible. ‘Don’t see me’.

Everett could still feel her wrapped around his torso “Sure as hell can smell you.” Everett said deadpan. “Looks like you finally got what you wanted Tess, you can't been seen anymore.” He said holding her a little tighter. He couldn't help but wonder, if all this wasn't going on, if the memorial service and his parents weren't messing with his mind so much, just how much would he be freaking out right now?

“Yeah looks like it doesn’t it?” As soon as Tessa said that Everett could see her again. “Still learning how it works. Apparently touching doesn’t break it. Talking does, and if you’re watching when I do it, it doesn’t seem to work. I tried it at the therapist today. Anyway a lot of people seem to be able to do something. Like Moon can float, and Jay can open wormholes or something. He apparently teleported into girl’s bathroom this morning.”

“Fuck Moon, I hope her French ass floats off to whatever swamp she learned that voodoo shit in.” Everett thought bitterly. He knew she'd been hanging out with Moon as of late. That was the only thing keeping his mouth shut. “Jay in girls bathroom ain't all that surprising, bet he wanted to the study the effect of a used tampon.” There was a hint of a chuckle there.

“I know that Nina can control fire, she's just shitty at it.. Poor girl.” Everett said almost coming back to his normal self.

She took a drag off the cigarette. “Guess I will have that chat with Nina tomorrow. She’ll be surprised.” God the world was too different. Everything was just wrong. Tessa finished the cigarette, and put it out on the bottom of her boot. “How’d you find out?”

Everett wasn't ready to tell Tessa about the budding… Whatever they were. What happened out in the woods, might be better told from Nina than Everett. “She came over and we banged. For like… three hours, all kinds of butt stuff. That girl in the sack… Damn that's the shit dreams are made of.” Everett couldn't help but bust out laughing. The first smile since he last saw Nina.

Tessa’s jaw dropped. Nina, her best friend since they could walk, Nina... “That explains the text.” She took a swig of her coke, finishing it off. “No but in all seriousness.” She added, for a moment she had believed him, for one brief second she thought Nina had gone to the ‘dark side’, but now she was grinning at the joke. “Bet it was hot.”

“She's got this one thing she does with her tongue, honey, it'd make a porn star jealous… That girl has talent. You should call her Tessa, she'd love to hear from you.” Everett was trying not to laugh. It was nice to see Tessa smile, even if it was just a little.

Tessa was a little grossed out, she knew Everett was joking, but this was her best friend, well Nina had been her best friend before... She gave a bit of a shiver, and was glad she didn’t have anything more to drink because she was certain she would have choked. “Yeah, she’s planning on dropping by tomorrow morning before school. I may not hide from her anymore like I was planning.”

“She'll have a story to tell to be sure.” Everett said calmly. “You ought not hide from her, do you good to be friends again.”

Friends was reaching, Tessa was still mad at Nina, but maybe something in between. “What are you going to do tomorrow to avoid the ceremony?” Tessa asked deciding a change in subject was in order.

“Same thing I do to avoid everything else. Work, unless Aunt Lou throws a fit. We're having a party afterwards, you outta come. Might be fun, I think me and Rowdy are gonna go a couple rounds.” Everett said with a certain resignation to his voice.

“I’ll see about that. If you don’t see me around I may still be there. Or I might be in my shop building something. That’s what I do to avoid stuff.” Tessa wasn’t certain if Everett knew about her art, it had been that long since they had really talked.

“Am I gonna need to send a search party? Nina ought to be there, bunch of other people from school.” Everett said trying to coax her into it.

“They’d never see me.” She grinned a bit. “I might be there okay, no promises though. Don’t freak if I’m not. Sometimes I just can’t do things, even if I want to. The shrink says it’s because I’m depressed. I say it’s because sometimes even the things that seem like fun have no life to them.”

“You know I gotta wolf right? If I can smell you, he can too. We'll find yah Tess. Even if it's just to check in on you.” Everett sassed back. “Maybe Jay can use his tampon research to locate you.”

Tessa was about to say something smart back at Everett, but the last bit caught her off guard. She stared at him wide eyed, and grinning. Tessa shook her head. “Oh my god. I was going to say I’ll take a shower, but that takes the cake. All right you win. If mom let’s me I’ll be there okay.” She held up her hands in defeat.

Everett took a couple of small bows. “Thank you, thank you. I'm here till next Tuesday. I may not be the smartest around, but I know pink haired dude. You ready to head back?” Everett said fully satisfied.

“Yeah I’m getting tired, and I know mom will eventually realize I’m not home.”

“Home it is, let's get going.” Everett said handing her a helmet. Tessa took the helmet, and once Everett had climbed onto the bike she climbed on behind him and wrapped her arms around him again.

The ride back was much more enjoyable than the last one coming out. He stopped about a block from her house, wanting to make sure he'd not cause any issues.

Tessa climbed off the bike and handed Everett the helmet back. “Thanks Everett. I appreciated it tonight. I needed that more than I thought. I hope you feel a bit better too.”

“Don't be a stranger Tess. Stop by the lodge sometime.” That was all he said before riding off outta sight.

Tessa gave a deep sigh and headed toward her house. God she smelled of smoke, and that apparently didn’t go away when she disappeared. She was dead meat if her mom was awake. Once inside the house she could hear the television going. Her mom was awake. Maybe just maybe she hadn’t noticed her missing daughter. She closed her eyes for a second and willed herself to be invisible again, and she bolted up the stairs to her bathroom. Her mom never called out her name.

---

---

Nina smiled as Ali gave her a hug and she hugged back. She knew from the schedule that Ali was working today, along with Petyr. "Hey girl, ready for work?"

Alicia smiled when Nina hugged her back and pulled up a chair next to the two of them, since she had a few minutes before her shift and tied her hair into a pony tail. "Hi Nina, I am enjoying your evening off I assume?"

"Yup, lucky me. I got today and tomorrow off, but I think I'm working double shifts this weekend to make up for it. So how was school? I hear some things got very interesting earlier today." Nina looked at Ali, one of her other good friends, curiously.

"Yeah today was kind of pretty weird, I actually skipped classes for the day and hung out with Jade this morning, and then with Kat before I came over here." Alicia said and stretched slightly looking over towards her friend. "How has your day been?"

"I bet your mom is pissed... but sounds like fun. I cut as well... spent the day at the Wilcox Lodge helping out. I'm sure Petyr will wanna talk about it when he gets here." Nina let out a small sigh and leaned back into her chair and sipped her drink.

Alicia shrugged slightly. "Eh I do it from time to time, but its not an every day thing. And a little scolding doesnt really hurt me to much my mom gets over it pretty quick."

Ashton had been sitting idly by,after he had returned Alicia's wave, letting the two girls have their conversation. He had a slight smile upon his face as he silently listened to the conversation going on around him. With all of the crazy stuff going on and the memorial tomorrow, it was nice to be part of something normal, standard and familiar. His mind began to drift away in thought as he started to redirect his gaze elsewhere. That was when the bell attached to the cafe door jingled. When he turned his head to look over there, his eyes widened when he saw the person who just walked in.

"Jade!" He called out with a grin and a lazy wave. "Wasn't expecting to see you here."

Not even ten seconds after walking into Simonè's Coffee, Jade seemed to be called over. She looked over to see who it was and wouldn't ya know it, it was that fine piece of ass, Ashton Bryant. Jade started to walk over to the table that he was sitting at,"hey good looking, what's happening?" Jade asked him, smiling. Ashton just gave her a wink in response.

Alicia turned her head to hear the door to Simone's Cafe and saw that it was Jade, which she hadnt seen since the Astronomy Club meeting and Jade ending up snapping at her and then storming off. Alicia smiled slightly towards Jade and waved towards her best friend. "Hey Jade, is everything alright?" She asked turning to face her friend.

"Actually, I need to talk to y-" Before Jade could finish, she noticed Nina. Almost instantaneously, Jade's nostrils flared.

Nina looked at Jade and sighed internally. She was already mentally prepairing herself for the death glare she was about to recieve from Jade. However, that didn't mean she had to be rude. "Hello Jade."

"Nina.." Jade said, giving her a light nod. Jade was trying to withhold her strong dislike for that woman. She had to shake her head to focus on the real reason why she showed up at Simonè's. "Alicia, you got a minute? I have to talk to you." Jade asked Alicia.

Ashton had recalled Jade's breakdown during the astronomy meeting. He also was aware of the tension between Nina and Jade. He quickly turned to Nina. "Hey Nina, I believe that I was promised hot chocolate...?" He drawled with a grin. "You know how picky I am with it, frankly you're the only one who can get it right."

Nina chuckled a bit. "Only for you Ash. I'll be right back then." Nina got up and headed behind the counter and whispered something to another coworker who let Nina take over the espresso machine.

The bells jingled again as Katalina walked into Simone's, having made psudo plans to show up while Ali was working. She waved over at her friend before noticing that Ash and Jade were there also. She paused and then walked over and smiled. "'Sup everyone!"

When the bell from Simonè's ring, Jade saw Katalina enter the cafè. Though Jade didn't have that much of a problem with her, she was always hanging around Alicia. For that reason, Jade found herself trying to avoid Kata as much as possible, or at the very least, getting Alicia's attention as much as she could. Still, for the sake of not alerting Alicia because Jade really did want to talk to her, she would fake a friendly smile for now.

And Jade did just that. She turned her head, waved to Katalina slightly, and smiled, saying nothing.

Alicia looked between Nina and Jade, she could easily feel the tension between the two of them even noticing Jade's nostrils flared slightly at the sight of Nina. She quickly turned to look at Jade, and had a feeling what Jade wanted to talk about and nodded towards her. "Sure thing Jade." Alicia said as she stood up from her seat looking at Ashton. "So you think my brewing sucks huh? I'm really hurt now Alicia said jokingly and gently patted Ash on the back, just then Alicia heard the door opening and saw that it was Kat coming in.

"Hey there lovely lady!" Alicia said with a smile and quickly hugged Kat, and noticed Jade there for a moment. "I'll be back in a minute or two Kat, I need to talk to Jade for a second privately." Kata nodded in response. Alicia then headed over towards the restrooms and turned to face Jade. "So, whats up?"

"I'm just going to be frank about this," Jade said, taking in a somewhat deep breath, "I was a total bitch to you earlier. I started to remember how everything used to be before Jason and I took a trip to splitsville and that sudden suggestion from Moon about us sticking together just put the icing on a really shitty cake " Jade continued, "Fact is, it took me a wild conversation with the most unlikely of sources to realize that I shouldn't have taken my anger out on you." Jade said to Alicia, "You're pretty much one of the few people who actually don't shit on me every chance they get, so I'm sorry for being a total bitch." Jade finished, apologizing to Alicia.

Alicia leaned herself up against the wall crossing her arms over her chest looking straight into Jade's eyes, and could tell she was being honest and smiled and shook her head. "You know you dont have to apologize for that, I've never dated so I wouldnt know the feeling." Alicia said running a hand through her hair and smiled slightly. "I will always have your back no matter what Jade. But I'm glad you apologized anyway."Alicia said extending her hand towards Jade.

Smiling softly at Alicia, Jade hugged her for a few seconds. After the hug broke, Jade looked over towards the table briefly, specifically at Katalina, and then back to Alicia "You can't tell me you haven't dated when you have that redhead over there fawning over you like some horny rabbit." She said with a laugh.

Alicia smiled and returned the hug and sighed slightly she was glad that they fixed things up quickly, and then broke the hug she turned to look over at Kat over at the table and instantly turned red at Jade's comment. "Shut up Jade, I don't know if she likes me in that way." Alicia said defensivly.

"Clueless as always." Jade laughed, "listen, I'm kind of a pro at spotting these things." Jade said smugly, "she wants you. She wouldn't be here at your workplace if she didn't. Hell, I'm sure the only reason that pale-as-fuck redhead was at the Astronomy Club meeting was because you were going." Jade said.

Alicia rubbed the back of her neck awkwardly still eyeing Kat some more and then looked over towards Jade. "Thanks for the info relationship guru." Alicia said with a slight smile and gave Jade another quick hug. "Was there anything else on your mind?" Alicia asked.

"Sure thing!" Jade said, smiling.

On the note of anything else, Jade just remembered the other reason why she needed to talk to Alicia. "Oh yeah, I almost forgot!" Jade said, "You know that loner kid, Grant Wells, right?" She asked Alicia.

Alicia looked at Jade for a moment as she asked her about Grant and nodded. "Yeah we sometimes hang out. but not that often what about him,? Did you want to get into his pants or something?"

"No.." Jade said, looking at Alicia with a long, slightly annoyed expression. "I mean, yeah he's pretty hot if you like that whole shy, nerdy, writer look," Jade admitted, "but that's not why I asked if you knew him." Jade said, "it seems that he may be like us, but more specifically, you." Jade told her, putting emphasis on Alicia.

"I'm only kidding Jade, no need to get your panties up in a bunch." Alicia laughed and then stopped for a moment when Jade mentioned he was like them as well, but more like her and was slightly interested. "How so, is he some sort of metal bender like me?" Alicia asked.

"I'm really don't know if it's with metal, but —" Jade paused, scratching her cheek, "— but I was kind of teasing the poor kid about being all quiet and eating alone, and he might've gotten angry. Jade shamefully admitted to Alicia. "And that's when the cup I was holding started to move towards him." Jade told Alicia, "It brought me to when that coke can of yours was moved." Jade said, a look of uncertainty about what Grant has. "So, I don't know if it's exactly like your Toph-ripoff ability or if it's something different entirely, but I already kind of told him you would meet with us later on today. " Jade told Alicia, a delayed, almost nervous laugh following.

"Well I honestly have used mine all that much, but the three of us can meet up at my place or something later tonight. I get off around nine tonight." Alicia said and looked down at her phone and hadnt realized that she was past her time to clock in. "I gotta go and clock in." Alicia said and gave Jade another quick hug and smiled. "I'll see you two later on tonight." Alicia said and headed over towards the registers.

"Yeah, see ya tonight," Jade said, walking off away from the restrooms, to where Ash and Kat were sitting. She gave them something akin to a smile and nod and she left, off to god-knows where.

She quickly clocked in and looked over towards Nina, Kat and Ash still sitting there. "Sorry about that, anything I can get you Kat and Nina?" Alicia asked and looked over towards Nina as well.

While Jade and Alicia had been talking, Nina came back with the cup of hot cocoa, and handed it to Ash. "There you go Ash, one cocoa, as promised." Ash accepted the cocoa with a grateful nod and smile. When Alicia returned she smiled. "I'm good thanks... I'm mostly just waiting for Petyr at this point."

"I will take whatever you whip up for me lovely lady, you know what I like." Kata said with a wink and giggled a bit. She nodded back to Jade as she left and looked at Alicia. "Everything okay with you two now?"

"How is Petyr doing by the way? I havent seen him all day" Alicia asked and smiled towards Kat as she wrote down the order. "One caramel latte for the lovely redhead." Alicia nodded towards Kat. "Yeah Jade and I are both good now, she just wanted to apologize for earlier."

"I'm glad you two made up. And thanks sweetie." Kata smiled at Alicia, blushing a bit at her comment.

Alicia nodded towards Kat and smiled as she turned to head off towards the front to make Kat's caramel latte.

"I don't know. I haven't seen him either. I suspect he might be worried/ miffed at me because I did ditch today." Nina relaxed a bit more in her armchair. "I figured I'll chill here till he comes in and then we could talke."

"It's unlike you to ditch Nina," Ash commented as he took a sip of his signature hot cocoa drink. "And wow, sparks are flying between you guys Kata, Alicia. Do I need to leave so you guys can sort that sexual tension out?" Ash chuckled with a devious grin, observing the slight blushes and little signs of flitation flitting back and forth between the two.

Kata blushed and looked at Ash. "You don't have to leave unless you want to... but I think I messed it up earlier. I should have said something when we were at my house."

Nina looked over at Ash. "I know, but I already explained to you what happened Ash. But yeah Kata, when did that start happening?" Nina leaned in a bit.

"I uh... oh Nina, since you did cut, did you need the assignments for class?" Kata looked more than happy to change the subject. Nina shook her head.

"I'll get it from Petyr, I'm sure."

Alicia came back holding Kat's caramel latte in her hand and handed it over towards her friend and smiled at her. "One caramel latte." Alicia said looking towards the three of them. "What were the three of you guys talking about?" Alicia asked.

Kata blushed. "Uh I was asking Nina if she needed the assignments from today, but she declined. Thanks for the drink Ali, you're the best." She smiled up at her friend as she took the drink. Nina rolled her eyes.

"I'm gonna get a head start on my reading. If you need me, just tap my shoulder." Nina pulled out a small book for English class and started reading it.

Alicia noticed Kat blushing slightly and smiled slightly then looked over towards Nina and nodded. "Alright then, and if you need anything the two of you just yell out for me." Alicia said and gave Kat a gentle pat on the shoulder, before walking off to take orders from other cutomers.

Location: Simone’s Cafe
Interacting with: Each other

---

---

The walk from the bus stop to the cafe was literally a straight line with no stop lights along it. As long as Petyr kept an ear open for cars coming down the one main road that ran past it, he could simply leave his legs on autopilot while his mind spun in an entirely different direction. To call the day he was having unnerving would be an understatement; first the morning incidents, then Nina cutting class to go do God knew what in the woods with Everett, and to cap it all off he had nearly slipped on a patch of ice he’d made without thinking about it on his way to the bus. Stress, it seemed, was even less a friend now that he was a potential walking freezer.

Unfortunately, stress seemed likely to stick around. The coffee shop was crowded today, which would mean he’d have little time to think about anything once he got behind the counter. Nina was one of the people inside, he saw through the window, sitting and reading a book at a table with several other people from school. ”Hoo boy, this is going to suck…” he said to nobody as he trooped over the last crosswalk. The small bell above the door jingled as he opened it, just about everybody glanced up to see who was coming in, and everybody who looked knew who he was. Petyr tried to ignore it and wave or nod to a few people in turn as he travelled down the wall to the back room where the employees could toss their bags, but it only did so much. He hated living in a small town.

Nina tapped Petyr on the shoulder and she waited for him to turn to her. ”Saw you come in. Figured you wouldn’t really wanna talk in front of everyone, bratr. But first, how was your day? Have any more uh… incidents?”

”Aside from making a deathtrap for myself out of a puddle on the sidewalk, no. Thankfully.” he responded as he turned sideways and slipped his bag into a locker, ”Especially since I’m pretty sure worrying myself sick makes it harder to keep a handle on.”

”If it makes you feel any better, it’s not just us. Apparently it was anyone who saw the eclipse last night. I mean even Tess has a power bratr.” Nina paused and bit her lip. ”I’m sure I did not make the worrying easier. Omlouvám se.” I’m sorry.

Petyr closed the locker with a little more force than he intended to, resulting in a somewhat loud bang that echoed around the back room, but not enough to get over the noise of the cafe. ”Well, given that you were all but the sole source of it, I would tend to agree.” He turned to face her as he continued speaking. ”So, let’s get it out of the way then. What happened with Everett?”

Nina winced a bit at the slamming of the locker and looked at Petyr. ”First off, I wasn’t planning on ditching, however, I thought he could use a friend given that tomorrow this town just wants to dredge up the fact that his parents are dead. I would have extended the same offer to Tess if she wasn’t shoving me away. Second, I mostly just went to help around the lodge. I spent most of the time cleaning up. Third, we kissed, yes, but that was it. Anything else you want to know?”

Petyr closed his eyes for a moment as he took a deep breath. She wasn’t telling him everything. He couldn’t quite tell how he knew that, maybe it was just the twin thing at work, but he knew. ”Well,” he finally said, ”If that’s all it was I suppose I don’t have much ground to be upset with you.”

”You’d tell me if anything happened that might get you into trouble, right?”

Nina looked guilty. ”Okay, there is one thing but you have to promise not to get upset because I didn’t even know what was going on till we got there, ok?”

He tensed up for a moment and crossed his arms. He nodded his assent after a few seconds. ”Go on…”

”Everett is having a party tomorrow. And of course you know how most people around here like to party. So… we went to Jade’s uncle’s house and he arranged for some… drinks… to be delivered to the party tomorrow. I swear bratr, had I know, I wouldn’t have gone. All he said was that he wanted my help.” Nina looked nervous at this point. ”We are invited by the way, to the party.”

Upon hearing her, Petyr slumped back against the locker, placed his hand on the side of his face, and exhaled slowly in disbelief. ”Oh, sestra…” The cutting class was an entirely minor thing by this point, this was something that could have landed her in serious trouble. She said she hadn’t known about it, and he believed her, but that wouldn’t have changed anything if they’d gotten caught in the act. He wanted very much to be upset with her, but there wasn’t any real reason for him to be. It was only when Nina cleared her throat politely that he noticed the room had dropped several degrees in temperature.

”Oh sakra (damn it), one second…” he said as he steered his mind toward warmer images to rescind the chill. Nina reached over and hugged her brother tightly.

”Je mi to opravdu líto bratr (I’m really sorry brother.) I made you worry so much.” Nina’s eyes were starting to tear up a bit as she kept close to her brother. He wrapped his arms around her in turn, and sighed again.

”Don’t worry about it. You’re okay, that’s all that really matters.” As he broke out of the hug to put his stupid little brown apron on, he started tapping on his hip to some rhythm nobody else could hear. ”Well,” he mused, ”I suppose we should accept that invitation. It’d probably break his country boy heart if you didn’t show up after all of that, now wouldn’t it?”

”Bratr… don’t be rude, prosím (please), for me?” Nina said, looking at Petyr.

”Alright,”he said, “I promise I won’t turn into dad from that time you snuck out to a dance and came home with Harry Davenport in middle school. Omluvte mě...” he finished as he skirted past her toward the door. If he spent any more time back there, the manager was like to come hunting for him. Stupid afternoon rush.

---

---

“Jay looked way worse off than you,” Mal noted as they approached the driveway, the ride having mostly been spent in silence with only one or two glances sent at King’s bruised – well, everything. It was mostly to see if King would be willing to talk about it, since he seemed closed off. He wasn’t allowed to do that; it was Mal’s job to be the stoic one.

He figured a ‘well done’ wasn’t appropriate, either, so he left it at that, sentence trailing into empty air as he shut off the engine. Realising that he was about to mother-hen his best friend but really didn’t want to risk King stumbling and breaking a bone on the Okadas’ stone patio, he left the vehicle and ran around to the other side to help him out. Again, it was by practically hauling him into the house. King seemed drained, both physically and emotionally, and he simply allowed Mal to drag him around. Luckily, Mal didn’t seem to be as panicked and emotional as he was this morning, leaving King to simply take in countless vibes of worry and affection.

Mal’s house hadn’t changed in over a decade. Everything was light, bright colours – a white, pristine rug in the living room; marbled counters in the kitchen; an art deco painting hung above the fake fireplace. The only room in the house that seemed to be vibrant in any way was Malcolm’s bedroom upstairs: the destination. It was clean, organised, with filing cabinets and a desk and a laptop and a saxophone, but there were posters plastered on every inch of the sloping ceiling. It was claustrophobic. Dark.

Mal dropped King unceremoniously on the bed and rolled his desk chair over, busying himself with fetching the depleted first aid kit he kept in his wardrobe. They’d done this before, except usually it wasn’t another student causing problems for King – it was an issue closer to home.

That Mal had taught himself to function in such close quarters with King was nothing short of a feat of strength. He was quite proud of himself for staying professional to look at his friend’s injuries and not his pretty face. King, on the other hand, was the opposite of professional-looking. Now completely devoid of any strength to fend off the alien emotions he was a sitting duck for being influenced, and being so close to Malcolm was enough to change his entire character. He blushed a vivid pink and refused to meet his friend’s eyes, instead he seemed to find the posters to his left extremely interesting. His palms were slick with sweat, and his lips were slightly parted as he let out small, soft sighs. Despite Mal’s considerably stoic face, he seemed to be bursting with a loving-kind of feeling. So weird, was Mal in love with him or something?

”M-my face, are there any bruises on my face? The folks won’t be very pleased if I’ve got some visible injuries.” King asked tightly, trying and failing to hide the expression of affection that was currently dominating his face.

Mal leaned in closer, reaching over to switch the desk light on to illuminate King’s face. There was some redness on his cheeks, the early stages of bruising and a nasty scrape on his chin and – from the way King had winced earlier – there were probably problems elsewhere, too. “There are,” Mal informed him, tearing open an alcohol wipe with his teeth (unhygienic, of course) and dabbing at the scrape. “Sorry. I can’t do anything about the bruises; I’m not magic. Will your parents be..?” There were several choice words Mal could think of to describe them, none of them positive.

Hesitantly, Mal tilted King’s chin up, fingers brushing against the already discoloured skin lightly. “I don’t think there’ll be any lasting–”

And then he froze as a sudden jolt of pain struck his own jawline, like a wild fist being flung out but worse. If he had to liken it to anything, it was as if his tissue was being torn apart and resewn, regrown. Mal clenched his jaw against the sensation because his pain tolerance wasn’t exactly wimpy and continued inspecting King’s wound. He wasn’t going to let a freakish event stop him from fixing up his best friend. Mal’s eyes widened.

Where his fingertips touched the bruise, it seemed to be… dissipating. Receding. That couldn’t be right, could it? “King?”

“Mal?” He responded instantly, feeling a sudden wave of confusion and worry come from his friend, “what’s wrong?” King glanced down at Malcolm’s hand, which was still slightly touching the stinging mark on his chin… But now there was no pain where their skin collided. The feeling that usually came with a bruise was one of muted pain, and King had quickly assumed a rather bad mark was forming where Mal was inspecting due to the harsh sting, but now that pain was nonexistent. Healed. King slowly rose a free hand, wrapping his fingers gently around Mal’s hand to move it away from his face before he leaned forward curiously,

“What did you just do?”

Mal’s hand trembled, but with one arm pushed away, he reached out with the other and touched it to the bruise on his temple, the next darkest. He expected the wave of pain, then the rush of a migraine all condensed within a second – a cluster headache? – and bit down on his lip through it. That bruise was gone now, too, leaving King’s face flawless. Pretty.

“Where else hurts?” Malcolm asked quickly, wanting to make himself useful. His heart was thudding in his chest, a million beats a minute, and he wondered if he wasn’t on the verge of a panic attack if he wasn’t so damn focused on fixing King. King seemed rather uncomfortable by the sudden shift in Mal’s general mood. Feelings that King could only assumed to be ‘pain’ shifted with every bruise Mal healed, and then the panicky emotions set in after, causing his own heart to thump painfully. With this general overflow of outsider’s influence King, sadly, was unable to speak his mind about Malcolm’s sudden interest in his injuries, and with nothing left to do but comply he carefully turned around and rolled up his shirt. His back, which was usually colored a pain blue from past injuries, was now more purple-black with new bruises. The initial pain had subsided on the drive to Malcolm’s home, but even as he attempted to bend his back slightly a new, painful feeling would pulsate from one of the many injuries.

“Aaaaalllll back here. Hurts like hell.” He grunted, his voice heavy with anxiety.

Mal, eager to help (and too desperate to doubt his actions) barely flinched at the extent of King’s injuries but simply accepted them with a solemn nod before touching them. He nearly doubled-over from the backlash of his apparent abilities this time but stayed standing, somehow, if leaning on King. His back burned. It ached. It protested against whatever non-physical pain was being inflicted upon him. It was too much, but he started this; he was willing to finish it.

Something wet trickled down his lip, metallic and coppery. Double side-effects, like it couldn’t get any worse. Acceptance dawned on him as he looked down at King’s back, now healed as if there had been nothing there in the first place. Pride swelled up.
He didn’t need teleporting or flying or earthquakes – not when he could help other people. “Fixed it,” he said quietly, and swayed slightly on his feet.

“Malcolm.” King said rather then asked, standing quickly and pulling the smaller boy into an embrace as a last ditch effort to steady him. Moving was easy, he found, as the injuries on his back seemed to have vanished all together. He felt good as new, maybe even better, but the shaking boy in his arms was obviously worse for the ware. King sucked in a few tight breaths, attempting to calm his pounding heart. “Malcolm, Mal, you okay?” He whispered quietly into his friend’s hair, breathing in whatever sweet shampoo Mal used faintly.

“I’m okay,” he said, and it wasn’t a lie. Maybe a small bit of him had been jealous that other people had powers and he (apparently) did not. Maybe it was just the exhilaration of it, of doing something abnormal with amazing effects. Maybe it was just adrenaline from the massive amounts of pain he’d just overdosed on. “Pretty… pretty damn good, all things considered. I can heal.” The last part was just to inform him, as if it wasn’t immediately obvious.

King was close. Too close. Mal felt his cheeks turning red, bright red, and tried to carefully extract himself from the embrace to slump in his desk chair before he did something stupid or regrettable. But, of course, because Malcolm felt that he may doing something foolish just made King feel the same way. And, unlike Mal, who was probably in more control than King, he was unable to stop himself. King was on an emotional high, with his head pounding from Mal’s apparent anxiety and his heart thumping with an overwhelming need to just never let the poor boy go. King tightened his hug on Mal, burying his head into his friend’s shoulder as he let out a frustrated sigh.

“This is so dumb.” King muttered, mostly to himself, and he continued to bury his face into the crook between Malcolm’s neck and shoulder.

“You’re nuzzling me,” Mal pointed out in a state of shock, trapped like a bird in a cage. “What are you doing.” The words were probably more of a defense mechanism than a real question, but he just really wanted to know the reasoning behind it. He stopped moving, and quite possibly stopped breathing too. And King, upon hearing Malcolm’s question, lifted his head up to reveal his positively burning face. He was literally red, as red as someone could get, and his eyebrows were upturned with longing, confusion, and the slightest bit of effort. No matter how hard King tried, however, he just couldn’t get a grip on himself, and when a sudden wave of endearment washed over him he simply leaned forward and locked lips with his best friend.

There was a pause where Mal couldn’t physically do anything, frozen in place. Was this happening? Did the eclipse do something to King? Did it do something to Mal, who was seriously considering just letting this happen rather than protecting their continued friendship. He decided to just roll with it, and kissed back. Enjoying the moment.

The two remained locked in the kiss for a few moments, completely silent. King seemed lost in the emotions surrounding him, but again, the nagging in the back of his head was crying out in embarrassment, willing the foreign (were they really foreign anymore?) emotions out of his head. “Wai-Wait,” King pulled away, face burning, “that's, uh. Sorry. Sorry…” He fell back onto the bed and crawled towards the pillows, shoving his head underneath them.

Mal’s head hurt, almost more than his heart, but he straightened up – pun not intended. Realisation struck him followed by a nasty helping of guilt. “I– I’m so sorry King. I never meant to, for you to...” He backed up as if scalded, all the way to the wall. “It won’t happen again. Swear. We can just write it off or, something.”

“Stop, please. That hurts…” King was referring to the harsh waves of dejection and worry and sadness pouring, though his way of complaining was vague and mostly muffled by the pillows over his head. He was confused, obviously, hot and bothered by the intimacy that the two friends had shared, but the fact that Malcolm wished to just ignore it hurt more than anything else. Silence filled the room, heavy and nervous, and King took the time to breath deeply and restore whatever mental strength he could. Soon, he sat up and stared blankly at Malcolm, hair tussled and face still faintly red, and then he smiled. It was a small, genuine grin, a grin that usually only appeared during late night drinking get togethers.

“Why do you wanna write it off?”

“Because you do?” Mal countered more than a little caustically, a statue over on his side of the bedroom with his arms crossed. Trust King to make him feel like an outsider in his own damn room, hogging the entire bed. King’s eyes effortlessly scanned Malcolm, taking in each detail he had seen oh so many times before. His best friend, Mal, was thin and fragile, handsome in a girlish way, and utterly one of the closest things King had to a home yet. Countless sleepovers had allowed King to take in the many faces of Mal, and the many years they spent together had only seemed to strengthen their friendship… But that friendship had always faltered slightly during those drunk nights. King couldn't deny his slight attraction to the smaller boy when they shared their quiet moments, and they often say in comfortable silence during those chatty session, appreciating each other’s company. King had assumed Mal wasn't interested in him long ago, and as usual when King assumed something like that he turned his interest to others. It was a way of coping, or hiding, and he had been doing it for so long that perhaps he had just forgotten about his initial attraction. And now King was able to feel what Malcolm felt, and right now he was almost positive that their feelings, whether past, present, or future, were mutual.

“I… Never said I wanted to do that.” He spoke quickly, tightly, though a flirt smirk was clear on his face. If not for the overbearing waves of anxiety and cynicism, King might have been even the slightest bit more flirtatious, but as he was right now such a feat may be a bit of a stretch

“You stopped,” Mal pointed out.

“Ah, uhm,” King practically stumbled over his words, and then as if to save face he shrugged, “I just wasn't sure if you were into it, y-ya know?” but it felt like you were King sighed half-heartedly, feeling waves of doubt and confusion simmer off Mal, and with tense movements King leaned forward and patted the bed in front of him in an effort to beckon his friend over.

“You can sense emotions, Richard,” Mal continued, dryly. He almost moved over, and he did take a step closer. It was like it was his job to point out any little inconsistency that could be a sign of insincerity. His heart wasn’t in it, but he was nothing if not dedicated to considering any possibility that would end up with him alone and friendless in the near future. King tilted his head slightly, blushing a deeper red at the fact that he had been caught in a very obvious lie, and then he fell back onto Mal’s bed. Staring up at the ceiling, King struggled to find his words. Among the sea of doubt and self-loathing Mal produced, King floated meekly. He was still not strong enough to control his own emotions, but at least now he was aware of Mal’s affects on him. And knowing that was enough to distinguish how own feelings of guilt and lust and embarrassment, those exact feelings that were choking his throat and making his heart thump painfully.

Eventually King sat up again, grunting as the few remaining bruises on his shoulder and arms pulsated slightly, and he once again tapped the bed, “Mal, come here, please. You’re freaking me out standing so still over there.” He managed to say, eyebrows upturned.

“I’m hoping that if I stand still enough, the ground will swallow me whole. Anything can happen these days, eh?” The corners of Mal’s lips turned down into a frown as he peered at King, however, and he acquiesced – if only because his friend was still in pain and maybe, just maybe, there was a glimmer of hope at the end of the tunnel. Knowing that his feelings were affecting King’s feelings, were hurting him, he tried his best to shut them off – to stop his heart as well as his face from revealing anything ever again. “I didn’t finish healing you, I guess.”

Mal wondered if he was being deliberately obtuse for a reason, or if it was just because he didn’t want to know for sure whether King liked or didn’t like him. Even so, he reached out to put a hand on King’s shoulder, hoping to ease the pain by taking it on himself. King stiffened as Mal reached out to touch his wounded shoulder, instantly replaying the pained look and feelings that Malcolm had shown before while ‘healing’ him in his head. He reached up slowly, his fingers wrapping tightly around Malcolm’s reaching hand, and he shook his head slowly,

“Don’t,” he whispered, “it hurts you, doesn’t it? I don’t wanna hurt you, Mal.”

Mal was sure that an acerbic well it’s too late for that was mean-spirited, but his brow furrowed. “You’re not,” he reassured him quickly, completely serious. “And, if you want to – I mean, you could – uh, kiss it better afterwards?” He looked down at the ground almost immediately, because trying to copy his flirtatious humour wasn’t really suited for him. Couldn’t make eye-contact with King. King, in turn, felt his heart swell suddenly and his face heat up. Turning away quickly, King released Mal’s hand and leaned his injured shoulder towards his friend.

“Don’t over do it, Mal.” He muttered, feeling both dejected and slightly excited at the same time.

At receiving permission (though he was going to do it anyway), Mal encroached on King’s personal space – did they even have personal space anymore? – and gently pressed down on King’s arm. His nosebleed restarted, and he grimaced at the sudden pain, but it didn’t erase the tiny half-smile that appeared on his face. “Better?” King, as soon as the pain in his shoulder melted away, reached forward and rubbed the thin stream of blood from Mal’s lip with his thumb. And then, with a flirtatious smirk, he leaned in and kissed Malcolm again, grinning as many of his own emotions began to outshine Malcolm’s for once. Lust, joy, and blatant disregard for any other complications that stood outside of this small moment the two were sharing. This wasn't just an out of control, emotion-affected empath anymore, no, King was now almost in control of his actions once more and he seemed to be loving it. King’s aggressive nature even attempted to push Mal down, but he withheld his own wishes and instead pulled away, grinning sheepishly.

“All better?”

A little spooked and bright red, Mal coughed awkwardly, but smiled. “I dunno, I think it still hurts a bit,” he said slyly. And then, after the uncertainly melted away a tad in the face of sheer disbelief, Mal grabbed the collar of King’s shirt and dragged him in.

---

---

Golden sunlight peered through broken window frames, dappling the concrete floor and painted walls of The Gallery. Despite the school day having ended, Scout found herself alone within the hallow building. It wasn't an unusual circumstance as she usually spent her time just sitting alone watching the others paint and chat, but the silence was a bit maddening. The small girl stepped delicately across the dusty floor, her eyes tracing the various tags and works of art that stained the walls. Her own pieces stood out rather dully among the brighter paints, and she smiled briefly at each spray-painted masterpiece, a wave of nostalgia swarming her for some of the older images. Eventually, she crossed through the entire bottom floor of the old building, ending up on the opposite side just beside the chipped, white-painted stairs. Scout wandered quietly up the metal steps, flinching slightly at each squeak that was produced from the rusty bolts before she finally reached the third floor.

Scout slipped into the room, eyes quickly scanning the shadowed area in an effort to pick out any suspicious shapes before she turned towards a rather large, almost empty white wall. Spray paint cans of various colors collided with her feet, tipping easily as they were all nearly empty, and a dusty cassette player gleamed in the half light just a few feet away, begging to be turned on. Scout took one last moment to take in her surroundings before letting out a heavy, tired sigh and collapsing down into a crouch.

god today sure is something

Smirking slightly, Scout turned to the cassette player and moved it aside slightly. Behind the silver box was a hole, large enough to fit a raccoon or some other hefty rodent, and within the dark circle were many dark boxes. Cassettes. Most were unnamed, and many seemed to be broken beyond repair, but everyone who used them tried their best to keep them together and avaliable for others. She gazed at a few of them intently, seemingly having some kind of mental battle before she finally decided on an old Simon and Garfunkel mix. Pushing it into the player carefully, she sat back and listened to the scratchy opening of "The Only Living Boy in New York" before getting to work. Her hands drifted across many of the half-empty cans, finally resting on a pretty blue color. Shaking it a few times, Scout listened to the sloshing of paint within to get a feel for how much she could work with, and then with sudden purpose she rose and started to paint.



It only took a few moments before she stopped and stood back, assessing her own work with the eye of a hawk. The still wet paint dripped dangerously from the wall, infecting the past inscriptions with a new brightness, and a half-smile met her lips. I AM HERE. Those three words had been written before on this very wall, countless times before even, in varying shades and styles. It was a piece Scout had started at the beginning of the summer, and at first she had thought of it as a cry for help, but now it was her favorite piece in the entire Gallery.

"Are you really here?", an alluring voice rang out through the empty and dust ridden gallery, "Or perhaps this is simply an illusion we've convinced ourselves is real..."

From out of the shadows, a slim-toned figure appeared. As the light of the sun touched him through the broken windows(as if scared to make contact with his flesh), the beautiful face of the teenaged male was now certainly visible to Scout. She knew this individual more than most, though it seemed no one knew of their unusual connection. A feeling of cold air(not literally) was usually an indication of his presence.

The boy stepped closer, a black turtle neck fitted over his frame, and a long wavy ponytail hung down his back and swung lightly as he gracefully traversed across the grubby floor. He was like a swan floating through murky water, as if the dust on the floor moved out of the way as he got closer to her. Often considered the most beautiful boy at school, this didn't stop others from hating his very existence. Noah was known for being just as beautiful as he was deadly--ruthless. He stood several feet away from her, hands elegantly clasped behind his back as a cold expression naturally rested on his face. "Hello Silvia. Feeling well?"

"Don't call me Silvia." Scout responded instantly, curtly, barely turning her head as she spoke. Noah Santiago, great. Another nuisance to deal with. She eventually slid around to face him, blue eyes narrowed as they focused on his face before closing fully as she sighed. Throwing the now-empty can of spray paint away she straightened, arms crossing as she took up a much more relaxed posture, "what brings you around these parts, Santiago? I would've thought all the grime would turn you away." Her lips peeled back into a wide, tense smile, which after a second glance would seem to be more of a grimace then a sign of friendliness.

Noah sighed, as if uninterested, sliding a single finger across the wall and looking at the filth that collected on the tip. He raised an eyebrow in disgust and then showed her his finger. "This is you....", and then he raised his clean finger, "And this is me". He stared at her for a brief moment before wiping the dirt on a handkerchief he kept in his pocket. "Don't get cute. We both know I wouldn't have come here if the slum of the town hadn't. I have you to thank for bringing me to this atrocity". He looked around once more, obviously repulsed by the setting, though for a pig's pen, it had its uses for being convoluted and out of the public eye.

His eyes fell away from her and back to the 'I AM HERE'.

"Why you are here, Silvia?", he asked her metaphorically, blatantly ignoring her order for him to not call her that. He had a way of speaking in an ambiguous and cryptic-like manner.
As a response to his question Scout tilted her head, blonde hair tumbling over her shoulder in a mess of tangles. Noah often spoke in in a quizzical manner, and while it was mostly annoying sometimes she found herself thinking hard on his questions. Right now, however, she didn't even want to bother processing his words. He had already insulted her with the grime, no use doing something else to peg him on. Instead, she turned back to the painted wall, grabbing a half-full can of crimson paint before getting back to work, once againt writing I AM HERE. Again, the paint dripped messily, pooling where the wall and floor met in a color that closely resembled blood.

"Hey man, I didn't call for you," she finally said, smearing a bit of the paint with a calloused thumb, "I'm here to paint, so I'll ask again. Why are you here, Santiago?"

Noah shrugged uncaringly. "Fair enough...", he relinquished. He took out his phone and began intently searching for something, his eyes tracing up and down the glowing screen as if he were in a trance. All that could be heard was the smearing of paint and the beeping of his device. It was the only thing that convoluted the silence. His face was still planted into his phone when he gracefully waltzed over to her, ignoring the fact that she began spray painting again and practically held his phone up against her nose. "Do you know what this is?"

"Wha- Oi, move." Without taking her eyes off of the wall she rose her free hand and shoved Noah's phone away. Scout passed him a side glance, eyes gleaming deviously, and then she slipped away from him to grab another color. Her nose was upturned, eyes narrowed definitely, the usual expression seen when Scout had decided to ignore someone, but the slightest shadow of a sly smile could be seen on her lips. She loved getting on Noah's nerves, and ignoring him usually gets the job done quickly.

The pretty long-haired boy glared at her when she swatted his phone away from her face like a mosquito. He didn't appreciate being ignored, especially not when it came to important matters that needed to be discussed. He glared at her like an icy pick and slowly, keeping a close eye on her, backed away and moved out of her peripheral vision. Without making a sound, he knelt down and quietly gripped an empty spray paint can in his hand. He looked at the can and an evil grin plastered upon his countenance.

"You know...", he reeled his arm back, "I really hate being ignored...", and then he launched it straight towards the back of her head. Scout felt her body react before her mind, reeling around quickly once Noah let out his complaint. Her free hand rose to shield her face, and once again a burning sensation shocked through her palms, funneling outwards to her fingers. The light blue field followed the movement of her hand, gleaming brightly within the shadows of The Gallery walls, and Scout watched it form with curiosity burning in her eyes. The can collided with the wall, ricocheting off it slightly before falling noisily at Scout's feet. She blinked once, staring at the can for a few brief moments before raising her gaze up to meet Noah's.

"Whoops." She said sheepishly, the shield fading as her hand fell to her side and a slight frown took up her face.

His face remained serene, and his body stood elegantly poised, but internally, he was taken aback. Never had he suspected of 'Sewer Rat Silvia' to possesses an ability. He was amazed by the site of the translucent blue energy that formed itself in front of her face and effectively negated his attack. His eyebrows furrowed--it was safe to assume Noah found her little parlor trick infuriating. "You little wench. So you have a power too huh?", he asked rhetorically with a scowl.

He huffed and not bothering to get close to her again, he held his phone up from where he was and displayed it to her, "You're not the only one who can do things--but lets get to the point". An image of a two piece jewelry set appeared, a massive diamond adorned ring and a matching necklace that resembled an hourglass emanated brightly from his screen. "The Diamond Hourglass...", he explained, "is a newly manufactured two piece jewelry set that just went on the market two days ago". He paused for a brief moment and smirked faintly. "Of course, someone such as yourself would have no knowledge of such an exquisite masterpiece, but I'm sure even you can appreciate the money that backs these beautiful luxury items more than anyone. After all, a starving animal will do anything for its next meal".

Noah turned off his phone and stuck it back into the pocket of his dress pants and from here on out, he was giving Scout his full and undivided attention. An old-fashion key dangled around his neck--he rubbed it softly as if in deep thought. "You do you understand what I'm getting at here don't you.....amor?", he asked her in a belittling manner.

"Uh, yeah, sure... Puto." Scout responded slowly, words slurred slightly as she allowed the horrid headache the field produced to pass. She had many questions to ask, but Noah, with his probable one-track mind, wasn't going to answer any until he got what he wanted. Scout allowed the red spray-paint can to drop from her fingers, clattering by her feet as she took a few steps towards Noah. Her eyes connected with the screen, tracing the beautiful angles of the jewelry with her pupils. Well, it was obvious what Noah wanted from her, but Scout felt a small tugging at her conscience. The angel on her shoulder, of course, was telling her not to steal. Scout felt her eyebrow twitch, and she took a step back to stare at Noah's face, a hardened, unreadable expression clear in her eyes.

"You need some help getting this, then?" She questioned, pressing her knuckles gently against her lip in thought, "where... Are they selling it? In that old store downtown?" Scout, obviously, wasn't interested in the jewels themselves but the money. She was a bit short due to her father blowing up on her the other day, but still that angel tugged at her mind, telling her 'no'.

"That old store is Pomferi's Jewelry", he corrected her immediately, taking out his phone and texting her the address in a manner of haste. Abruptly, Noah sneezed, covering his nose and mouth with the back of his hand like an embarrassed geisha. Stupid dust. Taking out his handkerchief, he patted his nose lightly and then brought his eyes to meet hers. "Meet me in the alley two blocks down from the address, tomorrow, at noon. If you come, you get half. If not, well....you remain a sewer rat. Prove your worth". He quickly put the handkerchief away as it was very unsightly for him to be seen wiping his nose in public, even if by 'public', only meant Scout.

Without giving her another glance he proceeded towards the exit, "We all do what we must mi amor. Even kill if necessary. Everyone has their reasons...". Whether he was trying to play mind games with her or not, his voice was cryptic, emotionless--unnerving. For a brief moment, Scout could surely hear a gentle humming coming from his lips, and then, he was gone, as if he had disappeared back into the shadows from which he came.

"Kill, huh?" She muttered, leaning back and watching as Noah made his exit. Scout refused to let her eyes wander until she was sure he was gone, and then slowly she turned back to her painting. The crimson paint had since dried, but still the drippings below it resembled that of gore, gleaming with a sinister shine. A soft sigh escaped her lips and she took a few steps toward the wall, her hand pressing against the artwork gently before she turned to shut the cassette player off, allowing silence to once again swallow the building. Once her items were gathered and she was sure she was alone, Scout laughed coldly and pulled the gray hood up over her head.

"What a freak."

---

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When lunch ended, Grant went to his classes. He only had two after lunch: Physics and Politics. Grant wouldn't say that physics was all that easy. In all honesty, it was probably his worst subject, but it was forced on him by his father, so Grant had to make the most of it. Thankfully for Grant, Mr. Fender was a great teacher. He wasn't like the rest of Lincoln's staff. While most of them were a bit rigid, Mr. Fender — or Michael, as some would call him — seemed more laid back and fun. Still, Grant knew that he didn't have the physics class for a reason. He knew his stuff and Grant listened to every word.

After physics came Politics. To be honest, this was another subject that Grant didn't particularly care for. Not that he didn't like the class or the teacher that taught it, but he just wasn't one for politics. If he could, he would much rather stay in art class all day. Being in that class made him feel most at home when he was at school. However, since he couldn't, he would have to make due with Politics. The class itself was taught by Mrs. Cai. To everyone, she's a bit of a hardass. That meaning, she's quite strict. Grant has seen her rip into those who fool around in her class. She seemingly has no tolerance for those kind of people.

Today's class was pretty much a review of last year's material. Grant, being the good student he was, took down notes as much as he could. His style of notes were detailed, organized, and always impressive(as noted by not only Mrs. Cai, but several other students who tried to impress her as much as he did). Grant might've not liked that class, but he tried his best to make sure he looked good for not only Mrs. Cai, but his father(who always seems to want to see his notes). God, how Grant hated how his father was sometimes.

Just another year. I can make it.

Grant was making sure he made a mental note that only a year remained until he would be able to get out of Verona, away from his father, and to university.

And almost as if his mind wandered for several minutes, Grant suddenly found himself hearing the after school bell, which almost immediately made every student jumped out of their seats and stampede the exit. Grant didn't even bother getting up right away. He didn't want to be trampled by everyone. Instead, he politely packed his things, and put them into his bag quietly. Once he had gotten up, he waved goodbye to Mrs. Cai gently and left the classroom.

Grant walked slowly, undetected by those who ran by him, to the front of the school. A promise he made to Olivia was planted deep into his mind. "Don't be late", it said, playing back in his mind repeatedly like a broken record. It was an urgent repetition, too. Even though it was through text, to Grant, it was a promise. He always tried to keep his promises, even if he couldn't always. For Olivia, though, he always made sure to keep his word. To him, she's more than just a great friend that he can call up at any given moment. She was much more than his video-gaming buddy. She was the person that Grant could tell anything to and not be judged for it. She was the person that he did tell everything to, even what happened to him a few years back at the hands of his father. Even though most know about it by now, Olivia was one of the first people that Grant opened up to about it. Truthfully, he values her friendship above all others.

And it was with that, Grant arrived at the meeting spot. All he needed to do was wait for Liv to arrive.

Olivia started making her towards the front of the school, where the front steps were. It was to be their meeting point and the location where Grant would be waiting for her. She exited through the side entrance, and stepped throughly quickly and quietly, being all stealthy like as she crept towards the rear of the guy. When she got closer, she swung her arms around his neck in a neck-hug, announcing her arrival with a "I'm here!" followed by a giggle. That was not what she normally would do to just anyone, but when it came to things with Grant, anything was possible.

Growing up, Olivia didn't really have much friends. Well, she did have friends in the literal sense of the word, but none that she could really hang out with, share her interests with, and confide to. It was kinda like that they were just her school mates, and friends in name only. All that changed for the better when she met Grant. He was quite the turning point in her life, despite him not knowing that. At least, she thinks he doesn't. She immediately felt a bond with the guy, and as she got to know him, she couldn't believe how similar they were. She had often heard about soulmates and Grant really sounded like he was hers. As the pair began to spend more time together over the years, they grew closer and closer, eventually becoming the closest and the best of friends. They kept no secrets from each other and told each other everything. She was kinda bad at keep secrets anyway.

"Oof," Grant suddenly felt familiar arms surprise him from behind, followed by that giggle that he would always recognize even if he went years without hearing. "Oh, hey Liv," Grant smiled, looking back at her as they came to face each other. "How was the meeting?" He asked Olivia curiously, smiling at her still.

As Grant asked about the astronomy meeting she was in earlier, her eyes widened in surprise as she recalled the events in their astounding order. Her arms would gesture wildly as she began recounting the strange events to him. "The room was packed! It was like everyone wanted to find out about the strange solar eclipse last night and had attended the meeting!" Pausing for a while to catch her breath before she continued, she said "Even Jade was there! But she left in a fit of sobs and fury. Apparentely, people who had witnessed strange things going on with them had strange powers of some sort. Jay had some sort of teleportation wormhole powers, while King's was empathy! The french girl Moon could even fly! She had an earlier incident in the girl's restroom earlier!" As soon she finished the sentence, she placed a palm over her hand. Olivia then whispered in a hushed tone. "Don't tell anyone that though! It's supposed to be a secret. Oh, and I had a strange happening earlier, when a gust of wind came out of no where when I sighed. Gerard's cheese went flying and he looked like he was about to plan a funeral for his beloved bread. I think I may have a power as well." By the time she was done talking, she was near breathless, taking several moments to recover.

After Olivia was done telling him about the meeting, Grant smiled at his dear friend. "Jade? As in Jade Taylor?" Grant asked, surprised. "I met her earlier today, actually. I mean, I met her before, but I didn't know much about her. She joined me at our usual table today. She was bugging me slightly about how I act sometimes, saying I should speak up more. I got upset at her slightly and she suggested that I was like her and that I had some kind of power." Grant told Olivia, explaining his encounter with Jade. ]"She's confident and suggested I join her with a friend of her's that she said was like me." Grant said, uncertain about how much of what Jade said was true. "She told me to wait for her call." Grant said, sighing at the prospect of Jade's call. As he thought about it more, Grant simply shook his head. "Well, whether I do or not, shall we head off then?" Grant said, looking to Olivia with a smile.

Nodding, Olivia and Grant walked next to each other, towards Grant's house and to the fictional land of Hydaelyn. Boy, what a glorious time to be a gamer it was!

---

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By the time Alicia was done the sun was just setting now, she took orders from a few more customers before turning over towards Petyr, Nina and Katalina. "I'm clocking out now, I'll see you all tomorrow at the service." Alicia said as she clocked herself out for the evening and left Simone's Cafe and started to walk towards her house. A few minutes later Alicia was at the front door and saw that her mother's car was already in the driveway and sighed to herself, preparing herself for a lecture from her mother.

"I'm home mom!" Alicia called out, and instantly picked up her mother's cooking and walked over towards the kitchen, on the table was a plate of salmon and rice.
"So why weren't you in class today?" Her mother asked and turned to face Alicia as she entered the kitchen and took a seat at the table.

"I went to hang out with Jade." Alicia said as she started to cut into the fish. "You two could have just done that after school you know." Her mother fixed herself a plate and sat across from her daughter.

"I know mom, just tomorrow isn't going to be all that fun with the annual service." Alicia said as she took a bite out of the salmon enjoying the taste of it and looked at her.

"Just dont do it again tomorrow then and just go straight home." She said, the next few minutes was Alicia's mother pointing out how school was so important and didnt want to see her daughter getting kicked out of school. Dinner was quickly finished and Alicia went up to her room, inside her room was full of drawings and paintings Alicia went to turn on her computer to surf the web and just relaxed.

Alicia looked down at her phone and saw it was a text from Jade telling her she was there and started to walk down the stairs and opened the door for her friend.

Hey Alicia, told ya I'd see you later," Jade laughed and smiled at Alicia, "I believe you already know Grant." Jade said, stepping to the side, revealing Grant smiling bashfully as he waved to Alicia.

Alicia smiled and pulled Jade into a hug and then hugged Grant as well. "Glad to see the two of you, would you guys like to come inside?" Alicia asked taking a step back to let the both of them into her room. "Also can I offer guys anything to eat or drink?"

Accepting her offer, Jade and Grant walked in, with the latter one acting somewhat timidly. His head was slightly down. They followed Alicia to her room.

"I'll take a beer if you have it," Jade said, half-joking.

"If it's not a bother, a glass of water for me," Grant shyly requested.
"A Root Beer for Jade, and water for Grant I'll meet you in my room if you want to show him Jade."

" Who’s at the door Alicia?" Her mother called out as she stood up and headed over towards the front door seeing both Jade and Grant. "Just Jade and Grant from school mom, we are just going to hangout for a bit." Alicia's mom nodded and looked at the two of them and smiled.
"Alright then, i'll be in the living room if you three need anything." Alicia's mom said and headed back to the living room.

Alicia walked into the kitchen and grabbed a bottle of water and a root beer for her two friends. "We will be in my room if you need me mom." Alicia quickly went up to her room and closed the door behind her and locked it, tossing both of their drinks towards them. "So whats up?" Alicia asked as she walked over and sat on her computer desk chair and faced the two of them.

"A locked door, and two fairly attractive girls — you could score tonight, Wells." Jade teased Grant.

"To bad I only like vaginas though." Alicia smiled and laughed to herself.
Grant's face went redder than a tomato.

"Oh lighten up, I'm only kidding..partially," Jade sighed. Jade was sitting on the floor, back against Alicia's bed and Grant was sitting on the bed.

"Anyways, as I told Alicia here back at Simonè's, you have a — well, a gift like we both do,"

"A gift? I told you I don't know already what you're talking about." Grant said with an elevated tone in his voice.

"Oh for heaven's sake," Jade said, sighing annoyingly, Jade turned to Alicia. "would you just show him what I'm talking about. I would show him mine, but you know, don't want your mom freaking the fuck out." Though only kidding, the thought of that made Jade laugh and her lips curled into a smile.

"Yeah my mom might think we are throwing a party up here or something." Alicia smiled slightly and looked over towards Grant seeing him blushing deeply which was kind of cute to her. Alicia closed her eyes and sighed slightly as she looked over towards Jade's can and focused on it. The can rattled slightly before it suddenly flew out of Jade's hand and right into her own.

Grant stared at both Jade and Alicia as he saw that the can in the former's hand be pulled away and into the latter's hand, almost as if it was through some kind of magnetic pull of some kind.
"Amazing.." That was all that Grant could say because nothing else came to mind.

"Told you," Jade said grinning confidently, but then she noticed something up with Alicia's nose.

Alicia suddenly felt something running from her nose and quickly wiped it, looking down at her hand and realized she had a bloody nose and quickly went to grab one. "Thats kind of what I can do I guess." Alicia said as she held her nose.

"Whoa, Alicia, you alright?" Jade asked, concerned about the blood dripping from Alicia's nose.

Alicia nodded as she leaned her head forward and pinched her nose to try and stop the bleeding, and didn’t think to much about the bloody nose at the moment, and felt slightly dizzy as if she suddenly started to get a bad headache."Yeah, just a bloody nose is all.." Alicia said looking over at Jade and Grant. "So Jade said you had something similar?" Alicia asked Grant.

"Hold up, that can wait,"Jade said, putting her arm in Grant's way. "Bitch, you are not fine!" Jade honestly said, "your nose is bleeding and it was after you used your ability." Jade explained, a worried look on her face.

Alicia could see the worried look on her friend's face, and pulled away the bloodied tissue and dabbed it slightly. "I'm fine really, just a slight headache is all." Alicia said softly running a hand through her hair and looked over towards Grant.

Jade still didn't believe her, "Oh, so you bleed every time you have a headache? Or is this a recent occurrence?" Jade, though sarcasm in her voice, she genuinely was asking.

"Okay maybe it is related to my ability, I've honestly haven't felt like this before since the eclipse I've been having a headache." Alicia finished wiping her nose as quickly as it came, it stopped.

"This has happened before?!" Jade said in elevated tone, "why didn't you say anything?" Jade asked worryingly.

"Headaches are common, so I really didnt think anything about it until now with the nosebleed after I used it, don't worry so much. Listen if it gets worse, you will be the very first person to know, alright?" Alicia stood up and sat down onto her bed throwing the bloodied tissue away and handed Jade's soda back.

"Fine," Jade sighed in defeat, taking back her soda.

Jade leaned back against Alicia's bed and looked to Grant. "Do the thing, Grant." Jade said halfheartedly.

Grant looked at Jade, blinking, just like he did when Jade first told him about him supposedly having a gift. "Look, I don't know what you think I can do, but as I've been telling you, I don't have a gift, least of all like Alicia."

Jade sighed angrily. "We don't have time for this. You have it, but you're too much of a pussy to even think about it for more than two seconds."

"No, that's not why--"

"Then stop fucking denying it and do it already" Jade said firmly.
Alicia looked between Grant and Jade as they both argued, she believed Jade otherwise she wouldn't have brought him over to her house. She gently laid a hand on Grant's shoulder and looked for something for him to focus on maybe a gentler approach would work..

"Alright, how about this then." Alicia motioned towards her Xbox One controller laying on the top of her dresser/TV stand. "Just focus on that game controller and see what happens, if nothing happens you can go home if you want to." Alicia said softly.

"This isn't going to work, Alicia. He's too fucking stubborn to believe he has it." Jade said, making sure she was looking at Grant and he knew that she was directing that comment at him.

"Well, belittling him probably doesn't go well; just let him focus on it." Alicia said, looking over towards her friend and gently patted Grant on his back. "Just try it okay."

"And coddling him won't help either." Jade said, mumbling something else as she watched patiently, to see what he was or wasn't going to do.

"You said focus on the controller, right?" Grant asked Alicia, looking to her.

"Alright then, if Grant learns to use his ability you have to work with me at Simonè's tomorrow." Alicia said with a smirk and turned towards Grant and nodded. "Yes just focus on my Xbox controller."

The thought of having to serve other people that wasn't of her own, free will made Jade shrivel in disgust. The thought of doing that while working with Nina made her want to puke. "Fine, but if he doesn't, you have to go tell Katalina how you really feel. I'm tired of you two play 'flirt with the lesbo'." Jade said honestly, probably too much so.

Alicia blushed slightly and nodded to Jade extending her hand to make the deal.

"Alright then its a deal lady matchmaker. I do plan on telling Kat soon anyway." Alicia patted Jade on the shoulder turning again towards Grant. "Like I said just focus on the controller."

Is that so? Well, we will talk about this later on." Jade said, smiling, "Time to put up or shut up, Grant." She said, shifting her eyes from Grant to the controller.

"Right, here I go.." Grant said, breathing in deep slowly.

As Grant stood there, focused and concentrating on the controller, he extended his left arm outward. His fingers and thumb pointing towards the dresser. His eyes narrowed, and his face squinted as he tried to, as Jade put it, do the thing. He tried to see if grunting would work(whatever that meant), but there was nothing coming to him. He tried waving his arm to him and nothing worked. He even tried to yell lightly, perhaps that would work. However, as the next few seconds proved, that didn't work either.

Grant wasn't the kind of guy to get frustrated, but not being able to do what Jade thought he could do was definitely getting to him. "I can't do it.." Grant said disappointed. He turned around to face Jade and Alicia.

"Bullshit. I know you did it at lunch. Fucking hell, you made my cup almost come towards you for god's sake."

"I'm sorry, what can I say? I just can't do it."

"There you go with that 'I can't' attitude again." Jade said, stepping forward as she grabbed Grant's shirt. "Listen here, you can fucking do it. You're just letting that introverted attitude of yours interfere." Jade said, sounding almost as if she wanted him to do it. "I don't want to be serving coffee to some dumbases,—" Jade paused,looking at Alicia, [/color=e62020] no offense —"[/color], Jade looked back to Grant, but you can do it. All you got to do is man the fuck up." Jade told him, getting right into his face. "Unless we need to finish that conversation about you being friendless from before..?" Jade cocked a disrespecting smirk.

Alicia stared between Grant and Jade, as Grant tried to focus on his ability hoping that he would be able to and sighed slightly after Grant tried doing it all in various ways. Then watched as Jade stood up and grabbed him by the collar of his shirt, Alicia wasnt sure if she was going to hurt him or not. "Jade really you dont need to be forceful with him okay?"Jade said softly she crossed her arms over her chest. "Its the only job I could get in this small little town, so its alright." Alicia said softly and gently reached for Jade's hand. "I think you should put him down now Jade."

"Alicia, you saw how it was with me. Stress is the trigger for these gifts." she said, looking back at Alicia.

"True, but aren’t you being a little bit to harsh on him?" Alicia asked looking over at Grant with a concern look on her face.

Sighing, Jade had to admit that Alicia had a point. "You might be right.." Jade said.

Just as she was going to remove her hands from Grant's shirt, the reserved male surprised her by doing it himself. "You know, you're right about one thing," he said, turning around, "I do need to stop this. I might not be able to completely, but the very least I can do is start today, even if on a miniscule level." Grant said, taking his former position in front of the desk.

The next thing anyone knew it, a rather faint, yet still noticeable, purple aura surrounded Grant's arms. His fingers seemed to have a gas-like energy surround them. In the air in front of him, there was a pulsing sight. The controller on the dresser started to nudge slightly to Grant. His face lit up as he saw, but Grant seemed to not be done. He grunted slightly and the gas-like energy around him got bolder in its visibility and before he knew it, Grant had pulled the controller so fast and so hard that he saw it coming for him at a speed that he couldn't effectively get a grasp on it.

"Incoming!" Granted yelled, ducking.

Jade looked and saw the black controller coming in. Fast. Jade ducked, barely missing the thing.

As both Jade and Grant looked back, they did so just in time to see the controller slam right against Alicia's bedroom door, shattering into dozens of bits and pieces. Grant slowly turned to look at the distraught look on Alicia's face, while Jade was grinning like an idiot and looked at Grant, then to Alicia. "See, I told you he was like you!" Jade said ecstatically, looking at Alicia.

Alicia smiled softly as Jade agreed with her to at least let go of him, and also at Grant she always knew he was a shy kid but still a very good person. She wasn’t expecting Grant to suddenly a slight purple aura surrounded Grant, it felt slightly similar to what she noticed Moon did earlier that morning back in the bathroom. The aura started to become darker, then her gaming controller flying off of the dresser, Alicia quickly moved away as it flew past both Grant and Jade ducking the flying controller then a loud "CRASH".

Alicia quickly got up from her bed to inspect the door, there was an obvious dent in the wood even a slight crack into it. Alicia looked down seeing her Xbox One controller was now in a bunch of pieces on the floor.

"Alicia is everything alright up there?!" Alicia's mother yelled from downstairs.

Alicia looked over at Jade and Grant for a moment before answering her mother. "Yeah mom everything is alright up here Buddy just knocked down my lamp!" She turned around to face Jade with a playful smirk. "Well Jade, looks like you are working with me tomorrow." Alicia said teasingly, then faced Grant gently resting a hand on his shoulder. "You did great, I knew you could do it."

" Fine, but if you expect me to work next to Nina, you're asking for a beating," Jade said firmly, but she wasn't joking. "Give me bathroom duty or clean-up, but don't make me work with that biker-wannabe." Jade made sure her point was well-received to Alicia about Nina.

Alicia knew that the two didnt like each other and nodded. "Dont worry Jade, I will make sure that Nina won't be anywhere near you. Just work along side me, you won't have to worry about Nina." She didnt want any sort of fight to happen between the two of them while she worked.

"Good, I won't have to smack a bitch up." Jade said, only half-joking about beating up Nina.

As Jade and Alicia were going back and forth about the blonde's great dislike for Nina, Grant was still frozen, glancing at the destroyed Xbox One Controller. It wasn't the fact that he did that, but more so that he actually had a gift. He didn't know who else had this kind of gift, but he recalled Olivia telling him about how a good number of people that she knew had gifts like he did, but they seemed to be unique to the individual. Grant had no idea that any of this was possible, let alone possible for him. Nothing like this ever happened to someone like him, and yet, it was. Even more to the point, it was pretty amazing.

Jade looked over to Grant, "Ey, you good over there?"

Grant looked up at Jade, nodding. "Yeah, I just can't believe this."

Alicia looked over at Grant and gently rested a hand on his shoulder, and knew the same feeling as well a lot of people that she knew started gaining abilities. "I cant believe it either, but if you do want to talk about any time we can."Alicia smiled softly towards him.

"Thank you, Alicia." Grant said, smiling.

" Yeah, ditto for me as well," Jade said, cracking what seemed to be her attempt at a smile. It looked worse than back hair.

Grant blankly stared at Jade and smiled as if to not seem disrespectful. "Thanks Jade." Grant said as pleasantly as he could.

Looking towards the clock, Grant noticed the time. "I apologize, but I must get going now. My dad will kill me if I'm late for dinner." Grant said, getting his bag and preparing to leave.

Alicia smiled softly at Grant and nodded. "No problem at all my friend." Alicia turned to look at her clock as well, it was getting late and she needed to do her homework as well before she forgot about it.
"Let me walk you out then." Alicia said as she unlocked the door to her bedroom and proceeded down the stairs to let Grant out.

As Jade followed them out as well, Grant was smiling, following Alicia through her door, down the stairs and the front door that led out of her house. "Maybe I'll catch you at school tomorrow..?" Grant asked Alicia, gently smiling.

Alicia smiled softly and nodded towards Grant. "Yeah ill be there, since I pretty much just played hooky all day and hung out with Jade and Kat. That and I promised my mom I would go." Alicia gently then gave Grant a hug, which was something she rarely ever did, if she did skip class it was to hang out with Jade. "Have a good evening alright?" Alicia said.

When she told him to have a good evening, Grant knew that he probably wouldn't, Even as the hug came and went, he knew he wouldn't because of his dad and how his temper could get. That was the reason why Grant had to leave as soon as he saw how late it was getting. However, for the sake of not alarming her, Grant faked a positive smile. "I will and you two have a good one as well." Grant said, waving goodbye to Jade and Alicia and he went home.

As Grant left, Jade got felt her phone buzz and saw that she had received a text message from an unknown contact that read "I know." Alarmed by it, Jade shook it off just as Alicia would turn around.

Alicia waved towards Grant and watched as he turned around and started down the sidewalk back towards his house. Alicia turned to look at Jade and noticed her friend was looking over at her phone, slightly curious Alicia stared at Jade. "Who texted you?" Alicia asked just as she started to turn around to head back into her house. "Also would you like to come back in?" Alicia offered.

Jade looked at Alicia. "Ah, my stupid Uncle Charlie. He wants me to come home for some strange reason. That guy never is home when I want him and he is when I don't."[/color] Jade sighed as she pocketed her phone.
Alicia nodded towards Jade. "Alright then, will I see you tomorrow in class or are you going to cut again like we did today?" Alicia asked she had a slight feeling that she was hiding something from her, but she didnt have any proof and just waved it off as Uncle Charlie did need her home for some reason.

"I don't know, I might show up. If not for your stuck-in-love ass, then to cause a little mayhem for the teachers." Jade shrugged and gave a hug to Alicia."I'll catch ya later then." Jade said, releasing the hug and walking out the door.

"I'm sure that the teachers would really love you causing mayhem in their classes." Alicia said jokingly and returned the hug. "'Ill catch you tomorrow then and have a good evening." Alicia waved goodbye to her and headed back inside and closed the door behind her, then headed back up to her bedroom to start on her homework.

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===
Everett roamed around town for a while before ending up at the gym the cold night air hitting his face, maybe some training would get his mind right. What harm could it do? He parked his bike close to the front door and there, it hit him. The smell of blood, sweat and tears all in one lovely order.

The gym wasn't anything special, but there was a lot of knowledge within. As he walked further there was Rowdy [Gerard], knocking someone else to the ground. Rowdy was the only other person his age that loved the gym as much as he did. They fought often, trading victories as often as punches.

Everett made his way to the ring and started clapping sarcastically. "You ever pick on someone your own size? Or you just like to bully kids?" Everett said with a cocky smirk.
"Well look who decided to come out of the woodwork." he replied, looking back at him whilst wiping sweat off his brow. "Course, only a few people are actually able to match me, everyone's so boring and honestly, weak."

Gerard had climb down the mat, the fight wasn't much but it was after consecutive fights that he'd been a bit tuckered out. "How's it hanging mountain-man Everett?" he asked, holding out a fistbump. "Been a weird day for me, though."

Everett returned the fistbump. "Busy day as always. Killing animals, saving lives and dancing in the moonlight. How about you? Oh, did you go to starlight meeting? Heard something strange was going on." Everett said eyeing the downed body behind Rowdy.

"Yep, course I did, I am one of its members after all." he replied, patting out sweat from his head. "Aside from the obvious sexual tension and hatred of each other from the people who visited, it was honestly interesting." he continued, a smile forming on its face. "Seems like alot of people got some gift or something, oh and speaking of which" he said lowering his voice in worry that other patrons would hear him, "I got these time powers, pretty interesting honestly. I'd let you see, but I think I shouldn't since I am tired as all hell. What about you Everett, got 'blessed' with a gift?"

"You wouldn't believe me if I told you Rowdy. I know I ain't the only one either, you, Tessa, my gir... Nina. Shit has been insane and everyone is way too calm about. Damn world's falling apart and everyone is calm as a bear in winter." Everett said as he opened the ropes for Rowdy to get out.

"Kinda agree there, this could cause some catastrophic level shit." Gerard replied, stepping out of the ring through the opened ropes. "What if some psycho got some power, we'd be screwed." he continued, motioning his head towards the punching bags for Everett to walk with him, "Course, I guess we would stop em, get some power ranger swagger or something. Oh, speaking of psychos, I've been hearing of this 'Noah' guy, apparently could match you or me in a spar, people have been talking bout this dude, I don't know about the legitimacy though."

"You know that little faggot dude? I ain't worried about him. Get a good look at the fairy, boy looks like fart could cripple him... Who else has these... Blessins? Anyone we know or can get along with? Or do I got more reasons to stay on my lands?" Everett said half hoping he did have another reason to stay home, keeping in step with Rowdy as they walked towards the punching bags.

"I don't really know this Noah dude, I've seen him around sure, has this air of nobility around him, but unlike King, I feel its more darker?" he said outloud, taking a stance while facing the punching bag, "Well, majority of the people who went to the meeting did have powers, only a few didn't." he continued, looking intently at the weakest spot of the punching bag, where it would cause the most damage "Lemme see if I can recall, that lesbian Katalina who controlled the tap water and got it all over me and the others, the infamous Jay who has warping or teleporting powers, that ditzy dude Austin who can run really fast, could probably outpace the animals out in the forest, Olivia who threw my cheese bun with her wind powers." Gerard stopped for a second to catch his breath, he sent out a swift and hard punch towards the punching bag and it flew back slightly. He relaxed his stance afterwards. "Hm, ah our majesty King, he got empathy reading or something, not too sure but well, I did have a good laugh about his ironical power. Mrs Recluse herself, Tessa got invisibility, fitting, isn't it? Well, I think that's all I can recall now." he said, "Mind punching the bag, I wanna see if you still have that power of yours."

Everett formed a fist and through a right cross from his chin, crashing down on the bag. As quickly and powerful as the cross was thrown, it was retracted quicker. The bag was sent swinging back it was a good solid hit. It wasn't until he drew his hand back that he saw the damage of a hole on the bag. His glowing fist was the culprit. "I think I'm pretty much as good as always. Did anyone laugh when King said he was empathetic? Guys an ass to just about everyone cept that one dude who always is following him around."

"Impressive as always, it seems like your gift gives you extra of your already impressive raw power." he said, whistling a bit as he watched the grain seep out of the hole, "But yeah, we're lucky there's not that much patrons today, you should try not using you weres. Government or some crap may come after us and do some 'experiments.' He leaned against a stationary bag, "Yes, I did, though his friend, who looks at him with yearning eyes, Malcolm, gave me a death stare. I am surprised I was one of the few that did, its just so damned funny." he stared at the other training patrons, "So how'd you find out these powers of yours, are they light based or something?"

"I guess they are. I was talking to Mom and Dad and pointed my fingers at a flock of birds and they went boom. I don't rightly know what else I can do with it. What about you? What can you do?" Everett asked curiously, staring at Gerard.

"Interesting, seems like this boring town of Verone is gonna get more livelier, ain't it?" he replied "Hm, I was walking out in the woods and out of nowhere, everything just stopped in place. The leaves, animals and even sound stopped for a brief moment. Well, it would be kind of boring if I didn't show you." he continued, looking around and noticing there were barely any people, "Go ahead send out a punch." In confusion, Everett sent out a normal-ish punch. Gerard snapped his fingers and time stopped for him, everything did. Everett's mid air punch was halted, Gerard got behind him and snapped his fingers again, resuming time. Everett punched thin air, "Seems like I barely know what it can do, but hey, this is one of its uses. Gives me a mighty fine headache after even a few seconds of use." he said, rubbing his head in pain.

His eyes widened in shock and awe as his fist cut through air instead of Rowdy. It might have been the most awesome thing he had seen. In what seemed a blink of an eye. Rowdy had not just stepped aside, but completely moved, nothing moves that quick. Ever. There wasn't a list or a part two of this conversation. What Rowdy just did was nothing short of epic.

"Son, that's... I ain't got the words. It was a amazing." Everett raised his hand looking for a high five.

Gerard returned his highfive, slightly straining himself. "I honestly have no idea what it looked like when I disappeared from using my powers, must've looked pretty interesting." he replied, slightly grinning, "As much as I would like to continue, I have this headache from using my power and damn, look at the time, parents come back at this time." he said, glancing at the clock, "Oh, before I leave, you heading to the memorial right?'

"You say that like I gotta choice in the matter. What about you Rowdy? You coming to the party?" Everett said knowing he was gonna be there.

"Course', gotta pay my respects and all that." Gerard replied, picking up the satchel with his clothes, "Parents also want me to go, they personally knew some of the people that died. But man, if everyone is gonna bethere, the tension is going to be interesting as always." he glanced at the clock again, "Alright man, time to go." he said to Everett, waving once with his left hand, "I'll see ya later, and you gotta show me that power of yours more indepth soon." he walked towards the door and his feet landed on the cold dirt. Gerard's figure soon became a silhoutte and then disappeared into the darkness.

Everett did a few things in the gym. A quick workout and and a few odds and ends and he too was out the door. He rode back home, his mind still a mess. When he got home he rode straight to the barn to do more work.

As Jade left Alicia’s place, she kept her mind on that text she received. “I know”, it said. In her mind, Jade was wondering only one thing: who knew? And who exactly was it? Could it be someone that was apart of Connor’s crew? Or could it perhaps be someone who saw the entire thing. Jade wasn’t even sure what happened, but she knew she had killed Connor through some kind of freak accident. Her gift — no, it was more like a curse — had caused some kind of earthquake that had disastrous results for Connor. Even more to the point, Jade was sure that his men were alive. Perhaps it was one of them. Surely, they would want to get revenge for Jade. Of course, that’s implying that they were able to comprehend exactly what happened.

Jade just didn’t know.

When Jade had strolled into her house, unlocked the front door with her keys, and went inside, the lights were off. She didn’t find that odd. Her Uncle Charlie mustn’t have been home yet. It was whatever. She turned to the kitchen and turned the lights on. She was feeling hungry, so she went into the fridge and saw a sandwich made from her uncle. It had a note on it.

“Jade, I know things have been rough, but I’m so proud that you’re making an effort to have a chance at a future. You deserve so much more than what I’m able to give you.”

Jade smiled as she read that. She unwrapped the sandwich. It was her favorite: roast beef and swiss on potato bread.

She started to eat it as she would head up the stairs. By the time she got to her room, Jade had completely demolished the sandwich. When Jade flipped on her lights, she started to take off her clothes one item at a time. By the time she got to her black and red undergarments, Jade heard her phone go off. It wasn’t a text. Her phone buzzed when she would get a text. It was a phone call. The ringtone was familiar. It was Danny calling her. Jade picked her phone up and answered it.

“What?” Jade said.
“Yo, Jade, where have you been all day?” Danny asked her, sounding worrisome.
Jade sighed, “I had some things to do today,” She said, laying on her bed, “why? What’s up?” Jade asked.
“Everyone’s been talking.”
“Oh? And what about?”
“Connor is dead.”
Jade froze and sat up.
“Yo, did you hear me? I said Co--”
“Yeah, I heard what you said.” Jade said sharply, interrupting Danny.
“Well, are you alright?” Danny asked, concerned for Jade.
“Of course. Why wouldn’t I be?” Jade said, brushing off his concern.
“You and Conner were close. I’m sure--”
“Don’t assume.”
“Right,” Danny said awkwardly, “but still, Jade. He’s dead and people are looking to get revenge.” He said.
“People? What people?” Jade inquired.
“Connor’s crew.” He told her.
“Do they have anything solid?” She asked.
“From what I heard, they believe Connor was meeting with someone he knew and that’s all anyone knows. Apparently there was an earthquake in town earlier and Connor died from it. I don’t know how accurate that is, though.” He told her.
“Damn, an earthquake here in Verona? I guess I was too far away to feel it. How bad was it?”
“I don’t know, but it seemed to wreck up Ryder Street a bit. They found Connor’s body near there.”
]“Wow, that’s crazy.”
“Yeah,” Danny said, “look, I just wanted you to know. I have no idea if Connor’s crew will come after you or just question you, but watch your back. It might even get to the point where even your uncle might not be able to protect you.” Danny told her harshly.
“Right…” Jade sounded worried.
“anyways, it’s getting late. I’ll catch you later.”
“Yeah, take care, Dan.”
Jade hung up the phone and set it on her dresser.

Staring into her mirror, Jade’s face spoke volumes of her anxiety about the whole situation. Not only did someone know about her killing Connor(or so Jade thought they did), but now with Danny telling her that Connor’s crew are going to be turning heaven and earth for any information about their leader’s death. Like, talk about a bad situation getting worse and worse. She didn’t know which to be more worried about: Connor’s crew or the mysterious texter.

Jade yelled lightly as she went to her bed and laid back. ]“Whatever, I’ll deal with this tomorrow. “ Jade sighed loudly as she got up. Whatever tomorrow would bring, tonight, she would shower and let the night slip away from her. What a complete mess!

Location: Nina’s House
Interacting with: Each other

---

---

Everett was not the calm and collected person he was used to being. He was sick and tired of Nina prying on his mind. He needed to get this over with. He was far from happy about the matter, the fact that someone could control him and it bothered him to no end. Yet here he was, on the road back to town with little more than a helmet on. Another sign of just how angry he was about the matter. He just hid riding jacket was like his weapon. He never left without it. But he was so out of sorts that he couldn't even think straight.

The cold didn't bother him until he pulled in front of Nina home. That's when it all started to set in. Even was still too pissed to think steady. He waked her front walk and banged on the door till she answered.

Nina opened the door and looked at Everett with surprise. “I didn’t think I would be seeing you again today. Is something the matter? Would you like to come in?” She tugged at the ends of the rather worn sweater she seemed to be wearing now over her shirt and pj bottoms.

“Yeah I didn't intend to see you.” Everett said with an anger in his voice that showed his emotions in a rare display. He didn't want to be there and his face and voice showed that fact.

“No, thank you. We don't need more people taking. Between me being broken and crazy and you fucking your brother, neither of us need more rumors spreading.” Everett said through clinched teeth. There was a rage behind his words.
“I… had a lot of fun with you today.” Everett said in a shiver. “I… want… listen… I… “ Everett didn't know what was worth saying , he was pissy of the fact he couldn't make a clear sentence. He took the easy way out, something really rare for him. But for once he wasn't gonna complain.

Everett aggressively pulled Nina’s face to his and kissed her as hard as he could. He was gonna enjoy every second, every moment of this kiss. His heart fluttered, the butterflies in this stomach were as big as his anger.

Nina listened quietly, only raising her eyebrows at the mention of the rumors of her and her brother fucking. She never understood how they had even started, but they were there.

However all her thoughts were tossed right out the window when Everett pulled her in and kissed her hard. She wrapped her arms around him and held the kiss for a moment longer before pulling back, beet red. ”Wow… um… well, I’m listening loud and clear now.” She sounded a bit breathless as she said that.

Everett put a hand to her face, softly and gently as he could given his emotional state “I’m pissed eight ways to Sunday right now and I can't date you till I talk to your Daddy. But I'll be g-d damned if you won't be mine by the end of this.” He did his best to make his words as soft as he could. Yet he could not hide his rage inside of him.

If Nina could turn any redder, she probably would have. ”So you can’t date me till you talk to my dad.. but that doesn’t mean we can’t see each other until then, yes?” She did think it was a little old-fashioned that he wanted to ask her father to date her, but she wasn’t going to argue. ”By the way, my brother and I are gonna need to hitch a ride to your place tomorrow for that party you’re throwing, if the offer still stands?”

“I ain't scared of you Nina or you're fucking borate or whatever the hell you call him... Will you be my date tomorrow, to that g-d damn party? I'd rather lick a bear’s ass than go to this but if I gotta I want you. ” Everett said almost shouting.

”Shhhh yes, I’ll be your date, but keep it down please. Bratr is trying to sleep, I’m sure.” Nina repressed a giggle as Everett almost yelled. She leaned up and kissed him on the cheek softly. ”Sounds like your g-d damn party as you put it will be much more fun now.”

The kiss and the comment meant more to him than to him than he was willing to admit. “Nina I wanna be with you but I want to do right. I wanna make sure that your daddy and brother are okay with it, just work with me.”

Nina nodded. ”Alright. I’ll work with you then. As I said, otec (father) will be home on Wednesday. I’m sure you can talk to him then. Just, no mentioning the whole… fire thing to him. I want to tell him about my skills on my own time, ok?”

Everett pulled her into his lips.”Nina I am with you. Ain't a word gonna come from me.“ Everett said after he released her lips from his lips. That rage still present on his voice.

”As I am with you Everett,” Nina said softly, a small smile on her face.

“You fucking better be, I know I'm nine kinds of pissed right now but I promise… I'll something sweet and fucking romantic for you but right now I'm liable to beat someone's ass.” it was almost Comical, as soon as he said that, an old man across the street came out. Shouting and yell, asking what the hell was going on. Everett turned to him and screamed “You want some too old man?” Everett shouted with his arms extended, more than ready for a fight. A simple no and run back insides ended the confrontation.

Nina put a hand over her mouth and suppressed a giggle. ”Ignore him. He comes to yell at everyone. Especially Petyr when he tries to practice the drums. However, I’m gonna hold you to that promise later. You should probably head home soon… I know I need some sleep. Going to pop over to the Gray’s tomorrow and try to see Tessa and Mama Gray.” Nina let out a sigh and rubbed the bridge of her nose. ”So even if I don’t see you at school tomorrow, because I don’t blame you if you skip, you’ll still stop by to give my brother and I lift to the party, ano (yes)?”

“Don't tell me how to fucking live my damn life. Must be dumb fucking luck me living this long without you. What with your funny talk. ” Everett said walking to his bike. He turned her to pointing at her. “And you’re gonna wear that fucking dress we got you.” Everett got on his bike the wrong way. He couldn't help but start yelling obscenities. “I'll be by tomorrow to pick you and bratwurst whatever up.” Everett said as he spun around.

Nina tried hard not to giggle at Everett and nodded. ”I’ll wear the dress. However, uh… are you sure you can drive like that? Do you wanna come in for a moment?”

“FUCK NO. I GOTTA FEED THE DAMN HORSES!!” Everett shouted in anger. Pissed at what he had done.

Nina raised her eyebrows. ”Oookay then. I’ll see you tomorrow. Good night Ev.” Nina headed inside, and the last thing Everett could hear was the door lock clicking shut.

Everett road home in a state that rare for him. Deep down, very little bothered him. He could thank his parents killer for that. However when he got like this he was a danger to himself and other. He had a knack for being self destructive in this state. He went home feed his horses and went to work on keeping his promise. His mind was a mixture of pure joy and rage. Tonight he'd sleep in the barn, like many nights before.

As the daughter of a fortuneteller and being a practitioner of wholesome and positive witchcraft herself, Moon's time after school with her best-friend Alice was probably the most magical experience of her life. Never had she imagined such a beautiful and majestic display of power could be possible.

Moon and Alice managed to get down from the roof via a red ladder she often kept in her small garden shed. When her brother had asked how they had gotten up there, she quite literally told him the truth. They flew. Thinking she was teasing, he simply left it alone and asked no further questions. They were both still quite giddy when they came down from the rooftop and feeling generous, Moon sent Alice on her way with one of the jars of lamb fingernails and rosemary. Seeing as Alice no longer needed it for her plants, she could simply use it as an aromatic.

After quickly finishing up her writing assignment and making an elderberry spice cake for home ec class, she sent her younger brother Marin to bed early and waited up until her older brother Randolph got home from work. It took her a minute to muster up the courage, but she finally decided to sit him down to a hot plate of french cuisine and told him about what happened, detailing about the solar eclipse last night and even her new power. Conveniently, she couldn't levitate on command when he asked her to prove it, but that was okay. She made sure not to expose the others who had developed an ability as well.

Like Marin, he too played off her confession and slumped his way to bed. Though slightly frustrated, she found a fluttering relief when an incoming message to her phone came from none other than Jay.

To Jay:

Oh Jay, you have such a way with chemicals! <3 LOL

And "on another note", I'd love to. Very much so. We could fly on my broomstick or visit Transylvania.

What did you have in mind?

--Love and Spice, Moon.

She smiled so gently once she sent him the text. Every time she spoke with him, whether it was text or in person, she felt lighter. A lighter feeling she didn't even get when she used her power. But then a particular person came to mind and she worried. King. He didn't look so good at school and in astronomy club. It was as though something was weighing him down. Pondering the thought a little longer, she scrolled through her phone until his name popped up and then sent him a message as well.

To King:

Hey baby, you feeling okay? You didn't look too good at school today. Was a bit worried to be honest. Text me back when you get this.

--Love and Spice, Mother Moon.

Moon bit her lip and stared off in space. She had a feeling tomorrow was going to be even more bizarre than today had been.

Alicia had gotten up early that morning she had bought a simple long sleeved dress and a black pair of boots about two weeks ago just for the memorial service specifically using the money she got from her last paycheck from Simone's. She sat in the back of her mother's car just as it had parked in front of the high school, already she could see that there were a lot of cars in the parking lot already, she hadn't paid to much attention to the news over night she had spent the rest of her night working on the homework she had missed out the whole day, luckily her mother was able to bring what she needed home. Alicia sighed slightly as she got out of her mother's car and started to make her way over towards the auditorium, as she entered Alicia looked around the room searching for someone familiar and quickly spotted Jay, along with his father and step father arguing about something.

"You know, this isn't the time nor the place to argue right?" Alicia's mother stepped forward, it was a time for respect and not a time to have some argument. "May I suggest the two of you take this outside, or some other time. You have to respect those family and friends who have lost someone today." Alicia quickly pulled up a seat right next to Jay wrapping an arm over her best friend's shoulder, completely ignoring Jay's father and step father arguing behind her. "Hey Jay-Jay is everything alright?" Alicia asked as she got a closer look at Jay she instantly noticed his black eye and tissue shoved up inside of his nose.

"Man Jay you really look like someone just beat the hell out of you, what happened who did that to you?" Alicia asked sounding very concerned for one of her best friends, and she would defend Jay the next time he would be in any kind of trouble.

---

---

Scout didn’t get much sleep that night. Her mind was clouded with visions, dreams that usually haunted her but now they came with the force of an army. She had woken up three consecutive times from the same nightmare, and each time she would sit up and gasp for air and then just fall right back asleep. Scout often times awoke due to her vivid dreams, but the constant sleeplessness she had experienced the whole night was odd, and unwelcomed. Looking back on the night as she walked begrudgingly towards the school, Scout found that she could also not remember the terror that had kept forcing her awake. No, she remembered waking up and falling back asleep each time, but the cause of this distress was merely a foggy plain in her mind. The small girl huffed once, kicking a can forward as she stepped carefully through the neighborhood.

It was another quiet morning in Verona, quiet and somber really. Scout already saw countless sad or nostalgic looking faces in the windows of the opening stores around her, and she could only assume those who weren’t working or mourning at the graveyard were at the assembly, listening to the countless speeches that all sounded the same. Scout herself had only decided to go to the assembly because she knew Jay would be there, and honestly she was feeling very guilty for letting her best friend get his ass kicked. Though… Her hand traveled down to her wrist, where an old, huge watch sat tied tightly to it. The glass above the face of the clock was cracked, and Scout squinted to check the time. Noah had needed her at noon, and the assembly would merely last the morning, but still she felt nervous about the job for some reason. Like… The angel was still trying to convince her not to go through with it for some reason.

when did you get so soft, scout?

A shady smirk met her lips, and Scout slowly pulled the hood of her dark-gray sweatshirt over her head as she drew closer to her destination.

By the time Scout reached the high school, a large crowd had already gathered to funnel into the assembly hall. Despite the amount of people there, however, the air surrounding the crowd was muted, quiet, save for two familiar voices that seemed to be screaming at each other. Scout pushed through the swarm of bodies, following the loud voices until she was met with an all too familiar scene; Jay’s step-dad, the cop that he was, had Jay’s ‘real’ dad by the collar, and the two were screaming at each other. Jay was not far from the scene, and Scout felt her eyebrows upturn at the sight of his new black-and-blues

i swear i’ll kill that stupid rich boy.

Scout stood back for a bit, eyes focused mostly on the fight between Harold and Jamie, and once Alicia’s mother stepped up to break up their fight she made a beeline straight for Jay and Alicia, who had wandered up with her mother.

”Hey guys.” She greeted the two briefly, voice cool and calm as ever. Though her posture was lax and her eyes lazy, those close enough may take note of her left foot, which was tapping vigorously. Scout was nervous, yes, for many reasons. Jay’s injuries were one, obviously, and though her eyes tried to focus on the main stage she constantly felt herself sneaking glances at the bruised boy. Guilt filled her chest, and as it did her foot tapped even quicker, harder, forming a high-tempo beat she had not necessarily wished to perform. The other source of her worry was Noah’s job, but no one else needed to know that. Even if she did end up venting about her troubles, she wouldn’t say shit about the crime she was about to commit. That would be a death wish, really. Scout sighed once, eyes falling from the stage to focus on her friends again, though she remained silent, still, listening carefully to the two speak as she usually did when hanging out with more than one friend.

Location: The Gray’s House
Interacting with: Each other, @Saltwater Thief via Note
Time: Before the Memorial

---

---

Nina got up super early, after being up so late the night before. She felt tired and sick, and as she looked over to the chair where she had laid out her clothing the night before, she felt her heart sink more. It was the memorial day. It seemed so stupid, but given that she was probably in trouble for cutting the day before, she had to go.

Not that she was looking forward to it. No one that personally knew any of the deceased were speaking. No one that knew Jan had been asked. It was going to be some stupid impersonal thing, that was just a reminder of how terrible things were four years ago.

She walked down the hallway, took her quick shower as usual and threw on her long black dress and semi-nice looking shoes. She left her new dress in the closet for later. She tugged on her jacket and felt something in the pocket. She pulled out a small wad of money and her eyes went wide. She didn’t want to count it right then. She shoved it back in the pocket and zipped it up.

She got downstairs and wrote a quick note and put it on the fridge. ”Bratr, going over to Tess’s house. I made lunch for you last night, and there should be some milk for cereal in the fridge. I’ll see you at school. Love, Sestra.” She pulled out her own lunch and tucked it in her backpack and headed out.

She walked the familiar pathway to Tess’s house, counting the trees idly on the way, like she usually did. She soon reached Tess’s house and knocked on the door, and waited. She didn’t have to wait long. The door opened to reveal Tessa standing there, dressed and ready for school.

“I figured we could walk together. Mom’s in the kitchen if you want to say hi to her.” Tessa was dressed in formal dark clothing, but her backpack looked a bit fuller than usual.

Nina looked a bit surprised as Tess opened the door. ”Yeah, I’d like to say hi, if you don’t mind.” Nina stepped in and set her backpack on the floor and headed to the kitchen. She knocked on the doorframe to let Mrs. Gray know she was there. ”Hey Mama Gray, been a while.”

“Nina, dear what a pleasure.” Mrs. Gray stepped away from the counter and pulled Nina into a hug. Her mother-in-law sat in a chair at the dining room table, she gave Nina a nod, which was the friendliest thing the woman would do for anyone. “Look at you, I think you’ve gotten taller. There’s still some breakfast left if you’d like some eggs and bacon.”

”I thank you for the offer Mama Gray, but I gotta head to school. Tess and I were going to walk together. I’m sure I’ll see you later.” Nina returned the hug and nodded to the elderly woman.

“Okay dear, you should come by for dinner soon okay.” Mrs. Gray looked pointedly at Tess. Tessa gave a shrug.

“We’ve got to go mom. We’ll be late.” Tess backed out of the room and gave her mom a small wave.

Nina looked at Tess as they left the house. ”So, I thought you wouldn’t be around, according to the text you sent yesterday. What changed that?”

“I’m still not one hundred percent okay with it, but I had a chat with Everett last night. He told me you saw the eclipse, and that you’d be at his party tonight. A lot of us saw it. I don’t know how much you’ve heard, but we’re all talking about trying to keep it as out of the public as possible. For obvious reasons. Anyway, it’d also be a good excuse if mom thinks I walked to school with you then she won’t suspect me of ditching because I don’t want to be at the thing. As soon as she’s at work I’m going to send her a text telling her I don’t feel well and then lock myself in the shop until this day is over. Also I’m just kind of missing my best friend.” Tess had a slightly shocked look on her face as everything poured out at once, all in almost one breath and from how she clamped her mouth shut at the end it was clear she hadn’t meant to say the last bit.

“I miss you too Tess, but you’re the one that’s been shoving me away. However, yeah, I’ve heard about it. I met up with Ash yesterday and he told me about the club meeting and how it seems a bunch of us have powers. Even Petyr does, but we said we’d keep it quiet for a bit till we figured it out. But, I guess it is good to know its not just us.” Nina turned to look at Tess and frowned a bit. Figured, that she would be used a bit. ”You’re still mad at me for what happened a few months ago, huh?” She stopped walking and looked at Tess.

“Yeah I am, not that I blame you. That’s one thing the shrink has been working with me on. Don’t blame people for doing what they think is right. Your side matters too, blah blah blah. You get the point. Tried disappearing on him during the session yesterday, it didn’t work sadly. Look the whole thing is I just need some time to process everything. Well honestly it’s more like I just need to not be around things that make everything come up like an ocean swell. No offense but for obvious reasons you’re like one of the biggest triggers for me. You get it right?” Tess looked up the street, the school coming into view. “I can’t do this. I can’t deal with this.” Tessa looked pale and for a fleeting second she wavered.

”I’m not asking you to go to school Tess, but… yeah, I get it. But, doesn’t mean I don’t need you. I have new powers, and a possible new boyfriend, had my first real kiss, and I have almost no one to share it with. I don’t want to lose you too! That’s why I did what I did! Not after Jan… not you too…” Nina trailed off a bit and felt tears well up in her eyes.

“I told you I don’t blame you. I get it, I do, but I just need to be mad for a while. We’re all a little fucked up, and dear god this isn’t helping at all.” Tess made a wide gesture that could refer to the memorial or the powers and everything that the implications of that carried with it. “Look I’ll try to be a bit less distant, but no promises.”

”That’s all I ask Tess. I just need you to be there a bit more please.” Nina walked over to Tess and held her arms open for a hug.

“I’m not ready Nina.” Nina put her arms down and sighed.

”I understand. I just… wait since when do you talk to Everett? I thought you were avoiding the shit out of him more than me.”

“I was. He and I crossed paths last night on accident.” Tessa grinned, “It’s also how I wasn’t surprised that you had a kiss.”

"Můj Bože, what the hell did he tell you?” Nina sighed softly, and looked at Tess.

“Truthfully, nothing, or at least nothing true. We made some jokes about it being hot though.” Tessa explained.

”So he told you what power I got then. It’s fine, I know about the invisibility thing of yours from Ash. Seems you did get what you wanted in a way.”

“Sort of, though not in the way I ever thought I’d get it. I don’t know what I’ll do with it other than avoid getting called on in class without getting marked absent.”

”Sounds handy. Though, you probably shouldn’t use it too much if it’s anything like my power. Too much and my head wants to kill me.” Nina sighed, rubbing her temples a bit.

“I’ve basically had a minor headache since Sunday. I don’t plan on using it too much.” Tessa copied Nina’s movement and rubbed her temples. “What do you think it all means? I haven’t really thought about that yet, like why it’s happening to us. What it all means, honestly it’s a bit terrifying.”

”I’ll let you know when I get an idea. I hadn’t really thought much about it since other things happened yesterday. I mean, yeah, it’s kinda terrifying. A bunch of kids just seem to randomly have gained powers. What do we do with it? Are we heroes now or something like that? If so, count me out. All I want is to get out of this darn town, not save it. However, for now, all I know it means is that I gotta watch my emotions/ feelings around fire, or bad stuff happens.” Nina started tugging on her right ear a bit, at her piercings.

“Yeah whoever decided to pick us for the heroes certainly wasn’t paying attention. We’re all misfits in our own way.” Tess glanced at her watch. “All right my mom should be at work, and grandma back at her own place. I’ll talk to you later. Do you work tonight? If so I’ll swing by for a coffee.”

”Nope, not tonight. I’m gonna be at Everett’s party however. I know, not our usual scene at all, but… yeah. You know you’re invited if you want, but I do understand if you don’t wanna go.” Nina looked at Tess, hoping she’d say yes, but also knew she probably wouldn’t go.

“Everett coerced a yes out of me last night, so I’ll show up for a bit, but don’t be surprised if I disappear.”

”I won’t. However if you do disappear and I need an excuse to bail, I might use you, if that’s okay?”

“Absolutely, just make sure Everett doesn’t decide that he needs to come along with that wolf of his.” She gave a small shiver, one that didn’t appear to be of fear necessarily but maybe closer to nervousness.

”Dags is a sweetie once you get to know him, but I will do my best. He is gonna be Petyr’s and my ride. Y’know, since, no car.”

“I’m not afraid of Dags, except he could smell me out even if I am invisible.”

”Fair enough. Don’t be too much of a stranger Tess. I’ll see you later then.” Tess nodded, pulled out her phone and started walking away from the school. Nina sighed and headed up the cold stone stairs to school and headed to the gymnasium, still not looking forward to the memorial. However, the day was brightening up a little. Tess had talked to her, and that was good. It could only get better, right?

Austin immediately felt a pang of guilt as he walked into the hall, spotting the people from Astronomy Club, and Jay looking beaten up. His eye, at least - Austin knew for sure was the nosebleed was all about. He recalled back to all the tests he'd done for the rest of the day after lunch, deciding to skip the rest of school and push his limits. He'd had around 12 - 13 nosebleeds in total, and even felt kinda lightheaded once. He would've sped to school, but it would've probably crumpled the suit he'd been forced to wear for the occasion. He had no idea why his dad had made him wear the damn thing, as he of all people should know how out of place he looked in a suit.

Grumbling under his breath, he spotted a spare seat and plopped himself down in it. He would've gone to see how Jay was, but it didn't take a genius to figure out who'd caused the black eye. Besides, both Scout and Alicia had decided to tend to him, and Austin didn't want the spot to get overcrowded. Especially since Austin had disappeared for the rest of the day on Monday. The teen decided to look around for a bit; see who else had shown up. He knew a lot of people would be busy with jobs, and college, and whatever else mature people did. A smirk begged to sneak across his lips, but he held it down - he wasn't gonna do something like that at a memorial service. It did humour him that he was possibly the only one in the room without some kind of job or duty to tend to. Comic book reading was fine for him, thanks.

He looked at the speakers who were preparing themselves. Some were obnoxiously excited, others trying to calm their nerves. He noticed Rachel Lewis up at the podium, rehearsing her little script. He groaned to himself, already bored, and wanted to slap himself for not bringing a comic book. Sure, it was a special occasion, and a sad one at that, but he got so booooooooooooored. Having to tag around with his dad at work all day was better than this. He looked around again and sighed to himself, before getting up and walking over to Jay.

"Heeeeeeeeeeeeeey! Hope it isn't getting too crowded around here. By the way, what the hell happened to your eye? Was it King, by any chance?" He frowned with half-concern, half-upset.

Location: Home-> Lincoln Memorial High School
Interacting with: Jay @McHaggis, Alicia @Nallore, Austin @Wade Wilson, Scout @Liriia

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Katalina groaned as the alarm went off and she rolled over and then promptly out of bed and onto the floor. "Oooowwwww..." She rolled over and pushed herself off the floor and rubbed her elbow. "What a great way to start off the memorial day..." She headed out of her room and to the bathroom. Twenty minutes later, she was getting dressed in a simple black button up shirt, black skirt, tights and black shoes. She pulled her hair up into a ponytail and pinned a fake black rose into it. She looked herself over in the mirror and sighed.

She went down the stairs and was greeted by her mother, who pulled Kata into a hug. "So, we already hung up the sign at the store informing everyone that we will be attending the memorial with you. I'm guessing you'd like a ride to school?"

"I'd appreciate it mom." Kata let go of her mother and sat down at the table and shoved a piece of toast in her mouth before working on the eggs her mother had made her. After she finished eating, she grabbed her coat and backpack and followed her parents to the car. The ride over to the school was mostly silent, and once there, her parents looked at her.

"We know you'd rather be with your friends right now, so we'll see you later. Say hi to your friends for us!" Kata's mother, Molly, said as Kata's parents went to park the car. Kata kept her backpack over her shoulder as she went to go find some of her friends. She noticed Jay (rather hard not to given his pink hair,) and spotted Alicia and Austin next to him. She walked over and offered them all a small smile.

"Hey everyone, how are you all doing?" She casually draped her arm over Alicia in a half-hug. She then looked at Jay and gasped. "Oh my gosh Jay! What happened? Are you alright? Who did that to you?" She got a rather worried look on her face as she looked her friend over, noticing the shiner around his eye.