Emergency Services [samsam<3]

[Spencer Ellis]

The frantic text of "HELP ME PLZZZ" she had received earlier had brought a smile to Spencer's face. Not because of the words themselves, but the name attached to them: Sammy. She still remembered how he'd asked for her number when she had answered a series of questions right in the math class they had together. She'd more than happily given it to him because she liked Sammy. She liked him an awful lot.

Knowing Sam was rather over dramatic, she simply replied "With what?" and the answer she'd received was difficult to understand. Text speak was not her expertise. After staring at the jumble of letters and numbers for a while, she finally deciphered enough of it to figure out that Sammy needed help with his homework. Of course he would. She laughed as she sent a reply, telling him to meet her in the student lounge with his books and she'd be happy to help him.

So that's where she was now, sitting in one of the armchairs of the lounge with her legs tucked up under her and her elbow resting on the arm of the chair. She set her chin in her palm and looked towards the door, scanning each face that walked in but none belonged to the boy she was waiting for. She wasn't upset yet, she knew that the pyro was often late. (In fact, she couldn't remember a class where he'd ever shown up on time.) But she was far too excited to be able to see the boy outside of the classroom, even if he was just going to use her brains to help him get through his homework.

[Samuel Rixon]

Normally, Sam would have been at Ember’s door, begging for help. But today, there was an issue with that. And that issue was as simple as the fact that Ember wasn’t there. Nor was she answering his frantic texts. He had the sinking feeling that she was still miffed at him for his escapades at the sex ed lecture. (He really, really didn’t remember much about it.)

But then it had hit him. SPENCER. The smart chick from his math class! He scrolled through his contacts until he found her name and sent her a text. Gleeful when she’d replied, he’d sent a message of jumbled letters and numbers that made perfect sense to him (except for that 9 in there – WHY was there a 9 in his message?). When her perfectly articulated message came back to him, he grinned like a moron and scooped up his textbooks and a pen before bolting down from the dorms to the lounge.

Sadly, the lounge is fully of distracting toys. Between pinball and television and the pool tables, it wasn’t the best place for homework. Especially for a boy who’s attention span is only marginally longer than Vincent’s. Anyway. He went scrambling down the hallway like a puppy on a waxed floor, nearly wiping out as he took a corner much too fast. When he finally made it to the lounge, he was panting a little, but he still managed a wonky grin as he caught sight of Spencer. “Spencer!” He waved before crossing the room and flopping into the chair beside her. Dropping his books on her lap, he thrust his finger at them. “’S killin’ me, babe! Fix it!” Of course, we all know this is going to last about ten seconds before he remembers that there are games in the room. Let’s see how long Spencer can hold his attention.

[Spencer Ellis]

When she finally spotted Sammy's face, she brightened almost immediately. He might have looked as disheveled and frantic as his text had implied, but no less handsome. Spencer waved him over happily, calling "Sammy!" out to him with delight. Now, Spencer may have been relatively new to Hammel still. She'd been a student for just under a year thanks to the late development of her power, but since meeting Sammy, she'd found she liked it a lot more at Hammel than she ever thought she would before. The boy may not have been smart, but he was cute and charming (don't ask me how she finds him charming) and it didn't take her long to develop quite the crush on him.

The books fell into her lap and she laughed, tucking her hair behind her ear. "Well, you look pretty alive to me." She tipped her head to the side and studied Sammy for a moment. "But please don't try to change that!" She added on quickly, hopefully preventing some SamStupidity. And Spencer, being the studious type, isn't bothered at all by the games in the lounge. In fact, it was one of her favorite places to do homework thanks to the constant hum of students laughing and talking and the clacking of pool balls. We all know, however, that this will end disastrously thanks to Sam's barely-there attention span, general dislike of homework, and relatively low intelligence, but we still love him. (Well, Spencer does.)

"What's so bad? This is just simple algebra, Sammy." She was thumbing through the pages of Sammy's notebook, amused by the doodles in the margins, only to pause at a particular problem that he'd written down. "And how does X equal the square root of a cupcake?" Giggling behind her hand, she pointed out the drawing and glanced over at Sammy. "Were you hungry or something? You shouldn't do homework on an empty stomach." Oh no, Spencer, don't give him any other reasons not to do his school work. You're supposed to be helping him pass, not distracting him even more!

[Samuel Rixon]

Well, they both had something in common. Sam’s own powers hadn’t manifested until he was sixteen. And it had been... explosive. Literally. It wasn’t every day that your teenage son threw a fit over something and managed to light the curtains on fire. Now, Sam’s ego isn’t anywhere close to Vincent’s, but he couldn’t help but perk just a tad at Spencer’s smile. Unlike her, he’d always loved Hammel. But that had something to do with getting out of the circus he called home, and away from pesky little brothers. Since he’d met Vincent, Ember, and Horus, life at the school had only gotten better. He was happy to be here. Even if he still hated the schoolwork. And the power training.

“Nooo. No, babe, ‘m fuckin’ dead. I hate math.” No, he wasn’t going to be subtle there. He hated math, case closed. End of story. Of course, her little add on made him grin wildly. “Aw man! Does that mean I can’t try jumping off the roof with Verax?” No, Sammy. I don’t care if you’re high or drunk or both. No roof jumping. SamStupidity is special. And unpreventable. Sorry, Spencer. As for the distractions, Sam was already letting his gaze wander. Over the other students, over the games, over the –

Waitaminute.

Games.

And there goes Sammy’s attention span. In fact, he just barely caught what Spencer was saying to him. “What? No. It sucks balls.” Language, Sammy dear. “An’.... um... it just does?” When Sam got bored in class, drawings often made up his answers. Namely if he didn’t have a clue about the question being asked of him. “Hey! Good idea! I’m starvin’! We should get food. Like... candy and junk.” Oh Sammy no. Not sugar. Sugar and pyromania is not a good combination, no matter how you look at it. So. Sugar, and games. It’s safe to say Sam’s distracted. Kiss homework time goodbye, Spencer.

[Spencer Ellis]

Personally, I'd like to know just what Sammy was fitting over that made him angry enough to light the curtains on fire, but that really has no place in this thread, it's just my own curiosity. As far as Spencer was concerned, Hammel was a shock. Much more of one, in fact, than when she'd fallen through thin ice into freezing water. This was, for lack of a better phrase, a whole new world. (And the song is now playing in my head, thanks Spencer.) So many new people to meet, people with powers that she hadn't ever known existed before, and people that didn't know a thing about her. If ever she wanted to make a fresh start in life, this was the perfect place to do it.

Even though she laughed at Sammy's proposition of jumping off the roof, she shook her head. "No, mister, you will not be jumping off any roofs or down stairwells or... off anything!" She surprised herself at how motherly she sounded, but shoved that aside in favor of guilt-tripping Sammy into behaviour. "Because you'd hurt yourself and I might cry." She gave him her best sad look, her hands fidgeting with the paper in his notebook. Spencer wasn't sure if that would work or not, but she figured it was worth a shot. She'd always been able to get her father to cave when she gave him the puppy eyes, but Sammy was another story altogether.

But Sam was already hopping on the train to another topic and that topic involved junk food and Spencer wanted to say no, she really, really did, but Sammy just looked so cute when he was that excited that she couldn't do it. "I... uh... yeah, if you want to." There was a faint dusting of pink over her cheeks and she quickly dropped her focus down to her feet. Sugary snacks were certainly not what she had in mind when she suggested food, the energy they provided was jittery and destined for a crash, but Sammy wouldn't understand that. He wanted sweets and he wanted to play games and Spencer wanted Sammy to be happy, so she'd go along for the ride.

[Samuel Rixon]

Sammy was having a fit over the fact that his baby brother had taken one of his video games without asking him. But really, that’s not the point. (Though I’ll admit, it stopped Bryan from taking anything else without his older brother’s permission.) Hammel hadn’t been a huge shock to him. He’d been more interested in the other students’ powers than actually learning how to control his own. He’d had a meta in the family, so he’d known a little bit of what to expect. Granted, his sister was a healer, and the pyrokinesis had been a bit of a shock to them. Sammy had just found it cool. (But not nearly as cool as Vincent’s cell regeneration. Watching him heal was so much fun. Especially if he’d inflicted the damage.)

Well. Spencer was clearly no fun if she shot down his ideas of fun. Granted, he didn’t really want to go flying off the roof like Vincent so often did. But the idea was fun. “Aww babe, you’re no fun!” Apparently guilt tripping him wasn’t going to work. “If I get hurt, I’ll just hit up Horus’s little pet. He’s a healer!” Yes, dear. Go and prey on Benji. That’s a good idea. He’s a bit oblivious to puppy eyes, unless they’re coming from Horus. Blame it on having way too many sisters and a little brother.

You want to tame Sammy? Let him get away with this kind of stuff. Let him have candy and abandon all hopes of finishing the homework that may or may not be due in tomorrow. He stood up, happily abandoning his textbook to the chair and held his hands out for Spencer’s. “C’mon c’mon c’mon!” Yes, he wants sugar, and he wants it now. He was practically bouncing in place as he pulled her to her feet and dragged her over to the vending machines. For once, he had change and he eagerly fed the machine, hammering on the buttons until his choice (Skittles, for those of you paying attention) and then turned to Spencer. “What do you want? I got another dollar.” He waved it at her. Once he was fed, the chances of returning to the plush chairs and actually working were less than zero. He wanted to play. “Betcha you can’t beat me at pool!” ... Not that he knows the rules for pool. He just thinks it looks like fun.

[Spencer Ellis]

Spencer had heard many passing mentions of Sammy's friends, but she hadn't officially met them (by the sound of some of them *coughVINCENTcough* she was glad she hadn't.) Out of them all, Ember was easily the least frightening, but she was also the one who made Spencer the most jealous. It was a foolish thing, she knew that, and she wasn't even sure if she was what Sammy would consider a friend. Sure, they talked during class and she helped him out when she could, but this was one of the few times she had ever really spent time with him outside of class. So it was silly that she would be jealous of Ember, who had known Sammy far longer than she had. And it was silly just how much of a crush she had on him already.

"I would hope you'd be polite enough to ask before you just assumed he would heal you..." Spencer trailed off, realizing that asking nicely is not really Sammy's way of doing things. "Or better yet, don't hurt yourself at all and everyone's happy, deal?" Likely not, but a girl can hope. She really didn't want Sam to find himself in the way of any sort of bodily harm, least of all when it involved that nutcase that the pyro so often associated with him. From the things that Sammy had told her about Vincent, she wasn't sure why anyone would want to be friends with a maniac like that.

Her face pinkened again when Sammy took her hands, though she did her best to will the blush away. All he was doing was dragging her to the candy machines, just making sure that she got there just as fast as he wanted her to. She gave one last look to the the waiting homework on the chair before reaching the vending machines, sighing as she understood that there was no way Sammy was going to touch it now. "Oh, thanks, but I don't want anything." She smiled politely at Sammy, her hands clasped behind her back nwo. "And... I don't know how to play pool, so I bet I can't!" Hopefully Sammy realizes that he's not playing with Vincent, so he won't attempt to break a pool stick over Spencer's head. I doubt even she'd forgive Sammy if he tried that.

[Samuel Rixon]

Meeting Sammy’s friends really wasn’t advisable for someone sweet like Spencer. They were wild, loud, and more often than not involved in a fistfight with the pyro. ... Okay, so that was just Vincent. Horus and Ember were safe enough. But meeting Vincent was probably a bad idea. Sammy didn’t think much of exposing people to him. He was his best friend (or worst enemy, depending on the day), and nothing (except perhaps fights over badgers) was going to change that. As long as they both swore up and down that they’d behave, then it might be safe to have Spencer meet his friends. She might not become a member of the Idiot Brigade, but she was a friend. No harm in the two meeting, right? ... Yeah. We’ll go with that. (And for the record, he was completely unaware of the little crush Spencer had.)

“Naw, he’s cool. He’d do it!” Probably because he’s a shy, sweet little thing. Asking? Overrated, in Sam’s humble opinion. Who needed to ask nicely? There was always that off chance the other person might say no. Not that he really thought that Benji would say no. It was just a hell of a lot easier (not to mention faster) to bypass the whole asking thing and jump straight to the “OH HAY I’M BLEEDING FIX IT? :D” part. “... ‘Kaaaaaaaaay. But only ‘cause you asked so nice.” Like he was going to say no to a pretty face. One that was going to help him with homework. ... Eventually.

Naturally, he was oblivious to her blush as he dragged her over to the machines, a little puppy pout appearing when she declined his offer. How could anyone turn down candy?! “Really? But but but... it’s candy!” Yes, Sam. She knows what it is. Not everyone needs the sugar intake of an addict. He shoved the dollar back in his pocket (how it had been kept out of Vincent’s pocket, no one is too sure) and opened up the Skittles, popping them in his mouth happily. Yeah, homework was long forgotten now. “I dunno how to play either. It’s something like hitting the balls with a stick, an’ getting them in the pockets. Wanna play?” Yeah, Sam fails to know the rules. If he plays with Vincent, they just invent their own. Usually involving strangest way to get the ball in the pocket, or throwing the cueball. ... Or just holding Jedi battles with the sticks.

[Spencer Ellis]

Spencer could only shake her head at Sammy's complete lack of manners. Although had she been in Benji's position and the pyro had come to her with some bloody injury, she would have healed him without a second thought. Politely asking or not. Benji likely would have as well, not because he has anyt real relationship with Sammy, but because he's Horus' friend and because Benji is just nice like that.

Thankfully, Sammy agreed with her deal of avoiding bodily harm, and she released a great sigh of relief. She really didn't want to see him acquire any damage that might scar his lovely face. "Good. I'm holding you to that." Uh oh, Sam, you'd better be on your best behavior! Or else there will be no homework help and you'll fail the class. (Probably not for the first time, either.) Still, Sammy had pretty much completely obliterated what chance there was of the homework getting done in a timely fashion.

"Well... okay." Spencer moved over to one of the open tables and grabed a pair of sticks for them. "Don't laugh at me if I'm awful!" She giggled, handing the stick out to Sam. She couldn't know that normally that would be a horrible idea. (She's basically giving him a weapon.) But hopefully Sammy has enough brains to realize that this is not the time to make a fool of himself.

[Samuel Rixon]

Sammy had been brought up with manners. Honestly. He just... forgot them. Hey, without his mother or older siblings around to remind him, he had no reason to remember them! Granted, hanging around with Vincent tended to smash any manners he might have claimed to have. Spencer is hereby banned from hanging out with them. Ever.

“... How long d’ I gotta be good for?” Forever, Sam. No, really. Forever. No more silly stunts. He could promise all he wanted, but it would never last. He’d forget the second Vincent proposed something ridiculous. That incident with the skateboard and the truck had been fun, regardless of the outcome. Yes, for the record, broken wrists hurt when you’re not a cell regenerator. As for homework... yeah. It was completely forgotten. Sam would just fail, again, and retake the class. It wasn’t like he was in line to graduate anyway. Until he got his power under control, he had time to kill.

The pyro broke into a wide grin when she agreed, and he grabbed the stick from her. “I ain’t gonna laugh atcha!” He picked up one of the little cubes of chalk and jammed it onto the end of his stick, rubbing it over the tip. He and Vincent had broken a few pool cues being idiots, sword fighting and the like. But with Spencer, he could keep that kind of behaviour at the sidelines. He grinned and pulled the plastic triangle thing off the balls and tossed it onto the floor. “You can break ‘em.” Yes, because last time Sam tried, he missed half a dozen times, and Vin laughed his ass off. We’ll just pretend that’s him being nice.

[Spencer Ellis]

As much as we might want to keep Spencer away from the Idiot Brigade, we both know that she'll end up dragged into the group sooner or later. No one is ever safe from the Brigade once they're involved with one of the members. Thankfully, Spencer has the right head on her shoulders and would never stoop to the level of Vincent's stupidity, even if Sammy does so on numerous occasions. Hell, she might even be able to save the pyro from anymore broken bones or other related injuries if she tries hard enough.

Yeah, I doubt it too.

Spencer tapped her finger against her lip and looked thoughtful, appearing to mull the question over before simply stating "For as long as possible!' Which we all know is probably about five minutes. Sammy is known to be lacking in the attention span department.

She took the chalk from Sammy and coated the end of her stick before grabbing the cue ball and placing it in front of the others. She only knew the basics of pool, you tried to hit the balls into the pockets, and she had never actually tried playing before. "This is going to end badly!" She giggled, lifting her stick and taking her first shot. The balls scattered across the table, bouncing off the sides, but none of them even came close to falling into the pockets. "See?" She smiled and stepped back, gesturing towards the table. "Your turn!"

[Samuel Rixon]

Really, the day Spencer is dragged into the mess that is the Idiot Brigade is the day that she should wake up and learn that Sam is not a good person to crush on. Despite trying to be on good behaviour, around Vincent we all know that Sam is incapable of behaving. Five, ten minutes of so called “good” behaviour, and he’d start stooping to Vincent’s level. Whether that involved making obscene bets, daring Vin to do something moronic, and laugh at him, or just rolling around like an idiot, only he could decide.

But no amount of fussing will be able to save Sammy from more injuries due to Vincent’s stupidity.

“... How long is that?” Sam cocked his head, brow slightly furrowed. Seriously, he didn’t know how long that actually was. Normally, if he was told to behave, it was Ember (or his mom) on the other end of the threat. And he knew they meant it when they gave him the look. Then he’d stay behaved for as long as humanly possible. Which was probably longer than he’d manage here. Especially with all the nice, shiny distractions.

Sam knew nothing of the “rules” of pool. You had a stick, you smacked your best friend in the back of the head when it was his turn to shoot, or poked him in the ass. And then you stopped using sticks and started using your hands to fling the balls across the table, or attempt juggling with them. ... Okay, he sort of knew the proper rules. He could play nicely. He promises. “Naw, I bet you’re good at it.” Better than Vincent, at least. And she probably wouldn’t launch into a jealous bitchfit if Sam actually managed to win. Without cheating. “Aww right!” The pyro stepped up to the table and lined up. This was all about showing off. So, he drew the cue back and shoved it forward as hard as he could. But he barely tapped the white ball, and it feebly wobbled across the table, knocking into one brightly colored ball before coming to rest. “... That was practice?” No, Sam. You had your turn.