Dancin' on the Roof (Odion)

“Watching me?” Harmony said, a little mad with herself that she hadn’t noticed him before now. “You some kinda freak stalker?” Not that she really minded someone watching her, after all she had danced on street corners trying to get tips before. But some dude stepping out of the shadows to startle her was different. She stood up quickly, almost punching her stereo as she turned off her music.

And then she realized that she knew him from before. “You!” she yelled, too distracted to comment on his taste in music. “You’re the baby coward that ran home to mommy the night the cops showed up in town!” She stomped over toward him. “Not that I had any trouble dealing with them on my own,” she lied easily. “Unlike you I don’t run at the first sign of trouble,” she reached out to shove him. “I can take care of myself.”

“Run from any more cops lately?” she taunted, crossing her eyes and smirking. “I’ll bet you run from your own shadow.” Hopefully he wouldn’t point out that she was the one who had jumped up so startled when he had made his presence known on the roof.

“Whatever,” she said, rolling her eyes. “Don’t ask me to explain your stalker reasons, weirdo.” She stuck out her tongue. This school was full of freaks. And she was past trying to explain any of them. But pointing out their flaws to them, well that was another thing entirely.

“Fine, you couldn’t run home to your mommy so you came back here instead. I’ll bet you love this loser place,” she said still scowling. “And of course you didn’t start it. Too chicken to get your hands dirty doing anything fun, right?” She started to smile now that her frustration at not noticing Odion in the first place was starting to fade.

“Stay in the shadows?” she asked, giving him a confused look. “That sounds like stalker talk to me.” Harmony would much rather be in the spotlight. “And I can take care of myself too! That’s why I didn’t have to run away.”

“Still chicken, I guess,” she said, flapping her arms like wings. “You can’t outrun me. I’ll be at the finish line before you even take your first step.” Which if her power actually worked how she wanted it to, might actually be true. But she wasn’t about to admit her lack of control to this kid.

“Maybe,” Harmony said, answering his question and crossing her arms. “You got a problem with that?” She smirked at his comment. “Admiring me huh? See…total stalker behavior.” She wasn’t going to drop the issue. At least not until she was sure that it had stopped annoying him.

She was surprised to find someone else who admitted they hated life here at Hammel. She tried not to show it, but hiding her emotions had never been a strong suit of Harmony’s. Maybe this guy wasn’t a total loser after all. Even if he was a wimp who ran at the first sign of trouble.

“Yeah,” she said, not catching that he was insulting her in particular but still feeling the need to defend herself. “Well I’m no beginner either.” Although she was trying to prove her maturity, her voice was starting to whine with her last comment. She frowned and mentally kicked herself for acting like a baby.

“Really?” she said, intrigued by his power. “Can I see?” Forgetting that she was supposed to be mad at Odion, she actually smiled in anticipation. She figured since he was older, he probably already had his power under control and wouldn’t mind showing off. If the tables were turned, Harmony would have loved to demonstrate for the younger kids, if only to show off her control to them.

“Fine, suit yourself,” she said when he mentioned leaving. But at he walked towards the door, she tried to think of something to make him stay. Although she’d never admit it, she was pretty lonely here at Hammel. “Just run off again.” She hoped the taunt would be enough to keep him a little longer.

Harmony was surprised when he switch the argument suddenly. She fumbled for a bit trying to find the words before she said, “So you finally admit that I was right about you stalking me.” She didn’t answer his questions because she couldn’t think of any response. She supposed most girls would enjoy the idea of having a stalker, as long as he was cute. But then Harmony wasn’t most girls. And this boy, even though he was nice looking, was just plain annoying.

She frowned when he pointed out that he had already shown off before. She had thought then that he had some sort of super speed. She wasn’t sure about all of the logistics of it, but time-control seemed to have the same effect. “So then that’s what you use your power for? To run and hide?” She was glad he hadn’t stuck around long enough to see her try get her way out of trouble. Although she hadn’t teleported, running towards a dead end alley wasn’t much better.

She clenched her fist as he next statement. “It’s not my fault this stupid power doesn’t listen to me!” she yelled, stomping towards Odion. “I didn’t ask for this. I didn’t ask to be drug up here to some lame school with a bunch of freaks. And since you seem to have all of the answers what are you doing still hanging out here?” She reached out to shove him towards the door. “I don’t need you or anyone else, okay?”

Harmony kicked out at Odion’s shins as she twisted her arms to be free from his grip. She didn’t care if she was a little lonely up here on the roof. She didn’t think her powers were any better, but she wasn’t thinking on the same level that he was. She thought her power was lame because of the fact that she couldn’t control it.

“Well it still sucks,” she said, still yelling. “It’s not fair. And I’ll take it out on whoever’s convenient.” She swung her foot towards his shin again. Stupid boy, stupid school, stupid power, she thought to herself, starting to get a little red in the face from her anger. His defense for their situation only angered her more. She was starting to wish she had just let him walk away in the first place. Usually she enjoyed arguments, but usually she wasn’t so invested in them. And this topic really stuck a sore spot in Harmony’s mind.

She was caught off guard by his last question. So much so that she answered with a bit of honesty before she could catch herself. “Because I’m just a kid,” she mumbled. “You could have helped me out a little since you have control over your ability and all. Instead you just left me in the dust.” The shock and anger registered on her face as she realized the words had already slipped out before she had a chance to stop them. She glared at him, wishing she could erase his memory of her previous comment.

“Besides,” she said, looking for a way to save face. “It’s just pathetic to see someone being such a lame scaredy cat. Makes us metas look like wimps.”