Struck [OPEN]

It's not supposed to rain in summer. Kayla Croft kicked at a muddy checkered ball, sending it tumbling halfheartedly through the overgrown grass. Her socks were wet. Her hat was wet. Her clothes were wet. Everything was wet. Now would have been a good time for a jacket, if she hadn't left it behind in her dorm. It was easy to forget things there. The whole place was a wreck ― six bunks, six kids, one room, no space. Right now all her roommates would be sitting around inside getting on each other's nerves, while she walked outside in a t-shirt and shorts through the pouring rain. Which of them were worse off? Thinking back to the latest initiate dorm drama about a certain missing pair of earphones, she decided that there wasn't any winning in this situation.

Kayla felt lashes of electricity flick out here and there around her head and arms, reaching sporadically out through the rain. It always got like this when it rained. Her gift mingled with the electricity in the air, and it made everything go haywire. Some science-y bullshit like that. Apparently this was a bad thing, and Kayla had been instructed to learn to exert more control before anything "unfortunate" happened, but she'd always felt in control of her power before. There was a flickering sensation in her stomach and a sort of numbing buzz throughout her body, along with some loss of coordination, but other than that, she felt normal.

She kicked out at the ball again once she'd caught up. Her foot went sailing past, Kayla felt her shoe slip against a slick patch of mud, and then she was falling backwards, with arms flailing in the air. Fuck.

Amy Rose let out a small shout, then rushed over and managed to at least grab Kayla's wrist and save her torso from landing in the mud. "A-Are you okay? You're not hurt? No twisted ankle or anything?"
She had been dancing herself silly in the rain, despite her sister bothering her about getting a cold from spending all day in the rain. She'd skipped, danced, and laughed alone to every inch of outside she could get to on foot. It was by chance she'd seen someone in the sports field, and had decided to ask if they'd dance with her. Then they slipped.

Her heart skipped a beat as she slipped. Fuck. That was the most coherent thought she could make out in her mind right then. She was falling backwards, the sky spinning dizzyingly above her, stomach lurching, when one of her flailing arms were caught by the wrist. A hand. Whose hand? Where did that hand come from? Who'd been standing close enough to catch her? There wasn't much time to think on these questions. Reflexively, she twisted, throwing out an arm to catch her fall and letting out a hushed hiss of pain as her elbow slammed into the ground. The rest of her body followed. For the moment, Kayla was only aware of the cool mud now coating her legs, the jolt in her arm, and the throbbing pain where her elbow had landed. Ticklish blue volts of electricity ran down her body, sparking angrily, and Kayla wrenched her arm free of the girl that grasped her wrist.

"I'm fine," she spat, slowly clambering to her feet. Her shirt had been saved from the worst of the fall, but she couldn't say the same about her shorts. Mud coated her right side where she'd landed. Kayla clenched her teeth, grabbed at the dull ache in her elbow, and eyed her mystery "rescuer" with a gaze loaded with mistrust. Hot embarrassment colored her face, and the writhing blue arms of electricity snapped and licked at the air around them both, more wild than ever. "What the hell are you doing out here?" And why were they out in the rain?

Amy Rose smiled. "I was dancing, what else?" she asked as if it was obvious. She giggled. "Nobody ever likes the rain but me, so I some out here and just...dance! I twirl and spin," she added as she gave a couple small twirls, "and I just have fun!" Then, she rubbed her damp arm and flicked her eyes from the girl's eyes to her shirt to her shorts and then some place else every few seconds. "I thought maybe you'd dance with me, and then you fell. Are you sure you're not hurt?"

...Dancing? Kayla's lip curled in disgust and she took a step backwards, in case this girl's insanity was contagious. Electricity crackled around her hair. "Dance with you?" Her voice was incredulous, bordering on horrified. Just the thought of twirling around in the rain with this vapid ditz made her want to vomit in her mouth. Or maybe that was just the cloying sweetness oozing out of every word that made her sick to her stomach. Only somebody with the IQ of a potato could act this happy about something so inane. The pigtails just topped it all off. Only sluts and preschoolers wore their hair in pigtails. "Are you stupid or something? Why don't you go dance inside?"

Amy Rose giggled. "It's way more fun out here! If you don't want anyone to see you, then you can. Or you can bring friends and do it! You can dance to whatever you want. The rain cools you down if you dance a lot, but really it's just fun to dance and splash and stuff!" She smiled even more. "And this rain is just perfect, especially if I want to find new friends and maybe new dance partners!" Without warning, Amy Rose began moving her feet and hips to a random rhythm and giggled again. "You try it!"

"Agh!" Kayla recoiled, shielding her chest with her arms. The intermittent giggles, the dancing, just the way she talked. Did she think she was being cute? Because this was definitely not cute. This was most assuredly the exact opposite of cute. In fact, you could probably argue that this was the most horrific thing Kayla had ever come across. Dealing with people had always been easy, but getting admitted into Beata Academy was like getting admitted into a madhouse. Was everyone in this school autistic or something? The escort Aussie, fruitcake, the Irish kid who wasn't Irish, now this girl. Was there anybody remotely normal in this school? "No! Never!" She took another step back. "Cut that shit out!"

Amy Rose stopped mid-dance and gave her a confused look, even as her eyes darted from one thing to another. "Why not? Dancing is a good way to let off steam or have fun or exercise! Everyone should dance at some point in time, so why not alone in the rain where no one can judge you?" She giggled. "Even if you don't like dancing, it's a way to let loose whatever you feel. You have to try something before you know you hate it, that's what my sister taught me!" Amy Rose had the brief thought of Amaya telling her that her optimism could suffocate someone if she showed enough of it, but pushed that aside. She needed friends beside her sister, and the only way to do it was by showing everyone the real her!