Third Floor Common Room, Tuesday evening

[noteviltwin.livejournal.com]

Andy felt in need of an evening of tv and munchies, surprisingly without an afternoon of smoking preceeding it. So he was sitting on the couch with a large array of candy and chips spread out around him, flipping through channels and looking for something that would hold his interest for more than few minutes.

Comments

[noteviltwin.livejournal.com]

And another hot blonde. If he knew this was what the common rooms were like, he'd have decided to hang out here earlier.

"Hi," he said.

[tasenburn.livejournal.com]

"Hi," Elle said, giving him a finger-wiggly wave of one hand. "I'm Elle."

[noteviltwin.livejournal.com]

"Andy." He finger waggled back.

[tasenburn.livejournal.com]

"You're new, right?"

[noteviltwin.livejournal.com]

"Yep. Dad thought going to a boarding school might motivate me," Andy said. "You?"

[tasenburn.livejournal.com]

"Been here since the start of the second summer session," Elle replied. "My dad thought going here would help me learn to deal with people."

[noteviltwin.livejournal.com]

"People are easy," Andy said. He just suggested what he wanted them to do and they did it. "It's the whole rat race be bigger, better, richer than everyone else that I don't get. I mean as long as you have the basics, what else do you really need?"

[tasenburn.livejournal.com]

Elle shrugged a little uneasily. "Guess some people just think those things are the basics."

[noteviltwin.livejournal.com]

"Yeah, that would be my Dad," Andy said. "He's always going on about me needing to figure out what I want to do with my life."

[tasenburn.livejournal.com]

"Mine just keeps... trying to make me the best I can be," Elle said, sounding every bit as though she believed it. Sometimes she wondered, but... doubt was natural, right? Especially when you were tossed into a new situation. "It's nice being here, though. None of that damn training day after day."

[noteviltwin.livejournal.com]

Andy cocked his head to the side. "Training? Like, for the Olympics?"

[tasenburn.livejournal.com]

"No, like..." She trailed off. She'd talked openly enough about her powers, but being around Jean had taught her that you didn't always want to talk quite that openly. "Training to use my abilities. I'm... different."

[noteviltwin.livejournal.com]

That really got Andy's attention. "What kind of abilities?"

[tasenburn.livejournal.com]

She was trying not to be so showy, really she was, but he'd asked...

Which would explain the small ball of electricity suddenly appearing in the palm that she now held upright.

[noteviltwin.livejournal.com]

Andy sat up straighter and leaned forward to get a better look. "Wow. That's way cool."

[tasenburn.livejournal.com]

"Yeah, it kinda is," she agreed, grinning.

[noteviltwin.livejournal.com]

"I...uh...I kinda got abilities too," Andy admitted. "Nothing as flashy as that though."

[tasenburn.livejournal.com]

"Really?" Elle looked at him curiously, closing her hand to extinguish the ball o' electricity. "What can you do?"

[noteviltwin.livejournal.com]

"Um... I kinda... suggest," Andy said. "I could demonstrate if you promise not to freak out."

[tasenburn.livejournal.com]

Elle thought about it for all of a second.

"Go for it."

[noteviltwin.livejournal.com]

Andy took a deep breath and let his power flow into his voice. "You want to get up and go grab me a soda from the kitchen, Elle?"

[tasenburn.livejournal.com]

"Yeah, of course," Elle said. And with that, she was up and retrieving a soda for him.

[noteviltwin.livejournal.com]

Andy took the soda from her when she handed it to him, and waited for her to realize what had just happened.

[tasenburn.livejournal.com]

"Gyah, what the hell?" There was some hand-flailing in there, too. And then she settled down, thought about it, and grinned. "That is cool."

[noteviltwin.livejournal.com]

Andy relaxed and smiled widely at her reaction. "It really really is."