Misericorde

Her blonde hair tossled out of it's loose ponytail as Angel was changing out of her clothes. The locker room smelled like chlorine, and all was silent as she was alone. Angel was always early to practice, especially on school days because she used it as an excuse to get out of class early. Algebra 1 was not always her favorite subject, and having it at the end of the day for her was torture. Though, when she had her school suit on, swimming in the vast pool she felt alive, like she was flying. She was definately one of the fastest swimmers, and had won at almost all her meets thus far. As she tugged on her navy blue one-peice, Angel stared in the mirror at herself. Her blonde hair was straight and neat, besides a slight wave where the elastic has been. Her blue eyes looked brighter with her color she wore. I need a bigger suit! Angel reminded herself, slightly emarassed over her exposed figure. She did her best to pull the hem up farther over her chest, though it didn't do much to help. She pulled the cap over her hair, held in place by several pins, and quickly rushed from the changing rooms outside into the hallway. She would have continued to the pool area, but her friends caught her.


"Angel fish!" Katie and the others called out, waving from across the hall. "Why are you always so early? Wait for us!" The girls rushed down the hall as Angel desperately tried to hide her shrunken suit.


Unfortunately, Hannah seemed to notice. "Angel, is it just me, or did you get... bigger?" She gestured to her upper half.


Angel pulled her goggles over her face as it turned beet red. "My suit must have shrunk. I'm just gonna get some early laps in while you guys change and avoid future embarassment." She didn't mean to add that last part, but she seemed to just blurt it out. She ran into into the pool area, still holding onto her goggles. While running, she hadn't noticed the wet tiles in the room. She screamed out, but her heel slid back and she fell forward, sheilding her face with her forearms. Before she knew it, she was fully submerged in the water, breathing it in once again but feeling no pain. Angel blinked, looking at her arms at she floated upwards. Blue scales the same bright color as her eyes lined up her arms, shining off from the pool lights and illuminating on the tiles. She twisted her arms around, watching the pool glow around her. The blue scales faded away as she resurfaced.


Angel pulled herself out of the water. Is this... about the Prince? The only prince I know is Saten, but he's not a fish. I need to do some research. She grabbed a towel, quickly rubbing herself dry before the girls came in. School hours weren't over yet, so she had to hurry. Forgetting she was in her swimsuit, Angel ripped off her cap and goggled, rubbing her eyes from the pressure. "Hey, excuse me!" She called out to a boy walking down the hall, "Are the computer labs still open?"


He seemed to hesitate, but he slowly nodded and stared as he walked away. Angel shrugged it off and ran down the hall, avoiding the others who stared at her. Once in the lab, she grabbed the nearest computer and logged into her Google account. "They said they're the 'Crown Princes of Hell..." She wondered aloud as she typed it into the search engine. "Wait..." She also typed in multiple fish related things. 'Water', 'Sea', 'Fish', and 'Scales'. The search results were all the same: Leviathen, the Sea Dragon Prince of Hell.


Sooo... That thing that jumped in me was a royal lizard? Humph. I'd be happier if it was a fish, but same difference, I guess. Still wanting information, she deleted the water related words and read all about the four princes. She sat in the room a long time before she realized that school was almost over, and she still wanted to see Lucy. Quickly, she printed out the profiles of the four princes and rushed out of school, not going back for her backback (or her clothes).


Once Angel got to the lighthouse, she had realized she was still wearing her small swimsuit and wrapped her towel around her waist, being the only thing she had to cover. It wasn't enough to cover her whole body, so she crossed her arms over her chest as she got near the lighthouse. Lucy was the only one there at the time.


"Hey," She called out, waving the four printed papers in the air, "I got something you might wanna see!"
 
Ah poor Mason, he had gone home first of course, picked out one of his nicest shirts. He didn’t want to seem too excited even if he was. His mother of course teased him a touch when he came down smelling of Axe something he usually saved for when he tried to impress. He even stopped and bought some flowers along the way.


The sun was shining, the birds were singing, what could possible go wrong? He heard Angel calling out to Lucy and there was his answer. Silently he hit himself in the face with his palm as he threw the flowers over the nearest bush. What a fool he had been, of course they had all been invited. Lucy obviously had different taste than a guy like him.


Shrugging it off, he merely put on a fake smile and followed Angel in if he was noticed or not. “I take it we were called here over something important?” Mason had no clue of his powers, just had been surprised off and on that things had seemed less difficult since that night. He had brushed it off though thinking people saw his sadness maybe, since he was having a harder time keeping up his guard.
 
Of course, Jesse had nowhere else to go and nothing else to do after school except follow Lucy's request. He had no activities, unless doing his chores and homework counted, and his friends, or what he attempted to claim as his friends, anyway, were not exactly the type to be very social. Of course, there was the small factor of his being grounded...but what was more important, meeting the others to see what was up with his....sudden ability to make light come out of his fingers and float in the air...or keeping his family happy with him? Wasn't that already a quest of impossibility?


Though he was not athletic in the slightest, Jesse almost ran from school the moment the bells rang, wanting to dodge the throngs of people, many who were potentially friends of David and might tell him that they had seen him ducking out from his assigned ride home with him. Of course, this was only going to get him in even deeper water than he already was in over the car incident, but what else could they do to him? He already had no privileges.


He was already out of breath by the time he arrived at the lighthouse, but he must have been an even slower runner/jogger than the thought, because the three others were already waiting outside it, the wind slightly blowing Lucy's and Angel's hair in a way that made them look alluring and cool to Jesse, but made his own hair a tangled mess. He swiped it out of his face and then immediately noticed that Angel was still in her swimsuit, one she wasn't quite contained inside. Jesse's eyes widened, and he quickly looked away, but found it very difficult to keep his eyes from drifting back to her.


"So, anyone else find themselves...strangely and scarily equipped with new skills today?" he asked the group at large.
 
The first one to arrive was Angel, waving a few pieces of paper in the air. Lucy felt colder just looking at the blonde girl's attire. "Sorry, already ahead of you," Lucy said, pulling out a small bible from inside her jacket. "If we're dealing with who they say they are, I thought it'd be best to get as close to the source as we could get." She had already read up a bit on the Crown Princes of Hell: Lucifer, Satan, Leviathan and Belial. There was so much you could accomplish when you skip class.She suspected that it was Belial that entered her the previous night, seeing as the other princes made no sense when it came to her new found abilities. Belial, whose name meant worthless or nothing. It certainly didn't make her feel any better.


Mason was next. He seemed his usual self but he carried a scent of cologne. Lucy was never that good with strong scents, actually most scents, and brought a hand up to the nose to filter out the breathing. "I did call you guys out here for something rather important. It's just . . . " She had no idea how she was going to ask if the others had exhibited supernatural powers. The idea in itself was silly. This wasn't a comic book.


Then Jesse came and asked for her. She was extremely grateful. Not only did he help her ask but the mere fact that he asked meant that he was exhibiting strange powers as well, right? Trying not to look the nerd in the eye, she pulled off her glove. "Well . . . I have noticed something . . . "


She bent down and placed her hand on a small patch of grass. The green blades quickly turned black and shivered up into dry husks that were easily blown into dust by a breeze. Placing the glove back on, she continued to look at the ground where the grass had just been. She didn't want to see the looks on the others', or rather Jesse's, face after they witnessed what had happened.


As her embarrassment rose, she began to vanish. Thank God, or maybe Belial, that her clothes disappeared as well. Invisibility was a stupid power if you had to be naked as well. Backing away, she hit her foot on a rock. Swearing, she appeared again.
 
Angel shrugged and ripped up her papers. Figures her help wouldn't be needed. Though she hadn't thought to bring a bible. As the boys arrived, she crossed her arms over her chest and sat on a rock near Lucy. She tuned them out as she watched the ocean, listened to the sound of the waves. I wonder what it's like to be a seashell. They swim all over the ocean, just going wherever the waves take them. She tilted her head. They have no rough edges, because the water smooths them out. That sounds really relaxing. She narrowed her eyes and smiled, staring off into the distance. She turned around, feeling a breeze through her hair. She watched in horror as Lucy turned grass into dust with her hands. From dust they came, and to dust they shall return. She thought, mimicing a video game she had once played. She repeated this, this time out loud just before Lucy disappeared.


"Oh..." She began, before hearing a curse and winced. "Um, something like that happened to me, but..." She looked to the crashing shore. "The first thing you might not notice. It's kind of... aquatic. Fitting, right?" She shrugged and looked at her arms. "I guess..." Standing, she held her hands to her heart as they shined, trailing blue scales lined up her forearms. "Just a matter of time before a became a fish, right?" She let a short laugh escape her lips but then lowered her arms.


Angel looked towards the others. "So, what's up with you guys? Haven't become a sea monster like me, have you?" She side glanced at Lucy. "I think your power is kinda... cool." A small smile on her face. "I wouldn't try it on people though, if I were you." Truthfully, she was anxious to see what Mason's is. "Sorry about your cape, by the way." She said, finally finding an excuse to speak to him. Even so, she wouldn't meet his eyes.
 
Of course there was a slight bitterness when Lucy covered her nose as well. He moved quickly back and downwind of her a bit insulted and feeling like life was hopeless. Starting to remind myself why the group was better off a part right? He had dressed up nicely for her, had added the smell girls usually went gaga over for her. Here he was just one big mistake again though.


When Jesse started talking about powers Mason merely gave him a confused look. The boy couldn’t be serious right? Just day dreaming or something, perhaps even being hopeful, he merely gave his friend a kind smile and shake of his head. Then for Lucy’s comment to get his attention, she noticed some weird stuff as well? His eyes widening a bit in fear as he watched the grass brown the black before flaking away like dust to the wind. “So much for having a green thumb.” He joked trying to lighten the mood as he did. Before he could say anything else though she was gone and he wondered if his words had scared her off. Suddenly for her to reappear just as easily . . . and for him to frown and shake his head.


Angel stepped in next showing her arms and poor Mason couldn’t help feeling left out. He knew it was probably best he wasn’t experiencing stuff but . . . it was hard as well seeing as this was his group in away. He could hear the nervous fear in Angel’s voice and he glanced to her trying to give her comfort. “Or a mermaid, I always somehow thought a mermaid kind of fit you.” He knew it wasn’t much, but what else was there to say?


When Angel apologized for his cape out of the blue Mason managed a chuckle. “There was no harm to it. Sides’ it’s not like I can go about wearing it everywhere anyways.” He teased slightly, trying to seem like he didn’t care. In truth he was proud of that cape.


The minor chat between them made it feel like it was his turn though, and he felt bad. It was show and tell and he had nothing to show or tell. Holding up his hands in defeat he turned around. “There is nothing wrong with me that I know of. In fact . . . I have been doing better than I expected in ways.” He gave Lucy a quick glance before looking away. “In others it’s just about the same. Are you sure it has to do with last night? Maybe mine was a dud?” Remembering back to that night caused him to subconsciously rub his chest some. It sure didn’t feel like a dud when it happened.
 
Though Jesse had somewhat expected, or rather hoped, that the others had new abilities too, actually witnessing them still blew him away. His eyes widened considerably as Lucy pretty much destroyed the grass, and his mouth dropped open almost comically when she began to disappear.


"You're like Sue Storm and...someone really awesome combined," he breathed, still staring. Compared to Lucy's abilities, his little light balls and light beams seemed like rather small potatoes.


Then came Angel's demonstration of her...scale forming...and Jesse was equally impressed. Moving forward, he lightly touched her arm where the scales had been, then blushed furiously as he quickly backed away. He was further embarrassed when he blurted, "I think that's really pretty, Angel."


Why had he said THAT? She would think he was REALLY dorky with that...but it was true. He really did think that on her, it looked very attractive.


When Mason states that he has experienced no changes since last night, Jesse finds himself oddly relieved. At least he didn't have the lamest power...but then again, why was he comparing who had the best of the lot when the fact that they had them at all was pretty, well...indicative of perhaps being possessed by devils, as he had thought initially?


"Uh...I make light," he says sheepishly, and then opened his hand, showing the glowing orb which appeared. Closing his palm, he pointed his finger to the sky, watching with the others as light emitted from his finger in a straight beam. "So this is sort of cool and all...but...the fact that you found stuff on those demons, and they have names, records, and places on the internet....just how gory of an ending are we looking at for ourselves?"


He reached out a reluctant hand to take the bible, looking up at Lucy and Angel.
 
Angel's scales were pretty, and they did seem to make her appear like a mermaid. The blue matched her eyes and shone like polished shells. Yet another reason for guys to pay more attention to the blonde than Lucy. When Angel commented on Lucy's power, she couldn't help but be a bit grumpy. "Easy for you to say. This seems to be happening to everything I touch. At least the plants anyway, I haven't tried it on a person yet. You're becoming the Little Mermaid and I'm . . . I'm the @#$%ing Grim Reaper."


Lucy's cheeks turned pink at Jesse's comment. He didn't think of her as a freak. He even said she was somewhat awesome or at least he was comparing her to something awesome. And when he sowed off his new power, Lucy found it a bit . . . hypnotic. The lights were pretty. They reminded her of the home planetarium system her father used to put on star shows in his study. It was comforting.


She handed the bible over to Jesse, allowing him to leaf through whatever he needed to see. "I haven't found anything that sounds like what happened to us last night. he closest thing were possessions. Not much on that either. Just that we should be speaking in foreign languages and losing ourselves to the dark side. And apparently the only way to cure us is to have a holy man literally beat the demon out of us. There is some mention about the supposed demons that are 'possessing' us. The four Crown Princes of Hell: Lucifer, Satan, Leviathan and Belial."


Letting Jesse read, she turned her eyes to Mason. She was not about to believe that he got a dud. The figures from before seemed too . . . dark to have one be a dud. "Are you sure you haven't experienced anything strange? Nothing was a bit out of the ordinary?"
 
With multiple comments of Angel becoming a mermaid, she couldn't help but smile. She remembered her first time swimming, how she loved the feel of water on her skin, how her reflection in the water was radiant and transfixing, how swimming was like feeling weightless, lifting one's self above the clouds and beyond, just flying freely... She snapped out of her rambling thoughts as Mason spoke to her once again. She felt a tightness in her throat, that feeling of a shortness of breathe, pulse racing. She has felt it before - it was like swimming very deep underwater and knowing it was some time before you could get back up for air, the feeling of emptiness. She lost track of what he was saying while she stared and simply nodded when his mouth stopped moving. Angel felt a chill up her spine as she looked down and realized the sea breeze was touching her bare skin. She didn't mind it though; she loved the feeling on water on her skin.


She turned to Jesse as he spoke to her. She couldn't help but smile as he touched her arms. "It's alright. I think they're kinda like a shield or something. I hit pavement and didn't feel pain." She watched him create his own power, light stemming from his fingertips. Angel watched, transfixed at the glowing light. Feeling a chill up her spine, she decided to speak to him.


"I've had another moment with these crazy powers, if you don't mind me rambling some more." She sat down near them and turned to the sea. "I breathed in water. It was like air, but..." She shook her head lightly, narrowing her eyes. "It's hard to descibe, really. Imagine... flying. Like you're just soaring above the clouds, breathing in the atmosphere. It's like that." She blushed and turned back to him. "I know I'm over explaining this, but it's just this amazing adrenaline moving through my veins, the feeling of... this... power. And It's just magical."


Angel looked at the three of them, comparing their images to what it had been years before. Lucy was still pretty, all the same, maybe more. Mason was still... amazing. Jesse looked sort of the same, but he had matured in a way that she couldn't spot. She thought of her 13-year old self. Hmm... Well, I guess I'm a lot different. My hair was to my shoulders back then... I looked younger than I was. She winced, remembering that people would mistake her shipmunk cheeks and petite figure for an elementery school student. At least I matured by eigth grade. I know I couldn't have had acne, I had to wash my face three times a day for swimming. Hmmm what else... She snapped out of her mind, abandoning her thoughts for a moment as she looked back towards the ocean.


"I'm gonna make it my goal to swim all the way to Japan, one day." She said to herself. "Sharks can't hurt me, and I don't need to worry about air. Forget going for the gold, this is my platinum." She laid back on her elbows and watched the waves.
 
Mason couldn’t help but to blush a touch as Lucy talked to him directly. For her of course he would rethink things trying to search of anything that might have seemed different. “I’m not grounded, and my parents didn’t make me have . . . “ he gave a cute chuckle feeling embarrassed at what he was about to say. “Well they didn’t make me tell them every bit of the day like they usually poke at.”


At that thought, at the thought thinking back to his father that morning his smile faded. “In fact . . . father stayed home from work, yet . . .” Mason refused to go on, thinking over the situation as a bit of fear filled him. His dad rushing off after his comment did seem weird to him, but nothing noteworthy before now. Shaken his head he went on to the only other weird part. “Mr. Jackson, you know the one who tends to collect cell phones. He . . . he allowed me to take your call into the hall Lucy.” He glanced to her a bit worried, only to slowly allow his eyes to look to the others, not wanting to know their reactions but at the same time . . . curious.


“That’s really nothing though right? I just caught him in a good mood.” Mason knew that was a lie, now that he thought about it Mr. Jackson had never allowed such disrespect as he called it before. Here after a bit of a chat Mason had managed a smile and kindness from the usually grump of the man. He wouldn’t tell the others that much though, just getting away with the cell phone alone was enough.


Of course when Angel spoke of swimming to Japan one day he merely shook his head. Next thing he knew she would be talking about living under the ocean. It was nice that she had goals though, and he started to wonder if any of the rest of them had goals as well. He knew he didn’t . . . he really hadn’t thought about the future before now.


At Jesse’s light show he smiled and moved to gently pat the boy on the back. “That’s stunning, could probably win and break a million’s girls hearts with that alone. You know, the whole romantic effect of it and all.” He paused wondering if there was more to Jesse’s power as well. Who knows maybe more to his own even . . . if he had a power? Angel and Lucy seemed to have two in ways; then again he didn’t know much about powers. Maybe theirs counted as being the same.


“Let me guess.” He glanced to Jesse with a smile. “You’re thinking some sort of crime fighters’ right?” He didn’t know much about superhero, caught a few movies off and on but that’s about it. “Please don’t say we have to wear tight costumes or what not.”


It wasn’t much, but at least Mason was trying to turn the evil into some good. They all knew it was darkness, bad people gave it to them, but they couldn’t do anything about that. Who knows, maybe walking old ladies across the street for the rest of their lives would save their souls. “Does this mean we should start going to some religious thing every Sunday as well?” He gave a weak smile glancing to them all wondering their opinions. “That is if we can even enter a holy building.”
 
"I don't think the Grim Reaper actually exists, Lucy," Jesse told her in all seriousness, as he leafed through the bible she had presented him with. "At least, I'm seeing no mention of him in here, and I've never come across any evidence that he exists other than myths and folktales. Of course, that kind of is the same with demons and having them jump inside you and give you powers...I never really had evidence of that either, and here we are, right?"


An idea occurred to him then, and he looked up with wide eyes, shaking his hair back behind his shoulders. "Do you think something like this could have happened to Jesus? Everything about him says he didn't start doing his miracles until he was, what, 30...what if it's not that he was touched by God, but possessed by a demon? Didn't he curse a fig tree and make it shrivel up and die, like Lucy? I don't know about the...fish scales...but he did walk on water...maybe it was too dark to see the scales. And with the light...well...didn't he talk about letting your light shine like a lamp or something? Wow, you think?"


Then another thought occurred to him, and his enthusiasm for this new idea deflated slightly. "He did sort of end up being crucified though...so maybe we ought to sort of...keep this quiet. Not that I was exactly going around pointing my laser fingers at people anyway."


Listening to Angel, he was breathless at her description, and not at all jealous. It was Angel, after all.


"Wow," he said softly, shaking his head, and then smiled. "You could do it, Angel. I know it."


Listening to Mason's words, Jesse attempted to figure out how this would fit into his Jesus theory, then shrugged. "You might be blowing my theory...or maybe not. Because on one hand he was crucified, but on the other, he did have people following him around giving up all their stuff for him."


He smiled, pleased, if self-conscious, by Mason's touch and affirmation, glancing quickly at Angel to see if that were true. Did SHE feel that way...was SHE impressed?


"You think so?" he said, the surprise evident in his voice. "I don't know how to romance. Or if I tried it would all...sort of fall all over the place and scar people for life."


To Mason, he added, "No, but that's sort of a cool idea! Maybe a cape anyway...and code names...and if the Jesus thing is right we might actually BE holy."


Then, sheepish, he looked down again, his shoulders stooping. "Probably not though...being the princes of hell and all. But...that would be cool."
 
Lucy couldn't help but laugh at Jesse's Jesus theory. "You think we've become Jesus? I kind of doubt it. Besides, even if we were, the second coming of Jesus was supposed to signal the apocalypse. It's not much of a win on our part."


As she listened to Angel's idea to swim across the Pacific, Lucy couldn't help but be a bit jealous. She didn't really have a dream for the future and not really any passions to base on off of. There was a time she wanted to be a singer, but she was to insecure as a kid to see it through. Plus it's a hopeless dream anyway. Sure she was in a band now but the odds of them making it big were horrible. "I'd hate to burst your bubble but the scales are just going to attract sharks and I don't know if it'll protect your entire body."


Jesse's theory about Mason did seem to make sense. "Jackson's never in a good mood. I swear that pole is so tight up his ass, it's actually fused into his skeleton. But does this mean you have some sort of mind control? Or just extreme charisma?"


Lucy raised an eyebrow at the superhero idea. "I'm going to have to pass on the whole vigilante thing. Female heroes don't tend to wear the more modest outfits." With what happened to her years ago, it wasn't a surprise that she would be against wearing something that would show off her body. She still couldn't wear a swimsuit without a hoodie over it. Still, she did not want some supernatural force deciding her alignment for her. It was her choice whether she was good or evil.


She brought her knees up to her chest. "It's been a while since we've talked like this, hasn't it?" Pushing her black hair back, she allowed the sound of the waves fill her ears. It wasn't long ago that they were friends and then came two years of them becoming strangers. Now they're meeting at the lighthouse again after demons have supposedly possessed them. She couldn't help but be worried. "What's happening to us?"
 
"Superheroes!" Angel burst out laughing, falling back into the grass. "I'd be as useless a superhero as Aquaman! At least your powers are better for crime fighting and all that. Lucy could drain the life out of bad guys, and she's got invisability to sneak up on people! I mean damn, outfits or not I want her on my team! And Jesse could blind people with his lights and attack. I'd just be the awkward person in the background waiting for the enemy to jump in a pool or something." She pulled her hair back out of her face as she spoke. Although... She thought, Being a swimmer, my superhero outfit would be cute. She giggled to herself.


"Yeah... I guess it has." She said, scooting over to sit next to Lucy. Angel remembered why they had gathered here, was was about to bring it up only to be beaten by Lucy. "Well... I've never been very religious because of... life events..." She looked down for a moment, "But I've been thinking... maybe this happened for a reason?" The four of them had swore friendship forever years ago, and now they were brought together again. "I mean, us. The four of us, of all people it could have happened to. Well... Whatever it is, anyway." She shrugged and snuck a peek at Mason. "So what about you? Are you sure you haven't noticed anything? Like... wait, which of the Hellboys match you anyway?"


She looked over her shoulder, suddenly wishing she hadn't tore apart her papers. "Maybe you can guess what your's is by reading about them. Although..." She looked at her toes, deep in thought. "Leviathen, I'm guessing who's mine, is a dragon. I didn't read much into the others...." She felt a chill all over and on instinct, crossed her arms over her chest while she laid back into the grass once again. Looking into the clouds, Angel did her best to make out shapes, one of her favorite childhood activities.


She pointed into the air. "That one's a bunny wearing a wig!" She said with a stupid grin on her face, trying her best to ease up on the tension. She raised her hand again. "That's a bird flying into a cliffside!" Angel giggled. Why so serious? Ease up you fussbudgets!
 
Mason looked at Jesse a touch surprised at the mention of them being like Jesus or what not. “We have demon princes in us. That means some of that stuff in the bible is true. Claiming to be one of the main good guys or saying this happened to them may not be the wises thing. I mean . . . what if he’s true and it’s not real? “ Mason couldn’t help shutter at that thought a bit. “I don’t want to know about what punishments may be in store for us. I mean what did we even do wrong?”


Then he was compared to this Jesus guy, stuff about having lots of people follow him. A frown and uncomforted filled him there. “If that’s the case . . . I wouldn’t know for sure without testing it. I mean, a lot of people already want to hang out with me and come to me for stuff. How would a power make any of that different than it already is?”


Then Lucy spoke and of course all his attention was on her for those moments. “Mind control or charisma?” He chuckled at that wishing. “If I did, how would you want me to use it? Or would you see me using it at all as wrong?” Yeah . . . he was bad at flirting, but he really did want her opinion as well. God if only he knew how to treat those he had a thing for a bit differently than the rest.


He couldn’t help smile a touch though when he did give a nice shine to Jesse’s powers. A gently laugh seeing his friend smile, at times that was a rare site when it came to the geek boy. “Maybe you and I can figure out romance together or help each other with it? I just thought dark room or place, and those lights could pull off a nice night sky, or candle light. Then you could spell stuff for her, or who knows, pictures?” Now Mason was feeling a touch weird talking about it, so he find a nice quiet spot semi away from the rest of them to sit and work past his embarrassment. That’s what he got for trying to be himself, who knows what would happen if knowledge of that side of him got around.


Then Lucy went on about passing about the superhero thing and that was a touch of heartbreak. Not that he had a thing for superheroes. He couldn’t tell most of them apart in fact, just the thought of seeing Lucy in a costume like she semi described was a bit of a turn on. “I suppose outs like that would make us stand out a bit too much as well.” He gave in, he usually always gave in. Even Angel seemed to be laughing at his suggestion. Low point of the day right here, showing how much of a fool he really was in ways.


The long time no see talk made him twinge some. The awkwardness for him between them seems to be returning and they all struggled for small talk. Angel would ask which of the demons he shared with and he answered without even glancing to her. “Satan I think.” Why were they really there even? It’s not like the talk so far had been fruitful. He missed them sure, but . . . even with seeing and talking to them they seemed to distance in ways. Mason was starting to wonder if keeping the good memory and staying away from them would be better than this.
 
"Yeah, yeah, it was dumb, I know," Jesse says with some embarrassment, looking down and kicking at the ground slightly with his shoulders remaining stooped in response to the others' reactions at his rather off base Jesus theory. "Guess my parents made me go to Sunday school too much...you know, they don't actually teach you about demons much in church. They talk about hell but they don't talk about demons... they ought to give people more of a warning, if you ask me."


Jesse grins shyly in spite of himself as Angel laughs at him, a little self-conscious, but liking to see her look happy and relaxed rather than afraid. In this moment, despite the subject matter, with the others around him, including him, he doesn't feel much fear either...in fact, as bizarre as this is, he's almost happy.


He has missed them...undoubtedly, in his mind, much more than they could have possibly missed him. He had thought it must have been easy for the others to walk away, that it was he who had so much less to lose. But if they had missed this too...it was a stunning but pleasant surprise to him.


He is still watching Angel laughing and being silly, pointing out shapes in the clouds, and thinking to himself what she'd look like in a specially designed fish-scale superhero wetsuit when Mason gets his attention, talking to him about romance and helping him set one up. Jesse's head swivels to him rather than Angel rather rapidly, and he nearly chokes, thinking at first that Mason has read his thoughts. It was very nice of him to offer...but...would that actually work? Would Mason go through with it? Would Angel like it? What if he did something to mess it up?


He tries to focus on Angel's suggestion that they identify their demons and flips through the Bible again, finally coming across a likely candidate. "I think mine is Lucifer..."


He looks up, half smiling, half shrugging. "I thought Lucifer and Satan were the same thing?"


Then, looking around at the others somewhat nervously, he took the plunge. "Uh...well, even with the...alarming demon possession part and the freaky-ish new powers...I'm sort of glad we're here. I mean, I know it's not the same with you guys...and I'm not saying anything will come of this or we'll keep meeting or anything like that, because I more than get you probably don't want to, and that's okay...just...I sort of missed you."
 
Lucy hugged herself tighter, trying to cover herself up. She didn't know why but she felt a chill up her spine. "I guess that really does leave me with Belial." The one whose name meant worthless. What did that say about her?


She looked at Mason as he asked her about his power and shrugged. "I don't really care how you use your power as long as you don't use it on me. You should be able to decide for yourself where the line is. Of course, this would only apply if you actually had this power. We might have to test it out somehow." She thought about ways to test this mind control theory. The easiest way would be to try it out on someone, but who could they test it on? Of course, if they used their powers out on eachother it might create some tension. They might not want to meet together anymore and they'd lose the only allies, that they were aware, they had.


Staring at the ground as Mason detailed on how Jesse and he could go flirting, she couldn't help but wonder who Jesse would choose. Probably someone who wasn't . . . defective. Someone who was nice and cheery and pretty. Someone like . . . Angel.


She smiled when Jesse said that he had missed them. Looking out at the horizon, she watched the sunset, remembering how they became strangers just two years earlier. She had been the first to abandon the group. With her crush on Jesse, it was always a bit awkward seeing him. Eventually, she just stopped coming to their meetings and get togethers. It wasn't something too surprising, she had always been the one to run away from her problems. "Well, I wouldn't say that meeting up again is horrible."


(Someone else can decide where we're going if at all. I don't really care as long as it isn't some vegan place.)


Suddenly, her stomach started rumbling. It was getting late and she was hungry. Jumping off the rock, she said, "I'm going to get something to eat," and started walking away from the lighthouse. When she was about ten feet away, she stopped in her tracks. She turned her head to face the group. "Aren't you guys coming as well?"
 
As she sat up, Angel felt a breeze run through her hair. The salty wind burned her eyes and blurred her already dimming vision. She hadn't noticed how late it had gotten since they left school. Quickly, she fumbled about for her phone before she realized it was still in her bag at school.


She couldn't help but listen to the two boys' conversation. Angel blinked at them, "Hey, we're girls! If you guys need help with romance just ask me or Lucy. getting info from the source is easier than trusting another guy's opinion." As soon as she said it, Angel gawked at Mason. Son of a... crap I just insulted him! "I mean! Uh, I'm sure you guys have dated before but... all girls are different," She sat there with an awkward look painted across her face, "On second thought, just ask Lucy."


Angel turned away blushing violently. D-D-... DAMN IT! Can this day get any- She turned back around, listening to Lucy. "Well yeah, I guess we haven't eaten since lunch. Maybe we could go to... hey!" She stumbled after her, only for her to stop. "Well I don't care where we eat, but it would be fun to go somewhere together." She turned to the boys, saying quietly, "Um, I can't drive, I still have my permit." Can't even be brave enough to tell them I failed my test last month... Angel recovered with a hopeful smile.
 
Lucy’s answer about how he should use his powers was a touch cold in Mason’s eyes. He knew to expect it, but that didn’t help the hurt anymore. Was there anything that she would ever really care about? She was right though, it was up to him to drawl the lines. The fact she reminded him that he might not even have a power managed a light smile. In ways he would be happy without ones, but . . . would that make him out of the group?


Then Angel cut in about romance and how they should ask girls if they wanted help with it. The poor guy turned bright red. How was he to explain that going to girls over such things was very difficult? Then she pulled back her suggestion to help and said just ask Lucy. Yeah . . . that couldn’t happen, he might be able to discuss it with Angel a touch since she was like a sister. To talk with it with the one he crushed on. Slowly he shook his head. “It’s not that easy” was all he could manage to say towards that chat.


Once more Lucy took the lead and he managed a slight chuckle, she was some woman. Maybe . . . maybe he could try to talk romance with Angel . . . she might be right, maybe she could help. “Well I have access to a car, but we have to go to my place first. Not sure why you would need one though.” He smiled a bit only to think over the possibilities. “You know . . . maybe we could grab something and hit a drive in movie that is if we could all decide on something to watch.” What a foolish boy, he wasn’t thinking date to be honest just hanging out. It was only after the words came out of his mouth that he realized . . . dinner and a movie.
 
Jesse smiled again at Lucy's comment...meeting them wasn't horrible? From Lucy, that was a pretty major admittance, almost akin to an "I love you," in Jesse's eyes. Not that she was thinking that, of course. Jesse knew better. Girls like Lucy would never feel that way about guys like him...girls like Angel...


He looked again at Angel as she fumbled for words, appearing embarrassed at her own efforts, but to Jesse, her awkwardness was endearing, not at all like his own. When she agrees that it would be fun to go eat, Jesse has to look down and make his hands into fists to contain his excitement. Angel thought it would be fun to go somewhere...with him?


Okay, with a group plus him. But still...


He smiled at her quickly, trying to reassure her. "I can't drive either, I'm...I don't have a car, and I'm...sorta grounded from my brother's. Even if he'd let me drive it. Which he wouldn't."


He nods at Mason's suggestion of a drive in movie, already imagining in his mind the perfect, ideal way it would play out. He'd sit in a seat with Lucy...it would be a horror movie, of course, because Jesse liked those. He could impress her by predicting every moment just before it happened. She would be scared, and she would hide her eyes and clutch his arm...and he would put his arm around her, protecting her...and then, when the movie was over, he would turn towards her, and...


Who was he kidding?
 
"Though I don't have a car either, my brother does. I have a motorcycle but four people can't fit on it. Why would we need a car? We can just walk, right? It's not like we're fat." Lucy continued walking, expecting the others to follow. "A movie might be nice. Though I'd prefer an actual theater. Drive ins don't have that many options." She really wanted to watch a horror film. Given the situation they were in, it seemed appropriate. If the demon thing was true then it was like they were in a horror film. But to go to a movie with Jesse. The idea made her smile a bit.


She turned back. "We should probably get Angel some clothes first though." She tossed her jacket to Angel. It was too big on Lucy herself, so it should be enough to cover the blonde for now. "Do you want to go back to school to get your things or what?"


(Sorry about the short post. But I do have a plan no matter what path we're choosing at the moment.)
 
"Yeah. Movies sounds good to me." Angel said, peeking at Mason. Wouldn't be very cool to choose something with romance in it. Shoot, what's going on at the moment? "Umm, I think theres a new Paranormal Activity movie out right now. Or we could go to that theater up the street where they show older movies?" She shrugged her shoulders. "Let's just start walking now and figure out on the way or something."


Angel stared at Lucy, not computing what she ment until a jacket was thrown at her. "Oh yeah! Sorry I was just," Uhmmm... excuses excuses come on! "Hoping to get a few laps in after we were done here, you know. Gotta practice." Nailed it. "By now the locker rooms are, well, locked. My friend's house is up the way, I guess I can ask Sammy for some clothes since she owes me a favor." She looked up, gazing about the sky to see if stars were out yet. The clouds had changed from white to a gray purple shade, in the horizon red. "I'll just go on ahead while you guys figure out a movie," And with that, she turned on her heel, slipping on the jacket, and dashed.


Angel knocked on the white-gray door in front of her. Several moments later, a tired looking girl with a mess of dark brown hair whipped the door open. She blinked at the blonde. "Angel fish, what are you doing here?" Sammy said, looking at her wetsuit, "Can't swim today, I'm tired."


"I just need to borrow some clothes," She pleaded, "I left my stuff at school and uh," Angel looked back. "I went swimming near the lighthouse today." OK, half lie, but still you owe me.


Sammy narrowed her eyes but motioned her in anyway. "I've got some clean clothes in the kitchen, there's a basket on the countertop." She traveled back up the stairs, saying, "Just be sure to lock the door before you leave." Angel waited to hear a door shut before exploring the kitchen.


She did find the basket, but the clothes were bunched up, like they haven't been folded since their wash. She made a face but sorted through them anyway, picking out clothes that Sammy does not regularly wear to school. They're all wrinkled! She thought, wincing as she held up a beaten sweater. She sorted for several minutes before she settled on an okay-looking pair of jeans and a navy long sleeved Aeropostale shirt. "Not too bad," she said to herself.


She walked out the door (locking it behind her) and looked around. It had dimmed so much out that it reminded her of the other night in the graveyard. Seeing as the group was not in sight, she clutched the jacket in her hand and began walking in the direction she came, not minding the cars passing her by or the noises of nature.
 
When Lucy turned in the drive-in for a theater Mason mostly just shrugged. A movie was a movie after all and it saved him a trip home. He wasn’t sure why she was so against driving though, and all up for walking everywhere. He preferred walking himself, but the fat comment was a touch unnecessary in his eyes. A touch mean even. Wait . . . did he do something to make her mad? He sighed looking down running through the events the best he could. That would be just his luck, they finally meet up again and he’s upset her somehow.


Then Angel and Lucy had a chat about clothes and he glanced to them both curious only to chuckle some at how Angel looked. He never could understand why girls dressed or willingly walked around with so little at times. He couldn’t help feel bad that he didn’t notice sooner. Kicking himself for the lack of chivalry, the least he could have done was loan her his jacket.


“Is this going to become a regular thing?” He asked the two remaining softly, truly wondering, and hoping a touch. He wasn’t sure why or how he ended up more the silent one in ways of this group. Normally he was out there, in the middle of it all showing off. They . . . they have him worried even more of making a wrong move though, of not being approved by them. “You know, if you guys decide it is . . . I wouldn’t mind.”


His eyes caught Angel heading back towards them and merely gave her a wave making sure they were spotted again. That girl was quick, and he couldn’t help wonder how she managed to get to her house and back so fast. At least she looked comfortable, and he couldn’t help smile some at that. She wouldn’t be cold in that.
 
"I'm up for anything," Jesse said in response to Lucy's suggestions. "Although I would sort of like it if we didn't cut through any cemeteries on our way if we're going to walk. Just in case. Although you know, deaths also occur in movie theaters in the movies. There was Scream 2, for instance. And there was that one movie, I can't remember the name, but they were watching a movie and it was sort of becoming real, and they got sucked into the screen and everyone kept getting killed for real, and at the end just the little boy was alive but the police didn't believe him. So...it seems that pretty much everywhere you go there is a way that something freaky can happen. But...we probably sort of know that by now. Since we're possessed by demons and harboring their skills and all."


He didn't mind walking, if that meant prolonging his time with them and particularly Angel, but he also didn't mind the thought of sitting in a car...maybe next to Angel. He was disappointed when Lucy threw her her jacket and then when Angel ran to get changed...he didn't want her to be cold, exactly, but he certainly didn't mind looking at her as she had been dressed.


As they walked, Jesse was surprised by Mason's question and looked at the other boy quickly, giving a hesitant smile as he shoved his hands in his pockets. "I wouldn't mind either. I'd...kind of like that."
 
(This is probably a good time to tell you guys that I plan on adding another main character. Not sure if I should try to recruit someone else or just double up on the role, but it shall happen one way or another. Yeah . . . that's all I've got to say.)


Lucy began walking down the darkening streets, leading the group to a nearby pizzeria. It was good, cheap and close by. Hearing Mason's question, she thought about what it'd be like to meet regularly like they used to. To be friends again. It wasn't a terrible thought but after two years, she had grown a bit used to solitude. It was safe. But part of her missed having people she felt she could rely on. And in a way, she must've wanted it to happen since she was the one to call them together in the first place. "It wouldn't suck." That was the only thing she had managed to say. Any more and she might've left herself vulnerable, and she didn't want to be seen as weak.


Dinner was rather uneventful, even after Angel joined them. The words thrown across the table was mostly awkward small talk. Asking how a swim race went, comments about less than desirable teachers, and updates on family and the like. Lucy contributed mostly vague answers to common questions. No one really shared anything too deep like they would've years earlier. The group dynamic was still slow, with no one really trusting eachother like they used to. The black haired girl snuck a few side glances at Jesse, whose attention was always pointed somewhere else. She wondered what he thought of what she had become now. Of course he did mention her new found abilities as awesome but that could've just been him being nice. It didn't mean anything. Looking around the table, she couldn't help but smile a bit. It was a bit rocky but it really did look like a scene in an average day of their lives at twelve, or around then.


At the movie theater, Lucy was adamant about watching the current horror movie. And of course, the one that started at around 11pm. She wanted any excuse not to go home just yet. Her mother's boyfriend, she wasn't sure which one, was coming over. And well, the walls in the house weren't exactly soundproof. All the Hargreaves siblings knew to make plans on Fridays, lest they be confronted with awkward sleeplessness.


(My next post will be a time skip to after the movie. So . . . finish your post when your character leaves the theater. Also, can someone else decide what the movie was about? My creative juices are a bit occupied with something else.)
 
(Hey guys just a heads up, Ive been gone for a while cause i've been getting ready to go back to grad's. I leave tommarow and the wifi there wont kick in for a few weeks, so until then you guys can skip me in the post order and control my character if you want >o<' Sorry)


Angel caught up to the group, walking a bit uncomfortably in the darkness. Even with people around her, trusted friends, she felt as though she were surrounded by dark nothingness. It sent a chill up her spine, but she continued on close to the other three members of the group. Reaching the Diner, it was just even more awkward and uncomfortable. Only occasional sounds of small talk and eating noises. Angel began to ask things like how their lives had been, how school was, the usual. A few times she burped out loud just to fill the silence, hoping to get a few laughs though it grew old quickly. Instead, she minded her own thoughts as she bit into her pizza. I wonder what happened since sixth grade that we cant get on like we usually did. Are they still mad at me for leaving? All my free time was ate up by swim practice... we were in different classes. It wasn't my fault. She threw her glance around the small table nervously.


The movies were uncomfortable all the same. The movie was horrifying, so much that she had her eyes shut tight most of the time, hugging her knees and trying not to listen to the sounds of slashing and screams. Several times, she made an excuse to run out of the theater, whether it was to get food or anything. By the time the movie ended, if you asked her what the movie was about, Angel wouldn't have an answer.


Walking out with the group, angel turned around to face them. "That was... Awesome." She spat out. "How was it for you guys?" She asked, clearly not interested. I think I was just scared for life. The night's air made it's way to her skin, even through the warmer clothes. "Uh... maybe we should do something else. I really don't want to go home after being out so late." she admitted, remembering that she hasn't seen or contacted her father since this morning.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.

Users who are viewing this thread

Total: 6 (members: 0, guests: 6)

Similar threads

Sora No Kami
A vicious dance with death (RP 1x1 based on the song "My R") TW: Self-loathing, Suicune
Replies
1
Views
93
Sora No Kami
Sora No Kami
Back
Top