Cut to the Chase [...Chase]

[Clement Evans]

Bouncing from trainer to trainer wasn't a good situation for anyone, but Clement really hated it. Just when he started to not have a heart attack any time the intimidatingly tall men who had been assigned to square him away meta-wise made any kind of movement, he was reassigned. It was exhausting.

His file was suspiciously thick for the amount of cooperation his previous trainers had been able to get out of him. (Not much.) He was actually a little disappointed to be transferred away from Meian-san. The man was an excellent cook and his onigiri had tasted like California. Like home. He supposed his new trainer would come with bottles of sickly sweet protein drink, either the one that tasted like chocolate-flavored paste or the one that tasted like chocolate-flavored chalk that had little lumps in it. Clement didn't understand why everyone thought making something chocolate or vanilla or strawberry flavored increased its appeal. Still, he drank without showing his distaste, just to get it over.

On the weekends that he stayed at Lahja's, he sometimes, privately, wore the glasses she'd gotten. The lenses were based on the last prescription he'd had, which was no longer accurate but better than nothing. She'd had them made just so he could get used to the idea, and by using the prescription in his file she didn't have to fight him into the optometrist. Because he would fight her.

It meant, though, that he could guess a little more accurately without them, and wasn't late to his first session like he was with his last one.

The door was open a crack, and when Clement peeked in, he saw... a tall blond man.

Oh, FUCK no.

He was halfway down the hall back to his room when he stopped. If he didn't go, someone, possibly the Tall Blond Man, would come get him. And there would probably be a Scene. One that would probably involve threats and detention and shaming and finally dragging. Clement was in no way too old for a Scene. But the last one, involving Jesse and being poorly carried and armoring all the way up, had fried him. He couldn't deal with stress like that again, so he stalked back, resenting Hammel and tall blonds and the fact he still hadn't broken 100 pounds.

Slipping inside, he waited till the trainer noticed him, and said, "If you're a pie-row-kin-etic I'm leaving."

[Chase Campbell]

Chase seemed to attract the difficult cases. He suspected part of it had to do with his power when it came to the stubborn, eager to lash out students. The rest, he wondered if it had more to do with the fact he and James had done so well with Nikki as their foster, and now adopted son for the cases like the one that had landed on his roster.

He’d read the file. Multiple times. Clement’s power wasn’t something he was overly familiar with. He’d looked over case files of documented powers, and even reached out to Kocher to see if anyone on their side of the world had encountered a similar power. What he had come up with wasn’t much, but it was a start.

Chase’s training room was used for a number of things, and as such was often set up differently. The last session he’d had was with an empath who was struggling with his power, and as such he’d simply left some of the soft beanbag chairs he kept in the corners more in the middle of the room as a comfortable place to work. He didn’t know what to expect with Clement, though. All he knew was that it wasn’t going to be easy.

Keeping one casual eye on the clock, Chase thumbed through the file once more, trying to prepare himself for whatever might come through the door. He’d purposely left it open, and it would stay open in case Clement felt the need to flee. The last thing he wanted to do was box him in and make him feel trapped.

He noticed the motion first, but he waited until Clement was all the way inside before he lifted his head and set the file back down. The comment made him smile, and he shook his head. “No, I’m not a pyrokinetic.” What had happened between Clement and that boy was hardly a secret. Chase didn’t know if his power would make him more or less uncomfortable, so he simply left it there. “I’m Chase, and I’ll be helping you train for a while.” How long that while was had yet to be seen. He was just hoping to get the boy to trust him.

[Clement Evans]

Honestly, Clement's power was probably the simplest thing about him. Armor on, armor off. Sugary protein drink. Repeat. It was basically everything else about him that made dealing with his powers such a crapshot. Like his still entrenched dislike of tall blond males.

The admittance that the trainer wasn't a pyro only calmed his hackles a little. He'd been lied to plenty and he wasn't going to relax till he knew what he was dealing with. Clement stayed by the door for a few more minutes, and then reluctantly walked into the room till he was about five feet from... Chase? What the hell kind of name was 'chase'? It was either a verb (thank you English class) or a credit card (thank you common room TV).

It was probably thanks to Jesse Adams, irony of ironies, that he didn't just stand there like an asshole and not say anything. This wasn't because he wasn't afraid, but having someone he could talk to and not feel stupid made him bolder.

"A while?" Clement's face turned sour and he exhaled through his nose. "Then you might as well pass me on and get it over with."

[Chase Campbell]

Okay, this clearly wasn't going to be easy. Not that things worth the work ever were. The toughest part was likely going to be earning Clement's trust, which... yeah, he wasn't too sure how he was going to do this. Every kid was different, and from what he'd seen in Clement's file already, this was going to be an uphill battle.

He still didn't know if his power would make Clement relax, because it wasn't pyrokinesis, or be more afraid of him, because it was so much worse than pyrokinesis. He'd let time tell on that one. At least he could promise that unless absolutely necessary, he wouldn't be using his power on Clement. It was a promise he made to all of his students, and unless it was part of their training, like teaching a psychic student to strengthen and test their mental shields, he wouldn't break that promise.

In Clement's case, it was an easy promise to be able to keep.

Not fazed by Clement's sour display, Chase shrugged and stuck his hands in his jean pockets. "Yes, a while. I'm not just going to pass you off, Clement. We're going to see if we can work together. If we can't, fine, I'll find you another trainer. But until then, I want to help you." Funny, the kid reminded him of Niko a little, when he'd first come to Hammel. Only Clement was a little more prickly than Niko had ever been.