So Close [closed]

[Zachary LaRousse]

Despite his initial sour mood upon seeing Ann and Alex when he (and L.C.) entered the auditorium, nothing much has happened between him and the two. Nothing big at least. They’ve exchange not-so-pleasant looks (at least between him and Alex; he still feels for Ann no matter how betrayed he felt), accidental bumps here and there, generally making the air between them a bit too tense for comfort, but nothing so drastic as to attract the attention of the uninvolved (read: the rest of the student population).

Perhaps it helped that Zac had another thing to distract him for the first half of the dance. As it was, Zac forgot that he actually made a promise to take the soft-spoken Ms. Pinyin to the Valentine’s Day dance, way before he even started his wooing of the empath. He only remembered his promise when he saw the girl, all dolled up like a porcelain Chinese doll (pun intended), standing awkwardly near the entrance. Poor girl didn’t know what to do really. Even apologized to Zac for coming when he saw he has a girl on his arms.

Unfortunately though, fate is such a b*tch and decided that peace should not last for long. While his two dates and a few ‘friends’, like Robbie, Levi, Reeve, Mia among others, kept him entertained and distracted for quite some time, as the night progressed, his mind (and piercing gazes) slowly slipped back to the two lovebirds. It also didn’t help that the two were practically inseparable, their hands intertwined with seemingly no chance of parting anytime soon. Darn those gloves, he thought as he took a sip of his drink.

No one really knows what hit him, but when the music started becoming mellow (to be specific, when the song turned into Jon McLaughlin’s So Close), he just got off his seat, easily squeezed through the sea of people on the dance floor and walked towards the innocent couple. He gave Ann a half-hearted smile as he tapped Alex’s shoulder, saying, “Can we talk for a bit?” his eyes moving sideways to tell the boy to meet him at the corner. After all, despite the softness of the song, it’s still loud enough to drown their voices out. “Hopefully you won’t mind me borrowing your boyfriend for a bit Ann.”

Ann, please mind. Please.


ooc:
Forgive the lameness of the title. HAHAHA. :3.
And and and for Zac's outfit, click here
- Jam

[Ann Hudgins]

Ann could hardly believe the amount of care-free fun she was having with Alex. They'd shirked the dance floor, for a while and talked pleasantly to themselves, nibbling here and there at the food table (each time she went up there to get more stuff, the lady next to the table glared a hole in her head). Alex was a sweet heart, and Ann had actually started to forget all her problems, and just enjoy the moment. She forgot (momentarily) about the drama her life had taken on, how Zac had seemed to be so...something earlier in the night, how she usually flinched away from everyone near her, and how she was wearing a dress that showed a bit of skin.

Then the song changed to something, and Alex's face lit up for half a minute. Ann just barely managed to catch it, but she figured that meant he really liked the song and would probably like to dance to it. After a short little 'we don't HAVE to' argument the two of them were situated at the edge of the dance floor and Ann tried to follow by moving into a very watered down form of a 'dance'. It was still fun, especially after seeing the grin on Alex's face. Then the song was over and it was a slow dance. Neither of them actually said anything, but the blush that painted her face was mirrored in his and the two slow danced.

Before the song was over, Zac appeared, and with him a dark cloud. Ann was kinda dazed as he referred to Alex as her boyfriend, but she furrowed her brows, "Why...?" She seemed to always ask Zac that question, and nine times out of ten the answer wasn't exactly what she was expecting. What did Zac have to tell Alex that was so important? She was just confused tenfold, but it was Alex's decision to go with him. She folded her hands in front of her and gave a small shrug. "I guess..." she mumbled, barely audible over the music.

[Alexander McKenzie]

It was amazing, how much fun Alex was having with Ann. The night was turning out to be fantastic, even if they weren’t doing a lot of dancing. Just being in her company (and in that dress), Alex was content. He was learning a lot about her as they talked, and nibbled on the copious amounts of junk food available. He got the feeling that Ann wasn’t having such a terrible time either, and though he felt a bit like a pervert for thinking so, he thought she looked incredible in her dress. Sneakers and all.

The only thing putting a slight damper on the evening was the glares he was receiving from Zac. Much as he was trying to avoid them, or flat out pretend they weren’t happening, it wasn’t possible. Every time he looked up, it seemed, he was on the receiving end of one of those “if looks could kill” glares. He was bugging him, but he wasn’t about to go up and address it. He was here to have fun, with Ann. Not pick fights with Zac. It was a saving grace that had one of his favourite songs come blasting over the speakers. He was content to stay at the table and listen, but when Ann caught his little grin, that was it. Their first ‘real’ argument later, he found himself on the dance floor.

It was actually fun, letting go and just... moving. Though he could tell Ann felt a little awkward about it, he did his best to convey calming feelings. By the end of the song, he was grinning. This was fun. But then the music slipped into the slower beat. There were no words really needed – the blushing was enough – and Alex just took Ann in his arms, careful to keep the hand on her waist on top of the fabric of her dress. The last thing he wanted was a touching episode, and ruin this for her. He liked to think he was a good dancer, or at the very least, passable.

But then Zac had to come around. Alex frowned in slight confusion, dropping his hands from Ann. “If you insist,” he said evenly, already on the defence. To Ann, he just murmured softly. “I’ll be right back. If you’d like, you can wait at the table?” Hopefully this wasn’t going to take long. After pressing a quick, chaste kiss to the back of Ann's gloved hand, he turned and followed Zac to the corner, arching a pierced eyebrow at him. “What is it, Zac?”

[Zachary LaRousse]

Zac didn’t even bother hiding his smirk when Alex (and Ann) readily complied with his rather unwelcome entrance. Who knew snatching the Dwarf from Snow White’s hands would be this easy, thought the Prince, confident that nothing can go wrong with the plan he had in mind. In fact, he didn’t care if Ann can easily read the darkness pooling in him. He’s usually rather reserved around her, his arrogance being amped up to unprecedented levels in an effort to throw her off reading him (he never really liked telepaths or empaths). But this time, he’ll let her feel exactly what he’s going to do. Let her feed off his anger, and worry in anguish about what he might unleash. Let her imagine the worst things he could do to his boyfriend, in full view of everyone else, he might add. It’s not like she could do anything about it, not in that dress she can’t. If he can’t get her back for punching him in the face and throwing him halfway across the room, he could at least show her how devastated he is when she dumped him. “Don’t worry Ann,” he winked at the empath, placing a supposedly friendly hand across Alex’s shoulder as he led him across the floor, “This would be over quick, I promise.”

As he slowly led the boy across the room, he couldn’t help but notice the numerous eyes that eyed them suspiciously. Only a few people knew about his obsession infatuation about the quiet empath and his not-so-much-a rivalry with the force field generator, but thanks to that lovely rumor blog that sprouted out of nowhere, Zac couldn’t help but feel as if they’re in a soap opera, these onlookers excitedly waiting for the next big thing. While a part of him wants to keep things private, hide his affair with Ann and Alex from the general populace, his immense vanity and egotism just won’t let him. In fact, the feeling of being watched somehow made him even bolder than before. If it’s a climax they want, then it’s a climax they’ll get.

He stopped when they reached a dimly lit corner, quite the distance from where Ann is right now, but still quite visible, should the people in the dance floor walk away, at least. “Did I scare you back there? Sorry ‘bout that bro,” he said, his smirk disappearing as a more welcoming smile took its place. Seems all the practicing Mr. Bond’s been putting them under is working. “I just want to talk about Ann. You know, man to man and all that,” added the boy, looking down as if he’s not really used to all this and is just as uncomfortable as Alex is. “Like, you really can’t blame me for being jealous, right? I mean, I got to her first, and as I was just about to make progress, you came in and swooped her from my arms. That wasn’t cool man. Not cool at all.”

Zac shifted slightly, hiding his eyes from the offending lights and leaning in closer to Alex as the music suddenly became a bit louder than it was earlier. “But hey, you seem to be a nice guy. And Ann’s a whole lot happier than she was just a few months before. I think it’s for the better.” He gave Alex a reassuring smile as he extended his left arm out for a handshake. “Take good care of Ann, you hear?”

Even before Alex could return his supposed gesture of goodwill, his right fist went flying straight to the boy’s face, Zac even using his power to increase the impact. No, he’s not holding back. Not this time he won’t.


ooc:
NOOOOO! *pathetic sobs*
- Jam

[Ann Hudgins]

It was like watching a storm blow in quickly. A dark cloud seemed to just sprout from Zac, a cloud so dark it sent her back a little step. So much anger and loathing seeped out of him Ann's mouth dropped. She didn't know what to do, she didn't know what she could do. It just didn't make any sense! Zac had been....weird towards her since she had saved his life, yes. She'd just chalked it up to him just being himself and her being too different to really understand why he was the way he was. She hadn't, not once, believed he was sincere in anything he ever told her, about liking her or wanting to date her. The only time she felt he might have been, was the other day when he had asked her to go to the dance with him, as he had dressed all nice. But then he'd just shut down and retreated.

He didn't really like her. So his hatred towards Alex (and if she interpreted right, an impulse to hurt him) was silly and not real as well. But there was absolutely no denying that Zac had bad intentions towards Alex and if she had been able to process all of the emotions and all that in a short second, she might have stopped Zac from pulling Alex away and through the dance floor. Once her mind had finally been made up and she could move again (because feeling all that stunned her beyond words), she went off in the direction Zac had led him. Too bad the crowd shifted in the dance and a girl with a lot of skin showing blocked her.

She retreated to avoid any collision and had to cut back around the entire dance floor because after feeling all that, her shields were weakened from her distress. She frantically searched for them, but didn't spot them until (how cliche) it was too late. She saw Zac punch Alex square in the face. If she was a cartoon, her entire body would have turned red and steam would have come out her ears. She didn't waste energy on a scream of rage (because that would also alert that fuck of her approach). She didn't think as she ran at him, nor as she jumped in the air a few feet away from him--she didn't think she was wearing a dress--and kicked her feet out as her target got near.

She was totally in fight-mode at the moment and just something feral had taken over. Zac's anger was still in her system and she used that now to feed her own anger and rage. She rained down hit after hit, like she used to do in tournaments. She didn't notice if she hit him at all, nor did it occur to her. She. Just. Had. To. End. Him.

[Alexander McKenzie]

It was more morbid curiosity than anything else that had had Alex following Zac. He didn’t know him well enough to say he distrusted him, but there was certainly something about him that made him leery. Zac was just… Zac. He was spoiled, stuck up, and seemed convinced that the world was made to revolve around him. He knew nothing of hardship, it seemed. Which was fine. He didn’t expect that everyone did. But there was something to be said about human decency, and the way Zac looked down his nose at everyone… he lacked it. But Alex followed him blindly. He didn’t have the advantage that Ann did, feeling everything Zac was feeling. He was in the dark. All he knew was that there was something distinctly off about the entire situation.

The ‘friendly’ arm around his shoulders made Alex twitch slightly, but he tried not to show his discomfort. It didn’t feel so much friendly as it did ominous. This wasn’t going to end well, whatever it was.

He could feel the eyes on them, but he tried to shut them out. He’d attracted a good deal of unwanted attention after that ridiculous blog. Students jokingly offering him Ritalin, asking how many other guys he’d been chasing away from Ann. He hated to think it, but he would be happier once he left high school behind. It was the problem with being one of the oldest students. He’d matured. Most of the other guys hadn’t. It made for difficult interactions.

He paused as Zac stopped in the corner, nerves kicking in. They were too far away from people, if something happened. He still didn’t trust Zac. But the way he was talking didn’t seem so terrible. “N-no, it’s fine.” Was he scared? Just a little. But he wasn’t about to admit that. ‘Bro’ made him twitch slightly though. There were only a few people he used that nickname on. Zac was not one of them. Connie, RC, and Jean were the privileged few. The subject matter of their little conversation, however, put him more on defense than before. Why did he want to discuss Ann? What he was saying made him nervous. “Look, I didn’t… it wasn’t like I was actively pursuing her. We just… I don’t know.” Any sort of eloquence he usually held was fading fast. “It just happened. I didn’t know you were interested. I’m sorry.” When all else fails, apologize. That always worked, right?

Hey, it did work! Alex relaxed a little as Zac seemed to relent, and even offered his hand. “Of course. And I really am sor – “

Crack.

Alex didn’t yelp, but he staggered backwards and pressed his hand to his face, fighting back pained noises. What the hell was that about? His glasses fell to the auditorium floor, cracked and useless. That hurt. Much as he wanted to just back the hell away, he didn’t think Zac was going to make it that easy for him. “Look, just stop it. This isn’t going to solve anything.”

Apparently, Ann had other ideas. He watched in dismay as the young woman kicked Zac. “Ann!” He reached out to stop her, kicking the broken plastic frames aside. “Please don’t,” he managed, though he doubted she would hear him. Not over the music, or her own emotions. Fuck. What was he supposed to do?

[Emiko Nakajima]

Everything had been going relatively smoothly, so she had expected something like this. That why she had been eying the two boys in her peripheral vision for a moment while wrapping up her conversation with Darryl. Had she expected the first boy to actually throw a punch, especially being this close to a staff member, she would’ve stopped entirely and separated the two instead of putting good manners first. Ah, well. So was life. She had to deal with a problem now, rather than later.

She didn’t need to know the details. One boy hitting another, and there was a girl running to jump in; that was all the details she really needed. Sure, they could claim the story was different, or not what she thought, but in her world it was all the same. It was a fight, the fight needed to be taken care of. People who accused her of being a robot had good reason to believe it, she didn’t even flinch as the boy hit the floor. In any case, Emiko remained calm. She handed her drink to Darryl, subconsciously reminded herself that subduing teenagers in heels was harder than usual, and sprinted to the fight. Her all out sprint was not a sprint of fear, it was rushed, and any woman who could sprint that fast in inch high heels should be feared. She arrived just in time to reach out to grab the girl’s leg as it was still in the air. She had not been fast enough to get her before her kick managed to hit the target, nor did she see if it landed. Emiko chided herself for not being fast enough once again and vowed to remember for future reference that American students were much less rational then Japanese students.

Her hand gripped skin and she picked up first on the anger surging through the girl- it was odd, considering that most of the time she could bypass that sort of thing. She ignored it and dug under the surface instead, sifting through her fears to determine her biggest fear. It surfaced in a picture- a younger version of herself, confused and full of sensations that weren’t her own. She was an empath. Her fear was losing control of her power. Emiko could work with that. That explained the anger being the first thing she had been hit with, in any case. Had she not been used to dealing with people’s emotions already, she had a feeling it would’ve floored her.

She had never tried gathering emotions before, but her boggarting ability adjusted for the situation and she could almost feel the chemicals that fueled her feelings rushing down her arm in a waterfall. She got a mix of them in there- happiness, sadness, rage, lust, anger- so the girl would likely think she was absorbing them all from the party and not just from one person. Emiko sometimes interpreted and enacted fears wrong, so if she did something wrong she’d have to fix it later on. This was more of a Taser shock than a frontal assault- she just needed to subdue the girl for a bit, not destroy her.. Once she was somewhat sure that would leave her incapacitated, even for a little while she pushed the girl’s leg to the floor to skew her balance. At the very least, she would stagger- she was not planning on causing the girl harm. She had directed the leg so that even if she fell, she would not hit the wall. Thank kami for her understanding of human anatomy when combined with gravity. She would have to contact her sensei in Japan soon.

Her next target was the boy. She reached out to grab his collar as she pushed the girl’s leg down. She turned to the third boy, but not before she snapped her fingers in front of the Asian boy’s face to get him to pay attention to her and what she had to say. This boy was giving off such an egotistical aura that she knew exactly how to hit him where it hurt. It only took her a couple seconds to dig under the shallow surface to find his worst fear. She twisted her wrist and her hand formed into a mirror which she held in front of his face.

The warped reflection in the hand mirror showed him to be covered in severe acne and scars. In short, he was hideous to look at, which was his worst fear. Such a shallow boy. She looked once more to the young man that had been punched in the face. “Go seek medical attention, or step aside if you don’t need it. I’ll need to file a report on this.” Her brutal professionalism was, at the very least, frightening within itself.

She turned back to the punching boy, multitasking the best way she knew how, and waved the mirror to reform her hand. It was meant to be a deterrent so he would be frozen still, or at the very least mesmerized. Now that she had him she could sort this out.

That was when she finally decided that she needed to talk. “You will follow me with the other two to the security office to explain yourself. If you resist I will pin you to the floor in seconds. Do I make myself clear, young man?”

[Zachary LaRousse]

Zac couldn’t feel even more satisfied.

Not that he doubted that his plan would work, but he didn’t actually think it would work this well. Seems the Dwarf’s gullibility (no matter how weird that word sounds) has worked to his advantage. He followed Zac away from Ann and into the secluded corner without so much a hitch, and even bought his rather cliché and bland speech. Then again, he believes he has such a charismatic presence that people can’t help being drawn to him. Not only that, he’d like to think that he’s such a great actor and orator, him successfully making the innocent force field generator believe his repentant act. Is he really that stupid? I’ve been giving him glares all night; did he actually believe a guy can have a change of heart in just a few minutes?

Alex begging[/i] telling him to stop just made his ego inflate even more. He wasn’t really planning on beating the guy to pulp; from what he heard, despite the boy’s small stature, he can conjure quite the force fields, and he doubts even the weight/density of a blue whale can pierce through that. Now that Dopey’s prepared, who knows what he might do with his force fields. That’s why he pulled the whole bro-speech earlier, to get him off guard and all that. He’s left his mark (quite literally, might I add), and that’s all that matters.

What he didn’t factor in, however, is Ann going berserk on him. Again. While he did think about the possibility of her suddenly appearing out of nowhere should she see his boyfriend get creamed, he shrugged it off as mere paranoia (the beating she gave him before was enough to deter him from trying altogether; not to mention he did owe her his life). Which is why when he saw her, as a blur, from the corner of his eye, he simply dismissed it as his mind playing tricks on him. Only when the first few blows landed fast and hard did he believe that indeed, hell hath no fury like a woman scorned.

“F*ck,” was all the boy could say as he instinctively curled his arms out in front of him to shield himself from the kicks and punches. It was a lot more logical to tap into a cheetah and simply run away, but as it was, rational thinking had escaped him when the Ann’s fist came in contact with his ribs (if you ask me, it was lost way earlier) and instead he stood there, petrified as hell, relying on the limited invulnerability rhino skin grants him.

Just when he thought he’s toast, the kicks stopped. He opened his eyes just in time to see the woman Mr. Bond was with (whatever her name was) stop another one of Ann’s kicks midair and put her down. His face brightened at the thought. His savior?

Not quite.

Zac couldn’t even begin to describe how horrified he was about the things that had happened next.

He didn’t know how it happened really. It’s just that he found himself suddenly looking at himself, all monstrous and acne-ridden. Shallow yes, but that’s Zac for you. That image alone was enough to drain the life out of him, his legs failing to support his own weight. Still in disbelief from the image he had just seen, it took him a while to process what the Asian lady was saying.

“The security office?” Sh*t. This was definitely not part of the plan.[/font]

[Ann Hudgins]

Attack. Attack. Attack. Hurt him! Hurt him!

The commands repeated over and over in her head and she easily fell into a routine, she took a breath every time she hit and held as she moved to strike. She didn't slow down and she didn't take her eyes off of her target. She was going to hurt him. Her ears registered Alex talking, which only told her that he was alright, but she didn't slow down or show any signs of hearing him. She lifted her foot for a round house kick and right before it landed, skin closed around her leg.

A shocked breath left her, her eyes flew to the woman that grabbed her leg. She was about to be sucked in when she felt....the woman force herself in. Her emotions boiled and swam like she was stirring them. The woman...then did something....

And then her barriers around her chakras dropped.

Everything rushed in, and she rushed into the woman, who still had a hold of her. Her hands felt limp to her sides as she lost control and all the emotions clashed into her like a tidal wave from every direction, the woman released her foot but Ann didn't notice. She was pissed, angry, scared, injured, furious, and all the other emotions of the entire dance room. She was everything. It was like she had lost all control of her powers anymore. Her eyes rolled into her head as she swayed. Her knees buckled and she dropped to the floor like a stone.

The music continued. The emotions of the entire room preyed upon her chakras, pulling her emotionally in every direction. She was on the verge of being completely over loaded--of passing out--when her barriers were back. Her fear and all the other emotions in the room suddenly weren't effecting her. She was hyper sensitive to them, but she was safe behind her shields. With a wobbly hand she pushed herself up to sitting, her eyes swam around the room, dazed at first, but as she got to her feet her eyes landed on the woman. She looked horrified as the last few moments played through her mind again. She'd just lived her worst fear, of losing control of her power again, she looked down at her hands as the woman ordered Zac (and Alex and herself) to accompany her to her security office. Ann ran her shaking fingers through her hair, she didn't notice the rogue tears spilling down her face, because she was still in shock of what happened.

[Alexander McKenzie]

No, Alex was not that stupid. He’d just had the vague notion that things could be solved without resorting to childish violence. Apparently, Zac was incapable of such a thing. If he’d been any sort of prepared for the hit, he would have pulled up a force field, and it would have been Zac hurting, not him. It was like hitting a glass wall, from what he’d heard from his classmates. Not that he’d had the experience himself. All he knew was that it was like a protective bubble. He’d only ever touched it once, when attempting to “throw” it away from him to protect someone else. That took a lot more energy, and the moment he’d tried to touch it, it had dissolved.

But he was sure it would have done some damage to Zac’s supercharged punch. It was pointless to think about it, however, because holy heck, his face hurt. Zac had snapped his glasses and gotten him right in the eye. It already felt warm, and he was sure he’d have a bruise to explain to Connie tomorrow morning. That was going to be fun. ... Not.

Things happened quickly after that. Alex managed to steady himself on his feet just in time to watch Ann slam into him. Logic had him more worried about her safety, and he was close to shielding her when the women stepped in. He visibly winced at Ann’s reaction, and as soon as she was calmer he stepped over to her. He didn’t touch her, because he didn’t want to further her distress, but he knelt by her and waited. In all honestly, he wanted to leave the incident behind them, and escort Ann somewhere quiet, so she could recover from whatever the woman had done to her.

It didn’t look like that was going to happen. He offered his arm for support as Ann returned to her feet, though he wasn’t sure she’d take it, and looked at the security woman. “I think it’s fine. Nothing serious.” He was hoping if he stood by that claim, she’d leave it at that. But even that seemed to fail. He sighed. There would be no convincing her otherwise. So, he did the next best thing. He stepped closer to Ann and winced at the tears on her face. “Ann? Once this is over, we don’t have to stay. We can find somewhere quiet, all right?” It hurt to see her crying, and he really hoped she wasn’t in trouble. It wasn’t her fault Zac had jealousy issues.

[Mia Keystone]

Mia was an evil genius. It became pretty obvious to anyone who crossed her that she thought outside the box when it came to getting revenge, and Mia never forgot. So while Zac had probably forgotten the deaf kid he’d bullied for two years, Mia didn’t. Mia didn’t forget, and she could hold a grudge for a long, long time.

This, this was going to be a fun night for her. Alex and Ann were collateral damage; Mia hardly spared them a thought, other then remembering that Rumor Blog had shown a bit of interest and might want more information on the happy couple. Well, Mia was going to give people something to talk about.

The audio bugs planted on both the love struck boys were picking up their conversation and transmitted their conversations to Mia’s ear piece. For most of the night Mia ad kept the volume down to a murmur, just picking up a few things, but as soon as she’d seen Zac head over to Ann she’d faded back from her friends with a small nod and listened in carefully. Her expression was gleeful, though her eyes rolled at Alex’s reaction to being punched. What a wimp.

Even Mia could wince with sympathy as she heard the results from the security team’s breaking it up. Uncool.

But as for the rest? That was pure gold. Frowing, Mia closed her eyes and felt out around her. The various machines throbbed like heartbeats in her mind, mots of tiny ones showing the phones everyone couldn’t be without, and larger ones for all the lighting, for heating the food, the ice machine.... there. The biggest thumper came from the DJ’s box, little tremors spreading from it to the speakers around. Eyes still closed, Mia touched the wall behind her, feeling the wires behind her.

Carefully, opening her eyes, she edged around to the DJ’s station, and the lent against it casually even as she used her body as a conductor to send the information from her ear peice into the recorders and amplifiers, wires and chips, overriding the music to play her ow form of entertainment.

“Can we talk for a bit?..... Hopefully you won’t mind me borrowing your boyfriend for a bit Ann.”

“If you insist...What is it, Zac?”

“Did I scare you back there? Sorry ‘bout that bro,....

“N-no, it’s fine.”

“I just want to talk about Ann. You know, man to man and all that, Like, you really can’t blame me for being jealous, right? I mean, I got to her first, and as I was just about to make progress, you came in and swooped her from my arms. That wasn’t cool man. Not cool at all.”

“Look, I didn’t… it wasn’t like I was actively pursuing her. We just… I don’t know... It just happened. I didn’t know you were interested. I’m sorry.”

“But hey, you seem to be a nice guy. And Ann’s a whole lot happier than she was just a few months before. I think it’s for the better. Take good care of Ann, you hear?”[/i]


And now for the best part. With a slight frown she hyped up the volume, the thud of Zac hitting Alex reverberating around the room.

”Look, just stop it. This isn’t going to solve anything.”[/i]

Alex’s less then heroic response followed, then the sound of a very angry woman, and a high heel shoe hitting various body parts as Ann extracted her own revenge.

Now that was entertainment. People stopped talking and looked around, some laughing, some looking horrified. Her word done, Mia melted back onto the dance floor and rejoined Reeve, Ginny and Jonah. Jonah would be missing out... with a grin Mia texted him the transcript in moments and just laughed when the other two stared at her.

”I have misjudged school parties,” she said slowly, shaking her head. ”This is crazy fun.”

[Emiko Nakajima]

Ann’s emotions rushing into Emiko was an unexpected outcome, and for a moment she felt the same rage she did- but fortunately for Emiko she was used to quelling rage. The sheer amount of it winded her for a moment, but she didn’t let it show. She played it off as stoic silence on her part when she failed to respond to Zac’s question at first, and once she recovered she looked at him and quirked an eyebrow. “Yes. The security office.” She was already gaining energy from the stunned silence of the both of them- they were stunned by fear and shock. Shock fed her almost as well as fear did- if not just as much. The fear from the onlookers was just was good. It was like super charging a battery- she hadn’t felt this rejuvenated in a while.

There were days when she loved her job.

Emiko surveyed the girl who was now on the floor- apparently her lack of control was quite traumatic. Any other adult would be worried about damaging her psyche, but Emiko had a job to do and it wasn’t being a psychiatrist. The other boy’s lack of whining or trauma made him rank as number one on her list when it came down to the three- he was genuinely concerned about his girlfriend, and she could respect that. “She’ll be fine once we get this sorted out.” That was a lie- Emiko wasn’t sure either way. She was assuming too much, as usual. She was used to being treated in similar ways in her youth; she suspected that all meta-humans, teenager or adult, would encounter feelings of helplessness at least once. The girl had gotten a small dose of it. Emiko considered that a learning experience for her.

Misery builds character.

“If you would help her along, I’d appreciate it. She looks shaky. No surprise, I just flooded her system.” Now, which is worse, her actually doing it or her admitting to it? That was the big question. She looked to the Asian boy, who she was still holding onto, and rolled her eyes. He looks ready to pass out from his reflection any second. “Relax. It wasn’t a real image. Your skin is as flawless as a newborn’s.” She resisted the urge to end the sentence with a demeaning comment, but she wasn’t in Japan anymore. Holding his shirt collar up, however, she noticed something on him and frowned. Her free hand reached out and she pulled a small device off his jacket, examining it. It looked like an audio bug, to her knowledge- she had worked with them while on the Japanese Police Force, or something very similar. It had been very well-planted; he was probably walking around with it on all night. She debated what to do with it for a moment before blowing into it so whoever was on the other end would hear a loud static noise. They’d know they had been detected then. She’d drop it in a glass of water once they reached security and figure out the details later after making sure it was disabled. The auditorium had cameras and there were only so many students who could implement such technology.

“Follow me.” She told Alex sternly, shooting one last look at the girl. She was crying, and Emiko frowned and sighed. “I’m sorry. But you gave me no choice. You shouldn’t attack other students, even if you believe they deserve it.” She turned and cast a look skyward before leaving the dance via the main doors, dragging the seemingly useless boy with her. “Pick up your feet, now. I will not drag you like a child. Let’s go.”

She would go home after this and feel bad. Maybe she’d have a glass of wine. Maybe she’d exercise vigorously to work off the extra energy all the fear was giving her. Either way, this would not be fun for anyone, not even herself. The surge of power was wearing off, and the guilt was kicking in.

Because face it. These kids never had a fighting chance.

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[[Continued here]]