Bad ideas come in packs [Open]

[Deleted]

“I didn’t mean anything rude by that, but…well, yeah.”  Jackson lifted his shoulders, unsure how else to explain himself.  He felt, however, that if he said that she seemed too sweet a person to have a power like controlling bees and bugs she might get more offended.  As if bugs and bees weren’t nice enough or something.  Which wasn’t the case at all, it was just unexpected.  Different.  But it didn’t have to be in a bad way, he didn’t think. 
 
He nodded, a little sheepish at having turned the conversation from her bees to his Jedi Powers, as he liked to call them.  He felt like he’d out himself as a nerd if he said that out loud, though.  “Yeah! Um…I’m not that good at it, though. At least not yet! I do plan to be, though!” Jackson brightened as he boasted about what he could be…eventually. Even though he wasn’t anywhere near as awesome as a lot of other telekinetics. He’d heard of a few at the school (or who used to go to the school) who had amazing telekinetic ability. “Not really. At least, I don’t think so. I’m pretty normal.” About as normal as he could be with his own condition. Jackson laughed again. He wondered if those other telekinetics fit the angsty trope? Maybe that’s what Jackson needed to get better at his power. More angst! “Though, to tell the truth, I don’t know what one looks like either. But, I don’t think you can tell just by looking anyway.” All sorts of people had all sorts of things they were hiding.

“It’s just different, y’know?” he said, hoping to be a little more encouraging. “Sometimes, I think, when people see something different, it can be funny at first. Not all the time, of course, but just until they get used to it. For instance…” Jackson tried to thing. “Like…if you went to a new town and….and there it was customary for a…pig riding a goat riding a horse to run down the street every night at sundown….uh…and with a parade of people doing the macarena following behind…that’d be funny, right? But…it’s completely normal to them, the people of the town…because they see it every day…right?” Wow, that didn’t make a lick of sense, did it?

Jackson’s cheeks turned pink again. “Yes!” he asserted excitedly. “Of course it does, Ginny! I would love to be your friend!” His eyes were wide and sparkling at the idea and his smile was stretched from ear to ear. “You’re really cool. I don’t see how I could not be your friend.”

Another laugh came when Ginny became shy about wearing “boys” clothes. “Don’t you worry. It’s just like wearing girl’s clothes, only it’s not so drafty.” Oh, shoot, why did he say that? Was he trying to be clever or something? Jackson felt his face grow hot again. At least she accepted. His other plan was to ask one of the other girls if they had any spare clothes in their lockers, and that could’ve gotten creepy real quick. “Of course. I’m glad to help,” he assured her with a smile. Jackson liked helping people. Jackson pointed towards the locker rooms. “It’s just over there. I’ll go get the clothes and a towel, and then you can go dry off and change in the girl’s room. Does that sound okay?”

[Genevieve Duval]

Genevieve blinked in confusion. It hadn't been an insult, he said as much, yet she still didn't understand. "How do I look then?" She wondered what kind of power she looked like having. Maybe something with.. air? plants? She sure wished she could do something about her swimming so maybe something like that? Maybe it had something to do with her clothes? She knew she dressed oddly, like an old woman or something like that. She'd overheard girls giggling about that back in Kocher, mostly because of Genevieve's aversion to closed shoes and heavy clothes... and jeans. Oh, how she disliked anything stuffy and rough, an attitude that wasn't doing her any good in this weather. Wait- where was she again?

He wasn't good at it. "I am not good with mine either." She admitted with a small awkward smile, "They- ah... bees act out when I feel something, but I cannot... they do not always obey. And they sting. A lot." She whispered the last bit for Vivian's sake, just to not let her know how her brothers and sisters made her suffer. It wasn't a complain, not really, but Genevieve did hoped she didn't have to deal with so many marks over her legs and arms.

"Can you show me?" She wondered. A telepath moved things with their mind, didn't they? She smiled excitedly, leaning closer. "I want to see!"

He explained that it wasn't a look. "Then actions?" She wondered, "You mean they are-ah... crybabies!" She hadn't found the right word but it was close enough. "And you are not." She didn't like the word 'normal' though. It made her think of what she wasn't and it caused a painful tug in her chest. He was normal and she wasn't. Wasn't that right? Besides, it seemed like he didn't have people running away from him because of his powers.

He explained that different was funny and she nodded along, only half understanding. "I think I know." She said, although she didn't sound all that sure. "Like comedy!" She said, "When something you do not expect, happens!" She'd seen her fair share of old comedy shows so she thought so... okay, cartoons. The same thing applied!

He called her cool. Her. Genevieve's eyes widened and almost sparkled as she flushed, her tiny hands turning in fists as she moved even closer. "I am cool?" She repeated in disbelief. No she wasn't! She had never been. But he thought so and that made her the happiest. "Merci!" She couldn't help herself and suddenly hugged him, her arms going around his middle, right over his arms. It lasted for a second though, when Colton's warning hit her and she moved away. "Sorry! I did not warn." She flushed again, "And I got you wet." She'd forgotten about that bit. It hadn't been much, but there were Genevieve shaped wet spots on him. "Sorry."

Drafty? "Drafty." She repeated. "Drafty." Her head moved to the side, looking confused, "What 'drafty' means?" She wondered, not really understanding what he'd meant. She nodded along when he pointed and smiled, "I will wait." She agreed and moved to the side to let him walk pass her.

[Deleted]

That was a hard question. While he didn’t think she looked like a girl who could control insects, Jackson couldn’t think of anything immediately that might have “suited” her better. He crossed his arms as he pondered it over. “Um….maybe,” he started slowly. What was a good power that he’d seen before…? “Like…empathy? Or telepathy. Or…..I don’t know, something like those, maybe?” Man, he sounded like an utter dork, didn’t he? He couldn’t even come up with something to back up his own claims.

Oh. That didn’t sound good. He couldn’t imagine having a power that essentially attacked him whenever he was unsettled. He’d definitely never had that with his own power. “I’m sorry. That sounds like it’d be very difficult.”

But now he was put on the spot, as Ginny asked him to demonstrate his power. “Uh…now?” he asked with a smile and small crack in his voice. Jackson looked around, for something maybe that he could move to show her. “There isn’t really anything I can work with here.” He didn’t want to end up stealing someone else’s stuff on accident. “How about I show you later. I’m not exactly in top form right now.” And he didn’t even know if it would work this time.

Comedy? “Yeah! Like comedy!” It was totally not like comedy. Well, it was a little, but…putting it that way definitely made it seem like he was making fun. But if she was okay with that description…well, Jackson wasn’t going to argue.

Jackson had to wonder what kind of life Ginny had known up until now such that she didn’t even know how cool she was. That which made her so surprised and brought such enthusiasm from hearing. The hug was both expected, but still unexpected at the same time. As in, he should have expected it, but somehow didn’t. “Ahh! Cold!,” he yelped, in response to her cold, wet clothes pressing up against his bare chest and dripping down on his swim trunks. It brought goosebumps to his arms. “It’s okay,” he said. Ginny sure said “sorry” a lot. “That’s why I came to the pool in the first place, right?”

“Oh. Uh, drafty means…it means ‘breezy’. As in, you can feel the wind coming from somewhere.” How else to explain it? “Like, a room with an open window would be “drafty”. Right?” Ginny’s lack of understanding much English made it difficult to communicate with her…but she was so darn cute, he somehow didn’t mind it!

“I’ll be right back then,” he said to her. Jackson stepped quickly back to the locker rooms and just as quickly changed into his PE sweats, then taking the clothes he was wearing before coming to the pool and tucking them under his arm. Just the pants and shirt, though. She definitely didn’t need to be wearing his underpants. Several minutes later, Jackson emerged from the locker room. He held out the bundle of clothes to Ginny once he reunited with her. “Here. They might be a little big, but they’ll do for now, right?”

[Genevieve Duval]

Empathy. Genevieve smiled gently. "That I like." She said. She meant to said she would like to have those powers, but same thing. Empathy would certainly help her understanding others. She would know if they hated her and if she annoyed them in any way, that would only help her say the right things and shut up when needed to. She shook her head when he said he was sorry. "Non." She said, trying to come up with the right words. "Ah- do not... not be. I do not mind it." She let Vivian fly down her hand and she smiled down at it. "They are friends. Sometimes friends hurt us. That is how it works." With people too, after all, some stung just like bees did.

He refused to show her and she pouted. "Oh..." Why wouldn't he want to show her? Nothing to work with? She turned and saw around. There would be plenty of things to move, right? Although she wasn't sure how his powers worked. Maybe what he could move was so small there was no point to it. Or maybe he would make it fall far too soon. Or maybe he just couldn't control what he moved. It was so weird here in Hammel. Powers were so very small sometimes that she wondered why would God or anyone who made them this way even bothered. As far as she knew no one could control their power. Hadn't Alanna too said that? And what about Colton? Well... it wasn't like his power would place him in danger either so it truly didn't matter much. But it was still so unfair. Sure, she would end up all covered in bites if it weren't for Hammel, but then who would care? It wasn't like she could make bees sting at will... mosquitos sometimes, but only following her mood. It was good that it was so cold and they were dormant. Bees still had a couple of weeks left. But then why did they have to be away from everyone else? Why the need to keep them hidden from normal people if their powers were so small? It wasn't fair. Maybe if she was in a normal school people would like her better. Maybe there wouldn't be competition, as she felt there was in Hammel, maybe there wouldn't be so much hatred against metas. Genevieve blinked up at him, noticing she'd been quiet for some time now and he'd asked a question. "Oui!" She said with a flushed face. "Later."

She'd gotten him cold. She looked devastated. Of course, one of the few friends she'd managed to make in Hammel and now she was getting him cold. "Sorry!" She cried out, still looking worried. Was he going to hate her now? Not to worry? "But-" Why he'd come to the pool. She frowned, turning to the pool. He had, hadn't he? He was wearing swimming trunks and all. "But you did not swim." She said worriedly. Why would anyone come to the pool and not swim? Well, maybe because some girl had interrupted a day by falling into the pool. "I am so sorry!" She said with wide eyes and flushed cheeks. "I ruined your day in pool! I can- I can wait. You can swim." Wait? no. "I can go change at dorms."

He tried explaining language too and she merely nodded. Breezy, got it. Why would women clothes be breezy she didn't know but she didn't question it. He knew better about this stuff than she did anyway.

He left and she sighed as soon as he was out of sight. This was a weird day. First she'd fallen into the pool, something she hated, and then she met Osiris... that'd been a highlight. But then she kept ruining it, wasn't she? Why did she have to be so weird... and so bad at English. She really should ask Colton for lessons. It was sort of his stuff, right?

...And Osiris was taking so long. Genevieve's eyes widened. What if he left her here? What if it was all just a prank? What if she was being left here until it was dark and cold? She looked around, as if waiting to see him hiding behind something, laughing and pointing at her, wondering how long she would wait. Ah, but he would never do that, right? He was a good person. He'd saved her! If he'd wanted to make fun of her, he would've before. But hadn't he? In a way. He'd laughed before, even if she hadn't understood why. She looked around nervously again. How much time had he been gone again? It felt like so much. He'd abandoned her, hadn't he? And what if- Oh there he was. He'd changed too and she took a step closer to him, eyes wide open.

"You did not have to change! i can just- just leave and you can take your swim. You-" She sighed, taking the bundle of clothes he'd been carrying. "Merci. Ah. Thank you. You- you are good." Bon was an understatement. He'd been so kind. "I will not take much." She said hurriedly as she moved to the dressing rooms. Before getting too far though, she stopped and looked over her shoulder. "You do not have to wait either..." She said, "If you do not want to. I can- I will return this. I promise." Without waiting for an answer, she hurried inside the dressing room. Well, that'd been embarrassing. Everything was. Why couldn't she meet people the normal ways? Although she wasn't sure what the normal ways were.

As she stepped into the dressing room, she took a look around. Nobody there. She sighed, taking her heavy wet sweater off of her and placing it neatly over a bench. Well, no wonder she'd been so cold and feeling so heavy. Wet cotton was really not something she ever wanted to wear again. Maybe she ought to get some wool? Not that she was planning to ever fall into the pool again. That was an experience she didn't want to repeat. She got dressed then, slipping into the clothes he'd given her. A little big was a bit of an understatement, especially the pants. At least they didn't fall on their own, leaving them just over her hips. And the shirt was a tad too big, but beggars weren't choosers, right?

Genevieve came out, her own clothes in a bundle of her own. She'd tried to smooth out her hair, and now it was pushed back and still wet in a mess of tangled wet curls. So not a look she would want to keep. Now... had he left?

[Deleted]

Jackson was impressed by how mature Ginny was, with the whole ‘friends hurt us sometimes’ bit. “I guess that’s true,” he agreed, though it wasn’t something he could relate to. Jackson didn’t like making his friends upset, and so usually did anything he could to prevent that from happening. And when it did, through some mistake of his own, he’d go over and beyond what was expected to apologize. “But…it’s always best if you don’t get hurt, isn’t it?” Though if he really thought about it, he and Ginny were really just doing the same thing. Putting up with the hurt from friends because they didn’t want to hurt them back. Keeping the friendship was more important than getting upset over little things.

Ginny seemed to zone out for a moment or two, lost in her own thoughts, Jackson assumed. And he smiled, certain he was right considering her startled response. He couldn’t help but chuckle at her adorableness again. He breathed out some relief, glad that he didn’t have to show off his power now. Outside of not really having something of his own to work with, Jackson would prefer to do it in a more controlled space too. With his lack of control, who knew what could happen? He’d been warned by his trainer to be careful about using it carelessly when she wasn’t around.

Adorable she was, but she always so quick to apologize, even when Jackson continued to tell her it was fine. “No, no! Don’t I’m fine! Really!” he insisted. He shrugged his shoulders. “I mean, I’m the one who offered, y’know? And I’d be just as horrible, I think, if I let a girl in your situation go off on her own when you clearly need help.” Jackson shook his head and held out his hands. “What kind of man would I be then?” A true gentleman, after all, would do anything he could to help out a woman in need, no matter how out of the way or inconvenient it was. “So just…let me help, okay?”

Hopefully that would calm her down until they could get her back to her dorm room. Honestly, the constant “i’m sorry”s and apologies and having to combat her to just accept his goodwill was taking up a lot more time than if she just said “yes, thank you” and let him help.

But her flailing was so darn cute, Jackson couldn’t possibly stay irritated for even a second at her. His new friend Ginny. He liked the sound of that.

It didn’t seem like such a long time he was gone to Jackson, but if he’d know how anxious it would make Ginny, then he would have gotten the clothes first and brought them out to her, then gone back in to change while she was changing. But hindsight was 20/20 and he didn’t even have that luxury since he was blissfully unaware of her concerns. He just came out and once again tried to tell her that it was fine and nothing to be so excited about. “Well, I didn’t want to freeze,” he said with a small blush. “And…I can’t just let you walk back by yourself.” He was glad that Ginny wasn’t as resistant this round in accepting his kindness. “Thanks,” he said, his round cheeks growing pinker. She’d stopped, and seemed to want to protest again, but…Jackson sighed in some relief when she finally went inside without him having to push her in himself.

Though she’d given him the option of not waiting, by now Jackson was adamant about seeing this through and making sure he walked her back to her dorm no matter what. Besides, didn’t she want to see his power? They could certainly do that once they got back, right? Jackson had been leaning against the wall while waiting, and stood up straight when she finally emerged from the locker room. “Ginny!” he called out to her, using the nickname he’d given her earlier. Jackson waved her over. “Shall we go then?” he asked with a nod, gesturing to the exit. The air was frigid when they stepped outside, though, which made Jackson quite happy that he’d changed clothes. “I think it might snow soon,” he observed, looking up at the clouds in the sky.