Suddenly I See (Ellen, later open for a staff member)

[Erika Conner (Bellefonte)]

The cafeteria was empty except the two girls, Erika and Ellen. Their class had been cancelled and somehow they had ended up spending their time here. Why Erika didn't know, but she couldn't help but feeling a little angsty about it. She knew the blonde had several questions prior to a certain blog post, and if she had asked her about it before, Erika's answer would have been simple. Now though, now she was a little confused about the entire thing. Her mind seemed to go back and forth, not quite being able to decide what to make of it.

With her lips pressed into a thin line, Erika's attention was drawn towards the window as she rocked her chair backwards. There wasn't anything in particular to watch, she just needed somewhere else to look - she was desperate to avoid the topic she knew was coming sooner or later. Maybe it had been dumb of her to come here and be all alone with the blonde without any witnesses or back-up.

Oh well, what was the worst that could happen?

''The weather is nice today, don't you think?'' Erika asked as she stretched her arms in the air and placed her feet on top of the table, yawning sluggishly. Don't ask. Don't ask. Don't ask. ''I can't wait for summer,'' she said with a faint smile.

[Ellen Banks]

You know even since Ellen Banks has come across the Blogger Dirty Laundry you’ll be hard press to find who did more to stop the gossip column then Ellen. Every time Ellen thought about that little creep hiding behind her computer laughing and mocking her, it made Ellen’s blood boil. She lived for the eventual day where the mysterious rumour spreader slipped up, Ellen would be there to pounce and pounce she would.

But now she couldn’t help but feel grateful for the rumour column for providing her with such valuable information, who knows if the circumstances was different, she might have benefited her greatly, she might even have gotten involved with it herself…if the little bitch didn’t feel the need to try and humiliate her like she did…
But it was good to know that besides Erika had been busy behind her back…messing around with a certain cook. Now; in her perfect world this would be something that Ellen didn’t need to concern herself with. In fact she would have offered her a high five for bagging such a good looker…Ellen must admit, she had her eye on him for quite some time..Ellen saw it as a mark of honour…if it was just sex… but the same truth was it wasn’t…it never was with Erika..

Ellen saw this pattern play out over and over and over and over again, but Erika thought she had better standards then this. A cook?! Oh dear Erika have some standards for God sake.

As she sat there in her seat besides Erika with her hands neatly folded in front of her, it was plain to see what was on Erika’s mind,. She knew exactly what Ellen thoughts on the subject, but Ellen had all the time in the world to let Ericka think about what she’s done, to build up the tension. Ellen didn’t answer her comment about the weather, she had no time for idle chit-chat, but she couldn’t help but be amused by her conversational tone as she turned towards her with one eyebrow raised as if to say “Really? This is what you want to talk about” “Why wait until summer?” Ellen said with an equally conversational cool tone “From what I hear you’re having lots of fun right here in school…”

[Erika Conner (Bellefonte)]

The thing about Ellen was that she pushed herself through life taking whatever she wanted without caring who she had to hurt to get it, including Erika. She used her hypnotic power to twist everyone around her little finger and turn them into puppets. The scary part? She had done this to Erika a billion times the past twelve years and Erika couldn't even remember any of it apart from what Ellen had admitted to already. What if Erika didn't even want to be her friend, yet Ellen had conveniently hypnotised her to be? And not only that, Ellen ruined every single relationship Erika ever got into - both with friends and with lovers and Erika didn't even have a say in it.

No, Ellen lied and cheated her way through life and she didn't even feel guilty. Not about driving away all the people Erika grew close to and not about hypnotising someone who was supposed to be her best friend. It had been driving Erika crazy ever since Ellen had admitted to hypnotising the brunette to break up with every single guy she had dated - and worse than that - she blamed Erika for it. 'Poor little Erika, she carried her heart on her sleeve and couldn't possibly have sex without feelings, boohoo' You know what, Erika was proud she didn't have to spread her legs to every single attractive guy she saw - and she didn't even have to hypnotise them to actually wanting to be with her unlike a certain blonde had to.

The pent up anger and frustration seemed to rush into her all at once and it made her feel on edge. It clustered her sense of judgement and the answer the blonde got for her comment was added with a lot more venom and edge than she had ever used before, ''Oh yeah, I bet you have,'' she hissed without looking in Ellen's direction, ''How typical of you to jump to conclusions like that - oh and let me guess, now you're going to hypnotise me to never see the guy again so you can go ahead and steal him? Oh wait, why does that sound so familiar...,'' Erika pushed the chair away from the table as she stood up, keeping her eyes away from the blonde's. It was the best way to counter the hypnosis.

''Hey, why don't you try to get something without having to cheat for it, hm? Like, oh I don't know, try to make someone actually like you without forcing them to, for a change?'' she spat at her, ''Oh wait - that's probably impossible for you. Right, right,''

[Ellen Banks]

Oh, Erika… Always so quick to think the worse of Ellen….

Ellen hardly needed to use her powers to get what she wanted. With her pretty face, charming personality and of course the valuable commodity in this world; Her daddy’s money she could take what she wanted…but what was the fun in taking when you could just be giving the world on a platter?

Despite all outward appearances and her desire for order and the status-quo is maintained at all times, at her core Ellen Banks was an anarchist, she’s the type of girl that would find a hornet nest and kick it with all her strength just to see what would happen. She had approach to relationships, why would she want a regularly boring relationship when she could so easily make someone cheat on there beloved causing as much drama as possible, nothing gave her more joy then to sit back and watch the fallout. “Bickering Bf/GF time” was her favorite show. She tried the whole relationship thing once….it was so very dull, never again.

And the extent of Ellen’s hypnosis on Erika wasn’t as intense as Erika seemed to imagine. They have been friends for many years before both their powers manifested and in her childhood when she was less responsible with her powers she mainly hypnotized her to play pranks on Erika as children tended to do and Ellen didn’t destroy every single relationship she had, just the ones that clearly was going to end in heartbreak (Or if the partner in question didn’t enjoy Ellen’s company) Ellen justified her actions by knowing that, Ellen couldn’t plant any emotions that wasn’t already there. If Erika truly loved the guys she associated herself with then the fact that Ellen could break them up proved that she didn’t truly loved these guys therefore Erika was wrong and Ellen was right.

To be honest she was surprised by Erika’s words. One thing Ellen never did was jump to conclusions. She would never do anything without examining Erika’s latest boytoy first. That would be just rude!

Ellen honestly was stunned. She didn’t think Erika had the gal to speak to her with such venom, Here she was trying to make sure that her best friend and here she was spitting absolute venom at her. The nerve! Still Ellen didn’t show any surprise at Erika’s rant she simply looked to her nodding along as if agreeing and understanding her points. Remaining silent until she was quite finished with her rant and even then she spoke in a soft voice “…All I was going to do is ask you if it was true, giving the source it came from” A tone of scorn becoming apparent in her voice at the thought of DL “It looks like I got my answer, I guess even a broken clock is right twice a day” Ok, You’re angry. I can understand that, I’m sure if you were thinking clearly you won’t be saying such hurtful things and realize I’m just looking for you. I just want to talk, Erika there’s no need to be so dramatic”

[Erika Conner (Bellefonte)]

Granted, at the time being love might not have been in the picture as Ellen hypnotised Erika to break up with guys, but love was something that came with time and had to be developed. It didn't come at first sight as so many people seemed to think. No, she hadn't been in love with any of the guys, but that was because she never got the chance to - she never got the time to develop her feelings any further than the usual 'crush'. But that did not give Ellen any right to meddle, even if she tried justifying herself. This was the reason humans were born with the opportunity to choose and make up their own mind - they surely didn't need someone to force their choices upon them.

The fact that Ellen couldn't even take responsibility for her actions and always tried finding a way to justify herself was probably what annoyed Erika the most. Sure, she was no better since she had willingly followed the blonde around for years, but for all Erika knew that could be another one of Ellen's tricks. That was the thing though, Erika never knew the truth from the lie. Which was why Erika now was making an effort of not looking at Ellen. At all. She'd rather not have the blonde hypnotise her to forget the entire thing.

This problem wouldn't go away.

Erika knew she was overreacting and that it probably wasn't fair of her to blow off like this, but that didn't change the fact that her words were honest. She was sick of being part of Ellen's game. She wanted to be queen? Erika would hand over the crown without doubt. She didn't need the title. In fact, she didn't even want it.

A laughter escaped Erika's lips as she pinched the bridge of her nose, shaking her head, ''That just proves how little you know,'' she whispered, ''But the thing is, Ellen, it doesn't matter. You and I both know that even if it was true, you'd find a way to convince me it's a stupid idea - and there's no stopping you when you make up your mind,'' Couldn't she just for once make up her own mind and make her own decisions? Who cared if it went to hell and she got hurt? At least then she knew she gave it her all and it was purely her own decision without the influence on outsiders, ''The worst part is, you don't even feel guilty. You act as if it's your right to force me to do things. Well, guess the fuck what? It's my fucking decision, it always have been. And don't you even dare pull that shit with me - if you had the chance right now, you'd make me forget I said anything at all,''

The more things escalated, the more infuriated Erika got. She could feel her telekinetic ability lash out around her, making the nearby chairs vibrate, giving off a low, summing-like sound. Erika clenched her fists and exhaled, ''If you had cared like you claim to do - you wouldn't use your power at me. You'd give me advice like a normal friend and not talk to me like I'm some mindless child,'' she hissed, ''So if being dramatic is what it takes to get my point across, Fine. I'll be fucking dramatic all day long,''

[Ellen Banks]

See, this was always a contentious point for Ellen, she personally found that the concept of free will was quite overrated. What was the point in being able to make your own choices when the majority of the school population insisted on making the stupid choice, the ability to make decisions were wasted on a lot of people. Besides the boys that felt the full force of her hypnosis were always so happy without it. No worries, no responsibilities, just being in the midst of Ellen, that’s all they needed. Just ask them and they’ll tell you if being brainwashed was such a bad thing.



In her mind she didn’t need to take responsibility for anything, after all she did was plant a suggestion into her victims subconscious, it was up to their minds if they choice to accept them or not. She never forced them to do anything they didn’t already wanted to do deep down. She merely gave them a small push. She had no power if they didn’t agree to her in some fashion. Ellens mind games were just apart of that. A compulsive liar of the highest order, she found the act of the deception the most effective way to achieve her goals.



Again Ellen didn’t show any emotion whatsoever. She found her little temper tantrum quite adorable. Let her have her little temper tantrum, let her call Ellen every name under the sun it won’t change the fact that Ellen was right and Erika knew it



“Yes” Ellen said simply with her arms folded still showing no emotion “Yes I would like to make you forget you said anything, and I like to think if the rolls were reversed you would do the same for me, how many times have I see you get all goggily eyes over a guy only for your heart to get broken? Is it really such a crime to make sure you never get hurt like that again? Is it such a crime to save you the pain when I can see it coming a mile away? I’ve tried to listen, I’ve tried given you advice but you never listen, it’s because I care I do it. Why should I feel sorry about pushing you to make the right decisions in order to save you tears?”



She looked around at the vibrating chairs around her, trying not to show her mounting concern “Ericka…..I think you need to take a deep breath before you do something you’ll regret”

[Erika Conner (Bellefonte)]

Free will was something everyone deserved, whether or not they were about to use it for something stupid. And said thing being stupid was completely subjective, open for different definitions. No, Erika fully believed that no matter what, people should be allowed to make their own choices, mistakes and achievements without someone forcing it upon them. There was a reason humans had that ability after all.

And not even Ellen Banks could rise herself above it and play God. She was not better than anyone, she was not superior and she sure as hell didn't have a say in any choices anyone decided to make - not even Erika's. That's where Erika put a line on their friendship. She could accept advice and suggestion - but not having her free will swapped from underneath her feet. It. Was. Not. Acceptable.

Ever.

''Actually, Ellen...,'' she began, ''I would never force you or anything into a decision you're not ready to make or even want to make, not matter what the outcome might end up being,'' It hurt. It really did, and it made Erika question their entire relationship. Was it really worth the trouble? Twelve years of friendship... Was it worth being someone's puppet? No. It never was and it never would be, ''I don't care if you see it a mile away, I really don't. It's not your decision to make, it's mine. If my heart gets broken, so be it. At least I gave it a shot without giving up before I've even tried. Getting hurt is worth the shot. It's worth trying and it's worth the heartache. Why? Because when the day ends and all comes to all, at least I tried. I won't have to look back and wonder 'what if'. You have no right to make these decisions for me. Not even if it hurts you to watch - you still don't have a right. Don't like it? Don't watch,'' she spat at her again, the chairs vibrating even more at this point. It looked as if it was ready to being chugged off into the sunset never to be seen again. ''Did you ever bother to stop and ask me if it was I wanted? No! It was what you wanted. It's always about what you want, and anyone who has a different opinion than you gets their mind wiped!''

Her last comment made Erika snort, ''You don't fucking get to tell me what to do!'' she growled and the table on her right side got showed into the wall, filling the room with a crashing echo. Erika's power were already at the point where it was acting out on her anger. Her ability was explosive enough on a normal day, but the more the blonde agitated her, the less control Erika had over it. Another table got showed over the floor, clearing the path between the two girls, giving Erika's ability a free space to shove something - anything her way.

''It doesn't feel so nice to feel powerless, does it, Ellen?'' At the end of the day, when it came to the two girls and their powers, Erika had the advantage of having something she could use physically instead of mentally. And right now, right now her ability was using this to it's full advantage.

As Erika raised her hand, one of the chairs started floating a few inches above the ground, ''The worst part is that you don't even manage to wrap your selfish, inconsiderate and arrogant brain around the feelings of others. It makes me wonder why I even bothered to begin with,''

[Ayn Coutard]

The loud crash was what drew Ayn from the teacher's lounge where she had been marking French mid terms. She wasn't sure what had caused the scene before her, the damage in the cafeteria being something that she would have to report, and as one of the staff, probably fix it herself. Feeling her temper flare, at the sight of the 'princess' lifting objects into the air to hurl at her friend, Ayn knew she had to step in. Though... she wouldn't mind if Ellen had gotten hurt just a little. But she was sure there were video camera's hidden in places for the student's safety. After all one never knew what could happen in a school such as this.



"Erika Bellefonte!" The yell came, loud and echoing through the room. "Stop this minute!" Arms crossed over her chest, the teacher had to gather her courage and step into the cleared area of the room, putting herself between the two students. "Detention." She predicted, though how she would execute the detention was still to be determined in her mind.

[Ellen Banks]

The phrase “Deserved” was too a subjective term, just because someone deserved something doesn’t necessary it’s a good idea for them to have it. For example look at a child given a box of matches, you entrusted the child with said matches but he continues to burn things just because he can. The only sensible option is to take the matches off the child this eliminating the choice to make that mistake all together. Once you remove emotion out of the equation it was really quite simple to make the decisions that Ellen made and do the right thing. That’s what made her step above herself. If she was to allow herself to quote one of her favourite films “Practically perfect people can afford sentiment to muddle up their thinking” and that was the main different between Ellen and Erika. Her inability to separate emotion from logic had always been her downfall.



For example if Erika took a deep breath calmed down and looked at the situation objectively it should be more then clear to her that Ellen as usual was doing the right thing, but of course as usual Erika heart took over her head and it often did…always a big mistake.



Oh she did like to play little mss independent didn’t she? She found her entire speech tiresome to be honest and just a little childish. Ellen honestly thought Erika was better then to stamp her feet in a giant temper tantrum and scream at Ellen how much of a big girl she was. Sure she may want to experience pain and loss now, but Ellen was sure Erika would be singing a different tune when she got her heart broken once again. Erika was Ellen’s friend…the only person she truly felt any positive feeling towards and therefore, seeing her hurt. Hurt Ellen, a cardinal sin if ever there was one, all Ellen wanted from Erika is to do what was best for her, what any friend would do…and this was the thanks she got?! After all her work making sure that she was content, protecting her, guiding her, showing her how to survive in this cold on unyielding cold world. Wiping her tears from her eyes. This was how Ellen showed her gratitude? By calling her every name under the sun.



Ellen was nonplussed to be honest (But of course her face didn’t betry her feelings) She would never believe that the fragile little princess would ever had the bravado to speak to her in such a manner. She had always been so meek and quiet….this was so incredibly….selfish of her! “Erika.” She said maintaining her calm and even tone as if she was talking to a child. I think you need to relax and think about what your doing, before you make a mistake. I know you better then anyone. Since we were four, Do you really want to throw away your oldest friend for….for someone like that? Someone that’s beneath you? Someone that has convinced you that’s he’s different from all the rest? There’re all the same Erika. All of them. They all want one thing and once they get it, just watch them make some kind of excuse and run out of the door. Please Erika, don’t make the same mistake again.”



Her eyes practically bulged out of her head when Erika soon became violent and started to let her powers overcome her. This, this wasn’t right. This contradicted everything Ellen knew about Erika..and…and what was this strange tightness in her chest? Was it…what people called…fear?



No, Erika. In fact she didn’t like this feeling at all; losing control of a situation was a totally foreign concept to her, she was at a lost for words, Ellen life was structured on order, on repetitiveness. The very last person she expected to break from that script was Erika, yet here she was doing the one thing Ellen thought she would do…



Rebel.



She wouldn’t…she couldn’t attack me that wasn’t an “Erika” thing to do- Which is something she kept repeating to herself in her mind. But now? She wasn’t so sure….Thank god Miss. Coutard when she did and called her off, of course to her it must have seemed like Erika must have snapped on the innocent Ellen…and she couldn’t help but feel relieved. Even though there was a handful of other teachers she would have much preferred come to her aid. For whatever reason Coutard she didn’t seem to be Ellen’s biggest fan dammed if she knew why. She had been nothing but a dedicated and talented dancer. But Ellen was relieved to see her putting a stop to whatever was going through Erika’s head.



Detention? Ellen instinctively looked around, paranoid of a certain blogger lucking around. She couldn’t afford word getting out about this. If it got out that Erika Ellen’s best friend stood up to her, what was stopping everyone else? And if Erika got detention…questions would be asked. This thought in mind Ellen’s started to smile ever so sweetly and speak in her best “Nice girl” voice“Well, miss…if I may, Erika has been under a lot of stress recently and I think it just got to her, what you saw was just an accident. A result of trying to hold back her emotions, you wouldn’t punish her for that would you miss? It was just an accident, wasn’t it Erika?

[Erika Conner (Bellefonte)]

The most frustrating part was probably the fact that Ellen refused to see her point of view and continued to go on about it as if she had done nothing wrong. Well, if they truly were friends, wouldn't she have been a little more considerable towards Erika's feelings?

Well, whatever. Erika was beyond the point of caring. Fine, Ellen could believe what she wanted. Erika was done.

''I've already been thinking about this, Ellen,'' she began, her voice devoid of any kind of emotion, ''And you clearly do not know me as well as you thought, since you oh so clearly can't see my point of view. If you knew me at all, you'd know I'd someday stand up against you.'' She paused and rubbed her eyebrows, shaking her head as a chuckle escaped her lips, ''Who am I, or you for that matter to decide who's better than someone else? You, I or anyone else does not have the right to decide that someone else is more worth than the next. You cannot be that naive, Ellen. So please, for once in your life just cut the crap and stop being such a spoiled brat. It's getting old, and it's not cute anymore,''

Taking a step away, Erika felt her powers vibrating even more than what they had before. It took a great deal of concentration to keep it from lashing out directly towards the blonde, though, at this point Erika wasn't even sure if that would be such a bad thing, ''But that's the thing Ellen! It doesn't matter if I end up getting my heart broken as long as I'm free to make my own choices! I already know the risk. I already know that it won't work out! But that doesn't mean I'm going to be a fucking coward, turn my back and run away. I want to be the kind of person who at least tries. Who gives something a chance before deciding that it's not worth it. And you are in no position to make such a choice for me!''

The things that followed was a little hazy, and the next thing Erika knew, someone else's voice sounded from the doorway. The harsh voice ripped Erika out of her bubble of rage and the chair fell against the ground with a large thud, and Erika turned her body to face the teacher. Remaining silent, Erika walked towards the door before sighing, ''I'll show myself to the principal's office.'', she responded with a meek voice and stopped in the doorway as Ellen spoke, ''Oh for once in your life Ellen, just shut the hell up. Unlike you, I'm capable of taking responsibility for my actions,'' she practically spat at her, and as she opened the door, she turned her head, ''And as far as I am concerned, we're done.''