Starting Days

"Yeah, yeah. You hate me for that. And everything else."

The words came out without even thinking, and Nicola wasn't aware she had said anything until she noticed her mouth was moving against her own accord. Hopping off her own seat, her hands shoved themselves into her pockets after she took the abandoned Pocky box and placed them in there as well. Her hat had fallen off without her noticing, drifting and perching itself on the obsidian black floor. She took a few steps away from her friends, shutting her eyes closed, and nonchalantly added, "Think I'll stick around here for awhile. My brother'll come get me later." That was the excuse she was giving to keep a good distance away from them. Madison clearly didn't enjoy her company right after that incident, so she might as well give some kind of regard and respect her wishes in her own way. It was a sick joke, but if she had known Madison would've reacted that badly, she wouldn't have gone through with it. A part of her mind was telling her that she did know and had done it for the thrill and sheer enjoyment. To hell with that... yet it seemed true to an extent.

Nicola cleared her throat, bringing one hand up in a careless wave. "Might wanna learn to take a joke, by the way." With a rushed stride, a humorless laugh left her mouth along with her final words: "Have fun in the dark, Flashlight." She was clearly in a hurry to leave the two of them alone and left without picking up her cap, which innocently stayed put like an obedient dog before stopping back at the zombie shooting booth she had started with. No one was there. Looks like she could enjoy herself a little longer.

She hated her. She hated her she hated her she hated her. What kind of joke was it to kiss someone without their permission. A seething rage flooded through Madison, and she wanted to say something to Nicola. The voice she had stored in her throat was vitriolic, spitting, but Nicola was already walking away. She just glared, and when she was gone, the expression softened. She didn't want to seem angry at Owen, though it seemed he was in on it...

He felt so awkward. This was probably one of the worst spur-of-the-moment escapades he had ever been on, and Owen felt somewhat guilty for it. Maybe he should have warned Madison about what Nicola was going to do, but there had been little time before it had happened, surely he wasn't at fault.

After Nicola had walked away, Owen reached over to the counter and grabbed her cap, studying it briefly before tucking it into his pocket. He would give it to her later, perhaps he could use it as some way to get her and Madison into the same room again, something that seemed highly unlikely after the small spat. He was cold suddenly, his jacket hardly providing any warmth. Owen hadn't been this cold in a long time.

"We should, uh, probably go," he muttered, gesturing lamely towards the door of the arcade. In a show of slight shame, he held back a smile, keeping his usually cheery features to something more somber.

Madison nodded lightly, smiling down at his shoes. "Yeah," she murmured, and walked to the door, putting out her hand towards the glass barrier. And she opened it. It was almost as if she forgot about her ability, or felt confident in her training. A training Owen did not know about.

She stood, pale nose brushing against the sinister reaches of the unknown, staring at what had materialized in front of her, a shape that appeared silently in her gaze. Mouth agape, she looked up at the slender monster, her tongue running across her cheek, eyes wide but unfaltering, solid in a viscous haze. Soon, it became impatient, the monster's fingers flicking rhythmically like a pianist, and she held the door harder, her knuckles like snow. She hoped Owen would move into the darkness before she did. Madison thought about moving too much. This virulent mindset was an old friend.

Without a second thought, Owen followed Madison and stepped outside into the darkness. It was a brief moment before he lit his hands, allowing them to hang at his side. The air was freezing, but the light provided a faint warmth akin to wearing thin gloves. When it didn't seem to be quite enough light, he illuminated his upper body as well. The pounding of his heart in the aftermath of the disagreement helped fuel it, despite his being exhausted.

The whole walk, Owen kept replaying what had happened. After two or three times, however, his mind replaced Nicola with his self, and the whole situation ended in a way that made his heart soar. But his conscious thoughts kept telling him no, hadn't he seen the way Madison had reacted? In all of his daydreams, it was a mutual kiss, it wasn't some silly game that forced it onto her.

With a shiver, he replaced those thoughts with where he was in the present. He looked at Madison out of the corner of his eye, wondering if she was doing alright and if she would ever speak to Nicola again. They had seemed pretty close on his first meeting them, but now, he felt he had witnessed some breaking of trust.

Madison was not occupied with him. The girl had her hand raised through the whole walk, opposite shoulder almost pressed to his. It seemed like she was touching the reaches of his light, trying to find the place where it grazed her fingers. Her mouth was a thoughtful u, her eyes sleepy unmoving. The normally timid, chronically tepid girl was now devoid of that, the shifty-eyed nervous warmth of her walk there, the liveliness in her thought and self-consciousness. Maybe she was just tired. Perhaps that was it, all she needed was to sleep things off.

She kept glancing behind her, until they met the door, where she opened it and said a droning goodbye, picking up her pace as she was free of his realm. The door to her dorm gave an audible shut before he reached the top of the stairs.