Fix You

[Admin Courtney]

(ooc: Continued from the ball, page 18; Kiki as Ethan)

Mikayla had never thought actually talking about it would be easy or that it would help, especially so soon after it had happened, but Mikayla found herself telling Ethan everything. Was it easy? No, of course not. But it was possible. She had lost her trust in Gabe, but that did not mean she had lost her trust in Ethan. Something in his voice - the concern, the protectiveness - drew her in.

She took a deep, shaky breath before she began. "His power," she said. "It basically compels anyone who looks him in the eyes to become infatuated with him. Charm," she explained. Her eyes were closed as she sat on the chair, more of a calming mechanism since she couldn't see either way. "That's why he always wears sunglasses, to protect other people from his powers. So then I thought his power wouldn't work on me, since I can't see, and he agreed to try it and all this time I thought he had and that his powers didn't work on me, when in fact he didn't remove his glasses that day and didn't tell me!"
She shook her head and shivered. She felt so stupid.

[KiKi]

"Why would he lie to you about something like that? It makes no sense at all." Ethan asked as he pulled out a chair next to her and wrapped a towel that he had around her shoulders. He began to rub her shoulders to dry her off a little and keep her warm at the same time. "You know, boys who want to take advantage of you don't deserve you at all. That's my opinion, and it's true." And it was. No one should take advantage of someone who had a disability, and especially not Mikayla. She was just to sweet and kind to be lied to like that.

"How about you stay here until the dance blows over?" Ethan offered with a soft smile. "We can talk about the holidays or ... or maybe homework? I don't really know what would be an interesting conversation. Now that I think about it, homework isn't an interesting conversation." He was rambling, again, but how could he not? She was just heartbroken by a guy who Ethan thought was actually a pretty nice guy. Getting off that topic wasn't easy ... especially for Ethan and his awkward ways of making new conversations.

[Admin Courtney]

Mikayla shook her head helplessly. "I don't know," she said, feeling distressed. She clutched the towel around her once Ethan draped it around her shoulders. His office was warm, but she was grateful as well for the towel.

She managed a grateful smile at Ethan when he offered for her to stay there until the ball was over. "Thanks," she said genuinely. "I wasn't sure who to call when I was stuck out there. I'm sorry if I interrupted your evening, but I would like to stay here for a bit. I don't want to go back to my dorm and hear all of the happy chatter from my roommates who enjoyed their night," she admitted with a sad sigh.
So was this it, then? She and Gabe were over? The thought tore through her chest, but she also wasn't ready to forgive Gabe just yet. She was angry and hurt. She had never believed he could hurt her like that. That he ever would.
"And I'm sorry about the storm and getting your office all wet," she added, pulling the towel closer around her. She certainly was not comfortable in her dress, but she didn't want to go back to her dorm right now. To have to explain to her roommates why she was crying, why she was soaked to the bone.

"Holidays," she decided. That was a happy subject, right? "Do you have any plans for the holidays?" she asked him, using the back of her hand to wipe away some stray tears.

[KiKi]

Ethan smiled and hung up his dripping coat. "Nah, not to worry. This evening was pretty ordinary. I would thank you for getting me out of the office, but that wouldn't be the best of ideas." he said to her with a soft chuckle. "All that matters is that you're warm, dry, and not out in that rain." He looked outside to see that it was still raining as a crack of thunder went off, making him jump a little.

"Hmm ... Well I think I'm going to visit my parents, but it'll have to wait because of the snow storm that'll be coming in." Ethan replied to her softly. "Man, is Canada always so cold?" The most common and possibly lamest joke he could come up with, but hey, it's the thought that counted ... right?

[Admin Courtney]

"Well, you're welcome anyway," she said. "I'm supposed to be dry, but my powers have kind of gone haywire tonight. In case you didn't notice," she added with a dry laugh. The storm still raged outside, out of her control. She figured it would die down eventually. In fact, it almost seemed quieter. Or was that just because she was inside, safe from the elements?

"Oh, no, when is the storm coming?" she asked, concerned. Her family lived a few hours away, so going home to visit them would not be a huge deal. But a storm would definitely prevent Ethan from going home.
"Our summers are pretty warm. Nothing compares to Tennessee though, I'm sure. Do you miss it?" she wondered, glad to have a new conversation to take her mind off of Gabe.

[KiKi]

"They're saying it'll be sometime soon. Probably in the middle of winter vacation." Ethan replied sighing softly. "Ah well, I can always go later in the week when the storm dies down. If it dies down anyway." It saddened him that he couldn't visit his parents on the date that he wanted to go, but you couldn't change the way of the weather.

"Oh I know that. Burned my foot on the pavement once because I was being smart and decided to walk on pavement in the blistering heat." Ethan laughed out a little and thought of the question she just asked. "Yeah, I do miss it there, but I like it here too. I mean, the students here are great and the place is just gorgeous, and I think I'd miss you if I left for too long." Did he just say that? Well, it was true. He would miss her, for he liked her. She was really friendly and very welcoming, unlike the rest of the school.

[Admin Courtney]

"You shouldn't have to be stuck here away from your family for the holidays," Mikayla said sadly. "Maybe I can put my powers to use and delay the storm so you can fly out. They would only delay the flights anyway; I'm sure I could work something out," she offered. She felt like she had to pay him back anyway, for coming out in the storm to get her. Plus, she wanted to help.
She could not help but feel like she didn't want him to go, though. She had missed his company, and seemed to forget until now. But they could share family stories when he returned. It would be an excuse to hang out again.

Oh, God, was she looking for excuses to hang out with her TA?
She felt her cheeks blush when he mentioned he would miss her. She could not help but smile. "I'd miss you too," she admitted. "But it would be nice to be with family. Especially over the holidays, right?" She smiled warmly at him.
"But if somehow my powers don't work, since they've gone haywire tonight and I don't know if I'll be able to hold off an entire snowstorm, I'd like to spend some of the holidays with you. I mean, I don't live far, so I don't need to go home right away, and I can come back sooner." The words spilled from her lips before she could even think through what she was saying. She was offering her TA to spend time with her. And she really hoped he would say yes.

[KiKi]

"You don't have to do that." Ethan said to her with a soft smile. "I wouldn't want you to waste your power over a snow storm. Besides, I don't think it would be a good idea to mess with a snow storm we've been expecting for a few days now." It was for her own safety this way. People would be wondering what happened to the snowstorm that was coming their way with no possible changes of direction.

Ethan smiled at her offer. "I'd love to spend time with you during the holidays. That is ... if you don't mind hanging out with your TA?" It was a funny thing, a student wanting to hang out with her teacher, but he couldn't say no to her. Not ever. Even if he wanted to. Especially in this case. "If I can leave though, I will in fact come back and tell you all about it. Maybe I'll even get you something while I'm there."

[Admin Courtney]

Mikayla grimaced. "You're probably right. That storm's been brewing. I can create a wicked storm when I'm in the right mindset, but I'm definitely not powerful enough to stop a storm like that. I'm sorry," she added, her apology genuine. As glad as she was to know she would have a friend staying at the school for some part of the holidays, she felt bad that he wouldn't get to spend as much time with his family as he had planned. She bet they missed him; she would.

She smiled at Ethan. "I don't mind spending time with you. You're not like a teacher to me. I mean, you are, and you're great at it, but... I don't know. You're also a great friend. Is that weird?" she wondered. It must be weird to him to be hanging out with an 11th grader.
"Well I'm looking forward to hearing some stories from your trip, then. You don't have to get me anything, though," she added shyly. Although it sparked an idea to get him something. And she already had a few ideas.
"So what's your family like?" she wondered, shifting in the chair to get more comfortable.

[KiKi]

Ethan laughed when she tried to make her comment not sound too weird. "It's not weird, I think of you as a friend as well, is that weird?" he wondered with a wider smile. He did think of her as a friend though. I mean, how could he not? She was sweet, caring, and really fun to hang around. Even if she was just supposed to be a 'student' to him.

Ethan thought about it for a moment. What were his parents like? Well, they did some crazy things that made him want to hide in shame, but they were also really loyal and caring to those they held dear to. "I'd have to say pretty crazy, but they are loyal and honest people too." he finally replied to her. "They're fun people to live with, but sometimes they can make you want to regret knowing them ... in a funny embarrassing way."

[Admin Courtney]

"Well if we both think of each other as friends, then we're either not weird, or we both are. In which case, we cancel each other out. So I would say that it's not weird," she said with a laugh. She was beginning to feel a lot better. Being around Ethan helped. She could not help but smile around him.

"Your family sounds fun, then. Even if they do embarrass you," she said with a bright smile. The storm outside had died down quite a bit; it was only raining hard now, but Mikayla wasn't even sure if that was still her doing or not.
"My family's pretty fun, too. Very protective and loud. And big. I have so many cousins. One at this school, actually," she said. She had another cousin over at Veritas. The infamous Riley.
"So does that mean your family has embarrassing stories about you?" she asked with a cheeky grin. "Care to share?"

[KiKi]

Ethan let out a chuckle and shook his head. "I'd rather not. They're too embarrassing for me to even mention them." Even though it was a long time since his parents last embarrassed him, he still never liked sharing the stories. He always thought it would just embarrass him more and then the person he told would tell other people, and so on and so forth.

Ethan looked out the window and smiled a bit. "Looks like the storm's dying down some," he commented as he looked back at Mikayla. "Are you feeling better? You can still stay if you want, I'm just making sure is all." Ethan cared, and it showed in both his voice and the way he looked. Great thing she could hear his worry.

[Admin Courtney]

"Oh, come on," Mikayla said with a grin. "You're no fun." She stuck her tongue out at him. "I embarrass myself all the time and you can't share an embarrassing story with me?" She stuck out her lower lip in a pretend pout. "I mean, just look at me! I'm a mess. Soaked to the bone from my own storm. No ripped pants at a family gathering or walking into a fence when staring at the girl next door?" she teased.

Ethan was right; the storm had calmed down. Rain still fell, but the winds had died down and the lightning and thunder was gone.
"I am feeling a little better, but I'd like to stay. It's your company that's helping. I'd really rather not be alone for a while if that's all right."

[KiKi]

"Well ..." Ethan began, deciding that it wouldn't hurt to tell one embarrassing story. "I was in fact looking at a girl. She was a girl I used to date actually, so it wasn't to bad that I was staring. Anyway, as I was staring at what I thought was a 'hot body', I tripped over a crack in the sidewalk and tripped right into a telephone pole." He began to laugh a little. "Broke my nose while I was at it too."

"It's fine," he told her, "I like you company. Time goes by a lot quicker when you're around. Seriously. I think once when you were sick the class went on for what seemed like hours!" Ethan was half joking, though it sounded like he was right on joking. The truth was, he really did enjoy her company, whether it was during school time or even after school with quick conversations. God only knew why he felt that way though, for even he didn't know why.

[Admin Courtney]

Mikayla opened her mouth in a silent gasp when he said he had broken his nose. "Oh, no! I hope no one laughed. That sounds painful!" she said. She thought she felt a twinge of jealousy when he mentioned the girl he had once dated, which she deducted was stupid for two reasons, at least. One, because he wasn't dating her anymore, and two, because he was her TA. But still, the feeling was undeniable, and she blamed it for the reason behind her next question.

"So do you have a girlfriend now?" she asked, then felt herself blush. "I mean, that's probably really personal. I mean, you're my teacher, technically, but I'm curious. Sorry," she added, in case he thought she was prying.
"And I enjoy your company too." She couldn't help but smile when he mentioned class had been boring without her there. She remembered having to miss the class, and realised she had hated being sick, not only because she was missing a class, but because she wouldn't get to spend time with him.
No, I can't be falling for my TA. I can't be falling for Ethan. What about Gabe? she thought, confusion churning inside her stomach. Gabe lied to me, she reminded herself. And there's nothing wrong with Ethan.