Mary had a little lamb because you didn't fucking cook it!

Preston was left staring flatly at Hosa as she took his own words and stuffed them right back in his mouth. Well, yeah - that's what he said to her, but that wasn't exactly that he meant, ... right? Fuck, whatever. This is what he got for trying to play it cool with the all-too serious prefect. He scoffed. "And I meant it. But that doesn't change the fact you've been eyeballing my fries from the moment you walked in." The teasing smiles, and the way she leaned over the counter. She was totally into him. Or at least his ego told him so.

He took out a few vegetables and grabbed a knife, placing them down down on the cutting board and shooting Kayla a sharp look. "Fine, if you don't believe me. You don't have to have any if you don't want it." He called, putting his thumb skillfully on the inner edge of the knife blade and began cutting the vegetables quickly, with practice skill. "Calm your fucking thunderbolts down before you burn my food."

A storm of sparks surged over her head, and Kayla had to resist the urge to slam their faces together. She wasn't sure who she was angrier at, Hosa and her perfect princess-y attitude, or Pres for... being Pres. "A vege-fucking-tarian?" she spat out, almost choking on the word. Never cooked in her life? Ugh...! Was there anything redeemable about this girl? The fact that she'd lost against someone like her would bug her for the rest of her life.

Kayla turned her glare on Pres, electricity crackling in her fist. No one was trying to deny that this fucking cunt of a manchild had actually made all of this. On his own. There weren't any words that could describe the sheer irritation and betrayal burning inside the core of her chest. "You eat leftovers, take-out, and junk food. Every day." There was a dark undertone in her voice, and she looked two seconds away from jumping the counter to slam Preston's teeth in. "And you're trying to say that you could actually cook this whole time? But you were too lazy?"

After her injuries from the mission in Japan, she hadn't been able to do any daily tasks on her own, and Preston had been forced to spoonfeed her for weeks. She'd eaten every single meal with him, and he'd never once turned on the stove, never once pulled out a skillet, never once tried to bake or cook or grill or barbeque a single god damn thing. The most active he'd gotten in the kitchen was when he'd put some dinonuggets in the oven.

She never raised her voice at him, and that was probably the scariest thing.

Hosa frowned sightly, half tempted to defend herself as Kayla didn't seem to like the fact she was a vegetarian but decided that trying to do so would only fan the angry flames Kayla had going - and she didn't feel like getting hit by electric when they shouldn't even be in the cafeteria. She also wanted to point out to Preston that yes, while she was eyeballing his french fries, but she wasn't willing to steal some if he said no...But she doubted he was planning to eat all of those himself.

However, when Kayla turned her anger onto Preston, Hosa swallowed nervously as she stepped backwards trying not to be between them. It seemed like a fight was going to happen and if one did - she would try to stop it but she knew that trying to step in unless she had to would be bad as Kayla seemed rather worked up. A small pout flickered onto her face as she stared at the other Autumn, wondering why she was always like this...Always ready to pick fights for some reason. The suddenly wish to know appeared in her - coming from her caring nature that she normally showed around little kids. But...It wasn't her place to know, or judge she supposed. Nobody was perfect - Hosa knew that for a fact as she herself was far from it, no matter what everybody here at Beata seemed to believe.

Excuse the fuck out of you, Pikachu, do you have any clue how expensive fresh ingredients are in fucking rural north dakota, much less God damned decent seafood? If he had more time to think about it, he might've felt bad for Hosa being caught in this growing shitstorm, just maybe. He finished chopping the rest of the vegetables and pushed them away with the dull end of his knife.

He could feel her hard stare from the other side of the counter. Preston still didn't care any, that was, until she'd started speaking and he'd seen the look on her face. That unnerved him a bit.

He'd done pleanty of things that pissed her off during their time together, from being dumb and ruffling her hair to things both of them agreed they'd never speak of again. Still, he'd never seen her quite like this...

Like fuck he was going to be afraid if her though. He picked up his knife again and walked to the counter that separated them, stabbing it threateningly into the wooden counter, lights of his own dancing up and down the blade. "You've got a problem with that?" He asked, a stupid smirk on his face. "Get on your knees and beg, then I might consider letting you have some."

OOC: For some reason I thought it wasn't my turn, woops. ;-; Sorry.

IC: He was dead the moment he smirked, even if he hadn't realized it yet.

For whatever it was worth, good or bad, Kayla had a healthy caution around prefects. People like Hosa could make her life hell if they wanted to, and after all the things Kayla had said to her in the Summer Tournament, she wouldn't have been surprised if Hosa already harbored some sort of grudge. Lots of people held grudges against her, it turned out. But there were some things that were too important, and you had to act then-and-now, even if it landed you in enough trouble for a lifetime. You couldn't tiptoe around teachers and prefects forever. If pride demanded you to strike, then you struck. Hard. Fast.

Preston was an asshole with a rebellious streak here and there, but he'd never hit a girl, or at least not throw the first punch. Kayla was at least thirty pounds lighter, if not more, and half a foot shorter. They weren't even the same age. Hosa standing right there didn't help.

That was his mistake. Kayla never held back.

Her hand shot out, grabbing a tangle of hair, and slammed his pretty face right down on top of the counter. His head bounced on the countertop with a BANG that rung throughout the room. Lightning surged down her arm. "Beg?!" she snapped, slamming his head on the counter again. The nerve of this fucker...! "Get on your knees and beg and I might not shove these scallops up your ass, you fucking—...!!"

So...Maybe she should of done something before Preston had his face slammed into the counter. Hosa flinched at the sound, gritting her teeth slightly as she took a step forward. "Kayla!" she hissed softly, trying to stay calm in case the girl decided to turn on her. "Can we please act civil here? Maybe talk this out and not bashing Preston's face into the counter top!" Even if he might of deserve it, she added quietly in her mind. Now, she didn't exactly...Hate people all that much but really if Preston had thought it was a good idea to act that smug when Kayla was on edge like that - mostly with the reputation that Kayla had - he really kinda deserved having that happen to it. Her eyes flickered toward Preston. "Are you okay, Preston?" she asked quickly, figuring that he was not alright after having his face slammed like that but she wasn't sure what else to say other than that.

Jesus Christ, when did she get so strong. Preston gritted his teeth, trying to pull away once she'd grabbed his head, but she'd already had gotten a good hold on him. He still refused to make any sound, not wanting to give her the satisfaction of any pain or protest, and gripped tighter onto his blade. If Hosa hadn't been standing quite literally a few feet away, he might've not hesitated to use it. He'd heard the prefect start to blab on about 'keeping the peace' or some shit, but in his situation, he wasn't ready to hear it.

The Autumn finally snatched himself out of of her grasped, reaching his hand out and quickly grabbing the arm that'd had him not a few moments ago. He made his grip tight, tight enough to bruise her skinny little arm, and twisted it around to pin her back awkwardly against the counter. "Fine," he finally answered Hosa. "Never better." He tried his best to straighten out a better, still not letting go and staring Kayla down. "You're not playing very nice today, Pikachu." He said, smiling through the throbbing in his head. His had to grin, just to taunt her.

Kayla had been expecting to get tackled to the ground, or for Hosa to transform, or do something. As it turned out, she preferred to stay a step out of reach. Maybe that was the smart move. She was about to bark out a sharp remark when he reached out to grab her by the arm, twisting it around her back and forcing her to swivel around, pinning her back to the counter. The Autumn glared at him from over her shoulder, wild lightning coursing over her body.

Her body was bent backwards awkwardly over the countertop, and trying to spin around to sock him in the face would be almost impossible. So she did the only thing a shortie could do; she jumped up sharply, headbutting him right in the chin.

While she was relieved that Preston was alright, Hosa was rather annoyed that he had grabbed Kayla like that and pinned her slightly, a sharp frown on her face as she stared at the two. Really, how else did Preston expect this to go if he kept taunting and mocking Kayla. She started to raise a hand to cover her face but stopped when Kayla ended up headbutting on him. Really? There was going to be no end to this if they didn't stop fighting like this. "Guys!" she snapped, her eyes narrowing. She didn't want to get involved but goddammit she was getting tried of this already. "Will you two please cut it out? I do not want to get you both in trouble but I will if you two will not play nice!" Her voice ended with a growl, coming from the primal side of her gift as she stared at the two in angry and annoyance. She never tended to snap at people like that, but this was really started to get on her nerves. She didn't like getting those in trouble but as a prefect it was up to her to keep the law in Beata - and she would do it if these two didn't stop their silly fight.

Thankfully this time around, he knew better than to let down his guard, even if he seemed to have her pinned down good. He pulled away once he saw her leap off the ground. The Autumn didn't have the time or enough room to move to completely avoid her stubborn headbutt, but at least it would hurt a lot less than it would've if he had stayed still. It was almost certainly the stupid thing to do, but at the moment, Preston couldn't give less of a shit. He completely ignored the prefect, just as easily as he ignored the snakes of lightning that traveled from Kayla's body to his.

Instead, he struggled to keep her in place. Now that the moron jumped onto the counter with all the food and pointy knives laying around, it'd be easier to do just that, or so he thought; of course she was far too stubborn to stay still. Fuck it. Preston wrapped his other arm around her, grabbing a hold on her chest and dragging her dumb feisty ass off the counter, and away from his food, more importantly.

What was she, their babysitter? Kayla squirmed and flailed around on the counter, struggling to break free of his grip, kicking knives and cutting boards away in the process. "You fucking—..." She was about to try headbutting him again when his arm slipped under hers, wrapping around her chest. He might as well have driven a stake into her heart. A flush of red bloomed across her face. "H-hey! Fucking cut that out!" The smaller girl kicked and thrashed and fought all that much harder, squirming around in his grip like a fish out of water, but he was bigger and stronger, and her power was useless.

When he dragged her off the counter, a burning growl rose in her throat.

Once she had her feet, pressed back close against him, she lifted a foot and stomped down on his toes, grinding her heel. "LET ME GO!!" she screamed, lightning coursing over the both of them.

Sparks crackled in the air, and all around them, metal kitchenware began to levitate.

Throwing a lamp post or dumpster was one thing. Hosa had been a big target and Kayla had big weaponry. It was different here. All at once, the magnetized knives, spoons, forks, pots and pans began zipping and crashing through the air in a maelstrom of metal. Most went clattering against the walls, but some went slicing through the air past Hosa, others missing Kayla and Preston by inches. Coins, random spare change, lifted out from Kayla's pockets to float toward the ceiling, rotating lightly in the air with the occasional blue spark.

If Hosa had wanted to keep the peace, she'd made the mistake of letting Kayla and Preston into the same building.

Rising from the sink, a heavy stew pot lifted into the air, and just when things could've gotten worse—they did. It rocketed forward, taking Preston between the shoulder-blades.

Hosa wanted to do something but she would have to be crazy and stupid to try to get between them unless she wanted to be electrocuted to death. Watching as the two struggle. she gritted her teeth as she tried to decide on some kind of action until Kayla screamed and electric cracked in the air around her. Hosa flinched as items started to float around them - and then they were sent sailing. Throwing her arms up, pots, pans and knifes sliced the air around them - a knife just slightly cutting Hosa's shoulder as it sailed past. But the perfect didn't care about this - she had to stop this somehow.

But she was lost on how to do it - if she risked moving forward she was bound to be struck with the electricity that was every worse then it had been a while ago. She could go Thunderbird, but she was unsure if that form would even fit in the room. She was simply useless. "Goddammit, Preston!" she shouted over the chaos, her eyes narrowed as she snarled as she stared at the two that had caused this mess. "You just had to taunt her didn't you?"

With half a mind, he'd noticed what he'd exactly done when he'd grabbed her, but she gave him no time for reprieve or to think anything else about it. Before there was much else to be done about it, she was already screaming, already stomping on his feet, and he'd already let go - being quickly shoved away. What was once a quiet, clean kitchen was suddenly lit up by blinding white flares, pulling all the pots and cutlery out of their places and sent whizzing past their heads, one time notably right through the space by Preston's ear. And then the pot hit him. The poor son of a bitch nearly had all the air knocked out of him, and almost fell forward on Kayla, hadn't he managed to grab the counter in front of him first.

What made it all the better was that Hosa was the one screaming at him, as if it was his fault that she decided to slam his face into the counter; never mind the fact that he already knew she had the patience of a six year old who'd skipped out on their nap time. "What-fucking-ever..." He growled under his breath. Kayla wasn't going to stop until his ass was passed out on the floor, or she was, or something else stupid happened. He wasn't sure what, moving before he thought. First thing was first, though...

Sharp crackles of lightning burst out from his body, snapping across the room, bringing the last of the shooting silverwear to a temporary halt. The Autumn glanced around the room, eying a freshly sharpened carving knife stuck into the wall above the sink. He reached out with his hand, as if to grab it, and the metal went flying straight for Kayla. At the very last second, Pres took a step back, grabbing the back of her shirt and pulling it outwards. The knife ripped cleanly through the fabric, and he let go, the bulk of the blade keeping her shirt stuck to the side of the counter.

He let her go.

That was her chance, her shot, her moment. Her electricity couldn't work on him, but she had fists, and she could knock his teeth out with a solid right hook or rattle his brain with a quick uppercut. An elbow to the ribs, a knee to the gut, a sweeping kick behind the knee to knock his stupid ass off his feet. In just one split second, she could flip the tables and have him dazed on his back. It would mean worse than detention, with Hosa standing right there. If she was lucky, Hosa would get mad enough to try and fight her too, and they could have a proper rematch. At worst, Miss Prefect would go running off and a Guardian would come to throw her into a faux-cell. But that was okay. Punishment, consequences, they all meant little and less to her.

That had been her split second, but Preston had acted faster, and all those thoughts went blowing away like leaves in a storm. Her eyes widened as the carving knife went zipping toward her. Toward them.

He yanked her back by her shirt, and after a stunned moment, she realized she was pinned to the counter behind her.

Her frozen moment of terror turned to fury. Without thinking, she ripped away, sending a flying punch straight into his jaw with all her weight thrown behind it. The SMACK of her fist colliding with his face felt as satisfying as she knew it'd be. Kayla's hat went flying off her head.

There was the sound of fabric tearing as she pulled away from the knife. She'd been so caught up in the moment that she'd never thought it through.

The back of her shirt tore to ribbons, revealing a dozen old scars and bruises and cigarette burns, a lifetime of half-healed injuries that had never cleared up, revealing the strap of a blue polka-dot bra... Her shirt, now half ripped to shreds, began to slip off her chest.

...

. . .

.  .  .

It had only taken half a heartbeat, but time moved in slow-motion.

"YOU FUCKER!" The rumbling BOOOM of a thunderclap punctuated her words.

A kick took Preston in the ribs as Kayla frantically held her shirt up to cover herself, crossing her arms over her chest.

Kayla turned her glare on Hosa, blue whips of electricity sparking out from her skin, as red as a tomato. "Don't you look either!" she snapped. This was bad, bad enough, but he had to pull this sort of pervert shit in front of an audience too? Coins clattered to the ground from the ceiling. If she hadn't been using both hands to pin what remained of the fabric to her shoulders, she might've used one on Preston.

She shook her head, clenching her eyes shut as if that would make her invisible. The dark, intimidating undertone to her voice had disappeared. Now she just sounded like a little girl. "I'll fucking kill you, you piece of shit!"

Maybe snapping at Preston like she did wasn't the right thing to do, but Hosa could care less. She had thought he would of been smart enough not to taunt Kayla like that, but yet here they were - fighting in the middle of the Cafeteria. She hadn't caught his annoyed reaction to her yelling at him, but if she did she would of been slightly pissed off as while the fight wasn't completely his fault, he had been the one to egg it on.

When Preston manged to pin Kayla to the counter with a knife, Hosa had thought for a quick second that the fighting was over. But it seemed Kayla wasn't done when she lurched forward anyways to deliver a devastating hit to his chin as her hat flew off...And her shirt started to rip. The moment she saw the scars, bruises...The cigarette burns, her eyes widen as her mouth opened slightly with shock but her gaze quickly flickered away as the sound of thunderclap echoed in the room. She wondered if anybody wandering the halls would hear that.

As the Autumn shouted for her not to look, Hosa did so, one hand covering one of her eyes as if it was a horse blinder. She didn't want to risk Kayla growing any more angry toward her - as she wanted to try to get this over with. Kayla seemed to turn her rage back onto Preston, but sounded unlike herself, her tough attitude having faded the moment her scars of the past were revealed. "Kayla!" Hosa shouted, her gaze still remaining away from the Autumn. "Don't you think you have a more important matter to worry about other than killing Preston?"