Longview [this title wasn't long enough]

Kayla was going to break something if she sat around for much longer. Exhausted, but restless. Bored, but lazy.

The day had crawled by at a snail's pace. She hadn't bothered to get off the couch. What would be the point? Another day of dirty looks, another day full of essays and snappy teachers and trudging through slush. So what if she didn't go to class? What were they gonna do, expel her? And loose a sparking freak out back into the public? Kayla could've laughed at that, if she could even laugh anymore. The electricity had been bad at first. There'd been some weird incidents here and there growing up, but nothing obvious, not until she'd turned thirteen. Since then it'd only gotten worse, and worse, and worse. Every time she asked herself how much more out of control it could possibly get, her body found a way to prove her wrong.

Kayla stretched out her hand to the ceiling. Electricity snaked around her fingers and ran down her arm. They wouldn't dare, not unless they wanted the whole world to know. Maybe they'd come find her and dissect her like an alien to try and find the secret. Wouldn't that be a way to go? Sparks crackled between her fingers like fireworks. I'm a walking fire hazard. It was a wonder she hadn't burned down the school yet. A real 'gift.'

She let her hand fall back onto her stomach and turned her head. Half past four. It was already dark out, huh? A whole day on the couch. A whole day without a shower. A whole day without food, or another person to talk to, or anything accomplished. A whole day, wasted. That should have made her feel like shit. The realization should have kicked her in the ass and sent her into gear. Instead she only felt a hollow apathy, a resignation to the death of another hour.

No working, no reading, no thinking, no daydreaming: just laying on the couch like a vegetable. She'd slept, but not for lack of sleep. Nothing accomplished, nothing gained, nothing done. A waste of hours. A waste of a day. A waste of life. Everyone always said that your teenage years were the best of your life. When you got older everything would suck, all the fun would be gone, and you'd realize how much you missed those precious few years of youth. Then there was nothing to look forward to, right?

So was this how she was spending the best years of her life?

Kayla rolled onto her side and buried her face in the cushion. She'd rather not think about it. She'd rather not think about anything.

Whilst Kayla had been laying around the couch and moping all day, some people had actually decided to go to class and at least try to be productive for once. It was easy to figure out though, between the long hours, the boring teachers, and the consistency of droning on about subjects that he honestly couldn't give less of a fuck about; that he would be, in fact, pretty damn worn out after classroom hours had officially ended.

It really shouldn't have been a shock then that the first thing that Preston did when he reached his dorm again was kick open his door, throw his backpack inside to God-knows-where, pull a soda and a bag of chips from the kitchen and throw himself on the couch - or... at least he would have, if the set of cushions hadn't already been occupied. The autumn let out a low huff, throwing his snacks on the coffee table and shoving her legs off the end of the couch. "Hey, you, Pikachu..." He called, trying to catch her attention, not that it mattered since he was already practically pushing her out of the way. "Stop hogging the couch and move the fuck over."

There was really only one thing he felt like doing at the moment, reaching in the table drawers and pulling out the remote to their tv and a small black controller; he turned it on as well as his console, a bright green and white logo taking up most of the screen.

Kayla didn't look up when she heard the door open, nor did she bother to move when she heard somebody shuffle over. But as soon as he reached out to shove away her legs, she flared up like a Christmas tree, with sparks going off like firecrackers over her head. She tried kicking him away, but by then he'd already pushed her legs off, and Kayla slunk undignified onto the floor with a sleepy grumble. "Fuck you..."

She pulled herself up and crawled back onto the unoccupied end of the couch as he plopped himself down. Her glare could've killed, if Preston cared enough to return the look. Between the tousled hair, the dark bags under her eyes, and the lightning that beaded on her bangs like dewdrops, Kayla didn't make for a very pretty sight. Her ratty old t-shirt was baggy enough to practically swallow her small frame, and the band logo was so cracked and faded that it was near impossible to try and figure out what it was trying to depict. Kayla pulled her legs to her chest and gave Pres her finest scowl. At that point, it probably would've been easier to just slink off back into her room, but that'd involve too much walking, and like hell she was gonna just admit defeat like that.

The ping of the console caught her attention, and an irritated spark went off by her head. Fucking seriously? An Xbox? That's what he was shoving her off for? Kayla reached up and scratched the back of her head. She didn't even know they had an Xbox. Was this kinda thing even allowed on campus?

"Boys," she muttered, pinching the bridge of her nose. Preston hadn't really struck her as the video game nerd-type, but Kayla supposed she shouldn't have been surprised. "Don't you have better things to do? Some little tramp to hook up with?" She let her head fall back and watched the screen through half-lidded eyes. "The one from the costume party, maybe?"

Not allowed? Why wouldn't it be allowed, of all things? True, the local store was a bit slow on the uptake when it came to getting the newer titles in, and there wasn't exactly a whole lot of freedom when it came to online play - they didn't even own a microphone; but what did the school expect it's students to do otherwise to pass the time? Study? Train? Stare at the scenery? Hey, maybe lay on the couch all day and do absolutely nothing! Nah. They'd actually had one in the lounge, amongst other places, but this particular Xbox was one of Preston's own. He'd insisted on taking it when the folks shipped him off to Beata. He wouldn't be caught dead without it.

And it was a bit cruel to think he wouldn't be the type to appreciate a good game now and then. Shouldn't judge a book by it's cover, you know. This thing was his baby. "Oh, that Umbreon-chick?" He muttered haphazardly as he stared straight ahead, obviously distracted by the appearing menu that popped up on the screen. "Haven't seen her. No loss. She obviously had a thing for my brother anyways." An exasperated smirk appeared on his face. Of course, who didn't, right? Girls fell left and right over him. Pres wasn't sure if it was the guy's gift or if he even tried.

With a few short buttons, his game started up - some advanced future bridge-off of the Call of Duty series that the young man knew and loved so well. Finally, he shot a glance aside at Kayla. He might've laughed if it didn't look so sad. "And what about you?" He muttered, "You look like you just came back from the dead." Teasingly, he fucked around with the static around her hair, raising his hand above her head and sending off a few sparks of his own - puffing it into a little straight, messy afro.

Umbreon? Was that what it was called? How'd he even know that? Brown eyes flicked from the TV to him, the hint of a derisive smile on her face. Right. Of course. Things were making a bit more sense now. Pres hadn't struck her as much of a loser, but, well... it wasn't too much of a surprise either. "Your brother?" Kayla repeated as she glanced back to the TV, not expecting him to elaborate. The only memories of that conversation were half-remembered snippets and a mental image she just wanted to forget. The girl, Kathy or Christy or whatever, did seem a little too interested in poor Preston's big brother (Dudley? Devon?). That wasn't much of a surprise either. Kayla had been quick to learn that her dear roommate had a douchebag's streak a mile wide.

Logos flashed across the TV, and a moment later she was staring at the start-up screen of some generic shooter. The corner of Kayla's mouth twitched in what might have been amusement or distaste. Pokémon, Call of Duty, junk food, sleet outside, and the rest of the day ahead of her. Had you brought all that up to her five or six years ago, she would've sprung right up. Now it just felt a little sad.

Kayla finally did smirk when he spoke. Back from the dead? Well, she guessed that was about right. Before she could open her mouth to reply though, he raised his hand, and her hair began to poof up just like that, sparks cracking around her head. She hissed out a stream of curses and bared her teeth, furiously smoothing down the rogue strands of hair . Electricity rippled down her arms, but she only scooted further toward the other end of the couch.

"I was unwinding on the couch before someone came along and kicked me off, if you couldn't tell," she snapped. Kayla flattened her hair back down (for the most part) and sighed, reaching out to snatch Pres' soda from the coffee table. She cracked it open and brought it to her lips without a word, only shifting on the couch and wrapping an arm around her legs. "I just hadn't realized you were a nerd, that's all."