A Bad Plan (Jalen,Open)

[Aaron Walker]

AJ was tired of playing catch and release with sound waves. Until he could get a better grip on when and where he let out all the energy built up inside of him, he felt like his ability was the one controlling him. He knew it should be the other way around. His only plan of action so far had been to keep at least one of the officials at Hammel updated about how he was doing and to find a safe place to discharge the energy. But he was getting tired of that. He came to the conclusion that maybe more power would mean more control. He knew it sounded stupid, but it was the only idea he could come up with.

So for the past few days, he had told anyone who asked that he was doing just fine. He tried to ignore the pain and aching in his body. Whenever he took more pain medication, he made sure no one was around to see. As far as he could tell, no one knew he was on the verge of explosion. That was the way he wanted it.

But he was starting to think maybe this wasn’t such a good idea. Although he still wanted to try and handle this issue alone, he knew it was better if he wasn’t around anyone else right now. The very last thing he needed was to hurt someone.

He left the campus and avoiding most of the downtown area, he headed for the lake area. There were a few trails and trees for cover. He knew it would be bad if he attracted any attention to himself.

By the time he reached the edge of the trees by the lake, his whole body was throbbing. The built up sound waves were too much for him to handle. He felt powerful, that was sure. But at the same time powerless because he knew he had no way to control the release.

He fell to his knees as he reached a small clearing in the woods, covering his ears for the explosion of sound he knew was coming. He managed to keep his eyes open as the sound waves ripped out of him, creating a cloud of dust as they knocked down anything in his immediate surrounding. He swore he could almost see them rippling through the air.

Well, he thought to himself as he stood and brushed off his pants. So much for that idea. I hope no one was around to hear that. Or feel it.

[Jalen August]

Jalen never left the campus during her first two years at Hammel, afraid to draw attention to herself and her out of control powers. Now, she ventured out with glee, glad for a change of atmosphere. It seemed the longer one spent at Hammel, the less the school had to offer. There was only so much training one could do before they perfected the powers they possessed. The older students had more free time than they knew what to do with, and the blonde supposed this was where all the drama ensued.

Driving her car to the lake out of town was the first thing that came to her mind. After spending time with so many people, the last thing she wanted to do was walk into another person with something to tell her, some kind of drama. Lately, she was the target of the drama, no thanks to that brat LaRousee. He was more trouble than he seemed on the surface. Was this how all wealthy teenagers acted? Poking their nose in where it didn’t belong? Glancing in the rear-view mirror, Jalen could see her face turn red. Just the thought of the small Asian boy made her blood boil. He wasn’t so bad, it was the situation he was poking at that painted him in a bad light.


Parking her car near the woods, the seventeen year old closed the door and pocketed her keys, tall black boots clicking as she went. It was a nice day out, which made Jalen smile as her blonde hair surrounded her face. Never would she wear her hair up, as she didn’t want to show off her scar. Following her usual path that lead straight to the lake, she let her hands touch the various trees and branches once she got to the tree line.

Her sharp hearing caught someone or something rustling around in the trees nearby, and she looked around to see what it was. Before she could take another step, a piercing sound made her cringe, gasp, and fall to the floor. Jalen didn’t have time to react to the soundwave, but she could definitely feel it’s force getting close. Her head was throbbing and she did her best to protect herself, but the blast was so strong that she fell to her back, clutching at her ears.

Sensitive hearing wasn’t always a good thing, and as the impact subsided, Jalen pulled her hands away only to find that they were moist with glistening red blood. The scar on the back of her neck was searing hot, and she winced. Moaning loudly as she managed to sit, the girl was stunned. She had been knocked down by something she thought she knew inside and out. How come she couldn’t protect herself? Letting out a sharp, “Ah!” as she touched her ears again, her arms recoiled. Touching her ears, not a good idea right now.

Instead, she clutched her head and closed her eyes, trying to relieve the pain and ringing in her ears. The bleeding had stopped but if anyone came by the trail at this very moment, they would see her – a complete wreck. Feeling helpless, Jalen tried not to care about who or what would happen upon her. She only knew the pain between her ears, the only sound she noticed was the buzzing which appeared to be all around her.

[Aaron Walker]

AJ had only taken a few steps, thinking of heading back to Hammel, when he heard a cry of pain. Oh crap. He ran in the direction of the noise to find a girl on the ground, holding her head. He noticed that her ears either had been or currently were bleeding. For a moment he couldn’t breathe. I did this, he thought to himself.

He took a step closer to the girl, tears already forming in his eyes and reached out his hand to touch her shoulder. “I’m s-s-sorry,” his said, his voice breaking as he tried to keep himself from crying. “I’m so sorry. I didn’t know…I didn’t think anyone else would be around. I…I…” he started to offer her something, but realized there probably wasn’t much he could do to help her current condition.

Sinking down to the ground beside her, he waited for her to look up. “Please…I’m sorry.” I did this. I hurt her.

[Jalen August]

If the boy hadn't touched her shoulder, Jalen wouldn't have noticed his approach. The buzzing was still reverberating within her and for once she couldn't control it. As soon as she felt someone else touching her, she let out a yelp, snapping her head towards him just to cringe in pain. She could barely hear what he was trying to say, and she couldn't amplify it. Her powers were out of whack now, at least for a little while.

"What?" She asked the boy, her eyebrows still furrowing. Her hearing was slowly recovering, but her head still throbbed. He seemed to be holding back tears. Did he do this? "Did you do this?" She asked, despite how she might not hear the reply. Of course she would run into someone with powers outside of school... People with powers just seemed to gravitate towards one another.

Usually the blonde would have introduced herself, but considering the circumstances, she was in a foul mood. Jalen had no interested in giving a warm welcome to the person who had caused this. Why would he show off his powers for fun?

[Aaron Walker]

AJ jumped when she flinched as he touched her. His stomach was doing back flips as he wondered how much trouble he was going to get into for this. And who knows what this girl would do to him once she was feeling better. At least she was okay enough to be talking to him.

When the girl raised her head, he thought he recognized her. Not that he knew her name, but he was sure he’d seen her around the school. “Are you a student at Hammel? I’m AJ. That’s where I go.”

“I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to. I just…I just lost control,” his voice was still cracking slightly but he was managing to keep it together for the most part. I’ll bet this girl has a really big boyfriend. With huge muscles. He’s gonna beat me to a pulp, AJ thought to himself.

“Is there anyone I can call for you?” he asked. He didn’t own a cell but he knew there was a pay phone down by the lake he could use. I started to fidget with a stick on the ground. I’m such an idiot. I can't believe I hurt someone.

[Jalen August]

"Alright then Abe," she said, mishearing the boy, "how about you help me get back to the school then." It was so much a request as it was a demand. If he knew what was good for him, Abe would get his ass in gear and try to get back on her good side.

By the looks of things, this boy wasn't going to try to do much of anything other than fiddle with a twig. Wincing again, Jalen was surprised at her quick recovery. "Sonic manipulation right?" She asked, knowing too well the burning aftermath of such a release of energy. She would never say it, but she could tell that Abe would have more power than her once he could harness the energy he possessed.

"Come on," she said, putting her hand into the younger boy's, asking for help within the gesture. "I think a visit to the nurse is in order."

[Aaron Walker]

Abe? Is she giving me a nickname? AJ stood to help the girl to her feet. He had no idea how he could get her back to the school. He had no car. And he couldn’t think of anyone to call to help him out.

“Yeah, sonic manipulation. Or more like, sonic absorption." And huge explosion. He was wondering how the girl knew about his ability. Then he realized she had to be another meta. Anyone else would have freaked out by now.

He was surprised when the girl touched his shoulder; he actually jumped a little. How can she trust me after I just hurt her? “Yeah,” AJ said, wishing he had a more useful ability like teleportation. “The nurse…I can help ya…somehow…you got a car?”

[Jalen August]

Jalen nodded once and immediately regretted it, as more pain shot through her head. She looked at the boy through slitted eyes, not because she was that angry anymore, suddenly she could really understand where he was coming from, and how embarrassed he probably felt. "Might wanna try practicing a bit more, never a good idea to hold all that in," she said, offering a feeble smile. It would have to do for now.

Reaching into her pockets, the blonde realized her car keys were missing. "I have a car..." She answered, searching the ground for a moment. Ah, there they were, knocked over by some bush. Reaching over to grab them, she practically threw them at Abe. "Sorry!" She said, hoping she hadn't thrown too hard. She was glad for the help up from him, and she held onto his arm tightly with both of her hands. "I'm uh," she said, closing her eyes for a moment, "parked over there," she said, waving her hand in almost every direction.

Honestly, she couldn't remember where she had parked.

[Aaron Walker]

AJ was confused when the girl smiled and then threw her car keys at him. Does she expect me to drive? True, AJ didn’t have a license, but he figured once he got behind the wheel it would come to him. After all, he was pretty sure he couldn’t make the situation any worse. Unless he managed to totally wreck the car and hurt the girl even more.

He tried to help the girl keep steady as he slowly guided her toward the parking lot. He’d managed to pull himself together so that he wasn’t holding back tears anymore, but he was still mentally kicking himself for attempting to control things on his own.

“Which one is yours?” he asked as they reached the parking lot. I hope it’s not a stick shift. He looked around the parking lot, hoping that no one would be around to notice them. He was sure if someone saw him leading around an injured girl that they would have a lot of questions. Even if AJ managed to convince them it was a simple accident, he didn’t want to have to explain it was his fault. Or why it was important that he take the girl back to Hammel instead of a nearby hospital.

[Jalen August]

Jalen looked up, and managed a small smirk. "The only one in the parking lot. Not a lot of people are coming to visit a lake..." she said, trying to find her center of gravity. Hopefully the boy would pull himself together and get her back to the school quickly. It would be the best place to deal with this kind of injury. The car was a simple Toyota Corolla automatic, and she hadn't thought about whether he could drive or not. As far as she was concerned, she was the one bleeding from her ears, and she was keeping it together better than he was.

No one was around this area, that's why she wanted to come here in the first place. They would have no problem making a sneaky getaway.

[Aaron Walker]

AJ tried to return the smile, but it didn’t really work. “Oh…yeah..of course.” Using the girl’s keys he opened the doors and helped her to get into the passenger seat. Fishing in his pockets he found a clean handkerchief and handed it to her. “Um…for your ears.” He ran around to the driver’s side and sat down behind the wheel. I really hope she doesn’t have some angry ape for a boyfriend. Or an older brother, he thought as he started the car.

“Okay,” he said turning to look at the girl. “Here we go.” He pressed the gas pedal softly, testing it out. You can do this. It’s just like one of those arcade racing games. He turned to give the girl another feeble smile as he pulled away from the lake and headed back to Hammel.

(OOC: You wanna start up a thread in the Infirmary and I'll meet ya there?)

[Jalen August]

(OOC:This thread continues - Bloody Mess)