Broken Doll

He returned back into the living room with a plate with the boxes lazily thrown on. (It was too much of a bother to poor all the food out, but they were also too hot to carry all at once. Compromise.) Preston didn't waste much time taking a seat next to her, shooting her a look. "Why, is that a problem? He asked, raising an eyebrow and taking a bit of chow-mein for himself.

On the TV screen, the episode was just ending with the credits. He just let it run on, smirking as she fought shakily with her hair. "Maybe if you turned off the current now and then, this wouldn't be a problem." Just to prove a point, and to fuck around with her a bit more, he pulled at little sections of her hair and raised them higher with little static shocks, twisting the locks around. He gave her little pikachi ears, laughing to himself.

"Please tell me I don't havr to chew it for you too." Pres said, taking his form and wrapping noodles into the silverware. He held it up near her mouth, close enough to take a bite.

"Not really a problem," Kayla answered without looking back, still struggling with her hair. Fucker... "Just doesn't really seem like you to be into a kid's cartoon. I've never even seen it." Not a single episode. At most, she might be able to recognize the theme song if it started playing somewhere, but there wasn't anybody on God's green earth that didn't know the theme song. It was one of those iconic stamps on pop culture that wouldn't ever go away, even four decades later.

Then he ruffled her hair again, just as she thought she'd managed to fix it. "God damn it, stop that!" A lash of electricity snapped in his face like a snake, but even it'd hit him, he probably wouldn't even flinch. Kayla knew that much. Being able to generate electricity also meant your body had to be immune to electrocution, or else you'd just end up burning yourself to a crisp. She'd always been grateful for that, but why did he have to have the same power too?

What she wouldn't give to be able to punch him across the face. She smashed one of the little 'Pikachu' ears down with her fist, but now it just looked like a crude side-bun, or Princess Leia after a rough morning. "Don't you think I've tried that?" she grumbled, moving to smooth down the other one. Damn it, she looked ridiculous. "You don't think I'm always shooting off sparks to look cool, do you?"

Finally, she managed it. Well, sort of. She still looked ridiculous, and her hair was a mess now. Even more of a mess than it had been before. You're such an asshole.

The fork in her face made her flinch back. She stared it down, sparks scurrying down her hair and to her shoulders. "Hey now, Butler, I still have a hand you know." Kayla sighed and bit the noodles off the end of the fork anyways, slurping up the last of it and wiping her mouth off with the back of her hand. "Give me that."

Preston stared at her, hard, for several heartbeats, a look of disbelief all over his face. It was almost dumbfounded. The whole franchise was so popular, he wasn't sure if there had been anyone alive who could've avoided it's charm. Hell, how did she avoid not seeing it after living in the same dorm as him for so damn long. "You're shitting me right now." The Autumn scoffed. She had to have been playing. When he finally realized that she wasn't, he reached immediately for the remote, backing up towards the very first episode. "That's gonna fucking change." So help him, she was going to watch at least one damnes episode.

He'd only held back another laugh as she tried to scare him off with a harmless crack of elecricity, smirking and sitting back into the couch. You'd think she'd have at least a decent grip on controlling her power by now. That was kind of the point of the entire school. Maybe she ditched too much or simply had shit luck. "Don't seem to be trying very hard." He said blandly. She could concentrate enough power to make a zap cannon, but she couldn't keep herself from accidentally frying an entire pool of people?

One thing he'd noticed as she went for a bite of food was that her hair was still static-y, even as she'd tried to force her hair all back down. He didn't saya anything about it at first, rolking his eyes instead and passing her the food, since she was apparently too stubborn for help. Fine by him, he supposed. Less work he had to do. Even still, her hair was bothering him almost as much as it was bothering her. He eyed a rubber band on the table for a second before sighing and reaching over to grab it. While she was struggling to eat her food, he reached over and pulled her hair back into a tail, getting all the stray locks out of her face before grabbing another to-go box and getting comfortable again. He'd forgotten to grab another fork and ended up just picking at it with his fingers.

"Huh, really?" Kayla asked as he flipped the channel. Episode 1, Season 1 (1998). Were they seriously going through this? She couldn't help but crack a grin, despite it all. "Why do you look so insulted? I wasn't really allowed to watch TV much back home." The Autumn grabbed the takeout box from his hands as he handed it over, grumbling at his little comment. She was always using her power for something or another, but she couldn't manage to just... contain it. It felt like it was always pulsing through her, threatening to burst out and destroy everything she touched, and the best she could do was channel it into lightning bolts and aim it at the people she didn't like.

Maybe that was why hers seemed so much more destructive despite her lack of control, or maybe she'd just never seen Preston get serious. Not that he ever had a reason to, anyways. The closest thing to a fight she'd ever seen him get into was him struggling to twist open a two liter. Vaguely, Kayla remembered him entering the Summer Tournament, but she could only assume he didn't do much better than her.

"Is it really that big of a deal?" she asked with a vague gesture toward the TV in between bites. Alright, if he really loved it, that was fine with her, but this was a little out of their age-range wasn't it? He'd shown her his games too after she said she'd never played. That'd been fun, even if he was a bit of a sore loser, and she still hopped on it from time to time (with or without his permission). This was different. It was a kid's show.

After Kayla had met her future roommate on that hill, she had thought she'd met someone normal. She was beginning to think that she might've been wrong.

When he reached over, as she was taking another bite, she flinched back. "Hey, what are you..." Electricity was rippling down her arm in case he tried to ruffle her hair again, but instead he pulled it back, tying her static-charged locks into a small ponytail. "Oh," she muttered, with a hand on her head. "Alright then, thanks Butler."

The theme song was beginning to play.

If she was trying to help her own case, then she wasn't doing a very good job. The more she talked, the more that Preston had to question whether or not she was even being serious at all. Fucking really? It was 2035, for Christ's sake. How the hell could you possibly not have access to a television? Or a computer for that matter... Or something. Did Kayla just grow up in the stone ages or something? "Your home sounds like a real shit hole." Preston said blandly, taking another bite of food and shooting her an awry look again before going on. "Who the hell keeps a TV away from someone? That's like... inhumane, or fucking something..." Sure, his parents had gotten pissed at him and tried to take away his gaming consoles or whatever more than once, but how could you be deprived so much to the point you'd never seen at least one episode of Pokemon? Come on.

He almost rolled his eyes at her question, settling for another bite of chinese instead, answering a few moments after he'd started chewing like the oh-so charming gentlemen he really was. "Of course it is." He muttered, swallowing his food before going on again. "This is like my childhood." And his adolescence. Probably his adulthood as well, but of course he wouldn't say that. "It should be yours too. For fuck's sake, how do you not know who Pikachu is?" He'd always had an admiration for the electric furball ever since he was little. With his power especially, how could he not?

Preston didn't bother to look back at her as she threw him a small thanks for pulling her hair back. He shot his gaze to the TV screen, singing the theme song lyrics in the back of his mind. "Whatever." He mumbled, without the heart then to throw back a simple 'you're welcome'. "Would you shut up about the Butler thing?" On the TV, an intense battle between Onix and Gengar was commencing before panning out of a even smaller, ancient box to the main protagonist. He'd seen the episode so many times, he could recall it practically perfectly in his head. And so, more than watching the show itself, he stuck to chowing down on his food and casting side glances at Kayla, waiting for her reactions.

Kayla couldn't help but chuckle. "Well, it was kind of a shit hole. My dad's just kind of an asshole." There'd been a time when she was younger where she'd been allowed to watch cartoons while he wasn't home, but after he found the discs to some shitty action films all scratched up, that had been the last of that. "It's good to get some fresh air away from the TV anyways." Of course, that didn't stop her from flicking it on from time to time, when he was out working or with his buddies... But when you're not allowed to use the TV at all, why not watch all the things that were off-limits to you before? Slasher films, edgy gangster movies, anything rated R. Her dad probably didn't give a shit about what she chose to watch, but it still felt good to be rebellious.

She took another gulp of soda, stabbing her fork into Preston's own take-out box. Was he really too lazy to get his own? Jeez. The extra effort was still worth not having to eat with your fucking fingers. "I know who fucking Pikachu is." Who didn't know that mangy little rat? "Just not any of the other ones. There's lots of people who haven't watched Pokémon." And most people didn't keep watching their favorite childhood cartoons well into their teenage years, but Kayla was starting to think she was the last sane person in an insane world.

The theme song ended, giving way to a roaring crowd. Some cheesy radio announcer was commentating over a fight between a giant rock snake and some tiny... purple... ghost thing? Kayla brought more noodles to her mouth, staring ahead, not noticing his sidelong glances.

"Yes. I am Ash!"
"Ash Ketchum is a boy from Pallet Town..."

Kayla couldn't help but stare as it all unfolded in front of her, chewing slowly.

"Pokémon: I Choose You!"

A few minutes in, Ash was running through town in his pajamas, right through a line of cheerleaders and into...

"Hey, watch where you're going! Well, you must be Ash. Better late than never I guess! At least you get the chance to meet me!"
"Gary?"
"Mister Gary to you, show some respect!"
"Huh...?"
"Well Ash, you snooze you lose, and you were way behind right from the start! I've got a Pokémon and you don't!"

"I see where you get your role models from," Kayla muttered dryly, swallowing.

Just kind of an asshole, she said. He merely scoffed. That was an understatement of severe degrees already by his standards. A few times growing up, his own dad had tried to take away his video games, but that never really ended well for either of them. Being TV-less altogether seemed like straight up Hell. "Fresh air is overrated," he said. "What the hell have you been doing with your life?" Going outside? Disgusting. /shot

He eyed the fork that was stabbed suddenly into his food. Typical of her to steal his own food right from his own hands. He might've wondered why she thought he gave her own box in the first place, but he knew her well enough to know that she simply just didn't give a shit. The Autumn would've kept quiet all-together, before she had to go and say something stupid again. "I think you're the only person alive at this point who hasn't played a game or seen one episode or some shit." God damn, people these days. He was pretty certain the only reason she'd known what her late halloween costume was was because Pres had made an offhand comment to her about it.

Preston's face turned from mildly peeved to sour, and he shot her a bitter look. "Are you kidding me? I'm nothing like that prick." He insisted, a little too strongly, glaring in her direction. Ironic as it was, he hated Gary Oak as much as any other kid - or any other adolescent still obsessed with pocket monsters, anyways.

The cartoon pushed on. Ash had found himself at the lab too little, too late, with all the starters seemingly gone; except for one.

'I think I should warn you, there is a problem with this last one...'
'I have to have a pokemon!'
'Well, in that case...'

In beautiful, 90s-built animation, the small electric mouse was shown for the first time, looking all cute and innocent - up until he was picked up. A pissed expression suddenly crossed it's face as it mercilessly zapped it's new owner.

A proud smirk suddenly crossed Preston's face as he glanced over in his roommate's direction. "Really does suit you, eh?" He picked up a few more noodles with his fingers and chowed down.

Her mouth twisted, unsure if she was supposed to be amused or defensive. "Well, it's not like it's my fault," she muttered, eyes glued to the screen. Shit, you'd think he'd been personally insulted by the way he said it. It's not like she'd asked for things to be the way they were. It's just... how it was. "I told you I couldn't watch TV. Games are way too expensive too." Growing up. Plenty of people still played games late into their teens, but weren't you supposed to outgrow Pokémon after a little while? "If you've got a problem with it, take it up with my dad." She snorted. "I think you'd get along. He sits on his ass in front of the TV all day too."

There was a twitch of amusement at his small indignation over being compared to a cartoon character. Did the hate run that deep? The snooty attitude, the smug grin, the legions of stupid women swooning over his every move... hell, they even kinda looked the same. If she could've ruffled and spiked his hair like he spiked hers, she would've, just to prove a point. Right now it hurt too much to breathe, let alone try and fight him on this. She let the comment pass in silence, just savoring her thoughts with a small, rueful grin. Sure... nothing like him. Whatever helped him sleep at night.

The Pikachu, on the other hand, was a real piece of work. Oak and Ash went up in a flare of yellow electricity. His comment almost made her choke. "Hey," she shot back, sparks crackling over her head. "Keep me and that yellow rat separate. I don't need you getting any funny ideas."

The words didn't seem to mean much to her, but he nearly choked on his food then. Not only couldn't she watch TV, but she couldn't play any games either? A look of pure disgust crossed his face for a moment, and for a bit - on a deep, heartfelt level, he actually felt sorry for her. Sorta. But seriously, what kind of bullshit was that? "I think I might have too." He said, pausing to take another bite of his food and shaking his head. Pres went on with most of it swallowed, "I knew you were shit at Call of Duty," he muttered, nevermind the fact she'd beaten him once... or twice. "Need for Speed? Mortal Kombat? Half-life 3? Ever touched any of those?" The Autumn frowned, trying to think of some stupid games girls might've ever liked. The Sims?

He didn't say anything at first, but as the show rolled on, things seemed to be only more and more perfect to him. Past Ash's doting mother stuffing stuffing things like underwear and rubber gloves in his hands, the pikachu remained a stuck up, stubborn little thing, slapping it's pokeball back in it's trainers face. The offhand comment of the pokemon being weird was made and the pikachu took it out on them all, zapping them until they were all floored.

Preston looked all too smug, "Well, you still have that old costume, don't you? It's nothing to be ashamed of, Pikachu." He held back a stupid chuckle.

Shit at Call of Duty? She'd kicked his ass to the Middle East and back when they played. Whenever she was in a bad mood, she just had to remember the sulky look on his face to cheer right back up. "I told you already, no," Kayla snapped. "We never had any games. Never. In my life." No consoles, no systems, no anything, really. Was that really so hard to understand? He sounded horrified, like she'd just revealed she'd grown up in a third world country or something. She'd never even heard of two of those. "Were you just really rich or something when you were growing up?"

That fucking Pikachu, the mascot of a billion dollar franchise, the face that had sold millions of copies to stupid children around the globe for over forty years, was a complete and utter brat. Christ, was it always like this? "Shut up about that," she warned, a flicker of electricity leaping out from her bangs. She didn't need to remember the 'costume,' if you could even call it that.

Preston said nothing at first, shrugging. "You could say that," he said, looking back at the TV. His dad had worked with heavy computers in some fancy shmancy big company, building or programing or something? He never really knew. Whatever the man did, it was enough to to go on several worldwide vacations, put them all in a good neighborhood with a big house. Hell, he remembered when Dublin had gotten a new car for his 16th birthday. "I don't think that has much to do with it though, consoles aren't that expensive..." He sunk further into the back of the couch, sighing. "There's so much shit you need to try out..."

He didn't pay such attention to the screen as Ash was dragging his pokemon away down the first route via rubber gloves and clothes line. "Why'd you even wear it of you didn't know what it was?" He asked with lame curiosity, bringing his soda up to his lips and and reciting the cartoon in his head.

Heh. Of course he was. Things were beginning to stitch themselves together in her mind, and it wasn't hard to think of Pres living in a giant house in a fancy neighborhood with a whole library of games and old Pokémon VHS tapes. Had she really missed out on that much? Maybe consoles weren't that expensive, but even then, those weren't the kinds of things they spent money on. Or maybe Preston just had a completely different idea of 'cheap.' Those things were what, five hundred, six hundred dollars? She wasn't even allowed to watch TV, even if her dad did go out and blow money on one.

Kayla groaned. "How many times do I have to say that I know what fucking Pikachu is?" He could've given her a little credit. Yeah, she'd never watched Pokémon, but she hadn't spent her whole life under a rock. She shifted uncomfortably in her seat. "Someone made me wear it," she muttered, quieter now, not moving her gaze away from the screen. "I don't even know why I went. I hate things like that."

Preston chuckled a little under his breath. It probably wasn't good of him to laugh at a girl as beat up as she was, but it was hard not to be amused - seeing her get worked up so much over the electric type pokemon. He'd figured someone had put her up to wearing it at that point... Or else he thought she'd, just picked out a random costume in the back of the thrift shop in a whim. That would've been impressive luck then. "How'd they manage to do that?" He asked, watching the TV as the cartoon played on. Did someone bribe her? "And yeah, I figured that out the first two times you tried to lazer cannon someone through the wall..." Kayla still owed him for dragging her drunk ass back to bed, he figured, and now this.

She didn't answer at first.

Kayla took a long sip of her soda and set it to the side. "I don't know either," she finally sighed, watching as a storm of Spearows took to the air after Ash and his mangy pet. The thing deserved to get beat up like that after how it acted. Lain would like this, she decided with a small smile to herself. Her voice rang with nostalgia when she spoke again. "They're always getting me to do stupid shit, though. I really should stop listening." Yeah, she'd tried to blast a couple perverts through the wall, and a few other people. It was their fault. Why should people look at her like she was crazy? They were the ones doing... things... in front of everyone. Ugh. That was the last thing she wanted to think of eating her first real food in awhile.

Preston didn't seem to notice the short silence, or if he did, he didn't appear to mind it all that much. He kept his eyes glued to the screen, watching as Ash was resorting to stealing a certain red-head's bike to escape the hoard of Spearow. "You think dressingvup like Pikachu was stupid?" He asked flatly. It was one of the few times he'd ever admired the girl's choice in outfit. /shot A strange look crossed his face, and for a bit he seemed deep in thought. "I've done worst shit. A few years back, my brother dared me to jump onto a moving car." He told the girl nonchalantly, "It wasn't that hard. Found a bridge over a small highway, leapt on and clung for dear life like a magnet until the car slammed on its breaks. Got the fuck out of there. It was funny as shit when a car ran into it. Then another. Then a truck - up until they had to close the highway from the rest of the day. " He smirked, obviously still proud of himself. Thankfully no one died from that, at least. "They can't be that devious. That Pikachu outfit did you well.