The Quiet Wave (OPEN)

[François Laffont]

The courtyard seemed quiet. François didn’t like quiet, he loved people. Sadly, he could deal with them only on small doses. It was not their fault, they could be great it wouldn’t change a thing. The problem was their feelings. And Franck could not ask them to feel with less intensity. He even preferred people not to know about this ‘power’ of his. Not that he was ashamed or anything, but he knew some people could feel like he was prying on the privacy. After all, what you would hide even to your parents, boyfriend, bestest of friends, he would know. Even if he didn’t want to, he would know.

That last class had been a little hard for him to concentrate. The guy sitting next to him kept thinking of some girl and the waves of love, mixed with some lust he had to admit, kept coming at him, making it hard to focus on what the teacher had to say. He could try to focus on the man speaking, but he knew then he might very well catch up what the man felt. At least he was no hottie or else he’d have half the girls in class salivating, making him infatuated too. Oh well, class was over and he could have a break from hormone-crazed teenagers.

For a moment, he wondered why there wasn’t more people gathered here. Was there a game? He wished he could join his comrades and watch one but he knew what would happen. The feeling was great, but this huge wave of excitement could be overwhelming. Last time, he could barely breathe. The courtyard was safer. There were people of course and even if they kept their voice low enough only for their friends to hear them, they could be loud to Franck. Feelings were not like radios, you could not turn down the volume. But today, things seemed alright. Besides, the temperature was great. He figured he could stay here, even eat here as he brought some food, and perhaps do some schoolwork. Maybe afterward, once his focus will allow him not to read all of one’s emotions, he could join a group and talk with them. After all, that was his training for his power.

[Erika Conner (Bellefonte)]

Sometimes, being part of so many clubs and sports had its benefits (Okay, it always had benefits) because that gave Erika the room to work out all of her pent up energy and frustration. Today was like that. She had overslept, which had fed onto the building stress. She hadn't been able to see Ellen all day since all their classes had been separate and her cheerleading practice had been cancelled. But even so, at least she still had soccer.

Soccer made everything better. Mindlessly running after a ball was just what she needed to calm her busy mind down and on top of that, it also made her telekinetic ability less restless, which on its own was a good thing. Her ability always did the stupidest things while being restless. It reached out for people, felt them up, knocked things over, you name it. So, keeping herself and her second personality busy was just the thing she needed right now.

After practice had ended and she had separated with the rest of the team, Erika walked towards the school building. Her fingers idly played with the brown hair which was tied up in a ponytail. Her eyes drifted over the seemingly empty courtyard and stopped at a dark haired individual she didn't know the name of. Was he new? Probably not. He looked far too old to be a recently recruited student, that much was obvious. Well, maybe he didn't hang around the types of people Erika did, which was usually the case, since Erika usually just hung around Ellen and Ellen didn't really have a whole lot of ''friends''. Mostly minions and people she could have the use of. Ellen was a bitch that way.

Erika dropped her soccer bag to the ground and stopped a couple of metres away from the boy. She pursed her lips as she debated whether or not to speak to him, but her better judgment lost yet again. ''Hi there.'', she said as she knelt down to her bag, rummaging through it. ''Why are you sitting here all alone?'' That seemed innocent enough, right? Right. At least Ellen wasn't here to scare the poor boy off, such as she usually did whenever Erika talked to someone of the opposite sex.

[François Laffont]

Franck loved sports but it was sometimes sad to think that it was difficult for him to be in a team. Oh well, maybe it was better that way. If the guys knew he was gay, and it was not something he was desperately trying to hide, they’d probably freak out at the idea of changing in a locker with him. He knew this was just an excuse he was saying to himself, to avoid admitting he feared getting into their hearts and find out something he wished he did not. The staff kept telling him meeting more people was good for him, that it would help him control his power better. But he still preferred to do it with a small amount of people at the time. After all, he didn’t want to disappoint his team because a gym full of people was just way too much for him.

He tried not to think about it. He did play after all on occasions, simply not in any team. It was easier that way. Maybe he should head there later, see if he could run around the field or train a bit. Or maybe he’ll simply jog all the way home. He knew how his father could be overprotective of him at times. Risking losing him once was enough. He wished he’d calm down a bit. He was not thirteen anymore.

He didn’t notice the girl. He felt some energy coming from her direction but since he knew he was not alone in the courtyard, he didn’t think much of it. That is until he heard a voice. He turned his head. No, it was not his imagination, a pretty girl was standing there, not too far from him and she was definitely talking to him. Had to, there was no one else close enough to hear her.

He tried to avoid reading her feelings. He didn’t like doing that. People talking to him didn’t all have some hidden motive behind it. He smiled back, glad she kept a reasonable distance. He chuckled a bit though at her question, looking around. He was indeed sitting alone. “I just came here to enjoy the sun a bit.” he admitted. Was he easy to understand? After four years living in America, he learned to speak English rather well but he knew he still had an accent that betrayed his origins. He smiled once again at Erika. “Besides, I’m not alone anymore.”

He sat a bit closer of her. Didn’t he think of talking to some people, trying to prevent reading their emotions? He just had to think of it for someone to come and talk to him. If that wasn’t a sign... “I don’t think we’ve talked much before. You’re Erika, right? My name’s Franck.” he said, introducing himself. He rarely went and called himself François, only because most of them had trouble saying it properly. She could guess he was French anyway, with his accent, so maybe she’ll think he ‘Americanized’ his name.

[Erika Conner (Bellefonte)]

Erika was known for her easy heart and her ability to flirt her way into a doomed relationship. She was a hopeless romantic, which Ellen scolded her for all the time. It didn't take a lot for the brunette to swoon over a new flame or grow an interest past that of friendship. Sure, it took a little more than a few minutes so at least this guy wouldn't have to worry about her coming on too strong or even coming on at him at all. For now.

Standing back up, Erika's smile widened into a grin as he replied and she nodded her head, her eyes shifting up towards the sky. The weather was nice today and it wasn't too cold either. Erika wasn't especially fond of snow and the cold. No, summer, sun and heat was more her style, even if training in the heat was like dancing naked in the middle of the flames of Hell, but she rarely complained too much. ''Yeah, the weather is nice today.'', she agreed with a nod and turned back to look at him. His charming comment brought her lips to turn even further upwards. ''Fair enough.'', she said with a chuckle.

If Erika had known he was an empath, she'd probably be a little more vary. It wasn't like she had much to hide since she usually was an pretty open person, but there were certain insecurities she preferred to keep locked up and sealed away. She had always been like that and not even Ellen knew half of them. Unless the blonde had hypnotised it out of her, of course.

Either way, the fact that he knew her name didn't really come as a surprise. Being part of the Bellefonte family and all. She was pretty sure that was common knowledge for most students, but the fact that he did know her name gave her an extra confident boost. ''Correct.'', she responded with a wink and stepped closer, dragging her soccer bag with her. ''It's a pleasure to meet you, Franck.'' The brunette didn't take much notice of the accent as she had been in contact with students from all over and somewhere along the way, accents sort of got lost on her.

Erika wasn't a complicated individual to understand, even without the empathic ability she was pretty forward and usually made her intentions clear. She loved meeting new people and never backed down from an opportunity of doing so. Well, as long as said opportunity didn't have a bad track record, which in this case the brunette knew nothing about. ''So Franck, tell me, care to join me for a drink?'', she began, but realized how wrong that might have sounded. ''-From the automat of course. I just came from practice and I'm literally dying from thirst.'', she added with a gleeful chuckle.

[François Laffont]

Franck loved the sun. He never understood how some people could love the rain. It was depressing. You had to stay inside and it was often dark. Plus there were storms. He hated storms. He was always nervous whenever there was one. Not necessarily because of the thunder or fear of being hit by it. It was the darkness, the noise, the overall atmosphere. It was really not surprising to see horror movies using storms so much to set the mood. No surprise either then that Franck hated horror movies so much.

The girl was in a good mood. He was not trying to read her emotions but he could feel the waves of positive energy coming from her. It put him at ease. If she had been aggressive or depressed, it would make him harder for him to be around her. Or worse, make him want to dig through her emotions and understand them better. You don’t want to dig through happiness, you simply rejoice and live the moment.

He couldn’t believe he was talking to Erika Bellefonte. Well, to be perfectly honest, he did know her, but more of reputation than because he took the time to sit down with her and chat. He knew some people had things to say about her, things that were not always nice. But he always shrugged it off. After all, he was able to feel their envy as they talked. It was her name, the fact she was part of the Bellefonte family, that got them to talk. François knew better than to believe everything you could hear about a person. Otherwise, he’d think he was cursed, touched by the devil.

He should have felt it. When she came closer, he should have realized that she was flirting, or at least putting herself in flirting mode. But he was trying so hard to let her share her feelings as opposed to reading them that he focused on her happiness and burst of energy. Besides, it was not like an infatuation or something. For now, she was only trying to be charming which he had to admit she was. And that he was also trying to be. It was not flirting per se. The two of them were simply trying to get acquainted without showing the worst of each other. Everyone was doing that.

He nodded at her as she greeted him. But he had to admit he was caught by surprise when she invited him for a drink. She corrected herself quickly though. He should have thought so. The other would have been too straightforward, right? “Sure. I’m kind of thirsty too. I thought of bringing a snack but totally forgot about water.” he said. He stood up, grabbing the few things he brought with him outside. He gestured towards her. “Let me hold it for you. What were you practicing exactly?” he asked. He knew he didn’t need to hold her bag. She managed to walk all the way here without the need of someone holding it for her, but he was trying to be nice. Plus he was trying to act as normally as possible. There was nothing behind her chuckle and he should not try to see whether he was right or wrong.

[Erika Conner (Bellefonte)]

The weather usually affected the brunette's mood. Cold and snow made her annoyed and agitated, rain made her sad and sun made her feel energetic. She didn't really mind storms and thunder as much, since she loved sitting inside wrapped up in a blanket and just listening to the wind and the sky roaring above her. It was almost something comforting about it. But when the storm was mixed with either snow or rain, well, then she hated it. There was nothing good about something cold and wet that could ruin your entire day in the matter of seconds. Nothing.

The many rumors that swirled around the Bellefonte teenager was not exactly unfamiliar to her. She was well aware about what people said about her and what they didn't say. Though, she didn't really mind it all that much. The girl had learned to shield herself from getting hurt by idle gossip and truth be told, she loved the attention. Whether it was good or bad, at least she was being noticed, right? Even if the only reason she was was because of her name, she still tried to see the positive in it, and hey, it sort of worked. Then again, her and Ellen being the queen bee's, the mean girls who pulled everyone's legs sure did help a lot on the bad rumor part.

Erika now took the time to study the boy's features. He was lean with dark hair and dark eyes. His skin was clean, as was his features. He kind of looked like one of those barbie dolls (Ken?) people bought for their children. He was very handsome, but in a unusual kind of way, something that made one appreciate it even more.

She was glad to find out that he wanted to join her and replied with another nod, followed by a smile. As he asked for her bag, she happily accepted his offer and handed the soccer bag over with a grateful smile. ''Thank you.'', she responded and let her arms drop to her sides. ''I was practicing with my soccer team.'', she said as her hand lifted to her cheek where it pulled away a strand of her hair. ''Are you part of any teams or clubs?'', she asked as she scanned through her list of clubs and sports. She couldn't remember seeing him at any, but she didn't exactly pay much attention to things like that while working out. She ran her hand through her hair before loosening the pony tail and letting her brown hair fall down her shoulders. ''I can't remember seeing you at any of my teams, though. If you happen to be on one of them, I apologize in advance.'', she laughed.

It was actually sort of nice, having a normal conversation with a boy she hadn't fallen for. Or girl for that matter. Being pansexual often led her to feel attracted to both sexes, but she preferred an male audience either way.

[François Laffont]

The main reason why François didn’t listen to what people may have to say about Erika, good or bad, was because he knew they probably talked the same way about him. Surely they had a thing or two to say about this French boy. Perhaps that he had too many girl friends, or that he liked clothes too much? Or maybe just stupid things about the fact he was a frog. Or gay. If he refused to listen and care about what they could say about him, he would not start to believe what they say about other people. He’ll make his own opinion of Erika Bellefonte and so far he appreciated her. He knew she was kind of the queen bee around here but she had yet given him the bitchy attitude that often came with the title. Then again, he was being charming so she had no reason to do so.

He grabbed her bag as she handed it to him. He was not particularly thirsty, despite what he said to her. He could use some water but he wouldn’t have thought of it had she not suggested it first. But he liked talking to her and so far, no incident occurred. No deep dark secrets had been revealed to him. He was able to feel only her excitement. He hoped it would stick to that as she started to talk of her soccer practice. “Ah yes, soccer. I’ve been here for four years but I still find it hard to say soccer. I’m always about to say football first,” he replied. He didn’t watch a lot of games on TV. His mother didn’t really like him watching it. But he played a lot with his friends when he was a kid. It was still a bit difficult for him, the differences there were. Soccer was football to him, football was rugby.

He shook his head as she asked if he was in a team. “I wish I could. But I still have some struggle being with too many people at the same time,” he explained. This school really was the only place you could say something like that without looking like a freak or agoraphobic. He was not the only one who struggled being around people, or risked hurting them. They still were kids, they were learning how to control their powers. Sometimes, they didn’t control it as well as they wished. Here, admitting being in a crowd was tough had people nod as only reaction. “I do like the occasional game sometimes. And I did think of joining the dance club,” he admitted.

“So you see, no need to feel bad for not remembering me,” he added with a smile as she did apologize if that was the case. If he did a lot of sports, he had yet accepted to join a club. But he did think about the dance club. He liked to dance and he thought he wasn’t so bad at it. It wasn’t like they had big competitions or anything right? He hoped not. But then again, if there were a lot of people in the club, it might be difficult. Still, he supposed he should try before running away from it first. It was time he took some risks. “You said ‘teams’, you’re in a lot of those?” he asked as they walked.

[Ellen Banks]

One thing that Ellen hated was being made to wait. Sure she liked to be waited on, and she liked making other people, she did like to make other people yes, it was a guilty pleasure of hers. She found teasing and playing with her pray before eating it. It tended to keep them keen. God bless the little dears, but as she paced besides as she waited in the courtyard for Ericka to come by so Ellencan take her out for smoothes as had become a recent tradition they had worked out between them, after all there was nothing better then gorging yourself after working up quite a sweat.



So Ellen….waited…and waited and waited some more as she sat down at a nearby table tapping her nails lighting against it feeling a strong sense of boredom overcome her. What was taking her so long? Was this some belated revenge after revealing that Ellen had played a part in her last several breaks up? God….Ellen wished her best friend wasn’t so emotional. So what if she did? All of them were of losers anyway. It’s not like Ericka would have put up with those jerks. So what was the problem?



Ellen continued to frown as her eyes wandered down below her where she saw Ericka. Finally. It took her long enough. Ellen was about to wave over but stopped when she saw who she was talking too



A boy…a cute boy…and Ericka was smiling a little too much…and playing with her hair



Oh no….



Now normally Ellen wouldn’t care about who Ericka bedded. In fact normally Ellen would give her a high five for taming such a hulk, but Ellen knew what Ericka was thinking with her body language…She was in danger of falling again. Not on Ellen’s watch she wasn’t.



Ellen quickly marched down the stairs putting on her best friendly face, Ericka may know the real her. But she still had to maintain her “Good girl act” for the sake of the boy “Hey Ericka…We were meant to meet for smoothies remember  ” She asked in false innocent when she approached the two “Who are you talking to?”

[Erika Conner (Bellefonte)]

The fact that the guy acted like a true gentleman was appreciated by the brunette and she offered him a grateful smile as he took her bag. Man, if only more guys acted like this, maybe Ellen wouldn't have to drive all the poor souls away. No, it was obvious that Erika was ending up all alone in the end, at least if she kept hanging around Ellen. The blonde was strangely possessive, though Erika didn't really mind it too much. In fact, it was comforting to know that no matter what, she always had her best friend backing her up.

It was first when he mentioned football that Erika noticed the accent. What was that? French? She couldn't tell for sure, but it was pleasant, and that was all that mattered, right? ''Oh, you're European?'', she asked with a chuckle and pursed her lips. ''Well, now that I think about it, I should have noticed by the accent - no offense, of course.'', she said and smiled. Hopefully she hadn't hurt his ego or something by mentioning it.

Erika nodded slowly, feeling the want to ask, but she didn't want to pry into his personal life too much, too fast. After all, abilities and such seemed to be a touchy subject for some and she wasn't sure how she'd feel if someone blatantly came up and asked her about hers. ''I kind of know the feeling-'', she admitted with a sigh. ''My ability always gets restless around people, it's kind of like having a second personality.'' And speak of the devil and he shall appear. Erika could already feel her ability reach out for the boy, but she tried her best to keep it contained. Not everyone liked to be felt up by an invisible force. And she'd rather not get an arrest on molest attempts either. ''Oh, really? I'm on the dance team!'', she said enthusiastically and the smile returned to her lips. ''You should totally stop by some time!'' They really needed more guys on the dance team too, so that would work perfectly.

''Good then.'', she said with a relieved laugh and shook her head. She was glad he wasn't one of those people who got too easily offended. They were usually hard to deal with and always came with truckloads of drama. His question brought a smirk to her lips and she intertwined her fingers before turning her head to look at him. ''Oh, yeah.'', she laughed and grinned. ''I'm sort of an... Overachiever? I'm part of the yearbook committee, prom committee, student council, music, dance and drama club, and I do track, swimming, soccer, obviously, tennis and I'm also part of the cheerleading team.'' She had a lot going on in her life and she was proud of it too. After all, she hated having nothing to do and sitting still for a long period of time was just not an option for her.

''You should stop by any of them if you're ever inter-'', she said but stopped as a certain blonde entered her line of sight. Erika stopped in her tracks and smiled a little baffled, but it was quickly replaced by something softer. Of course she would show up while Erika was talking to a guy. ''Heey, Ellen. Yeah, sorry, I got a little... Sidetracked.'', she said and turned her head to smile at Franck. ''This is Franck.'', she said with a nod towards him, before nodding towards Ellen. ''And that is Ellen, my best friend.''

Ellen took the time to glance at the blonde before smirking. Man, did she really fake anyone with that act? Maybe it was because Erika had known her for so long that she could see right through it? Perhaps. She really doubted Ellen was a bad actress, after all, she had fooled so many already. But this was going to get interesting either way, that much was for certain.

[François Laffont]

At this point, Franck was just too happy to see that he could control his power enough to focus only on her happy mood to fully read the other signs. Usually, he could sense flirtatious girls a mile away. Alright, that was just a figure of speech. But he could indeed tell when they were hitting on him, even subtly. He then tried to gently show them he was not interested. He could imagine how embarrassing it was to throw yourself at someone’s arms only to find out he was ‘batting for the other team’. Erika seemed a nice girl and he didn’t want her t feel bad about it. He felt they could be friends and he knew it would make things awkward.

He smiled and even laughed when she noticed his accent at last and figured out he was European. At least she didn’t say French right off the bat. Sure, he was French, but he knew how Swiss or Belgian could also be taken as French to English ears. It was like the different American accents. People here seem to find it so obvious, so easy to distinguish one from the other. But François would be damned before figuring out without guessing. “None taken. I’m from France,” he admitted. He actually liked that she didn’t pinpoint his accent immediately. It meant he was making progress in toning it down.

He nodded, serious again as she admitted knowing the feeling about powers. They were still pretty young, he knew they had plenty of time to learn to control them. Although he didn’t think he would ever be able to walk down a street without feeling anything. But if it was nothing more than like the scent of something in the air or anything as subtle, he would greatly appreciate it. He was a people’s person and it often hurt him to see he couldn’t stay around them for too long. For a second, he sensed something coming from her, a change in her emotions or something. He tried not to go further. It would be prying. “I like being around people. But after some time, I need to isolate myself,” he explained. He doubted he needed to say more for the moment.

So not only was she in the soccer team but she was also in the dance club. She suggested for him to come at any time. At this point, he did sense some sort of attraction coming from her, but he figured it was just the fact she was in the dance club and was probably hoping for another boy to join. He bet they could use a few more. She didn’t seem too infatuated, at least not at the level where he would need to back off. He widened his eyes a bit when she told him about all of the clubs she was in. “And you still got some time to eat and sleep between all that?” he asked with a teasing smile.

This afternoon was pleasant. Until he felt a wave of hostility that obviously didn’t come from Erika. At first he wondered who it was directed to. He didn’t know Erika, nor the girl coming their way, although he was pretty sure he had seen her quite a few times before. Another one he didn’t talk much to, he guessed. Erika didn’t need to stop mid-sentence for him to feel the blonde girl coming their way. And he got his answer as to who the cold wave was directed to when Erika talked to her with a smile, calling her by her name. Ellen. Franck smiled as Erika introduced them to each other. “Happy to meet you. I’m sorry, did I take too much of your time?” he asked Erika since Ellen came here mentioning she had been waiting for her. He couldn’t understand why the girl chose to dislike him right on the spot and hoped it was only the frustration of waiting when her friend was in pleasant company. He looked at her, not really sure what he should do to put her at ease. And the two were friends?

[Ellen Banks]

It looks like Ellen arrived just in the nick of time, Ellen had known Ericka for quite a number of years and she could tell that Ericka was about to do something quite stupid. Gah, she really needed to keep Ericka on a leash and collar didn’t she? (It certainly wouldn’t be the first time Ellen did just that to a person her experimental period was quite kinky indeed) Every single time Ellen let Ericka out of her signs for a moment she was practically drowning in her own droll and raging teen hormones over the first reasonable attractive guy she first lays eyes on.



Even though she was willing to concern that in this particular case her reaction. Fanck was very attractive. The type of guy that Ellen herself would mark her own territory on, if nothing else it’ll make sure Ericka wouldn’t make groggily eye at him anymore if Ellen marked him for herself…..it certainly wouldn’t take a lot to have him purring like Ellen’s little kitten.



Now what other friend would be willing to have sex with a really hot French man just to protect her best friend?Answer Ellen Banks. Such a good friend….



Ellen smiled at Ericka’s description as he looked the boy up and down “I can see that…” Ellen with her fake radiant smile on her face “It’s a pleasure to meet you Franck, No don’t be silly” Ellen laughed innocently as if she wasn’t thinking the same thin just a few seconds ago “I just saw you too were hitting it off and I didn’t want to intrude” Ellen suddenly looked from Franck to Ericka with a very good, good natured worried act “Oh, I hope I wasn’t interrupting anything.” Ellen said hoping she did exactly that.



Almost instinctively she moved closer to Ericka just become she always felt comfortable whenever by her side. Like when Ericka herself was around, she brought Ellen a sense of peace and as she looked at Ericka a rare real smile crossed her features.”You don’t mind if I take her away from you for a little bit?”

[Erika Conner (Bellefonte)]

Erika grinned and let out a laughter. ''I have to keep myself busy all the time, or else I'd probably end up going insane.'', she explained. ''I hate sitting still. That often leads to thinking - and thinking isn't my best trait.'' At least that's what Ellen thought. And probably everyone else.

It was a known fact that whatever Erika had, Ellen wanted. Even when it came to boys. And Erika was well aware than nothing she ever did could even compare to the blonde. Even without her hypnotic power, Ellen had this charisma Erika couldn't even dream of having. And besides, even if she did speak up, Ellen could simply hypnotise her to believe otherwise and yet again, the blonde would have won. Just like she always did.

Erika was used to it, so she couldn't really say she minded it too much. It did leave some open, insecure wounds, but she could live with that, right? After all, the blonde was her best friend and they had known each other since childhood, and.. She was only doing what was best for Erika, right?

Erika flinched slightly at the charming change of tone Ellen used and as a result, her ability lashed out, reaching for both the blonde and the boy, gently tugging at the rim of their clothes, like a prickly, tinkling feeling. It spread over the ground, felt its way over the dirt until it finally rested at Ellen's right leg, tugging onto it like a needy child. ''No, no, it's fine. I guess I forgot the time.'', she said silently and exhaled. And there it was, yet another possible friend lost under the overprotective rule of Ellen Banks - the master hypnotic.

When Ellen asked to steal her away, Erika felt a flush of disappointed tear over her, but as always, she had to obey. If Ellen wanted the French, well, she could have him. And clearly, she wanted him. In one way or another. Erika reached for her bag with an apologetic smile and nodded slowly. ''It was nice to meet you, Franck.'' She then turned towards the blonde looking at her as if she was telling her to stop ruining her life, with a more playful hint instead of the doomy, gloomy kind.

''Actually, Franck-'', she said and turned around again. ''-Would you like to join us?'' Well, at least he had the option to, instead of being brushed off like nothing.

[François Laffont]

He frowned a little when Erika said thinking wasn’t one of her best trait. What did she mean by that, that she was dumb or something? He couldn’t believe. But he also didn’t have much time to reply to that as her friend showed up.

For a best friends duo, those two kind of crept him up a bit. Well, not really Erika. She had been charming every step of the way. But this Ellen... He was getting all kinds of signals from her and it got him confused. It was just too many things at once. Well, at least he could say without being wrong that the hostility was directed towards him. He doubted she would react like this only because her friend was late for a smoothie.

Despite her smile, he could tell she wasn’t as innocent as she tried to appear. Facades were useless with him. Yet for this one, he nearly wished he couldn’t tell what she really felt about him. He couldn’t understand her reaction. What did he do to make her not like him right on the spot? She had a thing against guys in general or what? Or maybe she was just jealous of her friend.... No it wasn’t that. He would’ve felt it otherwise.

He startled a bit when she mentioned the two of them ‘hitting it off’. Wait, what? He frowned although it wasn’t because of this, well not only. He started to feel pressure, as if someone was holding on to his clothes or something. But they were not touching. Here, it meant someone was using a power. But who? It could be Ellen, it could be Erika or it could be someone entirely different, passing by and feeling like testing their power at this right moment. Then again, it would be too much of a coincidence that they chose this particular moment. He wanted to say she got it all wrong, that they were not flirting or anything. But he wondered. Perhaps he should double-check with her first.

He was surprised to feel her so unnerved. What was going on here? He needed to touch them to tell. Just brushing his hand over theirs would be enough. But he didn’t want to do that. It was too easy to just pat them on the back to tell how they felt rather than simply ask. Ellen got closer and as she smiled to her friend, he could tell this time it was genuine. There was something strong between them. Yet Erika appeared... disappointed. Again, he wondered what kind of friendship these two could really have.

He then thought he figured it out. Ellen did appear closer than Erika. Could this be? He supposed it wouldn’t be the first time someone would crush on her friend. Erika disturbed his train of thoughts though as she suggested he joined them. A simple glance in Ellen’s direction told him it might not be a good idea. But in the same time... He had to admit he was a bit curious about the two of them. “Only if your friend doesn’t mind. I wouldn’t like to disturb your moment together. You planned something,” he said, staring at the blonde girl. She wouldn’t accept him, right? Because she thought they were flirting? Maybe he should clear up that fact right away then. Then again, maybe he got that figure of speech wrong. It was not his language, he didn’t grasp all of its subtleties. “I just wanted to ask first, what did you mean by ‘hitting it off’? I’m sorry, it’s just I don’t always get your... slang?” he asked. Yeah, maybe it would be best to ask if she really meant flirting or just chatting happily together before explaining he was gay.

[Ellen Banks]

If Ellen had some way to be able to listen into Erika’s thoughts she would be quite stunned that she thought the way she did, if she had to put into words her actions regarding her friendship with Erika it would be: Protective. Nothing more nothing less. Sure, she may be a little hash at times but she liked to think of herself as tough but fair.



Since about the age of five, Erica had been under Ellen’s wing and over the year she had see her slowly being nurtured into a young confident woman thanks to Ellen’s guidance she had turned into a naïve and innocent daughter of the head of the school, to social queen. Second only to Ellen, She shuddered to think what would have happened if they didn’t meet all those years ago’s Erica was an easy target by virtue of her background. An easy target for abuse and if Ellen knew anything it was how high school could eat a person alive. She merely gave Erica the tools to defend herself.



She had the honour of being her second in command and could put her hands on any boy she wanted. Certainly a sweet deal for anyone. So forgive Ellen for making sure that her best friend wasn’t in danger of getting hurt, if Ellen wasn’t around she would have gotten her heart broken thousands of times over. Was she really such a bad person for preventing Erika pain?



“Oh no that at all” Ellen said as she gripped Franck’s hand for a brief moment as a way of greeting “I’m Ellen by the way. Franck right?” Ellen couldn’t help but smirk flirtingly looking between the two “I don’t know…I just saw Erika really enjoying your company.Erika how would you define “Hittingit off” Ellen was relieved that she had seemingly wrestled Erika away before she muttered a curse under her breath at Erika’s sudden offer, she would like nothing better then to say no….but she did have a image to maintain “Oh, don’t be silly! You’re more then welcome to join us” Cue charming smile

---

[Erika Conner (Bellefonte)]

Erika remained silent for a few seconds as the two conversed. Well, at least Ellen was being nice about it and it surely could have gone a lot worse, right? Right. Okay then. But still, it was somewhat annoying that Ellen constantly butted into things like this. Not that Erika necessarily felt the need to be alone with him or that she wanted to flirt with him without Ellen stealing him away, no. It was more the fact that Ellen seemed to think so lowly of her. Erika could take care of herself, and as much as she appreciated the thought, broken hearts were the only way for the brunette to learn, no?

''The term 'Hitting it off' is subjective and comes down to what each person defines it as - and in this case, it's called friendly conversing,'' she said and pursed her lips, turning away to roll her eyes at Ellen's flirtingly matters. Whatever. If she wanted him, she could have him. Erika wasn't as desperate as Ellen sometimes seemed to think.

''It's settled then,'' she said with a smile, sighing silently and gestured the pair to follow her towards the entrance door, ''As I was saying before I was interrupted,'' a quick glance was sent towards the blonde, ''-You're more than welcome to stop by any of the clubs, if only just to check them out,'' she said and chuckled.

Okay, so far so good. She was just going to take a deep breath and let the annoyance part. Ellen was a good kid when she wanted to be and Erika did love her, so she only had the option of taking her flaws with a smile and accept her for who she was, right? Right. Ok, she could do this.

Besides, she had done this for twelve years already, what could a few more hurt?