Fear of the Storm [Everett]

[Gabriel James]

It hadn't even been 24 hours since Kiara had shown up at the apartment and hit Gabe with some of the heaviest news she could possibly throw at him. Sure, the outcome ended up being great in his opinion, and he still agreed to the 'no apologies' mantra that they had put in place. However, there was something that was filling Gabe with so much anxiety and guilt that he could barely sit still on the couch. So far that day, he'd cleaned the bathroom, the kitchen, vacuumed the carpet in the living room, wrote 2 potential song verses, and made enough spaghetti to feed an army, then only ate a quarter of it.

Gabe was scared shitless of what would happen if Everett found out. He had tossed and turned the night before, trying to convince himself that Ev didn't need to know. Then he got up and stood at his roommate's bedroom door for nearly a half hour, entertaining the idea of knocking. Because waking him up at 3 am to tell him about his sister's pregnancy scare seemed like a good option. At least he'd be delirious. And at least Gabe could get the information off his back.

But Gabe decided against it and managed to get a few hours of sleep in too. Today, though, Gabriel was as anxious as ever, and it showed in his spontaneous interest in household chores. He tried to convince himself, with every swipe of paper towels across the window, that Everett really didn't need to know. He hated Gabe enough already. The feeling would pass. Things would get back to normal on their own one way or another. Gabe finished up cleaning the windows, happy to see that heavy rain was taking care of the chore on the outside of the house. So he moved on.

As he was wiping away some dust from the entertainment center, Gabe heard the familiar sound of his phone vibrating against the coffee table. He skipped over, half expecting his brother, or mother to be calling for one reason or another. They were really the only people who contacted him regularly anymore. But he was surprised to see Everett's name and a picture of Batman flash across the screen.

Gabe's heart rate spiked. He knew. He knew and he was calling him to tell him to move out and never come back. That was the only reason Everett could possible be calling him. He swiped his finger across the screen, only after briefly considering pressing ignore, then held the phone delicately to his ear - ready to pull away if somebody started screaming at the other end. Gabe swallowed, mouth running dry, and finally made it clear that he had, in fact, picked up the phone.

"Hello?"

[Everett Lilien]

Everett wasn't expecting to call Gabe. Anybody but Gabe, but really who else would he call? Faye? They didn't know each other on that level and he most certainly didn't want her to know he was afraid of storms. That left Kiara or Gabe and either call was a hard one to make. Besides, Kiara didn't really understand when it came to his power, he was rather private about it. He hated when people knew he still had an issue with it when he was twenty-three, not to mention a trainer at Hammel.

But he was defnitely not okay and the only person it made sense to call was Gabe. He'd been out running errands and making himself work on lesson plans. He doubted Gabe even knew he was a teacher now as well as a trainer, taking on home ec, something he was very quickly loving. Cooking was his true passion. And it had been fairly alright outside and so hadn't taken his car, but he really should have checked the weather obsessively like he used to in high school. Any chance of a storm made him wary of the outdoors and resulted in the blonde looking himself inside with a stack of comic books. This had happened once before, when he'd gone to a video game release in high school and he hadn't checked the weather because he was so excited, he ended up running into a 24 hour diner, scared out of his mind and causing a power outage there. He was lucky he was able to call Gabe at that time without frying his cell phone. His friend had come out in the rain for him that day and Everett wasn't so sure this was going to go the same way.

When he pressed the phone to his ear and waited, it stopped ringing and he waited for Gabe's familiar voice to come through, but there was nothing for a long moment. By the time Gabe finally said something, Everett spoke at the same time in a panicked voice. "Gabe?" He felt pathetic. But he was terrified.

And here he was, standing inside that same 24 hour diner, backing away from the window as another flash of lightning went across the sky. This is why he liked winter. Snow storms didn't affect his power.

[Gabriel James]

Gabe was relieved when the voice on the other line wasn't one of anger or hatred. It wasn't sarcastic, snarky, or any of the things that Everett had been to Gabe lately. But somehow Ev's voice made Gabe even more uncomfortable. Gabe's confident friend sounded a little more than just freaked out. Just hearing his name stuttered on the other line was enough to know that Everett was terrified. But terrified of what?

"Ev? You alright man?" Gabe asked, slightly confused, and suddenly very worried. His heart rate only spiking again after hearing Ev's heavy breathing.

Before his friend could even answer though, a bright flash from the windows caught Gabe's eye and a loud crack of thunder made him jump. Which was when he put two and two together - quicker than anyone else who knew Everett possibly could. Gabe knew that it was one thing Everett had confided in him alone. Everett was pretty secretive about his fear of storms, and Gabriel didn't blame him. It wasn't something a 23 year old was usually scared of. But Gabe understood, and he never made fun of Everett for it. That wasn't going to change, even now when the two were supposed to be feuding.

"Where are you?" Gabe asked, without hesitation after realizing what was going on. "I'll come get you." He was already walking briskly to his newly cleaned bedroom to rip apart his closet for his coat and dig through his desk drawer for his keys.

[Everett Lilien]

Had he been alright as of lately? No. Was he alright right now? Fuck no! He turned away from the window as if not seeing the lightning would make him feel better even though he could still hear the thunder booming. He hadn't replied yet, he was trying to come up with an answer that didn't make him sound ridiculous, but he knew he was. He was terrified of thunderstorms because they made his power go all haywire on him and they always had. Even through years of training, he still couldn't shake the fear. It put him on edge and Ev imagined himself being fried if he stepped out into the storm.

He wasn't sure what he expected. Gabe to hang up, to now make fun of him, but nothing had changed. Gabe realized why he was calling before he'd even explained. "The diner downtown. You know the one..." he trailed off, feeling sort of lame. It was the closest place to escape just like it had been years ago. "I might order some pancakes...food helps me calm my nerves." He didn't know why he added that last part or why he was suddenly okay with talking to Gabe.

[Gabriel James]

Gabe hadn't given any of his actions a second thought. And he didn't even grab a coat or jacket before he stepped out in the pouring rain. His keys slipped through his fingers as he tried to find the one to lock the door to the apartment. He had the phone to his ear using his shoulder as he continued to fumble with the key and lock. "Really? The same place?" Gabe asked with half a laugh, hoping it wouldn't embarrassed Ev. He just found it funny that he was in the same diner that Gabe had saved him from years ago. "Order me some cohoclate chip pancakes because if you're getting some, I want some too," Gabe demanded, hoping it may help get Ev's mind off the storm. Food usually did help.

"Do you want me to stay on the phone with you?" Gabe asked as he ran down the steps and across the street to his car, getting drenched in the process. "I'm getting in my car now. I can be there in like... 5 minutes," Gabe said, putting the key in the ignition, and buckling up, still managing to keep his phone pressed to his face with his shoulder. He cursed the fact that two cars had parked relatively close to his, making it difficult to get out of the spot quite difficult. "Make that 7 minutes."

[Everett Lilien]

"The same place," Everett confirmed, not quite sure how it happened himself. He almost took it as some sort of sign that he needed to talk to Gabe. Being stuck in this diner, staring at the storm brewing outside reminded him of how he'd been in the same position years ago, waiting for Gabe to show up.

"Will do," he told him. It was somehow easier to talk to him about panckes and his fear of storms than the situation that had really messed up their friendship. He could hear the rain pouring through the phone as Gabe went outside. "Nah, it's alright. See you soon." As he hung up the phone and sat down in a booth to place their orders, he realized that one way or another, it would probably come up.

[Gabriel James]

"Alright. See you soon," Gabe said before hanging up his phone and throwing it into the passenger's seat. It took him a bit to get out of the parking space, and about 5 minutes total to get to the diner across town. And even though the ride was short, it felt like a million years. Because even though he was driving to save Everett from his own demons, Gabe was fully aware that it would result in a conversation about the past couple months. It had to. They had been ignoring each other far too long. Gabe's palms were sweating from gripping the steering wheel so hard, but he didn't really notice until he drove up to the diner in his beat up old red car, and pulled into a parking space.

He hopped out of the vehicle and wipe the sweat off his palms and onto his jeans, getting soaked all over again as he half-ran from the car to the diner. It was raining so hard at this point that Gabe was certain an umbrella wouldn't have helped even if he had one. The lightning flashed and thunder roared again as Gabe entered the diner. He took a moment to shake out his hair in the door way so he wouldn't drip all over the place before stepping in and looking around for a head of blonde hair.

The diner was pretty deserted though, and it didn't take long for Gabe to find Everett in a booth near the back, as far away from any windows as physically possible. Gabe took a deep breath before heading back, and slipping into the booth. "Hey," he said, trying to ignore the squeaky sound his wet jeans were making on the red pleather, as well as the drops of water falling from the tips of his hair onto his face. "You alright?"

[Everett Lilien]

Everett stared out the window from where he was sitting, which was really far away, his eyes practically narrowing into a glare at the storm that was raging outside the doors of the diner. He tried to concentrate on the pancakes that were sure to arrive soon, but it felt like there was a sort of impending doom hanging over his head, like a storm cloud he couldn't get rid of. How ironic.

That sense of doom only got worse when his curly haired friend walked in the door, dripping wet and yet at the same time there was this feeling of relief that he was there. He felt like a super hero in a comic book and storms were his kryptonite. He imagined the scenes of what was happening as comic panels in his mind to help ease the initial anger and other emotions he couldn't identify that bubbled to the surface when Gabe slid into the booth.

"Hey," he said. The first greeting he'd said to him in months. He'd only spoke in fragments to him, asking him for rent or about groceries. But the first thing Gabe asked was if he was alright and the anger dissipated in that moment. "Yeah...I think so." He knew it was childish. He knew it was, to still be afraid of this when he had more control over his power than he did in his teenage years. He had a trainer to thank for that and Gabe. And yet here he was, hiding from the rain.

[Gabriel James]

Gabe stared at Everett momentarily, as if to make sure Everett wasn't going to change his mind. Though in reality it was partially due to the shock of hearing Everett's voice say something other than 'Rent's due' or 'your turn to buy milk' for the first time in what felt like forever. The two month Everett ignored him seemed even longer than the 3 years Gabriel spent in LA. It was eerie, and Gabe hoped that the small 'Hey' was window enough to put the nail in the coffin of their fued. "Alright..." Gabe said, still not fully convinced, but knowing that pushing the subject would not pur Everett any more at ease.

Gabe wiped some of the wet hair out of his eyes, and pulled his blue tshirt away from his body where it was sticking to his skin, causing some discomfort. In that moment he was glad that he hadn't been wearing white. "I'm impressed that you made it to the same place as last time," Gabe said with a sigh, finally taking in the scent of diner food. Gabe played with his silverware a bit, not really sure what to say or how to say it. He hoped the food would come soon and lighten the tension so when it rose again, it wouldn't be hitting a limit (hopefully). "At least your hiding spot has good grub," Gabe offered, trying to keep conversation light, though he could feel the tension mounting about 20 ft before he even walked into the door of the diner.

[Everett Lilien]

Gabe knew when to stop asking questions, unlike Everett who fired them at people when he was angry or curious or really feeling any sort of emotion in general besides apathy, but he knew that continuing to ask if he was okay would make Everett edgy and so he avoided it, sitting down at the booth and changing the subject to something Everett could deal with: Food.

"Yeah, I really don't know how I ended up here again," he told him. Honestly, he usually took the same route back to campus from the downtown and by now he realized he should probably just drive, although even in his car he wouldn't feel safe from the storm.

"I ordered your pancakes," he said randomly. "Chocolate chip."

[Gabriel James]

"Thanks," Gabe said, happy that the blonde had remembered his order. It would have been torturous to watch Everett eat food without getting some himself. He'd spent all day in anxiety induced spring cleaning mode and didn't realize he hadn't stopped for food until he sat in the boot and caught a wiff of the diner food. "I'm starving. I spent all day cleaning the apartment," he explained, trying to keep the subject off anything that may make things worse for Everett. He knew better than to throw his roommate into a panic attack.

He tapped his fingers on the table top, at a loss of where to go from there. Years ago in this situation the boys had plenty to discuss - classes, girls, the antics they were planning to get into. Today, though, Gabe was at a loss. He and Everett hadn't spoken in weeks. Gabe had no clue what was going on in his life. "How have you been?" Gabe finally asked. "I mean... minus the whole... caught in a storm thing," he added, realizing that situation was not good at all. And he was doing his best to make it better, even if Everett had refused to talk to him ever since the night he and Kiara hooked up.

[Everett Lilien]

"No problem," Everett replied. He'd gotten chocolate chip panckaes the last time they were at this diner together. He hated appearing so fragile, so vulnerable and he was glad that one of the only people he showed that to wasn't making fun of him for it. It was like he was suddenly sixteen again everytime there was a thunderstorm. He wasn't sure he'd ever shake the fear. It wasn't that the storm sent him spiraling out of control anymore, he'd learned to control his power, he wasn't a danger to humanity when it poured, but he remembered that lack of control the storm caused within himself and the fear stuck with him because of it. He still avoided going out in the rain regardless.

"I've been fine. I started teaching home ec in addition to training." Somehow he didn't realy want to bring up the possibility of a girl in his life. Things with Faye were complicated. But really,what wasn't complicated as of lately. He wasn't sure if he should reciprocate the question and ask Gabe how he was, mostly because he was sure he'd contributed to how Gabe ws and not in a good way.

[Gabriel James]

"Wow..." Gabe said when Everett told him the news. It really hit him, then, just how long it had been since the two had talked. Long enough for Everett to have a completely new role at Hammel without Gabe even knowing. And the two nearly worked the same exactl hours in the same exact building. "Congratulations... I had no idea, but that's awesome," Gabe said honestly, though his voice lacked the enthusiasm he felt- simply because he was kind of sad that he hadn't even had the slightly clue about this news.

The mood lightened, though, when food arrived, and the smell of pancakes hit Gabe's nose closer than it had been before. He was ready to dig right in, if only to give him something to do in the awkward silence that was plaguing the friends. "So..." Gabe said finally, the silence killing him. "I know that you just called me here to like... calm you down and take you home or whatever..." Gabe said. "But... man... I can't take this anymore," he admitted, finally putting down his fork, looking toward Everett with begging eyes - which would have been much more effective if he hadn't been wearing his glasses. "I can't take the silence. We need to talk about all this at some point, Ev."

[Everett Lilien]

"Thanks! It's what I really wanted originally but the position wasn't open when I started. I love helping the students here with their powers, but I also wanted to help show them the art of cooking. I'm planning a bake sale and a cook off to really get students inspired to cook." Everett realized he was rambling and that he hadn't really gotten to show his excitement towards anybody, considering Gabe was usually who he told this stuff to.

When the pancakes arrived, he dug in, stuffing his face full to avoid the storm outside and the electricity in his veins, along with the tension between him and Gabe that was coming to a head. When he started talking, he stuffed another forkful of pancakes in his mouth, listening to what he said. When he finally swallowed, he realized that he had only one pancake left and he should probably slow down and answer his friend. "Yeah...I don't like silence," he began. "But I also don't know if I want to talk about it, even if I know we should.

[Gabriel James]

Gabe put his fork down definitely, knowing that this had the potential to turn very heated very quickly. "It's been months, Ev. If you don't want to talk about it now, when will you?" Gabe asked seriously. "Because both of us know that even if you 'forgive' me and 'put it behind you', it will come up eventually, and what the hell am I supposed to say 7 months from now when you try and use it against me," he asked with half a laugh - one that came out not because it was funny, but because the way the boys delt with things was kind of like they were a dysfunctional couple who didn't know how to resolve their conflicts.

Gabe wasn't sue how he could get Everett to see how important to him it was that they talk it out. Because Gabe couldn't live in the silence anymore. "You know this whole thing has been driving me mad," he admitted. "I want to talk about it. I can't just sit here and say I'm sorry and beg for your forgiveness, because I'm not sorry, but I still need my best friend."

He took a deep breath, finally realizing what he needed to tell Everett to get his point across, "Kiara came over yesterday," he said picking his fork back up and pushing his pancakes across the plate, swirling his syrup around nervously.