Who are you? (Open)

[Lani Hunter]

He shrugged considering her reply. She had a point; most people couldn’t see past the fake smile and thought they were helping. He remembered his parents got him a therapist once, that had been interesting. The man had tried to comfort, encourage Lani to let all his sadness out and cry. Lani hadn’t even had the patience to wait through the hour. He was upset yes, but he was channeling his energy into something productive, well… kind of. He wasn’t going to sit around helpless he was doing something about it. “I suppose people are curious, and they feel bad. They want to lighten the burden but they don’t realize it’s better to drop it.” He stopped to think about it. “I guess they feel guilty in a way. They can’t take away the pain but they can try to help and then they over help.” He nodded in agreement. “It’s a rare thing when we can just talk about it isn’t it? Without someone giving you that look… It almost makes you appreciate life more.”

He smiled looking off into the distance for a moment. What was that quote? “Live like you’re going to die tomorrow, learn like you’ll live forever.” He blinked in shock as he realized he had said it aloud. A faint surge of guilt passed though him. He knew he didn’t have the greatest of grades, he should try harder. He wasn’t an idiot, what did they think he did when he wasn’t in class? He just didn’t learn well in the class setting. He could read a book and learn the same things. His teachers were consistently surprised when he periodically turned in work or did a test. A few of them resented him for skipping and already told him they wouldn’t give him passing grades but hey it wasn’t like he wasn’t trying. It just looked like he wasn’t trying.

He laughed at her response. “Of course not,” he teased, “Who said that?” He looked around for the fake culprit. He grinned at her expression and waggled his eyebrows at her effectively rendering her argument invalid without saying a word. He was glad he was able to talk about his sister, he loved the girl more than life itself. Cassie too, he would do anything for that girl, she was in a way his sister as well, just not by blood. It was different, usually conversations about Caroline turned to her illness and that got to close. It got to close to his flaws. He laughed and nodded. “I suppose it is. There’s something else there though, no matter how much we bug each other I’ll always be there for her.” He smiled and clenched his fists. It really killed him being so far away from her. Not able to keep her safe. “I can just hope she doesn’t get into any trouble without me there.” He narrowed his eyes but didn’t press when she said she didn’t have any siblings. She seemed kind of unsure and that confused him. How could she not know? She hadn’t said anything about a father, perhaps she really didn’t know.

He smiled when she explained, he had no idea. He needed to get more cultured, or something. He snorted and looked down at his knees. “You have no idea,” he laughed. He brightened at her offer. He wasn’t sure why he was so eager, perhaps he just needed something to do or perhaps what enticed him was spending more time with her. He tried to deny the latter without avail. She was so unlike anyone else he had met here; it would be nice even if they just became friends. “I’d like that.” He grinned and struggled to keep his face neutral but it heated anyways. Tango, wasn’t that the one that people were always talking about in romances and such? “Hip/hop should be interesting,” he said smoothing over his nerves. He shook his head and just laughed. He was going to embarrass himself.

Lani shrugged innocently when she talked about his recklessness. He laughed a little like someone who had been found out. “Sorry, I can’t help it. But hey, you only live once right?” He grinned innocently. Sure Lani’s carelessness would eventually come back to bite him but he was willing to bet that that wouldn’t be for a while. He was very good at running from his problems, and very bad at confronting them. She would probably have a heart attack if she thought trying to fly was bad. She probably wouldn’t take to scaling walls and balancing on fences as very safe. If there was a word that described Lani it would probably be reckless. He probably wouldn’t have been so reckless if he hadn’t had to learn to keep his sister alive. But then again who would have known that this life path would have been avoided if his sister had never gotten sick. Sure he probably would still be a meta and he kind of let that get the better of him. He felt invincible, untouchable. But did he really want to push away everyone he knew and be truly unreachable?

Listening to Adrianna was easy. She was interesting and so much like him it was almost scary. He wondered how much else they held in common, already they had similar feelings but then they had far different hobbies. He nodded and smiled, like mother like daughter. He had always hoped Caroline would get into something like that. She had taken up one thing after another but never really stuck with anything. He noted something in her tone and frowned. He looked at her for a long time and wondered if she thought it was her fault. “What a blessing for her,” he said with a smile. “My mother used to talk about having kids a lot when my sister was sick. No matter how much we annoy them she never once regretted it.”

He watched her lift her bag. It wasn’t bad. He was still jealous. If he lifted his bag it would practically knock him over like an eager dog. He waited a few moments then helped her lift the bag. It steadied and she would probably have an easier time of it. With another hand of his power he grabbed his own bag and called it to himself. Consequently both bags rocketed toward them. Holding his hands up like a conductor hushing a band he stopped them. “Sorry,” he muttered and took his power off of her bag. His own bag then floated its way over. He pulled it open and dug around a bit. He pulled out his bottle of pain medication. By now she would need them. “Remember, it’s just like hands, it’ll be easier if you grab it like you would with hands.” He suggested. His head thumped with a dull headache, it was rather perpetual and annoying.

[Adrianna Carstyn]

Adrianna could see where he was coming from, but it didn’t lessen the amount of irritation she had for the people that just stuck their noses where they didn’t belong. It was one thing when you admitted to having a problem and just wanted to confess to a friend. It was a wholly different thing when someone butt into a conversation or asked the complete wrong thing just to get the story of your life. That’s the only type of thing Adrian had always dealt with. Her mom had sent her to a therapist once too, and regretted it instantly because Adri hadn’t been polite and went without talking to her mother for a week. The woman kept goading her with all of these questions, a ten year old didn’t want to answer the type of questions she asked. How does it make you feel that your father left before you knew him…really what kind of question was that?!

“I understand guilt, but there aren’t many people that feel like that. The people that drive me crazy are the people that think they know everything about what you feel. As if they have gone through something even remotely similar when in reality they have a perfect life comparatively. They try and help but end up making you feel worthless and like some freak for having gone through something traumatic.” Adrianna shook her head in frustration and tried to regain composure. Those people that she’d dealt with had done a great job of making her feel like there was something wrong with her. She nodded, “Yeah, the look is awful. I’m always expecting it, but I guess it does make you appreciate life as a whole more.” She said smiling at the quote.

Adrian laughed when he teased her and glared playfully at him, “Hardy har har.” Listening to him talk about Caroline always made him think back to how Robbie talked about Desi and Lucah about Jez. It was almost as if they worshipped their younger siblings, especially the girls, without even realizing it. Adrianna didn’t have anyone that spoke of her that way, at least none that she knew of. Guy friends was one thing, friends that were as close as family was a different thing altogether. And she never really talked about anyone that way either. She didn’t have a younger friend that she’d do anything for because she couldn’t stand the thought of them being unhappy. She had a friend like that, but it was for a different reason that she’d do anything for him. “It seems like most of the older brothers have that overly protective feeling. Sometimes I wish I had an older brother.” She stopped short again from saying what she thought. When he narrowed his eyes she was sure he’d ask. He’d caught onto the implication but thankfully didn’t push it. The last thing she wanted to discuss was her miserable excuse of a father and his whoring around that she was sure he’d done.

She brightened up when he agreed. It wouldn’t be a date. No way, no. She was just going out with a FRIEND. Not going out…damn. It would be harder than she thought, but really she had no idea just how hard. When his face heated hers did in response. The tango had been a bad suggestion, really bad. Hip hop she could do with no problem, there was very little physical contact needed. Tango…totally different. “I’m sure you’ll do great, I’ve been told that I’m one hell of a teacher.” She smiled brightly and tucked a strand of hair behind her ear out of nervousness. “And Hip hop is a lot of fun, it takes some practice, but you’ll catch on quickly.”

His words made her wince slightly. Exactly like her mother it seemed. Huh, Amelia would love that. “Right,” She whispered looking away for a second before getting control again. She’d grown to hate that phrase, only living once. It always reminded her of Amelia’s version, the harsh version that she’d much rather forget completely. Adri being the worrier, she’d always been so on edge. 911 on speed dial, training for CPR, a first-aid kit in her car. The girl was prepared for the worst of all outcomes. But that didn’t mean she couldn’t have fun. In fact, she’d done her fair share of dangerous stunts. Sure, it’d been with her mom, but that didn’t make it any safer.

Adrian couldn’t bring herself to agree with him on the blessing part. It had ruined her mother’s career, her love life, her family life and any other important thing that she’d had planned. To Adrian, her mother’s pregnancy had been a curse and a problem. But to Amelia, she thought of it still as the best moment of her life when she’d first caught sight of her daughter. And she also liked to add that it was everyone else’s loss for never knowing Adrian. “Blessing…hardly. My mother doesn’t regret any of it besides getting pregnant so early in her life. She says I’m the best thing that’s happened to her, but I know the truth. Truth is, she gave up a whole life just for me.” She looked up at the sky, blinking back tears. Her voice had gone strained and thick with the emotions she had. Adrian thanked whatever higher power there was that her mother had ignored what everyone else told her. Abortion had been mentioned. Adoption. How would she have turned out if Amelia had given her away? She didn’t want to think about the type of family she could have been put into.

Adri felt the bag lighten and she sighed a bit in relief. It was hard work lifting the bag and keeping it from tipping over or something. When he let go of the bag again it stooped and slowed. He had quite an effect on the bag, but she was trying to handle it on her own. Slowly, but surely, the bag sat beside her and she placed her sketchpad back in it. “Hands, right. But how do you get a good feel of your ‘mental hands?’” She asked looking over had him with her head throbbing against her skull. It was worse because not only was she feeling the downside of his power, but also her own.

[Lani Hunter]

He nodded in agreement; most of the emotions one met with were pity, sympathy, and guilt. He wasn’t sure where guilt came in but his grandmother often said she wished it had been her instead of Caroline. It was hard to understand where to go when confronted with a problem. He didn’t understand why his grandmother wanted cancer but now he did. Because if he could have been sick instead of Caroline he would have done so in a heartbeat. He didn’t feel guilty that it was her and no himself though, merely misunderstanding. He didn’t understand why someone so pure and so good had to suffer. “That’s the worst,” Lani agreed with a wince. “Even if you go through the same thing, you aren’t that person, you don’t know what they’re going through.” He frowned and shook his head a little. “You have to be careful though, you don’t know what that person’s been through.” Lani had a special sore spot for that. Most people thought he had the perfect life, his parents gave him everything. Little did they know that Lani was a kleptomaniac and had started because his sister was sick.

Her tone was painful and he reached a hand out and placed it on her shoulder squeezing comfortingly. “Going through something traumatic doesn’t make you a freak, it makes you unfortunate, but don’t let anyone make you feel like a freak for it.” He sat there for a few moments then realized his hand was lingering. He let it drop back to his side, his fingertips tapping nervously on his knee. He smiled at her smile. It was beautiful, how if lit her face and Lani realized he like her smile and wanted to her keep smiling. He was a little shocked at himself, he hadn’t had feeling this strong for anyone, ever. Once or twice he had thought he felt something like this but this was more than mere attraction because he wasn’t just attracted to her physically but mentally. Her mind intrigued him and the more he learned about her the more he started slipping from his steady grip on independence.

All this talk of Caroline had Lani’s mind floating midway between happiness and worry. Happiness because she was healthy and worry because he needed a way out. He was stuck, he frowned a little, before he even thought about getting in too deep he needed to figure out his own problems. As much as he wanted to ask for help he also didn’t want to go to prison. He held his secret close to his heart and no one but his close family knew his true way. He looked over at Adrianna and wondered absently how freaked out she would be if he told her who he really way. A lowlife, dishonorable thief. Yeah probably very freaked out. He blushed when she commented on the overprotective feeling. In his heart he knew it was true but he would never admit to it. “Overprotective? Nah,” Lani protested, “It’s more like… Well we know how silly we were as kids and thinking of our siblings mimicking us is a terrifying thought.” He laughed a little and grinned at her. “Really? You know were just as bad as we are good.” He gave her a wink leaving her to figure out what he meant by that. Caroline had had her fair share of pranks pulled on her.

Their conversation was going in several different directions at once and it was nice to let his mind be scattered. He liked it that way, it was easier to be scatterbrained than focused. “Just be prepared, for my incompetence.” He laughed loving being able to make jabs at himself. “You’re sure I’m not too white for hip hop?” He asked with a sly grin holding up his hands. He wasn’t terribly pale but he tanned like an Irish person. He was too busy examining his hands now than when he put them back in his lap had had missed her wince and clueless went on smiling thinking she was agreeing with him. Living once really can free the soul, but then you don’t want to waste anything in life. “My mother doesn’t like it; she thinks I’m reckless too.” He sighed, he hated worrying his mother. “If she had it her way though I’d never go outside.”

Lani frowned at her reaction. She seemed to think it was the worst thing that ever happened. As if it was her fault her mother had gotten pregnant. His heart went out to her and he forced himself not to get into pitying mode. It was clear that was the worst thing to do. Instead he watched her and he listened. He thought carefully about how to approach the sensitive subject. Something in him was angry with her for thinking like that but that was unfair. She didn’t know any better. “Adrianna,” he said and hesitated. Her eyes were glassy and he knew how hard she was trying not to cry. He wasn’t about to give her the comfort she wanted though and he hated himself for it. He wanted to take her in his arms and tell her that she was wrong, and that he was glad she was here but that was not what was needed now. “I don’t understand. How could she have given up her whole life, if you are her whole life? You should listen to your mother because she’s not lying to you.” He said very certain of himself. He knew from experience that no matter how far you fell or what you did your mother would always be there to defend you. She was the one person in the world that would love you if no one else would.

He watched her as she finally got her bag to her side. He smiled at her. “Nice job,” he commended her. He reached over and held out the pain killers. “It’ll help, I promise.” He said sympathetically. He knew all too well what a reaction headache was like. Sometimes he really felt like it would be nicer to die that have the headaches anymore. It was days like that when he usually stayed in his room and denied the existence of light. He tapped his chin as he thought about how to describe his mental hands. “You really just need to practice. I mean my power came out explosively instead of gradually so I don’t really know. But it kind of helps if you grab stuff and use it with your mind as if you were using your hands.” He shrugged, “I’m no help, I’m sorry.”

[Adrianna Carstyn]

Adrian could see what he meant. She’d falsely accused someone of having the perfect life and in reality had been dead wrong. That person had been orphaned at six. Regret was just about as bad as pity and guilt. To put it nicely, the person hadn’t particularly taken her accusation lightly. And that was one of the reasons Adri was not the type of person to get mad easily anymore, or at least she didn’t show it much. “It is bad to assume things, but most of the times no one really cares about what happened. They just want leverage that they can hold over you to make you feel bad.”

His hand touched her shoulder and her heart reacted the way it wasn’t supposed to. Nearly leaping out of her chest by a simple comforting gesture. What was her deal? The fact that she reacted that way over a simple hand on the shoulder? Ugh. She didn’t want to have to explain what the freak part was about. The traumatic event in her life that she’d been referring to hadn’t been her mother’s illness. It was due to her father’s abandonment that she felt like such a freak show. Her daddy leaving her before she was even born, it was something that made her feel as if something was particularly wrong with her. “Everyone who finds out makes me feel like a freak for it though. I know they don’t mean to, but just the look I get when they understand…” She trailed off and looked away. He wouldn’t fully understand what she meant until he knew about the desertion she’d been through. When his hand slipped away her heart went back to beating at a semi-normal tempo. His smile brightened and it was hard not to keep smiling around him. He had a great smile. He was really attractive. And he was so easy to talk to. Caution was the key though. Adri was wary of her situation. Always too trusting with men, never taking things slow. She always let them get close to her and in the end it crushed her.

“I call total BS. You are overprotective and you know it. I’ve seen the workings of an older brother’s mind multiple times and they’re always extremely cautious. Older brothers shelter their siblings far too much in my opinion. At least when they’re young, and if it’s a girl with a crush…God help that boy.” She giggled and gave him her ‘intelligent face.’ His last comment confused her. As bad as we are good? Huh? She narrowed her eyes at him trying to decipher what the wink meant. She wasn’t getting anything though. She didn’t believe Lani was bad. Everyone had a past, but it didn’t mean they were a bad person. If he killed someone, then he was a bad person, but only if he had no real reasoning behind the action. Then again, Adrian always tried to find the good in people. It didn’t matter what they’d done or what they still did, she wasn’t a judgmental girl.

The jabs were to be expected. She downed herself all the time, mostly in playfulness, sometimes though it was in all seriousness. “Not in the slightest. I taught a kid from the chess club at my school in Cali to hip/hop dance and he used it for the talent show.” She said with a bit more pride in her tone than usual. She took pride in her work, but she didn’t like showing off. Not unless it was completely necessary. “There’s no such thing as too reckless according to my mother. She’s always trying new things. Crazy stunts. You’d love her I’m sure,” Adri said quietly trying to hide the blush from forming along her cheekbones.

Very rarely did Adrianna mention just how horrible she felt about ruining her mother’s life. No one really knew how she really felt towards the whole thing. She hadn’t even told her best friend how awful she felt for it. Why had she mentioned it now? Another mess up on her part. He said her name hesitantly and she braced herself for the pity. It was to be expected, everyone else pitied her, what made him any different? But aside from her main thoughts, she really just wanted him to tell her how irrational she was being and she wanted comforting. A hug…a reassuring kiss. And the thought stopped right there. Tears filled her eyes and she closed them to trap the drops before they fell. He finally spoke, but it wasn’t at all what she was prepared for. No pity, just logic. Adrian’s eyes opened and she looked up at him. She knew in her mind he was right, but every bone in her body wanted her to deny it. “She just feels obligated to say that because she’s my mom.” That was all she had to say though, it was an attempt to make her argument seem right, but she knew it was a feeble attempt.

Adrian took the painkillers with no hesitation. The pulsing feeling behind her eyes was getting bad and she really needed something to take the pain away. “Thank you,” She said with a smile. She could tell it was hard for him to explain the power. She understood almost instantly what he was saying though, mostly because she had gotten that from when she’d made contact with him. Mental hands were a good way of thinking of it, but she was a klutz who was always dropping things. Mentally, she probably wouldn’t have the best luck either. “It is helpful actually,” Adrian said firmly with a bit of a scowl directed at him. She didn’t like when people thought they weren’t helpful when in all actuality, they had explained what she needed perfectly. “What am I lifting this time?” She asked looking up at him.

[Lani Hunter]

He nodded, his expression solemn as she spoke. It was really unfair to judge people without knowing them. Of course it happened all the time, Lani was certainly guilty of it. Lani usually let things like that roll off his shoulders; most of the people he worked with had pasts that they’d rather not talk about. He knew better than to assume. Though if someone he didn’t know at school had a designer bag or shoes he would judge them a lot. Not so much here, but what really annoyed him were the people that acted like they had problems. He laughed half hearted and bobbed his head. “Don’t I know it,” he said. His boss was the king of leverage.

“Why? Is it something to be ashamed of?” He asked cocking his head to the side. “I guess that’s it, when you meet someone whose gone through the same thing it’s easy to let it all out cause they won’t make you look like a freak. It’s ‘cause you’re different. People look at you different after that.” He looked up at the clouds. “It’s like you’re not the same person. I don’t know, I just don’t let it bother me. I haven’t changed just because my sister had cancer. Well…” He shrugged. That was certainly a lie. He had changed beyond recognition. The old Lani would be very different than the criminal stilling on the track having a pleasant conversation right now. Who would he be now if his sister hadn’t gotten sick? Would he even be a meta? Maybe, maybe not. The pressure that made his power explode wouldn’t have come on, but then maybe something else would have triggered it.

He blinked startled when she called him out of his thoughts. His brain caught up at her next sentence and he smiled letting out a little laugh. “Am not!” He protested jokingly. “Me cautious? Well… I can’t argue with that last one.” He grinned impishly. Lani was honestly terrified of Caroline getting anything close to a crush. That would mean she was growing up, and Lani had to accept it. God help her first boyfriend. Lani was going to make sure the boy knew what was going to happen if he hurt his little sister. “But you know I don’t think it’s so bad for me to just make it very clear that I will break all of his bones if he hurts my sister. Is that so wrong?” He drawled a twinkle in his eye. He just waggled his eyebrows at her when she gave him a confused look. She would figure it out soon enough.

He gasped in mock shock. “Egad! A chess player do hip hop, that my friend is very impressive. Perhaps there is hope for me after all!” He was actually looking forward to dance lessons. Not so much for the dancing but more for the company. And if he happened to be making a fool of himself in the process all the better, his head was just a little too big. He laughed as she talked about her mother’s recklessness. “Sounds like my kind of person. I wonder if that’s how it goes, a cautious parent breeds a crazy one,” he said pointing to himself, “And a crazy one breeds a cautious one.” He gestured at her. “Although I’m pretty sure you mother is glad you’re cautious. My mother always blamed me for ruining her hair.” He chuckled imagining his mother showing him her first gray hair and declaring it was his fault. That was when things were still good and his father had joined in the teasing and Lani had been in stitches on the floor after a few minutes.

Lani hated that she felt like she was to be blamed for ruining her mother’s life. It was that kind of self blame that annoyed Lani. His heart went out to her though and if didn’t annoy him he just wanted her to understand. Part of him wanted to tell her what real guilty people look like, cause he’s sitting in front of her. The other part wanted to shake her and demand how she could think like that. He watched as she braced herself, too bad Lani wasn’t about to give in and pity her. She was a strong woman and he could tell that from just having known her for a little while. It bothered him that she didn’t seem to see her strength. Lani smiled sadly at her answer. Well it wasn’t like he was going to change her mind in one conversation. Chances were he was being much of the same. If she had protested and said he was a good person Lani might have the temptation to laugh at her. He smiled sadly at her. He reached out and gently grabbed her chin and moved it so he could look her in the eye. “Don’t think like that.” He blushed realizing that he was leaning toward her and that her face was just inches from his. His eyes flickered toward her lips then back to her eyes. “Besides I’m sure you’re mother’s not that good of a liar.”

His face flamed and he realized he needed to back away or else he was going to kiss her. He backed off surprised by his own feelings. He was glad the conversation had shifted and he could hide his feelings behind teaching her about his powers. He nodded smiling as he handed over his pills. He smiled a little when she said it was helpful, sure she was just being polite. He grinned and waggled his eye brows at her as he pushed himself to his feet. He extended a hand to help her up. “I think it’s time to play a little keep away.” He said with a wink and once she was on her feet he let his hand linger. He grabbed her water bottle with his mind and held it out of arms reach over his head. He gave her a sly grin.