Slow Day (Odion)

[Ulrich Schneider]

It was a slow day in Hammel. The campus was calm and quiet. People were out and about studying for test and doing homework like good students, but Ulrich was not one of them. He never took time to study or put any effort into his education. He just didn't care about it enough to waste his time with it. Ulrich would rather be outside, shooting marbles from his slingshot at various things, but after almost getting caught be a teacher, he decided to lay low for a while, which brings him to the student lounge.


Ulrich wasn't a frequent visitor to the room. It usually had too many people in it for him to bother entering, but today, it was nearly empty, so he decided to stop by and find something to entertain himself. After watching a few people play pool, he decided to try it out. He knew the rules of the game, it was pretty straightforward, but he never took the opportunity to play it... until now.


He walked to an empty pool table, grabbed a stick, and placed the balls on the table in the triangle rack. When they were in the middle of the table, he removed the rack and placed the white cue-ball in front of them. Next, he positioned the pool stick and moved it in place to strike. He took a deep breath and a couple of seconds later, the cue-ball crashed into the others, sending them rolling around the table. None went into the pockets though.


Ulrich was getting ready to set up another shot, but before he could something, actually, make that someone, caught his eye. Entering the room was a redhead boy, one Ulrich recognized as Odion. Ulrich’s disdain for the boy was still fresh on his mind, and he wasn’t very happy about seeing him. However, there were a few things he wanted to get to the bottom of, a few things Rhett refused to answer, and Ulrich was willing to momentarily put his emotions aside to find the answers he was looking for.

”Uh… hey… do you uh… want to join me?”

[Odion Martins]

Every day was a slow day at Hammel. The school was nothing more to Odion than a safe haven for practicing ones powers, and honestly, he had practiced more in public than at the school. Classes were nearly nonexistent for him, as it wasn’t that which held him back another year, but his severe lack of ability to move time into the future. Things had been rather eventful between MANifesto and his real date with Lani, Odi was in a pretty good mood.

If he wasn’t, he wouldn’t have bothered joining someone at the pool table in the student lounge. “Why not?” He asked with a small smile on his face, his usual death stare nonchalant and almost friendly. He was a little hesitant, but he tried not to be wary. Lani had said something about giving people a chance, not that Odion was going to pour his heart out to some random blond with shifty eyes, but what was a game of pool between strangers? Merely a game of pool.

Without waiting for an answer, Odi picked up a cue and circled the table. He hadn’t spent a lot of time in the student lounge, preferring the solitude of his dorm or the quiet of the library. He was a thinker by nature, not a talker or social butterfly. But with his last year coming closer to an end every day, maybe it was high time he tried something new.

Other than the boy’s name, Odion had no idea who Ulrich was. There had been rumours about his excess affection of weaponry, but Odi wasn’t afraid of that. A speeding bullet was no match for a time turner. “I have to admit, I haven’t played pool an awful lot,” he said with a small laugh, his British accent pouring forth as he studied the table, and how the balls had broken. He took aim, and without studying very carefully, he took the shot. By sheer dumb luck, the cue ball had enough top spin to just barely knock the solid purple ball into the top left pocket.

“Must be my lucky day,” he said, rounding the table and glancing at the other boy, “guess I’m solids.”

[Ulrich Schneider]

Ulrich watched Odion closely, suspiciously. His thought about the ginger were not pleasant ones, and he expected the worse out of him. Because of this, it was surprising to see that he was... rather nice, which could be one of the reasons why Rhett liked him... if he still liked him at all. Rhett never answered Ulrich when he asked if he still had feelings for Odion, and Ulrich had become extremely suspicious as a result. Even after they had their little falling out outside of La Maison Magnifique, the answer to the question still bothered Ulrich, like a constant dissonance in his mind, and he needed it to be resolved. Rhett fascinated him, confused him, and even pissed him off, but no matter how hard Ulrich tried to stop thinking about the older blond.

"This is my first time playing," Ulrich commented when the ginger expressed his lack of experience. He watched on as a solid ball was sunk without expressing any discontent about Odion now being in the lead. "Yep. You're solids..."

While waiting for Odion to go again, Ulrich decided it would be best to go ahead and get the questions he was wanting to ask off of his mind. Despite his amazing patience, he couldn't think of a better time and place to ask. They were practically alone and the likelyhood of that happening again was probably very slim. Maybe it really was Odion's lucky day, it was actually Ulrich's.

"Have you spoken to... Rhett... recently?" he asked out of the blue.

[Odion Martins]

It was Ulrich’s lucky day as well – Odion was a fairly good swindler, and quite good at poker. Pool wasn’t something he’d perfected and had no interest in perfecting, so he wasn’t playing shark. Not today. He could feel Ulrich’s uneasy gaze on him and Odi felt his lips tugging upwards in amusement. It wasn’t every day that he found someone as aware of those around him as he. They even shard some of the same characteristics in what made other humans interesting. Maybe in another life they could’ve been friends.

His dark eyes flicked up from the table. “Good,” he said, ready to take his next shot, “we should be evenly matched.” That was yet to be determined, but he was still trying to give this whole benefit of the doubt thing a shot. The cue shot forward, and Odion missed entirely, resulting in a scratch. The question had caught him off guard. Of course, some people at Hammel knew he and Rhett had dated, but, they really hadn’t been together in public for such a long time, why was this guy asking?

“Yes, as a matter of fact I have,” he said, seeing no benefit in lying. Rhett had brought it upon himself after all. “I thought the whole student body attended, but he won a date with me for MANifesto.” Not a hint of bitterness could be heard in his voice. Letting his true emotions show would not be in his favour. He was about to ask why, but maybe it would be more interesting to see where this would go all by itself. Odion dropped the cue to the floor butt down and leaned against it slightly, eyes like a hawk on Ulrich.

“Your turn.”

[Ulrich Schneider]

Ulrich watched on as Odion took his turn again and scratched, meaning it was his turn now. He took his stick and lined it up with the cue-ball. Analyzing what other balls it might hit and where they might go. He adjusted his angle slightly with superhumanly masterful and precise movements of his hands and fingers. "Oh yeah," Ulrich replied, "I remember him telling me about that."

In fact, he remembered the day perfectly. He was shooting down soda cans and caused one to accidentally fly at Rhett. They then talked and eventually Rhett admitted to buying Odion (after A LOT of questioning). That was the day that Ulrich's suspicions were raised and his dislike of Odion began.

Ulrich then struck the cue-ball and sent it flying at the others. The balls all bounced around for a few seconds, but eventually, two stripped balls landed in corner pockets at opposite ends of the table. "This isn't too difficult," he thought to himself.

"Does he like you?" Ulrich asked next bluntly while preparing for another shot.

When he shot the second one, he sunk another stripped ball, but he also accidentally sunk a solid one as well. The game may have been technically easy for him, but he still had some adjustments to make and some learning to do before he could master it. It was similar to shooting. You could be the most accurate person in the world, but if fail to take into account things like distance, target size, and wind, you won't get very far. "Your turn."

[Odion Martins]

Odion kept his surprise in check. Ulrich had made a couple things clear. One, he obviously hadn’t attended MANifesto. Two, he spoke to Rhett and Odion deemed it safe to assume they were acquaintances, if not friends. Three, MANifesto was something worth talking about between them, as Ulrich had just stated. It was easy to think of all this thanks to his power. So the relationship was somewhat established, but why did Ulrich seem so interested in the end result of MANifesto, or why he and Rhett had spoken recently?

The date was interesting. Had Rhett also told Ulrich that the date was between three people? One of whom Odion happened to like very much. If anyone should be disliked, it was Rhett. What else had his ex told Ulrich? The redhead’s brow rose as Ulrich killed two balls with one shot. Either he was lying about this being his first time playing, or his power was helping him out. Odion hadn’t decided yet.

Odion didn’t think Ulrich’s question needed an answer. It was almost too easy to see now what he was after in trying to talk to him. What Odi thought was a casual game turned into a trap – that’s what he got for letting his guard down. If Rhett didn’t like him, why would he bid on him? It hadn’t been to torture him. So yes, obviously Rhett liked him, in what way was the part that was up for debate, and what Ulrich was truly asking.

Stepping up to the table, Odion put his hand down carefully, balancing the pool stick on top of it. He found an easy target, and barely hit the cue ball to make the dark blue ball spin into the middle pocket. He didn’t want anything more to do with this Ulrich, who was interested in Rhett while Odion was trying to distance himself from him. There were too many speculations as to why he was being put on trial at the moment.

Readying himself for another shot, Odion decided there was no need to play mind games with a straight shooter. “He’s not my boyfriend,” he said, missing the next shot and stepping away from the table. It was Ulrich’s turn.

[Ulrich Schneider]

It really was a trap.

At first, Ulrich didn't mean for it to be, but now the hunter had his prey right where he wanted him... at least until the end of the game. "I already know that," Ulrich replied quickly with a voice growing harsh. "And that's not what I asked you."

Ulrich stepped up toward the table and easily sunk in two more of his stripped balls. He then realized that he may have been playing a little too well, and if he ended the game early, he would lose time to question Odion, who was appearing to be just as stubborn as Rhett when it came to answering his questions. He would need all the time he could get, so for his next shot, he purposely missed everything.

"Does he like you?" Ulrich asked again. "It's a yes or no question."

[Odion Martins]

Odion refused to be anyone’s prey. That was almost as degrading as being an object. The redhead watched Ulrich carefully now. Something about this boy made Odi’s stomach flip, and not in a good way. The blonde missed the shot completely and Odion set down his cue stick. Ulrich wasn’t interested in the game, not really. And frankly, Odi wasn’t in the mood to play anymore.

Approaching the table again, Odion grabbed his end with both hands and leaned close to Ulrich. “Your guess is as good as mine, how’s that for a fucking answer.” Odi snapped. “What does it matter if he does or not? Oh I know, you have feelings for him. Isn’t that right?” If Ulrich wanted to play, he had better get his big guns ready.

[Ulrich Schneider]

Ulrich was stunned by Odion's outburst, but he didn't stay stunned for long. He soon became enraged. The urge to take the pool stick and break it over Odion's head was pulsing through him. His grip on the stick tightened, and he imagined what it would look like seeing Odion's blood pour from his skull while he lay unconscious on the ground. It was an enticing though, and he was very tempted to make it become a reality. It would definitely teach the ginger a lesson.

Ulrich didn't go through with it though. The satisfaction of beating Odion to a pulp wasn't worth the trouble he would be in afterward. The last thing he wanted to do was be stuck around the intrusive, annoying Hammel staff or be required to attend anger counseling with that Dr. Neville guy.

"Why do both of you have to make things so difficult?" Ulrich said through gritted teeth. He then had to take a few deep breaths in order to help relieve some of his building anger. His knuckles were growing white due to how strong his grip on the pool stick was. "I do have feelings for him," Ulrich then admitted without hesitation.

The kind of feelings he had for Rhett were not the feelings friends or lovers have for each other, they were different - unique to only Ulrich. He didn't know what to call them or even why he had the feelings, he just knew they were there. He either wanted to embrace them or get rid of them, and so far, the embracing thing hasn't worked out. He and Rhett had a falling out, and he went searching for answers as a result. And the one person who could answer his questions, Odion, wasn't being very helpful.

Ulrich wanted to give up. The search for answers was not worth his time anymore, and he knew that the feelings, like all feelings, would eventually pass as time went on if neglected. However, that didn't mean his growing hatred for Odion, and now for Rhett, would fade very quickly. That was something that would most likely stick with him for a while.

"Let's finish the game," Ulrich said bluntly, "and be quick about it."

[Odion Martins]

Odion hoped Ulrich tried to do something as stupid as coming at him with a pool stick. It would be only too easy to stop him and punch him in the gut. Odion didn't fight fair, and now that his guard was way up and his adrenaline was rushing, he would be willing to protect himself by any means necessary. It's what he'd done all his life.

"Because it is difficult you idiot," Odion said in one quick breath. Ulrich didn't even come close to understanding the history between them, and how it was much, much larger than any kind of feelings he was having. "Well good for you, why don't you just talk to him about them then." It was a redundant statement. Ulrich had already done that, judging by his frustration. But this blonde was meddling in thing that ought not to be meddled in.

"No thanks," Odi said, about ready to leave. There was no reason to stick around and be beaten at a game by somebody he was starting not to like very much. "Take it from someone who knows, and let Rhett go." Odion had been forced to do so and now it seemed as though Rhett was carrying on the tradition.

[Ulrich Schneider]

Ulrich disagreed about it being difficult. In his mind, it wasn't hard to answer a question, even if you don't know the answer. All you'd have to say then is I don't know. He didn't understand why that was so difficult for people, especially Rhett and Odion. He knew there was no way in hell he would be able to understand the two of them anytime soon. He felt like would be wasting his breath by questioning either one of them further. It was a lost cause.

Odion's advice to let Rhett go was sounding like the smart thing to do. Ulrich knew that he worked better alone anyway. He didn't need anyone's affection to survive.

Ulrich took his stick and began quickly shooting all the balls on the table into the pockets. It didn't take him very long because was he able to sink two or three at the same time. "It looks like we're done here," he said to Odion as he put his stick away before walking toward the door. "Sorry for bothering you."

It was an apology, but it wasn't sincere. Ulrich didn't care about Odion's well being and really didn't want anything to do with him anymore. And with that, he left the room and hoped that he left any Rhett and Odion related troubles behind. But just to be sure, he deleted Rhett's number from his phone. He was done with the him.