Mean As A Snake [Sean]

[Dr. Sean Neville]

The boy broke physical contact and backed away, the former of which was what Sean had desired, and the latter of which he considered to be a bit of an overreaction. An understandable one, surely, but an overreaction nonetheless. He wasn’t going to bite, after all, and besides, if he wanted to invade the boy’s privacy, he could just as easily from across the room. Well, at least he made the point that he wasn’t to be trifled with, and he’d made the boy back down a bit.

He didn’t step forward when Jesse stepped back; he wasn’t out to corner him or to chase him. All he wanted was to treat him, and to do that, he had to learn as much as he could about the boy in the time they had this afternoon.

Then realization dawned on the boy’s face, and Sean remained calm and casual in the face of the profane warning. He wasn’t out to harm Jesse; although he did find it fascinating how those with power fixations grew uncomfortable the instant the tables were turned. It was yet another element of a controlling personality, and nothing he could change this afternoon, particularly not without the boy’s cooperation, which he was sure wouldn’t come easily, if at all.

Still standing, as he wouldn’t sit until Jesse did, he rested one hand on his desk and let his other drop to his side. “And I’d hoped to have made this apparent, but I’m not here to take orders from you. Medications are bandages, not cures, and they are, as I mentioned, theoretical solutions, best for last resort.” There, Sean was calm, collected, in control for the moment. “Now, tell me what you made your classmate experience.”

[Jesse Adams]

Jesse couldn’t help backing away. He was officially a little threatened by the psychologist, but he wasn’t going to let onto that fact. Not in a million years did he want Sean to catch on. All he wanted right now was his personal space back, and his thoughts to himself, thanks. If Sean could handle that, they’d all get along a lot better. ... Well, Jesse wouldn’t get along. But he’d tolerate. As best as he could, anyway.

If he planned to be in Jesse’s head, the blonde would consider it harm. There was a lot of stuff that went on in his mind that he’d rather people not be privy to. Anything from memories about interactions with his father, to his own personal thoughts about things. And his feelings for his sister. Those, he tried to bury as deep as he possibly could. No one needed to know he had a weakness. No one needed to know he worried about her, about what his father might to while he was away. Those were his, and his alone.

Okay. He was better now. He was over that initial shock of someone actually resisting his ability. Most of his victims were too scared to even try to block him out, let alone force him out. He glared over at Sean. The little spark of danger was back. “Good. Because I’m not here to take orders from you, either.” He really could be stupid, sometimes, with the things he says. He crossed his arms over his chest again, really not thrilled with the idea of answering. “I didn’t do anything to her.” No, she imagined something horrible all on her own, just for fun. Of course she did.

[Dr. Sean Neville]

Sean caught Jesse’s glare and returned the eye contact steadily. He didn’t glare, he didn’t sneer; rather, his expression was on the whole bland. He didn’t smile, because truly, there was nothing to smile about. But this was progress in a way, because Jesse was not lashing out with his powers again, even if he had recovered enough from the surprise to lash out verbally. Sean could tolerate that. “No, you’re here to talk to me until I deem you fit to return to class, or your dormitory, depending on what time we finish.”

He remained standing, because Jesse had yet to return to the desk area, and had yet to sit in the chair as he’d been asked several times. Small steps, Sean reminded himself. One hand remained where it was on the desk, almost touching the wood idly, while he kept his attention on the boy. He wasn’t going to push just yet; he would give him another chance or two to further this discussion like an adult, using words rather than powers.

His tone was cool, as he remarked, “You’re backpedaling, Jesse; you already told me that you used your ability on her. What did she see?” Truly, there was no use denying what had happened. Trying to downplay the importance of what he caused was a slightly more successful tact, although Sean wouldn’t let him get away with that either. He’d already made his admissions, and Sean had them on audio.

[Jesse Adams]

Unless he was pushed beyond the point of rationality, even Jesse knew it was futile to attempt his power again. He’d just get forced out. Again. And that didn’t sound like so much fun right now. He’d mind himself, but only just enough. That didn’t mean he’d be watching his mouth. Just his actions. He had a temper, and it got out of hand, quickly. He just had to use a little control. “That’ll be a while,” he remarked with a snort. “We might be here all week.” In other words, he wasn’t planning on cooperating. Period.

There was no way Jesse was going to willingly sit across from Sean. If he was waiting for him to behave like an adult, he was going to be waiting a long time. A very long time. Jesse rarely stooped to discussing things. While he had the ability – he’d watched his father do battle with his clients for years – he just didn’t want to use it. It was so much more fun to be a little bastard.

... Damn. It was true. He’d already admitted it. He scuffed his foot against the carpet. “Whatever. I just pulled a memory at random, and had a little fun with it. I didn’t pay attention.” That much was true. He’d more or less been on autopilot, just looking for something to entertain himself with. “It’s not a big fucking deal.”

[Dr. Sean Neville]

“If that’s the case, then when I need a break, I can give you to your Mister Kilbourne, or one of the other staff, and we’ll simply switch off that way for a week. I won’t suffer any repercussions for spending a week with you, Jesse. I won’t miss classes, or my friends, or supper. And we won’t have to worry about my falling asleep on you, because I’ll get to share the pleasure with other staff.” He spoke patiently, although there was a bit of a bite, enough to let the young man know that this was precisely what would occur if he wanted to test him.

Sean noticed movement out of the corner of his eye and he broke direct eye contact to glance down; now Jesse seemed to be twitching his foot. Well, few people actually liked standing for long periods of time, despite the defiant point the young man was attempting to make.

Then came the boy’s confession, which Sean found curious. Assuming it was true, there were a number of possibilities, all intriguing in their own way: either Jesse had a stock twist and turn he used on most memories, regardless of the content – and he would inquire into that later – or his abilities worked on a level that let him seek out vulnerable memories and work with them on an instinctive level, which was fine-tuned to terror. He would have to discuss that with the power expert after this session ended, whenever that was. If it was late enough in the day, he’d just ask their resident power expert out to dinner.

“You didn’t pay attention to what it turned into? Or to what you grabbed?” The response mattered. As did the response to his next questions. “Why did you do it? Were you bored? Do you like her? Do you hate her?”

[Jesse Adams]

Oh shit. Jesse hadn’t thought of that, not at all. He’d been exaggerating about the week thing. He honestly didn’t expect anyone to handle dealing with him for a week straight. He hadn’t considered the possibility of being handed off, like a pet. “Oh fuck no. Screw that. I hate Kilbourne.” And the comment about friends made Jesse scoff. “I don’t have any fucking friends.” He had no interest in friends. Or relationships. Good relationships, anyway. There was only two in his life he could consider “good.” His mother, and his sister. The rest were a big waste of time and effort.

The confession, given however reluctantly, was now out there. He couldn’t take it back. Not that he wanted to. Jesse liked it to be known that he wasn’t one to be messed with. He couldn’t explain how his abilities worked, on paper. But he could sure as hell show you. If he had to explain, it would be complex. He could see his victim’s memories, flip through them like a picture book. He seemed to have a natural talent for finding the high and low points of a person’s life. The good ones, he’d pull for his sister, if he was home. Let her relive happy moments in her life. But for his fellow students, he’d been doing the opposite. Pulling the good memories, and twisting them into something painfully negative, or else he’d find the bad memories, and show them those. No one had ever really bothered to ask him how it worked, so he hadn’t really told anyone. He’d just used it. And well.

The questions fired at him brought him back to defensive, however, brought his defences running back up at full power. His hands flexed slightly, balling into fists, and relaxing again, over and over. “I don’t know. I just grabbed any handy memory, and had fun with it. It’s what I do.” He shrugged, like it was no big deal. If he did it out of boredom, there was no real specifics to it. And that’s all this little ‘outburst’ had been. Boredom. “I don’t know. Yes, I guess. Hell no. I hate everybody.” Yes, he’d just answered all the questions in a row. He was making it clear. He wasn’t into discussing.

[Dr. Sean Neville]

Sean usually managed to make a fair amount of headway with casual – and practical – threats. It appeared that he and Jesse reached an understanding in that regard, because he began answering questions. That was a start.

So the boy was anti-social; that was not surprising, and yet it explained quite a bit. It was unfortunate, and Sean wished that someone might have sent Jesse his way earlier, to establish more of a rapport before this moment. However, he couldn’t change the past; he could only try to influence the future. Mildly, not pressing, he asked, “Have you never had friends? Or is it you just don’t have friends here?”

He then proceeded to listen patiently while Jesse answered all of his questions in order. It was admirable, in a way, although it also tended to indicate control issues – not that this was a revelation; rather, it was yet another confirmation of what he already knew. Having already decided to speak to the power expert later, he latched onto two particular comments that Jesse had made. Specifically that he didn’t know why he had tormented his classmate, and that he hated everyone.

The fact of the matter was that Sean couldn’t do his job and respect the fact that Jesse didn’t like discussions, and as he cared more about getting to the heart of the matter, he would continue to lead conversation. “What were you thinking before you touched her? And everybody? You can’t think of a single person you like?”

[Jesse Adams]

Yes, Jesse was answering questions. But he wasn’t happy about it. Not by a long shot. But he’d come to the conclusion that if he cooperated, just a tad, he might actually get out of this. At least, sometime sooner than next week. That might be nice.

Jesse was happier he hadn’t been sent here until now. Really, he could have done without visiting now. He could have done without having to meet Sean for his entire stay at Hammel. As it was, it was no good thinking about that. Because reality dictated that, in fact, he was here, and he’d best just suck it up and deal with it. But the question hit a nerve, and he scowled. “I’m not interested in friends.” The comment was snapped, and just a little angry.

The little blonde was just a little, spiky ball of anger at the core. And when he was made to do things he didn’t like, he just got worse. He really did harbour a great dislike for the vast majority of the human race. He didn’t make an effort to do anything silly like make friends. He had no interest in it. There was no real point to it, as far as he could see. Why make friends when you could terrorize people instead? Freak them out by twisting their fondest memories, it was a form of entertainment. And he didn’t like the idea of someone questioning that.

More questions. Jesse sighed. This was getting silly. Repetitive, and silly. “I don’t remember. I wasn’t paying attention to the lecture. Is this really important?” There was a touch of stress in his voice. Did he really hate everyone? Almost everyone. And no one needed to know those two exceptions.

[Dr. Sean Neville]

As long as Jesse continued to answer questions and cooperate to that extent, Sean had every intention of letting him go for the afternoon. Although he was willing to hold him for a week, that didn’t mean that he wanted to, simply that he was prepared to do what was necessary.

There was an assertion that the young man didn’t want friends – that he wasn’t interested in friends. That could be indicative of sociopathic tendencies. Or it could merely be what a person who had difficulty interacting with his peers had told himself, and eventually convinced himself, after years of rejection. It didn’t matter that he had no friends, because he didn’t want them anyway. Sean would have to spend more time with him to learn the truth, or he would have to probe, and he didn’t wish to do that. As far as he was concerned, there had been more than enough of that this afternoon.

As for the young man’s questions... “It is important. I need to get to the root of your behavior, because you were sent here for that behavior. If we don’t get to the root of it, you’ll do it again, and you’ll find yourself back in my office. We both know you don’t want that, so perhaps this could serve as incentive to work with me today.” Sean considered that to be simple and perfectly reasonable. He also noticed that Jesse had not answered his other question; the young man had an answer, then, and there was at least one person he didn’t hate. But for some reason, he must feel that to admit that would be a vulnerability.

[Jesse Adams]

Getting let go for the afternoon sounded like a nice plan. It was the only reason Jesse was resigning himself to answering questions. As long as he didn’t have issues with them. Certain questions might set him off again. Might.

If the two options were that he didn’t want friends, or that he couldn’t make friends, we’ll go with the first option. He honestly didn’t have an interest in having friends. It was sappy and ridiculous and an enormous waste of time. He could think of more interesting things to spend his time one. Besides, friendships were work. You had to gain a friend, then work to retain them. Not. Interested. His father had taught him well. Friends were for the weak.

Behavior. Okay. So he was a little screwed up. What teenager wasn’t? Okay, fair enough. But how many of those teenagers went around harassing their peers? Jesse was in the minority, there. It didn’t help that his ability could be used so successfully as a sadistic weapon. He just rolled his eyes in reaction to what Sean said. “Right. Yeah. I’m not coming back here. No one’s gonna make me.” If Sean pressed him about the idea of having at least one person he didn’t hate, he might start to fight. For now, he was lapsing back into that comfortable zone of teenage arrogance and a bit of fire. “This is so fucking stupid.” This was more or less muttered under his breath, though he made no effort to keep it quiet enough to be misunderstood.

[Dr. Sean Neville]

Sean replied to his comment about not being made with the merest quirk of his eyebrow. There was a number of staff at the institute who could do that quite easily: those with superior strength, those like Chase who could control minds, telepaths who could nudge or bribe with that ultimate invasion of privacy, those who could negate his powers, reducing him to simply being another teenager with a problem with authority. And, of course, there were those who were simply better training with their abilities. If he had to return, he would return, and Sean assumed that, at heart, Jesse was aware of this.

The fact that his power could so readily harm and torment others was precisely what made it necessary for Sean to monitor him. Particularly when he had the inclination. A power without inclination was mere temptation, a hypothetical scenario; the inclination actualized danger.

“Allow me to disagree,” Sean replied, in such a way to make clear that although his phrasing was polite, he was in no way requesting the young man’s permission to do so. “You’re very aggressive, Jesse. Have you always been that way? Having never met you before you came here, before this moment, I have nothing to compare your behavior to.”

His knees hurt slightly, and so he straightened his position, and weighed the psychological pros and cons of sitting down. He chose not to do so just yet: he would simply deal with it for the moment.

[Jesse Adams]

Of course there were ways to wrestle Jesse back into the office. But he was turning a blind eye to them now. It was easier to ignore that fact than it was to consider it, and behave. It was in his nature to be difficult, and he wasn’t about to turn on the doe eyes and roll over just because someone wanted him to. If it earned him consequent trips into this office, so be it. He’d be just as obnoxious as he was being now. And this was him in a relatively good mood.

The inclination to harm others was certainly a danger, and Jesse knew that. He’d never really acted out in class that way before. He was usually grabbing people in the hallways, or worse, if his roommates left their doors unlocked, he’d mess with their dreams. He didn’t know much beyond he’d just had this urge to use his power. Like a kid hyped up on sugar has the urge to expel that energy.

Aggressive. Jesse had heard that word millions of times before. It was how people described his father. Aggressive, especially in the court room. Not that he’d witnessed that, but he knew it was true. By nature, his father was a very aggressive person. And, apparently, he was just like his old man. The blonde snorted and looked away. “Maybe. Depends what you mean by ‘aggressive.’” See, this topic, he was willing to discuss. Mostly because he almost wanted Sean to know what he was dealing with. He was proud of his history of delinquency.

He watched the psychologist shift slightly, which brought a little smirk to his face. He could stand here all day, if he wanted to. The old man would just have to deal with it.

[Dr. Sean Neville]

Well, Sean couldn’t say that he was surprised by the little sadistic smirk on Jesse’s face when confronted with the slight sway in his knees. He’d have to simply pluck along with this session until they reached an impasse, at which point he would let Jesse go for now, and he’d take a much-deserved sit. Until then, if his arm tensed a bit against the desk to provide support, so be it.

It appeared that he’d invoked Jesse’s pride by mentioning his aggressive nature and his behavior problems. Doubtlessly, the young man was well-aware of them and how both impacted his surroundings; his behavior indicated that he was pleased with that state of affairs. That alone was reason to meet again, although he would cross that bridge later. It also appeared that the young man was willing to continue along this train of thought for a while, which was fine with Sean. He would take all of the cooperation he could get.

Patiently, he provided his definition, as though they were having a true dialogue and merely had to set the parameters. “Lashing out and being defensive is how I mean it, so start there. And to satisfy my curiosity, how would you define it?”

[Jesse Adams]

Sadistic was one word that could be used very effectively in describing Jesse Adams. Because he was. He was cruel to a great many number of people, peers and superiors included. It was the only way he knew to stay on top, to prove himself. He couldn’t show weakness, nor fear. The teachings of an egotistical control freak. Lovely.

Lashing out. Defensive. That sounded... clinical, by way of definition. Jesse had other ideas. He looked down at his hand, as if contemplating using his ability again. (He really hated that drawback, having to touch people. He didn’t like touching people. Or being touched, really.) “Bein’ a bastard.” No, he doesn’t mean the technical term. “I don’t get what the big deal is. It’s fuckin’ fun.” Yes, it’s fun in his mind to mess with people, to twist their happiest memories, to inflict nightmares that bring about physical pain. It’s safe to say he’s got a screw or two loose. “’Sides, it’s not like I’ll be your problem forever. I’m good at what I do.” And in his mind, if he’s good at what he does, he’ll be released from Hammel.

And the rumors that flooded the school, about government research and captivity really didn’t threaten him. Much like his father could talk his way in or out of just about any situation, he was positive, if they were true, he could convince just about anyone that he could be a potential weapon. And that factor probably made him more dangerous than most of the students at Hammel.

[Dr. Sean Neville]

The sadism was precisely why, even after Sean let Jesse leave for the afternoon, their business was not finished here. He had seen this before, although it was rare, and he was determined not to let this one slip through his fingers. The very act that he self-identified as “being a bastard,” and took pride in that, rather than feel ashamed for the harm, was cause for concern. This would be the beginning of a long association, regardless of whether Jesse wished it. Sean had made his decision.

“The big deal is that the people you do it to don’t consent. Just like you don’t want me to mess with you,” Sean told him firmly. The Golden Rule, as overused as it could be in modern society, was a good rule to live by regarding powers. As with all aspects of human interaction, consent was key.

“And you could be my problem for as long as forever matters for two mortal people. Although I’m sure you’ve heard this before from everyone else and in Spiderman comics, with great power comes great responsibility.” He didn’t particularly like that quote, but it got the point across on the lowest popular level. “Just because you’re good at what you do doesn’t mean you’ll get to graduate. You need to show you can use your powers properly, responsibly, otherwise, you’ll be here until you’re far older than I am now.”