Zoe Find's Story

Zoe

When Zoe heard Zara knocking on her door she was confused. "Why was she here?" She thought in her head going through the possibilities. She decided she might as well see what was going on and made her way to the door opening it slightly so she'd be able to have eye contact but still suggesting she wasn't really in the mood for a conversation. Zara sounded like she had something really important to say, but Zoe still didn't really know her, let alone trust her. "Yeah, what's up?" Zoe asked, staring at Zara, analyzing her remembering all of the events she saw her in and compiling reasons whether or not to trust her.

Eve

Eve was watering some of her plants when she heard faint whispering. A ball of sweat rolled down her forehead, was today her day? Wait...she remembered one of the voices. It was the girl she met earlier. "Hello?" Eve called out eyes darting every direction, just in case someone tried to attack her. Slowly, she made her way towards the voices and saw Hallie along with some other boy. "H-hello...I thought I told you this area was restricted..." Eve said to the girl with white locks. Then, her eyes darted towards Mikhail. She worried about him, wondering if he was trustworthy, then she noticed blushing. "Is he your boyfriend?" She asked bluntly, wanting to classify who was in her presence.

Mikhail

He smiled at the reference. He understood that one.

"Well....I'm not sure myself," he exhaled out his mouth in a short whistle and looked up at the ceiling in thought. "I guess....the circumstances just seemed right for it. We're alone. No conversation to interrupt. And...I wanted to set the record straight myself. I'd rather you hear all the details from the original source, rather than Wikipedia." He was referring to James, of course. "And...more importantly, I suppose, I did promise." He smiled at her, a small sideways one. He stuck his hands in his back pockets and looked at his shoes briefly before glancing up at her.

He opened his mouth to talk, but another voice interrupted his. He turned and immediately recognized the speaker. It was Eve! He laughed at her boyfriend question.

"Oh no," he said, "I...I think we're just friends." He glanced sideways at Hallie, eyebrows arched a bit questioningly, as if to affirm his statement. "You must be Miss Eve, right?" he greeted courteously, and stuck out his hand, "I'm Mikhail. A student here. We were just wandering and wondering about the school....you're a teacher, correct? I don't suppose you could give us a brief history? We'd ask some of the other teachers, but uh....they're a bit less approachable, if you know what I mean." He gave a friendly smile.

Zara

"I have a question about Mikhail," Zara said in a straight-forward fashion. She didn't want to stray from this topic, lest she say something she shouldn't. It was easier for her to get straight to the point.

"You like him, don't you?" she asked, "And don't bother lying to me. I'll just keep pestering until you give it up anyways. Let's make this quicker on both of us, hm?"

Zoe

First Hallie, now Zara. "Uh...I'm just going to tell you right now. I really don't know. I mean, he's really nice, and cool, and he's attractive, so I guess I like him but I'm not really ready for a relationship." Zoe said, deciding that's where she stood at the moment. "But, why is that so important that you had to come all the way here?" Zoe asked, wondering why that was such a hot topic. Was there more that Zara had to ask, and she was only using that question to make Zoe more comfortable?

Eve

"Oh, well that's very good," Eve said smiling. When Mikhail stuck his hand out to her Eve yelped, thinking that he was going to attack her. After a while Eve slowly brought her hand to his and shook it. "Yes, I'm Ms. Eve," she said shakily. "A...a brief history?" Eve asked eyes looking back and forth through the room. "Well, uh...I don't think you guys want to hear all of that boring stuff...the school's still new, so there's not much to talk about," she said giving off a nervous laugh.

Zara

So...she did like him. But, like Hallie, she didn't want to push a relationship. Well, that was a relief! "Just wondering," she said, "I don't think Misha's really ready for a relationship either, so I guess neither of you have anything to worry about. Thanks for your time."

The Polish girl started to leave before another question bugged her. She stopped and asked, almost as an afterthought, "Oh, by the way. From where does your last name come from? And if you give me a smart-ass answer, I'll sock you in the eye."

Mikhail

His eyes widened in surprise as the purple dust enveloped him. He tried to catch Hallie after she bumped into him, but he quickly became quite preoccupied with coughing. The minute particles scratched at his eyes, and he squeezed them shut as he doubled over, hacking. Finally, his lungs cleared and he blinked several times, tears streaming and eyes red from the invading pollen. When his breathing returned to normal, he stood up.

Suddenly, a feeling like none he had ever felt before overtook him. It was like an extreme happiness. Euphoria. His mouth immediately began smiling, and his eyes widened as if he was seeing everything for the first time. A warmth filled his entire body, and he felt as light as a feather. His sights rested on Hallie, and he turned to her, placing his hands on her shoulders.

"Hallie," he said, face beaming, "I love you."

Euphoria indeed, but he wasn't finished yet.

"And I love you," he said, rushing to Eve, clasping her hands. He let them go just as quickly and motioned to the room in general. "And I love your plants! And this room! And this bridge! And this ceiling! And this pot! And this shirt! And this seed packet! And...."

Mikhail flung out his arms and shouted: "I LOVE EVERYTHING!" before promptly sprawling himself on the ground so he could tell the wood on the bridge how much he loved it.

The Russian who had never once asked a girl out in his life was now utterly in love with everything he saw.

Eve

Eve shrieked silently at Hallie's anger, they must have found out a lot, but she still had to watch what they said. Then she screamed even louder when one of her pots collapsed onto the floor. "Oh my!" She yelped taking steps back to gather plants to make a remedy to treat the two of them. Once she gathered ingredients she mixed them swiftly making sure to make enough for the two of them, watching the love fest develop...

Zoe

Zoe stared at Zara, confusion pestering her mind. Did she start to threaten her? That's when Zoe really got confused, she was the one who came to her unannounced, and now she was trying to intimidate her. Her last name had come from her mother, her father wanted to keep his last name concealed at all times, saying it could hurt the family's reputation. Zoe thought it was just paranoia, but now that Zara was asking her it seemed to be a bit more than that. Who was Zara exactly? All she really knew about her is that she found them in the middle of their survival exercise and that Mikhail knew her...

Zoe glared at Zara suspiciously. "First why don't you tell me about the sudden interest you've taken in me..." Zoe said making sure to creak the door closed a bit more. "Why exactly do you want to know my last name?" She asked putting her defenses up, preparing for any altercation that may arise, knowing to be on guard after Zara threatened to "sock her in the eye"

Mikhail

Mikhail couldn't get a word in edgewise through all the kisses. He kissed her back with just as much enthusiasm, no inhibitions, and full of an all-encompassing love. So unlike that cold kiss in the middle of the woods.

His face and body grew warmer, his cheeks flushing deep pink, eyes closed, as he moved his hands across her back. The kisses were growing deeper, as if a hidden longing was now taking this opportunity to rise up. As if in response to this unconscious feeling, Mikhail sat up himself, still holding Hallie, still kissing.
Cupping her face in his hands, he could kiss her a bit slower, speaking in between.

"I love you. I love kissing you. I love kissing you on this bridge. I love this bridge. I love sitting on the bridge. I love your hair. I love the dust in your hair. I love your eyes. I love...I love...."

Amid the euphoria, a voice that was accustomed to being listened to spoke up in an effort to be heard. A voice that spoke of control, of discipline, of not letting go entirely. Come back, come back. This isn't you. This is the pollen. Listen to reason, Mikhail.

Mikhail didn't want to. This felt too good. He was feeling too good. Why should he keep it under control? Why couldn't he love everything?

His arguments managed to smother the voice, but the kisses died down regardless. He finally pulled away, a bit breathless. "That was wonderful!" he panted, "You're wonderful! This room is wonderful! The world is wonderful!" He breathed in, "The air is wonderful too! Everything is so wonderful, and I love it so much....it makes me want to cry!" And without warning, he began to cry of pure happiness.

Zara

Zara narrowed her eyes at Zoe. "That's none of your concern," she said, "Besides, Mikhail is my friend. He's a tough guy, but I have to look out for him sometimes. As for your last name, I was just interested in the origin. Mine is pretty obvious."

She tossed her head, "Anyways, if you won't tell me, then fine. I'll just find out on my own, Find. Maybe I could get James to help me with his crystal."

Zoe

Zoe's eye brow twitched. James...he scryed...so he could find out information simply by peering into his crystal...or whatever. Behind her, objects in her room shook and cluttered, as if they were in an earthquake. "Listen. I don't know you, you don't know me...why don't we keep it that way?" Zoe said emotions flaring. She didn't enjoy being threatened, especially when her personal life was concerned. She had to control herself, before things got out of hand.

Eve

Eve panicked as Mikhail's and Hallie's emotions ran wild. "Oh my, oh dear, oh me!" Eve shrieked. Eventually, she completed another gas to counteract the Euphoria. "No, no mixing things is bad! Stay where you are!" Eve yelled completely panicking. Eve staggered over to the two of them she stared at them as they eyed her and commented on how much she loved her. Throwing it over Hallie and Mikhail, she watched as, this time, green pollen clouds surrounded them. Oh, I hope this works!" Eve said crossing her fingers. More dead students would bring a lot of attention to her. Attention...was dangerous.

Zara

Zara huffed at Zoe. She noticed a couple thing shaking behind the other girl, but didn't pay it much mind. She was just as frustrated, and wasn't about to let a little telekinesis jar her.

"I'm not trying to know you," she said, clenching her hands into fists, "I just wanted to know which country your bloody last name came from." She blew up a few strands of hair from her face and crossed her arms. "Fine. You know what? I'll just cut to the chase. Simple question. Yes or No answer. Are you, in any way, of Russian descent? Answer that, and I'll be on my way."

Mikhail

"Green dust? I love green dust!" Mikhail exclaimed, and he reached his hands out towards them. The dust made him cough, but he didn't care. He loved it too much....

Then came the impact.

The euphoria was squeezed out of him with such force it left his head spinning. His previous tools of control and calm slammed back into him, and he staggered slightly. His head slowed down, but a throbbing sensation took over and eventually evolved into a pounding headache. He struggled to keep his balance, and squeezed his eyes shut to stop the ground from whirling around him, head clasped in his hands. When he felt stable, he opened his eyes and looked up.

The world returned to normal. The high he had felt had crashed landed into this. He kneaded his forehead as he helped Hallie stay on her feet.

Hallie....

Oh God. Did that all really happen?

He let go of her quickly, keeping her balanced with his power, but--wouldn't you know it--blushing. Not furiously, but his cheeks were pink nonetheless.
"Oh, Jesus," Mikhail said out loud, "What just happened....it was all that purple stuff. I'm so sorry...I didn't mean to...I couldn't even control myself....I...." he turned to Eve, "What was in that anyways??"

Zoe

Russian decent? Where was this girl coming from? Zoe had no clue what the heck was going on and was about to lose control. "No! No, I have no Russian blood in me, so do me a favor and just leave!" Zoe shouted slamming the door behind her. She actually wasn't very sure if that answer was correct...her dad did seem to have a slight Russian accent, even if he was assimilating to American culture. She didn't care though, she'd give Zara any answer to get her away, she didn't care about her family, and didn't care to talk about them. As she calmed down, her things began to calm down as well, stopping them from clattering.

Eve

"Oh...um...that was Euphoria." Eve said gloomily. "I'm sorry, I would have cleaned up if I knew I had guests..." she said fiddling her thumbs sheepishly. "I'm very, truly sorry..." she said looking towards the ground. Then an idea hit her, "Maybe you guys should go back to your rooms and refresh yourselves, there may still be traces of Euphoria left on you, so you may want to take a shower," Eve said, her eyes slowly surveying the room. She wasn't lying, traces of Euphoria could still be on them, and it could cause them to do things they wouldn't want to do, of course not drastic as before...but still pretty bad.

Zara

Well then!

It took all of her will-power to stop herself from kicking the door down and throwing herself at Zoe, but she had the information she wanted. She began to rethink the data. It was clear that, even if Zoe did have some Russian blood in her, that she didn't know it, which meant as of now, she was no threat to Mikhail. Heck, maybe the picture wasn't even the right one, and just a cover for the real heir, also named Zoe Find, or something of the sort. Zara didn't know how the mafia worked, but it wouldn't surprised her if they put a dummy picture to help mask the real heir. At any rate, the bottom line was that she didn't need to worry much. Sure, she'd still keep a close eye on Zoe, but nothing immediate would have to happen. With a small smile, she whistled as she ambled back to the theater.

Mikhail

Mikhail was caught in a dilemma. While it was true he wanted to get rid of any more of that...euphoria stuff, he also didn't want to lose this opportunity. Would they be able to find her again if they left? What if she told someone about their questions?

No, Mikhail couldn't risk that. There was too much info at stake. All the stupid things he and Hallie had done under the influence would go to waste and be simply that: stupid things.

A small part of him felt that it wasn't quite so stupid, however.....

He snapped back into focus. No room to get distracted here. He looked at Eve with a determined, but not threatening, countenance.

"I think we'll stay here," he said, "At least, I will. For the moment anyways. We still have questions we want to ask you. Both of us know that the school is a lot older than it lets itself on to be. Don't ask how, just know that we do. Obviously, there aren't many historical records available for us to peruse at our leisure, so we were wondering if an inside source such as yourself could help us out." He smiled in a friendly manner, the remaining Euphoria particles helping him out, "We're just curious about the history, since there aren't many institutions out there for those gifted like us. It makes us feel less alone."

Zoe

When Zoe heard the alarms she jumped out of her bed. "What now?" She hissed. Well, it was about time she got out anyways. Changing into her clothes once again she made her way outside, irritated by all of the noise. She noticed Hallie and Mikhail from afar and wondered what exactly they had planned for the day. Now that she thought of it when Zara went to "talk" to her, she left Mikhail and Hallie alone...she also noticed the way Hallie was looking at Mikhail and wondered if she was developing feelings for him. Zoe decided she would watch them from afar, concealing her emotions and staying far from Hallie so she wouldn't be sensed she hid behind a tree eyeing the two of them in secrecy. She took all the necessary steps to conceal herself, "If I'm gonna be a stalker I'm going to do it right," Zoe thought in her head. She also had to watch out for Zara, who knew what she was up to...

Adrien

Around him, sirens were blaring and lights were flashing. "Fire drill I guess," Adrien said, thinking to himself out loud. He was still completely lost so he decided to go to the closest window and open it, imagining a safety net at the bottom. Once it was created he jumped out of the window cheering and flailed around on the net. When he was done he climbed off and made his way to where everyone else was but distanced himself. There were already clique kind of things formed in the school, and unfortunately, he wasn't one of them. Sighing, he sat on the floor and waited to see what would hapen next.

(sorry didn't see your post)
Zoe

Zoe continued following the group from far behind. Wondering why they were going back in the school during a fire drill confused her and kind of scared her. What if it wasn't a drill? What if they started a fire? Then they started talking about CCTV's and cameras throughout the school. Then something crazier happened, Zara found a bug and pointed it out to Mikhail. Then, he detatched his middle finger and started touching the bug, and she was startled as it spewed electricity and was destroyed. What was going on? How was Mikhail doing this? Who was Mikhail exactly? Zoe knew that if she stayed any longer, Hallie would probably catch her because she could barely hold her emotions in any longer. So silently, she fled wondering what exactly was going on. But for now she'd play dumb and keep watching them. This settled it for sure; she made a mistake trusting these people, and no one was to be trusted.

When she was outside she watched as the three of them came out and looked at Mikhail's hand intently. Watching in suspense Zoe tensed when she saw with his glove off. "What happened to his hand?" Zoe thought depressingly in her head. What happened to him? And what was he doing to cause that? Then she saw Hallie covering, hiding it, and blushing, Zoe knew that blush...it's what she had experienced many times. It appeared Hallie probably had feelings for Mikhail, whether or not she acted on them yet was unknown to her...

Zoe

Zoe kept watching from afar. She wanted to know what was going on as well.This was really crazy...but she wasn't going to say anything about it, if she really wanted to get information, she'd have to continue acting like she was clueless and spy on them (ironic). Maybe she could even play along and use this fight to her advantage...but how...

"Guys, calm down, there's no need to argue," Zoe said carefully selecting her words. She was doing well at guarding her emotions from Hallie thus far, and she wanted to continue that. So, she manufactured a sense of fear to serve as a facade to Hallie. She forced herself to just think fear, she didn't like the fight going on and she was scared of how it would turn out...seemed logical enough, but she never had to hide her emotions from people who could go in her mind before, and she didn't feel comfortable putting herself out in the open for people to sneak into her head, which was a great supplement to the fear she was portraying.

Arian was about to explain everything to James when she heard the ringing. It was loud, obnoxious, and couldn't have come at a worse time. James wasted no time jumping out of bed though. His grip on her wasn't the nicest but she decided to push that aside since he was half naked, and the fact that she seemed to have made his life miserable. She was getting tired of acting like an imbecile. She felt pathetic and just wanted to go home.

Stepping into the group of people who weren't exactly her friends, made her a little threatened. She could feel there were more people around but decided not to go into any of their minds. She really just wanted to grasp onto James. Again, her brain decided against it. Hallie didn't exactly seem like the nicest of people and certainly did NOT like her. The way Hallie looked at her made Arian want to punch her in the face.

Mikhail

"Zoe's right," Mikhail agreed, "Fighting isn't going to get us anywhere, and it isn't going to make this fire alarm speed up either."

He didn't exactly like the way James glared at him, but he knew confrontation would be pointless. The glint from the blue crystal caught his eye, and he wondered what material it was made of. "Besides," he continued, crossing his legs so that he was, essentially, floating in mid-air, "If you really want to know what's going on, just use your cheat sheet right there." He nodded his head to the crystal, hands in his pockets.

He glanced at Hallie, smiling reassuringly. It took him a moment to realize that he had looked at her a bit longer than a friendly aside, but for whatever reason, he didn't exactly want to turn away. Was it the purple stuff? Or...something else? He forced his eyes away from her, and pulled out his phone as a distraction. As he surfed, his brain whirled. Those kisses from before....he had never, ever felt that way. Even with April, he was a little more reserved. He wondered what would have happened if they had continued on under the influence. He knew he had drawn away, but would the make-out session have resumed? Would things have escalated?

He didn't want to think about it. No use thinking about ifs. No use regretting it, though he wasn't sure if he regretted it entirely. Hallie hadn't really gotten mad at him....had she liked it too?

He'd think about it later, like always. He opened up his email, wondering if Sasha had replied or not. Nope. He wrote another email, asking how he was, giving a short, vague description of what had happened, apologizing for the missed goodbye, plans for a visit. He was feeling particularly nostalgic after he sent the email, and he pulled up the pictures from Universal Studios. He smiled as he looked through them.

He called Hallie over to show her. He didn't know why, but he felt like sharing. Plus, him laughing by himself at his phone would have been a bit odd. He pointed out his friend, a somewhat shorter guy with bleached blond hair that was a little longer than Mikhail's, bright blue eyes, and an open-mouthed smile. In this particular photo, they were showcasing their recently bought hoodies, Sasha in Iron Man and Mikhail in his Spiderman.

"This is Sasha," he told her, "His real name is Alex, but no one calls him that. He's my best friend. Also Russian. Man, we got into a lot of shit together." He tapped to the next photo and laughed. A larger guy, this time with brown hair and in a Hulk hoodie, was picking up both Sasha and Mikhail, a menacing grimace on his face. The other two had mock looks of horror and panic. Mikhail was trying to "shoot" webs out at him. The next photo had the same pose, except it showed him realizing he was out, grasping his arm dramatically. "This guy's name is Yuri," Mikhail informed Hallie, pointing at the bigger guy, "He's also Russian. And big. He'd crush you." The next photo was a group photo. Mikhail was making a "what?" motion with his arms, while his hands were in the web-shooter position. Trick and Zara were together, as Captain America and Black Widow, while another boy--a Norwegian they had nicknamed "YoYo"--looked distraught at them as Hawkeye. In the center, Yuri was holding up Sasha, who was posed as a rather provocative Iron Man. Somehow, they had all managed to pose this before the tourist taking the picture could be scared away. He smiled at the memories. "Good times," he said softly.

Zara

Zara also looked at the pictures over Mikhail's shoulder. She smiled when she saw them. Those were fun times, even if she was pressured into buying the Black Widow hoodie.

The photos reminded her of the email she had received from Trick earlier. She pulled out her own phone and opened up her email. She still hadn't replied to it yet. She re-read it, and after some contemplation, started on a reply:

Trick,

I miss you too. Now I have no one to hit.

Well, that isn't exactly true.

I found Misha.

He is very much alive and well. Don't bother asking how unless you're going to be open-minded about the answer. He doesn't know about Sasha and YoYo though...I don't know how I'm going to tell him. :(

Other than that, I'm fine. The school is interesting....and it's called Psy Prep. You might not find anything on it. It's supposed to be "new."

How is everyone else? How is Yuri? Mikhail was looking at our old Universal Studio pictures, and it made me miss everyone. Did he ever ask Yelena out? Updates!!

Send my regards to everyone. Write back quickly,

~Zara

Impulsively, Zara held her phone up at Mikhail. "Misha!" she called. He looked up, and she snapped a picture. He blinked. "Hey," he said accusingly, but he was smiling, "Warn me next time! Unless you wanted deer in the headlights."

Zara smirked in response as she attached the photo to the email. Before she could change her mind, she sent it. Then she pocketed the phone and crouched in the grass, a bit tense and worried. As she zoned out, she found herself staring at James's shoes. Not long after, she was looking at his crystal. And at that moment, she resolved to steal it.

Eventually, the faculty left the school, seeming angry and disoriented until Ms. Cortez stepped up. "Who did this?" she hissed looking at each of the students darkly. Guessing that no one was going to admit to causing the problem she decided to handle things slightly differently. "Alright, listen up, if I don't get a confession, or if no one rats anyone else, then you all get punished," Ms. Cortez said smiling madly. Then she eyed Mikhail and James, seeing as the two if them were already punished she guessed first that at least one of them had something to do with it, and if they did, they were going to get the punishment of a lifetime...

Zoe

Mikhail backed Zoe up on the no fighting thing, and even though she did that to not seem suspicious, but she was still happy he helped. But that could also mean that he was just trying to stop James from finding out what he was doing...Zoe definitely didn't trust Mikhail any more, even if he was nice, it was probably all a facade for who knows what. Then, Zoe noticed Mikhail looking at Hallie, a bit longer than what "just a friend" would do. She had enough, it was obvious they were lying to her in every way and it really aggravated her, but she wasn't going to act on it...yet.

Zoe didn't know what to do. She had a feeling that Mikhail, Hallie, and Zara had something, or a lot to do with this but she didn't want to rat them out, well maybe Zara but not Mikhail or Hallie. But at the same time she didn't want to have to be punished, knowing that so far, punishments haven't exactly been that much fun. But why did she want to save Mikhail and Hallie from the punishment? Who knows, maybe they were just using her. Maybe she was just over thinking things...no, the hand, the laser, the bug...it made no sense! But for now she was nice to them, so ratting them out could break that trust...

Mikhail

Mikhail froze when he heard those words, his happy mood dropping quickly. Everyone punished?? He hadn't anticipated this...He didn't want to give himself up, not when they had so much at stake, but he didn't want everyone else to suffer for what he did! The dilemma battled out in his mind. Everyone getting punished was equal, but not everyone had a part in this. He wasn't keen on being humiliated again, or worse, but he didn't want anyone else to either!

What to do, what to do....

He wasn't selfish enough. Not in this respect. Reluctantly, oh so reluctantly, he started to stand up.

Zara

Oh no he didn't.

Before Mikhail could even begin to straighten his legs, Zara shot her arm up in the air. She was angry. Not at Mikhail, but at the teachers. Was this really how they were going to handle the situation? She couldn't believe it.

"How do you know a student did it??" She demanded loudly, her voice growing in volume with each question, "How can you make such a bold statement without any proof? What evidence led you to believe that the fire alarm was the work of a student? Did it not cross your mind that a teacher, or faculty, could have done it? And what makes you think it was on purpose? Do you really think an accidental trigger of the fire alarm is cause for punishment? What if the fire alarm went off by itself? A technological error? Then what? You punish the entire innocent student body for no reason? Where is your logic??" Zara paused for breath, and she could feel all eyes on her, especially the angry teacher's. She continued on, "And what if someone volunteered to take the blame? You'll punish an innocent student for something they didn't do? And it's not like this school has normal, average high school detention, write 100 times on the board sort of punishment. Since when is a school allowed to strip a student nude with only a piece of duct tape over his genitals? And what makes you think you can even get away with that behavior? Sounds highly unprofessional, immature, and absolutely 100% illegal if you ask me!"

Her spiel had come to an end, and for a moment, Zara was afraid of what was going to happen to her. Mikhail was staring at her wide-eyed, and she could see a mixture of pride and enormous worry in his face. He agreed with her. Of course he did. Who wouldn't? But, at the same time, she had spoken out against the authority figure. Repercussions were sure to arrive from this. She awaited the blow with clenched fists....

And then....her hand was held by another. Mikhail had joined her, holding her hand, standing next to her. She smiled at him gratefully, despite herself. A part of her wanted to punch him, to push him back to the ground. She didn't want him to be punished again. But, the rest of her was just happy she wouldn't have to stand there alone. "You know what they say about assumptions," he added, "Need I continue further?"

Hallie

Mikhail's elation at looking at pictures of his friends was squashed when the teachers came into the courtyard, Ms. Cortez fuming with annoyance. Hallie was having a hard time keeping the emotions around her in check again, confusion and suspicion seeming to come from everyone in one way or another. Zara held a different edge to her thoughts, one of hesitation and...sorrow? She had been on her phone so who knew who she was talking to, but it made Hallie wonder. She had never felt such a sadness from anyone before, almost like complete throat clenching grief. Immediately Hallie jumped to the conclusion that someone had died, but there was no way for her to be sure.

Hearing there was going to be punishment, Mikhail's wavelengths spiked at once. He and Zara both stood up to the teachers, pointing out how ridiculous their claims were, though Hallie couldn't completely agree. Although Mikhail had destroyed the camera footage, what if someone had been watching when the crime had taken place? No they had no proof anymore but they had seen the truth.

Hallie's head achee and she wanted to join Zara and Mikhail, but suddenly felt dizzy. Backing away slightly, she closed her eyes and held her head tenderly in both hands. Emotions were zooming toward her guards, knocking into them like mallets on a gong. For some reason her resolve was crumbling, probably from so many different wavelengths at once. Being around one or two people was manageable, but everyone in the school was gathered on the lawn, tensions high.

James, fiddling with his crystal on his bare chest, had noticed and carefully approached her. She felt him and cringed, but was unable to open her mouth for fear of vomiting. The dizziness grew worse. "Hey," he greeted lamely. "Here, lay down."

Hallie could hardly protest such a suggestion. She slowly knelt and then allowed James to help her lie down. The headache was pulsing like a migraine, but differently. She could feel individual beats of the wavelengths around her, each distinct to their owners and all anxious because of the punishments threatened. Body protesting and attempting to fight a virus that didn't exist within her system, her vision rolled a bit. James, for some reason, knelt with her and held her hand tightly. She responded with a hand squeeze herself, trying to hold on to something stable as the earth below her rocked back and forth, sloshing the contents of her stomach around.


James

Mikhail had suggested he use the crystal. So he had, and Zara provided some interesting information about someone named....Sasha? YoYo? He paused and stared at her for a moment, eyes wide. Dead. Both dead.

He turned to Arian, wishing he could divulge his findings and figure out what to do with such information, a dread pulling at his gut, but the teachers arrived. As expected, Mikhail and Zara stood up for the group, and James fully agreed that the accusations were botched. He was about to attempt to read Ms. Cortez, wondering if she did know for sure if one of the students had pulled the alarm, but in his still weakened state, his focus had caught something else.

Hallie.

Something was laced within her system, an herb or drug of some kind. James could already tell the mixture of such influence and her mental capabilities was bad. But also, he could tell that the effects would soon wear off. Her body was simply overloading with so many people around while traces still traveled in her blood.

He helped her lie down, keeping his thoughts on calming images such as the ocean, one he turned to often, or of starry nights camping in the woods. Holding her hand, he knew she was spinning uncontrollably in her mind, so gave her a support. Hoping no one paid much attention to them, for Hallie's sake, he remained quiet and calm, not drawing eyes to him and her unless medical attention was needed.

Arian felt anger steam up inside her as the teacher eyed Mikhail and James. Her firsts clenched as she stepped closer to James, feeling a little protective. What the hell was this bitch thinking? Just because the two had already got in trouble didn't mean they were automatically the 'bad kids' of the school. Hell, James had already been up all night working for Arian's mistake. How could the teacher even think one of them could do something to get into even more trouble?v Arian knew Mikhail was probably the one to do it, but why? As Zara started yelling at the teacher, she felt sick, knowing that was a bad decision to do to a teacher. Especially in this train wreck of a school. Maybe if Arian stepped in she could soften the blows?

"For all we know a freaking faculty member could have done it just to punish one of us! Or even all of us! With your twisted punishments and idiotic logic you automatically assume a student every time! Why don't you try checking yourself before blaming one of us." She tried to stop and walk away, she didn't want to get too deep into anything, but the anger was just pouring out of her. It was like a release for mind control without actually using it.

"And how dare you even think that one of us did it! Your'e blaming us for pulling a fire alarm! That's what elementary kids do! Not people who have had to fight through paranormal differences their whole fucking lives! And these guys already had to go through insane punishments do you honestly think they would risk that again?"

Zoe

Zoe watched wide eyed at everything that was happening. Suddenly, it had turned into a screaming match when Zara got involved...then Arian too. Zoe was surprised that Mikhail didn't try to take the blame, but he had already been through punishment once, she understood he didn't want to go through it again. Eventually, Zara, Mikhail, and Arian were all up protesting against the school. Zoe knew that at this stage, with everyone angry if she stood up, she'd be punished as well, so she still sat down waiting for what events would come...

Ms. Cortez darted her eyes at Zara when she began speaking, or better yet, yelling at her. On one hand she admired the girls passion, on the other she was pissed off that Zara thought she could do that and get away with it. Then, the Mikhail boy stepped in, and so did the girl, Arian. Suddenly, she began laughing uncontrollably. "Do you idiots really think that standing up and 'protesting' is really going to help you?" Ms. Cortez asked evilly. "We know it wasn't faculty because we were all having a meeting for one, and two I punish you because one, I find it hilarious, and two, when you go out on real missions, if you fail and the enemy catches you, the punishment will be ten times worse." Ms. Cortez said strictly.

"Now, how about I administer punishments?" She asked smiling devilishly. In the blink of an eye she appeared in front of Zara, quickly grabbing her fists and kneeing her in the stomach. Pushing Zara down she went even faster to go back to the spot she was before. Watching Zara take the hits was hilarious to her and she couldn't wait to see if she would crumble or stay up. Ms. Cortez had super human physical capabilities, so she could move fast and hit hard, allowing her to deliver one or two punches and retreat without her opponent even noticing her, which was a power she liked. She wanted to see what her hits would to to Zara's ego a lot more than to her body. (Sorry, if this seemed too godmodish or auto hitish, just tell me, and I'll edit it and Ms. Cortez's power :P.)

Ms. Cortez noticed that Zara seemed to be getting really angry. Snapping her fingers the other faculty came two restraining Zara, two restraining Mikhail, and two restraining Arian as safety precautions (for Ms. Cortez)

"Now, how about you two come with me and we can settle your punishments in my office, unless of course you'd like to keep protesting that is," Ms. Cortez said eyeing Mikhail and Arian. She knew that hitting Zara in front of them probably made them angry, but she hope it also installed fear into them. "Everyone else, you're excused, I know I said you'd all be punished, but I'll take these protests as confessions," Ms. Cortez said smiling, waiting to see if Zara was going to try and attack her furiously, even though she was restrained.