New Kid on the Block (Ann or Piper)

[Dustin Shade]

Dustin walked purposefully through the hallways, bag over his shoulder. This was where he belonged. After receiving his schedule from the office, Dustin was surprised. It was a school for meta-humans, right? So, why were there classes like math and science? He groaned. Evidently, it wasn't as special as he'd originally thought. Still, it was loads better than his old school. Now that he'd changed his look, he was capable of new things. At home, he was poor and lonely. This new school didn't have to be like that. Dustin was new and, as such, could be whoever he chose to be. He settled on a few minor modifications of his personality, leaving the sarcasm because he found it rather funny. As he walked, he wondered. What would tomorrow be like? Who would he meet? Were there even people worth meeting? He supposed he would find out soon enough.

Dustin took a look at his dorm assignment. Co-ed? He looked around to see if anyone was watching before jumping and doing a fist pump. Yes! Could it get any better than this? He would be staying in a room with, not one, but two girls. And, they were older. Older women were the forbidden fruit. He grinned. This year was going to be loads of fun. He'd just have to play the lost-and-confused newbie. They'd feel bad for him and help him out. Not that he needed any help. Dustin was perfectly capable of doing everything by himself. It had always been that way, with his parents at work all the time. He knew they loved him dearly. They spent almost every penny they earned on him. But, Dustin wasn't great at showing emotions. He preferred to lock them away and ignore them.

Before he went to his room, Dustin decided he'd better clean up a little bit. His parents lived just far enough away that he could live at Hammel. It was definitely a stroke of good luck. Ducking into a bathroom, Dustin smiled again. Co-ed dorms! He looked in the mirror, checking his hair. Groaning, Dustin bent and dug through his bag. Quickly, he found what he was looking for. A hat. He positioned it on his head and checked the mirror once more. Perfect. He strode from the bathroom, feeling quite confident. He was sure to impress the two girls. Who cared if he was a bit younger? He had the looks and the attitude to win them over. He shifted his bag. Why did it have to be so heavy? He supposed it had something to do with his new wardrobe. He'd been very clever about packing, only doing it when his parents weren't around (which was the majority of the time). They weren't allowed to see the inside of his bag. He'd claimed it was because that would be a violation of his privacy, but really, he just didn't want them to know he'd stolen a whole bunch of clothes. He believed he was justified. He deserved to fit in, right?

Finally, he reached the room he would be staying in. Taking a deep breath, he knocked. This was the first time he'd be speaking to other students. This was the time to put his new personality in place. There was no answer. Fixing a smirk to his face, Dustin entered the room. There was no one inside, as he'd expected. He looked through the room. Two of the private rooms were taken and two weren't. He entered one of the free rooms and dropped his bags. Then, he returned to the shared space and stretched out on the couch. This was going to be a pleasant afternoon.

[Ann Hudgins]

Ann liked routines. Routines were easy to remember, they were safe, and she knew what to expect in them. Her routines where a little varied from day to day, simply because her classes were a little different. Most mornings she woke up early, showered, dressed, then went to breakfast. Afters she had her breakfast (which was always eggs and pancakes, no matter what else they were serving) she went to the training field for a brisk jog. After the jog she went to her morning classes and did her best to ignore everything (though she'd been getting a little better with participating in class).

After her class she went either to the library (if it wasn't too full) and lurked the Hammel chat room (pathetic much?) and answered the email from her pen pal in England. If the library was too full, or after she was done with the computer, she ate lunch and returned to her dorm for the night. She only had the one roommate, so it wasn't hard to just relax there. And since most other people spent their afternoons socializing, Ann could really just be herself.

Half of her routine had been completed. She'd just gotten done eating and replying to her email and was heading back towards the dorm for some good relaxation time. And homework, but that came after she had relaxed and shaken off all the lingering emotions from random students. Once she opened her door, she put her keys in her pocket. However, the head and body laying across the couch wasn't her roommate. This caused her to pause and stare for a moment. She hadn't been notified of a new arrival. That was hardly fair.

"Are you lost?" It was a reflex question because she really didn't want another roommate to deal with. She'd just (almost) gotten used to having the one around. Be nice, she chided herself, if he's gonna live here, try being his friend. In any case, he was stretched across the length of the couch so she leaned against the wall to remove her converse. She wasn't about to go shove his legs off the couch and sit down. No no, that entailed touching him which was something Ann never did--never could do.

Now that her shoes were off, she just left them by the door and walked towards her room, the plain one on the right, farthest from the door, and opened it, with a quick glance around (out of habit) she dropped her bag inside before she pulled the door shut behind her. Her gaze turned back to the reclining boy and she was struck by how young he looked. "Is this your first day at Hammel?" Now that she had been in the room for more than a minute, she was beginning to pick up on his emotions, all lead her to believe he was new here. She was content to remain leaning against the wall, so that was where she stayed.

[Dustin Shade]

As he walked, Dustin observed the school. It was much nicer than his previous place of education. Although, a cardboard box would be nicer than that old place. He chuckled to himself. Really, though, he lived in the slums. But, they weren’t the good slums like you see in movies (not that he’d seen many movies in his life). They were the kind of slums where drive-bys happened every other night. When you went to sleep, you could hear the screams of people being stabbed to death and gunshots from gang fights. He didn’t want to go back. Ever. But, that was why he was here. He was going to rid himself of the old Dustin and start fresh in a new place.

The next thing he had to sort out was his new self. Who was he? Well, he was Dustin Shade, a rich and attractive young man from Washington. Yes, that sounded about right. His father was a doctor and his mother was a lawyer. Both had plenty of money to spare. Luckily for Dustin, no one here would ever meet his parents, so he had nothing to worry about. No one would find out. It would be so easy. They were all freaks. He wasn’t. That meant he was superior.

Still stretched on the couch, Dustin heard a key turning in the lock. One of his roommates, no doubt. Well, this was it. This was the real deal. He was no longer Dustin Shade, poor loner. Now, he was Dustin Shade, rich and popular. He smiled. Finally, he would get the respect he deserved. A girl entered the room looking quite confused. Dustin assumed that Hammel hadn’t had the good sense to tell her she had a new roommate. Dustin was surprised at her expression. She almost looked…upset. He frowned. Shouldn’t she be all over him? Well, she was older, so maybe not. She could say something.

“Lost? If you really don’t want another roommate, you should just talk to the office.” He said icily. This was not how he wanted this meeting to go. She was supposed to fall all over him or, at the very least, comment on how very green his eyes were. Suddenly, a thought occurred to him. What could she do? If she lived at Hammel, it meant she could do…things. Well, she could do things that weren’t ordinary. But, were her talents as extraordinary as his own? He’d have to see. If only he could meet someone who was his equal. Then, he could find happiness at Hammel.

He watched her drop her stuff in her room. Dustin tried to peek inside, but she closed the door too quickly. He’d never been in a girl’s room. Then, she was looking at him. “Yes, I’m new here. I have to admit, my old school was nicer.” He lied smoothly, looking around the room. He’d been practicing. “So, how long have you been here?” He smiled at her, sitting up on the couch. Was she waiting for a space to sit down? Well, he’d made one and she hadn’t moved. “Er, do you want to sit?”

[Ann Hudgins]

Ann couldn't say she was from a hard neighborhood. Not even a little bit. She grew up in a suburb, every house on her street looked identical to the one next to it. The only difference between the houses was the number on the door, and the vehicle in the driveway. It was a very bland life, but Ann made the most of it with her martial art classes and goofing off with her neighbors. Of course that all came to an abrupt halt when her powers manifested. It was then a long four years up to this point where Ann suffered in silence from her powers--just because they were soo much to deal with she had decided from the first day of her arrival that maybe if she'd just ignore it, her power would go away.

It was a very crappy idea, but there you go.

She felt his surprise....and disappointment. She didn't know the specific reason behind it, but she could easily tell. "Eh, I've changed roommates too many times for them to listen to me anymore." She waved her hand a little and then laughed a little awkwardly. That was a joke. Whether he got that or not was out of her hands--probably not though, because Ann hadn't yet returned to her truly sarcastic self. She was about there, though. After a moment leaned against the wall, she sighed. She really did need to give this kid a chance, even though he looked particularly young. Ann wasn't about to judge him based just on that. But she knew eventually he'd make some friends and those friends might hang out in the dorm. Which was...ok. But it'd suck for Ann. Especially if one of those friends (or the kid himself) tried to touch her, for whatever reason.

"Mayhap it was nicer, but I bet they didn't have power trainers." Ann replied, she noticed the room he made for her on the couch and pushed herself away from the wall with her foot. Once she made herself comfortable on the couch she turned to look him over. "I've been here for about four years, Hammel isn't so bad, s'long as you train properly." Ann was like a broken record with that. She seemed to want to push this advice on all new arrivals--she really didn't like the idea of other people making her idiot mistake. "I'm Ann. Piper usually doesn't get in until a little bit later." She said nodding towards Piper's bedroom door.

Now that she'd given her name, it was time for the obvious question. "So what's your power?" Please be something harmless. please. She waited for the explanation of his power before she revealed her own shitty ability. "I'm an empath." The smile on her lips was a bit dry. She leaned back against the couch and stiffled a yawn behind her hand. Staying up so late chatting on Piper's laptop had been increasingly been a hard habit to break. It was just so much easier to make friends when her powers couldn't hamper her ability to communicate. Text on a screen couldn't give off emotions to set off her powers. It was truly great, though it didn't help her get over talking to people in the real world. If anything, it made her complacent with just making internet friends (though she'd met a few students at Hammel that way, she'd met to actually see them in real life).

[Dustin Shade]

Dustin realized, as he relaxed on the couch, that he was very tired. His body was betraying him. This was probably due to the fact that he’d spent the entire car ride practicing his powers. Then, as soon as they arrived, he was telling his parents good-bye and getting as far away from their junk mobile as humanly (or, meta-humanly) possible. There had been no need for the other students to see him with his parents. Maybe he could say he’d been doing charity work and they’d offered to drive him. Yes, if anyone asked, it sounded about right. Not that Dustin would ever do charity work. Hell, he was charity. For as long as he could remember, he’d wanted things. When he walked past shops with their expensive-looking displays, he wanted everything in the store. When he passed the Apple store, he craved an iPod Touch. If only he had the money and the dignity to be able to walk inside and purchase the things he wanted. That was why he’d come to Hammel. He was going to get out of that hell-hole and make something of himself.

Sarcasm? Hmm… Well, it could be worse. Dustin smiled a little. It was nice to know he shared a personality trait with his new roommate. Though, the sarcasm might get in the way of a good relationship. “I’m not the first? Darn.” He replied, laughing. The girl looked extremely uncomfortable. It wasn’t her position on the wall, but something else. It was as if she wanted to run as far away from Dustin as she could. It confused him. Why would she run? She didn’t even know him! He’d only just got here. There was no need for enemies, only friends in his book. He wanted friends desperately. Dustin had never really had a friend. Sure, there had been a few boys he’d hung out with. But, the relationship was forced. His parents had urged him to branch out so, to appease them, he’d gone to a few parties and invited a few boys over to his tiny apartment. It had been disastrous.

“Nope. But, I don’t need a trainer. I’m perfectly fine on my own.” As he watched, she moved from the wall to sit next to him on the couch, keeping a careful distance. Did he have B.O.? Why didn’t she want to be near him? “Four years? That’s a long time… Are you going to graduate or something?” What did she mean by “train properly”? Was there a way to train “improperly”? Dustin sighed. He’d have to get used to the new school. That was the first step. As soon as he was assimilated, he could move on to phase two of his plan to be accepted. “Pleasure,” Dustin responded, attempting to speak like someone who had money. “I’m Dustin.” He assumed his other roommate must be “Piper” unless Ann had some sort of pet. But, that was unlikely. Who names a kid Piper, anyway? Dustin thought, intrigued.

“My power? Oh, it’s not much… I can manipulate energy. You know, energy blasts, constructs. That kind of stuff.” He made it sound as if it wasn’t a big deal to him. It was, but he was rich now. That was how rich people spoke to others. “An empath, huh?” Dustin’s smile became forced. If she was an empath, could she read him? Did she know what he was feeling? Would his emotions betray him? God, he hoped not.

[Ann Hudgins]

Her expression changed to a bit more droopy as his feelings of fatigue and tiredness started to wade over to her. She closed her eyes for a moment, and willed her shields back in place so she could be her and not that young guy across from her on the couch. Ann was already tired herself, she didn't need his tired as well. She rubbed the corners of her eyes and relaxed against the back of the couch, and sank into the corner of it, the cushions pushed against her. After a moment, she could feel her shield starting to work and she straightened up a little bit. There was no need for her muscles to feel all sore. She hadn't done anything physically tiring all day.

She wasn't particularly sure if he was replying to her sarcasm with sarcasm, or that was just his natural reaction to learning she'd had prior roommates--which was true. She'd been in this very co-ed dorm her entire Hammel career. She'd had many roommates come and go since then, Piper was actually the roommate she'd had the longest and even then the two girls had yet to actually connect in anyway. Though it wasn't terribly hard to see why that was so. "Mm yes." she said like she was musing, with a small chin stroke. After a moment she laughed at herself and let her hand drop into her lap. "Just keep your mess inside your room and keep the singing in the shower quiet, then we won't have any problems." Ok, well there were a few more ground rules then that, but she was trying to be nice, so she'd save the rest for another time. Or she could just let Piper drill him. That seemed like a great idea.

"Oh?" She asked as he claimed he was perfectly fine on his own. Either he was in denial or it was true. He didn't look very mature (or old enough) to have had his powers long enough to get control of them. Unless they were something involuntary like super senses or elastic bones. Though, he kinda seemed a bit stuck up (and that wasn't just because she could feel his sense of 'ooh look at me') "Four years is a long time." She echoed in agreeance. It was a terribly long time but she wasn't close to mastering her powers at all. "I will be graduating the academic proportion of Hammel come the Spring, but I'll probably be here a few more years. My mastery of empathy isn't something to grin at." It was something to scoff and walk away from. Of course, he didn't really need to know that (or maybe he did, in case he tried to touch her for whatever reason). Either way, she couldn't take her words back.

Who says 'pleasure'? Dukes and harolds and people with money to light on fire. That hardly made sense at all, she looked him over, with a small eyebrow quirked, though she didn't say anything. "Nice to meet you, Dustin," she said instead. It was much nicer and a lot less derogatory. So maybe this guy was raised to speak with manners or something of the sort. Though...Ann couldn't help but to get an artificial feeling coming from him...like he wasn't really experiencing the emotions he was portraying. Like he was acting. Or....lying. Which didn't make sense to her at all.

"Oh." She nodded a little at his powers. "That's cool." She might seemed a bit disinterested, but that was only because she didn't exactly know what it was, or what it entailed really. She wasn't big on Science. Her unease was beginning to build, however as she realized that artificial feeling was persisting. What did this guy have to hide? His clothes looked pretty expensive, though Ann wasn't one to judge on fashion (she shopped at thrift stores and discount racks). "Look...there is no reason to...pretend. Seriously, just relax dude," she said before she could help herself. She couldn't put words to the things she was getting from him, but they were conflicting. For once she'd just like to stay out of someone's personal business like that and just be a teenaged girl that roomed with two other people. Maybe one day, but not now.

[Dustin Shade]

OOC: Sorry if there are tons of mistakes. I'm so tired I can't edit this...

As Dustin watched, the girl sort of…drooped. Suddenly, she looked very tired. Long day? Were days at Hammel that difficult that, by the end, Dustin would be drooping like that? He certainly hoped not. Sure, he was intelligent, but he didn’t want to waste his entire school career studying. He wanted to get out and party and make friends, things he’d never gotten to do at his old school. In the new place, Dustin was going to branch out, to be popular. It was going to happen. Dustin knew he had the looks, the charm, supposedly the money. He almost laughed at that before remembering there was another person in the room. How would anyone believe he was rich? Sure, he could put on a show, but could he really convince people he had money?

“I think you’re supposed to have a goatee for that.” Dustin laughed. Maybe, because she was going to be his roommate, he should be nice. He listened as she listed rules. Well, she only mentioned two. Dustin smiled. Yes, they were going to get along well. Ann seemed like one of those people who would stay out of your way. Dustin liked people like that. He was just the opposite. If he was able, he’d get into your way any chance he got. It was unfortunate that he didn’t get many chances. Dustin was sure he could have fun messing with people. After he was popular, of course. If he messed with people before then, he’d turn into “that annoying kid”. But, when popular kids messed with people, everyone laughed. Dustin couldn’t wait. He’d wanted to fit in all of his life, knowing deep down he’d never be able to. But, here, he could be anyone he wanted to be. This was only the beginning. “No worries, I don’t sing in the shower. And, I’ll do my best to keep my shit in check.”

“Yep. Like I said, I’m fine. I’ve only had a couple of accidents, nothing major. The bad stuff happens when I get mad. Other than that, though, everything’s cool.” That wasn’t entirely true. Dustin had no control over his powers. He knew what he could do, but he only had a vague idea of how. Sometimes, he could make things out of energy, but those were rare. Most of the time, his powers kicked in when he got incredibly angry. Then, he’d accidentally emit large amounts of energy in a “blast”, sometimes injuring those around him. It wasn’t fun. That was why he’d gotten a letter from Hammel. He just wasn’t good on his own. He’d never be able to do it. If he didn’t learn to control his powers, he’d never get out. He’d keep adding more and more to his record and no one would want to give him a job. If he didn’t find a good job in another state, he didn’t know if he could survive. He hated living where he did. A flash of anger went through him, but Dustin repressed it. He wasn’t there anymore. He couldn’t be angry about things he couldn’t change…yet. “Well, empathy doesn’t sound too easy. That’s all that stuff with feelings, right? Do you know how everyone feels all the time? That would be kind of cool…” He smiled, again making an attempt at friendliness.

She was looking at him. It looked almost like she was checking him out, but Dustin knew that wasn’t the case. Ann was looking for something. It had to have something to do with her power. Empathy. Could she somehow sense if he were lying? Dustin panicked for a moment. No. No, she couldn’t know. She couldn’t have found out this early in the game. Besides, lying wasn’t a feeling. It was a verb. There was no way she could know, unless she’d just guessed. But, if that were the case, he could prove her wrong. Dustin had prepared himself. He knew just what to say and how to act. He was rich. There was no need for him to fear the little people.

“Yeah, I guess. It’s all perspective.” He stretched. The car ride had made his muscles stiff and sitting on the couch certainly wasn’t helping matters. In truth, Dustin was a bit disappointed. He’d tried to make it seem like he thought her power was very cool. Yet, she couldn’t even make the effort to ask a question. Wasn’t that just common manners? Dustin hadn’t had to look those up in a book. Then, she was staring again. At her next statement, Dustin froze, wondering what to do. Did he stick to his story? Or, did he come clean? Had she really guessed that he was lying after such a short time? No, he wouldn’t give her the satisfaction. He was not the feeble-minded Dustin from the ghetto. He was Dustin Shade, soon to be the most popular guy in his class. This in mind, he looked Ann in the face before responding. “I don’t know what you’re talking about. I’ve got nothing to hide. I’m Dustin Bryce Shade. I have money, but I’m not too much of a douche. My parents buy me shit. I’m a bit of a rebel. I’m kind of intelligent, but I don’t make a point of telling people. See? Nothing to hide. What about you? Got any dirty little secrets?”

[Piper Crumin]

Piper's head pounded as her blood rushed through her brain and her body. She felt her pulse harsh in her hands as her feet kept hitting the ground and propelling her forward, her strides becoming longer and faster until she was almost flying across the floor. She tried to run as much as she could on campus and through the town nearby. She had to run as much as she could without getting too warm or too cold so she wouldn't catch anything. Luckily, she had only been sick once or twice, thanks to the great people at Hammel, they were able to get her good care and her duration of sickness was short compared to the other times she had suffered through her sickness. It really was helping going here, despite her uneasiness at first. She did miss her father, but it couldn't be helped.

Piper's run was coming to a finish. She let her eyes find the path she was going to take as she neared the building full of dorms. She rarely used the door to her room, as she didn't like going through the different levels of people trying to come in and out of the building itself. It made her feel like a fish struggling against the current. It wasn't easy,a s people were her weakness. She slowed down a bit as she approached the side of the building, and took a flying leap towards the red bricks. Her hands latched onto the drain pipe and her sneakers found surface against the rough bricks and she scurried up like a bug or mouse; climbing fast so she wouldn't lose her momentum. Her breath was just within her nose, almost as if she was in a meditative state doing this. Her fingers found holes and dents to pull up and up to, until she reached the second-story window where her room sat. She had marked it with a star the would glow in the dark, but was still easily seen in the sun. That way she could find her room in the dark or during the day. She balanced herself precariously on the windowsill and worked her short fingernails under the window and pulled up. It came up pretty easily, as she kept it unlocked and cleaned it on a regular basis so she could get in quickly and soundlessly, most of the time. She wasn't trying to be quite today, so when she opened the window, it slammed up and she slid through.

Her feet hit the ground and Piper immediately turned and shut her window. The last thing she needed was to get a chill in her room after a shower or during the night. Kneeling down, Piper untied her running shoes and kicked them off onto the bed in her small room. She took a heavy breath and pulled her ponytail out, letting her thick brown hair fall in front of her face. She almost ran a hand through the weedy hair, but she decided against it when she looked at her palm and saw all the dirt. The filth could easily get her sick if she wasn't careful. Piper sighed, shaking her head a little and shuffling through her bag to find her sanitizer. She pulled out the little bottle, and flicked the top open and turned it to empty a squirt onto her hands, but nothing came out but a little noise of air rapidly leaving the bottle. Pshttt The brunette ground her teeth together and shook the bottle and tried again. Pshttt

"Crud," she hissed, and pulled open her door into the main room which connected to all the separate rooms in the small apartment. The girl opened a few cabinets in search of some sanitizer, but kept on coming out with nothing. She sighed again, then heard some voices coming from the room that was supposed to be empty. Ann must have brought a friend in. Maybe she had taken a bottle of the sanitizer. Piper had made it clear that Ann could use anything she wanted, as long as it wasn't the last of Piper's medical supplies. She opened the door, "Hey, Ann, did you have a bottle of the sanitizer I keep in the-"

Piper cut off suddenly, seeing the boy sitting on the bed with Ann. She first assumed that he was her boyfriend, but his bags on the bed and the fact that she hadn't seen him before, she had to guess that he was their new roommate. She went quiet and smiled awkwardly. "Uhm. Hi."

[Ann Hudgins]

"Maybe I should." Ann mused as he said she might need a goatee for the stroking of the chin. "But it seems that I just can't grow one." Her musing tone persisted as she looked off in the distance of the room, trying to puzzle this new 'information' out. However, she giggled and dropped the act all together. She grinned and nodded as he said he didn't sing in the shower and he'd keep his shit in check. "Good then." She smiled a bit, glad he wasn't going to fight with her over that. Some part of her believed he would have been obstinate and claimed since it was his room, he'd do whatever he wanted.

"Lucky you. Most people struggle for years on their powers, with hardly any control even after practicing non stop." Was that tone a bit bitter? Was Ann speaking of personal experience? Yes and yes. It hardly seemed fair (though it kinda did) that he didn't (or so he says) have any problems with his power at all, and Ann had to struggle with it all day, every day. Whoever handed out powers upstairs really didn't understand the concept of 'fair'. Ann, however, couldn't be bitter over this for long because she knew she was to blame for it. She spent so long just shoving it away, and trying to live with it, she didn't work to overcome it like she should have.

She felt his panic as she looked him over, and felt kinda guilty for it. But then again...why was he panicking if there was nothing for her to find? He was hiding something, and Ann was almost curious enough to pry it out of him. She wasn't mean. And lying wasn't a feeling, but when people lie to others, that lie stirs up feelings, which is what Ann felt from Devin. He was feeling just a bit too proud of himself, or something close to it for Ann to just believe what he was telling her. It all seemed practiced. Though Ann was hardly the type to pry into people's inner workings.

"Like what exactly do you do with your powers? I might sounds stupid, but I just don't really..know." Ann admitted truthfully. Ann wasn't too full of pride to admit when she didn't know something, she just usually didn't because doing so would bring attention to herself. Devin, just so you know, if you had admitted the truth, Ann wouldn't have ever said anything about it again. But now that he did...well that, she quirked an eyebrow at him as he told her who he was, that he wasn't a douche and a bunch of other things. She slowly folded her arms across her chest because he definitely got defensive. "Uhm...nothing comes to mind." She replied cooly. Ann was probably the worst person to ask for secrets. She barely qualified as a person, let alone someone that ranked to keep things private.

She looked up when Piper's door opened, she immediately cast her eyes towards Devin and then back at Piper. "I think I did borrow it." She said to the girl's question. She stood and gestured from one to the other. "Piper, this is Devin. Devin, this is Piper. He's our new roommate now. I'll go get that hand sanitizer." Ann responded quickly, glad for the moment of escape. She retreated into her room and looked along all the hard surfaces until she located the bottle in question. She picked it up and as she went back into the living room she drew in a deep calming breath and then tossed it under and towards Piper.

[Dustin Shade]

“Well, you could go to a circus and ask the bearded lady… She might have some tips for you.” Dustin suggested, laughing as she stroked her “goatee”. Now, Dustin wasn’t entirely sure he was going to comply with the rules of the room, but he wasn’t going to be an awful roommate. He certainly didn’t want to get kicked out. Maybe he was a little messy, but at the beginning at least, he’d try to keep his room clean. Dustin wondered what his other roommate was capable of. Did she have the power to be super hot? He grinned. That would be ideal. Somehow, he doubted it. What if she was totally lame? He didn’t want to start his Hammel career with a loser for a roommate. But, if she stayed out… Well, she couldn’t be too bad, right?

“Well, I’m pretty awesome. I mean, my power isn’t too bad. I like it so I had to learn to use it, you know?” Dustin gave her a lopsided grin. He was lying through his teeth. But, he was confident. Confidence was believable. He could tell she was buying it. It pleased him. Dustin was doing well. Before this moment, he’d only ever practiced into his own mirror. It was much easier to pretend that one was believable when one was lying to oneself. When he looked up at Ann, she seemed rather…upset? Angry? Jealous? Dustin wasn’t sure. Of course, he was no empath. Was she jealous of his power? He groaned inwardly. Sure, it sounded cool, but his power was a massive pain in the ass. Every time he got angry he ended up destroying something or hurting someone. It was awful. Once in a while, he could accidentally create something useful, but those times were rare.

She was scrutinizing him. Dustin shifted uncomfortably, feeling very small. Why was she looking at him like that? Could emapths feel lies? He was sure lying wasn’t a feeling… He tried to calm himself down, realizing she could probably sense his panic. The way she was looking at him… Well, his mirror had never looked back at him like that. He’d practiced and practiced only to be found out by his own roommate. His fun would end before it began. Once more, he would be the loser who lived in the ghetto and had no money. Then, she would ask questions about his expensive clothing and his attitude and he’d have to explain the whole thing.

“Well, when I get mad, there are these blasts of energy I create. And, other times I can create things out of energy. It’s pretty rad.” He grinned. “I barely know what an empath is. I mean, can you turn it on and off?” Now that he thought about it, Dustin realized that feeling everyone’s emotions all of the time would kind of suck. Feeling his own pain was hard enough. Dustin couldn’t imagine having to deal with everyone else’s. He felt a pang of sympathy for Ann. And then, she asked the question and the sympathy disappeared. However, Dustin was quite proud of his answer. He had to admit he sounded pretty chill. Chill was like confident, believable. Ann wasn’t buying it. Well, not completely. It seemed that she was temporarily accepting the fact that he wasn’t going to tell her anything. But, she certainly wasn’t happy about it. “Well, that’s good, I guess…” He replied awkwardly.

Suddenly, a door opened and a girl stepped into the room. Dustin, glad for the interruption, looked her way. Was she his other roommate? He wondered why she was looking for hand sanitizer. Why did girls always wash their hands? Would they expect him to wash his hands every five minutes? He hoped not. Dustin was perfectly clean, but he was not obsessive about it. As Ann introduced him, Dustin coughed. She’d forgotten his name already? Was fame really that fleeting? Maybe being popular wouldn’t be as easy as he thought. He coughed. “Um…it’s Dustin, actually. But, it’s nice to meet you, Piper.” He said as Ann left, extending his hand.

[Piper Crumin]

The brunette athlete nodded in thanks to Ann, and looked over at the new acquirement to her little world. He was very feminine, with longish hair that looked straightened and very green eyes that Piper didn't really feel like trusting. Or maybe that was the fact that she very rarely liked men. Especially young men like this one was. He was about her age, but he seemed much younger. She felt her eyes being too narrow for kindness, and tried opening them up a little. It was a hard task.

Piper lifted an upper lift in an upper lip in an effort to smile, but it was forced and awkward and she was sure it ended up looking more like a sneer, especially with her long canines. It took a lot to be this strange and socially inept. "Enchanted." She said dryly to Devin/Dustin, cracking her knuckles unconsciously. It was a bad habit, one of many, that she hadn't been able to kick. She looked around oafishly, running her light blue sock against the short carpet as she ignored his hand.

She was grateful when Ann returned with the hand sanitizer, which she expertly caught and flipped open to put some on her open palm. She used enough to cover her hands and also sanitize halfway up her forearm, which she also did in a way that showed it was something she was more used to than a normal person should. She then took his delayed handshake, only to put more sanitizing gel on her hand to get rid of what germs he could have been carrying. Sure, it was a little overkill, but what could she do? It he had sneezed just a little bit ago that could mean a month in bed for her. It was terrifying for her, and she never really met anyone that understood her fear. No one had her almost nonexistent immune system.

Piper tossed the clear bottle onto the bed, and finally ran her hands through her hair, holding it off her neck for a bit. "Be sure to sanitize a lot here, okay?" she said off-handedly. She then let her waterfall of hair fall as she pulled a soft headband from her pocket (she always kept one on her so she could have a conversation without being bothered by her hair too much) and pushed the heavy brown hair out of her face.

"So, you have a last name with that, Devin?" Or was it Dustin? Piper hadn't really been paying attention, as she had been worried about the germs that could have been seeping through her skin and contaminating her blood.

Okay, that seemed a little far-fetched, even by her craziness when it came to germs, but for good reason! Yeah, she had to defend all of her actions in her head. Speaking of which, why was she being so unwelcoming to this kid? He was only like her, maybe a exuding a bit of a snobbish attitude, but still struggling with abilities that were beyond that which they could teach in other schools.

[Ann Hudgins]

(Whoops. I called Dustin by the wrong name, not Ann. I'm SO sorry I didn't catch it)

"Great suggestion. As soon as I locate a yellow pages, I get right on it." Ann grinned and then decided that was as far as she was going to take the strokey-beard joke. Not on that, but she had reached her limit for such a joke, she didn't feel comfortable continuing the thing, though she was proud of herself for keeping it up thus far. She had been practicing with her jokes with her actual friend Devin, recently and because of that she was generally in a better mood. And not just because she actually had a friend that was fun to be around, but also because she was feeling a lot more like herself.

"Ah. Cool." Ann replied to him being 'awesome,' and having to learn to control his powers. But it was still hard to believe. Controlling energy just didn't seem to be something one could learn how to do before arriving at Hammel. It seemed like something that would take a while, considering it was energy. But why would he lie about something like that? Ann was just being weird about it so she needed to drop it, less she permanently ruins any sort of friendship they could have, and she really didn't want to do that since they lived together now. His confidence was also something that deterred her from thinking his was lying or anything of the sort.

He was just that sorta person with his nose in the air. Ann wasn't really sure if she liked that, however. But then there was another odd thing she felt from him; panic. He was just a bundle of confusion and surprises, then. Ann could hardly make sense of it. Or maybe she was scaring him by being herself? That might be possible. She fidgeted with her hands in her lap. "Sorry." She offered a small apology to his unease, but that was all. She was too embarrassed really. He really wasn't doing anything to cause such alarm, she was just being weird about it because of her powers and that wasn't fair at all.

"That sounds like fun. Like what sort of stuff can you make?" She asked, now with genuine curiosity. Could he make things that didn't exist? Or thing in stores that he had no money to buy (well the though occurred to Ann that he looked like he had money)? That would be pretty cool. As for her power..."Ohn, no it doesn't turn on and off. Just all the time, taking in and in and in. Like a spider's web, or a sponge." Only a sponge can be rung out, Ann was just now learning how to keep other's emotions from effecting her self, she still constantly sensed them, though. She was definitely bitter about her powers. She hated them, truly. She wanted them to be gone, or at least different--easier to control. Anything really.

When Dustin corrected Ann, because she called him the wrong name, she felt horrible. She smacked a palm to her forehead for being so thoughtless. "I'm so sorry! I'm terrible with names! I was thinking about my friend who is named Devin," she didn't mention that friend was also a girl, though. "I'm terrible with things like that. Like I'll be talking about one thing and thinking another and switch the two randomly." She rambled, still a bit upset she'd messed his name up. She sank back into the couch in shame. She contemplated hiding in her room, but that would hardly fix the situation.

[Dustin Shade]

((OOC: Oh, that's cool. It's no big deal. I just figured I'd use it to play off of Dustin's insecurities. Hope you don't mind!))

"Are bearded ladies in the yellow pages?" He smiled before dropping the joke. It was silly that it had gone this far in the first place. Had he really just had a short conversation with an older girl about bearded ladies and how to grow a goatee? He groaned internally. He really was an idiot. He had the chance of a lifetime, sharing a room with two older girls! And, here he was, messing things up already. Still, Ann didn't seem to mind. Maybe she liked to talk about odd things. He made a mental note to find out what his roommates liked. He really didn't feel like having a bad relationship with the two people he'd be living with for the rest of the year.

He nodded at her. Ann's response had been less than satisfactory. Frankly, Dusting was a bit disappointed. He'd expected a "good for you" or a compliment of some sort. Instead, he recieved a bit of a look and a "cool". Had he said the wrong thing? He wondered just how many people at Hammel could really control what they could do. The new ones, especially. Did teachers hear about braggarts? Dustin would freely admit to being a braggart. He never had the chance to brag about anything at home, having no money and all. So, he would take whatever opportunity he could find here at Hammel.

Mid-panic, Dustin heard Ann apologize. What was she apologizing for, exactly? He frowned. Was she apologizing for asking? Or, for staring at him? Or, was she apologizing for knowing what he was feeling? He sighed. "Er, no. It's fine..." He replied uneasily. How did she expect him to respond? "Oh, you should be sorry for making me think you knew my secret." No. That wouldn't do. He wasn't supposed to have a secret! Absentmindedly, he wondered if anyone had the power to read minds. Or, if anyone had the power to know things like that. Dustin had really backed himself into a corner here. Now that he had come out and told Ann he was rich, he'd be expected to uphold that claim with other students. If there were mindreaders, he was completely and utterly screwed.

"Uh, little things. I guess I could make complicated stuff, but it takes a ton of energy. It's exhausting. I made a shield out of light energy once. Then, I passed out. Like I said, it takes a lot out of you." He smiled. That had been the only thing he'd ever constructed. He remembered the day vividly. He was being held against a brick wall by his neck, about to be punched in the face for being dirt poor. He'd done it instinctively, not even realizing he'd done anything odd until after it had happened. The jerk had thrown a punch, but it had sort of bounced off of something. It was a proud moment for Dustin. He would not be forgetting anytime soon. "Oh... Well, no offense, but that kind of sucks. I mean, your power's still cool and all, but that doesn't sound like much fun..."

The girl, Piper, didn't seem to like him much. As soon as she had the hand sanitizer, she was covering her hands and forearms with it. Finally, she took his hand and shook. Then, she reapplied the sanitizer. Dustin watched, shocked. How many bottles did she go through on a weekly basis? As he wondered, she told him to sanitize often. He looked at her, confused. "Uh, okay. Can I ask why?" He was starting to wonder about the sanity of his roommates. One was an empath who could go from happy to angry in about a second. The other was a huge germaphobe. Piper was rather rude, as well. Not only did she talk down to Dustin, she continued to use the wrong name, even after he'd corrected her. He glared.

"It's Dustin. Dustin Shade." Then, Ann was babbling about how sorry she was. He turned to her, forcing a smile. He didn't mind Ann. She seemed alright, at least. He was just a bit angry with Piper. "No, it's okay. I do that sometimes, too."

[Piper Crumin]

Piper mentally kicked herself. She was not doing too well meeting her new roommate. She tried to smile sweeter at him. "I'm sorry," she said simply, shoving her empty hand in her pocket. "I don't mean to be so cold." He obviously wasn't liking her too much right now, but she was a little bothered by the way he wrote off Ann's powers. Energy manipulation was a cool power and all, but Ann knew and understood people in a completely different way than anyone would ever know or see. It was incredible.

Her bright blue eyes shot down to the bottle in hand as Dustin questioned about the sanitizing. She suddenly felt embarrassed. Her immune system really made it hard for her to be friends with people, as she was always using sanitizer and eating strange things and being just a little...off. She couldn't often swim, and she always kept her room too warm so she couldn't catch a chill. Piper feared flu season like no other, and every time someone sneezed she flinched. It was scary, and explaining it was embarrassing and made her seem like a pussy. She wasn't, she was just.... scared.

"It's just that... it's one of the problems with having my abilities. I get really sick too easily. If you have a germ on your hands and your body can handle it, mine probably can't, and it may result in me being in bed for weeks." Piper paused, "I usually buy hand sanitizer by the bulk, so feel free to take a bottle or two to carry around. I also have disinfectant wipes and I get the dorm cleaned thoroughly once a week. I hope you don't mind." She smiled again.

((gah, my brain is off. Sorry about the short reply.))

[Ann Hudgins]

Feeling the two of them...sorta butt heads made Ann sigh. It really wouldn't be fun in the future if the three of them couldn't get along. She looked down at her toes, though, when Ann felt Piper's...bothered-ness by how Dustin said something, and from the way the conversation was going, Ann was pretty sure it was about her, but she couldn't be absolutely positive. She glanced up at Piper, and her look was one of small appreciation for such a thing, but really, Ann agreed with what Dustin had said about her power. It did suck. However, she didn't consider it cool or interesting at all, just a hindrance.

She glanced between the two of them, and wished she knew what to say to diffuse the situation a bit. Everything was feeling tight and annoying, Ann herself was starting to get exasperated. She rubbed her fingers and palms together to try and calm herself down, like her movement would curb the tension she was feeling in her throat and stomach. She did, actually, consider what Dev--Dustin. What Dustin, asked was a bit rude. Everyone at Hammel was aware that everyone had a side-effect. That's what came with powers. Ann knew that Piper was really susceptible to germs and infections, and Ann did her best to keep everything clean, and her hands always washed and stuff. Though, Dustin was new here, so he didn't know all that yet, which actually was a good excuse, now that she thought about it.

She was just about to tell Dustin that, when Piper did herself. "It's actually pretty cool." Ann spoke up, about how Piper got the dorm cleaned once a week. "'Cause we don't have to do it, like other people with dorms, who are responsible for keeping everything clean." For one who was so depressed all the time, she went out of her way for other people to see the optimistic side of things.