Bacon, Ibuprofen, and Coffee [Luke]

[Lilly Love]

Live grabbed a spatula as the boy spoke, keeping silent the whole time. She moved the bacon around, pulling of the pieces that had already been burnt and adding a few more pieces so she could actually cook some properly. She wanted her breakfast and the dip-shit on her floor wasn't about the ruin that. However, as he spoke she came to realize something about the boy in her kitchen. She let out a heavy sigh, realizing that she couldn't just kick the kid out like part of her wanted to.

"First, sit the fuck down at the table and drink some water. I made you food and your gonna fucking eat it cause I don't trust you to fix your goddamn hangover yourself. And I'm not sending some underage kid out of my house too fucked up to function." She said as she turned around to face him. Her eyes had begun to fade back to their usual gray color, looking like real eyes now but still somehow they retained the feeling of still just being black holes in her face.

"Second, I don't want anything from you. I don't need your apology. Sorry doesn't fix things. Its just a pleasantry people use when they feel bad about something they did. Which you should say it anyways for that sake but that's not what I care about."

She grabbed the plate of burned bacon and put it on the table, "Since it's your fault I burned that shit you get to eat it. I don't waste food in this house." If Luke thought she was joking about that, he had another thing coming.

"And finally..." She paused as she turned her back to the boy again as she went back to cooking the bacon. She was silent for a moment, she wasn't sure how to say what she really needed and wanted to tell the boy. How could she? She had never been in this position before. Of having someone younger than her, clearly less responsible and less of an adult, who seriously needed a talking to. And not a talking down to him kind of thing, though that was sort of the way Live just talked to people, but she saw something of herself in the boy. A part of herself that she wasn't proud of, and while she believed herself to be beyond saving, she believed other people still had a chance.

[Lucas Blacke]

The silence was only suppressed slightly by the sizzling bacon and Live moving them around. If Lucas was to be honest he found the silence more eerie than when she spoke to him, even if it was just talking down at him. Over the years he had learned one simple thing- people being silent meant they were angry, whereas them still talking to him and seeming angry allowed him time to explain himself. Something Live did not let him do as it looked like she ignored his speech in full.

She just told him to sit the fuck down at the table. Something he wasn't going to take as a joke as he silently got up from the floor, taking the glass of water he had been unable to drink before and sat down at the table. Something then told him it wasn't the brightest idea to try and do what he did right then with their hangovers and such, although Lucas felt more than okay with it despite everything he knew about hangovers telling him that thinking clearly was likely impossible.

He took a sip of the water as she went on talking, saying that she wasn't going to send him out and also pretty much using his own words against him; she made him food and he was damn well going to eat it. Which was really difficult to argue with seeing as his mind was stuck on the not throwing him out part. He didn't know if that meant she pitied him, or if he just got away with something she didn't like but also didn't dislike. He had no idea about any of it and his head began to ring again at that point.

She needed no apology. Well that much Lucas had been able to tell with his eyes closed, she just nearly beat him up over something she could've just been shoving him away for, or slapping him, or tying him down. As irresponsible as he was being in not telling her how to properly fix it he felt she was kind of doing the same by using excessive force against him.

''..thanks.'' He said as she offered him the burnt bacon and told him he had to eat it because he was the reason she burnt it. Honestly, she had a point there and his thanks was actually meant instead of just being sarcastic.

Lucas took a bite of the bacon (mmm.. crispy) And looked at Live as she turned her back to him once more.

''Finally what?'' He asked in a curious tone. He could have made a few smart ass comments but he was genuinely interested in what she had to say.

''Don't leave me hangin', please.'' He urged, taking another bite of the oddly tasty bacon.

[Lilly Love]

Live was silent until her bacon had finished cooking. She then grabbed another plate, put the bacon on it, and headed over to the table with her coffee in her hand. It wasn't that she had ignored the boy but she just wasn't ready to respond yet. Live didn't like to talk more than necessary and when she did speak, particularly about an important subject, she preferred to have thought through what she was going to say first.

She sat down grabbed a piece of bacon and leaned back in her chair. She sat opposite the table from him, the middle of it covered in papers and the plate of bacon she had just brought over sitting on top of what looked like bills.

"Finally, were both still hungover. Which means still kinda drunk. You don't really feel it but alcohol is still in your system and the hangover is the sign of its drain on your body. Neither of us are in a great min frame right now." She took a bit and chewed, drank some coffee and turned her attention back to Luke. "Once the bacon is gone, you've finished your water, and I've finished my coffee...then we can talk again."

Live then went back to her bacon and coffee. Her eyes drifting out the window to the now blue sky. Thankfully, clouds had come cover the sun but the blue still peaked through. Live enjoyed looking at the sky. She preferred it at night but she suppose the day sky would just have to do for now.

[Lucas Blacke]

She apparently, ignoring the fact she just kind of told him what was what and spoke her mind, was the silent type. But that was okay, it just meant that Lucas would race through his bacon and water that he still hadn't finished. He offered her a nod when she mentioned he would have to wait until she was done with her things before they could talk again, and this was not really the best way to make the Texan take it all in one step at a time as he was curious and wanted to know what was on her mind.

So in one swift gulp his water was gone and he was still chewing on his bacon as he casually leaned back, trying not to look too impatient, hoping his ability would take care of that as he scanned around the house. It was a new place and he hadn't yet seen it in its entirety, and doing so gave him a bit of a better picture of the girl who, despite her falling out with him actually seemed cute enough to stay around. Lucas had made a good choice the night before, and he mentally patted himself on the back. And where most would see her power as something to scare them away he found that it was actually cool enough to take as one of her weird quirks, if she had any.

Lucas then realized he couldn't sit still very well without the use of his power, and while he was doing so right now he was really anxious, looking over to Live more than once to see if she was done yet, and in the meantime trying his best not to talk to her because, well, he'd fucked things up already so risking it any further was out of the question.

He would just sit there in silence, waiting for her to finish and to start talking again.

[Lilly Love]

Live shook her head a bit as the boy rushed through his food and water. She was glad he got everything down. In the next thirty minutes he would start to feel significantly better as the ibuprofen kicked in and the water and greasy food eased his hangover. Live wasn't exactly sure why she bothered trying to help him so much. Especially after the little incident that had just occurred. She should have kicked him out but... Well, she was about to explain the but as soon as she finished her own food.

She didn't rush through her food but she didn't take too long either. She could tell the boy was impatient. Once she finished her bacon, she leaned back in her chair with her coffee mug in hand. There was still about half of it left but she didn't think she should make the boy wait much longer or he might explode.

"You probably think I have a sweet power right? I mean, I could see the awe and fascination in your eyes when I changed forms. And yeah, it's pretty cool. I'm kind of like the Queen of Darkness." Live chuckled a bit and took another sip of her coffee. "However, this power hasn't been all fun and games. I mean, no one's is but..." Live paused for a second, putting down her coffee mug and leaning forward a bit, her face growing serious again.

"I use to not be able to control it. Any time I got even slightly angry...darkness would just start acting up. Sometimes it was more subtle but... See I've come to find that the more I use my shadow form, the more I become connected to the darkness...and it to me. I get energy from it and it gets energy from me. So, when I get upset, it responds. Back in high school, I use to get in a lot of fights. It actually helped me control it for a while. Getting my anger out in fights kept it from coming out in the darkness. But..." Live paused again and grabbed her coffee cup taking another big sip, her eyes drifting away from Luke and out the window.

"Well, look. My point here is you have to be aware of your ability. You gotta know the in's and out's of it. That's part of what being a meta means. It means you have an extra responsibility. And it sucks because we didn't ask for this but we got it anyways. Its a blessing and a curse kind of thing. Being a meta means your special. And it also means you gotta take extra special care. You gotta know what about your power is dangerous, especially for normal humans. For me it's anger, fear, and pain. I have to be very careful to control those emotions so they don't become something else in the darkness and hurt someone. For you... you got this coffee thing. And that's not something you can take lightly. You can't just drink coffee every now and then hoping it won't have the same effect or maybe this time you can control it. Unless you are going to put significant effort into training yourself to overcome that...if that's even possible."

Live leaned back again, clutching her coffee mug. "Maybe it's just because of how I grew up but I don't take responsibility lightly. You have to take care of yourself. You have to live for yourself...."

[Lucas Blacke]

As soon as he was done with his food (well, Live's food since he was in her house) he began leaning back in the chair like he would do so often at school as if it didn't interest him and look around the room, glancing outside briefly as he also quickly checked his phone. It had gone a day without recharging, so when he noticed the battery was still at 69 percent he took on a small smile before putting his phone back where it came from as he took in some more.. well it wasn't a particularly sunny day but he still needed to squint quite a bit to look outside. Side effect of being hungover?

Time and time again he did briefly glance at Live to see how she was doing with her food, but all he did was come to the conclusion she looked cute enough to get to know, something he had realized a good while before. But as such he totally forgot to think about what she was going to say and why she was going to say it. Luke just figured she was going to scold him due to the things he had done prior, which he still felt bad about, and didn't want to kick him out without feeding him first. Which.. made him think about the girl feeding him.

His mind stopped him from thinking about most things seriously.

Most.

His eyebrows were still straight as she finally began talking though, mentioning her power and how she had seen him think it was cool. And indeed it was, it was like she had a demon inside her or something, and that was cool as fuck. But when she went on her face grew serious, and so did Luke in every sense of the word right then. He owed her that much, and not only for making him breakfast (burned bacon was a new item on his list) but for what he had done and the fact she was still putting up with him.

He didn't speak though and instead just let her speak. Lucas knew this was a lecture of some kind, but minding that at this point wasn't really in the cards for him at this point. His only response to her last words was one of the joking nature though, and meant to once again make it all a bit easier.

'Ha! Live, good one! Because that's yer name and also because-'' His face went back to its original position as he cut himself off and let out a cough. Like before he dropped his accent; if she was trying to teach him a lesson she should get one as well, the real Luke was somewhere in between his own words.

''Joking aside, I know what I have to do. I just don't know how.'' He sat back in his chair like a normal person and looked at Live to show he was genuinely reacting to what she said instead of just brushing it off what the irresponsible Luke would do. He knew he needed to change, and while he wasn't sure he'd be able to yet he would sure as hell try his hardest, even more so now that he had been given those words by the girl.

''Maybe it's because you grew up, period. I never got the chance. I.. I grew up without parents.''

[Lilly Love]

Live rolled her eyes a bit. "It's not a good one. Live isn't actually my birth name. I renamed myself Live was about 12 years old." As she said it she realized that this was only the second person she had willingly told this information. The other person actually lived just below her. A knot formed in her stomach as she realized this but she pushed it back. Now was not the time to be thinking of him.

Live narrowed her eyes at the boy. "That's no excuse. I grew up without anyone. That's why I am this way. I've been taking care of myself since I was eight years old."

Not wanting to get much more into her personal story though, Live tried to turn the attention back to Luke. "Look, I'm not your mom or whatever so I'm not trying to lecture you in that sense. I'm talking to you as another meta telling you the importance of being responsible for your ability. That should come first. Before yourself even. You have to make sure you can control it and you don't do things that don't hurt other people. I don't know how either. You might want to stay at Hammel and continue to take power training courses."

Lots of people did that. Live had considered it but she was just too prideful and honestly hated Hammel and just wanted out. Plus, she was at a good point with her powers now.

[Lucas Blacke]

His little joke made her share some.. pretty personal information. Lucas smiled at the fact she did so even if he had his hunches, though she just flat out took those hunches from him and confirmed that, no, Live wasn't her real name. But he called her that anyway, and why? Because she told him to, simple as that. And though he did wonder what her actual name was there would be a better time to try and pry that information out of her, with her now actually sitting across from him and giving a stern talking to.

He also wasn't making an excuse, he was lying. He did grow up with parents but the only times he ever saw them was when they decided to tell him how bad he would do in the real world, that he wouldn't be able to amount to anything. So instead of telling people that it was leagues easier to just tell them he had no parents to begin with. But the comment she used in her reply was like.. she was trying to one up him or something and kind of rubbed him the wrong way.

''Guess you win this round of not having a fun life.'' He stated in a sarcastic tone, with a smile, as he wrapped his arms over each other before leaning forward a bit.

That she wasn't his mother even a blind person could see, but what she said, despite every word she uttered being unlikely to be meant as anything lecturing, did come across as pretty lecturing to Luke. And this made him subconsciously revert to his 'I'm a dick with an accent and I don't do squat.' mode. ''Yer right.'' He replied as he unhinged his arms, smile fading as he sat back in his chair.

''Ya ain't me mother. An' be glad yer not a royal bitch.'' Where other people might have found those words to be harsh he found them nothing but fair to his mother, because what mother left their kid alone and told them they couldn't do squat?

The power training courses though.. he had taken maybe one or two of those in his time in Hammel, but all it was good for was to make him scoff at the mere thought. ''I can control me power good enough, thank ya kindly.'' Unless he came into contact with caffeine, in which case fuck.

''I ain't stayin' at that dump any longer than I need.''

[Lilly Love]

Live wasn't really trying to one up Luke, she was just trying to make a point. She didn't share about her life ever really so the fact that she had just told Luke Live wasn't her real name and that she grew up with no one, while that might not have sounded like much, it was kind of a big deal.

"I'm not trying to win anything. Life isn't something you win at. It's just something you survive." And Live believed that to it's fullest.

When the boy said that she wasn't a royal bitch Live couldn't help but laugh. "Oh I'm not a bitch? Really? I just tackled you, slammed you against the counter, and lectured you when I haven't even known you for a full day." She shook her head and looked out the window. "I actually kind of pride myself in being a royal bitch." A smirk slipped onto the girls face.

"I understand that. I wanted out of there as fast as possible. Sadly I was stuck there for five and half years. Sometimes I think they gave me a diploma out of pity."

Well, there went personal information tidbit number three.

[Lucas Blacke]

''Aye, ya tackled me.'' He confirmed, still not entirely sure his shoulder was completely fine as he rubbed at it gently with the memory of what had just happened. ''Ya did slam me 'gainst th' counter.'' Lucas yet again confirmed. ''Indeed ya did lecture me.'' But what she didn't know was that Luke had done way worse with people he hadn't known for nearly as long or good as they know each other. Sure he didn't know much of her personal life, but he assumed they would no doubt get there, like getting to know her real name, or finding out what it was that made her look at everything like it was out to get her.

When she mentioned the pity diploma bit though Luke had to chuckle a bit. Not because he found it funny or took it as her being dumb or anything, not even trying to make it easier by laughing it away either but just chuckling because.. well, she thought she had it bad.

''Oh, hi, I'm Luke. I believe we've met, I'm th' guy who got kicked outta three schools between th' ages of thirteen an' fourteen.'' So who the fuck cared about her diploma issues? It was a friggin' miracle Lucas made it through Hammel in one go, and he was sure he made plenty of enemies while doing so.

''Let's name a person at random an' list what I've done ta them.'' He started as his mind went over people he wronged.

''There's.. lets go with Marnie. Good first pick.'' He stated sarcastically as he looked at Live and almost began thinking of the entire situation as a competition. ''When I first met her I acted like a dick ta get her number, which she gave an' I then proceeded ta mentally destroy her an' myself in th' process. An' then I beat up a guy talkin' ta her and even broke up with her myself after that.''

''An' uhh.. let's go wit' Karalie now, shall we?'' Lucas paused for a moment before sighing, trying to get his mind in working order.

''When I first met her I acted like a dick ta get her number, same as with Marnie, I pretty much lied ta her about waitin' fer her ta.. well, ya know, but then I cheated on her despite that. Consciously.''

He swallowed a bit, trying to keep himself from getting too much into those memories, so he decided to go for someone a bit.. less bad.

''An' then there was Axelle. Ah, sweet Axelle.. I remember her like the day she picked me up an' literally threw me out of her house.''

Lucas finally paused once more and took a slow breath, not even sure at the moment yet what he had just said or if Live knew any of those names. Hell, he wasn't even sure it mattered if she did.

[Lilly Love]

Live listened silently as Luke talked, sipping on her coffee now and then. She could feel her hangover slowly subsiding. Her body felt better now, less ache, and didn't hurt as much to look at things. However, her head still hurt pretty bad. That would go away once the ibuprofen kicked in.

She vaguely recognized a name or two he said but none of them personally. She kept to herself mostly during her time at Hammel so it wasn't much of a surprise. More people probably knew her name than names she knew from that place.

"Well..." Live said after a bit of silence, "Sounds like you're a real ass."

She took another sip of her coffee.

[Lucas Blacke]

''An ass with a cute ass, even.'' At least, according to the people that didn't shun him. But he was sure that was of no interest to Live or whatever her real name was. Had she mentioned it once? Lucas had trouble remembering everything that happened the night before, even after doing what Live told him to do. But in any case he now knew that alcohol didn't do the things to him that caffeine did, or so he merely assumed by lack of words in that little counter meeting.

''Sometimes I think..'' He started slowly, not knowing if he wanted to say was the right thing to say right then, but hell, he had done worse to people before, so why not get her to hate more of him? Really, kicking him out right now was the best thing she could do to avoid mental scarring, seeing as Lucas was all about sharing personal information now. Things he'd never told anyone.

''Sometimes it's like I just hang around girls fer th' hunt, ya know?'' Knowing he'd just kind of slipped her a note saying she was one of them he paused a bit as he just looked at her.

He also knew he owed her a bit of an apology once more as the memory of that kiss and his response to it were, well, uncalled for. That and it drove her to break a promise to herself, and not only that but it drove Lucas to break a promise to himself; no smoking.

''Remember that kiss ya gave me? With ya showin' yer power an' all?'' He asked, starting to rake up memories that would likely make him end up scraping the bottom of the barrel a bit too hard. ''First of all, sorry fer actin' th' way I did right then. Second, it reminded me of th' girl I- who just broke up with me.''

He was trying to get over her, but Live did her best to remind him of her at every turn it seemed. Even the words leaving her mouth, despite being a bit more to the point, were ones that she could have used in a conversation with Luke. ''Zoelle.'' He finally and reluctantly mentioned.

''She an' I started out as two delinquents havin' been forced ta work on an extra assignment ta pass. But instead of helpin', I made her do all th' work. On top o' that I got her ta sleep with me. Which was cool at th' start, but I quickly felt guilty, an' bein' th' dick I am I tried sabotagin' it by pushin' her away. But she tried ta keep me right there, in her life. Dunno why, but she did. Turned out she saw bits o' herself in me, though she never said so. Her actions spoke instead though.

But through all this she never wanted ta love anyone, or admit that she did. Despite that though I never backed down an' neither did she. We had a relationship based on sex instead o' love. Friends with benefits or somethin'. But I finally broke her in th' end, she told me she loved me. I was th' happiest guy in th' world.''

Right now that memory had been driven out by the memory of how he felt when she broke up with him.

''An' what'd I do? I broke her spirit by showin' her lovin' me was a mistake.'' He paused as he closed his eyes for a second.

[Lilly Love]

Live couldn't help but chuckle a bit. Not that she was laughing at Luke but just the whole conversation topic was kinda laughable to Live. It wasn't something she usually talked about and for good reason. She wasn't exactly the romance guru or something.

"Well, loving anyone is a mistake." She sad bluntly after Luke had closed his eyes for a moment. The words were blunt. She wasn't one to sugar coat things.

She shrugged and looked down at her coffee, swirling it lightly, "If you like the hunt then... Well, guess you like the hunt. Love isn't for everyone."

Live could probably win a nobel prize for her extreme level of pessimism.

[Lucas Blacke]

That.. was the first time he had ever told anyone that, and Live just.. seemed to shrug it off with that stupid comment. It wasn't like she was trying to, but she was really grinding his gears with pretty much everything she said. But at least this meant she wouldn't be able to get hurt as fast, something which Lucas would undoubtedly do anyway regarding of relationship there. Which in turn got him to think, why was he still there? Surely she had better things to do than baby some teen who thought he had a bad life.

He could see her every motion, see her muscles move but nothing she did seemed to indicate any real sign of pity, or understanding as Lucas knew it. She wasn't all that harsh about things as much as blunt, and Luke liked that. Sure it might have hurt to have someone say those kinds of things, but as his past experience spoke he would rather have that than actual hugs and what have you.

''I'm startin' ta think it is, yeah.'' He replied when she said loving was a mistake, that it wasn't for everyone. He supposed some people could get away with making mistakes, but apparently not him. Though he did start to wonder.. did Live have some sort of experience gone wrong in this sense? She seemed bitter enough to- maybe she was just the right amount of bitter to be able to hate stuff before ever trying it. Which was kind of a downer on its own.

''Maybe it ain't fer everyone. Though that don't mean I'm gonna stop tryin'.'' He told her with a slight, but forced smile.

[Lilly Love]

It wasn't that Luke's story didn't upset Live in way, in fact it did. And that was part of the reason she shrugged it off so easily. Because Live couldn't deal with emotional pain like that anymore. She was extremely calloused making her a one of a kind bitch but she still wasn't completely unfeeling.

Live chuckled and shook her head as the boy smiled. "Ah the true sign of an optimist. A hopeless romantic." She took another sip of her coffee. After a pause for a second she turned her attention back to Luke, "Don't think I don't believe in love and happiness and all that shit. I do. But the thing is, I spawn from the darkness. I don't know many metas who are like me...who feel so sucked into their power...." Live's voice faded off toward the end, her eyes drifting back down to her coffee. Live's thoughts began to pull her away from what she would say in front of the boy so she quickly looked back up at him.

"What the hell are you doing with an empty water glass? I told you to fill it up after you finish it." Live snapped, more just trying to pull the attention away from herself.

The truth was, she didn't have anything better to do than to sit at her table, drinking coffee and yelling/talking with the random guy from Mike's party last night. She wasn't scheduled for work today so there was really nothing for her to do. She honestly could start drinking again soon... She glanced at her coffee and then over at her purse. It had to be in there. "Oh and grab me my purse while you are up getting your water." She nodded at the black bag on the counter.

Live didn't feel bad about yelling at Luke. After the exchange in the kitchen she felt they were at an equal point where he still kinda owed her since he pulled that she but she also trusted him a bit more now. Majorly because she knew and he knew that her shadow form could at least hold up against Luke.