new perspective

bkwons said: DARKNESS! for a starter where all the electricity goes out in the middle of the night

    In one fell swoop Vivian’s block went out with power. Like a domino effect rolling in from the west, the furthest house from her’s started it as everyone’s lights frizzed out. Blackness covered her room, while she scrammed for her cellphone. Ever since the announcement of her, along with nine others, becoming witches or magically inclined (as she liked to put it) every little thing made wonder if it was the cause of them. First the earthquake, and in a week the sicknesses, but in this moment Vivian was focused on Blaine. Simply things like freaky weather—she thought of Rai. An extra windy day—Skylar…and so on. So it wasn’t weird for her to instantly dial his number and waited for the ringtone, as she leaned back in her bed.

                R I N G; R I N G

       a sharp click happened— “Hey. Did I wake you?” she started, “Sorry but just checking in…harmlessly wondering if you, like who knows, but maybe accidentally started a power outage in our neighborhood?”

the moment he hears a loud crack in the background, blaine’s pretty sure he knew he fucked up. 

he straightens himself, and watches helplessly as all the lights around him went out. blaine’s still clutching an exposed wire, a small part of the big project he was working on. “well, fuck,” he mutters, once he notices that the darkness in his house wasn’t just the only one. it spanned out the entire neighbourhood. he feels a bit like peter parker-- but blaine knows that going through that line of thought would sidetrack him, and he does not need that right now. he needed to solve this, asap. 

but how?

blaine’s still mulling over the entire situation when the loud buzzing of his phone startles him, making him drop the wire he was clutching tightly. cursing lowly under his breath, he swipes open his phone, and was about to bark out a rude comment, when the voice speaks first. his exasperation increases, when he realizes who it was-- and as well as the accusation thrown at him. okay so, it wasn’t as if vivian was wrong. but still-- it could’ve also been not his fault! 

“what made you think that?” he retorts, just to be a little shit about it. “i mean, i know my power includes electricity, but do you really think i’d go and do something as stupid as cause a power outage?” blaine asks, as he mindlessly kicks the limp wire. he’s still a little bit lost on how to solve it, and wonders if a third-party opinion might help. “okay-- say i did do it. . . what do you suggest i do?”

blaine honest to god dislikes being proven wrong-- it gets under his skin in the most irritating ways. he prides himself in being well-versed in things a normal student wouldn’t know. he wasn’t expecting forest to come with a sob story, of all things. blaine’s always believed that forest must have had everything handed to him, with everyone falling off their asses to fawn over him-- just like how people treat skylar. birds of the same feather flock together, after all. still, as much as it pained him to admit, he was wrong. and now he feels like a dick, ignoring forest over a petty reason. especially now that he knows about forest’s past, and as well as with how forest seemed to have treated him on their. . . not date. 

with that in mind, he finds himself repeating his previous actions just a week before, approaching forest just as class has ended, students milling about them, stuck in their own little problems and gossip. this time, though, he’s more genuine with his approach, a small, apologetic smile on his face as he greets forest. “hey,” he says, trying his best not to shuffle on his feet awkwardly. blaine doesn’t do awkward, okay. “nice to see you all healthy and uh, happy,” he continues, internally wincing at how he’s absolutely failing his ‘not awkward’ plan. in a desperate attempt to at least salvage the situation, he lets out a forced laugh, “i forgot to tell you-- your mom was pretty nice,” he says, “i mean, i don’t understand why it seemed like she was so darn happy to see me, because i’ve never seen her before, but--” he exhales, as he realizes that he’s just basically stalling at this pint, “do you want to hang out again, maybe?” he finally asks, before he ends up saying something silly. “you can say no, i really don’t mind, but well, coven bonding and everything?”

blaine was guilty enough to say that before the whole my little coven: friendship is magic stunt, he didn’t really care about his next-door neighbour. it wasn’t a grudge or something, it was just a simple lack of attention. poppy didn’t seem interested in befriending him, and vice versa, so there wasn’t any point of pretending otherwise. after the whole session though-- blaine feels like it was somehow his fault that she was led to such measures. he was her neighbour after all, how was he unable to see the signs? blaine wasn’t sure if she was depressed, he wasn’t a psychiatrist, but still-- she still tried to do that and he should have noticed it beforehand. 

blaine had not slept at all, having stayed up to watch a deep sea expedition live stream that went on for hours and hours. he’s not even sure what time it was, as he was so deeply ensconced on his laptop screen, curtains blocking the window, and with him all huddled up in his comforter. so, when his phone buzzed just as he was in the middle of another show, blaine’s half-tempted to not check it. it was probably just jett. or rai. no one else texts him, not that he bothers reaching out to others, in the first place. still, the possibility of it being jett or rai makes him reach blindly for his phone. a soft sound of triumph slips past his lips as he takes hold of his phone, his momentary joy quickly disappearing once he sees the message. blaine doesn’t know if he should take the whole 911 thing seriously-- after all, teenagers were usually so dramatic. 

still, he decides he can’t risk it, and the message did say jett and rai would be there, along with the other coven members. while he wasn’t really that stoked about meeting with so much people, he decides that this must be important. hopefully. 

on his eighteenth birthday, blaine wakes up to silence. 

    Between what happened between Vivian and Hugo, the young witch-to-be, filled up her free time as much as she could with shifts at the Secret Garden. Stubbornness practically ran through her veins—especially when around people who were arrogantly entitled. Her disappointment with two coven members, along with her own problems, made her shy away from their duties. Whatever that was for them. Keeping others at arms length wasn’t something she was very skilled at but something she knew she needed. Call it healthy even. Less trouble with boys and spells, sickness and this ‘Other’ the better she thought things might be. 

      Of course that wouldn’t be the case…..

   Moments before Blaine entered the store Vivian was pruning some magnolias for a bouquet later. The scent was to die for, not to mention lacing her lips with a permanent smile just before her name was called. “Blaine?” replying lowly, a bit confused seeing him here. Normally flowers and Blaine didn’t seem like a likely pair; perhaps electrical wiring wasn’t the only thing he could be known for. As he spoke, her smile faded a bit but still kept a joyful expression. “Address a customer….hm not sure if that’s in my job title.” she playful jabbed at him, loving how eager—or should she say, anxious he seemed. “Glad it isn’t. You and I can talk about thinks that don’t involve a pompous try hard who rather treat us as pieces to a puzzle than people or friends.” Vivian had no qualms about being open about how she felt about their leader, not even batting an eye to how Blaine’s face would no doubt take the news.

       She simply didn’t care.

     Regardless she turned from him for a moment, taking the magnolias with her to clear a spot on the counter, and made her way back to him. “Okay neighbor’s plants…..go on?”

blaine blinks curiously, momentarily confused by her statement, her playfulness flying past him. “wait, don’t you technically work here?” he asks, lips twisting into a confused frown. “i mean, technically, i am your customer. his growing discomfort amplifies as she listens to her mini-rant, and his nose scrunches as he tries to think about who she’s talking about. “are you talking about skylar?” because-- he’s the only one blaine can think of that fits the description. he watches her deal with the magnolia plant, still confused. “you’re talking about skylar, right? because pompous and try hard, yeah,” he nods, “definitely skylar.” still, they were getting off topic. baine was in no mood to talk about the coven or skylar or literally anything but his dying plants.

As Blaine walked over to Forest, he tried to gather himself since he knew that he probably was looking like a blubbering idiot. He was just so surprised, most of the soccer team couldn’t kick that far and they were 2x bigger than Blaine. The black haired boy took in a deep breath and nodded as the other started to talk again. Energy, right. He no idea that his powers could do that, it was definitely something he wasn’t going to forget and it could be of use for when they apparently have to ‘save the town.’ With a powerhouse like that, who looked like a string bean - no one would see that coming. “That’s..that’s really awesome.” Forest got out as he cleared his throat, glancing over at Blaine as he tried to use his powers to spin the ball but failed. All of them had their kinks with their powers. He still had problems with keep his control and his connection. Whenever he used his powers things always seemed to go wrong. There have been times where he has passed out from practicing so much that the vibrations in his body caused him to faint. He could only imagine that things like this happened to the others, it wasn’t like they were the superheroes who had training equipment to teach them. They had to learn on their own, push their own bodies until they finally found control.

“Oh trust me he would-” Forest’s brown eyes widened as Blaine explained that the first time he’d met his coach was when he was shoving Doritos in his mouth and stifled a loud laugh. He tried really hard not to imagine the balding couch watch up to see Blaine with cheesy dust on his face and chips hanging from his mouth. “Hey I mean they took Skylar.” The black haired boy blurted out, used to cracking on Skylar on the soccer field since it was part of their friendship. “Don’t tell him I said that to you.” He nervously rubbed the back of his neck, he knew that both of these men weren’t huge fans of each other and he didn’t know why. Skylar was nice, yes he could be an arrogant asshole but that was because of his upbringing and Forest refused to believe that that was all that he could offer. He always explained to people who talked shit about Skylar that he was a nice guy, he just doesn’t know how to express it because he was taught that being pompous was equal to being a winner. 

“Oh.. oh yeah it is, isn’t it?” Forest looked down at the ball, using it was an excuse to stare at someone disappointedly without being obvious. The corners of his lips obviously displaying his emotion. He didn’t want to go home yet, or for that matter stop this interaction with Blaine. He was actually having a good time, he was getting to know someone who usually would ignore him. This felt like it was one of those twilight zone episodes where they would hang out all night and then the next day the other boy wouldn’t remember a thing or just ignore him once again. “I mean -uh, if you want to?” He raised his dark brows at Blaine’s offer to play again, surprised once again. “..we could do something you like if we hang out again.. I know nothing about the stuff you do…but maybe I could change that?” Forest’s shoulders rose in a slow shrug to gesture to the other ‘I’m completely open to that idea but please know that i probably won’t know a thing’ “Gra-Grab food?” The black haired boy took the ball in his hands and bit his lip. He wasn’t going to pass up food and the chance to hang out with Blaine. “Alright - I could eat.. you can pick whichever place we go to, I can pretty much eat anything you put in front of me - well except strawberries cause then I’d die.. and you didn’t need to know that..” Forest babbled out before nodding to himself and moving back to the edge of the field to push the soccer ball into his bag. Throwing the strap over his shoulder, he looked over at Blaine and waited till he was set to go before gesturing with his hand for him to lead the way.

blaine brushes away the whole statement about skylar, pasting on a fake smile just for appearances. he very much preferred not to talk about skylar, given that he was already enduring enough just trying to ‘hang out’ with forest. he ignores the voice in his head that points out how everything seems to be going well so far, and that if blaine just allowed himself, he’d even enjoy this whole-- bonding moment. which was absurd, really. he tries to tell himself that he was just hungry. and hallucinating. “don’t worry, i don’t speak to him, anyway,” he says, offhandedly. he follows forest’s lead, picking up his things. “so-- you’ve got a strawberry allergy?” he asks, raising a curious brow. “you’re the first one i’ve heard of,” he says, as he finally starts leading them away from the field. it wasn’t dark yet, given that it was still somewhere around five in the evening, but the people hanging around the campus were slowly thinning. 

a smile of amusement forms on his lips, as he listens to forest babble, momentarily wondering how forest even manages to interact with other people. was he always this awkward around people, or is it just because he wasn’t familiar with blaine? “does that mean you haven’t ever tried strawberry ice cream?” blaine follows up, right away, as if the mere thought was a tragedy in its own. “because-- wow. it’s strawberry ice cream,” he says, before shaking his head, “well, at least it’s not a chocolate allergy. that would’ve been infinitely sadder, i think.” the streets were almost empty, and blaine knew that it was because of the recent flu coming around. paranoia crept into the townspeople, and the town was more of a shell of its usual lively place. still, blaine continues to lead them to his favourite diner, well, aside from the town’s favourite. it was a newer local place, but blaine’s found the food to be affordable enough. “ah, i forgot--” he says, as they near the place, “this is my treat, yeah?” he offers. it’d at least make forest feel indebted to him, which was definitely useful for future occasions. “you can’t say no either, since i’m the one who’s dragging you to dinner with me,” he quickly adds. finally, they reach their destination, and blaine opens the wide glass door for them, waiting until forest steps in the establishment. “come-- they know me so well that i pretty much have my own spot here now.”

he shoots a wide smile at one of the waitresses, receiving one in return. he’s been here a lot of times, and most especially this week, with no one around at home to make dinner. he wasn’t lying when he said that they knew him here. he brings them to the corner table, blaine scooting in comfortable on the comfortable booth. he tries not to think too much about the fact that this awfully seemed much like a date, complete with the ridiculous candles in the middle of the table (he’s been trying to talk the manager out of that particular decor, because fire hazard).  a staff was immediately upon them, and blaine gets himself his usual, which was a ridiculously large meatloaf, but hey, he was a growing teenager. “you can order whatever you like,” he tells forest, with an encouraging smile. well, in for a penny, in for a pound.

It wasn’t like Skylar to walk around this area, but he was here to do some research and also to get some time alone. It was different and that’s why he enjoyed it. He enjoyed the silence of it; the cleanliness; the difference; and the feeling that he had no rules. He didn’t have to be a certain person.  He could just be Skylar Edwards the person, not Skylar Edwards the prodigy. He felt the same when he was with Forest. He could be Skylar Edwards the person, and it didn’t have to put up some front because no one knew who he was. Though that changed when he saw a familiar face, and a sense of fear sat in his stomach. No no no, he was in his special spot. Blaine of all people. He didn’t know him that well but he was friends with Jett and that was enough.

He groaned when he called the other out, shaking his head as he walked over. He could of ignored him, but he was going to be in the coven, and he supposed he should play nice once in awhile. Plus, he didn’t exactly hate Blaine. He was just weird.  “No need to objective me, Kwons. I know a kiss ass when I see one,” Skylar replied, smirking and running a hand gently through his hair. “Well, y’know, we like to surprise once in awhile. Why are you around here anyway? Jett get you around here?”

“you’re assuming i’d like to kiss your ass in the first place,” blaine responds, just as easily. he’s never really-- liked skylar. he would like to pretend he doesn’t know where and when the hatred started, would like to pretend that he doesn’t know when it took root in him and just grew--but the thing was, he knew. it could have been that one time he saw skylar and his family all so close together, with skylar looking like there was nothing wrong in the world. meanwhile, he had to deal with an almost absent mother and an alcoholic, abusive father. still. he doesn’t like introspection, doesn’t like thinking about it too much. he’s far too used to just latching onto his anger, pretending it was all just petty one-sided teenage rivalry. 

“yes, jett brought me here, definitely, yup,” he replies, popping the ‘p’ obnoxiously. “i mean, you can obviously spot him standing beside me, right?” he continues, ignoring all the signals in his brain to shut the fuck up, and to stop provoking a fight. but he’s too wired up, itching to let out some of his pent up energy. and skylar just happened to be the nearest victim for his uncharacteristic behaviour. “you truly are a master of observation, really.” he pushes himself off the wall, delighting on the fact that he was taller than this fuckass. “aren’t you afraid you might catch some commoner flu or something? get dirtied by civilians?” 

these past few days, blaine has had the house to himself, and while that sounded like every teenagers’ dream, there’s a different tone to it, knowing that it was empty because one member was on the edge of death. he’s avoided going in the house as much as he can, but he can’t smooch off of rai and jett forever. and honestly, at times like these, he’s extremely grateful he took up gardening as a side-hobby. if he wasn’t tinkering with gadgets on the backyard, he’s crouched over his growing plants, talking to them in low tones, feeding them just the tiniest bit of his energy, and making sure they were alright.

even so, there were still unavoidable accidents. it’s the second time that week that his tomato plant had been ridden with pests. and blaine’s a huge advocate of not using pesticides-- he was planning to eat the fucking tomato, so he was really at a loss on what to do. it’s that problem that has lead him to the town’s local garden shop. blaine knew vivian worked there, and while he wasn’t all that familiar with her, he can at least claim that he knew her, at least. at this point, blaine can easily admit to himself that he knew the personal schedule of all the people in the coven. it was maybe a tad bit too obsessive, but blaine relished in knowing the tiniest details. 

Jett couldn’t help but scoff.  “How long have I known you?  Out of everyone, there’s no way I’m blind to your ‘purity’ and ‘innocence’.”  Having had known Blaine since elementary school, they’d been friends for years, and long enough for Jett not to be too surprised by any of Blaine’s ideas.  “Oh, please don’t.”  Jett closed his eyes and shook his head, picturing a combination of Blaine and Poppy as a baby.

“I’m trying to forget that you said that.”  He let out a long breath of air before continuing.  “I didn’t say you were fat, I just said you could let Harlee chase you if you wanted to lose a few pounds.”  Jett shrugged back at his friend.  Having to run around town with his sister had certainly kept Jett in shape.  He’d never understand how a small five-year-old could have so much energy.

In the kitchen, Jett reached for the can opener.  “If it’ll sell money, they’ll make soup for everything.  I think it’s just chicken noodle or something.  It’s just got the fish on the label,”  He explained, producing the Finding Dory can from the plastic bag.  “You know minestrone soup is vegetables and beans, right?”  Jett pointed out.

Jett looked from the can opener in hand and up at Blaine before shrugging and resting it on the counter top.  “You mean like from Star Wars?”  He raised a brow.  “I’m certainly not going to stop you if you want to try.”

“yeah, but see, you’re implying that i did gain a few pounds,” he points out, indignantly. “if i was your boyfriend i would have hurt you by now.” he huffs. if there was one thing that always made blaine feel comfortable around jett was the fact that he was so chill with blaine being-- well, blaine. if blaine absolutely had no more choice, he’d like to think he’d be happy marrying jett just for the tax incentives. 

at that newfound information, blaine looks down at the can on his grip, face screwed up as if he was personally betrayed. “can i have the finding dory soup, then?” he asks, trying his best to sound as pleading as possible. “i mean, what harlee doesn’t know won’t hurt her, right?” still, he can’t actually do that to the kid. honestly, he’s pretty sure he loves harlee more than he loves his parents at this point. “i can just buy her another type of soup. besides-- kids need vegetable right?” 

he snorts at jett’s comparison, the mental image of yoda trying to open a can of soup indescribably amusing. “yes, jett. like star wars,” he says, dryly, “because they definitely tried to open cans of soup with their minds. in fact that what their light sabers were for,” he adds, sardonically. blaine opts to do the thing, anyway, and just places the can back on the table. knowing that it was mostly vegetables turned him away from his excitement. 

Skylar: Dawn, codename: Been There, Done That.

Skylar: Viv is: Currently Doing That.

[high fives]

Skylar: Poppy is: It Happened Once in a Dream.

Skylar: Forest's code name is: If I Had To Pick a Dude.

Skylar: Blaine....you’re Eagle Two.

Blaine: Oh thank God.

[Jett enters the room]