W.I.T.C.H.E.: Evolution
By: Sokai
Disclaimer: I, Sokai, do not claim ownership to the workings of W.I.T.C.H. - I leave that honor up to Elisabetta Gnone. Nor do I own Stan Lee and Jack Kirby's X-Men series franchise (even though this story isn't even really related to the series, at least not super super directly, anyway. Just don't want to hear law suit claims LoL). However, I can and DO claim to own this story and its inspired ideas FROM both series.
Note: 'No one' seems to enjoy bad guy heavy chapters, I see. LoL That is, I honestly didn't know what anyone thought about the previous chapter until just a few days ago, it'd been a 'Ghost Town.' =p That's all right, though; had to get the whole backstory for Courtney and Cornelia's formerly shared past out of the way, finally, plus also prominently feature Miranda at last, as well, so . . . there it was! =)
Sorry it couldn't have been more powers driven as you apparently wanted, though, Matt-Matt, but like I told you (I think LoL), they'll definitely be doing that a lottttt more within the near future, trust. =)
Anyhow, hope everyone enjoys this next chapter, while we continue to plow ahead toward the very fast approaching day of everyone coming together and kicking each other's asses, yay! =p
This chapter was created/written in April 2019.
Chapter Ten
"Don't you think this is a bit of overkill at this point, Elle? You'd already looked after me for the majority of yesterday, and now you're serving me breakfast in bed? I told you, it's just a tiny cold."
Although verbally protesting toward her best friend's incessant attentiveness for such a minor malady, on the inside Cornelia could about actually died, after all, she was that over the moon.
True, both she and Elyon had been known to more or less take turns whenever it came to taking care of the other throughout the years.
As incredibly close friends, it honestly wasn't anything new, nor truly surprising.
Cornelia supposed the only reason it might have been at present was the fact that she honestly was expecting majority of Elyon's focus this weekend to instead be about Caleb, either learning about his current condition, or finally letting loose on all the so called, sordid details of their first date. . . .
However, the rest of Saturday had come and gone without so much of a mere mention of him, as Elyon had instead dedicated herself one-hundred percent toward nursing the periodically sniffling and sneezing Cornelia back to full health.
In fact, overall, yesterday had gone off without an eventful hitch, thankfully, as all the students, not just themselves, needed a period of peace once more.
And although having been remanded onto campus grounds, Cornelia's fellow schoolmates had seemed to manage to find a way to entertain themselves in one form or another, just as Professor Kandrakar assured the full lot that they could.
In between checking on Irma, checking in with her grandmother, and sharing a quick lunch with the two blondes inside of the dorm room, Hay Lin had apparently taken Cornelia's place as the added guest to Will's renewed sleepover later on that Saturday evening.
"Take two," as Will had referred to it after she, too, had come to see how Cornelia was fairing, before further explaining that seeing as her first slumber party had been unavoidably interrupted the previous night, she may as well try again. "Especially now that I'll apparently have my work cut out for me within the near future, thanks to these extra training sessions you said both you and Elyon are now going to put me and Taranee through from now on. . . . May as well 'live it up' while I still can!"
It was certainly nice to witness Will having calmed down a great deal from that fateful meeting with Professor Kandrakar, but even more so to see her making a continual effort to further interact with her new housemates.
If only Elyon hadn't insisted upon quarantining Cornelia to her bedroom, or else Cornelia would have honestly enjoyed resuming within the interrupted festivities, as hanging out with Will really had turned out to be quite a bit of fun Friday night.
Hanging out with both Will, and Taranee.
And even though she, herself, was still secretly a tad bit on the fence about recently choosing to become a part of Professor Kandrakar's premiere X-Men, Cornelia didn't really believe that he was wrong to include both girls, the longer she thought about it.
Both really did have tremendous talent, and were clearly loyal and dedicated, to boot, if Friday evening's disaster had been any indication.
If Cornelia had to be in charge of training anyone, both as a Junior Professor and now, as a mutual teammate, then she'd certainly lucked out. . . .
"Yes, well, now, thanks to me, it'll be an even tinier cold come tomorrow when we head back to school! Don't forget, I know you incredibly well, Cornelia: Left up to you, you would have just carried on like it was no big deal, and not even bother with at least taking some medicine," Elyon smirked as she delicately placed the golden tray which carried Cornelia's breakfast down onto her lap. "Now, shush, and just eat up, already. I made sure to get all your usual favorites: Fruit salad, scrambled eggs, and apple juice, while I did make sure to throw in some of the oatmeal the kitchens were also serving, today."
"Bleh . . . one hundred points for the yummy food, but minusten for including disgusting oatmeal," Cornelia playfully wrinkled her nose as she carefully sat up while still cozily wrapped up within her bed. "So much for knowing me so well, huh?"
Elyon rolled her eyes before reaching out to retrieve the yellow cloth napkin which had been folded neatly off to one side of the breakfast tray, and then began tucking it into the top of Cornelia's nightshirt.
"Yeah, yeah, yeah, I get it. But right now you need something hearty, so no more complaining – About anything. You're stuck with me 'till you're well again, and that's that!"
Although Cornelia had nearly choked upon the sip of apple juice she'd taken right before her friend had begun placing the cloth inside of her shirt without warning, she somehow managed to bestow a tremendously appreciative smile onto Elyon, nonetheless.
". . . . Thanks, Elyon. I mean that," she murmured warmly, lowering her guard for just a moment in order to allow a tad more emotion to shine through onto her face. "I know that I obviously haven't made it very easy for you, even risking exposing you to my cold, at that. But . . . I do appreciate it, especially since you could be off, doing anything else. . . ."
Thankfully not appearing to catch Cornelia's double meaning, nor the honest look of adoration within her eyes, Elyon simply leaned back after having finished placed the napkin against her chest and chuckled.
"Well, considering we used to share a room together for years, worrying about me catching your cold now I've moved out is sort of silly. And besides, you're my best friend, Cornelia. I want to be here," she kindly remarked, reaching out to playfully squeeze one of Cornelia's covered legs before taking a seat on the bed. "Now, eat already, before everything gets too cold!"
Hesitating for a moment, now struggling to conceal her blatant embarrassment, Cornelia awkwardly cleared her throat before then doing as she was told.
After another minute or two of silence, allowing for her to properly enjoy the regularly delicious food, even including the oatmeal for once, Cornelia quietly piped up.
". . . . It's sort of funny, isn't it? I mean, how I'm now able to heal through my powers, yet here I am, unable to rid myself of something so simple as a cold. Better hope I don't catch one again during our upcoming future as X-Men, or else we'll be done for: 'Here Lies Cornelia Hale. Done in by Rhinoviruses,'" she stated with a halfhearted scoff as she openly poked fun at herself for a change, causing both girls to break out into a fit of laughter.
"M-Maybe, but even if that does happen, I'll be sure to deliver the best eulogy possible," Elyon teased right alongside her, before settling down as best she could and continued. "B-But no, really. You always, always do this, just as I've always, always said this. You're too critical of your own abilities, Cornelia! If it's meant to be, I'm quite positive you'll master self-healing in no time flat! Now will you stop? All this fretting is going to undo all my hard work!"
"Okay, okay, sorry! And you're right, I do do that, don't I? That I am . . . a tad on the serious side, I mean. Probably why my hopeful date on Friday fell through and -" Cornelia cut herself off too late, automatically slapping a hand against her lips as she realized her mistake.
What was the matter with her?
Just lately, she was positively incapable of keeping everything together and her true feelings toward her best friend carefully hidden away as they'd always been!
Maybe it's because I never had anyone to actively compete with before, she mused deplorably, lightly frowning to herself before immediately trying to repair the possible damage she might have just caused herself.
"O-Oh, God, I didn't mean – ! That is, I was just saying that -"
"- It's okay, Cornelia, really. Well, no . . . it's not okay, because like I said yesterday, whomever it was who stood you up obviously wasn't worth your time, nor knows what they're missing out on!" Elyon interrupted with a painfully sympathetic smile, tempting Cornelia to bury herself beneath her covers in order to fruitlessly spare herself any further shame. "H-Hey, I see that look! I'm serious! Take it from me, as someone who likes to believe they've been lucky enough to get to know the real you . . . true, you can be serious, but really only where it truly matters. I'd just call it being super mature for your age, that's all. And besides that, you're incredibly smart, talented, dedicated, painfully beautiful, and the list goes on and on!"
Cornelia unavoidably perked up at the last bit.
". . . . 'Painfully beautiful,' eh? Didn't know you found me so attractive that it just simply devastates you, there, Ellie," she couldn't resist teasing, almost flirting, if she was quite honest, though that usual brand of silly humor between them was thankfully commonplace.
Elyon didn't appear to catch the mild coquetry, all the same, as she simply waved a dismissive hand into the air and grinned.
"Surrre, sure. If it'll help stroke your ego, then -"
"- H-Hey, Elyon? You in there? It's Amara!" both girls suddenly heard an unexpected knocking upon Cornelia's sealed door, causing Elyon to nearly fall off the bed within brief alarm.
"A-Amara? Wonder what's the matter," she muttered within open wonder as Cornelia merely shrugged within response, before resuming her temporarily forgotten meal and Elyon quickly went to open the door.
"Yay! There you are! I honestly don't know why I didn't just check here first, before looking around a few of your other usual spots around the institute!" the Brazilian preteen stated cheerfully, though her naturally almond toned skin began to grow a tad plum colored as she blushed within obvious abashment.
Elyon, friendly as always, simply shook her head and smiled back within understanding, before opening Cornelia's door a bit wider in order to invite the younger girl inside.
"No problem, Amara, good morning! To be fair, I do have quite a bit of favorite places to hang out around here, so you never really do know where to find me! Want to come inside? Although, do be forewarned that Cornelia's come down with a cold, so be careful!" she stated with a renewed smile, at the same time that the Geothermic mutant leaned her body to one side to look past Elyon, and politely waved toward a smirking Cornelia within greeting.
"Aww, feel better soon, Cornelia! As fellow 'Geos,' we gotta look out for one another, right? You guys know how sick I feel whenever I'm away from the ground for too long . . . blech!" the brunette momentarily pouted with a slight shiver as she casually brought up one of the personal drawbacks to her particular gifts. "But, a-anyway! Sorry, but I actually only came to find you to let you know that you have a phone call, Elyon!"
"Me?"
"Her?" both blondes questioned at the same time, causing Amara to giggle within obvious amusement.
It wasn't to say that Elyon was friendless, as that was obviously far from the case.
It was simply that majority of said companions already resided within the same four walls as she did, so there was obviously very little need to telephone her.
It was also pretty much the main reason she'd never bothered to purchase a cell phone for herself, either . . . that, and because her mind was a personal communicative device all on its own, and far more powerful to boot.
"Mmhm! No idea who it is, but I can say that it's a boyyyy. . . ." the middle schooler teased in between continued, borderline childish tittering, before giving another quick wave of goodbye and scampered off back down the hall.
Both Cornelia, as well as Elyon seized up at the unexpected news, certainly for different reasons, as Cornelia completely abandoned all attempts at finishing her breakfast and instead poured all of her attention onto her best friend's next move.
Surprisingly, or, unsurprisingly, depending upon how it was looked at, Elyon didn't honestly know what to do at first, instead seemingly preferring to remain planted within the open doorway.
After a few moments, an honest eternity to Cornelia, however, Elyon promptly snapped out of her stupor and whirled around to look at the other blonde with confused, yet also undeniably excited eyes.
". . . . I-I think it might be Caleb!" she squeaked, practically vibrating within almost sickening jubilation, while Cornelia, on the other hand, forced herself to remain calm and simply smiled within support.
"I think that it is, myself," she stated casually, though her insides were knotting up with intermingling disappointment, as well as jealousy.
"W-Well, what do I do? Should I go answer him? How'd he even get the institute's number? A-And what about you? I should -"
"- Answer the phone, Elyon. I'll be fine, really. I'll just finish up my breakfast, and then maybe watch some television or something in the meantime, while you go and see what 'Lover Boy' wants," Cornelia cut the emotionally flustered girl off with another smile, this one a bit more stiff than the last, as she'd basically just kicked her out of her dorm room.
And if she possessed any sort of telekinetic abilities, herself, Cornelia quite honestly probably would have, before she could have stopped herself.
Not seeming to sense any underlining qualms about the recent development, Elyon couldn't help but giggle uncontrollably, as the actual fact that she was receiving her very first telephone call from someone of the potential boyfriend variety had clearly just sunk in.
"O-Okay! Well, then I guess I'll go take the call, see how he's doing, a-and then be right back!" she stated gleefully, waving goodbye before closing the door without another word, making a promise Cornelia already had the very strong distinction would ultimately be broken. . . .
". . . . H . . . Hello?"
"Hello, E-Elyon? It's Caleb! I'm really glad to hear your voice – Y-You know, after everything that'd happened on Friday," Elyon listened to Caleb gush within obvious relief, while she grinned uncontrollably into the receiver of the cordless telephone Amara had previously answered on her behalf.
Presently seated within the corner of one of the first floor's thankfully empty common rooms, Elyon had honestly taken far longer than originally intended before she'd finally picked up the phone.
She needed more than just a few seconds to properly collect herself, after all.
That, and she really did feel bad for basically leaving Cornelia high and dry like that, especially since she was still not feeling well, in addition to having once more opened up about her own so called love life just moments before Caleb had called.
It was certainly ill timing, to say the least.
Still, Elyon would have been lying if she hadn't been feeling positively beside herself with worry regarding the brunet's previously unknown fate up until that very moment, repeatedly kicking herself for never having bothered to exchange some kind of personal information with him in all that time.
It was honestly a good thing that Caleb was clearly resourceful, or else Elyon would have probably gone completely bald come Monday, thanks to all the hair pulling she'd been secretly performing whenever allowing herself to think about him. . . .
"C-Caleb, hi! H-Hello! How are you? How'd you get this number? O-Oh! I mean –!" Elyon regrettably heard herself blathering on like a complete buffoon, immediately placing an already sweaty palm to her face as she struggled not to scream within furthered mortification.
Thankfully, Caleb didn't appear to mind, as she instead listened to him softly chuckle within what sounded like honest nervousness of his own.
"H-Heh, heh . . . yeah, um. . . . I'm real sorry to just up and call like this, unannounced, but after we'd scarily gotten separated Friday and I was forced to stay back and made to go home by the authorities whom were there at the time, I'd realized that I never got the chance to ask for your number or anything like that to check in on you," he quietly explained, before slowly picking up steam. "But then, thankfully, I remembered hearing that both you and your friend Cornelia live at that private school near 'Bayville High,' so I took a chance to see if I couldn't find its phone number online, like a general directory or something – Y-You know, for parents or whomever thinking of enrolling their kids there. Either way, it was worth a shot since . . . since, you know, I didn't really want to have to wait until tomorrow to find out whatever happened to you. . . ."
Elyon felt herself becoming quite possibly as hot as Amara's entire body literally became whenever fully activating her magma based abilities, she was that flustered.
She honestly didn't really know how to answer Caleb's open show of genuine concern, and so instead regrettably heard herself merely hum out a soft, "Mmm . . . mmhmm. . . ."
Understandably perplexed, perhaps even put off by the girl's lackluster response, Caleb nonetheless continued.
". . . . Eeeyeah, um . . . well, a-anyway! After initially getting an automated voice message filled with directory options, before then just going with the best one, some stern sounding woman picked up. She started quickly mumbling some stuff away from the phone, I think about how the school's number wasn't meant for 'teenage gossiping,' and . . . yeah. Here you are, thankfully," he finished with a small exhale against the receiver on his end, before growing silent as he clearly waited for a more substantial response this time around.
Somehow pushing through her ongoing sheepishness, Elyon forced an awkward giggle past her dangerously parched lips as she began to apologize.
"O-Oh, sorry about that, Caleb! That was . . . was probably Professor Starlighter who'd answered. She, uh . . . hah, hah . . doesn't really have the best patience for these kinds of things," it was her turn to explain with a nod to no one in particular, before taking a deep breath in order to better steel her emotions. "B-But, really, though . . . thank you for calling. I really do appreciate it, Caleb. . . ."
"Heh, yeah, no problem, Elyon. And see? At least, in the end, I did manage to find you, after all," a smile clearly sounding within Caleb's voice as he responded, doing what Elyon could only wonder if it was meant to be flirting.
Was it?
She was trying so hard not to overly read into every little thing Caleb did or said, that it was honestly like enduring hours of Danger Room exercises, back to back, she was feeling that strained!
Once their conversation inevitably ended (preferably straight until curfew, perhaps), Elyon really was going to have to finally seek professional help regarding better understanding the ins and outs of the dating scene.
Until then, swallowing hard, Elyon then took the very nerve wracking opportunity to flirt back by stating, "Y-Yes, you did . . . although m-maybe I should give you my email address, so that you'll never be able to lose me again. . . ."
Elyon wished that she could somehow eat her own face the very moment silence swiftly descended upon both sides after that.
What was she thinking?
Of course Caleb hadn't been flirting with her earlier!
It was just general concern anyone else within his position would have had!
How could she been so st –
". . . . U-Um, well . . . in that case, how about we go even further, and I make everything up to you by taking you out to a movie, or something this week? T-That is, only if you want to, I mean," Caleb unknowingly interrupted Elyon's private misery as he nervously asked her out once more, utterly taking her aback as a result.
"T-That . . . I mean, that was unexpected," she openly confessed before she could stop herself, biting down hard onto her bottom lip as she thankfully listened to Caleb release a breath he'd evidently been holding onto and gaily chuckled.
"Well, yeah, s-sure! Why not? Our last date ended . . . incredibly poorly, for obvious reasons, so technically we can't even really count it," he explained after calming down, though his blatant eagerness encouraged Elyon to partake within a few giggles, herself. "And besides, I'd still like to get to know you, and I feel I barely got to as a result. So . . . what do you say? I have MMA – Er, 'Mixed Martial Arts' every Monday, Tuesday, and Thursday, so I can definitely swing this coming Friday, again if you're free, too."
Elyon had to pause a moment, as she genuinely had to think about it.
Her answer was most definitely yes, hands down; however, in light of recent events, she wondered if she'd even be allowed to go out anywhere besides school by week's end.
Would any of her fellow housemates?
After all, Oracle had already dashed the planned hopes for several of his students for this weekend, alone, although understandably.
Elyon had to wonder what the overall 'weather' would be like this coming week as the dust slowly began to settle a bit more properly.
Plus, besides all that, there was the added fact that she now had even more responsibilities to contend with, coupled with her own extra training, alongside.
Would now really be the best time to start dating, if that's really the direction Caleb was attempting to lead the two of them?
Still . . . what harm could one little date do?
As far as 'Disastrous Dates' go, Elyon would have to say that she'd already gotten that milestone out of the way in spades, at the risk of making light of Friday evening's catastrophe.
After all that, there was really no place else to go but up.
And so, taking a deep, honestly shaky breath, Elyon happily accepted.
"N-No, Friday sounds great, Caleb! I'd love to see a movie with you, thanks! I, uh . . . I heard from some of my housemates that two really interesting ones just released this weekend, actually," she replied with a smile, gazing toward the nearby window at the habitually peaceful scenery of that sunny Sunday morning.
"Yeah, so did I! I think one of them's a rom-com or something like that, while the other's the latest installment to that huge superhero franchise that's been going on the past few years, actually," Caleb concurred with doubled interest, as they were clearly touching upon a particular topic he could get behind with ease. "Personally, I've been kinda waiting for it to come out. The superhero movie, I mean. But, uh, obviously, I'll go see whichever one you choose, though!"
Having a vague idea of which series Caleb was presently on about, Elyon truthfully hadn't any interest within watching paid actors merely pretending they each possessed superhuman abilities.
Her every day life was basically a superhero movie, after all, especially after Friday night.
Heck, especially after yesterday afternoon, when Irma even outright labeled Elyon and their mutual friends precisely that.
Something much more subdued and potentially relaxing would definitely be the way to go . . . however, hearing the effortless enthusiasm behind Caleb's voice to clearly forgo the romantic comedy made Elyon unable to burst his bubble.
"U-Uh, sure! We can go see that one! I have to admit, though, that I've never before seen any of the preexisting ones, but this one still really caught my eye!" she somehow managed to lie with an awkward giggle, silently praying she hadn't given herself away.
Caleb didn't seem to notice, thankfully, as he, too, softly laughed before responding.
"You sure? I mean, I really have no problem watching the rom-com, though. But, all right, cool! So, um . . . I guess I'll just pick you up at your school this Friday around seven or so, now that I know that you for sure definitely live there!" he stated joyfully, before the pair then exchanged email addresses and a few more words before finally hanging up.
Upon doing so, Elyon initially needed a few moments to herself once again, this time in order to come back down from the high which had been that overall conversation.
Before she knew it and could even stop herself, she suddenly began to slowly float clear off of the couch she'd been sitting on via her telekinesis, as if within some sort of clichéd work of fiction.
"Yeah, and then she totally – ! E-Elyon, that you? You okay, there?" Elyon suddenly heard Jubilee call out from behind, causing her to fall abruptly back down onto the couch with a heavy thump.
"O-Oh, hey! Hey, yeah, hi, Jubilee! I was just, uh . . . doing some levitation exercises! But I'm done, and so now I'm gonna go, see ya!" Elyon quickly blurted out within sheer humiliation, hopping out of her seat and nearly plowing the older teenager over as she passed and headed toward the exit.
"U-Um . . . 'kaaay. . . .? Laters!" Jubilee replied within blatant perplexity and a soft smile, before then promptly resuming the cell phone conversation she'd previously been carrying on within.
Maybe it was about time Elyon finally invested some of her saved allowance into a mobile device of her own, after all, if only it would mean no longer being roundly embarrassed any time Caleb, or any other boy for that matter, might call for her within the near future!
She knew that it was going to happen.
She wasn't a rookie guidance counselor, naturally.
Plus, there had been the added, 'lovely' bonus of the quick faculty meeting earlier on that Monday morning letting her know that it'd be happening.
Even the school assembly which had been conducted in lieu of an actual first period had also given her an even more blatant head's up.
Still, Nerissa didn't think all the foresight in the world could have prepared her for how terribly boring her day was going to become.
It wasn't even fourth period yet, and already she wanted to positively claw her eyes out . . . or, better yet, temporarily pop her eardrums so that she'd have the legitimate excuse of no longer being able to listen to any more children whine and moan about their feelings.
In fact, the only reason Nerissa hadn't called in sick today, knowing that she'd be saddled with double duty as a safe space for her assigned students, was because she had her own agenda to tend to . . . one which would hopefully make enduring her generally painful vocation a tiny bit bearable. . . .
". . . . and that's really it, I guess, Miss Crossnic. I just . . . I just can't get it all out of my head. I mean, if I hadn't snuck out to go see the concert with my boyfriend, instead of staying home grounded, then I wouldn't be plagued with all these nightmares about the explosion," Nerissa tuned back in in time to hear the tale end of her student's dramatic spiel, looking up from her admittedly doodled upon clipboard placed upon her desk in order to lock eyes with the skinny brunette.
This one was an absolute, emotional wreck on the whole, so there was really no wonder she was now experiencing night terrors over the previous danger of Karmilla's derailed rock concert.
All the same, Nerissa desperately wished that she could for once speak the complete, unabashed truth to all of her students, not just this one, and simply inform them that they were morons.
Every last one of them.
Every single day there was something else going on, and if Nerissa wasn't more or less 'fixing' the one thing, another one would pop right up in its place!
Granted, this time around, there could be a bit of credit given toward Melissa's honest neurosis, having experienced such obvious terror, and all.
Still!
Having to sit there and pretend to not only give a damn, but to actually provide some form of consoling solution (which the younger girl now clearly expected) was just too much!
At this rate, Nerissa was certainly likely to develop a complex of her own . . . not honestly.
Today just better be the day where she'd finally have what she'd need to be done with this ongoing, quite vile facade once and for all. . . .
"Mmhm . . . that sounds, uh . . . very, very intriguing, Melissa. Alarming, that is. Alarming," Nerissa corrected her initial description upon catching sight of Melissa's mortified stare at her seat across from her. "It is . . . perfectly natural to suddenly feel so helpless after such an understandably traumatizing event. Perhaps you could sit down with your parents later this evening and talk to them about all of this, as well, in addition to apologizing for having disobeyed them in the first place. . . . And then, in the meantime you can continue to give those college applications I'd given you last week some more thought, yes? All right!"
"W-Well, okay, I will, but I really feel like I have much more to unpack and -"
"- Wonderful! I'll have to see you another time, though, dear, as we're out of time! You're not the only one who'd nearly perished this past weekend, after all!" Nerissa quickly interrupted the emotionally rattled senior as she promptly stood from her desk, and began ushering her out of her office. "Just try to smile, breathe, keep calm and carry on and all that, yes? Have a good day, now!"
Nerissa heaved a great sigh of relief to finally be rid of that one, if only for today, as she quickly sealed the door to her private office.
They really didn't pay her enough for this.
Craning her head in order to look at the clock hanging directly above her, it now read fifty-nine minutes after nine, making it only two minutes until the bell rang, signaling the end of third period.
Perfect timing, indeed.
While she didn't expect them to be prompt (as they honestly never were for many of their general classes, nor previous appointments), Nerissa did still expect both Uriah and Laurent to show up, full stop, as she had also directly summoned Kurt to accompany them, alongside, knowing having done so would naturally make it within their best interest to make an appearance.
Besides the main fact that Kurt, at least, wasn't even assigned to Nerissa as a student, given that his last name was further down the alphabet, thanks to Sienna Nerissa had preexisting insight into the trio's present dilemma . . . one she was, for once, only too happy to assist with. . . .
The sleek, black colored office phone perched upon the usual corner of Nerissa's meticulously pristine desk surprisingly began to ring a few minutes later, nearly precisely at the same time that the school bell had, concluding third period.
"Hmm . . . well this is certainly a first," Nerissa murmured to herself with a devilish, amused smirk as she casually sauntered over toward the telephone, already knowing the reason Debra, one of the school's administrative assistants would be phoning. "I see the guilt of what you'd done has prompted you boys to be on time for a change. . . ."
"Hello, yes, Miss Crossnic? Your ten o'clock appointment is here," the blonde woman stated within her usually chipper voice as soon as Nerissa answered the phone, further confirming what she'd already suspected. ". . . . And not a moment too soon, the poor things. Mister Van Buren looks positively petrified."
Nerissa honestly had to stifle a bit of laughter at this, feeling all the more confident that this would be a cakewalk.
"M-Mmm . . . I understand, thank you, Debra. You may send them in," she purposefully cleared her throat in order to mask her temporary lack of professionalism, before hanging up the phone and clasping her hands together as she continued to stand beside her desk.
She honestly didn't have to wait long, as mere seconds later the door to her office opened, and barreling in came Uriah, Laurent, and a positively drenched Kurt bringing up the rear.
Insufferably sweet and well meaning as always, Debra could have at least warned Nerissa of the immensely suffocating stench the young man was regrettably emitting.
If she'd ever learned of his mutant identity, that woman would actually probably more so sympathize with, rather than fear Kurt, even Nerissa had to admit . . . although once her plans progressed to full fruition, none of that would honestly matter, anyhow.
Immediately struggling not to vomit, Nerissa forced a tight smile onto her face as she did her best to convey the usual put on air of comfort and concern.
". . . . G-Good morning, boys. Quite prompt today, aren't we? Please . . . do have a seat. I was . . . just about to open up a window, as it's such a lovely day so far," she greeted in between labored breaths, waving her hand toward the powder blue colored couch hugging the wall next to the door.
Practically sprinting toward the large window behind her, Nerissa then did her best to leisurely lift it up as she resisted leaning toward the newfound opening in order to take a deep breath of blessed fresh air.
"Good . . . morning, Miss Crossnic. The guys and I really didn't want to . . . waste even a moment of 'letting it all out,' so we came straight after class," Nerissa listened to Uriah respond as casually as he could, assuming leadership amongst the trio, like always.
Clever lad . . . surprisingly, she couldn't help but muse upon hearing the redhead's given excuse for being on time for his appointment. More likely you did not wish to draw even an ounce of suspicion toward yourselves regarding this particular matter . . . though doing so has ironically resulted within the opposite effect. . . .
"U-Uh, um . . . r-right, that's right! But, I, um . . . d-don't really get why I was asked to come, too . . . s-since Mister Lanskey is my guidance counselor," Kurt stammered out uncontrollably as Nerissa turned back around to face the three increasingly nervous looking boys now seated before her, observing Uriah's futile attempts to discreetly nudge at his drenched companion's side in order to silence him.
Showtime. . . . Nerissa thought with a faintly entertained smile to herself, before then proceeding to deliver the best performance of sympathy she'd executed in quite a while.
"O-Oh, just look at you, clearly so beside yourselves over the sheer tragedy of this past Friday! Here, Kurt, please! Have some water," she gasped within feigned alarm as she carefully lifted the clear pitcher of chilled water, which was always kept upon her desk for the benefit of her students each day, and poured a fresh glass for the now trembling boy. "This is precisely why Principal Knickerbocker has urged that we set up these extra meetings this week, so that each of you can feel completely safe and let out any sort of confusion, fear or . . . what have you. And, to answer your question, young Kurt, I'd already spoken with Mister Lanskey prior to scheduling this meeting, and explained that I'd felt that it might help you . . . confess your emotions better about everything if you were with two of your closest friends at the same time. . . ."
Uriah promptly spoke up at this, clearly not wishing to take any chances that neither one of his companions would screw something up, yet ironically nearly gave them all away, himself, as he did so.
"Y-Yeah, okay, but we weren't even there, though! I-I mean, like . . . we didn't see nothin' o-or y'know, blow anything up or whatever," he remarked defensively as both Laurent and Kurt immediately gazed at him incredulously with widened eyes, before he, too, appeared as though he very much wished to jump out of Nerissa's now open, second floor window.
Nerissa couldn't help but raise an intrigued eyebrow at this.
"Mmhmmm . . . I see. Rather specific train of thought there, wouldn't you agree, Uriah? That is, of all the things to say as we now open up the floor for discussion," she commented casually as she moved closer and handed the cool glass of water to a clearly grateful Kurt, whom already swiftly downed more than half of the liquid before Nerissa had even made it back to her desk to take a seat.
"N-No, like, um – ! I'm thinking that Uriah's just trying to say that the three of us couldn't possibly be strong enough to take out a gigantic place as that amphitheater had been, Miss Crossnic!" Laurent at last piped up to put in his undoubtedly unwanted two cents, as he usually, as Nerissa periodically observed, would create more harm than good as a result.
"C-Clubber!" Uriah cried out uncontrollably, at the same time that Kurt spat out the renewed bit of the water which had been within his mouth, causing it to disgustingly dribble down his continually perspiring chin.
Nerissa shivered within repulsion at the sight right as she was finally about to sit down, before managing to recollect herself long enough in order to hand the box of tissues (which were also on usual standby) upon her desk toward the purple haired teenager, as she once again made her way back over to him.
. . . . To hell with this, she thought as her naturally impulsive nature swiftly took control, choosing to forgo her original plan of 'Patience and Kindness,' and instead got right to the point.
"All right, listen, and listen well. I have it on good authority that what has been reported on the news thus far about the accident isn't really the case," she stated impatiently as she practically shoved the box of tissues into Kurt's outstretched hand, though she did her best not to make physical contact lest she, too, then regrettably become covered within his putrid odor. "Yes. Point in case, I believe that Mister Hampton here was onto something for a change . . . because I personally believe that you three were 'strong enough' to destroy that amphitheater. . . ."
Thoroughly unprepared for the recent turn of events, especially suddenly witnessing his guidance counselor behave within any other manner than her usually subdued and pleasant like demeanor, Uriah did his best to remain absolutely calm as he swiftly fired back with, "R-Right, sure! Because I'm so sure you have proof of anything! W-Which, of course, isn't even me saying we had anything to do with anything, or were even there, like I already said!"
Sighing within dramatic effect, Nerissa then cleared her throat as she'd already composed herself, moved toward the door of her office in order to mysteriously lock it, before turning back around and bestowing onto her students the most chilling smile they'd have ever seen.
". . . . You'd like some proof, my dear Uriah? Well, then . . . so be it," she nearly whispered, the smile upon her face growing as her gray eyes, in fact the entire sclerae of each suddenly began to glow a bright, brilliant hue of teal . . . at the same time that the now balled up fist of her right hand did the very same.
Before any boy could somehow find his voice again, the suddenly revealed to be a mutant Nerissa thankfully then directed her attention toward the pitcher of water still set upon the edge of her desk . . . and then, without warning, released a medium sized sphere of energy from out of her now outstretched palm.
Both Kurt, and especially Uriah let out an incredibly startled yelp at the sight, much as he had done upon having witnessed the initial collapse of Bayville Lakeview Amphitheater.
"O-Oh!" Uriah squealed unreservedly, practically jumping onto an equally fearful Laurent's lap as all three friends watched as Nerissa's bluish white colored energy ball made direct impact with the glass pitcher, causing it to mercilessly shatter into several pieces as a result.
Although half of her office was now a complete mess, something she normally could not tolerate, Nerissa evidently felt the need to drive the point home even further, regardless.
Before the now broken handle could even finish its steady trajectory toward the floor, she then demonstrated her expert precision of her ability by suddenly shooting a literally piercing beam straight from out of her still glowing eyes, causing the falling glass to split in half before then breaking completely against the ground. . . .
". . . . H-Holy -"
"- Aether, actually, to be more precise. 'Aether Ball Projection,' one of the much, much more tremendously advanced forms of Electrokinesis, of which I so clearly possess," Nerissa at last attempted to explain, as both her eyes and hand promptly ceased within glowing, returning to normal very much like her overall demeanor, scarily enough.
She was about to press on when there came a sudden knock on the door behind her which, through her haste within exposing all four of them, her students included, as mutants, admittedly hadn't paused to consider what a natural commotion having done so would cause.
"H-Hello, Miss Crossnic? Is everything all right in there? I thought that I'd heard something break, a-and some screaming!" Nerissa exhaled heavily as she listened to Debra's understandably concerned voice ringing out from behind the sealed door, before Nerissa forced a smile of appreciation upon her face as she unlocked and opened the door.
"H-Hmm? Oh, oh! Yes, everything is quite fine, thank you Debra! What you'd evidently heard was actually a bit of a private, emotional breakthrough for one of the boys, here, you understand. And my pitcher, unfortunately, had simply paid the price as a result," she effortlessly explained away with a continued smile as she carefully poked her raven colored head outside of her now partially opened door.
She didn't consider herself to be a master manipulator for nothing.
True to form, Debra, appearing to buy into the excuse, quickly nodded and smiled within relief as she then asked, "O-Oh! Thank goodness! I mean, that no one is apparently hurt physically, of course! Would . . . Would you like me to come in and help clean up, or -"
"- No, no, I have it, thank you! You know how I prefer not to be disturbed during my appointments, especially during particularly vulnerable moments as this. That will be all," Nerissa promptly shot the other woman down, laying on thick the notion of gratitude even further by even going as far as reaching out to place a hand upon Debra's shoulder before closing her office door once more.
". . . . W-Wow. And I-I thought that I was pretty good at playing the other teachers," Uriah breathed within an honest hodge-podge of awe, as well as lingering fear over everything which had just transpired within the last several minutes, alone.
"Y-Yeah . . . I can't believe, like, we've been comin' to our guidance counselor and making up random stories just to get her off our backs for always 'checking in on us,' a-and it turns out this entire time that she's a mutant like us!" Laurent quietly agreed, although his voice became a bit less nerve wracked as the unexpected realization continued to properly sink in.
Nerissa nearly informed the incredibly large lad that she was absolutely nothing like any one of them, before somehow managing to catch herself in time, as she had to keep reminding herself that she'd catch far more flies with honey.
So instead, she merely began to chuckle.
"Hm, hm, hm! That we are, Laurent, that we are! So you see, you've really nothing to fear over what you'd accomplished on Friday evening! Certainly not from me!" she stated with a firm shake of her head, before carefully moving around the shards of glass and growing puddle of water on the floor, then stopped in order to stand beside the now innocently grinning, bulbous blonde. "Why, in fact, I think what you'd each done was nothing short of amazing! I'm serious! As you'd already pointed out, that amphitheater had been rather sizable – Certainly competently built, to be sure – and yet, regardless, your combined strength had been enough to completely demolish it! If I were you, I would not be sweeping this fact underneath the rug; I would be celebrating it. . . ."
Pausing for a moment, Uriah was apparently the next to be brought around, promptly flipping his originally firm stance of keeping quiet as he slowly began to smirk before remarking, ". . . . H-Hey, yeah. Yeah! That's true, though, isn't it? A-And I mean, no one got hurt and we were never caught – W-Well, except by you, somehow, clearly – so what would be the harm in owning it? At least, between the three of us, anyway! Right, you guys?"
This did not sit well with Kurt within the slightest, however, as he, still clenching onto his temporarily forgotten glass of water practically for dear life, promptly shot up to his feet.
"W-What? Are you kidding me? Uriah, this whole time you've been giving me and Clubber such a hard time about not cracking, a-and just acting like the concert never even happened, and now you're doing both in one fell swoop?" he cried within utter disbelief, Nerissa privately feeling momentarily impressed by the boy's apparent backbone and mild common sense. "I-I'm sorry, Miss Crossnic! This doesn't have anything to do with you, o-or your . . . being a mutant in secret this whole time like us, but I just think this whole thing is completely crazy!He's crazy!"
"O-Oh! I'm crazy? Who's the one who was right there with me, wanting to get back at those bi – E-Er, girls for turning us down as dates, hmm? That's right, pal! You were! I didn't twist your arm in joining me and Clubber in that prank," Uriah heatedly shot back, he too abruptly rising to his feet and actively pointing an accusatory finger toward his pungent friend.
Kurt stuttered incredulously at this for a few seconds, before then gritting his teeth and choosing to continue to boldly stand his ground.
"W-Wha –? Yes, you did! You completely egged me on, just like you always do, and convinced me that a 'little stink bomb' would be harmless! Well, lookit what it's done! Good job, stupid!"
Nerissa had to hold back her renewed laughter, she was honestly enjoying the ongoing spectacle, as both boys freely continued to dig themselves deeper and deeper into the hole they still hadn't any clue they'd fallen into.
Instead, she merely took a step back and calmly walked over to her desk, before at last taking a seat onto her still dry, and incredibly comfortable leather chair.
It was, after all, still technically a part of her every day job description, 'helping' her students through their problems, be it academically, or even sometimes personal.
And boy, was this ever shaping out to be personal.
"Hey! Don't call me stupid, nitwit! If anything, you should blame Clubber, if you wanna point fingers! Talk about stupid, it's his fault the entire place went down, thanks to his freakish super strength! If he hadn't slapped us both on the back the way that he had, we never would've had our powers fire off like that on their own!" Uriah barked as he continued to glare daggers at his rebelling minion, instead choosing to shift gears within his blame game in attempts to lure Kurt back onto his side.
While normally generally going with the flow, as Uriah clearly expected the dumbest of the bunch to continue doing, Laurent ended up completely blindsiding him as his massive girth slowly, yet menacingly rose from off of the couch, as well.
A deep scowl now firmly planted upon his face, he then quickly reached out in order to effortlessly pluck both Uriah, and Kurt from off of the ground with each hand.
"What was that you said about 'stupid,' Uriah? I ain't as smart as the sharpest crayon in the lunchbox, but I do know what happens to things that go squish," Laurent surprisingly defended himself, the first time in none of them even knew how long (or, if ever, really), their overall dilemma evidently not completely lost on him as originally perceived . . . in spite of continuing to openly display his own mutant abilities directly in front of his previously unassuming guidance counselor. "So I ain't about to go down for this whole thing, alone, either! If I go down, you do too!"
"Mmm . . . despite the fact that you presently have them dangling back and forth within your arms like decorative wind chimes, yes," Nerissa couldn't help but openly note with a growing smirk, drawing her hands back together within continued amusement, before feeling that the trio had blown off enough steam for the time being. "Quite the impressive amount of strength you have there, though! I can now better understand how you all could have blotted out that amphitheater, based upon your collective venting . . . and besides hoping that you now each feel a bit better letting it all out – Because remember, this is still very much a safe environment – I am positively even more impressed, if you can believe it!
"In fact, at the risk of boasting a bit, myself, I am probably one of the only members of faculty here who truly can understand how very special you boys are, and of the equally special feat you'd achieved. You see, before Bayville, I used to work, as well as live at 'Kandrakar's School for Gifted Youngsters' many years ago. . . . I'm sure, by now, you boys might be aware of what it's . . . really about, yes?"
Thankfully already calming down, Laurent absently released his companions as he carelessly dropped them back onto the couch, before all three then listened with intrigued attentiveness toward the news.
"A-Ah! Geez, Clubber. . . . I, uh, we, I guess, do know about that school, kinda, yeah, Miss Crossnic. I mean, how it's basically just a mutant school, all out in the open and what not like that," Uriah momentarily squeaked after having been thrown down onto the couch, before quickly recomposing himself and attempted to reclaim even the smallest measure of the control he'd honestly never really possessed in the first place. "And then, from what the guys and I have heard from kids who used to live there, or were thinking of but didn't for whatever reason, one of the biggest kickers is that the teachers teach all about how mutants are supposed to be using their powers to help people. . . . Y-Yeah, yeah . . . and what else. . . . Oh! Right, and how, basically like, one of these days we'll all be exposed to the world and junk, so like, by helping out and all that, we'll be able to live peacefully, side by side like normal."
Nerissa slightly tilted her head at this, and faintly smiled.
Perhaps this was going to be even easier than she thought, as her previous suspicions regarding Uriah's own personal philosophy toward the eventual coexistence between humans and mutants appeared to be spot on.
". . . . And I take it, then, that you don't really agree with that?"
Uriah merely shrugged as his initial response, lazily beginning to tap his foot against the tiled floor, at the same time that he stuck a finger into one of his naturally large ears.
"Meh! I don't really care what that place does, to be honest. My parents thought about sending me there way back when, but I was just like, pfft! It's whatever, y'know?" he replied with a heavy scoff, now aggressively cleaning out his right ear with his bony finger. "But, fine, I mean, since we're all being so 'share-y' right now, if you got right down to it: No, then, I'd much rather stand out and take charge, instead of be treated like 'everyone else.' I mean, I'm already not, anyway, right? I can shoot spikes from out of my body, for cripe's sake! Spikes which, I might add, I saw slice clean through a metal-freaking-beam on Friday! I-I – ! I-I didn't even know they could do that, okay? So, y'know! Stuff that, wanting to just blend in with all the normies!"
Nerissa bit down onto her lip as she did her best to ignore the giant chunk of dried earwax which was just then plucked from out of Uriah's ear, as she then turned her attention onto a now deathly quiet Kurt.
"And you, Kurt? Is that how you feel, as well?"
Nearly jumping out of his skin, clearly not prepared to be directly addressed regarding the matter, slowly licked his woefully parched lips as he peered down at the now empty glass of water he'd somehow managed to maintain a hold of in all that time.
"I-I . . . feel like I could go for about twenty jugs of water right about now, for starters," he stated honestly before continuing, privately forcing himself to just pretend that he was simply back within one of his regular therapy sessions . . . although, for once, deciding to take a chance and reveal precisely everything which was always on his mind regarding his particular mutant 'talents.' "B-But . . . I also feel . . . that I've had it up to here with being a mutant! O-Or, well . . . not honestly that, but just all the downsides to what I can do, anyway. I-I'm tired of everyone pointing a-and laughing, and of my having the ability to basically part the hallways within seconds all because I have an uncontrollable stench! I-I'm tired of having to just sort of grin and bear it, while also being forced to pretend that I'm just the smelly fat kid who doesn't know how to take a shower! A-And I'm really tired of being shot down by every girl I dare to try asking out – Even some of the normally pretty nice, and so called accepting ones – all because she's afraid that I'll just sweat all over her before we even make it out of her house on our would be first date!
"I'm just . . . tired of taking it, and tired of apologizing for something I can't even change! . . . . I-In fact, now that I think about it, the only thing I'm really sorry for is that I can't do more of what I'd done with Uriah and Clubber on Friday! W-Well, not the whole causing reckless property damage, maybe, b-but using my powers the way that I did, and out in the open! It may have been an accident, but for once I didn't have to hide, just like Uriah said! E-Even now, right now, just finally letting everything out like this is great since my normal therapist isn't a mutant, and so he naturally can't know about everything. So . . . I may not honestly have much of an opinion about what that school's overall message is shootin' for, either, but I do know that if that day ever comes, I don't want to be pushed aside anymore – Especially not then. . . ."
Much to both Kurt's, as well as Nerissa's complete surprise, not only did neither Laurent nor Uriah attempt to make some sort of joke at the clearly emotionally vulnerable boy's expense . . . but Nerissa, herself, actually began to experience a genuine moment of sympathy toward him.
Hearing Kurt open up and still very clearly trust her overall intentions implicitly almost made her feel minutely reluctant to include such a fragile being within her plans.
Perhaps it was actively reminiscing about her former years being surrounded by many Kurts, and even Uriahs in the past while still acting as an instructor at Kandrakar's School for Gifted Youngsters which presently influenced her honestly uncharacteristic moment of general regard toward humanity . . . such as it was.
She only knew that it had to stop, lest her mind continued to steadily fill with the very unwanted memories of her past.
. . . . Of her.
Inhaling slowly, Nerissa momentarily frowned before clearing her throat and managing to muster up a fake smile of comfort, as her carefully guarded emotions had already tucked themselves away again into the far recesses of her iron heart.
"I . . . see. I really, and truly do," she delivered within her patented, velvety smooth tone of voice primarily used for such times of influence, rising to her feet once more and walking toward her students. "I may not obviously possess such . . . unique abilities as you do, Kurt, but I understand how frustrating it can be to want to shout to the rooftops, 'I'm a mutant! I'm better than you!', especially when you're still so young. And it's true: You are better than humans. All of you are. Why should you – We have to keep hiding and striving to act like the rest of them, yes? We didn't ask to be born special, so why should we continue behaving as though we aren't honestly the ones who are far more superior? In fact . . . this philosophy – No, this fact is actually the primary reason I no longer teach at 'Kandrakar's School for Gifted Youngsters.' Long ago, I used to believe as they do over there, working to build a future where mutants and humans could live together in harmony, and all that. But . . . once I'd removed those rose colored glasses and actually realized the truth of the matter, that we should be the ones on top and in charge, I simply had to part ways."
"Mmm, maybe you should start your own school, then," Laurent innocently piped up at the same time that Nerissa watched as Uriah sickeningly wiped the nugget of dried earwax onto the side of his blue khakis, in spite of the fact that the box of tissues she had presented to Kurt was still sat upon the couch right next to him. "Ya know, so then you could get all the kids who think like you do about this into one spot, and then maybe they won't feel so frustrated about everything anymore! Yeah, yeah! 'Cause I mean, I dunno if any of you've noticed, but I can kinda schmoosh anything that comes my way, without much effort! But I just gotta keep listenin' to what my folks remind me to do, which is to 'Exercise control,' and foooocus really hard on not breaking this couch every time I sit down, for example . . . or to take my tiiiime whenever opening things up like doors, drinks or my locker, so's none of them completely smash to pieces! I even gotta pretend to act all hurt and scrawny-like whenever someone tries to knock me over during gym class or whatever! I'm tellin' ya, it's all exhausting! I don't really care, like Kurt does, if everyone calls me 'fat' and all that, seein' as I know that it's at least 'cause of my powers that make me this way, somehow, I guess, but . . . man! It'd sure be nice to just let loose and . . . a-and, well, smash some stuff!"
For whatever reason, Laurent's habitually indolent synapses appeared to be extra fired up that morning, something which Nerissa thoroughly appreciated and readily planned to take advantage of, especially now that it seemed that all she needed to do was simply say the word and all three boys would officially become her newest patsies. . . .
"W-Well! My own school, how about that? That would certainly be interesting, wouldn't it, and give Professor Kandrakar's a run for his money!" Nerissa feigned flattery, before placing a finger to her chin as she pretended that an idea had just come to her. "Hmm . . . while I'm not sure about a school, I have been thinking about forming a group of sorts in the meantime. Yes, one comprised of only the most trustworthy, most talented, and brave individuals, so that they can help me make this dream – Our dream of making mutants the ones within the majority a reality! Could you . . . no, would you be willing to join me, boys? To join my 'Collective?'"
While Laurent was already nodding, whether or not he seemed to realize it, Kurt still appeared to be on the fence, although a small, yet noticeable smile was thankfully beginning to form upon his lips, nonetheless.
Uriah, meanwhile, eagerly hopped back onto his feet, clapped his dirty hands together and grinned.
"H-Hey! So long as I get to call the shots – Well, you know, like besides you and stuff – then I'm totally in! Doing small time pranks all the time has started to become pretty boring, anyway. And, bonus? People will finally be forced to recognize the sheer genius and awesomeness which is myself!" he remarked arrogantly, taking the bait for the apparent reasons Nerissa already had the strong inkling that he would.
Nerissa mimicked the redhead's previous actions by lightly clapping her own hands together, as well.
"Wonderful, thank you! And what of the rest of you?"
Laurent, too, began smiling brightly before also climbing to his feet as he stated, "Sure, why not? I bet that I'll finally get to do some proper 'Smash-n-Trashin'' along the way! Hey, Kurt! How 'bout you?"
"Yeah, pal! We can't really do this without you! You know, the 'Three Musketeers!' That's us! 'All for us, and none for you,' our motto, remember?" Uriah turned to lift a continually silent, now only partially damp Kurt from off of the couch as Nerissa noted Uriah beginning to weave his own manipulative web by actively playing the friendship card.
Pausing a moment, an honest eternity to Nerissa, quite frankly, Kurt cleared his throat before finally voicing his own decision.
". . . . Well . . . I'm sure that I'll probably be ten times more useful to have around for whatever, what with my newly discovered corrosiveblasts, versus Uriah's puny bone toothpicks," he murmured with a growing smirk, at the same time that both Uriah, as well as Laurent, unfortunately, wrapped their arms around his neck within playful roughhousing. "O-Ow, oh my God, stop! Stop, Clubber, geez! I-I . . . ouch! This doesn't mean that I have a clue what you want us to do now, M-Miss Crossnic, but a-at least now . . . now it sounds like I'll be a part of something w-which'll actively be pushing toward a much cooler existence for us mutants, instead of just sittin' and waitin' on it the way that my family's basically told me to do."
"Yeah! So, what's on the agenda then, Boss Lady? E-Er, um, you know . . . 'Boss Lady Miss Crossnic,' maybe? I-I dunno, we'll work on it," Uriah spoke absently as he wondered aloud about apparent titles he was now going to give toward his clearly new favorite grownup.
Choosing to let his ramblings slide, not wishing to derail the overall train of success she'd managed to achieve, Nerissa looked toward the clock on the wall behind the trio, then smiled.
"Hmm . . . seeing as we've still a bit of time to spare, why not, for now, you boys tell me more about Friday's accident – Or should I say, again, your masterpiece – before we run down the plans we have in store for both mutant, and human alike? O-Oh, yes . . . and about the name. . . . Why not, from now on, refer to me as . . . 'Quintessence.'"
Elyon was in the middle of changing out a few of her notebooks and textbooks for her next period class at her locker when she saw him.
Caleb, surprisingly, was heading straight for her, with a tiny smile upon his face as he strategically weaved in between passersby on his way to greet her.
It was really only 'surprising' to her merely because, as far as she'd been aware, anyhow, Caleb's fifth period class was upstairs on the second floor, basically all the way on the other side of the building.
And seeing that Elyon's locker was also at the far end of the hallway of the first, she now figured that he'd have quite a bit of running to do if he wanted to get to his math class on time.
Nonetheless, he didn't appear to mind, as Caleb kept right on heading her way, with the same, curious smile plastered across his face.
O-Okay, Elyon. Relax. This is no big deal; after all, you'd had an entire phone conversation with him just yesterday all about your next date, for God's sake! Elyon mentally reminded herself as she slowly backed away from her open locker in order to properly welcome her growing crush.
"H-Hey, Caleb, good morning! I'm, uh, shocked to see you! Well, not shocked, obviously! J-Just, you know, we usually only see each other mainly in Philosophy class," she stammered a bit before thankfully recovering, taking a deep breath to further steady herself as she cradled the purple binder clutched firmly within her hands.
Expecting him to carry on with about as much 'tact' as she presently possessed, as at the very least Caleb usually appeared to be every bit as flustered as she was whenever they were around each other lately, he cleared his throat before surprisingly raising a hand into the air in order to stop her.
"U-Uh, yeah, sure, I know. I was on my way to class, but then I just got to thinking that I couldn't honestly wait 'till later to tell you this," Caleb remarked with sympathetic eyes, his tone of voice following suit as he then slightly tilted his head to the side before continuing. "I . . . man, this is a lot harder than what I'd planned out in my head. . . . But I was just thinking about everything that's happened the last few days, you know, and . . . I just don't think that we should hang out anymore, Elyon."
". . . . W-What?" Elyon barely squeaked out, suddenly feeling as though she were about to vomit as she struggled to prevent her legs from turning into complete jelly. "B-But I thought . . . I mean, weren't we planning on going to the movies this Friday, after you'd invited me to go over the phone yesterday? I-I . . . I was going to tell you that we really could just see that superhero one, like you wanted. . . ."
Caleb raised both eyebrows at this, honestly appearing as though this was the first time he was receiving such news, before promptly recovering and heaved a dramatically flourished sigh.
". . . . Y-Yeah, yeah, I remember that. But, see, it's like I said . . . after getting off the phone with you, and just really looking back at everything, I just . . . came to the conclusion that all . . . this is a lot more trouble than it's worth, sorry. Maybe even bad luck," he stated with a saddened smile, his index finger pointing back and forth between Elyon and himself as he regrettably drove the point home even further. "I mean . . . I probably should have just told you then over the phone to save us both some heartache, here, but . . . hindsight, I guess. I hope you understand, though."
Elyon couldn't think straight, as she felt her head slowly giving a limp sort of nod as her only response.
She honestly wanted to just run away and hide, she was feeling that humiliated, yet instead somehow forced herself to remain right where she was, in front of her first, and evidently short lived infatuation.
"I-I . . . I-I -"
"- Great, I'm glad to hear it! Well, I'd better get to class before I'm late, but, hey . . . no hard feelings, all right?" Elyon just barely listened to Caleb declare as he cut her off, reaching out to gently pat her on the shoulder twice within a painfully patronizing manner, before then casually walking past her as though nothing had even happened.
Elyon's vision quickly became incredibly blurry as she continued staring straight ahead where Caleb had been standing only moments before.
. . . . Did she just get dumped?
Was this how it was meant to feel like, as though her heart had violently been ripped out and stomped on, without remorse?
Elyon just couldn't understand any of it.
The only thing she knew to be certain was that, clearly, she really had been reading too much into her growing interactions with Caleb, after all.
That, and also that she was the biggest idiot in the world.
Of course this happened . . . being around someone like me really is a lot more trouble than it's worth, Elyon thought morosely in between heavy sniffling, as she quickly closed up her locker and backpack, before rushing down the hallway within the opposite direction of her next class.
She'd never skipped a class before, and honestly did still feel a bit worried about the impending consequences later on; however, there was simply no way that she'd be able to focus on much of anything right now, especially not her Biology lesson.
Ducking into the nearby, thankfully empty girls' bathroom, Elyon practically threw herself into the closest stall she could reach, locked the door, and proceeded to have herself a good cry. . . .
". . . . D-Did you get it all?"
"Oh, yeah, a-and then some!"
Both Courtney and Bess nearly passed out, they were laughing so hard.
Granted, they'd now be a bit late getting to their shared lunch period, but it was so worth it.
At least, in particular, for Courtney.
She didn't think she'd ever been so thankful to have Bess as her sister right about now, nor even Miranda as her friend!
After all, if it hadn't been for Bess's great idea to play a brilliant prank on Elyon by hitting her where it mattered, coupled with Miranda's truly impressive shapeshifting abilities to add to the mix, then Courtney wouldn't presently be meticulously saving the now precious video footage she'd captured of Elyon having her stupid little heart broken. . . .
"So! Was I good, or what?" both twins nearly jumped out of their skin upon suddenly hearing Miranda's familiar voice quietly breathe from behind, nearly causing Courtney to drop her cell phone as a result.
"O-Oh, God! Don't do that!" she squealed, quickly clenching her phone to her chest within protection before both redheads whirled around to face the now giggling Miranda. "We thought that we'd just meet you in front of the cafeteria, as planned."
Miranda merely shrugged in between continued laughter, before moving around the identical duo in order to gently prop herself against the string of lockers they were each standing next to.
"Sure, but I didn't want to miss out on the fresh reactions of my adoring audience! So? What do you think of my powers now, ladies? Didn't I say that I could be anything, or anyone? Admittedly, it's taken a bit of practice to get the hang of – Especially mimicking even the person's vocal patterns, but voilà! Better watch out, or else you two could be next, never know!"
Bess couldn't help but give a slight shiver of concern at this, momentarily wondering if she hadn't just created a monster, as up until now, neither sister really had been aware of Miranda's mutant advancement.
As delicious as it had been to watch Elyon's complete misfortune unfold like that, there was no way that Bess ever wanted that to happen to her with any of her own crushes or boyfriends, past or present.
Note to self: Be even more ridiculously nice to Miranda from now on, she mused with a weak smile toward the girl in question, before tuning into Courtney's own chorus of laughter suddenly ringing within the air.
"You were amazing, thanks, Miranda! Ohhh, my gosh! Did you see her face? Well, duh, course you did! But, wow! It was absolutely beautiful!" she gushed as she complimented her grinning friend before her. "I'm just so glad you were able to hold her focus so that she never even noticed us hiding behind Bess's locker, so that I could record the entire thing! I mean, the audio will probably be a bit strained, mostly thanks to the crowded hall, but even if it is, ugh! Just being able to have her humiliation immortalized on a loop now is like, the best thing, seriously!"
"Yikes. And I thought that I could be cold, sometimes," Miranda smirked within ongoing amusement, honestly feeling a sense of increased respect toward her friend's surprising set of fangs, and general cruelty. "But, yeah. I told you guys that it really is mind warping! I'd like to see you get someone like Uriah do something that cunning, and -"
"- Hellooo, ladies! Did I hear my name being mentioned just now?" Miranda looked over both Bess and Courtney's shoulders in time to see the boy in question approaching with perfect timing.
Courtney couldn't help but openly groan as she turned her head to look at the annoying, unfortunately fellow redhead.
"Ugh . . . with those ears, I really wouldn't be surprised," she remarked harshly with a roll of her eyes, blindly stuffing her now turned off cell phone into the pocket of her skinny jeans before folding her arms across her chest.
Uriah glowered deeply at the habitually bitchy cheerleader a moment and scoffed, before appearing to calm down as he then slowly began to smile, almost triumphantly toward all three girls.
"Y'know, you really ought to give me a bit more respect than that, Courtney – A lot, in fact! Because I just got the promotion of a lifetime," he declared, a bit mysteriously, the smirk upon his acne riddled face growing as he continued. "Yep! Finally, all my . . . particular talents and creativity have been properly recognized! So maybe, just maybe, I might consider letting you in on it, as well, but only if you're a lot nicer!"
Bess couldn't stop herself from breaking out into a fit of laughter at this, choosing to ignore the troublemaker from that point on as she finished up collecting her belongings within her still opened locker, while Courtney voiced what both twins were clearly thinking.
"R-Right, sure, Uriah, except the only sort of 'recognition' you'll ever get regarding what you do is from a police officer one of these days," she remarked in between her shared tittering with her sister, before then turning her attention onto a curiously mute Miranda. "A-Anyway, you coming, Miranda? We can talk some more about our previous conversation in the cafeteria."
"Uh . . . yeah, I'll just meet you two there," she replied softly, straightening up her posture and putting her small hands together in front of her as she shifted her attention away from her two, already retreating friends, and onto the obnoxiously arrogant boy still standing in front of her.
Uriah's face became tremendously flushed as his green eyes suddenly met with Miranda's own, who then flashed him the shyest, honestly most adorable smile he'd ever seen.
The two shared study hall together, and if he wasn't too busy skipping that pointless period altogether, Uriah would observe how pretty reserved Miranda generally was.
They never really spoke together much ever since she'd moved back to Bayville, but whenever they would, Uriah had to admit that those conversations weren't all that bad.
Pretty . . . enjoyable, in fact.
At least, on his end, anyway.
Even to the point that he could privately admit that the shy girl was rather easy on the eyes.
Certainly far more attractive than those two, identical nightmares, anyway.
How any guy in that school could have not only found Bess and Courtney Grumper hot, but hot enough to want to ask them out was beyond him, especially since meanwhile much nicer, far smarter girls like Miranda remained perpetually single.
Go figure.
". . . . What did you mean by receiving a 'promotion' before, Uriah?" Uriah honestly had to lean in a bit closer in order to listen to even a single word of what Miranda had just uttered, even with the hallway having now been mostly cleared out where they were.
Whenever he'd see her around, she was usually off by herself, looking terribly out of place and as though she wanted to be anywhere else.
And, as a result, Uriah honestly had to actively remind himself that she, too, was an apparent mutant much like himself, Miranda was just generally that unremarkable, otherwise.
Heck, even her voice would convey the lack of confidence she so clearly didn't possess within surplus . . . probably because Courtney and Bess both siphoned it all away for themselves any time Miranda would choose to hang out with them, for whatever reason.
"Oh, u-uh . . . nothin' much, really. Well, it is, actually, like a super big deal, with super big plans on the horizon for 'people like us,' but, ah . . . I don't really think it's something you'd be interested in," Uriah shrugged as casually as he could with a light, sympathetic smile of dismissal . . . before Miranda completely caught him off guard and caused a tiny flutter of butterflies to form within his stomach, as she then moved closer to him and slowly wrapped both hands around his left arm.
". . . . Oh, really? I think that it could be something I'd be very interested in," she murmured, almost purred out, Uriah could have sworn, as she gazed up at him with yet another tremendously sweet smile, before beginning to lead him down the hallway toward the cafeteria area.
Even though this was now the completely opposite direction, and floor of his next period class, Uriah honestly didn't care much at that moment.
He hadn't even been an official member of Miss Crossnic, or 'Quintessence's' Collective for no more than two hours, now, and already he was receiving far more attention from the ladies, alone, than he'd admittedly ever had before!
Oh, yeah.
Things were definitely looking up.
- End of Chapter Ten
(A.N. Planned to go even further within everyone's school day, but then looked down and saw it was approaching twenty pages.
….And how come people don't like oatmeal? Like, all the time, growing up, I'd always hear my friends go on and on about how gross it is, even now. Maybe the way they make it, I guess, I dunno, cuz my mom taught my siblings and I how to make it taste super scrummy-yummy. =p
Random thought, I know, but I was just remembering when Cornelia complained about it at the beginning of this chapter, and it made me remember all this.
IF YOU DON'T LIKE OATMEAL, THERE'S SOMETHING SERIOUSLY WRONG WITH YOU! …..Not really. LoL
Was honestly going to go a slightly, slightly different route with Nerissa and what HER active/actual powers are, seeing as I didn't really want the main contenders in this story to just basically all have the same abilities...even though they basically do, canonically. :p
But then I just said eff it, kinda, and still had her declare her abilities to be Electrokinetic, like Will, except with the added bonus of obviously being FAR more advanced within control and all that than she. So at least, in that way, she gets to kinda/sorta use some of her Quintessence abilities later on...although probably not a WHOLE bunch, to be honest, as it'd really just make the whole future fight a bit unfair, and also interfere some with my main plot's agenda.
Sooo...sorry if any of you are huge Nerissa fans? =)
At least she was still arrogant enough to now refer to herself as 'Quintessence,' more so for its definition of being so exemplary, blah blah.
Uhhh...honestly a lot happened, sorta, so I can't really readily remember anything else I might have wished to point out, coupled with general, ongoing distractions from the 'Tornado Babies,' unfortunately, soooooo...yeah!
Just hope you enjoyed this chapter, and hopefully Chapter Eleven will be out shortly, as well! Fingers crossed this steam keeps on a'truckin'! =) )