AN: Prompts will be displayed at the bottom to avoid them potentially giving away things.
when life gets bad, please hold
AlwaysPadfoot
"Hogsmeade Village Reception, please hold."
"Hogsmeade Village Hotel, Lee speaking. Transferring you now."
"Hogsmeade Village Hotel, please hold."
"Hogsmeade Village Reception, Lee speaking. How may I help you?"
"Hogsmeade Village Hotel, please hold."
"Hogsmeade Village Hotel, please hold."
Sometimes Lee thought that there had to be something beyond the receptiveness of the night shift he worked six days a week. But then, in the back of his mind, he heard his mum yelling at him in Patois and telling him that he had to stay hidden — he had to stay safe. Lee knew it was silly to think that no one would find out what he could do if he started making a name for himself. His mum was right; it was best to stay out of sight and out of mind.
That being said, it was days like this, when he'd just worked a twelve-hour night shift, where he just wanted to run away.
Finishing at eight in the morning, Lee grabbed his bag from his locker and picked up a drink from the canteen before heading out into the blistering cold. It was days like this when he wished he could control the weather, or conjure fire. That would much more useful than telekinesis on a day like this. Walking fast towards the underground station, he slipped his headphones into his ears and let his music drown out the noise of the early morning commute. He'd long since learnt to cope with the London crowds and how to squeeze into small spaces on an underground carriage, but it never felt easier.
It felt as though there were even more people around today, perhaps because it was a Friday morning and all the tourists had started to pour in for the weekend.
Pressing his Oyster card to the turnstile, Lee slipped into the station and headed down the escalator. He got to the platform just in time to squeeze into the crowded carriage. Feeling the doors begin to shut behind him, Lee desperately tried to stay back so he didn't jam them. Someone suddenly slid through the closing gap and ended up pressed between Lee and the door.
He internally swore before looking up at the culprit, hoping for an apology. Lee found himself nose to nose with a beautiful girl who grinned at him weakly.
"I'm seeing how close I can cut it before I run face-first into the door," she quipped.
"You are truly playing a risky game," Lee responded.
This close to the girl, Lee could see all her freckles. He was suddenly grateful he was chewing gum, horrified by the prospect that his breath would smell.
"Well, I live life on the edge, hashtag YOLO and all that millennial shit," she said, unzipping her navy blue coat because it was already starting to get hot despite the freezing cold weather in the streets above them. "I'm Angelina."
"Lee," he responded, pulling out his hand from where it was trapped against the doors to offer his hand. "What do you do, Angelina?"
"I'm a writer, well, sort of," she replied, shaking his hand. "I write tweets for Virgin Rail at the moment; I'm still waiting for my big money-making idea."
"You just need a spark I suppose," Lee said.
"From the little spark may burst a mighty flame." Angelina put on a pompous voice and clearly quoting something. Upon noticing his confused look she added, "it's Dante."
Lee held his hands up. "Alright, nerd."
"Um, excuse me," Angelina replied. "I prefer genius."
They both laughed at that. Their conversation was interrupted at the next station people, pushing past them to get on and off. Angelina pulled a disgusted face at one particularly rude man who was bitching at anyone and everyone who dared get in his way. Unfortunately, that attitude wasn't uncommon when travelling on the tube — there was always an asshole.
"I fucking hate the tube," Angelina said, as they were pushed back together as the tube started to move again.
Lee let out a mock gasp. "Blasphemy! Don't let them hear you talking about them like that. They have ears everywhere."
"They?" Angelina raised an eyebrow. "Who's they?"
Lee leaned forward and beckoned her to move closer so he could whisper in her ear. She hesitated and then moved closed. As Lee leant in, he noticed that Angelina had a butterfly tattooed behind her ear. It was coloured blue and amber. He shifted, his mouth near her ear.
"The Mole People," he whispered.
Angelina choked back a laugh and punched him lightly. "For fuck's sake, you weirdo. I thought you were going to hit me up with some kind of sick conspiracy theory, not whisper the Mole People in my ear."
They both ended up laughing so hard that Lee got tears in his eyes and a stitch in his side.
He hadn't laughed like this in years.
They ended up adding one another on Facebook and as they reached Lee's stop he sighed, disappointed their meeting was so brief.
"You better message me; you're not allowed to forget me," Lee said as the doors hissed open.
"I'll never forget you. You're too weird."
Angelina grinned widely and Lee got caught in the crowd aligning the train before he could respond. He stuck a hand up as a goodbye and then moved with the flow of people towards the exit.
He was beaming the whole walk home. Angelina had been funny and beautiful and intelligent. Lee felt way out of her league entirely, but he didn't feel as though she'd taken pity on him when she engaged him in conversation, so that was a definite plus.
It had started to rain heavily by the time Lee reached the street his apartment was on. He picked up the pace so to not get completely soaked. Shaking off in the foyer, he took the stairs up to the second floor and fumbled for his keys as he did. As he opened his flat door he was starting to realise how exhausted he was. Greeted with a yowl from Pudding, his pudgy ginger cat, Lee scooped the creature up in his arms on his way to the kitchen.
"So I met this girl on the tube and we're not so different," he explained to Pudding. "Well, except I can move things with my mind and I can't even tell her. When did life get so fucking complicated?"
"When you started buying that cheap brand cat food; that shit is disgusting."
Lee jumped up of his skin, dropping Pudding, who landed on all fours with a thud. The cat looked wholly unimpressed and sat back, glaring up at him. Maybe he really was tired, exhaustion was making him think that his cat was talking to him; this was insane.
"You didn't actually just speak to me, did you?" he asked tentatively.
"I always speak, you just don't listen," Pudding retorted.
"What the fuck is happening?" Lee muttered, his eyes not leaving his feline companion as he reached for a glass from the cupboard. "Is this actually happening?"
"Is this really weirder than being able to move objects without touching them?"
"Yes!" Lee put a hand to his head to see if he was running a temperature before continuing. "Yes, it's very fucking weird."
Pudding leapt onto the counter in one fluid motion, brushing up against Lee — a movement synonymous with comfort — as he leant against the counter. Lee was either losing his mind, or he'd acquired the ability to communicate with animals. Honestly, he wasn't sure which scenario scared him more. Would he rather go crazy than be more of a freak?
He had to speak to his mother; she might know what was going on.
As if someone had heard, his phone started buzzing rapidly in his pocket. Fishing it from his pocket, Lee felt himself go cold as his eyes skimmed the Facebook messages that had popped up on the screen. They were from Angelina.
Lee, we need to talk.
I'm freaking out… u must be too.
Do u know whats happening bc I know not everyone knows?
Lee message me plz.
I know ur telekinetic and now u know what I can do. We need to talk asap.
I just stopped a bicycle from hitting me by accident and I'm scared, k.
Lee?
Lee, plz.
"What is it?" Pudding asked.
"The girl, from the tube, I think she knows what's going on — why I can suddenly talk to you," Lee replied shakily. "She's scared; this is bad. She knows about me; I don't know what to."
Pudding brushed against him again and the spoke steadily. "Take a deep breath and then ask her what she thinks has happened. Nothing else, just try and figure out as much information as you can before you admit to anything."
"Okay," Lee nodded, staring at his phone screen, before sucking in breathe through his teeth. "I can't believe I'm taking advice from my cat."
"It's the best advice you've got for now," Pudding responded matter-of-factly.
Lee took two more deep breaths, fear coursed through his veins, and then he slowly slid the last message across to respond. This was bad, but it was time to figure out what was happening.
And he was terrified.
Comps and Prompts
Romance Awareness: Day 7 - Everyone has superpowers, but when soulmates are together their powers are nullified by each other. - ALT - Everyone has powers, and when you meet your soulmate you swap powers. (Probably have to hang out with them to get pointers on your new powers)
LiM: Het - Lee/Angelina
IHC: 755. Job - Receptionist
365: 124. Event - First Meet
SC — Days of the Year — June 4 2018 - Hug Your Cat Day: Write about someone bonding with their cat.
SC — Summer Prompts — (dialogue) "I'll never forget you. You're too weird."
SC — Colour Prompts — Amber
SC — Elemental Challenge — (quote) "From the little spark may burst a mighty flame." - Dante
SC — Shay's Musical Challenge — 1. Dear Evan Hansen - Write about covering up your true self.
SC — Gryffindor Prompts — Easy: Lee Jordan / Medium: Angelina Johnson / Trait: Daring
WC — Character Appreciation — 17. (word) apology
WC — Disney Challenge — C4. George Banks - Write about someone overworked.
WC — Cookie's Crafty Corner — Needles: Write a het pairing.
WC — Book Club — Nick: (dialogue) "We're not so different.", (trait) risk taking, (colour) navy blue
WC — Showtime — 4. Hasa Diga Eebowai - (word) Blasphemy
WC — Amber's Attic — T1. Write about a transformation.
WC — CYB — W3. Freckles
WC — Em's Emporium — 18. Emily - Write about a writer or artist.
WC — Lo's Lowdown — C5. Spencer Reid - (word) genius
WC — Bex's Bazaar — D1. Dumbo - Write about someone making the best of a bad situation.
WC — Film Festival — 49. (object) butterfly tattoo
Word Count - 1550