Grease Monkeys, Beignets, and Hide-and-Seek (Open)

[Aiden Laveaux]

Aiden grunted as he made a last adjustment underneath his car, twisting the wrench forcefully until he was sure everything was back where it should be. It was late afternoon on a Friday, and since the sun was shining and it was nice and warm out, he had decided to teleport down to the auto shop to do some basic fixes on his car. Which was how he had ended up covered in grease and with his hair even messier than usual, as well as dirty. He tried in vain to wipe off his hands as he rolled out from underneath the vehicle, but it was no use - he needed soap and water. He tossed away the rag and stood, smiling proudly as he gazed at the black Camaro his parents had bought him for his 18th birthday. It was his pride and joy, almost a better friend to him than most of the students here at Hammel. Except for Kiara, of course. And his siblings.

He ran a hand through his hair, belatedly realizing that was a terrible idea, then sighed and went to wash off his hands. As he did so, he gazed out of the open back garage door to the auto shop, wondering what the rest of the day would bring. He still had several hours of daylight left, and he wondered if maybe he should try to get together some friends for a game of hide-and-seek in the dark or something. That sounded fun... And he nearly almost always won, considering he could disappear in a flash if the seeker happened across his hiding place! Yes, that would be fun.

He found a few pieces of paper and scribbled on them quickly, then thought about where in Hammel he would find the most traffic. After deciding, he teleported with a PUFF of smoke to three different places in succession - the entrance to the co-ed dorms, the cafeteria, and the gym - and placed the pieces of paper on the wall where people could see them. On them, he had written an invitation for anyone to join him with a fun game of hide-and-seek until after dark, and to meet him at the auto shop. He teleported back to the room and immediately lashed his hand out to steady himself, not used to teleporting so many times in a row. He felt dizzy and confused, and it took him a few moments to regain his posture.

Now he would just have to wait and see who would join him. Hopefully they wouldn't mind a little grease and the smell of oil!

[Benjamin Richmond]

Of all the things Benni expected to see on his first solo tour of Hammel, an ad for nocturnal hide and seek wasn't on the list. He rocked on his heels outside the co-ed dorm, wondering if this was a normal student activity created to promote teamwork and diversity...or something fun and spontaneous. ~Only one way to find out for sure. Scavenger hunt time.~

Never content to take a guided tour (or ask directions) Benni wound up taking a roundabout route before he stumbled across the auto shop. He looked utterly out of place in his violet knitted poncho, black sparkly undershirt, black jeans, and boots; the way he glanced around spoke of someone who wasn't the least bit shy around tools. Fortunately for him, there was someone in the shop who looked friendly enough, so Benni felt less hesitant to ask questions.

"Excuse me," he called out softly. "The hide and seek...it's open for new students, right?"

[Aaron Walker]

AJ was always on a constant search for new adventures. Although, with his lack of social observation skills, he sometimes had a bit of trouble finding something that wouldn’t lead to trouble. Some days he was luck though and he ran into adventure head on.

Like today.

Running down the stairs, AJ had tripped on his shoelaces and fell face first into a wall. The force of the blow had knocked down a sign someone had taped up. After rubbing his forehead, where he thought he felt a lump starting to grow, he reached down to pick up the sign.

“Hide-and-seek? In the dark? Awesome!” he yelled, all thoughts of the pain in his head disappeared as he took off towards the auto shop.

A few minutes later he rushed into the shop, sliding on some grease and knocking over a few tools. “Sorry,” he mumbled as he fumbled around trying to pick them up. “But when I see a sign for hide-and-seek I don’t waste any time.” He grinned at the two boys already there.

[Therru Simmons]

Therru was just out in town for new pens and things. She had been needing them for a while, surviving on what she could find lying around. And it was about time she went to get some new ones. She never had a ton of money to spend, so she was always so careful with it. She had ridden her bike into town, but now had a distressing problem. On the way back her bike chain had broken, making it entirely impossibly to ride. She hiked her bag up on her way back, passing the shop. Well, maybe they can help. she thought to herself. The rather quiet girl didn't like the idea of going and asking for help. She could just walk back to the school. Then again, when she needed to use her bike in the future she wouldn't be able to. So into the shop she went, leaving her bike leaning against the wall.

There were already a few people there, and she heard people talking about hide and seek, in the dark. It wasn't really somethng she'd go for, as she hadn't played hide and seek since she had lived in Lightsbridge, which seemed to be forever ago. Therru walked up to the people there, already nervous and becoming more so, though she didn't look it. No one needed to know her emotions. They were hers and hers alone.

" Umm, excuse me, but I'm afriad that I am in need of some help. My bike chain is broken." She said quietly, not liking to interrupt the people there. She'd do it though because she just wanted to get back to the library and continue working on the paper she was writing.

[Deleted]

Hide-and-seek. Aiden’s handwriting. Kiara could recognize it anywhere, even if it had been noted down in a rush. While her plans for that evening did not involve any childish games, she easily decided that things could be postponed. If it had not been her best friend who wrote the invitation, she would not even have considered wasting some of her precious time. One of her plans had been to bug him after some assignments were finished, so technically it did work out a little bit. Switching the schoolbag onto her other shoulder, the blonde made her way to the auto shop. Aiden was the only reason she knew the directions there. Cars never truly interested her; she barely had any knowledge about them.

Anyway, upon arrival, a couple of people seemed to have arrived already. All their faces were familiar, but names couldn’t be pasted on them. That was alright though… except for the girl who she knew was named Therru. Normally Kiara wouldn’t have been aware, but given Aiden had mentioned her during their trip to the ocean, she had done her own little amount of research to discover just who this girl was. This made the blonde rather reluctant to stick around, but reminding herself of the fact that this girl could steal Aiden from her, she opted to keep an eye on them. She even moved to her best friend, standing next to him.

”Ready?” Hide-and-seek. Not to fix that bike. Plus, she was pretty much talking to everyone there.

[Aiden Laveaux]

Once the fog had lifted from his mind and he could think a little clearer after teleporting, Aiden heard a quiet voice coming from the doorway. He turned and was met with a shy, androgynous face that he didn't recognize. He put on a bright smile, ignoring how out-of-place the student may have looked. "Absolutely! I was just looking for a good time, so hopefully we'll have some other people join soon!" He stepped forward and offered a (now clean) hand. "I'm Aiden. I don't think I've seen you around before... Are you new?" No reason he couldn't make a new friend out of the game!

He was literally nearly tackled over as another boy rushed into the room, looking more than a little excited. Aiden steadied them both before letting out a laugh. "I like your enthusiasm! I thought it would be fun - I mean, who doesn't like hide and seek? I guess I'm technically an adult.... But I'll never be too old for games." He recognized this kid's face, but he couldn't put a name to it. He repeated his greeting to him, also offering a hand and saying,"Aiden. And don't worry about the mess - this place is always messy, especially when I'm around." He bent over to help clean up the tools.

And yet another voice came from the garage opening. Aiden froze, recognizing the quiet tone of the girl's voice. Was it really her? He turned slowly, making sure he wasn't showing any obvious emotions as his eyes confirmed what his ears had heard - it was Therru. He was surprised to see her there - as far as he knew, she was normally quite reclusive. "Hey!" he greeted her, his Cajun-accented voice cracking slightly. He realized a second later it was her bike that she was there about, and not hide and seek. That made more sense. He took one look at the chain and gave her a comforting grin. "No problem, I can get that fixed in a jiffy. But.... I'm afraid I'm a little preoccupied at the moment, so I'll make you a deal. You can join us for our game of hide and seek, and I will fix it free of charge." Okay, so he probably would have done that anyway for her, but he wasn't about to admit it. "It's Therru, right?" he asked, faking not knowing her very well. "Aiden... I think we have some classes together." Two classes, actually...

"Kiara!" he blurted upon seeing his best friend appear by his side. "What a pleasant surprise. And here I was, thinking I would be playing with total strangers." Not exactly total... He HAD mentioned Therru to Kiara, and he couldn't help but notice the less than warm look Kiara had sent Therru's way. He hoped this wouldn't turn nasty.... "Yes! I am ready. So here are the rules - Classrooms are fine to hide in, as long as the door is open. I don't want us getting in trouble by breaking into locked rooms. Don't hide in the dorms - way too many rooms, not to mention we don't want to invade people's privacy! Basically, just the classrooms down in this area, plus outside - it's always more fun to play in the dark. You ARE allowed to use your powers to an extent, but don't use physical force to remove someone from their hiding place." He didn't know what all of their powers were, but he didn't want anyone getting hurt. He went over a few more rules, giving boundaries and other somewhat obvious no-nos. "Everyone set?" He glanced at each one of them, forcing himself not to keep his gaze locked on Therru's for too long. "Nose goes!" He immediately touched his nose with one finger and the ground with his other hand, waiting to see who would be the last to react and therefore be the seeker.

[Aaron Walker]

“I agree!” AJ said as Aiden helped him to get steady. “Everybody loves hide-and-seek, right?” It seemed to be the truth as more people started to arrive in the autoshop, AJ was getting so excited about the upcoming game. After a minute he realized he had forgotten again to introduce himself. “Oh! And I’m AJ,” he said, almost yelling.

Bouncing around on his toes, trying his best to avoid knocking over anything else over as Aiden said hello to everyone else. He seemed to know the girls, well at least enough to know their names. AJ on the other hand figured he had probably seen them around in classes, but couldn’t remember if he’d ever taken to either of them.

He nodded his head along as Aiden listed the few rules. He doubted his power would come in handy even if he did use it, but he wasn’t worried about it. He was already trying to think of a perfect place to hide.

“I’m ready!” AJ said, incase his bouncy around, huge grin, and excited eyes led anyone to believe differently. When Aiden touched his nose and the ground, AJ had no idea what he was doing. He gave the other boy a confused look, wondering if it was something to do with Aiden’s power. Or maybe some joke he had going with the girls.

Chances were he’d be the last to catch on.

[Therru Simmons]

Therru knew she had two classes with him. She had not talked to him very often, as she felt more shy around him than most people. It might be because she liked him, just a little. The less than warm look the other girl gave Therru made her want to just go hide somewhere, broken bike or not. But then he warmly said it would be no problem. He could fix it...if she agreed to play hide and seek with them. She wasn't so sure about that.

But then, Aiden put his finger to his nose. She wasn't quite sure what that was all about. The other boy, AJ, looked just as confused. Tentatively she touched her finger to her nose, looking at Aiden to see if that was right, Dear, what have I gotten myself into? she thought, slightly worried. Therru didn't really even know any good places to hide!

[Deleted]

Nose goes. If it had not been for Aiden, Kiara would not be aware of the expectations at this point. Luckily for her, given she was never too fond of being the one who had to search, she easily caught on and soon enough found herself squatting down with a finger pressed against the tip of her nose and the other hand down on the floor. It was obvious that Aaron was the last to understand, if he even was that updated by now. Anyway, with the roles divided, the blonde rose again and felt her gaze travel from Therru to Aiden. For her, the game felt ruined already, but she couldn’t leave because then she couldn’t keep an eye on them.

”May the best one win.” She smiled like usual, attempting to hide just how much the behavior of this other girl influenced her. It shouldn’t be her prime concern though. Instead Ki should be pondered about where to hide. Perhaps the photo lab, in the dark room. Aaron didn’t know her well enough, but if he did, it probably should be the last place where he would expect to find her given the girl was afraid in the dark. But yeah, that’s where she was going, if only because her senses would be extra sharp with her vision eliminated. That way she should be able to hear Aaron approach and to know when to use her power, probability manipulation, in her benefit.

(((With Benjamin inactive, Aaron is the last. Hope it’s okay to assume that. ^^)))

[Aiden Laveaux]

"AJ's it!" Aiden crowed, bouncing back to his feet. "Sorry man, I guess I should've explained how nose goes works." He briefly explained it, all the while feeling Therru's eyes on him, her expression in its normal uncertain look. "Alright AJ, count slowly to fifty, and then you can come find us. Ready? GO!" He quickly hugged Kiara (who knew, maybe some of her ability would rub off onto him and help?). He dashed off in the opposite direction of Kiara, who was heading out into the hall to hide.... Wherever. She would most likely win, given that she could use her ability to make AJ look in places she wasn't. Although his power could be useful too - if he heard AJ come near, he could simply teleport somewhere else. The only problem with that is that it was hard to judge distances in the dark, and the sun was already nearly below the horizon. As Kiara rounded a corner, he paused and looked back, wondering how Therru was reacting. "Psst, hey, follow me!" he motioned, towards the open garage door out into the grounds. He had an idea of teleporting into a tree, and he thought maybe she could use some help hiding, since she still looked uncertain of playing.

[Therru Simmons]

As it was proclaimed that AJ was it she just stood there. Hide and seek, hide and seek. Hide. That's what she should have been doing at the moment. Except, she didn't particularly want to anyway. When Aiden's voice caught her attention she followed. It seemed he had a very good idea of what he was doing, as she didn't. For a moment the girl felt a bit of self hate well up in her fo being so....fickle when it came to who she liked. But she had never dealt with feelings well and the confusion of who she was still had an enormous impact on how she acted.


Quietly she followed, glad she had her tennis shoes on rather than flip flops. While she appreciated the ability to be able to rid herself of the flip flops it would have been horrible to try and play this. game in. She smiled slowly when she game close to him, just a slight thing.
" Thank you. I've no notion of good places to hide." Not for hide and seek anyway. Hiding she was excellent at.

[Aaron Walker]

AJ kept a confused look on his face until Aiden explained noes goes. He grinned and thanked him for the explanation, even though chances were he’d forget how it worked by the next time he’d need to know. Besides he had busier things to think about right now, like how to go about finding everyone.

He was pretty sure he’s powers would not be helpful at a time like this, so that idea when out the window quickly. He decided instead to try and think of places where he might hide himself as he counted to fifty. He got sidetracked a few times and had to start completely over counting at one point but finally he yelled out “Forty-nine….Fifty! Ready or not, here I come!”

He decided to head outdoors first. It took a moment for his eyes to adjust and he tripped over something three feet outside the door. “Found ya!” he yelled, before realizing the thing he had tripped over was a bush, not a person. He laughed at himself before starting to walk around the building, keeping his eyes out for the other students and listening hard for any movement.

[Deleted]

Kiara did hide in the dark room, just like planned. The only problem, despite her assumption that it had been such great idea, was that it really took AJ quite a long time to find her. And the worst of it all, even though she had not used her power just yet, was that she felt as if energy was being drained without an obvious cause. A little headache crept up as well and it made the blonde contract herself into a small ball under the table. Not only was she scared in the dark, an unpleasant feeling took over as she began to replay what had taken placing during the last half hour.

More than half of the time had been wasted hidden, so no way this could have anything to do with it. She hadn’t even used it in her benefit to win noes goes. Not even to do something to Therru. Therru. And that was when it hit the blonde. Aiden hugged her… and he knew she had no control over the power transition during this. He must have been thinking of the other girl as well. Why else would he have embraced her? They would have seen each other again soon enough.

Call it ridiculous, but this was enough for Kiara to push herself from under the table, to stand up straight and to walk out of the room without caring about being caught by Aaron. The blonde felt numb and she just had to find Aiden. He had to reassure her Therru had not been on his mind during the hug. Either way, she would probably find out soon enough. She felt weak, so the little bit of her power taken by him was starting to do its work. Moving outdoors, the curly one stood still, scanning the surroundings in search for the others. Bet her best friend was with the other girl. She gave herself a sad sarcastic chuckle. How could she be so stupid?

[Aiden Laveaux]

"Hey, no problem. I kinda threw you into this mess, so I should be more than willing to help. And I am." As Aiden talked, he felt a peculiar sensation, like he could do anything and probably get away with it. If he hadn't been best friends with Kiara, he probably would have thought nothing of it, but he knew the sensation of her probability manipulation working and realized that he had, indeed, had a little of it rub off onto him when he hugged her. He was thinking about hiding well when he had hugged her, but he now realized he had been subconsciously thinking about Therru too - and how to get him to like her. He almost groaned. He hated to use Kiara's power in this way, but it was just too tempting to not put to his advantage. If the odds were in his favor, as he assumed they would be because of Ki's ability, maybe he could get past Therru's shy nature and find out whether or not she felt the same way about him. It was worth a shot. "Hey, so, I... Look out!" While he had been occupied with his thoughts, AJ had apparently counted to 50 and was now looking outside. Without thinking he grabbed Therru's arm and teleported, appearing a moment later around a corner, near the trees he had thought about hiding in. "Sorry, I'll warn you next time," he said sheepishly. Again, he felt an unusual boldness, and decided to cut to the chase, before the probability manipulation stopped working. "Okay, this may be abrupt, but... I think you're really pretty." He felt himself begin to blush, but continued, hoping he wasn't just making a fool out of himself. "I know we don't know each other that well, but I'd love to spend some time together. What do you think?" There, it was out in the open now. He sent a silent apology to Kiara, not knowing she could feel her abilities at work.

He heard footsteps around the corner, and he pulled Therru behind some bushes, thinking it was AJ - until he caught sight of the long, curly blonde hair. "Kiara?" he whispered from the hiding spot. "What are you doing? AJ's out here!"

[Deleted]

The faint mumbling of a familiar voice could be heard and Kiara felt herself drown in the direction of where it came from. Approaching closer, the words rung much cleared and she managed to distinguish it as being Aiden’s fondness towards the dark-haired girl. It stung to hear him aim those words at Therru, to realize he was putting her power to his use. Partially it had been expected given the diminishing amount of energy and the slight headache, but up until now there had been no reason to acknowledge such assumption. Now, however, Kiara could deny it no longer. Pained and sad eyes drifted towards the bushes as ears perked at her name. What was she doing? Would it not be better to ask what he was doing?

Ignoring the comment about AJ, the blonde moved over to where the pair was hiding, simply stopping in front of the bush. Nothing was said, not until Aiden would show himself and have enough dignity to face her. Once the young man did, Kiara took a miniscule step back to preserve a decent distance between them. For a moment she glanced at Therru, feeling a weak and saddened chuckle slip past her lips before blue eyes settled on Aiden once more. ”Is it working?” Her tone of voice sharp and bitter, but her facial expression showed just how broken this girl was. ”You used me.” With a slight hiss, she tried to whisper for this was between them. If Aiden truly had thought it was worth risking their friendship for another girl, she was not evil enough to ruin his chances. Therru could have him; she was clearly better off without.

”I thought you were my friend, Aiden. My best friend. I don’t know how I could have been so stupid to actually believe that for so long.” She had to stifle a small sob as tears brimmed. ”She’s probably worth it, mh? Pretty, shy – a damsel in distress. A new best friend.” It hurt so badly to state that, but hey, he probably saw Ki as a plain beauty now because he had been around her for so long, and the shyness had diminished as well. ”You’re no better than the guys you warned me about. You’re… you’re a jerk.” With that, blonde hair twirled as she spun around, embracing herself upon strolling away from there.