Mistletoe [Closed]

Too close, too close, too close. Pres had never cared about her personal space, but right now he practically had her pinned against the wall, leaning over her with his hand pressed over the area above her shoulder. He was blocking her in from all sides. Sparks shot off in the air all around them, but they were harmless. She might as well have been trying to tickle him with attacks like that.

Of all the powers he could've had...

There he was, being creepy and cryptic again. She couldn't help but wish she was half a foot taller, and that she'd taken up the school's offer of a weapon when she had the chance. He was just trying to get under her skin, like he always fucking did, but this felt like a step up from the usual. Maybe it was their circumstances, but she hated that fucking look in his eye.

It happened so slow that she barely noticed until it was hanging over their heads. Bright green leaves bound in a red ribbon dangled from his fingers. She stared at it for a few minutes before it registered in her head. Kayla's expression turned from contempt, to shock, to horror, to a bright red blush spreading across her face, illuminated by the electricity whipping around them. Then the anger set in. A rush of emotions went coursing through her head as she shoved her hands into his chest, giving a shrill little shriek. "Get the hell away from me!"

It was so god damned fucking satisfying watching the show of different expressions on her face as they changed from bad to worse. Likewise, his smile grew all the more as her face turned beet-red, her temper coming full circle until she gave him an ugly scowled again. He was shoved backwards, almost tripping on his own feet as he choked back laughter. "So cold," Preston let out a melodramatic sigh, tucking the mistletoe away in the corner of the random shelf. It'd served it's purpose for the day, it seemed.

"You could at least try to be nicer," He mused non-nonchalantly, glancing around the room and staring down a few old crates of potatoes and tilapia. His stomach instantly growled. The autumn began to climb over Kayla's mess on the ground and make his way over. "Aren't you lucky? Most girls would kill to get some quality time with me." He shot her a wink, unable to help but rub the salt in.

God, he was such a little shit...! Kayla tucked her hands into her arms and turned her head away, the annoyance written all over her face. "Hmph!" Didn't he have anything better to do in here besides try and provoke her? What was so funny about this whole situation anyways? Couldn't he choose to be less of a brat tonight, of all nights? She preferred him when he acted a little less like... well, Preston. The small wink made her shudder. Asshole. It'd be some quality time if she could kill him right here. "Most girls are fucking stupid then." Did he act like this much of a little kid around all his girlfriends? She couldn't imagine him throwing a ham at Keirsta or marathoning old cartoons with a Formal princess. "I really should kick your ass."

She had to clench her jaw to keep her teeth from chattering. The chill had crept up her bare arms and legs and pierced straight through the thin button-up that counted as her school uniform. Kayla rolled down her sleeves and folded her arms again, letting out a hollow sigh. Her breath billowed out in a frosted cloud.

He picked up one of the large crates, shaking most of the food out of it and holding it high above his head. The old wood didn't seem to be too frozen, thankfully, there wasn't much frost covering it, and the nails could easily be taken out. "You have no idea," Preston called back, grabbing the other crate and carrying it under his arm as he made his way back over to her.

Most girls he had to work for to grab at there attention, that was all fair fun and games though. There were a special few, however, that threw themselves practically at his feet. His mind flashed back to the last Halloween night... Or another girl, whose wrists suffered after he'd left her alone one Valentines day. "You're not the last person I'd hate to be stuck with." He laughed a little under his breath. Now that he thought about it, maybe she wasn't the worst thing ever.

But he was letting himself get distracted. He tossed one crate down and dumped the rest of the food out of the other. "Why haven't you then?" Pres asked, moving his hand over the corners of the old wood. Sparks, just barely visible, danced around the palm of his hand. One by one, the nails buried inside shot up into his grasp - one by one, flat side first, thankfully.

He didn't even try to deny it. That was almost as bad as his taunts were to begin with. She watched him move from under the brim of her cap as he started to move old crates around. What the hell was he doing with those...? It felt like it would've given him some sort of satisfaction if she asked, so she didn't. Kayla almost flinched when he dumped the food onto the floor so carelessly, but after the mess they made, it was just more on the pile, and it wasn't like it'd go to waste. The back of her head was still throbbing with a dull ache. Were you never told not to play with your fucking food...?

You're not the last... what? She narrowed her eyes at him, having to rack her brain to tell if that was either an insult or a backhanded compliment. After spending a few moments doing circles in her head to try and straighten out the meaning, she just gave up. It wasn't worth all that effort to just find out he'd thrown another jab in her face, especially when she was so distracted by how numb the tips of her fingers had gotten. "Good question," she murmured back with a sigh, shifting against the wall. "Don't give me a reason." There was only the two of them in here, and if someone opened up that door and Pres had his face broken open, then it wouldn't take Sherlock Holmes to piece the mystery together. That, and she didn't want to fry all this food by accident. Besides that, she didn't know why. Even if he was annoying, she supposed he was still a step-up over being locked in a freezer with Hosa. Electricity twirled down her leg, and she started to rub her arms, suppressing a shiver. 'You're not the last person I'd hate to be stuck' right back at him, whatever that meant.

Preston had paused for a moment, considering holding his tongue, before giving in and glancing aside at the Kayla again. Although the cocky, surefire confidence was still written all over his face, the Autumn's smile had seemed far less harsh and a little more playful. "As if you could anyways," He scoffed, turning his attention back to the planks of wood. The pieces were all falling apart one by one as he pried each of the rough nails out, forming a nice pile between them. If she planned on freezing to death, that was fine with her, he told himself, taking out the last rusted piece of metal.

The young man cast a glance around, looking for any sort of paper, or anything else a little more flammable, but there didn't seem to be much of the sort. They'd have to deal with the frozen-ass wood. Pres let out an irritated sigh. "Come here, Pikachu." He muttered, not bothering to cast her a glance for a few moments. When he finally did, he caught her rubbing her arms and thought he saw her shiver, although he might've imagined it. "Need help starting this fucking fire." The pile was ready, the ventilation shaft on the ceiling thankfully seemed large enough, but the wood itself was too wet, unfortunately he couldn't light it well enough alone. And so he picked up a nail and held it out to her.

So fucking cocky... She drummed her fingers against her arm, her eye twitching, but there wasn't any other response except for the sparks crackling around her head. One day, he'd get it. Maybe not today, maybe not tomorrow, but one day. Then he'd shut up about that kind of thing for good. Kayla glanced down at the pile of wood on the freezer floor and let out a small breath, the sigh billowing out in a frosty cloud. "I told you not to call me that," she muttered, but moved away from the wall anyways, grasping at the nail in his hand. CRACK. As soon as she touched it, there was a small burst of white light where her fingers wrapped around the metal, but she ignored it. What the hell was this for? "Are you trying to use me as a transformer?" she asked, with just a hint of tired annoyance in her voice. A numbing buzz was spreading up her arm, and she could feel the flow of their electric currents through the nail. That was an awkward feeling... Something about it felt odd, like holding two magnets side by side.

A transformer? What was she... from the nineties? Nobody cared about them anymore. As of course, opposed to the amazing franchise that was pokemon. "No, I just needed some Pika-power, is all." Preston smirked, taking a deep breath and concentrating for a moment. If they both shut their traps for a moment, it was possible to hear the low hum of electricity they were creating between them with the tiny piece of old metal.

If almost any other person, gifted or not, had tried to come in contact with electricity like they did, it would be an instantaneous occurrence, a flash of heat and energy through that would leave them paralyzed or dead on the ground. But for them, well, he wasn't sure if he could describe if it he honestly tried. He could hardly describe his own currents as warm and a little fuzzy, well under his control, but Kayla's were a completely different story.

Overwhelming, that was the one word he could think to describe it. He already knew she was loose with her gift, she was constantly burning out light bulbs in the dorm or sending off random sparks off wherever she went, having no breaker with the rest of the world, but she felt powerful. In a weird fucking way, it felt refreshing.

Still, no matter how much energy the girl naturally gave off, it was easy for him to take advantage of. With quick concentration, he drew in her power, using the little nail as a magnet and effectively gluing them together. For the moment, anyways. He didn't need to, but it was fun to fuck with her, as always. "Just need to borrow your spark for a moment." Flashing her a grin, he yanked her arm forward, pulling her closer to the small pile of wood.

He touched the nail between them to one left embedded in the old box remains. In an instant, sparks flew, the wood splintered and crackled, and a fire roared to life. "Come on, tell me, who is the genius here?" Pres grinned crookedly up at Kayla, still not letting her go.

Kayla stared blankly at the nail in their hands, and the small distance between them. Her knuckles were still bloody from smashing her fist into the door. Pika-power... Ughhh. Was there even any point in trying to fight it anymore? It felt like he got more smug the more irritated she got. Why was he so bent on getting under her skin? Her gaze was wandering toward the pile of kindling on the ground when there was a twist in the currents flowing into her hand. "Ah...!" It was like all the blood in her palm churned over, and then she was sucked in toward the nail. Her hand was locked in an iron grip around the metal, no matter how much she tried to pry her fingers loose. "What the fuck did you do...?!"

She almost fell to her knees as he jerked her forward, gritting her teeth as the fire whooshed to life. Uselessly, she tried to pull herself away, but it was like her skin had turned magnetic. "If you've got any smarts at all, then you'll fucking let me go!" she shot back, electricity flaring around her.

Preston feigned a look of innocence, shooting her a confused glance. "Let you go?" He repeated, raising an eyebrow. The Autumn stared for a moment before smiling again, as if it suddenly hit him. "Ah, you mean..." His eyes slit again as he concentrated, slowly letting go of the nail, yet keeping it drawn towards him all the same, and jerking his hand back suddenly. "If you want to drop that now, you can," He insisted, palm wide open as he still drew her power in. Pres' gaze fell back on the fire, watching her happily out of the corner of his eye. It was a strange sight, that he'd learn to be so calm around her storming temper, electricity lashing harmlessly all around - yet he still acted as if it wasn't even there. "You should have a seat. It's still cold in here." Silently, he dared her to do her worst.

No. No. No. Don't play this fucking game. Not right now, not right here. He wouldn't fucking dare. She kept her gaze locked on his as he drew his hand away from the nail, but it kept pulling her closer anyways like a rope tied around her wrist. Her fingers were glued to the metal, almost fused to her skin, and it was like all the currents in her body were being tied down in an invisible well inside his palm. "You're such an idiot!" she snapped back, jerking her hand away, but she went wrenching back toward Preston like a slingshot, her whole body carried by the momentum. Kayla's sneaker slipped on the icy metal floor as she stumbled, top-heavy, toward the boy on the floor. Trying to hold onto the nail was like trying to walk a bull on a leash. In the end, it'd just drag her behind.

Her stomach lurched.

She was falling.

"Agh!" She twisted as she spilled over, almost on top of him, and ended up half-sprawled across his lap, face-up. Her hat fell from her head and landed unceremoniously on the floor.

A rapid flux of sparks. The nail started to vibrate in her hands. "Let me go!!"

He did his best to hide his snicker as she shouted at him, frantically trying to lose the grip the nail had on her - to the point even he was being pulled back to the side, although she didn't manage to move him far. Watching her struggle was in a strange way both amusing and saddening. Kayla was way too careless for her own good. The angrier she became, the more electricity she gave off, and the more electricity she gave off, the tighter of a hold he could get onto her. The cheap piece of metal had become a Chinese finger trap that she just couldn't figure her way out of.

Despite the struggle, neither of them had seemed to anticipate her slipping on the sleek, icy floor, no matter how obvious of an outcome it was. Quickly, Preston found himself leaning backwards instinctively as Kayla came falling down, landing upwards awkwardly across his lap, her hair a mess hanging in different directions. For a moment, and wasn't entirely sure what to think until he sat up and glance down at her.

She looked so different when she wasn't hiding behind the dark brim of her cap, he thought, and then he saw it... The nail shaking heavily, as if it threaten to shatter, or be sent flying. Before anything stupid could happen, Pres quickly made a grab for it, wrapping his hand around hers. "So you can kill me soon as I let you go?" He shot back, staring her down. Several sparks danced up his body. He made it all his own, pushing it into the frozen ground with his free hand. Slowly, he began to loosen the grip he had on her, but not quite enough to the point she could pull away. He was curious what else she had to say, what other threats she could throw at him.

Kayla glared up at him, but as soon as he grabbed her hand, she flinched, stiffening up like a deer in headlights. After a moment, she loosened back up again with a frustrated groan. Did he have to touch her like that out of nowhere?! No... Calm. Calm. It was just him playing his stupid games, like always. Kayla squirmed around a bit, wiggling for leverage, but she gave up after a few moments of struggling. She kept her eyes level with his, her lips curled in a scowl. "I'll make it painless if you let me go now," she shot back with a cluster of sparks tracing along her cheek. It was ridiculous that she even had to barter with him right now. She just wanted to sit by the fire.

He caught onto her moment of strained surprised and felt his mood lighten up a little more in amusement. Did that little gesture really catch her that much off guard? Preston hardly had longer than a second or two to think about it before she began struggling, but judging by the way she'd settled down, she must've known it was useless. "Merciful as ever," he laughed lightly. While he didn't immediately let go of her hand, he did let the magnetic grip on her fade away. "Is this not how you wanted to spend your Christmas?"

Finally, Pres gently slipped the nail out of her fingers and cupped in his grasp, leaning back on his free hand again. She was still sprawled across his lap.

She could feel the magnetic suction melt away. It felt like everything could flow again, and she should've been free, but Pres still had his hand clasped over hers. Kayla grit her teeth. He really was asking to get socked across the jaw, wasn't he...? Right now, she really wasn't in the mood for jokes. When he took the nail out of her fingers, she wrenched her hand away and sat back up, crawling out of his lap as fast as she could without outright scrambling across the room. Electricity flit between them as the fleeting contact broke.

Fuck.

Finally.

Kayla scooped up her hat with a huff and sat herself down crisscrossed a couple feet away, hopefully far enough out of arm's reach where he wouldn't try anything stupid. I'm letting you off fucking easy this time. Setting the hat down in her lap, she reached up, pulling out her hair tie and letting her hair fall down just short of her shoulders. "I get enough of this every other day," she muttered, her voice still laced with frustration, but that wasn't anything new, was it? She cocked her fingers like a gun, the hair tie wrapped around her thumb and poised over the tip of her nail, and snapped. It went flying straight into Preston's cheek. "I was trying to treat myself for once."

It was a fairly modest fire, and she wasn't sure how long it'd last, but it was better than nothing. She had to give him that much credit, at least. Kayla shivered again, pulling her arms closer up against herself.