LET'S MAKE FIRE (Oriel)

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Kodi sat slumped against his hand at the lab table, staring blankly at the equipment set before him.  He didn't want to be here, especially since he was retaking this class over again, and chemistry made his brain hurt.  Why the hell did he need it to graduate?  It's not like he was gonna become a fucking mad scientist or anything.  Well, mad maybe, but science, blech.

His eyes scanned lazily over the paper of instructions, skipping past words and rules and safety guidelines blah blah blah.  The Southerner did like to read; however, no one could know that, and his joy of literature did not involved chemicals and measurements and whatever the hell else he was supposed to work with.

Bleh.

He did have one bright thing, though - he was paired with that hot-as-hell, chocolate-eyed boy he had been eyeing for a while.  He had no idea if Oriel knew what they were supposed to be doing either, but at least he might get something out of it.  Like a number.  Or a time.

"Can we just make somethin' blow up?" he muttered, flicking his finger against a glass vial.  "Can't be graded if we set the class on fire."

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Aahh, we meet again, my dear bunsen burner. I remember you thwarted me last time(actually that was midterm and final), but now see I have returned too exact my revenge! Mwa ha ha ha ha ha!!!

Oriel stared at the burner, trying to remember how to turn it on, his elbows cocked up at an awkward angle as he pressed his hands right up against the blacktop counter, decked out in his stupid little lab coat with his hair tied back in that little ponytail that Phen oh so loved.

Wonder of wonder, surprises of surprises, Oriel actually like his chemistry lab. They actually got to do things instead of just sitting around listening to the teacher lecture on and on about stuff that kind of made his head explode if it came too quickly.

"If only," Oriel said, still staring at the burner. "Though, no grade, then we don't pass either." And Oriel actually had intentions to pass it this year….a fruitless wish, but he wished it anyway.

"What's that thing say we gotta do?" Oriel finally relaxed his arms and turned to his lab partner, some crazy ass mo-fo that apparently wanted to blow up the school(which would be awesome he had to admit) and he had caught making eyes at him on more than one occasion. Hell, Oriel could feel him making eyes at him right now. "Oh, right. First, the fuck's your name again?"

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Kodi peeked over his shoulder for a moment, once again catching the deathly glare that weird, scrawny Korean kid was giving him a couple desks away. If looks could kill, he'd have been a dead man the minute he was chosen as Oriel's partner. Yeah, they'd banged once. Kodi didn't even really remember his name, though, if he had ever learned it, so whatever. But judging by the way he was looking at Kodi, he knew what the southern boy was thinking. He didn't know why that made the pixie angry, but he didn't really care.

He smirked and slid his tongue over his teeth before turning back to Oriel.

Unlike Oriel, Kodi was pretty good with words. No one knew that, so he didn't make it a point to do well in class, but he could easily get through a wordy text without too much trouble. It shouldn't be hard for him to get the gist of the experiment procedure... If he decided to actually care.

"Eesh," he sighed, rolling his eyes. "I swear, if they make me take this class a fuckin' third time..." He just wouldn't come. They couldn't make him, right? Maybe he should actually try to pass... Mehhh.

"Uhm..." Kodi looked back down at the paper, trying to take in the jumble of words quickly enough to give his partner a rundown. However, before he could really get to it, the boy was asking for his name. He shot a very toothy grin up at him. "Kodi," he drawled,"But you can call me whatever you'd like." He pursed his lips and made a small kissy face, before glancing back out of the corner of his eye. As expected, the Korean kid looked ready to storm over and beat the shit out of him. "What about you?"

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It wasn't that Oriel didn't notice the glares that Phoenix was sending over at them, it was just that he was ignoring them. While this hyperactive guy was indeed something nice to look at, he was about as little Oriel's type as Phoenix was, which meant....ok, that actually meant nothing, and it was more than likely that Oriel would flirt with him on any other day when he wasn't actually trying to concentrate on something else.

He'd punish Phen later for his (adorable) jealousy.

"Three times?" Oriel's eyebrows shot up, then he furrowed them quickly, darting his eyes contemplatively to the side. "This is my second time." And probably Phen's fourth. Oriel sighed. He hated school, he hated doing the school work, and he hated letting on that it actually bothered him enough for him to try. But...he had no choice at this point, he also really didn't want to end up like these two. Even if that was more likely to happen than not.

"Kodi, huh?" That name sounded a little too similar to a particular person he'd rather not think about right now. "Alright, Steve," he addressed Steve with his new name and started barking out orders, pointing back and forth between Steve and himself. "Here's how this is going to work. You tell me whatever the fuck that thing there says to do, and work on making this shit work, capisce? And...hopefully...I won't blow anything up this time." Even if it was amusing.

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Kodi rubbed vacantly at his cheek, where a shallow scratch mark he had acquired the other day was itching. The mar didn't really bother him; he had gotten a good deal out of it, so it was more of a prize than anything else. The bruising on his ribs was a little more irritating; but, fortunately, he was quite tolerant to pain.

His kohl-rimmed eyes glanced at Oriel as he spoke, giving a small smirk. "Well, ain't we special," the southerner drawled. No, he didn't want to stay at this stupid school for much longer. Yes, it was probable that he would. Even if he wasn't failing most of his classes, he didn't yet have good enough control over his ability (nor enough morals) for the staff to willingly release him into the world. It probably didn't help that he (literally) snapped at any trainers that tried to get too close.

Kodi narrowed his eyes and rolled them as he snorted at the nickname; whatever, kid was hot as fuck, he could call him what he liked. He gave Oriel his lazy-eyed stare as he spoke, licking his tongue thoughtfully against his sharp canine as he glanced back down at the instructions. "Oreo, right? Or Orgy? Whatever. I don't take orders from no-one." He sniffed disdainfully. "But I don't wanna take this class again, so fuck it, let's try." Kodiak skimmed quickly over the words. "Shit, do I really have to put these ugly things on?" he sighed, picking up a limp pair of goggles from his side of the table.

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Oriel was conflicted in that respect, about actually passing his classes and graduating, or just saying "fuck it" and staying at Hammel for as long as they'd keep him. After all, he had nowhere to go once he was done here, except for back on the streets. It was a fear that he thought about all the time and had frequently concluded that, if possible, he'd rather just put off for as long as he could.

But the other factor was that Oriel was just an ass who didn't like losing. He may not be good at some thing, and had a huge disadvantage in learning, but that didn't mean that he was going to let something so simple defeat him! There were always ways around things, and having a partner he could boss around in a lab was one of those ways without making himself feel like a complete loser/failure.

Oriel was probably asking for it by bestowing Kodi with a new name but there were some things that Oriel would just not let slide. As soon as the nickname fell from Kodi's lips, Oriel was in front of him, in his face looking slightly down at the other boy. His eyes were cold. "You call me that again and I am going to shove this here pen right into your neck and then shit all over your bleeding corpse. Do you understand me?" He didn't raise his voice. He spoke calmly and commandingly, keeping his voice low so as to not be overheard by the teacher. Oriel had a clue that this dude was fucking insane, but that didn't mean that Oriel held an inkling of fear for the guy. Though in a fight, the two would probably have to duke it out, which honestly would be an interesting thing to see.

But. Not. Here.

Oriel returned his attention to the countertop, sliding his own goggles over his head. He didn't give a rats ass how they made him look. "I ain't gonna say nothing if you don't wanna wear them, but if you lose an eye, that's your own fucking fault." Yeah, Oriel didn't wear the safety gear because it was required by the teacher, he wore it because he didn't want to get hurt in case something actually went wrong(and with Oriel at the reigns, that was bound to happen).

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Kodi glanced up as Oriel was suddenly in his face, his face dark and cold as he spoke. The Chinese boy's eyelids drooped as a sneer twitched at the corner of his mouth, visually unimpressed with his threat, but internally... Extremely turned on by the talk of potential violence. It was almost like Erik all over again, but Oriel wasn't throwing punches... Yet. "I'd like t' see ya try," he drawled, the tips of his upper canines beginning to lengthen over his bottom lip as his blood bubbled with excitement. He wasn't sure what he wanted to do more - take Oriel on in a fight, or fuck him like a bitch, or both. Probably both.

But there seemed to be a silent agreement between the two of them that the lab was not the best place for a confrontation, and Kodi turned back to the paper, prodding his elongated teeth with his thumb before they obeyed and retracted back into his mouth. He rolled his eyes, but decided to put the goggles on, because he did like his eyesight and without it he couldn't read. "Okay, Or...ion." He didn't know or fucking care what exactly his name was. "Says we gotta weigh out some measurements first. Think you can handle that?"

((Idk what I'm doing, I need a lab! XD))

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If Steve wanted to see punches thrown, it would only be in the bedroom. Oriel had been on his best behavior in that regard over the past few months, all be damned if this psycho provoked Oriel enough to throw all that away. Of course, considering this guy's attitude, sorting out differences privately would either be extremely entertaining, or horribly repulsive, the former being only if Oriel managed to hogtie this chaotic hound and tame him properly.

Or maybe Oriel was just over-thinking it.

"That can be arranged," Oriel challenged, unfazed by the vampire teeth suddenly peeking out behind those offensive lips. Oriel had no problem putting this fucker in his place. No "try", as that little green imp would say. 'Do, or do not.'

But they'd have to come back to that later.

"Okay, Or...ion."

That one nearly made him laugh, and he did in his head. It reminded him of the boy side of the Stewert gestalts that he didn't hate. The girl(he didn't care what her name was) was barely on his radar as a person...or half a person. But hell, at least that nickname was better than "Oreo". Almost as good as Ortiz. "Yeah, no problem. But what's it say to weigh out? I ain't a fucking mind reader." Nope, Oriel refused to put away that mouth of his. Steve would just have to deal with it.

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It would please Kodi to no end if he knew about Oriel's 'development' over the last few months, and if he could crush it all entirely just by being an ass towards the guy. He got a rush messing with other people's shit and making lives miserable; and if Oriel thought he could take him on, well, he wasn't going to back down an inch.

"Then give me a time an' day, an' let's settle it," he retorted, fingers curling in slightly on the countertop as he gave a feral grin, his kohl-lined eyes sparking manically. It would be interesting to see, two extremely determined boys scuffling it out, both about the same size and strength, not to mention violent streaks.

Heh. Maybe he could shove around his little Korean boytoy, or whatever he was, see what kind of reaction that got...

Anyway. Kodi read out the materials to Oriel, squinting uncomfortably at the small words. He was itching to pull out his reading glasses, but one, it would be weird to wear them under goggles, and two, like hell he was going to wear them in front of someone like Oriel. "Okay, now it says t' set up the triangle apparatus like the teach showed us to, then t' use the crucible tongs t' put a crucible on the triangle." Kodi finished the instructions for the second step, waiting for Oriel to complete it so they could let the crucible heat up.

He lifted his gaze, licking the inside of his teeth uncomfortably at the scientific jargon. Kodi was actually quite intelligent when it came to vocabulary - he purposefully dumbed down his own ways of speech in order to not appear that way.

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This guy really grated on Oriel, which was saying something because there were few people in this world who could actually do that. Oriel prided himself in being able to stay in control of himself and not fall for his own tricks, but there were just too many things about this guy that pissed him off: his hair, his name, and his…dominance was probably the best way to put it. It was like pitting two alpha males together, making them partners in this class. It was not liable to end well.

Oriel scoffed. "Generous, 'letting' your opponent choose for you. Shows lack of commitment, methinks." He turned away from Kodi, still unfazed and unintimidated. The guy was all talk as far as Oriel was concerned. When he finally found the balls to throw a punch, then Oriel would take him seriously.

As Kodi read out the procedure, Oriel followed them, securing the iron ring on the stand and placing the clay triangle thingy on top of it. Wasn't too hard, working with things on such a large scale. "Fucking tongs," he mumbled. Those required a bit of fine dexterity that Oriel had trouble with. But he at least managed to do it without dropping the blasted thing. It was the same with lighting the bunsen burner….took a bit of effort. But they were in business before long with the damn, what was it called? crucible? was sitting there heating up all by it's lonesome. Slowly.

"What next?" he asked, not really expecting an answer. Then again, Kodi was being rather cooperative, they may win this yet! Then again, Oriel was already starting to get bored with the waiting parts.

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Two alpha males indeed. Kodi didn't know why the teacher had thought putting them together was a good idea, but he obviously didn't know enough about either of their reputations to know this couldn't end with a good grade... Probably. So maybe Oriel had the hand-skills and Kodi was the literary scholar, but that didn't mean they could ignore the grating chemistry between them in a much less tangible way, and yet still very obvious.

Kodi rose a brow, the corner of his lip curling up slightly. "I'll show you commitment," he growled lowly, having no plans to back away from any potential meeting they set up. "We gotta work on this outside'a class, right? We can settle it then." Like they would get a lot of homework done anyway... But then again, if he wanted to pass this class... Blech.

He watched with a little interest as Oriel got the things set up, chuckling slightly at his small complaint. Oriel seemed to get it set up just fine with only a little trouble, which Kodi was secretly impressed with. He was glad he was just doing the verbal stuff. With his luck, he'd probably end up burning himself.

"'Kay... We gotta let that sit for a couple minutes. Then... We gotta let it cool even longer." His brow furrowed. What was the point in that? Whatever. "Then we gotta weigh it, record it, then put in, uh..." He squinted. ".3 grams of Magnesium. And then weigh it again." He rolled his eyes. This was dumb. Why did they have to do this? "Think you can handle that, Ortiz?" he asked sarcastically.

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Theoretically, they could probably pass this class with flying colors...if they weren't liable to be at each other's throats day in and day out. And aside from that, even if they did manage to cooperate, the tension between them would be too distracting by itself. And by tension, I mean not only feral...or maybe completely feral, as they glared at each other and tried to hold themselves back from what their instincts were yearning for. A good fight and a good fuck.

Oriel was almost ashamed of himself for thinking that way, especially with Phoenix watching from just a few feet away.

But why did Oriel care if Phen saw him...flirting(for lack of a better term) with another person?

"Don't strain yourself, you might break something," Oriel mocked, his voice apathetic to Steve's so called "commitment", as he continued to set up the equipment.

Oriel noticed the squint, darting his eyes over to Kodi and then back to adjust the flame on the bunsen burner. Humph....nerd. Reading and paraphrasing all smooth like that. Of course, with only that to go on, Oriel had no idea just how right he was. "Ok...Magnesium..." Oriel turned his head to the weigh table where the solid chemicals were laid out for the students. Which was was that? he wondered to himself. He darted another glare at Kodi before retorting with, "I dunno. Think you can get my name right for once? Oriel, just so we're clear." He looked back at the weight table and took a breath. "........which one's the Magnesium?" he asked seriously with a cold-stone stare.

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Kodi was only the more turned on by the threat of violence, which meant that Oriel was just pushing all the right buttons to make him crazy to get the guy in his bed. Just look at Erik - their scuffle, which had resulted in the scratch still running along Kodi's cheek, had only led to them fucking anyway. He was fairly determined that he could do the same with Oriel... If that skinny Korean loser didn't ruin it somehow.

He looked back again. Phoenix was still staring, as though he hadn't looked away for a moment.

"Jeeze, possessive guy much?" he growled, turning back to Oriel and ignoring his mocking tone. "S'like you actually mean somethin' t'him. Freak." He shook his head, as though meaning something to someone was the worst thing in the world. Not something he wanted, nope...

It was a good thing Oriel hadn't said the 'nerd' comment out loud, otherwise Kodi's anger would have really flared up, and who knew what might get broken or burned. He watched with a blank stare as Oriel turned to the solids, stretching his bare arms behind his head with a bored yawn. "Oriole... Like the bird? Kay," he retorted, purposefully getting it wrong yet again. He waited for Oriel to grab the right material, his brow furrowing as he paused and asked which one was the right one. "It's right fuckin' there," he replied snarkily, pointing to the material clearly labelled 'Magnesium'. "What's the fuckin' matter, can't read or somethin'?" he growled, brows furrowed cruelly.

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He could feel Phen's eyes on him from across the room, and somehow that was more than enough to keep the predator Oriel from slipping into his hunting state with Kodi, naturally responding to the signals this guy was sending out like a lighthouse beacon. He hated this guy….and yet still wanted to throw him down and fuck him into submission. But if Phoenix disapproved, especially so obviously, then….Oriel had enough self-control to not engage, right?

Self-control…..right….

Oriel not so subtly kicked him in the shin. "Quit your yappin', squinty. Or do other people's things really interest you that much." And a not so subtle way of declaring to Kodi that Phoenix was his, no touchie.

Oriole glared at Kodi again, but let it go. It was close enough.

And he decided not to react immediately to Kodi's reading comment and instead got the little fucking plastic weight boat and got what he needed from the container Kodi had indicated. When he had returned to their workstation, that's when he snarked back, "At least it's better than being a nerd." Oriel locked eyes with the psycho for a beat before turning to him with a thin smirk. "Here's how it's going to work, Kodi, we get this lab done, we get this assignment done, we pretend to be civil, and we might actually not fail. But if you keep testing me, I'm going to throw a chunk of this magnesium here into this fire, and fucking blind you." Flash bombs for the win.

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If Kodi could rile Oriel up enough to come after him, he would consider it a success. He lived to make people miserable and act out, and if he was aware of Oriel's lack of self-control, well, he would just poke and prod and poke until he pushed the right button to make him snap.

Ahh, if only he knew what was coming...

He growled at the kick initially, but it turned into a smirk that he shot Oriel's way. "That all you got?" he taunted. Kodi's gaze darted back at Phoenix one last time, shrugging as he turned back. "I like knowin' what I can use against people. An' he ain't helpin' keep that a secret." Ahh yes, he could play with this relationship a lot...

Not to mention he was extremely jealous of Oriel's boyfriend(?). He would never say that out loud though. Why did snarky Oriel get to have someone like that and he couldn't, mumble grumble...

He waited not-so-patiently as Oriel set up whatever they were supposed to be doing, his kohl-smeared eyes not leaving the other boy's figure once. At least, he thought, they were actually getting somewhere with the project. "Y'know they say nerds run the world, actually," he replied smoothly, his eyes barely twitching at the comment that was far more on target than he would have liked. "I'll probably be yer boss someday." He spoke with sarcasm, trying to obviously play along with the snide remark instead of being thrown off-balance and only proving that it was true. His brows rose at Oriel's 'suggestion', and Kodi tapped the end of his pencil on the table as though considering. "I suppose it won't hurt to try," he finally snarked. "But only for the sake of not havin' t'take this class again."

With that, he grunted and began reading the next set of instructions, though he couldn't help but ease a hand over and not-so-subtly cop a feel on Oriel's rump. He just couldn't resist, how could he be expected to do this without a hitch?? He imagined he could hear that stupid Korean's gasp from across the room.