Mall Mayhem (Tanner)

[Michael Arceneaux]

It's the most wonderful time of the year!!!!!!! NOT!

Christmas was right around the corner, and Michael was struggling to find a gift for his stepfather. Ugh. Michael wasn't too fond of the man, but he had to get him SOMETHING. He was family after all. Unfortunately, Michael had no clue what to get the strict, military man. He wanted to give up and get him a crummy gift card to Wal-Mart or somewhere equally insulting, but he knew his mother wouldn't be very happy about that. She liked "thoughtful" gifts that were from the heart, which only made things much more complicated than they had to be.

Michael's real dad was easy to shop for. All he had to do was order some New Orleans Saints merchandise off the Internet and father was the happiest man on Earth. For Michael's stepfather though, each year was a disappointment. Michael tried buying him sports merchandise, but everything he got the man ended up being from a team he hated. He even tried buying him some military things, since his stepfather served in it, and was still met with disappointment for one reason or another. It was such an annoyance.

Saving the man's gift for last, Michael dragged his roommate Tanner out to the mall to help him find something before he had to make the trip back home to Los Angeles.

"Jesus Christ Tanner," Michael complained, "we've been here for an hour and the only thing I found for him was football... why is it even called 'football' anyway? They don't even kick it that much."

Michael walked up to a mall directory and looked around at the various stores, mentally crossing off the ones they've already searched. "Oh come on," he bickered, "there's no more sporting goods stores?" It was quite obvious that Michael was stressing out. He had a furrowed brow and pursed lips. "Do you have any ideas?"

[Tanner Larson]

(("Mall Mayhem" You have a bright career ahead of you in naming children's computer games.))

Having completed his Christmas shopping months - yes, months - in advance, Tanner was not exactly thrilled at the prospect of having to go back to the mall and fight his way through crowds of obnoxious 'mall people' who didn't know how to walk in a straight line and had no idea what they wanted and so just went from store to store stopping in every single aisle and blocking his way with their big fat-

Deep breaths, Tanner.

As it turned out, the blonde's roommate essentially was one of those indecisive people, with the exception that his ass wasn't that big or fat. Still, after spending quite some time at the Pilot Ridge Mall, Tanner was dying to go back to their room and just collapse onto his bed. So when they found themselves yet again facing the mall directory trying to decide what store to visit next, his arms were crossed tightly in front of his chest and it was clear that he was not his usual charming self.

"It's called football because it's loosely based on rugby football, which was an extension of European football - what we call 'soccer' - over in the UK," he explained huffily. Just another random piece of information that the blonde nerd had hidden away in the deeper confines of his brain. "They kick it at the beginning, anyway..."

He wracked his brain trying to come up with more ideas; that having been said, he had been at it all day and it was clear that he was running out of suggestions and patience. "Well, if he never likes the sports stuff he gets you, maybe you should avoid that this year," he said. "I mean, is there anything else he likes doing? Does he wear ties? Could you get him a tie??"

[Michael Arceneaux]

"Oh, that makes sense," Michael said in a brief reprieve of calm and clarity. He wasn't a big fan of sports, so he never took the time to think about them, but Tanner' football tangent did open his eyes a little. "I think they should call it 'handegg' because it's shaped like an egg and its mostly in their hands. That makes sense right?"

Unfortunately, Michael didn't stay calm for long.

"Okay, okay, back to work," he said as he kept focusing on the directory. His eyes scanned it from top to bottom over and over again. "A tie? He would wrap it around my neck and strangle me with it!" Michael said a bit frantically. "But you're right... I should avoid sports stuff... but what else could I get him? He only looks happy when he's watching a game or... ugh...!"

Michael put his hands on his forehead. He had a sudden headache. "This is stressing me out dude," he explained. "Next year I'm going to start shopping for him in like April!"

And then, he felt it. Like a light switch getting turned on in his head, his power activated. "No, no, no!"

In a matter of seconds, Michael and Tanner were pressed against each other, chest to chest, crotch to crotch, their gravity magnified and holding them together. "Shit!"

[Tanner Larson]

Tanner scoffed, arms tightening around his chest. "It's not shaped like an egg; it's all pointy at the ends," he grumbled. Very rarely was Tanner in a bad mood, but it was quite clear that he was not a happy camper at the mall that day.

"Look, let's just go to Lord and Taylor, maybe you'll find a nice pair of socks or something," he declared, beginning to walk huffily in the direction of the department store.

I'm getting an Annie's Pretzel after this, and if Michael doesn't like it he can-

The blonde's thought process was interrupted when he suddenly felt himself being pulled back towards the directory by some unseen force. "What the-" The blonde turned around just in time to be pulled off his feet and essentially thrown into his roommate. He was well aware of the brunette's ability, but he had never actually experienced it before, and it took him a moment to realize what had happened.

"I'll skip the obvious pun about feeling the gravity of the situation," he said facetiously, eyebrows furrowed. "Now get offa me. Or... me offa you." He tried pushing the boy's shoulders in an attempt to pry himself off but found it impossible. The way he saw it, they had about ten seconds before the incredible humiliation of being stuck together in a crowded mall caused him to simply melt into the floor.

[Michael Arceneaux]

Despite being in quite a... sticky situation... Michael found time to roll his eyes at Tanner's pun. "It's not a good time for cheesy jokes," he grumbled as he put his hands on Tanner shoulders and tried pushing them apart.

It didn't work though. They were stuck.

"It... I... I can't," he whispered while looking around to everyone that was staring at them as they walked by. This had happened several times to Michael before, but rarely had it pulled another person to him. It was usually some random non-living objects that flew at him and stuck to him (the stories of sharp objects flying at him were always the best).

Michael's breathing was heavy. His stress levels were going through the roof. He was frantic and nervous which wasn't going to help him and Tanner separate anytime soon. Michael knew needed to calm down. At Hammel, he learned that he needed to be calm to control his power, but at the moment, he was the exact opposite of calm.

After closing his eyes, Michael wrapped his arms around Tanner's shoulders, like he was hugging him. "Hug me," he demanded. "Stop manstruating and hug me!" he shouted a second later because he felt his roommate wasn't moving fast enough.

Michael had a plan. "If we are hugging, people will stop staring at us."

Well... no one said it was a GOOD plan...

[Tanner Larson]

If Tanner was a bit peeved before, he was absolutely furious now. Here he was, doing Michael a favor, and how does he get repaid? By being freaking force-taped to the kid.

His eyes widened as Michael attempted to explain what was going on. "What do you mean, you can't?" He asked incredulously. "What, did you get to Hammel yesterday?" The idea that Michael had done this unintentionally and had no way of controlling it made no sense to him. Tanner was fully in control of his pyrokinesis; how was this kid going to graduate? He wasn't aware of the fact that Michael needed to be calm to gain control of his powers, or he probably wouldn't have been mouthing off so much at the poor boy.

"Manstruating? I- hey!" Okay, so now Michael was hugging him. He was freaking out, and hugging him. The blonde fidgeted within the boy's arms. Being pressed unwillingly against him was bad enough; this was simply unacceptable. Sure, Michael was a cute boy, but Tanner wasn't the type of guy to do this sort of thing ever, under any circumstances.

"Michael," he whispered through gritted teeth, "I am going to shout 'rape' at the top of my lungs in ten seconds if you don't fix this." His blue eyes were piercing into the lowest depths of Michael's soul for how agitatedly he was looking at him. "And we may be in Vermont, but I don't think you hugging me is helping."

[Michael Arceneaux]

"I can control it," Michael said angrily through gritted teeth, "it just... does this on its own sometimes..."

It was one of the main difficulties associated with his power. Gravity is always there no matter where he goes, making a spontaneous activation of his power very easy. In his stay at Hammel, he has learned to control it a reduce the spontaneous activations by a lot (his first couple of years at Hammel were quite eventful). In recent days, the stress of the holidays has caused a spike in anxiety and a lack of sleep, which increased the chances of his power activating on its own. Tanner was just an unlucky victim caught in the crossfire.

"Tanner," Michael said with a serious voice, "just do it." He wanted to kick the boy in the nuts (and he probably could because of their close proximity), but it would only complicate the situation. "You're hot and everything, but you're not on an 'oh my god let me release all my inhibitions and molest you in public with caring what others think' level." Hopefully that would be enough to convince him. "I'm not doing this on purpose."

With his eyes closed, Michael rested his head on Tanner's shoulder. He then began breathing deeply, like he was taught by one of the trainers in Hammel. "Be still," he added when he felt the boy squirming.

And then... Michael notices something. "Have you been working out?"

[Tanner Larson]

Tanner was not convinced. "If it happens on its own, then you're not really controlling it, are you?" He asked in an angry though hushed tone. Anyone who saw them would probably think they were having some sort of tense couple's argument for how close they were standing and how quietly they were whispering.

Deciding that there was no point in arguing anymore, Tanner stopped wriggling; it was clear that this wasn't going to go away until they stopped bickering. He certainly wasn't going to hug Michael, though, so he merely let himself relax in the boy's grip, leaning his head so that it was resting gently against Tyler's ((keepin' it)), which was on his shoulder for some reason. This was very strange, every second seemingly agonizingly longer than the last. But as he stood there - eyes shut so he could ignore the judgmental bastards walking past them - he began to think that maybe this wasn't so ba-

The blonde's eyes widened to the size of dinner plates at Michael's question.

"Michael, get the hell off of me!" He shouted, only half-jokingly, struggling more than ever to move away from the boy. "You've had enough time, I'm getting out of this stupid mall, I don't care if I have to drag you with me."

[Michael Arceneaux]

((Wow. I wasn't aware that Michael had a name change!))

"Okay, okay, not total control... but close enough," he finally admitted. Michael wanted to argue about it some more, but he let it go. They were starting to sound like an old married couple, and arguing wouldn't help split them apart.

There was a short period of time where things settled down. Tanner was still, Michael was breathing like he should, and the gravity manipulator could feel the strength of the attraction decreasing drastically. It was only a matter of time before they would be able to move away from each other.

But... Michael's question screwed things up. "I was just kidding..." NOT!

He regretted asking it.

"Look, I only need a little longer," he explained, hoping Tanner would be still for him again, "I can already feel the pull weakening."

He paused for a moment. "Seriously though, have you been going to the gym without me?"

[Tanner Larson]

Tanner had been under the impression that they were going to continue being stuck for a while and that nothing would be changing very quickly, but when Michael explained that he only needed a little while longer, he immediately calmed down. "Okay, okay, fine," he relented, letting his body come to rest once more. "You so owe me for this," he muttered, unable to stop himself from this angry little addendum, before resigning himself to his brief fate.

The blonde glared at the brunette. "I've been doing a lot of things without you," he replied simply, wishing he could cross his arms but finding himself unable to pull his torso away from the boy enough to slip his arms in. "How much longer?" He asked. "I'm not sticking around to get your step-dad a present; you're on your own after this little episode."

((Sucky reply sucks!))

[Michael Arceneaux]

"Yeah, yeah, I owe you, okay, fine," he agreed. "You've got one favor to ask." Michael sighed. Hopefully Tanner wouldn't ask him to do anything completely absurd. It was the least Michael could do though for putting him in such an awkward, embarassing situation.

Michael let out a light-hearted laugh at Tanner's comment. "It's cool. I've been doing a lot without you, too. I'll share the details later if you want to hear them," he was joking, but if Tanner did happen to inquire, he would be more than willing to share. He trusted his roommate.

"Almost there," Michael said as he actually managed to get an inch of space between the two of them. The attraction was still there though, they wouldn't be able to move very far from each other just yet.

"Wait... how much longer," Michael repeated. "He says that a lot... and he always wakes up at 5 AM on the dot, even on his days off... like he did in the military..."

He was on to something.

[Tanner Larson]

Michael would be painting their freaking room if Tanner got a favor out of this. Well, maybe not that - that probably wasn't allowed anyway - but something as annoying as being dragged through the mall had been. He and Michael usually got along just swimmingly, but this had been a pretty gigantic pain in the ass, especially considering the fact that he had a trip to pack for and he'd already taken care of all of his shopping.

Tanner rose an eyebrow; what exactly was this boy referring to when he said that? "I won't..." he replied under flushed cheeks. Okay, it was definitely time for this whole gravity thing to wear off. He could start feeling it weaken, but it was still impossible for him to break away.

"I'm not following," the blonde admitted. "So what, are you gonna buy him sleeping pills? Sounds like he doesn't need a clock..." Perhaps the young pyro was having a 'blonde' moment, but he was really more focused on regaining his personal space than on finding some old man a Christmas present he probably wouldn't appreciate anyway.

[Michael Arceneaux]

With an idea fresh in his head, the stress Michael was feeling quickly dissipated. The enhanced gravitational attraction between him and Tanner subsided until it returned to normal levels. Michael took a step back from his roommate and smiled. "Okay, okay, good we're free."

You can breathe easy now Tanner.

Michael began explaining his idea. "He DOES need a clock. All of his are old and outdated. I swear he uses an alarm clock from the 70s." He scratched the back of his head. "So should I get him an alarm clock, a stopwatch, or just a regular wrist watch?"

It didn't take him much longer to decide.

"Tanner, can you please... pretty please... with a cherry on top... come to the electronics store so I can buy him an alarm clock real quick? Please room buddy?" Michael begged while making cute puppy dog eyes. Room buddy was what Michael called Tanner when he needed something from him. "It'll only take a minute and I'll help you pack when we get back!"

...he didn't mean for that to rhyme...

[Tanner Larson]

Tanner was extremely happy when he was able to take a comfortable step back from the other boy; apparently he had been subconsciously trying to push himself away the entire time, so he did stumble a bit when he was finally able to do so. "I'm recommending you be held back a year," he said facetiously, albeit without a smile on his face, as he turned away from the other boy.

He knew Michael wasn't going to go to any stores alone - that was, after all, why he had dragged the blonde with him in the first place - and so he simply nodded his head, ignoring the boy's pleading expression. Michael - somehow - knew how to get back on his good side very quickly. Tanner still wasn't sure how that was, but it was very inconvenient.

"Yeah, yeah, let's go," he mumbled as they made their way in that direction. "And I don't need help packing. It's just a weekend trip." He would be spending the weekend with Zac in Cambridge, Massachusetts, that weekend, then returning to Hammel to pack for his trip home to New Jersey for Christmas. "I'm happy to do it," he added, giving the boy a pat on the shoulder. He was in a bad mood, likely because of everything that was going on with Robbie and his seemingly endless parade of awkward sexual tensions, and he supposed it wasn't really fair to take it out on his roommate.

[Michael Arceneaux]

"Hey, I've made a lot of progress. It doesn't happen nearly as much as it used to," Michael retorted. He didn't think it was so out of control that he needed to be held back for a year. He planned on graduating on schedule.

"A weekend trip, huh?" Michael inquired. "Sounds like fun." He wouldn't mind going on a weekend trip, but he had no time. After he got back to his dorm from the mall, he was packing his things, taking a cab with Gabriel to the airport, and making the long trip across the country back to Los Angeles for the holidays.

Michael gave Tanner a quick hug (even if they just got out of an awkward, extended one). "Thanks, buddy. You're the best, you know that, right?"

If there was one thing that made boarding schools tolerable, it was good roommates, and in Michael's mind, Tanner was among the best.

When they arrived at the electronics store, Michael found the perfect alarm clock and brought it over to the check out counter. He purchased it and had it gift wrapped. "Okay, we're good to go."