Superhuman

"...Right, I'll just see you both tomorrow, I guess-- It was nice meeting you properly, Jason. You guys are a sweet couple," he smiled politely, nodding quickly for emphasis. He didn't really want to pay either of them a compliment, particularly when it did hurt to see Arie with someone else. They technically never broke up, and for the first few months of his time at the hospital, he had naively clung to the hope that, when he got out, he and Arie could continue as normal. Obviously that hope eventually faded, and he fully anticipated walking out to see Arie with someone else. That didn't mean it didn't hurt, of course, however much he pretended that he was unaffected by it.

Pretending, though, was the only plan he had in mind when it came to Arie. He was suspicious of him and showing his hatred would only push the other away, and then he wasn't going to get any answers, assuming there were any. His plan for the next day was to try and talk to Arie more, build a bond that, despite being completely fake on his side, would hopefully seem convincing and genuine. He had no doubt that his ex-friends wouldn't be particularly pleased with him hanging about, but caring what people thought of him wasn't one of his traits these days.

By the time school arrived the next morning, the plan to put a smile on his face and seem decidedly less 'weird' had already gone out the window. If anything, people noticed that he was considerably worse than usual. Over the last week, he was seen by himself, frowning or scowling at passersby. That morning, however, he wasn't even capable of doing that; he was more or less expressionless and apparently in some sort of daze, his eyes fixed on a spot and barely moving away from it. That behaviour in and of itself was disturbing, but the poor appearance only gave cause for more whispers to spread about him. He was remarkably paler than what had become normal for him and he clearly hadn't slept, given the dark rings around his eyes... not that he could have slept even if he wanted to.

Last night hadn't gone very well for him. After returning home from the cinema, he was immediately set upon by his parents who noticed the strong smell of smoke on their son and realised he had been at the cinema that was set alight. For them, it was one incident too far, deeming it too coincidental that Ethan was at two places that had been set on fire. They assumed he was setting them alight by hand, having no idea of the truth... until they suddenly caught fire themselves, anyway. It had been a complete accident made in anger, having very little control of his powers when angered to that extent, as evidenced by the incident with the neighbour two years prior. Even though Ethan was cold to a lot of people, he did love his parents dearly, having absolutely no reason to doubt their love for him.

Cleaning the house up was a horrible experience, as was disposing of his parents' bodies and their car in the lake. Even though it had been an accident, he doubted any authority would believe him without him displaying his power... and like hell was he prepared to do that. Instead, he cleaned the house up, covered his tracks by setting things in place to make it look like they had gone on vacation, and spent the rest of the night crying, throwing up and walking about trying to clear his head.

Despite all that, he still showed up to school, deciding it would help to get out of the house for a bit, realising his mistake when everyone seemed to incessantly talk about him and how strange he was acting as though he couldn't hear or notice them. Even when he noticed his old friendship group walk by, he didn't react, even though he had plans to talk to Arie and trick him into believing their friendship could be reinstated. Frankly, he couldn't give a shit about that at the moment.

"He's so weird," mumbled Jason beneath his breath, leaning against his locker whilst observing Ethan sat up on his own. "Like, he's so lost it-- he should start hanging out with those losers who are into all that creepy Gothic shit, he'd fit in well. They're all nuts."
 
"Don't be rude," Arie scolded quietly as he grabbed his textbooks for class. Dressed in Jason's clothes from the sudden decision to stay over at his boyfriend's house, he somehow still managed to at least look somewhat fashionable in the clothes. If not, he'd simply state the truth that he had gotten frisky with Jason and needed fresh clothes after the interaction.

Hesitating, he decided to hurry to Ethan with a frown. He genuinely thought he had established a bit of a connection with the boy again and even if he didn't, everyone knew Arie often went out of his way to help people. While he was incredibly suspicious still, he was willing to put it aside to at least comfort the other.

"Is everything alright?" He asked quietly before kneeling down beside him. "You don't look great, aha... hey, I can walk you to class if you want? I know last night was traumatizing," he tried to comfort as he absenrly rubbed the spines of his textbooks.
 
"I'm not a good person, I-- there's something wrong with me, I know there is Arie. I... I'm scared of myself, I don't know what I'll do if something annoys me, I'll... I'll just get angry and do something unforgivable and a part of me wants to not give a shit, but then there's another part of me that... hates it," he grimaced, his ambiguity and vagueness not being deliberate. He was in too much of a state to notice that nothing he was saying was making much sense. By the time he did realise it, he was distracted by the lingering presence of Jason, enough to put him off revealing any more of his inner worries. Instead, he pushed himself to his feet and placed a nonchalant expression on his face to cover up as much internal turmoil as he could.

"...I'm fine, stop worrying about me. I can walk to class by myself, I don't want to interrupt you and your... boyfriend. It'll make me mad and I... don't need to get angry. My therapist said to avoid situations like that. I'll just go to class and... sit by Jasmine and her friends, maybe. They seem like they're... nice to me. They don't judge me, at least," he shrugged, casting a glance back at Arie's friends, rolling his eyes at their unsubtle judgement. "...My parents have gone on vacation without me, that's all. It's... not easy being at home by myself."
 
"Okay, well, if you want to talk to me you can..." he reminded as he sat up as well, concern clearly set across his face... though it hid his curiosity and disbelief well. He knew Ethan's parents probably better than anyone outside of their family after spending so many nights at their house and, from what he remembered, they were amazing people. To hear that they just up and left their son alone was highly unlikely, though who knows? Maybe the pressure of their son being away made them jerks?

"Like I said, you've got my number so if you want to talk to me about... anything, you can," He reminded with a smile. It was progress, the other opening up to him, right? If that was the case, it meant not all was lost for his ex! He wanted Ethan to get better because a small part of him was selfish enough to want that in his life again, "let's go to gym then."
 
"I have no intention of going to Gym. Since when did I ever like it, Arie? I... guess I have to go, but I'm not doing anything, they can't force me. I just survived being stuck in a burning building and now my parents have left. I... think I have a reason not to make myself look like an idiot in dodgeball," he grunted, rubbing his arms absently. The night hadn't been the best, and whilst suicide had been a thought, he eventually settled on a little self-harm. He had no intention of actually participating in Gym anyway, but he especially couldn't get involved in it now. Everyone seeing what he had done to himself would only cause further damage to his reputation. Incredibly, he doubted anyone would show him sympathy.

Sticking to the decision, he sat out in the gymnasium whilst the others all headed to the changing rooms, leaving him oblivious to the fact he was the topic of someone's conversation.

"Yo, what's the deal with Ethan, then?" A boy asked, turning around from his changing room locker to glance over at Arie, grinning wide. "Like, not the whole weird vibe he's got going on, I kinda dig that. Nah, Scott's kinda interested in asking Ethan to the Halloween dance, he wanted me to ask you if Ethan would be into that? I said I'd ask you, 'cos you know him better than anyone, right? So, would that be cool?"

"...I though Scott was with Jasmine?" Jason blurted from the side. Whenever Ethan was mentioned, he tried to block it out. Like Arie, he found Ethan's presence at the theatre strange, and it was just stress he didn't need after seeing a man laying in literal fire without burning. That was pretty terrifying, so Ethan drama was something he was trying to avoid... but the gossip was far too interesting to turn away from. Scott was hardly popular, being part of a group that most people turned their noses up at, but he was often seen as being cool and mysterious, albeit often in a dark, Gothic sort of way. "He's not into guys, is he?--"

"I dunno man, I'm only passing on what he told me to. He said he thought Ethan was cute and wanted to know if he was with anyone or whatever, I'm just relaying the message, y'know? I like Ethan, he seems rad. He was such a little bitch when he was hanging out with you lot, y'know? He seems cool now, I could hang with him."
 
"What do you mean, 'he was a little bitch when he was hanging out with you'?" Arie perked up, having grown quiet at the conversation as he neatly tied his shoes. Being on the hockey team, he was a surprisingly big fan of gym. It was a good way to get his anger and energy out without hurting anyone else too severely and while he wouldn't admit it, he did have some pent up anger from life in general. Stretching out his legs, he kept a straight face at the words.

"I don't know if Ethan is in the mood to immediately start dating someone," he offered quietly before standing up straight with a smile. "We all have to get him adjusted better is all. Maybe if he gets to trusting us again, he'll open up and get back to his 'little bitch' attitude! We just can't force him into anything, yeah? We gotta lean him into wanting to do stuff with us again. One of those things is being nicer to him. Sure, he's acting weird but that's okay, he's been through a lot," he insisted before taking Jason's hand to tug him along lightly. He wanted to avoid the conversation as much as possible.

"Everything will be... fine," he insisted quietly, moreso to himself than anyone else. "Everything is okay. This is a challenge, right? Challenges are fun."
 
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"...Why don't you want them talking? They're both as weird as each other -don't yell at me, it's true and you know it- so why can't they date? It might be good for your best buddy over there to have a friend he can talk to who understands his whole... vibe or whatever. I'll be honest, I'm pissed at you, babe. You're so focused on Ethan, like... yeah, he's a bit strange, but he's not your boyfriend; I am. Can't I get a little attention instead of you focusing on his fucking life?" Jason grunted, unable to hold back from releasing how he felt. He understood that the two had history and that, at one time in his life, Ethan was all Arie could turn to. That wasn't the reality now, however, and he was growing frustrated at the amount of attention Ethan was getting just for being a bit weird. It was an unsympathetic view, admittedly, but he didn't really care about him.

If Scott did have a thing for him, he would easily be the biggest cheerleader for the relationship - anything to create more distance between his boyfriend and Ethan.

"Scott's not a bad guy. He's weird and he's into all that conspiracy shit, but he seems like he'd be good for Ethan? A stable influence or whatever," the boy continued, stretching his arms out to warm himself up. He was lying, almost brazenly, but he didn't think it was too unsubtle. He didn't like Scott, or his group of friends, but he could easily lie and pretend he admired the boy for being himself. In reality, he thought that whole group were batshit crazy. "Chill out about Ethan, for fuck's sake. He's fine. Hell, I deserve more sympathy after seeing that guy who started the fire-- Maybe I'm crazy, hey? Because it wasn't possible, what I saw. The police aren't going to take me seriously if I gave them that information, are they?"
 
"I just... I want him to feel welcome and wanted, Jason. He was in that place for two years and I didn't see him once," he reminded quietly, his attempt at a calm facade breaking as his eyes rimmed with tears. "I know we don't have a relationship anymore and that's okay, you don't have to worry about it. It's just fucked up seeing him like this knowing I contributed to the way he is now. I dunno..." he murmured, wiping his tears eyes on his arm before adjusting his shirt a tad.

"Maybe you're right, maybe Scott would be a good match," he sighed before looking over at Jason with a weary smile. "I just want him to be happy. He may be incredibly frustrating right now but everyone deserves to be happy, especially when I ruined that happiness. He helped me a lot growing up and I just think I owe him that in return since he's going through such a hard time."
 
"...How are you to blame? Sure, you could have visited, but so could everyone else who was his friend at the time. You're so hard on yourself, it's actually ridiculous. Are you gonna blame yourself for the rest of your life, or are you going to relax about it and let Ethan figure things out for himself? He's 18, he's not a kid," shrugged Jason, offering a quick kiss on the cheek to diffuse his earlier anger, and a kiss often did the trick. Talking about Ethan wasn't the best way he could spend his time, though he ddi manage a small smile to himself once noticing a conversation starting between him and Scott. Hopefully, it would lead to something and Ethan wouldn't continue to steal focus from him.

"Look, they're getting on great," he grinned, absently gesturing to the two boys. "Chill out. You're coming over my place again tonight, right? My Mom's cooking spaghetti, I know you love that, so you could come over and stay the night again?"
 
"I dunno, I probably have to at least check in with my mom and get some of my own clothes..." he replied as he shifted his weight in an attempt to keep him from growing too nervous. He had never brought Jason to his home out of fear of judgement. He had described it all one night when he was asked why he had spent nearly a week at Jason's so early on in their relationship but exposing the poor situation was a whole other thing. Despite that, he rubbed his arm with pursed lips.

"You could drive me there, right? If... we're going to be a proper couple, I need to stop being afraid of showing you everything, right? Plus maybe she'll be nicer to me knowing you're around. She likes to keep up appearances when we have guests, so... that would be nice," he admitted before deciding to entwine their fingers.
 
"I don't know why you don't just go to the police about her. Or just tell your Dad when he gets out of prison-- but hey, you're 18 soon. After school's over, we can go to college together and forget about your mother. Not that long to wait, just a few more months," he reassured, being as supportive as usual. He clearly had a bitchy streak in him, given his often never-ending insults about people that weren't in his close group of friends, but he was at least a good boyfriend.

"I'll come with you, sure. I can ask her if you can stay a few days at my place, she might not refuse if I'm the one asking, huh?" He shrugged, grabbing one of the dodgeballs from the side with a faint grin at his face. Being naturally athletic, he excelled in almost every sport. While it was a little sadistic, he always liked Dodgeball the most, if only to watch less athletic kids on the opposite team panic when he aimed at them. "Be on my team, 'kay? All the losers will get shoved onto the other team, it'll be easy."
 
"Don't be so cruel, Jason," he scolded lightly, though it was well known that Arie could be just as cruel in sports. During hockey, he was well known to ruthlessly knock opponents out without care... until the end of the game, when he would apologize. The same thing happened during gym, though he hid it with a smile and kind tone.

"Of course I'll be on your team, don't be silly," He cooed affectionately as he, too, grabbed a ball. "Just go easy on them, okay? I don't want to get in trouble because you're too ruthless," he insisted before offering a quick peck to the cheek. It was a good distraction from his thoughts.
 
"What, is the truth cruel now? The truth doesn't care about feelings, Arie. They're easy to beat and I find that amusing, it's just straight facts," the other responded, leaning against the wall in satisfaction when the class was separated into two halves; one consisting of his friends who were all generally good at sports, and the other leaving those who weren't. It wasn't entirely fair, but Jason tended to have his way when it came down to choosing teams in Gym class, however obvious his strategy was.

Inevitably, Ethan was on the other team. He had never liked sports, even though he was in surprisingly good shape despite his ordeal. His popularity (or lack thereof) didn't convince anyone to choose him for the clearly stronger team, which left him awkwardly shuffling to his side. He didn't want to get involved, but his excuses to the teacher didn't really work and, with a spare kit on (fortunately one with sleeves), he was left scowling irritably beside the few people, like Scott, who were accepting of him. It was a strange feeling, being amongst the people he had once laughed at. He wasn't the worst of the bunch, but he hadn't exactly shut down the critiques about the group either.

"...Aim for Jason," he mumbled to the others, weakly reaching for a ball with a groan. "He thinks he's great at this game, it'll be good to get him out first, I think..."
 
"You sure? He'll probably pummel us to death after this if we do," Scott warily replied as he clutched his own ball tightly. Everyone was well aware of his poor physical skills simply because he was too skinny, preferring to spend his time focusing on things he liked that often required little to no physical work, like chemistry and astronomy. Of course that curiosity would lead to his conspiracy theories on aliens, which was one of the many reasons he was an outcast. Shooting a nervous smile to Ethan, he offered a nudge of encouragement.

"It'll be fine, yeah? No matter what happens, it's not like it'll really make a difference in the long run. Do you know how many crippling injuries beefheads like that get that end their careers? Karma'll catch up to him eventually, you know? So even if we do poorly, we'll still have better careers outside of this hellhole," he encouraged, though his rosy cheeks and evident anxiety had the words fall on deaf ears.

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"He's an asshole, they all are. Arie included. I'm supposed to stand here and get humiliated and hit in the face while they all high-five each other? How is that fair? Nobody gives a shit about me, or you, or your friends. It's sad but it's true, right? I might as well just disappear and nobody would bat an eyelid." Ethan responded, albeit without the angry tone that often accompanied his words in recent weeks. Scott and his friends, initially, weren't exempt from Ethan's hatred. He had never been friends with them, so he never expected a visit from them, but he had gained a general dislike for everyone, even for those he hadn't spoken to or interacted with.

However, he was happy to admit that some people weren't dreadful. That only extended to Scott and his friends at the moment, but it was something, and it gave him a chance to actually focus on something other than the burning hatred he had for everyone else. Getting asked to the dance was also pretty nice, and he had no problem accepting the offer... especially when it would be a great occasion to set a fire.

"...If he lays a hand on me, I'll make sure he pays for it. I... have my ways," he smiled cryptically, holding the ball under his arm awkwardly. "...Hey, I... I'm sorry. For being an ass to you when we were younger. I know I wasn't that bad but I was still... a jerk. I kinda know how it feels now, so... I don't want to go to the dance with you without apologising for once being a dick to you, Scott."
 
"It's fine, I'm over it," he reassured as he watched the coach walk out, the sight of Jason grinning wickedly only causing him to shudder. "Like I said, none of this matters in the long run, aha... you being a jerk to me only motivated me more to prove everyone wrong. I mean, I already got a letter for McGill so that's pretty rad," he shrugged while adjusting his weight on his feet anxiously.

"That being said, I still want to enjoy my last year," he explained with pursed lips. "That's why I want to go to the Halloween dance with you. Gotta live a little, right? So... does this mean you'll go with me? I mean, you don't have to. I just thought it would be fun."
 
"Dances aren't my thing, I have two left feet. I never really went, even when I was... popular around here. But I'll go with you, it might be fun. I think it's brave you going with me, I'm not really... liked around here these days-- but fuck that, it'll be great to do something fun with someone who's not a pompous, jumped-up prick. So yeah, I'll go with you. Besides, I like Halloween," he grinned, casting a glance over at Arie absently. If he had moved on (and was apparently so very happy with Jason), then why couldn't he at least entertain the idea of having fun with someone? Admittedly, dating someone wasn't the wisest decision when he was pursuing less than innocent ideals and had a temper that could end in dozens of deaths around him... but Scott was hard to turn down. He was a little 'out there', a tad on the weird side, which was how Ethan was now perceived.

It seemed like a good choice of person to at least make a friendship with. Ethan clearly needed one friend or two, given the very obvious lack of them in his life right now.

"It'll be fine. If they hit you, at least you can stop playing this stupid game," he pointed out, grimacing to himself at Jason's clear enjoyment. It was the image he needed to lob the ball in his direction as soon as the whistle went, having a surprising amount of strength behind it. Hitting someone above the neck wasn't allowed, but Ethan wasn't going to feel bad about Jason getting hit directly in the face, nor did he remotely care that the boy's nose spurted out blood instantly. If anything, he leaned back in satisfaction at the sight, grinning smugly at the bloody image in front of him.

"He fucking did that on purpose, I swear to God, I'm gonna beat your ass after this, loser," retorted Jason angrily, snatching the tissues from the coach and holding them to his nose, though refused to leave to clean himself up in the toilets.

"It was an accident," shrugged Ethan with a faux look of innocence, though failed to wipe the smile from his face. "...Sorry, I guess."
 
"Ethan!" Arie squeaked in horror at the sight as he easily avoided Scott's genuine attempt at a good shot. In his own fury, Arie easily replied by landing the ball straight into Scott's chest, earning an 'oof' in distress by the outcast. Arie wasn't an openly angry or violent person so to see the anger in his expression was proof of just how pissed he was... and the fact that the tips of his fingers seemed to be turning blue. He noticed it just in time and took a deep breath before throwing the ball at Ethan as well, a scowl still on his face.

"That was fucking rude!" He snapped at the other. "You did that on purpose - why the fuck did you do that?! It's a game, Ethan, for fun! That was - I'm disappointed," he called, though his voice eventually lowered once he calmed down.
 
"I'm just getting him before he gets me, I think that's fair enough. Besides, maybe I wanted him to bleed a little. That kind of amuses me, Arie. The guy deserved it," he responded as coolly as he could manage, though the sight of Scott practically doubled over in shock at the hard hit didn't help calm him down whatsoever. He had only started to talk to the boy that day, for mere minutes, but there was an instant desire to protect him, much like there had been when he first met Arie. He liked Scott and felt like they had connected instantly, so seeing him get hurt like that only made him pissed off.

"...Touch him again and I'll kill you, Arie. Don't think I'm joking. We're not friends, I have no desire to protect you or keep you safe-- I would love it if you broke your neck and had to be hospitalised. I'm sure nobody would visit you. I certainly wouldn't," he spat over the net separating the two teams, quickly turning to tend to Scott, his tone and body language instantly changing. He wasn't great at being comforting anyway, so he was clearly awkward, but the contrast was striking nonetheless. "...Hey, are you alright? Let's just go and get dressed, you can't keep playing. Do you need help walking, or...? It looks like you got the wind knocked out of 'ya."
 
"I'm fine, relax," Scott insisted with a laugh that was broken up by coughing as he stood up carefully, though still clutched his chest nonetheless in shock. Rubbing it once fully up, he offered an apologetic smile towards Ethan. "I just need to sit down for a bit. I don't need a medic or anything, seriously. I mean, like you said, at least I don't have to keep playing anymore, right?" He reassured Ethan before wearily moving to sit on the sidelines, making sure to stay on the opposite side of the bleachers from Jason in fear that the boy would beat him up.

He had always been the need or the loser that no one liked up until recently when he had a bit of a glowup. For starters, he had gotten contacts instead of glasses and his braces finally came off plus he had a growth spurt, all helping in his sudden transformation. While he was more attractive, it only earned him a few points above from absolute loser when it came to the school's food chain. "I mean, this'll give us time to get to know each other, right?"
 
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