The First Lunch

[Seth Turner]

She was scared. Weren't they all? The look on the her face was the very reason that he had lied only minutes ago. But even in this state, he couldn't blame it on his power, he could only blame it on himself. It wasn't his power that had scared her, it was his words, and the obvious pleasure he took in using, or abusing, his ability. He settled in his chair comfortably, refusing to feel guilt or shame for scaring a young girl. He wouldn't be tied up in this ridiculous web of having a conscience. He'd never cared before, and he wasn't planning on starting now. He watched her mutely, eyebrows raised.

The onslaught was coming. He knew it was. He knew she was going to light into him and just keep going. Chew him out for being a jerk to her and everyone else. He'd heard the speech countless times, and never had it changed anything. Just because it was going to come from someone younger than him, didn't mean it was suddenly going to have an impact and he was going to 'see the light', or some junk like that. The real world didn't work like some fantasy book. In real life, the good guys don't always win, and nothing is black and white.

But the speech didn't come. She just stood there, stricken by his sudden change. He smirked at her, but got up from his chair to wrap things up. He was ready to be done with this drama. Scare her away for good. It was bound to be easy, she couldn't stick up for herself, she was too timid for that. A real good girl, if he'd ever seen one. Just a kid. He spoke his piece but he expected a different reaction. He expected her to run away, to maybe even phase straight through the floor. He wasn't going after her. After all, she shouldn't have come after him to begin with. That was her biggest mistake, Seth decided. She thought there was good in him.

"I don't want to be feared." He smiled bitterly, letting the smirk drop form his face. Retracting his arm from around her, he straightened, towering over her. "Funny how convincing that was." He stared her dead in the eye. "I used to say the same." He slipped his hands into his pockets, feeling the last of the power drain from his system. The bigger the dose, the greater the high, and the harder the crash. His eyes turned glassy and the gut wrenching lost flooded his senses. Powerless once again. He gave her a wane smile. "You're gonna be fine. Just go." He waved a hand with a carefree grin, so fake. "Steal their hearts and all that."

[emily]

She watched his smirk slowly ebb away to be replaced by a bitter smile. Still better than the wolfish grin she had received earlier. "Funny how convincing that was. I used to think the same." Emily could tell that his power high had dispeled from his body to be replaced by a crash similar to that of a sugar crash, only from the looks of it it was ten times worse. She watched his eyes turned dull from the loss of power and the feeling of pity swelled within the young girl's chest. Emi still managed to force a small smile though.

Her fear had vanished, at least for the moment, and she was a little happy that Seth was back to normal. At least that's what she hoped that was his normal state. She knew there was good in him. There was good in everybody. Some people just had less of it.

"You don't have to let them fear you . . . or steal their powers. I mean . . ." She fumbled for a second, unsure whether or not she should say it or not, "you could just absorb my power whenever you need to. I don't mind really." It was true that she didn't mind although she didn't exactly enjoy it. But she figured that if she were to let him absorb her power maybe even if he started acting like a jerk again it would at least teach her how to take a hit. The sweet girl needed to toughen up a little anyway.

[Seth Turner]

He could see the pity written all over her face. Seth didn't need the powers of empathy to realize how pathetic she thought he was. He stiffened at the thought, but found quickly that he wasn't angry. She had every right to think that. He sighed softly as he looked down at her, large eyes watching him. Way to corrupt an innocent, he admonished himself angrily. He should've known better than talking to someone as young as her. He messed with people, it's what he always did whether he tried to or not. People got hurt when they knew him, and usually, he was okay with that. He studied her. He wasn't okay with hurting her. He stuffed his hands into his pockets and averted his eyes, feeling the pressure of guilt and shame. It was almost funny, in a bitter way, that he was feeling so much guilt. He never felt guilty, over anything.

Steal. Even she thought his power was an awful thing. It was something to be hidden and stored away, never used. Because his gift was a crime. He was a thief. He shook his head. "Stealing implies that I keep it. I borrow." He emphasized the word, staring her straight in the eyes as he said it. That's what he was always up against. Nothing ever changed, day to day. The same comments, jabs, and insults.

Seth jerked back at her suggestion. Overcome with something that he didn't think he'd ever felt before. Gratitude. She was willing to go through that so that she could help him. She really was innocent. After everything he'd said and everything she'd seen, she still believed she could fix him. Well, Seth didn't believe he was broken, but he did know one thing; if he allowed her to do this, he would break her.

He smiled at her gently. He stooped to her level, reaching out with a hand to lay it on her shoulder. He hesitated, staring at it, and quickly withdrew. "Never again, okay? I will never absorb your power, ever again." He gave her a wink with a lopsided grin. "Can't have you dragged down to my level. What would your new teachers think?" He leaned in with a chuckle. "It would absolutely ruin my reputation." He bumped her lightly with his shoulder, raising her eyebrows, silently asking her if she understood. He wouldn't hurt her, not deliberately. And he wouldn't let anyone else hurt her either.

[emily]

"Stealing implies that I keep it. I borrow." She mentally kicked herself for her mistake and quickly apologized for it, knowing that he must have to go through people thinking of him as a criminal almost every day. "Oh sorry, my wording mistake."

She watched him jerk back at her offer, and the sudden movement almost caused her to flinch. But a sincere smile formed on her face as he bent down to her level, placing a hand on her shoulder. The touch didn't last long though as he quickly withdrew it. Emmi didn't mind though for at least he had tried to get physically closer. "Never again, okay? I will never absorb your power, ever again. Can't have you dragged down to my level. What would your new teachers think?" It was true, her teachers would think of her as merely Seth's little addiction. A walking power supply. It was only her first year, she couldn't have her dignity tarnished so easily. "It would absolutely ruin my reputation." She laughed slightly, knowing that his reputation didn't seem so good to begin with but she was still happy to see that his mood had lightened.

He bumped her lightly with his shoulder which felt strange knowing how low he had to get to do so, but it was a nice gesture anyway. "I understand. Thanks." She felt a need to thank him for reminding her that letting him constantly absorb her power could ruin a part of her life and she wanted to be seen as a friend and not a power supply. Emmi suddenly felt the need to hug him but hung back, worried that he wouldn't accept such a thing so soon. "By the way, your level isn't as low as you think."

[Seth Turner]

She laughed and he mentally gave himself a point. The guilt was beginning to fade for scaring her. She wasn't as easily rattled as he had originally thought. At least, her bounce back time was quick. Seth let himself smile, let himself feel truly happy for just a split second. What was the harm of one moment? He shook his head at his bad joke, but she laughed anyway and she seemed happier as well. Maybe she was out of luck and friends just as much as he was. No. That was a preposterous thought. She was shy, that was obvious, but she was sweet and sincere. It was her first day and she just hadn't had the chance to make decent friends, she was too busy trying to save his sorry butt.

Seth shrugged his shoulders and smiled. "No problem." She shouldn't have to thank him for something like that. She should never have offered, but it was still nice to hear the concern in her voice. For whatever reason, she seemed to care and she understood his problem. His addiction was something he tried to keep under wraps, to prevent others from getting too close to his big secret. He'd rather be thought of as a jerk, because as much as he wanted to blame his addiction, he knew the truth. Seth just wasn't a great guy. He was the guy that mothers warned their daughters about. And that added with his gift, only made it ten times worse.

A grin claimed his lips at her comment. "Oh I know, I'm no where near as short as you." It was obviously a joke and Seth was sure she'd take it as such. He was just done with the moodiness and serious conversations. He was the guy who made the stupid comments just to get out of being serious. Of being honest. He straightened and looked down at her with a smile. "You might want to grab your stuff before someone decides it was left." Curiosity got the better of him. "Can you phase up through the ceiling? You know, if I give you a boost?"

[emily]

"Oh I know, I'm no where near as short as you." She smiled and rolled her eyes at his joke. "At least I don't bonk my head on ceiling lights." She laughed softly at her own joke.

"You might want to grab your stuff before someone decides it was left." She cringed slightly, knowing that he was perfectly right. And if a teacher didn't move it to the lost and found by now she was almost positive that some student had messed with it. "Crud . . ." Emmi had no idea as to how she was going to phase through the ceiling. It was so far up that even if she did stand on one of the pool tables she probably couldn't reach it.

"Can you phase up through the ceiling? You know, if I give you a boost?" She couldn't believe that she hadn't thought of that. Actually she could believe it, because she wasn't sure whether or not he would even oblige to such a suggestion. But now that he did offer it she was pleasantly surprised.

Emily took a step back, surveying how tall he was and trying to mentally stack herself on his shoulders. It appeared that it would work, sure it would look awkward and people would be staring at her but it would still do. The young girl bit her lip at the thought of so many eyes looking at her. But she tried to keep in mind that if someone took her homework she would be screwed. Not like she could say, 'Oh sorry I didn't have my homework. You see I was chasing this kid that I barely knew cuz he fell backwards in his chair. And I left my backpack cuz I'm too stupid to use the stairs like normal people.' Oh yeah, that would really impress her teacher.

"Okay, I guess we could try that . . . you better not drop me though." It was true that if she fell she could just phase through the floor, but she knew that below the game room lied the training facilities. And she did not want to risk accidentally ending up in the middle of a simulation room when someone was using it.

[Seth Turner]

"There is that." He agreed with a grin. Seth let out a quiet sigh, the power rush had left him feeling dead, empty for lack of a better way to explain it. He turned away from her, happy she was smiling and laughing again, but tired, too tired to continue much of a conversation. To begin with, Seth wasn't used to easy going banter, he was sarcastic and rude, that's just the way it was. If that wasn't draining enough, add on to the power crash, and he was just… done.

He tssked quietly, shooting her a look of reprimand. "You should watch your language, Emmi." He taunted her, a sly smile on his lips. It slipped off just as quickly. She seemed really worried, he hadn't meant to scare her about someone possibly jacking her stuff. Although maybe a part of it was that he really just needed her gone. He needed to be left alone for now. He could only keep up this nice, polite guy act for so long. It wore him out, and he had no energy left to spend on it. He just didn't want her around when he snapped, she had gotten enough of who he really was for one day.

Thankfully, she took his suggestion rather well. She looked happy that he had offered, though she seemed to want to determine for herself if he was actually tall enough for it to work. He grinned at her look of assessment as she stepped away from him. "Tall enough for ya?" He asked her with amusement ringing clearly in his voice. He laughed outright at her comment, shocked that she would be so candid with what she was thinking. "Who, me?" He asked her innocently, raising his eyebrows for added effect.

With ease, obviously not concerned of the people watching, he turned and hopped up onto a pool table. Maybe he wasn't tall enough to boost her all the way through the ceiling, but on the pool table, he figured he had the extra few feet that was necessary. Using the last of his energy, he collected his power, building a sort of mental gate around it. He reached out a hand, offering her help up. If he had a grip on his power, he wouldn't absorb hers, even if he touched her skin. "It's okay, I've got control. Hop up and you're going to step onto my hands and I'm going to boost you up. Just be ready to phase."

[emily]

"You should watch your language, Emmi." The young girl rolled her blue eyes at his little comment, but the smile never left her face as she was growing used to his sarcastic humor. Sure he was a bit of a basket case at times but at least he was trying to retain some control around her. Why he seemed to do this around her but not around everyone else she never knew but she was grateful for it.

"Who, me?" A small laugh escaped her as she responded. "Yes you . . . and that innocence isn't fooling me tall guy." A smirk crossed her face, but there wasn't anything unfriendly about it as she was merely mocking his sense of humor. Her shell of shyness had dispersed and her more outgoing side had begun to shine through.

Emmi watched him extend a hand towards her and she contemplated whether she should pull her jacket sleeve over her hands so that he wouldn't accidentally absorb her power. For if he absorbed her power when she was getting pushed up towards the celing, the shock could stun her and there was the possibility that she would forget to phase and get a concusion by hitting her head on the ceiling. "It's okay, I've got control. Hop up and you're going to step onto my hands and I'm going to boost you up. Just be ready to phase." Emily was about to insist that she cover her hand but the confidence he had over controling his power made her realize that if she refused to touch his hand he may start to resent her for not believing him. She honestly didn't even know that he could control his power as she figured that anyone he touched would have their power absorbed whether he wanted to or not.

But Emily eventually convinced herself that he could do it and grasped his hand. He placed his other hand slightly lower, allowing her to step up onto it. She rested one hand on his chest and placed her other hand on her knee so that she may remain steady. Emmi looked up at the celing above her, letting out a long breath as images of her hitting the celing and collapsing on the floor swarmed her mind. She shook her head in an effort to erase such images. "Okay . . . let's do this." Her muscles tensed, like a spring ready to release as she waited for him to push her upwards.

[Seth Turner]

It was nice to see someone having a good time, to smile and laugh and do things that Seth used to do with his best friends. His best friend, who Emmi reminded him so much of. He smiled at her with a shake of his head, her jokes amusing him just for the fact that she was willing to joke with someone like him, after seeing who he actually was. Who he would always be. There was no changing Seth, no matter how much someone wanted to. Seth was stuck the way he was, likely till the day he died.

Her hesitance to touch his hand was noted and maybe, from someone else, Seth would have been insulted. For how much she had already forgiven him, as a stranger, he felt he didn't have the right. She was justified in her wariness. After all, there was no mention before that he could control his powers. Maybe she thought that his powers reacted every time he touched someone. The good news was, that wasn't true, he could control them. The bad news, when his withdrawals got bad enough, he didn't try to control his power, he just let it all out. Finally though, she extended her own hand and he pulled her up easily, to stand beside him on the pool table. He cast a grin over at the people that were now staring at them, he winked, causing them to look away, embarrassed or unnerved, he didn't really care.

"Nervous?" He asked her with a teasing smile. She probably thought that he would stumble and she would either fall off the table, or be surprised and bang her head against the ceiling. That would suck, accidentally forgetting to phase when you run into something. He winced at the thought, but offered his hand to her again. She stepped onto it and once he was sure that she was firmly balanced, he allowed himself to straighten. He nodded his head, glancing over at her as if to check and see if she was ready. She spoke and her body tensed. Ready.

Bracing himself, he gripped her shoes and with a thrust, shoved her up towards the ceiling. She was small, even for her age, so getting her up there wasn't much of a problem. Especially with the added feet he received by standing on top of the pool table. "Later, Trouble." He called up to her.