Thread Roulette: Locked In

[Levi Xu]

Levi swallowed when he felt Tak's hand on his knee. That was...awkward. He wasn't really listening to her while he shifted what little he could away from her, while still sitting on the box. Would it be rude to push her hand away? It was making him uncomfortable. "Uh, images? Like what? Like their memories?"

He had good mental shields, but maybe Tak's power wasn't exactly psychic, and so she could pick up his important memories anyway. Levi tried to focus on keeping his shields up as tight as he could, hoping to seal her out of his thoughts. She probably wouldn't be so comfortable being locked in a small room with him if she knew who he'd lived with.

Talking about his power wasn't making him feel any better either. But she had a point. He tried his best not to talk about when his power was wrong with his trainer, and his power had been wrong more since Mr. Underwood had died. And his power had first manifested only a little while after his grandfather had died too.... "Uh...I guess. I never really thought about it like that. There have been...some things."

He couldn't be more forthcoming than that, but Tak had given Levi something to think about.

Levi nodded at her explanation of spirit animals, even when she couldn't explain it well. "You feel connected to some people because of who they are, maybe? Because they're like you? That makes sense to me."

Hell, it was why he was opening up to a girl he'd just met. Levi was only talking about his power because he knew Tak's was like it.v

[Takchawee Ominotago]

Tak took her hand off of Levi's knee after he shifted, holding back a chuckle. Okay, he wasn't touchy-feely, she would keep that in mind. "Usually concrete images of things, like... Oh, one time, I saw this guy's horse when I kissed him. I later found out that it meant pretty much the world to him." She didn't mention the other image she had seen in Chester's head. "Things like that." Don't worry, Levi, she's not going to kiss you. Now. She couldn't really sense mental barriers either, so she was unaware of his barricades.

She nodded at his reply. "See, there might be some sort of connection to those.... 'Things'. I mean, traumatic events can really shape our lives, you know? Who's to say they don't shape our abilities too?" She had no idea what he had been through, but it was possible it had something to do with his flawed powers. It made sense, right?

"Exactly!" she replied, giving him a wide, genuine smile. He summed it up far better than she had.

Feeling restless, Tak stood, taking a few steps into the middle of the room. "Did you actually check for a light switch in here?" she asked, suddenly realizing they might have been sitting in the dark for no reason.

[Levi Xu]

"I have a boyfriend!" Levi blurted out, a moment after she took his hand off his knee. Talking about kissing someone, touching him like that, Tak had made him uncomfortable. He still blushed more, worried that he'd offended her, or misinterpreted what she was doing. "And, uh, I don't get anything different when I just see him or when we're doing...other...stuff."

He was really thankful it was dark.

The boy really hadn't considered that everything that had happened since his power had manifested might have an effect on how his power worked. But his life had been pretty screwed up so far, so maybe she was right. "I wonder if there's a way to fix it though. Some of the stuff is always wrong."

"I felt for one before, but I didn't find it." Levi leaned back and looked up. His eyes had adjusted a bit, but he still had to squint to see the vague rectangular outline on the ceiling. "Maybe there's a chain or something on the ceiling? You can try the wall again, if you want."

He stood as well, and climbed onto the box he'd been sitting on, before groping for a chain or a string or something. All he got for it was a handful of cobweb, until his hand brushed against a string. "Wait, I think I found it!"

Levi gave a tug, then covered his eyes when the light flooded the room. "Fuck, I was looking right into it."

[Takchawee Ominotago]

Tak flinched just slightly as Levi blurted out, stunned for a brief moment into silence before letting out a laugh. "Oh, sorry Levi," she chuckled, amused at his reaction. "I don't mean to be so forward. Don't worry, I'm not really trying to make a move on you. It's just how I am." She shifted over slightly, giving him a little space. While she wasn't afraid to get close to people, she understood when she pushed too far, and fortunately for Levi, she actually cared about how he felt. He was nice. Letting her chuckle slowly fade, she shook her head. "It's interesting how similar our abilities are, and yet they seem quite different."

She rested her hands on her own knees, letting her hair fall over her face as she listened to his question. "If there's really something wrong with your ability, then it seems like there should be a way for it to be fixed," she mused. "I mean, our abilities are an extension of ourselves, really. Like an arm or a finger or something - if its broken, there are ways to go about making it better. But," she continued, perhaps getting more into this idea than necessary,"There's the chance it could be fixed wrong, too." It was definitely interesting to think about.

At his answer to her question, Tak began to run her hands along the far wall, searching for a switch or something. She found a couple outlets and papers, but no light switch.

But then Levi found something, and with a click, they were flooded with light. Letting out a surprised yelp, Tak covered her eyes, seeing spots from the dramatic change. "Yeah, I think you found it," she agreed, pulling her hands away and opening her eyes a fraction of an inch. It took a while, but eventually she was able to open them all the way, and she took the chance to study the room and the person she had spent the last however-many-minutes talking to. "Oh hey, I've seen you around before," she said, recognizing him from the halls, but never knowing his name. She gave another wave, as though it was really necessary. "At least now we can see each other."

[Levi Xu]

"It's okay. I just..." Yeah, he couldn't think of anything to say that wouldn't be implying that she was hitting on him. (Which if she could see him properly, she wouldn't. He was that weird kid who looked younger than he was.) "I just have a boyfriend."

Her concern about how his power worked made him be quiet for a long moment. If his power was this fucked up, and it could be fixed wrong, well, he was probably screwed. His only chance was the talking lion who knew everything. "Yeah, I guess... But I don't think it's broken. Maybe just a little...warped?"

He kept his eyes covered for a few more seconds before finally looking up at her. Yeah, Tak was exactly the girl he'd thought she was. Levi blushed a bit more, because she'd been touching his leg a few moments ago, and she was pretty.

"Well, yeah. I have been at Hammel for like two years." In January, it would be two full year since Jake had abandoned him here. He thought he knew almost everyone in the school, at least by sight. Then again, that was probably because of his power. When upperclassmen were vampires, detectives, superheroes, or zombies, they were easy to remember. "I thought most people knew who I was because they know my power's weird. Or because of the Talk to years ago."

That Talk was so infamous it had to be capitalized.

[Takchawee Ominotago]

"Understood," Tak concluded, still chuckling quietly to herself. Okay, Levi = not open to flirting. Got it. Which, in Tak's world, just meant she wouldn't flirt with him as much as someone who she could potentially have relations with. It was just how she was. Sorry, Levi.

She crossed her arms, glancing at him as he spoke. "That'd probably make more sense, yeah. I dunno. I'm no expert on this stuff. I'm just rambling about it, because I think it's interesting." Really, she probably wasn't a good person to talk to about it, even if they had sort of the same ability. She'd always had a wild imagination, and he was sparking all sorts of random ideas in her head with his talk of his 'warped' ESP.

Heh, he was pretty cute, really, although she thought he seemed a little young. No matter, age was only a number, and it was hard to tell how old he was just by looking anyway. His cheeks looked a little pink, too, which Tak found freaking adorable.

She went to sit next to him again, making sure to give him at least a little space, since she figured he might be even more uncomfortable now that the lights were on. "I don't make a habit of getting to know people very well," she admitted. She had a tendency to stick to her very few friends, plus the people she was interested in in other ways, instead of learning about everyone at school. She wasn't the most social of people, really, as much as some people might think otherwise. "Ooooh, I remember hearing about that," she nodded, leaning back against the wall. She hadn't gone to that Talk - she really saw no point, except she had had to go this year - so she had only heard rumors, which she ignored for the most part anyway.

"I don't know exactly what happened, but I'm sorry for how much people were talking about it." She wanted to reach out to him again in a comforting way, but thought it would be better not to. "People are... Really dumb and inconsiderate sometimes."

[Levi Xu]

Levi gave Tak a weak smile as she sat down next to him again. At least this time she wasn't practically on top of him--though he realized that just could have been because it was dark--and so he relaxed a bit more. He was happy to hanging out with her; it was way better than struggling through class.

"Why not? I mean, it's not like your power makes you weird." He was surprised that Tak admitted she wasn't too social. Levi didn't understand why, though. She was pretty, and had a cool power, and seemed really nice. He couldn't imagine she'd have a hard time making friends. Hell, she got him to open up in just a little while.

When Tak started talking about the talk, he blushed even harder and put his hood up. He'd thought everyone in the school knew all about it. It had become a legend, and he was sure there would be people talking about it for years. "Our roommate was the girl who did it. She got pictures of a bunch of couples having sex and they all got put up on the projector in the middle of the lecture. Then the school had to call everyone's parents and we all got a settlement and she and Zac were punished for setting it up. But that didn't matter so much because the school calling outed me and Evan. We'd been trying to keep it secret."

Over a year later, and he still wasn't at the point where he could laugh about it.

[Takchawee Ominotago]

Tak shrugged, looking away from Levi at the wall. "I guess I just don't like trusting people, so I try not to go to a lot of effort in keeping relationships, or making them in the first place. It just seems like everyone will let you down eventually." She was an independent person, and other than Kouji and a few others, she wasn't easily willing to let other people get close to her. Er, emotionally, that was - physically, she had no problem with it, obviously. Pure love was a hard thing for her to understand, and she didn't know if she was even capable of it sometimes. And so, most of her friendships were shallow and weak. Kouji had just snuck into her heart somehow. She wasn't even sure how or why. But she was glad that he had.

She looked back over at him as he started talking about what had happened, and she cringed sympathetically. That really was awful, even she could admit it. She thought about how she would have reacted had it been her that had been put up - even though she didn't care what people thought about her personal life, that would definitely have upset her to some extent, too. It was even worse for Levi because of the fact that he and his boyfriend had been outed by the incident. She hesitated, the placed a comforting hand on his shoulder. "I'm really sorry to hear that, Levi. I'm sure it was horrible. I hope the people that did it got what they deserved." Maybe a little harsh, but the idea of this sweet boy (because she thought he was sweet from all that she had gotten from him so far) having to go through something like that really pissed her off. "At least it's all over and done with," she added quietly, although she was sure that was probably little relief to him.

It was at that moment that the doorknob rattled, and the door creaked open, revealing Juniper Birdsong. Tak stood, surprised that her teacher had sent the girl to look for them. Or maybe he really had just wanted those things for the lab. "Thank goodness," she breathed, shooting Levi a smile. "At least we can get out of here now."

[Levi Xu]

This time, Levi didn't jump when Tak touched him. He believed her when she said she wouldn't flirt with him anymore, and he had just finished telling her his woe-is-me story about the Talk and being outed. It would have been remarkably rude for her to take that opportunity to hit on him. "The worst part was we didn't get to tell our families ourselves. My sister knew already, but my dad didn't, or anyone in Evan's family."

At least Evan's family had been accepting though. Levi wasn't allowed to sleep over there anymore--not that it mattered now, as Evan had an apartment of his own in Pilot Ridge--but he still went to the Brackett family's farm for Thanksgiving and Christmas. They'd been more mad that they'd been sneaking around than Evan being gay.

Levi's dad, on the other hand, had flipped out. After making the housing staff change his room, Ba had told him to break up with Evan. When he'd refused, his allowance had been cut off.

He looked up when the door rattled and Juniper stood there. Levi grinned up at the newcomer, and was quick to say "Don't close the door! It locks on its own!"

Levi turned his smile on Tak and stood, thankful he was finally getting out. Before he headed back (without the books he'd forgotten about) he offered the girl his hand to help her up. "See you around, Tak."