jasper.

thalia’s eyes went wide as he backed away far too quickly, “are you okay?” she didn’t know if she should try and help, deciding to ask first so as not to scare him anymore. “do…do you want help getting up?”

      All he wished for was the stores to open up again. A run for food, a run for art supplies to replenish the ones embedded in his hands, the possibility of a CD player or Walkman with any media he could find to drown out the world around him and seclude himself with the image of do not disturb. An image that seemed to resonate with Jasper when he burst out of his room in a huff.

      Asher stared at the other for a moment, his lips remaining sealed as they were as he was collecting his hoard of food, of which he grabbed one of the pears in his collection and silently offered it to him.

jasper leaned his head back against the wall, groaning as his headache grew. the pain in his neck slowly ebbing away as he massaged it. his pleading seemed to quiet down the crowd slightly. he let out a deep sigh when a pear was being held out to him. “thank you,” he whispered, taking the fruit in his hand. he turned it over a few times, his appetite just not there. 

despite the crowd, caden had needed to eat. ideally, he would have quietly gotten his share of food and left without too much fuss, but then the convivial atmosphere drew him into the fray of chattering and socializing. he’d forgotten that negative emotions weren’t the only thing that he could receive. but the shock of jasper’s outburst had quickly stamped out any of caden’s giddiness at being able to just be around people, and he moved over to the door, the airy high of the others fading as proximity decreased. “sorry, i think that was my fault too,” the empath started, taking a breath. he knelt down far enough away to keep the pounding headache that jasper was giving off out of his range. “do you need help with that?”

jasper didn’t look across the room until someone spoke up. his eyes lifted, only to find the person that caused his storm to get worse the night before. “don’t come any closer,” he froze up, his body tensing against the door frame. his entire body ached, his headache only getting worse as he froze. “need help with what? i just want quiet. that’s all i need.”

the yelling startled her, a bit jumpy after the events at the training facility. she finished getting her wrist bandaged up before meet jasper at his door, eyeing him up and down. “i’d ask if you’re alright, but…can i get you anything to help?”

your result: polar bear

open

he’d known that something was happening before the announcement. the rush of people taking shelter inside the building had been a near shock: one second he’d been barely coping with the sensations and the inputs and the fear, but then the invisible hand around his throat tightened its grip, and his lungs were dry and there were too many people and no place to focus and caden had slammed himself into the wall, trying to make himself as small as possible. “please stay away,” he choked out, a hand thrown out in a physical attempt to make the sensations stop increasing in intensity. “i don’t know how to stop it.”

jasper was scared shitless. too many people, too many bodies. he stayed away from groups like this on purpose. he wasn’t used to people touching him not since his father laid hands on him. his breathing picked up, his body flinching anytime anyone got close. he could feel the storm outside picking up more with his emotions, the atmosphere inside the complex getting heavier with his breathing. “shit shit shit shit,” he whimpered, hitting the wall just as someone reaching out to push him away. “don’t touch me!”

“maybe not—” kit looked to the other, fire wavering in his hand before the other grabbed his face. the kiss on the cheek made even less sense to him as his eyes widened, the flame dispersed completely and mouth remained slack. “what the fuck was that? are you…hitting on me eddington?”

jasper laughed more to himself as the fire disappeared completely from the other’s hands. “i don’t know, dempsey. i told you i could put your fire out, guess i was right. so does that mean i win again?” the males smirk deepened as he crossed his arms over his chest. 

      The huff that escaped his lips was almost a laugh, almost an admittance he didn’t quite believe he belonged among those who could generate weather or fire at their hands. “Every time I think on how to describe it, I sound like an edge-lord high-schooler who wants to sound cool.” If only he could say such things in his teen years… “I do something with shadows. I can… I don’t know what I can do. All I know is working at this time of day, in a well lit room– not very helpful. Not that I’d even want to go into a dark room with any of these people either.”

      Another huff and his focus shifted to the other at his side, a hand offered out. “Asher. I haven’t left the apartment much to know anyone here.”

jasper cocked his head more as he listened to the other. “i honestly don’t give a shit one way or the other, i’m more curious.” he listened to the other talking about shadows... “yeah mate i don’t know what you’re talking about but it sounds hard. at least with weather, even inside has atmosphere. think that’s all i really need.” his body started to open up slightly the more comfortable he got with the other. “jasper... sounds a little like me.”

caden bit his lip, wondering how to best explain his powers without sounding like he was a walking invasion of privacy. “if you can figure out what it feels like to make a storm, you can recall that feeling and possibly make it on command,” he replied, figuring he might put that fact out there first. “and if i knew what it felt like, then maybe i could help mirror that feeling onto you.”

“i know what it feels like. usually i’m angry as fuck at someone or the universe. that’s about it,” he explained, still not quite understanding what the other is getting at. until it hit him. “what, are you some kind of empath?”

      “Couldn’t agree more,” he added, looking at the open space around them as if it was untrustworthy. But now he understood, and nodded shortly before rubbing the back of his neck and languidly closing his eyes. “Given half of us don’t know what we’re doing, and… from the sound of it some of us shouldn’t use them indoors, I’m ready to bolt.” This time his gaze opened to the various grey faces of the room, the individuals noting their movements and achievements.  “But they’re watching, our ominous hosts. Creepily so.”

jasper’s eyes looked around the room, noting each of the faces. “what do you do then? because i am someone they shouldn’t keep indoors for long either..” it didn’t take long for his eyes to drop, the male caving in more on himself to try and make his body smaller, less noticeable. “they’re always watching. this doesn’t make it any different.”

“no,” he didn’t know how to explain it without showing him. “i… never mind.” caden wished he could help more, wished he could say that he was an ally in this, a friend. but the other was drawing more into himself and caden’s hope for being useful was quickly diminishing. “i just want to know what it feels like, that’s all.” he sighed and shook his head before drawing up an apologetic grin. “you don’t have to explain it to me.”

jasper was honestly confused. no one really talked about feelings with him. it wasn’t something he talked about with his parents or his sister. he was always the rock, the person to hold shit together, he didn’t know how to talk about anything really... “why do you care what it feels like?”

“is that right? i’d wipe that smug grin off your face and burn your flesh. you know what that feels like yet? or are you just wanting to find out?”

“yeah that’s right,” he smiled. “see here’s the thing.. i don’t think you’d actually do it. in a big room full of too many people. not your style, probably.” jasper didn’t think before he grabbed kit’s face, pressing a kiss to his cheek before pulling back completely, the smirk ever present. “but good try though.”

      “Maybe a bit dramatic of an approach? Only just a little.” But then only rhetoric references came to mind, especially the last when Ash had tears on his face in a chaos of strewn belongings and her walking away. “I take it wasn’t your decision to be here,” he sighed, with a soft laugh before the thought, “don’t tell me they stole you away in the night.”

jasper sighed, shaking his head. “i just don’t want to be in this room. i don’t mind being around here. means i have a bed and food. better than anything before... nah, they took me away in the middle of a storm. knocked me out properly...”

for a second after processing his words, zig considers just up and leaving, return back outside and lay in the sun for a bit longer. but at least in this room there’s something who kind of gives him comfort in his reply, makes them reconsider. he does have a point, after all. “five dollars we’re on some shitty ass reality tv show hitting netflix in early january.” zig offers a short-lived smile as they shrug, chucking at their own dumb joke. “good to know though. don’t think we’ve met - i’m zig. so what are you in here for? some fireball shit?”

jasper kept his eyes forward, hoping that the other would leave. his luck didn’t win out. his eyes narrowed as he looked at the other. “i probably wouldn’t ever see it if it did,” he mumbled, sighing as he realized he wasn’t going to get out of socializing. “jasper. apparently they don’t like that i can fuck with storms. what about you? some fireball shit?”

“Maybe not everyone does.” Personally, she wasn’t in any rush to be released to the police or worse. And nothing that bad had happened yet. Besides being forced to live the simple life like Paris Hilton. “So we can let the roof live to see another day. I’m sure the door is an easier way out in any case.” She chuckled. “So, what happens when you’re in the wrong mood then? Rainbows?” Posed with a bit of humor but she did wonder what else he was capable of.

“that would be a first. everyone i’ve talked to has been so excited to get back to their lives. i think it’s better in here,” he grumbled, letting his sarcasm lay thick in his voice before it got softer at the end. yes it wasn’t good here but it was better than what he was used to. “depends on the wrong mood. i’ve really only seen what happens when i’m angry.”

“did you ask them if that was something you could do?”