Kitty Lee's Story

To: Sky :D
We need to talk... or get drunk; whatever gets me out of this foul mood
From: Jess xxx

To: Jessie <3
Alrighty! i'm cummin over in a second but no drinking haha. had a bit too much last night.

P.S. lolz i just noticed the i spelled coming cummin. do you get it? like i'm cummin? i'm not, but do you get it?
From: Sky

What did people usually think about while running? Eric ran at a leisurely place as he pondered this, watching out for the occasional fellow runner, wondering what they could be thinking. He doubted anyone did Calculus equations in their heads to calm themselves down or keep them from overworking themselves. Pretty sure that's just me, Eric thought with a chuckle. He wiped his forehead with the back of his arm, his breath beginning to get heavy. This was his favorite part of his morning work out; he loved getting sweaty, he loved getting tired, and he loved knowing he was going to push himself harder than he had the day before. Little by little, he improved his strength. Working out and taking care of his body wasn't exactly what people might expect from the school brainiac; they expected him to be studying, with his nose shoved against the pages of a book to read the fine print, to go around correcting people's mistakes and offering tutoring for $100 an hour. Well, the last idea had occurred to him before, but who would pay that much for a tutor? Even if his power was intelligence.

People limited others by their powers. If your power was burning holes in walls with your eyes, then you are automatically assumed to be bent on destruction, a future accomplice in villainous works. If your power was turning invisible, you must be either shy enough to actually use your power often, or you were sneaky and used it to get away with stealing, or something of that sort. And if your power was a limitless brain, then you were labeled a nerd. But let's be honest; nobody who looked at Eric would assume him to be a nerd. He looked strong and healthy, full and vibrant, and impossible good looking. He couldn't deny his reflection; he was far too smart to lie to himself. But he knew what people thought of him when the first thing they knew of him was his power. But Eric liked to prove people wrong in this one area, and it amused him no ends to make them feel a little ashamed at how quickly they had judged him.

Lost in his own thinking, he nearly ran into another exercising student, a female. Eric quickly recognized her as Kitty Lee, a girl he quite liked, and decided to run a few feet away from her, watching her exercise with stealth. She couldn't hear him running up even if he had, with those ear buds jammed into her ears. He imagined the music playing... and cringed. He would rather not voluntarily torture himself. He smiled as he kept his eyes on Kitty Lee, who still hadn't noticed his presence. She never failed to make him laugh, with her feminine, passionate ways, and strange quirks. She amused him, and never failed to surprise him. Which he had always liked about her. It was one of the reasons he appreciated her so, and kept her a good friend of his since the two had met.

"Kiss me!" she suddenly burst out, nearly causing Eric to stumble. He stared at her with aghast eyes, his pace still matching hers perfectly. What a freak, he thought, only half-heartedly. He was fond of this sort of eccentric behavior. She began to speed up, which he excitedly followed. Finally, a work out. He always did think she moved too slow, even for a girl. But too soon, she stopped, as did he, with disappointment. Ah, but she was a girl... He suddenly smirked. Kitty would kill him if she ever knew he had thought that. Well, she would never find out. He began to creep up behind her, ready to scare her out of her pants (on second that... let's make sure her pants stay on), when she began to speak. "Why are they so perfect?" she asked herself, almost sadly.

Oh.. she was actually sad. Eric stared down at her, still behind her, still quiet. She still hadn't noticed him, but he had noticed her. More importantly, he had noticed the wiping of her eyes. "Why are you crying?" he blurted out. Oops. She just might actually kill him now. He meekly took a step back and straightened, puffing his chest out, maintaining his manly appearance. "I mean, why do you run so slow?"

He had been expecting a little stammering, a little excuse, and a little rambling. Or maybe even some shouting at his insensitivity. Or... well, anything, really. Women were unpredictable; even he didn't understand them. Not a girl like Kitty, at the very least. The two had met the other night, and he had realized immediately she was a strange one. But in a way that he liked, which was why he sought her out just now. Well, he was reconsidering that now, because he hadn't been expecting her to tackle him at all, despite his ready acknowledgement of the perplexing nature of women. Even in his wildest imaginations, he wouldn't have imagined a girl would even throw something at him for asking her a question, for trying to start a conversation. Eric looked down at the iPod that had just been flung at his chest. Distracted, Kitty gained the upper hand and tackled him, throwing him to the ground in surprise. He stared up at her with wide questioning, aghast eyes. What the hell is wrong with you?! he wanted to scream. This was too far off the edge of crazy.

Curse her super strength. Eric waited patiently for her to get off, but she didn't. Instead she said casually, "Oh, hey Eric." Was this normal for this girl? For the first time in a long time, he felt his temper rising up inside of him. Perhaps it was the fact that he had been caught surprised and ended up on his back, overcome by his own sheer stupidity and forgetfulness. Perhaps it was the fact that this girl didn't apologize. Perhaps he was just annoyed at how strange and unexpected she was. Either way, she was doing what few could do: get a rise out of Eric Lee. Rolling his eyes, he managed a smile, smothering his irritation into the back corners of his mind.

"Hey, Kitty," he said smoothly. "Do this often? Pin boys down on the floor?" Innuendo intended, he added a slight mischievousness to his smile, now a smirk. Not that he would be surprised; she was quite beautiful. Just... not his type. He might like a normal girl much more. But for now.... well, she still amused him. Even this was amusing him. At least she's interesting, he admitted in his thoughts.

She smiled at him, a smile pretty enough to almost make him forget her oddity. Well, almost. "So. Did you say something about me running slow?" she said. It was unnerving, having someone on top of him, but he couldn't say he didn't enjoy it. He got a nice view of her face, complete and full-on. She was quite a good looking lady.

"Well, yes. Too bad your super strength doesn't include super speed, does it?" It was strange how people's powers played a huge role in your relationships with others, once you enter Arcana Academy. Before, no one would have even fearing Kitty. But add her power into the mix... everyone would treat her differently. He began to pity the beautiful Kitty Lee a little; she was obviously impulsive, proven by her sudden tackling, and without complete control of her powers, it would be easy to be weary of her. To stay away from her. To avoid her. But Eric rather liked her, after all, eccentric tackling aside.

He faked a yawn underneath her and looked up at her. "Are you going to let me up now, kitty cat?" he questioned, the pet name slipping easily from his lips. "Or are you enjoying the view?" he teased, raising his eyebrows suggestively at her. It had been a long time since he had even considered flirting with a girl. Not since Rose. It was strange, he decided. Only a few moments with this girl resulted in a large range of emotions; curiosity, to irritation, to sympathy, to appreciation, and now... a playfulness he hadn't let himself feel for a long while. He would have to keep this girl around, see what else she could do. To him, and to the world.

She's pretty when she laughs, Eric thought fleetingly. Well, a nice chuckle did not mean a girl was peachy keen. He inwardly grimaced, knowing he needed food quickly when he started using words like 'chuckle' and 'peachy keen' in the same sentence. His parents worked very hard, too hard, and after a few years of leaving him with the neighbor, and after the neighbor turned out to be a crack addict, they hired an elderly white grandmother to babysit him. She was kind and sweet, the kind of woman he would always refer to as his own grandmother. The two were actually still very close, and he looked to her as a role model for what all woman should be. As a result of this sort of doting affection for Granny Beth and her tendency to give him food every time he wasn't sleeping, he associated every old fashioned and outdated saying with food, and began using said phrases when he was hungry.

Eric smiled at her and weaved his fingers together behind his head as she spoke calmly, as if he had chosen to be on the ground, with a girl on top of him. It was a position most guys would want, he assumed, especially with an attractive girl like Kitty. But Eric had had enough of this timid sort of intimacy a long time ago, and he found physical touch uncomfortable; even now, he was squirming slightly inside to get out. He did hide it, underneath a calm smile, but it was by no means gone. Having grown up in an old-fashioned Asian household, he was unused to physical affection. Granny Beth had been very touchy, but after he turned five and went to school, she wasn't with him every hour. He went to an afterschool, and Granny Beth would come over the weekends for awhile. Regardless, the amount of time he spent with his new school friends and his own parents were filled with mere words, and no hugs, kisses, or chocolate. A few years ago, Granny Beth had passed away, and the smell of chocolate still overcame him with dear grief.

"Well, us Amazons like to have control all of the time," Kitty shot at him, interrupting his thoughts. Well, perhaps not interrupting... The perks of being super intelligent was being able to have about five different trains of thought with ease. Her wink caught him off guard, though, and made him a little more uncomfortable; he was unused to such a bold girl, a girl who came on so strong with her emotions and her relationships. But it was so different from who he was, and Eric decided, once again, he liked her, and he would keep her around. Regardless of how strange she made him feel, it was worth feeling strange to understand a girl like her. Eric laughed and shook his head at her, refraining from replying. He wasn't much of a talker, he knew. He was prone to staying in his own comfort zone, being distantly attached to people, as if he was holding them at arm's length to keep them from getting too close. It wasn't that he had anything to hide... and it wasn't that he had any walls. In fact, he was more open and more honest with people than he was with himself. It was simply the fact that he didn't think people would understand him, or like him, even. In his experience, people did not like people who were smarter than him. And it wasn't that Eric flaunted his intelligence; people assumed he was a smart aleck, a condescending know-it-all for his power.

He didn't necessarily mind; it weeded out the people who were worth being friends with, from the people who weren't. But it did make dating a little difficult, and flirting even harder. It was nice to have a girl be so playful and open with him. "I was fast enough to catch you off-guard, wasn't I?" she said in playful anger.

He reached up to tweak her nose. "I guess so, kitty cat," he admitted.

"I guess I'll get off you now. Unless you like a woman who takes control." She lifted him up like he was a baby, embarrassing him a little, as he automatically and subtly looked around for other people. Nope, no one around. Oh, well. What was the harm of being lifted by a girl? She was, after all, super strong... But his rationalizing didn't calm the sheepishness he felt. He rolled his eyes at her teasingly and shook his head, a little too aware of her hands on his hips. Without thinking, he placed his over hers, squeezed them gently, and lifted them. Unsure of what to do at this point, he held her hands awkwardly in the air for a split second, before letting go slowly. Can you get any more awkward, Eric Lee? he cursed himself silently.

Recovering quickly from his embarrassment, Eric slung his arm over her shoulders and began to walk towards the direction of good food. "I'm not sure I like a woman who takes control," he said honestly, moving from the playful, teasing road the two had been walking on in their conversation and onto a deeper, more intimate path. "But I guess I could," he said after a reflective pause, realizing how quickly he had changed the tone of their conversation, "for today, at least." He smiled widely at her. "Now, I'm hungry. Are you? I'll even buy you breakfast," he teased.

Cafeteria food never failed to please Eric; though many students complain about school lunches, he's always found some strange likability in them. Hey, it was food, and no meal had ever disgusted Eric as of yet. He ate his breakfast peacefully, not being one to talk during mealtime. Some people found his lack of conversation awkward, and attempted to chatter to fill up the silence, but they usually gave up quickly, preferring the silence to his small noises and nods and shrugs. Perhaps he was socially awkward, but Eric didn't like small talk. He didn't like to waste his words, and when he had food in front of him, why would he waste a second not eating?

His mother thought it was strange, though, but Eric was a super genius; he couldn't be normal, anyways; he might as well take it to the next level by being himself, completely different from anyone else. He ate silently and serenely, appreciating the attractiveness of Kitty a few times through short glances. Perhaps it was because he grew up in an Asian family, but he always did have a thing of Asian girls. Their hair was unbelievably soft, their skin tinted with gold, and they reminded him of his loving mother. Yes, Eric was a momma's boy, and he wasn't ashamed of it in the least. He smiled at her a few times when she caught him in his appraisal of her, showing no embarrassment; was there a crime in checking a girl out? Especially when she was gorgeous, with a lot of strength to boot. She was, at the very least, intriguing.

He was caught up in these thoughts when the table started shaking. His meal began to fall over itself in the chaos, and it took only a few moments to understand what was happening. Goddammit, I wasn't even done eating, Eric thought fleetingly, before glancing around to see everyone else's reactions. Some of them didn't seem to understand what was going on, others shocked, others panicking. Eric watched them all stoically for a few moments, refusing to avert his eyes even when a boy was crushed and immediately killed. He winced slightly, but he wouldn't let his attention waver. Because he knew what was supposed to happen during an earthquake, he knew what would happen, and from the looks of it, no one was going to take charge. So he would.

Eric turned to Kitty and put a hand on her shoulder, and began speaking quickly, rushing to get the words out of his mouth. "Get under a table. Not this one, go to another one." He glanced up at the fan above them and nodded at the table a few feet away. "Hurry up, go." He pushed her gently towards that direction and began to climb up to the top of the table, deciding to take the risk. Someone needed to act fast, and the earthquake was only getting worse, and worse, and worse. When he was standing at the top of the table, he could see how every eye was on him. For a moment, he felt sick to his stomach. What the hell was about to happen? How the hell could this happen?

"Everyone! Listen up." Like they weren't already. Idiot, you just wasteda few precious seconds, Eric scolded himself as he continued. "Get under your table, now. Hold onto something study, preferably the leg of the table, and cover your head. Make sure no parts of your body are sticking out. If you're under a large object," everyone's eyes went to the now-deceased boy, still crushed by the lamp, "then you better move to another table." The crowd was still, for the most part, though a few bodies began to scramble, heeding his orders. Eric sighed in frustration and cupped his hands over his mouth. "I said-"

He didn't get to finish his words. Because at that moment, the fan toppled on top of him, and he was down. He didn't even get to see if everyone was moving yet, or how Kitty had reacted, or... or anything. Eric merely closed his eyes and ignored the crushing pain, welcoming the dark that encompassed him.

To Loren's credit, she really tried to ignore Zac's painful outbursts, she really did. But each time he made so much as a whimper, she could feel the tension in her arms relax as she hesitated with each pull. I'm sorry, she would silently apologize to Zac before beginning again, with more strength than before, trying desperately to get him out before he could cry out again. But she kept on failing, because he kept on yelping. She wanted to yell at him to stop, he was distracting her, but she couldn't do that, could she? If everything was normal, then she would have; she would have scolded him and teased him about their predicament, admonishing him for acting like a baby. But it was her fault, and her debt to him was deep.

He cried out once more, and it completely infuriated Loren. Why did he have to go and ruin everything? Nothing was the same anymore. He didn't have to save her, she would have knocked out of her shock in time. It was all his fault, that their friendship was all weird. With the same sudden intensity of her anger, Loren pulled abruptly, and she was pulling him across the floor. She let go of his arms once he was a safe distance away from the desk she now detested. Thank God he was safe. She took deep breaths to steady herself as Zac did the same. These past few minutes had been so crucial, so terrifying... so real. It was startling, how much closer she felt to him now. She collected herself quickly, from pure practice of gathering her wits after a catastrophe, and sat beside Zac, exhausted by the mental, emotional, and physical trauma she had just experienced.

Instinctively, Loren laid a hand on Zac's when he was sitting upright, albeit at an awkward angle. She winced involuntarily when she noticed the angle of his calf, completely disturbing and wrong and unnatural. Afraid of hurting him, she withdrew her hand and ran it through her hair. The moment was a little awkward, now that they were both alive, now that she could confront the future of feeling like she owed Zac something forever, even her life. Now, she really couldn't say no to him. It had been the same way before, but it had been out of her own affection for him. Now? It would be guilt. Guilt and guilt throughout. She avoided Zac's gaze; he would read her emotions in her eyes and ignore the real issue at hand, focus on her instead.

She could hear his smile when he spoke. "It's okay. We can make it out. We will make it out."

"Yeah, we did. And we will." Loren nodded. She could hear the relief in her own voice, and it was only then that she realized she was grateful. She was elated to be alive, albeit a little conflicted. She had forgotten the miracle of her life, and even if Zac had helped her make it out, in the end, it had been her. Her and her own strength, to stay calm and get Zac out from under that damned desk. She had saved his life, as he had saved hers. So, in the end...

]"Now we're even," she said, grinning wickedly at Zac. She would always feel a little guilty, thankful, indebted to Zac... and maybe later, she would forget this little revelation and start feeling obligated towards Zac. But right now, she was comforted by this sense of normalcy that had returned to their friendship. She took his hand and squeezed it shortly before letting it slip from her grasp. Before he could reply to her statement, she straightened her posture and stood up, looking down at her best friend. She felt rejuvenated, ready to take on any challenge that came her way. "What next, captain?"

"Just help me stand. We're going to get out. And bring my freaking guitars."

"Will do, captain." She practically danced across the room, strangely elated even in the disaster of the shattering earthquake, and gathered some of the items she knew he would need most: his instruments. She grabbed a few, laid them beside Zac, and with her now-free hands, reached out to Zac. If they could get through that desk fiasco, then they could do anything.