How Touching (Reaper Six and me)

[souled]

(Name: Mura Belle Rosalia, Age: 18)

​

The high school cafeteria was crowded with students, and as the raven haired girl with forest green eyes took her seat, as always, Mura made sure that no one was around her that was close enough to touch her, even if it was by accident. This strange quirk of Mura was a result of a rough past. Though now, Mura was living with adopted parents and an adopted younger brother, who had quickly taken a liking to Mura and followed her around the house like a lost puppy looking for a new playmate. Not that Mura minded, so long as none of them touched her.


Letting out a sigh, Mura ran a hand through her long raven hair, deep violet colored fingernails flashing in the light of the cafeteria, and picking up one of the chicken nuggets on the ugly colored tray that was slopped filled with school food and a carton of chocolate milk, Mura dipped the chicken nugget into the ranch dressing before popping it into her mouth, chewing and swallowing before opening her milk carton and taking a drink to wash the food down with.


With the first bite of food down in her belly, Mura turned to the stack of school books in which she had taken to the cafeteria with her, opening up her math homework and working on that so that Mura didn't have to take it home to do it there, luckily never having found math difficult. Finishing up a problem, Mura once more popped another chicken nugget after dipping it into the ranch, all the while making sure that no one could or would touch her...

 

[Reaper Six]

The perks of having a fast car were about endless. Piling three of his buddies into his old Chevelle, they had driven to a local Mexican restaurant, bought food, and returned to school to eat in just under a few minutes. The lunch line hadn't even finished yet. Jason and his friends piled into a booth.


"I'm telling you, my Nos can outrun your twin turbos off the line, any day." Francis boasted to Jason.


"We'll see at Race Wars," he grinned back. Nobody outran the Chevelle. Nobody. Looking across the room, he wondered why he had gotten his group of friends out of this mix. He played sports, like the jocks, but Couldn't stand them. He was a gamer, like the nerds, but couldn't stand them either. He had gathered his small group of buddies out of the rough here, like the others, but differant.


His eyes scanned around, and passed over the raven haired girl sitting alone. She seemed differant from the rest, but there was plenty of variation here. He saw one of the other members of the football team, an asshole defensive end named Cardin, walking by her, obviously up to something.

 

[souled]

All the schools were the same. At least, in Mura's mind they were. Everyone was scared to be different, scared to be themselves, not wanting to end up on the next mean kid's list to be bullied by. Everyone had their clicks, who they hung out with, who they hated. Mura never really paid any attention to that kind of thing, not wanting to get involved in whatever cruel prank or whatever it was they did together. Still working on her math assignment that would be due tomorrow for Mr. Moore, Mura continued to mind her own even as the jockey from the football team, Cardin, approached her, striding towards with quite the cocky and proud stride of someone like him.


Not wanting to provoke him, Mura continued to mind her own business and popped yet another chicken nugget into her moth and deftly turned her full attention to the homework, the pencil in Mura's hand scribbling in the black spiral notebook that Mura used for her math class that she had second period of the day.

 

[Reaper Six]

As he listened to the conversations of his friends, he kept one eye trained on Cardin. A childhood of reading spy novels had come to an advantage many times, the ability to listen, to observe. He could apply to the CIA now, if he wanted. With an ear for his friends, he listened and continued their conversation.


Cardin, knowing now that the girl didn't like to be touched, deviated from his path to bump into her, before walking off with nothing more than a cocky smirk.


Across the room, Jason's blood boiled. He looked at his friends, a cold look in his eye. "You touch my tacos, I key your cars." before he stood and stalked across the room to cut Cardin off.

 

[souled]

At the feeling of contact, clearly on purpose, the raven haired girl instantly froze up, face going as pale as a ghost, pencil frozen still in hand, heart pounding, shutting her eyes tightly and hands tightening into fists. No...No not now...Mura swallowed hard, heart pounding so loud that Mura could hear it in her own ears, having been doing just fine until the defensive line backer had purposefully bumped into her, knowing full well of Mura's quirk, though certainly not understanding it.


Hands trembling, Mura remained there, rooted to the spot in which she sat, almost seeming to be hyperventilating, just at the contact. That simple purposefully done bump against her by Cardin, a boy who was always trying to show off to girls and teammates. Swallowing hard, Mura's mind unbiddingly began to go back to the past in which Mura had left when she had turned 16, something of which Mura really didn't want to think about...

 

[Reaper Six]

Jason cut the lineman off. Though he was four inches and lighter than the bully, Jason knew how to fight. "Cardin," he said simply, in his face. "Go back and apologize to her."


Cardin snorted, "I didn't do anything."


His reply was cold, "either apologize, or you sit out the next few games with a broken knee." he promised. After another scoff, Jason kicked his knee back, stopping just short of breaking it. "Apologize."


Scrambling to his feet, Cardin backed up, his knee in pain as he muttered a halfhearted apology to the girl.

 

[souled]

By now, most, if not all, the cafeteria was staring at the scene, and now even Mura was watching the two boys, blinking in surprise at the one standing up to Cardin, something that altogether really just didn't happen around in this school, though Mura seemed to become even more pale when Jason began kicking at the jockey's knee, and swallowed hard, saying nothing to the forced apology.


Before Jason could though, ask if Mura was alright or anything else for that matter, the girl was gone as the boy turned around to ask, the only thing having been left behind was the half finished lunch tray. Other then that, Mura was gone, totally out of sight, no where in the cafeteria.

 

[Reaper Six]

As Cardin made his retreat, Jason looked back at the girl, only to find her gone. Sighing, he returned to his friends, one of them humming "There Goes My Hero" by the Foo Fighters. Things in the room slowly retuned to normal.


Would he really have broken Cardins knee? He wondered, before that cold voice that gripped him, the voice of his training and what he believed what was wrong and right told him yes.

 

[souled]

Having somehow, even if just barely, Mura managed to stay by herself for the rest of lunch. Despite being hungry, Mura knew that there would be food waiting for her and her adopted little brother when they got home from school. The thought of that relaxed Mura a bit as the girl headed into the classroom in which she had History in with Mrs. Stonebrook.


Heading to the middle where her assigned seat was, Mura sat down, letting out a deep breath, absently tucking a lock of her raven hair behind her ear, getting everything out in which she would need for the class, the homework sheet having been done up and neatly, as Mura liked it, unlike other of the students.

 

[Reaper Six]

Jason and the others finished lunch and headed off to class. He grabbed his things and headed to his History class. He enjoyed this class, mainly due to his fondness for history. If he wanted to, Jason could teach the class.


Pulling out the assignment, he glanced over it quickly, and then pulled out a book titled No Easy Day and began reading.

 

[souled]

Making her way through the class, Mura purposefully waited until everyone else was out of the room before making her own way, letting out a deep breath and tucking a lock of her long raven hair behind her ear, really wishing Cardin would just learn to leave her alone, recalling the episode from lunch, and hugging her school books closer against her bosom. But then, no one knew or bothered to take the time to know Mura's true story. Sure they knew she was adopted, but that was all. Oh, and her name, if they were lucky to remember it. Other then that, no one really knew her. But, Mura was fine with that for the most part, really not ready yet to talk of what had happened to her in the past before her adopted parents found her.

 

[Reaper Six]

After class, Jason grabbed a piece of wall as he exited the room. He had time, and a question. Watching the others file out, he waited until he saw Mura. Once she exited, he pushed off the wall and said quietly, "Mura, are you okay? After earlier with Cardin, I mean."

 

[souled]

Not having been expecting anyone to converse with her, Mura jumped, a bit startled, tensing as the girl felt others brush past her, really disliking this very crowded hallway packed with hurrying students and teachers trying to get to their respective places. "I...I'm fine...Thanks...I think..." It was obvious that Mura was a bit shy, and looking down away from Jason, the girl's cheeks turned a rosy pink blush and Mura bit at her lower lip.

 

[Reaper Six]

He looked at her, knowing she was uneasy. "If Cardin gives you any more trouble, tell me, please," he said to her. "What he did was uncalled for, and I don't want it to happen again."

 

[souled]

The girl said nothing, but instead remained as she was. Swallowing hard, Mura wondered why this boy did what he did, and tried not to think of Jason breaking the other's knee, the thought making Mura inwardly shudder. Muttering an almost inaudible thank you, Mura suddenly took off, turning around and hurrying through the halls, not wanting to linger about in them any more then was necessary.

 

[Reaper Six]

Jason sighed and watched her go, before turning to head off to his own class. She probably thought he was a little too direct in his means of deterrence, but it worked. He just couldn't stand people like Cardin. And while he would have preferred a more diplomatic solution, sometimes the only way to go was to fight fire with fire.


Arriving at his next class, Jason sat and began absentmindedly spinning a pencil through his fingers, Goldeneye style. His mind drifted from the encounter earlier, off to the topic of the class.