I Should Hate You Right Now

[Quinn Wiley]

Quinn should hate Erin Hackett. That girl just made him all kinds of confused. And not because he loved her and thought she would never love him back. He was not desperate to the point of falling for lesbians. The fight they had kept coming back to his mind. She said she considered him her friend. She said she didn’t constantly nag him only because of the life debt she owed him. Well, now that was paid and she had not tried once to be in contact with him, so it was hard to believe. It was what the stubborn part of his brain told himself. But then the tiny voice of reason came out and pointed out he was the one who hurt her and she probably waited on a move from him to do something. Yeah, right. What should he do anything for her? She did say he was her friend real friend here. And she gave him a camera. And the cigarettes. He tried to quit smoking since, it had to mean something right? No, it did not, other than he wanted to try them. Nothing else.

It was the kind of debate she forced him into. And he hated her for that. Normally, the stubborn, pessimistic side of him won. Rather easily too. But this time, that annoying little voice, that probably took on her voice for the sake of being even more annoying, kept repeating over and over how she called him her friend. When was the last time someone called him that? Damn, she was such a pain! Even when he was free of her he was not totally free of her. She did so much and he gave her very little.

She should have known though that he was not good at being friendly. Had it not been obvious already? Maybe if he did something for her he’ll feel less bad. Yeah he could do that. She asked him since the first time they met to see what he could do with his power. He could show her that. And then maybe he’ll feel better. He still had her phone number thanks to the few texts she sent him before. He sent her one.

Hey you. Drop your hacking and come to the training field. Something I want to show you. And be visible, no sneaking up on me.

That was not really the nicest way to ask but he still sent it like that when he arrived at the training field. Despite the warm day they had, he brought a hoodie to put on later, just in case. His body temperature tended to drop and if that happened, he hoped putting it on would be enough. He could also take in the sun, that ought to warm him up. It was in the middle of the day after all, so it should be pretty warm. He sat by the bleachers and waited. And during that wait, the two little voices in his head kept fighting each other again. She really better show up because he couldn’t stand that inner conflict any much longer.

[Erin Hackett]

After their last little get together, Erin fully planned to leave Quinn alone like he had seemed to want her to. It still was all very confusing on if he wanted her around or not so she was leaving it to him to make it clear or not. She had tried so hard, given him things, and just didn't know if he wanted to be friends or just kept her around because she gave him nice things. Then again, that was sort of why she gave him nice things. She always figured that if you gave people things that would have been happy to be your friend and it showed that you did care about them, but she honestly didn't know.

The whole friendship thing was still new to her but she had thought that she had done pretty well with the few that she had. Even if one of them she wished to do naughty things too but she had been keeping their hanging out to over the phone and video games as of late. She was actually lying on her bed and debating if she should send Alex a text or not at the moment when the text from Quinn came in. Erin was aware that Alex's boyfriend had been spotted around again, so that probably meant that no more of them hanging out so close anymore. She hesitated a moment before pulling open the text to read and eventually respond to.

I'll be there in a few. Don't do anything crazy.

She kept it simple, no cryptic l33t talk, and just getting to the point since she didn't know what Quinn planned. Her active imagination was already wondering if he was going to show her something that she didn't want to see or if he was going to show her like the biggest friendship card. She probably would have to hide after that, because then he would have finally admitted to being her friend. Let’s not get carried away now. Erin thought to herself as she grabbed a few things, put them in a small bag and headed to training field, remaining visible as he had requested.

"Sorry for the wait." Erin said when she finally got there. She was already looking around, expecting something huge to be seen, but it was just Quinn. Did he want to have a fight? He would be disappointed if he wanted to go up against her when her ability was more of a defensive one. "Ouch." Erin muttered out when she felt something bite her neck. Damn bugs, she forgot to put some spray on.

[Quinn Wiley]

Quinn was not sure how Erin would react to his text. She might as well tell him to bugger off or something and he couldn’t say he did not kind of asked for it. But he didn’t want to bugger off because his conscience, because that clearly was what this voice was, would not leave him alone until that was cleared. Still, would she argue, ask what he wanted of her before doing anything? He didn’t want to overly explain what was going on. Well, no, the real thing was that he didn’t want to send too many texts. He didn’t know how many she could send in a month but he had a very limited deal. It was not like he needed more. Who was he supposed to call? Plus he hated texting as it was so easy to make typos. In fact, he also hated talking on the phone. He was even less comfortable than in person, if such a thing was possible. It was even worse when he have to leave a message.

But Erin said she was coming. He had no idea what a few meant, if she was going right now or finishing something first. He was almost tempted to point out she was the one doing crazy things usually but, for the reasons explained above, he put his phone back in his pockets and waited.

It was a long wait, even if she rushed here. He tried to think how long it should take, if she was in her room. Her room seemed like the most logical place for her to be, knowing her. She had to get up, leave the south wing, then head out of the school and walk all the way here. And that was if she was dressed to go out to begin with. He tried not to think about it, just hoping no one would come over here while he waited for her, not wanting to give them a show. He wouldn’t be comfortable with lots of people around.

She finally arrived and he stood up when he recognized her figure coming over. He nodded as she didn't even greet him and only apologized for the wait. He had a light frown when she muttered something but the move she made as well made him understand she got stung or something like that. He ignored it.

Now, how to bring it? He just realised that maybe he should have thought about it while waiting for her to come over. “You still want to see what a dragon looks like?” That sounded so bad. Really, it sounded better in his head. Now, it was ridiculous. But he said it and it was kind of too late to change that. His power was not that he could turn back time.

[Erin Hackett]

Erin had not meant for it to be a long wait. True she didn't go running to meet up with Quinn but she was not taking her sweet time. Okay, so she was taking her time but it was not like she was stopping to take in the sights or anything. Okay, so that was sort of a lie too. Was it her fault that it was summer time and there were girls walking around in parasitically nothing with this heat? That and there were bugs out that seemed to want to devour Erin alive. This is what she got for not putting on bug spray, because bugs clearly loved them some ginger blood. Who didn't love them some ginger blood?

She got there eventually and there was Quinn, standing there, and looking very much like Quinn looked. Like he was not in the mood to be somewhere or that he just hated everything to do with the world. Erin was perhaps over exaggerating but she was still kind upset with this guy. After all, he got her to cry almost. He made her eyes watery and that she almost actually had tears fall out of her eyes; was what she told herself to make it seem like she didn't actually cry. Still, he had hurt her and she normally was only ever hurt by storms and not by the words people said. Hackett had been on the internet too long to be effected by words people said over the computer but apparently in real life they were able to get to her.

Then there was a question that had Erin confused for a moment. Of course her mind had been in the gutter a little while ago from checking out the girls on the way over here. So when he said dragon, she got a little worried but quickly understood what he meant. His power! He was going to show her his power? "Yes! You are going to show me your power? For real? This is not a joke?" Erin asked, clearly excited as she was not sure if she should step closer or step back which ended up causing her to sort of do a step forward and step back kind of dance.

[Quinn Wiley]

As he waited, Quinn had all the time in the world to wonder if she was giving him a little payback or not by taking her time. Or not showing up at all. He was not a very patient person so he had to force himself to consider the fact she might have been doing something or was a long way from the training field. She showed up though and it surprised him that he sighed. Because it sounded awfully like a sigh of relief. Oh, his brain would quickly point out the fact it was just so that he could chase away all feelings of guilt inside of him, but he was still amazed he could be relieved to see someone.

She was right, he looked exactly like he did all the time. Quinn was not the kind of person to smile a lot and even when he did, it rarely was more than a curl of lips. He didn’t like his smile after all. Erin too looked a lot like what she normally looked like. The exact kind of attire he saw her in most of the time. And she was visible, which was a big plus. He really feared she might have decided to come but to be invisible until she was certain he wouldn’t do anything bad to her. He never meant to hurt her. He didn't like being around people and he pushed them away but he had no satisfaction seeing people suffer. At least, none that had not made him suffer first. Even that, it was satisfying only for a short time. It did not erase what he went through.

He shoved those thoughts away and nodded when she finally got what he meant. At the face she gave him first, he thought even more that it was a terrible way to bring it. But she got it. And then she became overly ecstatic about it. She even did some sort of little dance that left him perplexed. “I will if you stop doing that,” he sort of threatened her so she would stop. He didn’t expect her to act like this. Was it really that awesome? The fact he did it easily once a week sort of made it common and uninteresting for him. “You better stay behind me though. I don’t want to be the one owing you a life debt because I accidentally burned half your face,” he warned her. She could still see it but he wanted to make sure she would not do something stupid and risk burning herself. He was scared enough sometimes that he would burn himself, he didn’t want to injure someone else.

“I don’t get the appeal you find in this but here goes,” he let out before he took a deep breath. He started to breathe deeply, sort of coughing up the gas. He intended to let the fire up in the air, for safety reasons. And if she was standing where he told her to, she would have a perfect view of how he would do it. He backed his head a bit before he spat something. She wouldn’t see it for it turned into fire almost immediately, a bright flame than went up a few feet in the air before dying. He did it a second time, this time making it last a little longer. He then turned his head to look at her. There, she saw it. And a light chill was creeping up his spine, starting from his stomach. He had a shiver because of this but remained as still as possible, waiting for her reaction.

[Erin Hackett]

"Right, sorry." Erin said as she stopped doing the little back and forth thing she was doing. She could not help but to be excited and sort of act like a new video games she wanted was coming out. After all, this was Quinn's power and he didn't just show it to anyone. Did he? She guessed he didn't due to the kind of person he was but who knew if he had friends on the side that he was super close with. Now she was half tempted to start spaying on him more, but this time by following him around and not looking up info using her skills on the computer and breaking/entering into people’s rooms.

"Yeah, that be so zeta lame." Erin responded as she took several steps back before moving to stand behind him but at an angle so she could get a good sight of him using his power. She already was pulling out her phone, because in case her mind could not process the amazingness that was breathing fire she wanted it recorded so she could watch it again and again until her brain fully accepted it. Plus, it was fire breathing and she was pretty sure she could make a pretty cool image for Quinn or just use the video for well anything in the future. Blackmail was always good, but if this was Quinn really reaching out to be her friend then she doubted or would be used for anything bad.

He spoke of how he didn't really think it was anything special, but he was going to do it. Erin and her phone were both ready for it off. It didn't happen like she had expected, but just like he had explained it and still very cool. So damn cool. He even did it a second time! "Dude! That was awesome! Twice! Bro, man, dude, guy...that was so cool!" Erin said, just not even able to keep herself from jumping up and down a few times. She did notice him shiver but it didn't really click in her mind yet as she was too busy freaking out in a good way over what he just showed her.

[Quinn Wiley]

It was kind of a big deal. Quinn didn’t spend his days showing people how well he could blow fire. Rare were those who saw it and it was either because he was training with them, an accident happened or they ended up seeing him without him knowing. Well, there was this one time he started a campfire with it but that didn’t change the fact it was not something he showed to just anyone. Mostly because he had no one to show it to. And he made him look like a freak. After all, some might know how to blow fire but there was a torch, it didn’t come from inside of them like it did with him.

He knew however that it was something Erin was interested about since she had asked for him to show her since the first time they met. She didn’t ask him a lot after that but it was still something he knew. She also loved video games but he knew she would kick his ass in the blink of an eye and he was kind of a sore loser. So the power was the best option.

He still didn’t know if it was an attempt for them to be friends. He had a hard time considering people that to him. But at least she should be in a better mood and he’ll less feel like he was a jerk for making her cry. It was all he wanted. At least it was what he convinced himself of. Even though there was a nagging voice inside his head telling him it could be nice to have a friend. But he generally was good at shutting it up so it did not matter.

He didn't think he would burn her. He’ll be careful. But there was always a chance, in case the wind chose to turn right at that moment. Plus she might feel the heat of it. It was best she was in a safe spot. It wouldn’t really make him feel less guilty if he accidentally burned her. Besides, she could see him perfectly well at this distance and angle so she wouldn’t miss a thing. He thought he saw her pulling out her phone and it did make him a bit uneasy for a moment. Zoe made pictures of him using his power once and even if they looked good, it had been weird to see himself like this. He was not sure he wanted to see himself in a video, no matter how cool other would think it looked.

He was pretty sure he could blow fire a few more times but he could already feel his temperature dropping slowly. Besides, he wanted to show her and she saw it. He didn’t need to do it more. It was not a training session. Even there, he sometimes had to stop before they were done since he simply had no more gas in to ignite. Acid was easy, the stomach constantly had some in it, but the gas had to be transformed and if he had none left, he couldn’t do anything about it.

Erin was not jumping but she was still super enthusiastic over what she saw. Quinn looked at her with a brow arched up in skepticism. She did not realise he was shivering, too amazed by this. At least the fact he did it twice pleased her. A lot. “Bro, man, dude, guy?” That was a lot of words to show he was a guy. “Glad you liked it. I always feel like I’m throwing up fire more than blowing it, really. It doesn’t sound as cool though ‘throwing up fire’,” he told her, leaving her only to get his hoodie and put it on. He’ll keep it even though they were under the sun until his temperature was back to normal. Which meant a bit higher than normal people.

[Erin Hackett]

Erin would have been jumping up for joy from having seeing his power, but she had been taking a video and did not want to mess it up. That and she didn’t want Quinn to see her too excited over his power or else he might not want to show her again. She still didn't fully know how to act around him or well anyone for that matter so she was doing her best to keep it together for the sake of not wanting to upset him after he showed her something so cool. She even had a video of it to have proof of what he did forever. They so had to be friends now, right?

"Yeah, sorry. I'm just so pumped. Like there is this girl I like who can do stuff with fire; but she does not really like to do it, anyways it was super cool. Like no matches or blow torch, just you. And you did it twice!" Erin said, now doing a little jump as she put her phone back into her pocket. Hot damn that was just so cool. Like an anime character who was half dragon so could breathe fire. Now she wanted to make a manga about it, maybe toss herself into it and of course she could not leave out Pips who would like be a demon familiar or something. Yes, the idea for it was already coming together nicely.

He spoke of how he felt like he was more so throwing up fire then blowing it, and she could understand that based on how he explained it before. "Well, you still are like shoot it forth instead of it just falling to the ground." Erin pointed out, trying to make it sound better and show it was like less throwing up in that way. She watched as he put on a hoodie and then recalled how he got cold after using his power. "Oh dude, you need me to get you a blanket or something or is the sun and hoodie enough for you?" Erin quickly asked as a small amount of panic set in. What if he like froze to death or something? Okay, that was going over the top but it was Erin's imagination after all.

[Quinn Wiley]

No, Quinn couldn’t really see the appeal. Of course, for him this power was mostly the heartburns, the ulcers, the throwing up like move of the head to ignite it all, the risk of burning... All very lovely aspects of it he would happily give up on. But he knew that no matter what he ate, he could not erase all fat from his diet. It was, after all, important for the body to function. Which meant that if he could play with his diet to reduce the amount of times he had to do that, at some point, he would still have to do that. And going to the extremes of too much or too little fat had never been really good for him. It was best he stayed to his current diet and blew fire once a week. He was healthier that way. And it might be best to be healthy. Especially with what her trainer so nicely told him about what could happen otherwise. He didn’t exactly want for the gases and acid to pierce holes in him and made him blow up from the inside. That would be gross. And painful. And lethal. None of which being things he’d like to experience.

So she knew someone else who could do stuff with fire. He knew one girl like that too before, but she left the school so he doubted they were talking of the same one. Plus he believed she had a boyfriend so Erin might not be able to say she liked her. Because he read it as a way of admitting she liked her. Like, she would really love for them to be seeing more of each other. “Yeah, I did it twice,” he said, as if he needed to confirm that for it to be true. “I made sure to have enough... to be able to do it and I just had to blow more than I did the first time. So call that a bonus,” he told her, not bothering her at the last second with all the little details. Saying he needed fat to people often had them believe he was sucking on butter or something.

“Well, that’s because I throw the gases in the air above and not the ground. But I can hit the ground. I just don’t think it’s a nice idea. Not unless you want it to burn,” he pointed out. He was not immune to fire so he’d really prefer to avoid taking any risks. Shooting fire might work too, he supposed, but it sounded more confusing, unless you could witness it as well. She finally noticed him shivering a bit, or maybe it was the fact he was putting on a hoodie. “No, it should be fine. My body needs to get used to the temperature. But don’t ask me for a third act,” he said, even daring a little smirk as he said that. Was he feeling less guilty? He was not sure. It would probably come over time.

[Erin Hackett]

Erin had not even realized that she had actually confessed to liking the girl she knew who could do things with fire as well. Thank the power that would be that she did not actually say the girl's name and since Quinn didn't ask for it or point it out, Erin was likely never going to connect that she had actually told Quinn that she liked some girl. Not that it was anything new since Erin pretty much liked every girl that she met but this like was different, a little. It went past the physicality that ended up being Erin's main focus when she met a new girl. Shallow, but true. It was kind of hard to crush on someone for more than the physical when you just met them, so Erin felt justified in that way.

Quinn said that he did it twice, which just had Erin nodding her head and almost saying that she had it recorded on her camera. She kept that part to herself just in case he had not noticed that she had filmed him and possibly did not want her to have him using his power on her cell phone. It was not like she was going to post it all over the internet. Nope, for one thing even if she wanted to get revenge on Quinn it would not be done pointing out his power. She actually believed that they needed to remain hidden, especially because she did not want people to find out that he farther was also a mutant and risk a problem with his job since his ability did play a large part in what he was able to do at his job. "Now I feel all special." Erin said with a wide smile taking over her face still.

This was just so cool, awesome, LEET! Quinn had to have liked her now and they so had to be best friend, right? Okay, maybe not best friend but friends certainly. Now she just really wanted to hear him say it. He went on to explain how his power worked in this case that made it so his fire would not go to the ground. Way to make what Erin said to boost his confidence on what he did count for nothing. She slightly pouted at that, but this was Quinn she was dealing with, she should only expect so much. "It would be cool to see the grass burn, but I don't think the staff would like that too much. I could always hide us after." Erin responded, adding that last bit because she so would do such a thing like that.

She did like to do 'bad' things and not get caught, if only to test to see if she could in fact do something and get away with it. She was a little worried about how he was cold but he assured her that he would be fine and what...what was that? What is that small expression on Quinn's face? Is he in pain? Is he doing worse then he said he was?! Is that a smile!?!?! Erin thought to herself as it was pretty clear that she was in shock at seeing what she assumed to be a small smile on Quinn's face. He smiled at her, or a smirk to be specific but they were pretty much the same thing! "I won't and...does this mean we are friends again?" Erin said, trying to contain herself from pointing out that Quinn had smirked, and she was shaking a little as a result.

[Quinn Wiley]

Quinn would never bring back the fact Erin claimed to like some girl. First, he didn’t know the said girl. He was aware he was not the only fire manipulator here but he was not meeting with them. They didn’t have some secret brethren only for people with their abilities. Besides, what did it matter if she liked someone? As long as it was not Quinn, and it would never be him, it meant nothing to him. Besides, he had enough to worry about liking a few girls himself while having to defend the fact he was not gay to really care who Erin might like and how much. She couldn’t really expect him to help her win anyone.

Quinn didn’t know she recorded the whole thing. He noticed she pulled her phone but thought that she took a picture, mostly because he always thought of photography before everything else. He didn't tell her not to do it. Zoe already took pictures of him, it was not like there was no record of what he could do.

He restrained himself from rolling his eyes when she said she felt special. He better not tell her then that he refused to show it to someone just yet for the main reason, that he didn’t give away, that he had not shown it to her when she asked before him and Quinn knew her more. He didn't realise that she said this to boost his morale and confidence, he just corrected her. The thing was that Quinn was a pessimist who pretended to be a realist. Therefore, he always had the point out the flaws, mistakes or bad points of a case, especially if one wanted to focus on the good aspects of it. It was not like he could not see those or agree with them, he just had to point these out. “That would be one way of getting rid of the weeds,” he said, trying to show a bit of humor since he did notice her pout. But, as she said, he doubted the staff would appreciate it. Not even those in charge of cutting said grass. “I’m not immune to fire, I wouldn’t want to burn from a fire I started,” he added. She might as well know this.

Only her, he was not really into ‘bad’ things, no matter how small. He was not into the status quo. He did nothing to bother people and they did nothing to bother him. He liked it that way. Well, not really. It was lonely sometimes. But it was something he didn’t like to talk about or even to think about. He frowned at the face she gave him. “What?” he asked her. Something bad happened to him? She made a face like there was something weird going on. It vanished though to show a smile and it only made her think of her as even weirder than he first believed. She then asked about them being friends. “You really want us to be, don’t you?” It was kind of weird to him actually. When was the last time someone followed him and maintained they should be friends? Probably never. Or he never gave them enough time to do it.

[Erin Hackett]

If there was some secrete Fire Clan like group of mutants who got together to practice their fire powers; that would have been so cool. No doubt Quinn would be the leader because he had that thing about him that so screamed that cold, serious anti-hero. Or something along those lines. Anyways, she really did feel special and felt like she had unlocked an achievement. A gold one that if you looked at the percentage of people that had it would be two percent and the achievement would be one of those ‘extremely rare’ ones. Now if only life really was a video game she could rub it in everyone’s faces that she had gotten the achievement.

What would said achievement be called? Fire Power, Dragons Unleased, or Totes Friends; she was not sure which of the three would be more likely but she was pretty confident it would have one of those names. “Indeed, but with how this summer has been, it probably could end up causing a big fire problem. Imagine if it was worse that fire a few months back.” Erin responded to Quinn’s comment about getting rid of the weeds statement. It would certainly get rid of unwanted plants, along with everything else. He spoke of how he was not immune to fire; well neither was she, so she would make sure that neither of them would get burned.

She debated if she should say as much and instead just went for nodding her head a few times. No point in saying something she was not one hundred percent certain she would be able to make sure they getting caught up in the fire. She could only make it so they were not seen or heard, not actually be literally not there. “Nothing.” Erin quickly said when he asked what. If she pointed out that she was pretty sure that she caught a small smile on his face he probably would deny it or never do it again. At least that was what Erin assumed and would do if she was in his shoes.

She nodded her head yes at his next question, tempted to point out that it was stupid of him to ask when she had made it clear several times that she was trying to be his friend and for the two of them to be friends. “I mean like, does it really hurt you to be my friend? Is it that hard to say that we are friends or is it that you really don’t want to be friends still?” Erin went ahead and asked. If he didn’t want them to be then all he had to do was say it, she didn’t like this ‘game’ of not being sure if he did want to or not.

[Quinn Wiley]

Quinn was no anti-hero. He was cold, serious and distant but he didn’t think he had anything heroic, even with the prefix anti before. The (anti)hero told him something he/she needed and he’ll provide it in private, in the dark, without asking anything in return other than the right to go back in the darkness. That was more like him. So it was a good thing he was not hearing Erin’s thoughts right now. Although he could confirm that it was not something he showed a lot of people and that she could brag about the achievement. Or maybe not. It’s hard to lurk in your corner when everyone goes after you for one.

Quinn recalled the fire she mentioned. No one who had been to school around that time could forget. Quinn made sure to stay away when it happened. He didn’t want to risk the smoke to make him cough and a little accident happened, causing even more flames to appear. “I don’t think the school would like to do this experience again,” he said. Oh, it would be an accident this time, nothing like what happened last time. And accidents were pretty frequent around here. But that would not make it any better if it was to happen. Erin could become invisible but that cannot be helping during a fire. After all, she was invisible, not able to go through objects.

Quinn didn’t like to smile. He didn’t think he had a nice smile. A smirk appeared now and then, his lips might curl up a bit, but that was about it. A true smile, the kind you see the teeth and all, he was not doing. Because he didn’t like it. Not that he would tell Erin though. He didn’t even know it was why she looked at him like that. He just thought she was weird. “It’s not that,” he said as she asked her a bunch of questions. “I’m not good. With the whole... friend thing.” As if she had not notice already. “Never been.”

[Erin Hackett]

Erin still viewed Quinn in the anti-hero way. There was just something about him that she was sure that despite how he was with people, he was still a good guy. Sure he had hurt her feelings a few times, was not always nice, and didn't really do anything besides take photos. Oh, he also did a lot of brooding. Other than those things, that seemed about it but he had always at least tried to apologize or make something up to her in his own 'Quinn way'. That had to mean that he was not all that bad of a guy and that it was likely things of the past that made him the way he was now.

All of that was of course guess, but she felt like they were pretty good guesses given what she already knew about the boy. "Yeah. Being at this school makes me miss Japan. So much drama here." Erin said as she let out a sigh. Really the school that started it all really did have bad luck when it came to things happening here. As if they didn't have enough to deal with when they were hormonal teenagers with powers. Erin personally was just thankful she was not here during the whole shooting thing, or else she would have transferred somewhere else in a heartbeat.

She looked at Quinn as he spoke up about how it was not that he was worried about it hurting him to say that they were friends, or something along those lines. He was not good with the whole friends thing and never had. Did he forget who he was talking to? "Did you forget that I told you that you were my first friend? I literally only had friends via the computer, and I use the term friend loosely in that case." Erin spoke up. She hesitated a moment before saying more, "Can't we work on being better with the friend thing together?" She asked.

[Quinn Wiley]

Quinn supposed a psychotherapist would have a lot to say about him. He was probably not even all that special, just a typical case of trust issues due to multiple times he had been rejected. But Quinn didn’t really like psychotherapists, nor did he want to do any therapy. He failed to see the point in that. Life would always kick him back in the face, at least now was he expecting the hits and not being surprised when it happened. He didn't think he was fatalist or grim. He might see things darker than they were but he was ready to admit good things can happen. It was just that it tended not to last for very long. Especially with him. So he refused to dwell in them. It made it less painful once it would go away.

He didn’t know what to think of Erin. It was not like he hated her, he never did. But he was also unable to see why she’d want to be with him. There seemed to be very little appeal in that. “I suppose drama in Japan is when computers are not working?” He didn’t mean for it to sound insulting. It was for jest. He had no idea if that could be heard in his voice or if she would take it that way. Unlike her, he had been here during SPECTRE as well. But, like most of the students when you think about it, he did nothing. Just followed the staff as they brought them to safety and waited for it to end. He did wonder what would happen if whoever was attacking them had won and found out that even though he did not wish to die, a part of him was not entirely against the idea.

She insisted that he was her first friend. It seemed hard to believe. “I would have thought all those Japanese girls would find you so...” What was the word? Unlike Erin, he didn’t live in Japan and was not watching a lot of anime. But he knew it. “Kawai?” Was that the word? He was sure it sounded like that. Unlike the girls saying it however, he didn't take a high pitched, cooing voice. This was way too painful to hear.

She didn’t seem to understand what he meant. It was not about calling someone a friend. It was about trusting them enough to consider them a friend. He always had this certainty they would walk away the moment they’d start meaning something to him. “I can’t promise I won’t be a jerk anymore.”