( SUPERPOWER. )

          counting ; definitely not his strong suit but the amount of dollar bills in his wallet is getting out of hand.  he can already hear his friends asking if he got them from a strip club , and he’s already conjuring up responses in his mind - but he’s interrupted.  lost count.  given up.  they’re pushed back into place hurriedly before he realizes who is speaking.

                    she preferred the cone. she preferred the cone and licking the ice cream off because it felt like a unique experience with ice cream and ice cream alone. but aeran prefers to use a spoon, to have his ice cream in a little dish so that when it begins to melt he can scoop up all the extra like a chilled soup. she shouldn’t have stopped for ice cream. but she had extra money, something given to her by a kind soul who wanted to repay her for fixing them up with make-shift stitches to avoid hefty hospital bills. 

                      now it’s a series of choices that led her here. she shouldn’t have accepted the money. she shouldn’t have chosen ice cream when she could have gotten real food. and maybe she should have been selfish and gotten herself a cone, instead of getting ice cream for aeran. because aeran likes his in a dish, and a dish needs a spoon - reaching for a spoon allowed such an invasive jolt into her body, her mind, suffocating and dizzying. the paper dish is dropped, ice cream splattering out against linoleum and her shoes. “ – sorry. “ she mirrors, before darting out the door, lacking ice cream and a spoon both.  

          fight or flight - or should he say ice cream or no ice cream , he’s rushing after her the minute it’s processed in his brain what’s just happened.  the ice cream on the floor was enough to counter the confusion , and with spoon stuck in his own bowl , delsin’s making an effort to save the day.  again.  or attempt to , anyway , given his infamous past of only making things worse.

          but she’s faster than he thought she’d be despite his catching up.  not a hand is laid on her , he wouldn’t do that , but his legs are long enough to get him a few feet ahead and spinning on his heel.  bowl is presented , two napkins held under it , “ wait - okay , i just wanted to try and . . .  so basically , what i’m gettin’ at is that you should take this ‘cause i feel bad about what happened back there and . . . ” he stops , the obvious pained concern on his face causing teeth to catch bottom lip for a moment.  it makes him stop fumbling over his words , at least.  time to collect himself.  bowl is pulled back towards his chest.

          if reggie knew where he was right now , he’d probably be toast.  he told him half an hour prior that he was heading into town to pick up one thing and he’d be back , but now delsin’s spent twenty minutes in line for some ice cream.  there’s a few people ahead of him , now , and his order’s already been taken so that it can be ready when he reaches the register ; but that impatience in his body is rising in the form of fingertips idly tapping against arms in their crossed position.

          he pulls through , though , and digs his wallet from back pocket and whips out a few dollars - but it’s what happens after that switches everything up.  there’s a smaller girl situating her own purchases , and instead of waiting on her to get a spoon and move along - delsin reaches over to grab at one , too , and the contact their hands make sends his mind into a flurry of memories that aren’t his.  eyes squeeze shut for a minute , and he retrieves his spoon ( luckily ) while hand jerks away , but then his vision settles on her awkwardly.