Raising The Bar (Kailin)

[Cade Maddox]

"1..2..3...1..2..3...come on, Cade, baby, work that body, come on!" A tall slightly-blue-tinted musclebound Robin Williams clearly inspired by Genie from Aladdin walked by Cade as he pushed himself up on parallel bars. Drops of sweat fell as he counted to 15 before relaxing his arms. "You know, I could do with a bit more quiet."

The Genie immediately jumped onto the parallel bars and acted like he was doing push-ups, "What you could do with is more ladies in your life, Cade."

Cade lowered himself to the floor and grabbed his towel to wipe his forehead and arms. Wearing just a pair of athletic shorts and white socks; Cade had been in the gymnasium for the past hour. He had memorized each semester's schedules that would give him a (usually) empty gym to work out alone with whomever he decided to conjure up for entertainment.

"I could call up Mulan if you feel so strongly," Cade told him as the genie completed its thirtieth straight push-up.

"I meant a real girl. Come on, kid, you're 19." The Genie jumped down and slid over to Cade putting his arm around him, sunglasses materializing in front of his eyes, "Come on, get a few girls, take them down to the lake, see what happens..." Cade pushed the Genie, and though he felt nothing physical, the Genie still reacted, moving away. Sarcastically, Cade replied, "Shoot me now. You guys won't shut up about it. I'm fine. I like being alone."

It sounded like doors to the gym opened, but Cade didn't pay any attention to it. It could be staff passing through or people using it as a shortcut. He didn't really care either way. Walking over to the uneven bars, the Genie jumped in front of him, "Whoa there, Cade-y boy, last time you got on those bars it was a quick trip to the nurse's office."

Once again pushing the Genie, Cade jumped onto the lower uneven bar and started swinging. It was true, Cade wasn't a gymnast, and the uneven bars had always given him trouble. But he was building up his upper body and he always wanted to complete a simple routine. Swinging from the lower bar to the higher bar, Cade managed to make it, though he trembled briefly.

Now for the turn. Quickly changing his hands, Cade twisted...and completely missed the bar with his second hand. Momentum carrying him, Cade flew off the bar.

"I've got you, kid!" The Genie announced, moving right to him as Cade literally fell through him and impacted into the floormat stomach first. "Ouch...I think the judges are gonna give you a solid 2.2/10 for that one."

Though Cade's face hadn't hit the ground, he was looking at right now, groaning.

(OOC: You don't need to respond with as long of a post; I just wanted to have some fun with it, XD. Cade would get up if she says something, so you can respond to him doing so if you wish. If she offers any help, he'd take it. The Genie will poof the second Cade notices Kailin.)

[Kailin Bishop]

What was there to do in a small town with a practically empty house? Kailin was used to the constant hustle and bustle of everyone fighting for the closest bathroom even though there was an open one across the house, or Claudia yelling from across the hallway how she needed another pair of jeans to wear, but as the Bishops moved out and grew older, there weren't many of them left. Zach was off with Asian Santa doing who knows what, the twins were at school, Savvy was being as annoying as ever, Claudia was doing some sort of modeling thing (or that's what she was told), Devlan was doing his cop things, Gaige was being a grump in one of his friend's basement, and the list could go on and on. Despite what Kailin thought her parents would do as the house grew more empty, she still rarely saw and spoke with them.

So what was Kailin to do with her free time? Oh yeah, tutor.

Coming to the realization that she could do something productive with her time and not feel so disconnected with the life that she had lived for such a long time, the blonde decided it was best to just distract herself with the work that came with tutoring sciences and maths. After all, while at Hammel, Kailin maintained a 4.0 GPA and she was taking advanced science and mathematics courses. Might as well practice to keep the knowledge.

However, there were only so many students that required, and would ask for, her help, so she had to pack up a bit early, her bag holding her iPad bumping against her side as she walked. When she passed the gym, she quickly thought her iPad had gone off playing whatever Savvy watched on it last night. But when she stopped and looked, the iPad was off, and the conversation was coming from inside of the Gym.

One thing that Kailin could be described as was curious, and that curosity pushed her to go inside, only to see two men working out, one of which sounded suspiciously like the Genie from Alladin and was way too big to be real. Then, when the tragedy occurred where the normal sized guy (if normal was as seemingly broad shouldered as he was) missed the bar and went straight through the other man, that's when Kailin knew something was up.

The blonde moved towards the guy relatively quickly, though by no means in any rush, an amused smile on her face. As Kailin moved closer, she could tell whoever the other figure was, he wasn't real. Kailin knew projections when she saw them, and even though this guy was clearly able to move about without blinding himself like Salem, this was definitely was some sort of projection.

"Better luck next time?" Kailin offered, extending her hand out if he wanted to take it. "It can be difficult to judge sometimes."

[Cade Maddox]

Cade didn't hear the girl coming toward him, in the moment he was too focused on the mat and how long he thought he'd stay on it and groan. A small groan had barely left his lips when he heard a sweet female voice. He looked up and saw a cute blonde with her hand out. Cade could hear Genie say, "Well, I'm outta here, sister" fairly quickly before poofing out in a cloud of smoke.

For a couple of moments, Cade still laid there, deeply contemplating whether or not to touch her hand. He had been working out and was sweaty, and he didn't want to get sweat on her, and...

"Yeah, it can," Cade managed to say, taking her hand so gently and lightly, it would have barely assisted him in getting up. As soon as he was standing straight, his hand moved away from hers as quickly as possible and he went to get his towel. Picking it up from the ground, he was quick to wipe his hands and almost buried his face in it.

To her it looked like he was probably trying to scrub sweat off, but it was mostly to hide his face from embarrassment. Removing the towel, he went back over to her and offered his now cleaner hand to shake hers if she'd take it, "Sorry, my name is Cade. I was really sweaty and I didn't want get it on you."

While the girl seemed familiar, she clearly wasn't dressed for the gym. "Didn't you used to be one of the cheerleaders?" Not like Cade would know. It wasn't like he sometimes had watched their practice. Not at all.

His stomach still bothered him a bit from the fall, but it was really the only part of him that felt fatigue (beyond a bit in his arms). Cade hadn't yet decided if he felt comfortable being half-naked right in front of the girl, and had his arms crossed in front of himself in the meantime. He made sure to give her a smile though, so she knew she wasn't unwanted.

[Kailin Bishop]

And with his acknowledgement, the overly large apparition disappeared. As she figured, it was a power related image; or hell, the guy could have had a power and disappeared. Now that she thought about it, was he? "What? Afraid of me?" She teased as he took a rather quick turn towards the benches.

Whether he was or wasn't, her gaze followed, his face buried in a towel as he wiped the sweat from off his face. Based off of his appearance, Kailin could take the guess that he had been doing whatever he was doing for quite a while, and she just so happened to interrupt at the perfect time - right when he fell. Had it been her, she probably would have been blushing like crazy, but then again, that was just her.

"Kailin," the blonde offered, "I don't mind sweaty guys, I have older and younger brothers that like to mess with me. I've dealt with worse." Some of her siblings, mainly JJ and Gaige, loved to mess with her, especially when it came to smells and dirt. That, and she was constantly working out herself, so she understood that it was only part of the territory.

Kailin wasn't expecting him to recognize her, considering this seemed like the first time they had met? Or is it, and she just couldn't remember him? She had just recently graduated last year, and if they ever went to any of the practices or pep ralleys, then she clearly would have been seen, right? "Yeah, I was. Kind of graduated though," Body language indicated that he was uncomfortable, so she took a step back despite his smile. She was fine, but there was no reason to push any of his boundaries.

"You training for something, or are you just doing this for you?"

[Cade Maddox]

Was he afraid of her? Maybe. Cade certainly wasn't going to say as much, but yeah, he was afraid of a very beautiful girl like...wow, she really was beautiful. Gorgeous blonde hair, cute face. Even his character of Cinderella, by far his favorite in looks, couldn't quite compare. But this girl was the real deal unlike her, so maybe that was it. Wow, Cade's cheeks sure felt hot. But the smile he had certainly wasn't fake.

"Kailin's a nice name," Cade said awkwardly, unsure of how to respond regarding siblings. "I don't have any brothers or sisters...but I uh..." Cade couldn't help but notice her pretty green eyes. So vibrant. His train of thought almost derailed, he managed to look away and say, "I c-can create..." He looked down for a moment. "Characters...that I've seen. So they can kinda be like siblings I guess. But uh...no smell or... sweat."

This disaster was not getting any better for him and when she stepped back, he wasn't exactly prepared for that. Uncrossing his arms, he went searching for his t-shirt. In the moment he had forgotten where it was.

Not looking at her while he was searching, he replied absent-mindedly, "Are you visiting for something if you graduated?"

Taking a moment to scan he saw it folded right below the parallel bars and went to get it. Carefully unfolding it, he put it on. Now he was a bit more fitting to talk to a lady.

"I dance, does...that count?" He awkwardly replied as he returned to her, hoping he wasn't bothering her much. He hadn't really stopped smiling, though he hadn't grinned either. His eyebrows would've indicated to most that he was kind of a deer in the headlights. Should he stay or should he run?

[Kailin Bishop]

It wasn't the first time she had to experience a guy losing his voice in front of her, searching for words and stumbling while trying. However, Kailin hadn't expected a man of his general appearance to lack the confidence that she was used to hearing from guys she percieved to have no reason to be insecure. Each person was an individual, though, so she wasn't going to fault him for it. Kales was naturally a very outgoing person, and with as many siblings as she had, it would be odd if she weren't. Spiderman took that title.

"Thanks," Her demeanor remained calm as she looked for any indication he wanted her to leave, but while she saw an increase in his flustered comments, she didn't see the prompt to leave, "I have 11 siblings, plus me so it's kind of a common thing for me."

But shortly after that, she had one of those aha moments. She had known he had some sort of projection power! As an illusion manip herself, she tended to find herself gravitating towards. This guy seemed to be no exception. It was funny how things worked out that way. Kailin kept her distance, but her posture was open and inviting, not closed off. Kailin had to laugh, quietly, when he was looking for his shirt, ultimately putting it on.

"I tutor so I have something to do. Introductory college courses aren't really that challenging to me, and clubs haven't started up yet." Kales shrugged, "Dancing is fun, and it gets the calories burning. Still doesn't answer the question, really, but I'm not here to grill you, don't worry." An audible laugh passed her lips this time, "So, you said you can create characters? Is that what that guy was when I walked in? Because if that's the case, it's pretty awesome."

[Cade Maddox]

The fact that he was good-looking (and didn't really realize it) was likely part of why most people left him alone. They thought that if he was gonna interact, he was gonna do it himself. Not that Cade knew that. All that he knew was people had the tendency to leave him with more discomfort than comfort and he hated it but it was the truth and boy, did Kailin have pretty eyes.

"Eleven?" He said with great surprise, mouth slightly open and wide eyes. The thought of that many children from one set of parents (was it one set, he wondered) was unbelievable to him. His mother told him about big families before, there were apparently a lot of him in the town he had lived in. Cade couldn't help himself but say, "Not a lot of attention goes around with that many, huh? But I guess you also have a bunch of friends with 10 other kids."

Cade honestly couldn't imagine it. So many of them.

"Oh, you're a tutor, that's really awesome..." Cade honestly could use one for half of his subjects, but he had a hard enough time with teachers, let alone people around his age trying to teach him something they knew that he didn't want to know. "Bu-, but I don't need one." He said that with the most fake confidence ever. He was still off-balance by this unexpected social situation and this girl had his blood pumping almost as much as the exercises had.

"Well, I mean, I train here so I do better...am better when dancing. So...I guess its training. Or me. However you want," At this point, he was trying to figure out what to say for her. Because the fact she had already stayed this long must've meant she at least was partially interested in talking to him.

When she asked about his powers, he finally gave her a (somewhat cute) grin, "Oh, that was the Genie from Aladdin. I can create all sorts of characters though, if I've seen them enough to remember. I...watched a lot of TV as a kid."

He watched way too much for his own good, Cade sometimes felt. But she seemed interested, and had called his power awesome, not weird. He searched his brain for words to say, but they failed him.

[Kailin Bishop]

Through her years at Hammel, Kailin had become a relatively popular human being with a cluster of friends because of her bubbly demeanor. Her senior year, however, was much different from all of her years in highschool, but that was due to other reasons that she did not want to bring up. While she was no longer bitter, she was still trying to avoid the thought of it at all times. It was frustrating, to say the least, but she had finally decided not to let people dictate her happiness - to an extent, she supposed.

"Well noted," Kailin knew how often people refused to ask for help even when they needed it, but it wasn't her job to force people to do something they didn't want to do. It was her job to teach the people who wanted it. It was funny when people thought that she would take the time to fight with some students, but after they played the tough card, if they really wanted it, they usually came around. Not that she was trying to tutor him...

"I've seen so many different movies because each of my siblings liked something different, so I had a pretty broad range of disney movies to watch." Beauty and the Beast had always been Kailin's favorite, and she used to dance around the house in a yellow dress with Devlin when he let her. Oldest brother and father figure, Devlin was a huge part of who she was today.

"My power is sort of in the same broad category, I think. You can project things, and mine is more focused on making people see and hear things. " It had been a while since she had actually used her power considering there wasn't any reason to use it anymore, but the opportunity to present itself was always fun. "If you want, I can actually show you?"

[Cade Maddox]

Kailin's straight response to Cade was appreciated. He definitely needed the help, he knew he needed the help, but he certainly wasn't going to ask on the first time meeting her, and the fact she didn't respond directly to his clear indecisiveness made it all a bit better. His workout and anxiety tenseness slipped away slightly.

Cade hadn't thought about that when he had mentioned watching a lot of TV. Of course she would've seen a lot of different things. So many siblings, she must've experienced a lot.

"Any you liked in particular?" Disney movies were a common favorite when he was younger, so he didn't figure it hurt to ask. Maybe he could generate someone.

So she can make people see and hear things? Oh boy was that thrilling to Cade. Cade could make the characters but never the scene. It sounded like she could make the scene. The thought of her affecting him was...a little fear-inducing, but he wanted to try and not run from this. Like the characters kept telling him, he needed to get out there more.

"Okay, try me."

He relaxed his shoulders slightly, and almost had the look of someone who was about to jump off a cliff (confident dive; not suicidal). He was starting to feel comfortable enough with her that he might be able to slip into one of his acting personas and not be totally awkward for her. He decided to try a more adventurous one. After all, he had no idea what she'd do.

[Kailin Bishop]

What was the point of going after a student with help that they did not want? Kailin had better things to do, and so if someone said they didn't need help, then she'd believe them. It's no concern of hers what others go on and do unless she is told she absolutely /had/ to. That seemed to relax him slightly, to which she offered a softer smile. The shift in his voice put her at ease, where he became relatively smooth in speech rather than stuttered words.

"Beauty and the Beast," Kailin said, watching to see how he would react, "Or Lilo and Stitch, because I couldn't get enough of that movie." Cooped up in a room as a child, she'd hug the blue plushie to her chest in an attempt to make immerse herself into the movie as best she could. Every young child wished that they could be in their favorite movies, and in this case, Kailin wanted that desperately for both the movies mentioned.

When he accepted her offer, her eyes flashed, "I promise it won't hurt in any way, but you may be a bit disoriented." Her voice, however, should have faded by the end of the sentence and he would have been seeing A beautiful forest scene with the sound of the wind rustling trees in the background. After a minute or so, she released her hold on him and waited for him to return to reality.

"That wasn't so bad, was it?"

[Cade Maddox]

Beauty and the Beast! Oh how Cade loved that movie. The classic romance musicals were definitely his favorite. With a large grin and relaxed stance he said, "Lilo & Stitch was fun and all, but Beauty and the Beast is amazing. It has the best classic Disney movie music in my opinion."

It took all his willpower not to move to 'Tale As Old As Time' and sing it to her. But she had an illusion she wanted to show him, and he said he'd see it, so he definitely was ready to wait. After she did hers, he'd do his. Even though this girl had interrupted his (already failed) routine, he wasn't finding himself to bothered. She could do illusions! He hadn't really met anyone who's power was close enough to relate to. Well, anyone he wanted to hold a conversation with at least.

Forest. He was in a forest alone. Disappointment of having left Kailin behind in the gym mixed with the comfortable and relaxing nature of...well...nature. He looked around. It was so perfect and pretty. And then it began bleeding back into the gym he was in. He put out a hand in an attempt to touch a tree branch before it bled away.

Having ended up a bit turned away from Kailin, he looked back to her. "That was amazing." Pausing for a moment, he had a small thought. "Can you put yourself and someone else in one illusion? Because I have an idea."

What Cade had in mind would be very difficult for himself. He'd need to make 3 characters and keep himself going. It was really pushing his upper limits. But he was so excited at the prospect that he was willing to give it a shot.

"Can you create the ballroom from Beauty & The Beast?"

[Kailin Bishop]

"That is acceptable," Kailin offered with a tone mimicking that of a teacher, "Just as long as you don't bash Lilo and Stitch, I agree." With that, the last of the suffocating nervousness of a first encounter was swept away with the short laugh that followed the Blonde's words.

Graduating from Hammel on time was a miracle, but the fact that Kailin was able to push through the illusion with not even the semblance of a headache was incredibly reassuring. There were times that she wasn't sure she was going to be able to fully leave on time, but the last year there was a large focus on increasing her control and limiting the side effects. As the blonde allowed the image to fade from Cade's eyes, she noticed a light in his eyes. Childlike amazement, she guessed? Or was that a mischievous grin?

"The ballroom?" Kailin thought a moment then, wondering just exactly what he would do with that. "Yeah I can. Why?" There was something about the way his eyes were lit up that had her a bit confused, but in no way was she nervous. If he was going to do something to hurt her, he'd have done it by then. Not that she thought Cade would have done something to her in the first place (She'd like to think she had good judgement, but then again, that failed miserably once before).

[Cade Maddox]

"Uh...just, uh, trust me. It'll be cool." At least Cade hoped so. Cade quickly smiled at her and then took a step back from her, trusting that she would create it as soon as she was ready (whatever that required. As Cade stepped away, he made sure to head out further into the open area, away from the equipment.

"Ready, whenever," He said excitedly, closing his eyes, focusing inside to bring out his characters, with the hope that when he opened his eyes that he'd be in the ballroom. Slowing his breathing, he drew into himself, until all he could feel was his heartbeat and a small bead of sweat upon his forehead.

What he was trying to do wasn't easy. He had to mentally separate multiple facets of a scene that were normally merged together. Kailin would notice the sound of a piano echoing through the gym/ballroom, playing the tune of "Beauty & The Beast/Tale As Old As Time". It was hard to generate this version for Cade; because he had to have an Angela Lansbury (Ms. Potts) lookalike playing a piano; stretching his mind's ability to generate something new. But luckily he had seen Murder She Wrote enough to have seen her at a typewriter and enough Phantom of the Opera at a piano to merge them together.

He opened his eyes, hoping to be greeted with the ballroom, unsure of exactly how it would all look and what she would do with it. Belle and the Beast (one of his least humanoid characters he could generate), dressed in their iconic clothes would've begun to generate right behind Kailin in the moment he opened his eyes.

And "Ms. Potts" began to sing, "Tale as old as time, true as it can be..."

[Kailin Bishop]

Allowing his scenes was difficult. Her power overshadowed the person's normal senses to ensure the individual was seeing what Kailin wanted them to see. He still had the ability to do what he wanted with his, but unless she separated aspects of the scene Cade wished to project and the scene she was creating, it couldn't be done.

The familiar throbbing that the blonde thought she had overcome, but then again, when was the last time she had to work this hard to maintain her power?

Either way, the scene continued, and Cade's images surfaced within the illusion. Belle and the Beast appeared where Cade had placed them, which happened to be right behind her. She backed up slightly, through the illusion, and began to watch their movement, hoping to mimic the sounds that their footsteps would make. Her illusions were audible and visual, so it was definite work.

Kailin offered a strained smile in Cade's direction as she attempted to appreciate the work they were both doing.

[Cade Maddox]

The ballroom was perfect. It was clear to Cade that Kailin had watched it a good number of times. Or had a great memory. Or both. And she looked beautiful, even in her normal clothes. As Beast and Belle passed her, they came together, smiles on their faces, and began to dance similar to the movie.

"True as it can be..."

Cade walked toward Kailin, his skin growing warm. He turned as he walked toward her, shuffling sideways. The characters would be okay as long as he glanced at them occasionally. Once he got closer to her, he returned her smile nervously glancing at her and away from her. He didn't notice her discomfort or strain, as he was too nervous and proud of what they were doing to really manage anything.

"Barely even friends..."

Honestly, he was sweating more now than he was when he worked out. This pretty girl and him were creating a real-life movie before their eyes. Her beautiful eyes. He watched "Ms. Potts" playing the piano, hitting every key correctly. He had played the song himself before, and he assumed it was his own experience that was informing the play. He really wasn't sure.

"Then somebody bends...Unexpectedly..."

Cade then looked to Belle & Beast as they danced beautifully across the recreation of the ballroom. His voice cracking from nervousness, and barely loud enough to be audible, Cade sideways glanced at Kailin, and asked, "You want to dance?" Looking down, he cleared his throat, and whether she heard him the first time or not, he spoke up louder and clearer, "Would you...uh..like to dance...with me?...uh... them?...us?"