Dang. Freaking out in front of Melody had been a mistake. In half a minute he had gone from cool and in control to the questionable weakling, and the worst thing was that it wasn't his fault. His power had never failed before- how could she blame him for being freaking out? Still, it only took him a moment to regain control and turn a confident expression on Melody again. He hated that he had lost status in her eyes, though, even while he assured himself that it would only be momentary.

He could sense that she suddenly thought him a coward and that made him a little angry. He wasn't a coward! He'd love to see her in a situation where her eye beams suddenly failed and see how she reacted. But he hid that reaction too. He had to make an effort to steady his voice, but he managed to make it sound normal enough.

“We're not going to get caught. I only freaked out because my power didn't sense that guy coming, and that's never happened before, okay? I assume it's some power he has, but trust me, I can sense everyone at Buckley's house. I've tried. Look, you'd freak out if your power failed too, right? Cut me some slack about it.”

He waved at the cigarette she still held. “Hey, I'm no snitch. I know how this works. I'd never get anyone else to help with this if I told on you.” A thought struck him. “Besides, I've got way more to lose here than you do. You're one of the bad kids, remember? They expect you to cause trouble. Me? I'm one of the good ones. You know what would happen if they found out that Madison Ardnell, pet to teachers, perfect-grade-maker, straight and narrow boy scout was breaking in to steal booze? Was handing out pot? I'd be ruined. They'd never trust me again. I snitch on you and you're just one of the bad ones doing something bad again. You snitch on me and I lose everything I've made them think about me all year. So... how about neither of us do that?” He grinned slightly. “But we're not going to get caught, so it doesn't matter. Now... are you coming or not?”

Melody Newton

Madison always enjoyed making fun of nerds. Never mind that he kind of was one sometimes, since parents and teachers loved nerds for some reason, but he'd never considered himself one of the species.

Truth was, though, EMBA was absolutely chalk-full of nerds. It was really kind of mind-boggling how high the percentage of nerds was at the school. Madison found this alternately depressing and inspiring, as it both gave him more victims for pranks and also meant he was surrounded by nerds.

So when Kenzi had run her advertising campaign for her little LARP, there had been no question that Madison would show up. The only question was in what capacity. Madison had always hated Kenzi because of her power. It felt rude, having the power to get people's attention. Galling. Madison would never admit it, but mind powers scared the begeezus out of him. He hoped some farsighted politician would murder everybody who had them someday.

Anyway, the question remained of how to ruin the LARP for everyone. He'd come up with a few ideas but ultimately decided it was best to play things by ear. When he arrived at the spot to see Kenzi already there and dressed up, and Melody standing to the side, he was carrying a duffel bag full of items selected for the occasion. He wore a leather jacket and sunglasses.

“Sup nerds,” he said, making a symbol with his fingers that might have been a gang sign. “Wow, neat costume, Kenzi. I didn't know you LARPed, Melody. This my first time.”

She agreed, and Madison clapped his hands together with a wide grin. “Great! Right, so we'll head that way, and-”

A voice from the shadows made him jump. He jerked right to see a teenager wearing a red hoodie and carrying a package. At the same instant, Madison's proximity power kenned to his presence for the first time. Madison's eyes went wide. “What- how did you-”

The boy extended a box towards Melody, who took it as Madison looked on. His mind was scrambling. He didn't recognize the other boy, so how did he get here? Did he know Melody? He didn't act like he did... and before Madison could find out, he vanished with a wink.

Silence.

“The hell?” said Madison. “Who was that? Do you know them? Do they go here?” His eyes were wide. The fact that his power had failed to warned him of the intruder frighted him more then he'd been frightened in a long time. His power was his backbone, his lifeline. If it failed- !

“He had some sort of ghost power!” said Madison. “He should never have been able to get that close without me sensing him!” He put his hands on his head. “Sh*t. Sh*t. This is bad. We may have to abort. He might know a teacher. If my power can't give us advance warning it's not worth being caught.” His eyes were wide. He was freaked out, edging gradually towards terrified. His eyes fell on the package. “The hell is in there?”

Melody Newton

Madison had been fishing a few times. He had never been much for it, but he had learned a few things. He had learned that when you went fishing, you got the bait, you threw out a line, and you waited for a bite. And waited. And waited. Maybe for a long time. But when you got a bite, you had to yank the pole upward in just the right way, or the fish might escape. It was called setting the hook, and it was an important but easily forgotten part of the process. James and John might have been fishers of men, but Madison wanted to be a fisher of pretty girls.

Everything was perfect. He could practically see the lines of heat and tension in her. She was getting the signals he was sending, confused by them, maybe, but feeling something she wouldn't easily cast off. That was his line. Telling her she was pretty had been the bait. And her reply... Yes, that was her bite. Time to set the hook.

He gave her a sideways look as she answered, meeting her gaze and holding it just a little longer then would be normal. Keeping his expression upbeat, but knowing and confident. Like she'd given him the answer he was expecting. She was attracted, but she didn't know what she wanted. Well, he could help with that.

"Gaupo, you say?"

There. Put it out between them. Force her to acknowledge her impulsive action, but don't pull away or give any sign it was unwelcome. Not too fast, not too slowly, he reached out his hand towards her, making sure she could see it coming (not wanting to catch her too much off guard, that would set him back), his fingers brushing against it, questioningly at first, then more confidently, wrapping around in a firm grip that was almost- not quite- ownership. His thumb stroked her knee as he leaned forward, still smiling but with a more serious look in his eyes as he leaned forward to whisper in her ear.

"It's possible there was a hidden agenda, asking you here..."

Keaira Matthews

Madison raised an eyebrow when Melody opened her eyes and he saw a new color there. It was the first time he'd really understood that her eyes changed color. Before, he would have said that he wasn't sure what color they were. When she manifested the weapon he gave an appreciative whistle. It was genuinely appreciative- that seemed like a useful power.

“Well, that's sweet,” he said. “Kind of a walking weapons system, aren't you?”

At her comment about knowing where Buckley kept the booze he grinned. “As a matter of fact, I have been around the house, feeling for suspicious areas, and I have noticed a refrigerator filled with a mysteriously large quantity of liquid. Unfortunately, it is in his basement and finding a way inside to investigate this mysteriously large quantity of liquid has been difficult... so far. Of course... if there were a way to melt or cut a way in...”

He let the words trail off, looking at her suggestively.

Melody Newton

She was intrigued, as Madison had known she would be. You only had to take one look at Melody to know she was the type that got in trouble. It was her face, the way she carried herself, the way she made a show of being so tough, not realizing that no one actually tough needed to put on a show. She was hiding something, that was certain. Madison would do his best to find out, if for no other reason than the general principle that he ought to know everything.

He would miss the three cigarettes later, but it was a worthwhile investment if it ended with Melody firmly in his orbit. She was the type that would never think to ask Matt for them. She saw herself as better than other people, more in tune with the real world because she was miserable all the time. Madison had never understood why so many of his peers thought that way, but it wasn't any of his business. He had learned long ago that you were responsible for keeping yourself happy, so if you found other that smokes and manipulation were what you enjoyed, well, you better get right on that, because nobody was going to do that for you.

He grinned at her walking comment. "That's one option." He took a few pulls on his cigarette and made a show of studying her, looking her up and down. His eyes lingered on her curves, though he kept his face serious. He had established himself as the knowledgeable one by giving her the cigarettes and knew she would be aching for an opportunity to live up to the standard he had set, or at least in the hope of getting more MJ later.

He turned away and lounged against the wall, choosing his body language to suggest he had looked at her and seen all he needed to see. Dismissive. It was funny: almost no one could describe body language that meant that, yet everyone noticed it if you did it to them. They felt anger, or belittled, or, most likely in Melody's case, a simmering urge not to be dismissed. Madison's power had taught him much about the subtleties of human communication, and he put it to use now.

"I heard Malika and Rachel snuck some booze in," he said in a bored voice. He made a suggestive glance at Melody. "Of course, Buckley was on them right away and now they're out their excursion privileges."

The school arranged regular weekend excursions for students to go into town and go shopping or do anything other than be bored at school all weekend. It also provided a handy privilege to withdraw when rules were broken. He was quite sure Melody would be willing to take the risk, but it didn't hurt to point it out in advance.

"What do you suppose he did with it? You don't think he drinks it all himself, do you?" He gave Melody a knowing smile. A delicate dance, this. He needed her to be intrigued, but she’d be gone in a shot if she suspected he was playing her.

(Of course, he might have simply told her outright what he was going to do without any manipulation, but Madison didn’t think of that. And besides, it wasn’t as fun.)

"So, laser eyes, huh?" he said, changing the subject. "That all you can do?"