Of Flying Books and Harsh words (Rhett)

[Catherine Novella]

Cat really didn’t look like herself today. For one thing her hair was down. She never had it down. Unfortunately all of her hair ties had disappeared. So she was forced to wear it down. Plus she was wearing a necklace. It was a gift from a friend so she thought she should wear it every once in a while. Her whole nature was slumped. Even if she had a smile on.

Cat had been in the library, hiding. Mostly from herself and those around her. Xavier had broken up with her, and disappeared, she would not let others know or see the truth. She could not afford to. It had been a few months now and no one had found out yet. That was how Cat liked secrets. Well kept and minimal exposure. That was the best way to keep a secret. Cat had an uncanny ability to ignore things she did not want to see or acknowledge. This was proven by the fact that even after it had been so long she still had not cried. She wouldn’t allow herself to. Instead she ignored it and pretended like he did not exist. Like he had never happened. Cat would not even say his name. That would bring reality to light. That yes he had existed and yes he had left her. Nope. He didn’t exist.

That day Cat was reading through the summer reading list that had been posted for her grade. Unfortunately she had read most of the books n the list so she would not really have anything to read over the summer. She decided she would get these books out now, as to get them before the rush. Silently she made her way through the library halls and worked her way around the books. She thought about what types of books they were. All of them seemed interesting, seeing as she had not read them. Cat shuffled through the rows ignoring the piece of information poking at the back of her mind. She wouldn’t listen to it. She wouldn't.

Cat was lost in the works of the authors and intended to stay that way. She wouldn’t notice if a fly (or an annoying person) came up to her and hit her on the head. Even if they did she would ignore the said person. She was just in that sort of mood. Sitting down with one of the books on the list Cat began to read. Hey, let all of her worries be drowned out. That really was the best way to deal with this.

[Rhett Goddard]

Rhett had been sitting in the library for hours now, reading the Clockwork Orange for a second time, not because he enjoyed the book, but because he couldn't understand it quite well yet. Well that and because his old power trainer had recommended he did so as a part of his ESP training and he still hadn't figure the 'why' out. He had actually started to wonder if it had nothing to do with that and it was just about increasing his cultural knowledge, since the man did complain that Rhett had read so little number of books in his life. It was about halfway through the book that he started thinking of someone he had met not far from where he was a few months ago to never see again after a couple of weeks.

Rhett's power mainly manifested in three ways: echoes, spoken words with small and, most likely, important information; silent echoes, unspoken information that sneaked into his thoughts which he could notice was not there before and most of the time carrying medium-sized information; and finally, long strings of information that appear in the background without him noticing until he speaks them out loud or until well, he remembers it as something he knew from years ago. At first it had been hard to detect the last one from actual information he received 'naturally', but he had learned to differ the two, and most importantly, he had learned to detect, sometimes, when this part of his power manifested, as it often manifested with random thoughts of the person in question, sort of like when you find yourself thinking of someone for no reason. After knowing that there was some new information on his brain from the ESP because of that, it was just a matter of finding it.

In this case, however, the interesting part was not the information that had landed somewhere in his brain, but rather the who: since his ability had a radius of about a hundred meters, he knew the person in question was close, in this case, Catherine Novella.

And so, scouting his surroundings quickly from his seat, he saw her approach him, and as he prepared his response to an expected greet, she actually ignored him and took a sit not far from him. It was at that instant that he found the piece of information that had sneaked into his mind. Xavier broke up with her a few months ago, and by the looks of it, she was not anywhere near good. Without thinking much, Rhett stood up with his book, walked a few steps and sat next to cat before immediately resuming his reading.

"Well, hello there." He thought the consequences of bringing up the Xavier subject, the how and the when. It was most likely a better idea not to from the way she was clearly not carrying her 'everything's fine' smile and way of walking. Her hair looks weird too. Maybe it was a better idea to just to wait a little longer after talking to bring it up. "So I heard you and Xav broke up. Good, I can no longer expect a punch of two from him." Most of the times the best idea is not the most entertaining one.

[Catherine Novella]

As previously stated Cat was ignoring the world except for her book. So it was not all out of it that she walked right past Alexx. In fact she was doing pretty good to just stay with it in her book. She sat down with a sigh and let her mind wander over the book. She was halfway into it when someone sat down next to her. Cat decided it would be best to ignore them. She really just wanted to be left alone.

Cat was reading the page over again, trying to comprehend it when someone said something to her. She looked up at the person next to her. “Hi.” Why did he have to show up? All she wanted to do today was be left alone. To read. Let her worries be drowned in the words. She really was not looking forward to talking to Alexx. Especially after what he had said the last time she had seen him.

Cat went back to reading. She felt now that she had said her hellos she could go back to reading. Boy was she in for it when Alexx pried open that box of worms she had been ignoring. Been avoiding. Cat wondered if it would be best to pretend she hadn’t heard him. That he was speaking to the wind and she was invisible. “Yes we have broken up. So?” Cat spotted a rubber band and grabbed it immediately. Finally. Something to put her hair up. Swiftly putting up her hair into a soft ponytail Cat pushed her glasses up on her nose. That was better. She was more like herself. Much better.

When Cat heard the second part of the statement she grew a shade of pink only slightly. “ You may not be expecting a punch from him as he has disappeared.” She would not say his name. She would not. That would tear down all the walls she had worked so hard to build up again. She could not allow that to happen. She wouldn’t. Putting a smile on her face she addressed Alexx again. “Did you need something? Or were you just wanting to talk?” Cat hoped that now that he had gotten her attention and was attempting a conversation with her he would leave her alone. Waiting for his response she sat there stony faced looking at the book.

[Rhett Goddard]

((summer trip back home = sorry for the delay))

Well she's rather moody... Cat's way to answer Rhett prompted him to think that he was right after all, she did not wish, nor intended, to talk about her ex-relationship with him. The thing was, then what to talk about? It's not like, for Rhett, Cat was the most interesting person around. She probably was not interesting at all, at least at the moment, anyway. The only thing that didn't fit quite well with her was Xavier, and now that he's gone, she's well, not that unusual. So, it was now a decision of where to lead the conversation, or to end it completely. But well, Rhett is a pusher, a subtle one, but a pusher after all. Let's see where this leads to.

"Neither. See, I just felt the need of wanting to ask you about it and I did." He continued looking at his book, although he was not reading at all. "And now I feel the need to say something like 'I knew it wouldn't work', but I'm still deciding on how to say it or when." Without turning his head around he eyed her, or attempted to, anyway. "Maybe I should just go ahead and say it, should I not? I knew it was not going to last. I thought you didn't love him, but turns out he didn't really love you." Reading while talking is incredibly hard... "To be honest I didn't really know per se, but then again, I usually am a very good guesser. For example, I guess you're very very mad at me talking to you about something you don't want to talk about and actually have been avoiding thinking. I bet even hearing his name alone killed you."

[Catherine Novella]

Cat’s stony eyes that were hidden behind her glasses were trembling. Rage, Anger, all of the emotions she did not want exposed were coming to light. She had hoped, had really hoped he would just leave her alone. Unfortunately that was not going to happen. Nope. He had to push her buttons… to see if she would snap. Cat vowed then she wouldn’t. She would not give him the satisfaction. That was something else she had realized about Alexx. Everything he did had a purpose. Something planned out and decisive. That led Cat to wonder just what he wanted to get out of her. A far as she could tell she was normal. There should be nothing that would peak his interest. Sighing Cat looked at him again as he began to talk some more.

Listening to Alexx Cat felt her temper rising. She knew if this continued she would end up making a bad decision. The next few sentences out of Alexx’s mouth made Cat’s blood boil. She decided though, to be the better person and not lose her temper. In her head Cat was counting backwards from one-hundred until she calmed down. There. She was calm enough. “Alexx you just said it. You have no need to decide “when” to say it or “how” Cat watched his reaction as he attempted to look at her out of the corner of his eye. “For pity’s sake look at me if you are going to be talking to me. don’t “steal” glances here or there.” Eyeing him Cat put her book away. Well if he wanted to talk, or really just insult her fine. She could take it. It was not as if she was not able to make people believe she was heartless and cold. She has done it before in the past. She can do it again. “Whether or not he did love me is not really any of your business.” Maybe that would get him to shut up. Nope. Not happening Cat. Think again.

When Alexx started going on about guessing and making accusations Cat bit her tongue. “I am not mad at you per se. Annoyed? Certainly. It is true that I have avoided thinking about Xavier. I find no logical reason to think about him. It is not of any use to me now. Why should I?” Cat looked at Alexx, her eyes icy. “If hearing his name would kill me then I would be dead right now wouldn’t I? As you can see I am not.” Cat tilted her head towards Alexx. “Is there a point you were trying to prove with this conversation or was it just to bring up unwanted emotions? Because frankly I don’t give a flying whoop anymore.” Sure Cat just go ahead and delude yourself into thinking that. That is the way you will be able to get past this. For sure.

[Rhett Goddard]

Apparently, either Rhett had raised his levels of obnoxiousness in the last days, or everyone had suddenly decided to assault him in some way. He probably deserved it. No, actually he did deserve it. In a way, though, he actually needed to do it. He still wasn't over the Talen meeting and was still trying to bring things to normal. He was amazed at how one single short encounter was still somewhere inside him, but he was blaming it on the fact that it had been a one time thing and therefore its strength. He, like Cat, was actually in a more of a 'deny and leave behind' phase of it. But unlike Cat, Rhett didn't have anyone pressing on his nerves. Fortunately.

"Right, so you're throwing steam out of your ears and you don't care." Well now that's the fire I wanted to see. "And I'm not stealing glances at you, don't flatter yourself that much, the book is quite good and you're not my style." I miss being able to say no one is. "My point is, KittyCat, that you will explode eventually. Maybe now at this exact moment. I suggest directing it to the one that deserves it, God." He barely contained himself from laughing. "Oh, and Xavier too. Maybe you can start with him, searching for God might take a little while, being little your whole life."

[Catherine Novella]

Cat could not believe what was coming out of Alexx’s mouth. She had never done anything to him. Why was he insisting on annoying her? She sighed a headache starting to form. She looked at him albeit oddly. “No honestly I really don’t care anymore.” She sighed when he misinterpreted her. “Don’t flatter yourself to much either Alexx. I had only meant that you should look someone in the eye when you insult them. It makes the insult much more believable.” Cat really couldn’t believe just what was coming out of her mouth. It reminded her of before she was meta. When they made her act like this. They of course being the other students. She really was not well understood there. Frankly she didn’t care if she was understood by them. As long as they left her along to read it was all good. She did get tired of the insults though. That’s when Cat became like this. Catty.

Smirking Cat looked at the book he had in his hands. “ You’ll need that book if you want to ever understand humans. Or try to understand them at least.” Cat had read the book before. She may not agree with what had gone on within the novel, but she thought it was interesting the various themes and depths the book provided. She thought it extremely interesting the Alexx was reading it. It sort of suited him, even if she would never admit it.

He said it. He said that name. The one name no one was allowed to call her he said. Cat felt her temper flare. This was something that not a soul was allowed to call her. Before Cat knew what she was doing she had made the book in her hand head straight for the back of Alexx’s head. “ Don’t call me that. Anything else is acceptable. Just not that.” Frankly Cat could not care less what he was saying now. He called her that. That was the only thing running through her own mind. If he dared to call her that again then he would end up very hurt. Cat had good aim for a reason. Smirking Cat sat back down. He would finally leave her alone.

[Rhett Goddard]

Merde. Rhett felt the hit in the back of his head. So apparently I make a good bullseye for punches, kicks and now books. Well Zac didn't actually punch me but I'm sure my shirt felt bad being grabbed and stretched like that! He dropped the Clockwork Orange and passed his right hand through the hair in the back of his head, pulling it lightly. The hit had been hard, but he knew it wasn't like he would bleed because of it. Thankfully it wasn't giving him a headache. It had only been a statement. A big, bold, hard and strong statement. Great. It had been partially his fault anyway, he did say that she should explode, but it was ok, apparently, even if it surprised Rhett, it was part of the plan.

It was, really.

"You happy now?" He took the book from the floor with his left hand while looking at Catherine. "Look, Novella, if that doesn't deserve a second book to the head, maybe your oh-so-damaged-and-broken piece of humanity people like to call 'heart' is, very carelessly, trying to release stress in every way possible." Even though Rhett was trying to keep his cool, he was talking rather faster than normal. It had been a soft hit, but enough to induce epinephrine through his body. "Let me tell you, it works great. Really. Damn it's the best way to release, but Catherine, do you really think making me suffer, because yes, it hurts like merde, will actually make you feel better?" Eyes still stuck on her, stood up from his chair and removed his hand from the back of his head. "Grow up a little bit you PussyCat. For a girl that reads so much you have learned nothing from your books."

Taking a more aggressive path, Rhett decided to show Catherine his book, proceeded to slowly open it and then rip one page from it with a quick movement. It was a rather silent sound, but it surely echoed through the library like a scream.

"Tell me, did that hurt?" Other students were now looking at them, specially at Rhett's book-damaging actions, but he didn't care, he could always pay for the book and being banned from the library was not such a big deal, if that were to happen, and with that in mind, he ripped a second page. "What will you do now? Throw yourself at me? Go ahead, hit me." He wasn't sure what she might do now, maybe she would throw another book maybe she would just yell, maybe she would charge to take the book from his hands, but whatever option he took, he was ready for it, and if she took by surprise, he didn't really care the consequences, cats don't kill, they only scratch. "What is it gonna be, KittyCat?"

[Catherine Novella]

Cat sat down as Alexx retaliated with his words to her throwing a book. She frowned. Even if she had thrown it at him she knew she hadn’t thrown it that hard. It might leave a bruise but it most certainly it would not bleed. Watching him it looked like he was about to curse. Frankly it had made her feel a bit better. Just a bit. She had not thrown a book at some one in a long time. Cat realized that he was doing this on purpose. She really wondered if she should act again or not. It would probably just indulge him some more. That’s right, reason over emotion. That was the way to go Cat. Just keep believing that.

Cat eyed the fellow teen by her when he started talking again. God why wouldn’t he just leave her alone? She watched him with wary eyes. Just what was he planning? She looked at him a bit confused with his statement. All she knew was that he was insulting her. She really wanted to throw another book at his head. Really. Concentrating on every last bit of will she had not to throw the dictionary at his head, for that would make him bleed, Cat started her defense mechanisms that had always helped her in these types of situations before. She was counting backward from one hundred. She was snapping the rubber band on her wrist. It was a defense mechanism that had worked in the past. What was there to make her think that this would not work this time as well?

At least Cat knew that she was not the only one getting a bit pissed at the other party in this argument. She smirked in delight that he was talking relatively fast and he was losing his wits. Should she turn it up a notch? No Cat. Resist. She saw him formulating a plan in his mind. She would not give him the satisfaction. She couldn’t. Smirking Cat decided to answer his question. “ Yea actually it does. You’re the one who wanted to bring up this. I was content to just read and ignore it. Since you brought it up you’re the one that gets hurt.” She eyed him. Just where was he going with this? She shook her head annoyed. “ I have learned books are much better then people. They don’t push your buttons and make you throw books at their heads. I think I have learned enough for books. Maybe you should read some? You might actually learn something.”

Warily she watched him take his book and stand in front of her. She watched attentive when he slowly opened the book and ripped it in front of her eyes. Cat grew silent. She knew he wouldn’t understand. It was something she would never forgive him for. She watched him as he began to rip more and more of the book, her heart hurting. She felt tears in her eyes. He was destroying her sanctuary. Why in the world would he just do that. She felt like screaming. Like crying, Like falling to the ground in pain. Instead she hid her pain, her hurt, her rage in her eyes. She wouldn’t let anyone in. Not if they would destroy all the walls she had built up. She wouldn’t.

Her ears ringing from the silent torture Cat eyed him. “Your making a fool of yourself.” She would choose to ignore him. She had to. With the eyes of the library on her she knew her decision would affect the both of them. Cat gently picked the discarded book of hers up off the floor. She watched him who was standing there with a smirk on his face. In that one instance she felt so sorry for him. She really just pitied him. That was all. Brushing off the book she silently looked through the book as she set it down on the table. At the mention of her name she just looked at him, now eerily calm. “That is not my name. As I have stated before you may call me anything but that. If you wont listen I wont speak or answer to that name.” Cat looked at him awaiting his response. Maybe now he would just leave her alone. She wouldn’t cry in front of him. That was her last defense.

[Rhett Goddard]

"Maybe, Cat." Rhett left the book fall from his hands, the sudden change of tone and mood on the girl had told him that his work was done, she was broken, the way it should actually be. "But even if I'm making a fool of myself, it is better than plainly being one. You, Catherine Novella, are a fool."

Rhett could have walked away by now, heck he could have totally avoided the whole incident, which was still sending little pain bursts in the back of his head, but he didn't. See, Rhett could be branded as being a simple person, he has a very short of list of what he likes and what he dislikes, everything else is just as important as Chinese ants are to American ants. Yet, it is most likely this that make him a rather complicated person: obeying few laws, having little to no desires and caring about nothing, most of the time not even his wellness, he is nigh impossible to predict by normal means of simple psychology or behavioral analysis. Not even himself know what he does some things nor he could have predicted himself doing. He attributed this to the same source of his meta-human abilities, if someone was actually whispering things to his ears, maybe someone was also pushing him into certain directions. He was a pawn in a divine design, you could say, but if so were true, there was nothing he could actually do about it since acting against may be part of the plan, so he had chosen a very long time ago to just go with it. To let himself flow into the what happened and what not and instead of controlling what could happen to him, he would instead control what might happen to others. If someone else was playing him, he was to play everybody else. If someone asked him to describe himself in one phrase, and he cared enough to answer in total honesty, that would be his answer, his silent motto.

But what was his endgame here? Sadly, and hard for Rhett to admit, he and Catherine were not in that different position, they were both trying to forget about someone by means of ignoring it, mostly. But the french boy, although inexperienced, was too bright, and had seen the situation far too many times, to think it was an efficient solution. As far as he knew, it never worked. It was like stashing coins in a pig, at some point they will not fit any longer. In Rhett's case, he didn't know the pig's size and even less, he didn't know how the coins were, and partially afraid of what might or might not happen if he had chosen that path, he decided to deal with it, fight it back and killing it instead of just putting it behind and hope for things to be ok. Cat however, was doing the opposite. It could be arguable that Rhett, out of jealousy because it was working for her, had acted to try to make her take the same path Rhett had chosen, but the truth was that, as stated before, that option doesn't really work. So he was actually helping her? Maybe. Willingly and with that in the front of his mind? Most likely not. He was not the helper type. Maybe it was all about having an excuse to not read A Clockwork Orange for a second time, not like he was being forced to anyway, but maybe, and just maybe, it was about acting it out, Alex did attack a librarian at the beginning of the book. Yet maybe it was all about bothering someone, the plain pleasure of making someone else sad so he could feel a bit happier, Rhett was cold enough to do so.

Maybe it was a combination of all the above, but maybe none of them was the real answer, and in pure honesty, not even Rhett could answer this time. He was just following his role, not thinking too long to reconsider and not thinking twice. After all, he did enjoy it, and as long as he did, why would he stop?

"When you cry by yourself between your covers tonight while feeling sad, lonely, hurt and misunderstood..." Rhett turned around, giving Cat his back. "Have nothing but one thing in mind. Giving your back to a problem will not make it go away, you have to spit on it first..." He started walking, not looking back. "...And then actually walk way." She would not see it, but there was a smile in his face. "Oh, and it's a good thing he dumped you..." Rhett yelled while walking away, making sure the surrounding people would hear. "...You're far too ugly for him."

That being said, and with a handful of silent eyes on him, he quickly and silently walked out of the library, avoiding by mere seconds the attention of the librarian who fortunately was not around to notice what events had just happened, and as long as Cat would not denounce his book-ripping sins, everything was just going to work out fine. Then again, as usual, he didn't actually care that much.

[Catherine Novella]

Cat eyed Alexx as it looked as if he was making his final stand. His final attempt to bring her down. She listened while he talked. He wouldn’t listen anyway, why bother explaining it to him? “I am what I am. I don’t try to change. That just makes me not be myself. If you don’t like who I am then you are free to leave at anytime. Let me tell you I will go back to reading blissfully.” Cat knew that she was being a but rude, but frankly, at this point she didn’t care. If he wanted something she would have helped him get it. Instead he chose to stay here and push her buttons. That in itself was very annoying. Then there was the fact that he insisted one pursuing the fact. She really did wonder what he was doing. It really did not make sense to her. What did he have to gain from this?

Cat watched the other boy apprehensively. She felt that in herself there really was no reason for him to be doing this. She had wanted him to just walk away. Sure, she maybe should not have thrown that book at his head but she felt it was warranted. She realized that through his actions he was controlling her emotions. Cat was not a fan of that. She felt that people should have a right to think, act and feel mostly however they wanted. She did believe I some limitations, mostly for the safety of the general public. But to be controlled by your emotions was something Cat sort of found appalling. And to be the one controlling them… for that person Cat just felt pity. What were they so insecure about that they felt the need to control others? Why were they so afraid of their own emotions? At least this is how Cat thought. She had no doubt in her mind Alexx would chide her for thinking this way. Cat marveled at the differences in their basic characters. At least that she could see.

Cat knew that she would never truly understand Rhett. She just wouldn’t. They were too different. Where she treasured books, revered them he would rip one up to make a point. Cat felt that even if he did apologize, which she thought highly unlikely, she could not bring herself to ever be back in the mentality that he was an ok person, just a bit misguided. Cat felt that the path of ignoring something was better then confronting it. It is how she had always lived. There were just some things that were better left unspoken. Cat had no idea what Alex had gone through to become this sort of person. Maybe their circumstances were different? Maybe he acted like this for a reason. Honestly Cat did not know. She did know that he was being rude. Very rude. That was just not acceptable. She was all for acting as you pleased, but manners did matter, That much she knew. If everyone was rude and into someone else’s business then it would be chaos. A lot of people would have ended up hurt. It didn’t matter anyway. Cat would just go back to being herself. Her rational, not dealing with things self.

Cat listened to his words. Smiling she looked at him. “That’s just it. I wont cry.” Smiling Cat began reading. The book really was interesting. She was still listening, of course, as it would be rude not to, but in her mind the conversation was already done. She watched silently as he started walking towards the door. “See that’s the difference between you and me Alexx. When I turn my back on something, sure it may not go away, but eventually it fades. The hurt is not there anymore. So I think I will choose to keep turning my back on my problems. It has worked in the past and it will still work. After all I have had tons of practice.” Most people might say that Cat is a coward, or afraid. The truth is she was strong in her thinking and methodology. She may not have many, many reasons for how she acts but she is who she is. When people try to change that all they find is a stubborn girl who mostly ignores them. Cat just sighed when he started yelling at her. She really did pity the fact that he could not get it through his head that she didn’t care. When he insulted her appearance Cat just shrugged. “ You think I don’t know that Alexx?” Cat almost laughed. “Oh trust me he made that apparent enough.”

Cat realized the eyes of the library were on her and waiting for her reaction. Sighing Cat just went back to reading. Let them stare. It was not as if she could change that fact. Cat sat back down in her spot and looked at them all as they stared. This is why she avoided drama. She did not like being the center of attention. She was entirely against it. That’s right. Books were better then people. That at least she knew for a fact.