Setting
Chuckling and peering around to her with his blue green eyes after her light touches, he wondered what she was thinking. Glancing down her front again, his mind wandered itself, almost forgetting where he was heading until bumping into a seat. He whipped about, seeing Hallie eyeing him unhappily.
"See you woke up," he teased and took a seat, motioning for the tattoo girl to sit beside him. "I'm James by the way," he introduced with a smile. "And what might your lovely name be?"
Hallie
Of course he had to bring his flirt fest near her, did he learn nothing last night? She could feel their attraction to one another increasing with every second and he was oblivious. Hallie blew her white bangs from her eyes and stood up, shaking her head. James shot her a confused look but she ignored him, picking a spot in the back to stand at.
Another boy was close by, but he was calm enough. No real issue to her sanity. She focused on the music softly playing in her ears, headache increasing and eyes unable to take the light from her cell phone screen any longer. She pinched the bridge of her nose, trying to find calm herself. Part of her wanted to pull some from the boy, but she fought the urge. Taking others' emotions was wrong and she had to practice controlling her ability.
She couldn't help it, all the voices, all the emotions, stupid James...
The boy next to her with the blonde hair would notice, how could he not? Hallie focused on the wavelength of his emotion, utter calm, a bit bored, but otherwise comfortable. That's what she needed right now, comfort, calm, a clear head. Why was it so hard to concentrate here? At school she had put up with stupid teenage emotions everyday! Was it because they were all psychically enabled? She didn't know, she didn't care.
Slowly, she allowed a small bit of the boy's calmness to wash over her. Peeking over, he seemed not to notice. Without thinking, she drew in more and found a steady breath. Hopefully he wouldn't notice. Hallie wasn't sure what happened when someone's calm was sucked out of them.
Adrien
As Adrien walked in he didn't expect Anna to still be undressed. Her pale slender legs drew his attraction. Until of course he looked up more seeing Anna's chest. He couldn't help but look at it ideas full of lust roaming his mind that he never thought before. It seemed he wasn't the only one fighting arousal though. He stopped thinking of those thoughts and put his attention back to the matter at hand. They were going to be late unless they fixed this situation.
"Are you always this clumsy with your powers, or is it simply a side affect of infatuation?"
Adrien spun around beet red, his hands covering his visible erection. "Uh...um, it's just that they almost always backfire on me" Adrien said lying, I mean his powers did backfire occasionally but not as much as they have been recently when he thought about more embarrassing subjects. "Could you please help me rip my towel off now?" Adrien asked shamefully.
Zoe
Zoe looked around at the other students piling into the classroom. She saw two students flirting with each other. "Ughh" Zoe moaned. Zoe had to stop distracting herself with stupid people watching. People watching only led to her getting angry anyways.
Zoe saw two people who seemed normal enough. One with white hair, one with blonde. "Maybe I should try talking to someone" Zoe thought. "No!" Her conscious countered. She had to focus on fixing her powers before she could make petty friends. Plus, who says their to be trusted anyways their probably both going to have sex with each other by the end of the night.
He rooted himself in place so he wouldn't fall over, but there wasn't much he could do for his eyes. They kept drooping. At one point he felt himself leaning dangerously forward at an angle that--had he not been glued to the ground--would have caused a brutal floorsmack to the face. He quickly righted himself and shook his head, even smacking his face a bit to wake himself up a bit more. Maybe it was something in the buildings....when he had early assignments as a spy, he never had this difficulty staying awake. Then again, adrenaline might have had something to do with it.
Shrugging his shoulders to accentuate to his body that he NEEDED to stay awake, he pulled out his iPod and plugged it into his ears. He knew it defeated the purpose of listening to orientation, but there was a powerpoint and he was more of a visual learner anyways. Turning the music up loudly, he tuned in to some Russian death metal, hoping the jarring music would be enough to keep him awake.
Aw, better, much better. Hallie sighed in relief, her headache easing and eyes focused around the room. She had to admit, stealing calmness was nice. She felt more alert than she had in days.
One glance to the boy standing in the back with her jolted her out of her comfort. He was swaying, fighting sleep, circle forming visibly under his eyes. She was draining him? But how? Concentrating on him, she forced the calm away, sending it back, blocking his wavelengths from her completely. Squeezing her eyes shut, she willed him to regain his strength. It would be just her luck to make a frickin' kid pass out from her stupid selfishness.
The pulsing behind her eyes was returning, skin gathering goose bumps, shoulders tensing. Well, it had been nice for the whole minute it had lasted. Hallie peeked out from under one eye, hoping he was okay. Then the onslaught of emotions from the other kids racked her brain also. She had to fight it, somehow.
Her stomach lurched. Quickly, she left the room, one hand to her abdomen and the other clapped to her mouth. She was going to be sick if she stayed there any longer.
This changed abruptly when he felt a slight breeze. He blinked in time to see a girl rush past him, a hand pressed to her mouth and another around her stomach, looking sick. He pulled his earphones out just as she ran out. She almost looked...panicked. Was it nerves? Or something else?
He looked around. No one seemed to notice. Without much of a second thought, he ditched the orientation (he hadn't been paying much attention anyways) and followed the girl. He saw her stumbling down the hallway, probably towards a bathroom. He chased after her.
When he was right behind her, he grabbed her shoulders lightly to stop her. "Hey," he asked, "Are you okay?"
Hands stopped her up short, the same calm thread of emotions she felt from earlier wrapping around her. Gulping down a breath, she whipped about. The air in the hall was better, only this kid's emotions around. She swallowed down what she thought was stomach acid and leaned against the nearest wall, both hands curled into fists in her hair.
"I'm fine," she assured, eyes on the ground. "Really."
What had happened to her control? This was as bad as the first night her abilities were shown to her. It was horrible, drunken slurred words, loud laughter, video game screens flashing here and there. She had made out with the guy playing pool then proceeded to strip down on top of the green felt table. If her friends hadn't had been there, it would have been the worst night of her life.
"I just need to sit down," she assured, sliding down and closing her eyes.
"You still look kinda sick..." Mikhail added after studying her face. "Here..." he put his hand on her forehead. A forward motion, perhaps, for an American, but not for him. He just hoped she wasn't one of those psycho girls who'd punch him afterwards.
Her skin felt sweaty, but not feverish, and he took his hand away. "I guess it isn't anything physical," he said. "Perhaps, you are nervous?" He had moved around a lot, but he knew of people who had never lived in more than one house. Changing schools could be a big and terrifying change.
"Nervous...right..." Hallie sighed. Out here things were calmer, and this guy had steady emotions, very controlled. It helped. "Not nervous...my ability...I can't be around too many people. I...ugh..."
Mind swirling, she peered up around her white strands to the boy. "Thanks. I'm okay really." He had blonde hair, nice eyes, admittedly he was attractive and his calm expression helped her focus on her current surroundings than her pain. A blast of air conditioning swirled around the pair and Hallie breathed it in through her nose. She did wonder why this guy was worried about her at all, but didn't mind, for the time being. She just needed to sit.
He really was genuinely concerned, both for the well-being of others and for the well-being of this girl. He had often been a team leader in his previous missions when he was older, and as such was constantly looking out for those under his wing. Evidently, old habits were hard to break. His left hand tingled in its glove, almost as if a reminder. Or rather, a warning. He squeezed it as he waited her answer.
Swallowing down another breath, she listened to him struggle with his words. She used to be friends with a guy from Spain who had the same issue. It would have annoyed her unless she was used to it, she knew. He was being nice though, almost regrettably. Speaking to nice people always felt awkward, Hallie wondering why anyone would be nice to someone like her. It wasn't that she thought she was a bad person, but she knew her glares and overall expression and stature didn't scream "Let's be friends." How anyone chose to approach her was odd, but amusing at times.
"I'm an Empath...I can sense emotions and basically suck them into myself. Not quite sure how that's helpful, but you never know..." She paused, headache panging a bit on the back of her head. "Sorry about earlier...you were all calm and such and I kinda...sampled your vibes."
"It depends on the field you're in, I guess, but I think it could be very helpful," Mikhail said, nodding. He smiled when she apologized. "Don't worry about it. In my...um...previous line of work, we couldn't afford to have our emotions running rampant. Doing so would jeopardize the entire....uh...um...." this time Mikhail was thankful for his previous slip-up. Now it seemed that he was just struggling to find a word, but in reality he almost revealed himself. Even though he wasn't working anymore, he still didn't want it to go around that he had been a spy. And a Russian one at that. He scratched his hair with his gloved hand, "Well, you know what I mean," Mikhail quickly diverted the subject, "By the way, since we'll probably be classmates, may I ask for your name?"
Some sort of worry sprang up inside him, but vanished almost at once. Then he asked her name. Hallie squinted a little and sat up straighter, pushing her hair behind her eyes. "Hallie, yours?"
He was right, since they would be classmates and all, names would prove useful perhaps. Just so Hallie knew who to avoid, though avoiding everyone wasn't out of the question. The air, though aiding in her calming down process, was getting cold. Like someone just turned the temp down to 60. Shivering a bit, she waited for him to answer.
He noticed her shivering. It was a touch breezy, but not enough to bother him. However, he did note that girls tend to get colder more than guys. In the missions where they could afford to bring clothes, he would often pack an extra jacket or two whenever there was a girl, just to be prepared. Cold was often a worse enemy than man.
He wished he had an extra jacket now. It wasn't necessarily that he had feelings for her, but he didn't want her to catch a cold or anything. "Are you cold? Perhaps you would like to go somewhere else? I suppose the auditorium is out of the question....I wish I had brought a jacket." He sunk lower in his haunches, thinking. "Ah, I know," he remarked. He stepped a little closer to Hallie, still squatting (if it weren't for his altered gravity, his knees would be screaming for his head) and straightened his back. He cupped his palms and breathed into them to warm them up, rubbing them together afterwards. Before she could protest, he started rubbing his hands briskly up and down her arms. After about half a minute, he stopped. "Feel any warmer?"
Frozen as Mikhail rubbed his hands up and down her arms, she stared at him with her hazel eyes, unable to react. It took her a moment to register what he had asked. "Uh...yeah sure. Warmer."
Hastily she stood up, switching her weight between her feet. Truly she was still rather cold and felt weird talking so normally with someone. "So...what...what do you do?"
"I do many things," he responded, still rubbing her arms, "But, I assume you are referring to "what do I do that put me in this school." It's a bit difficult to explain in English, so how about I show you?" He stopped rubbing and instead grasped her arms as he released gravity's hold on both of them. In a matter of seconds, they were already floating, and before a minute was up, they were hovering about two feet in the air, standing as if on an invisible block. He smiled at her, before commenting, "Jeez, you really are cold. Maybe you should think warmer thoughts."
Stock still, staring down at our feet, Hallie couldn't come up with any warm thoughts. She was floating. But she felt the same, the gravity hadn't changed, her feet weren't hanging. Mikhail's calm sparked with a little amusement. Of course he was amused. Peering up to him through her white hair, she changed a curious grin as well, raising an eyebrow. "This how you get all the girls to like you Mr. Mikhail? Make them fly?"
She tried to think about warm things, beaches, sunshine, a heater that was probably in her room...
Wow, turn on the charm much? Hallie nearly laughed, watching his little smile and wink act. Like he had no experience, please...too busy with work.
"Eh," she started, but smiling a little in return. "Little weird actually. Usin' your powers to woo? Isn't that like cheating?"
Hallie's eyes widened hearing this. Really? This guy? Clearing her throat, she glanced away, surprised more than anything. Though it shouldn't have been. It's not like its uncommon. In fact she herself had never had a relationship. Accidentally slept with guys...and a girl once...but no relationship stuff. Suddenly she felt weird, throat a bit dry.
"I...well, I can. Uh...believe it that is," she began, not believing how her voice sounded. Control lost, stoic expression vanished. "I haven't...either...not really. I mean had a boyfriend. Not a girlfriend, though I haven't had one of those either."
Wow, what the hell? Did the gravity thing mess with her brain somehow?
Out of her uncharacteristic panic, she pointed willfully at the glove on his hand, trying to find words. "That's different. Fashion statement?"
Mikhail laughed a little. "Well, I've never had a boyfriend either. That makes two of us."
Suddenly, Hallie pointed strongly at his left side. "That's different," she seemed to blurt out, "Fashion statement?"
Mikhail looked to where she was pointing and noticed it was his gloved hand. "Ah...this..." he held it up in front of him. Memories of that failed mission flitted in his mind. For a split second, everything replayed in his head. This wasn't the first time someone had asked about it, but it was still a fairly recent wound. "I suppose you could say that," he ended up saying, looking back at her, putting his hand down and smiling again. "If work-related accidents is the latest fashion trend now."
Hallie took in his emotions, hesitant, regretful...The mixture calmed her own anxieties and she peered up to him wonderingly. Something else was there that he was avoiding, trying to push away. She couldn't quite grasp it.
Crossing her arms, she leaned away. He didn't want to talk about it. She understood.
But then a silence threatened to fall over them. In her mind she wondered about her freak out, his hand, the orientation...so many things. Out of them all however, she was most worried about the cold. Were they bringing in ice sculptures to store or what?
Part of her longed for her bed, the blankets and sheets now unpacked and thrown on in a nice heap on the mattress, a warm heap most likely. Leaving Mikhail seemed rude though. Ugh, she hated nice people. Why did he have to be nice? Why couldn't he be like every other person and ignore her? Even her friends knew when to stop talking and continue their computer games amongst their own bantering. She couldn't handle too much.
Mikhail was different though, calmer, controlled. She wondered what his "work" was in particular. Somehow she knew this demeanor came from something he used to do. It was almost military-esque. But he was foreign. Foreign military? It didn't matter though because he was safe to be around. No crazy teenage hormones making her want to shove her tongue down his throat all night.
"Do you wanna head back to the dorms? I'm seriously freezing."
As he followed after her, he ran through the conversation they had, trying to piece together the type of person she was. She seemed all right. Good sense of humor. Probably prone to a lot of headaches. Empath....despite her thoughts on it, it was pretty useful. You could probably manipulate it to the point where you can get whatever you want, just by analyzing other people's emotions. Plus, it was virtually undetectable. Unlike his own ability, which always kicked in involuntarily whenever he was in danger. Not that he was complaining. It had saved his life at least once, but ironically, it also ruined it.
A thought ran through his mind. He picked up his pace until he was walking next to her. "Hey, do you suppose that if I think warm thoughts, then you could leech off of them and you'd be warmer?" as an afterthought, he added, "Also, what dorm are you in?" He looked around, and unsurprisingly found the scenery completely unrecognizable. "Sorry to be asking you so many questions, but you don't happen to know how far away it is, do you?"