Midnight Pocky Physics [closed-ish]

Her footsteps echoed throughout the empty gymnasium. No lights, and no life. Beata Academy was almost unrecognizable past curfew, when everyone slipped off to bed and she was out here alone. The ceiling was lost in gloom, and shadows stretched across the floor between the shafts of moonlight filtering in through the windows near the top. Peaceful, in its own eerie way. Kayla plopped herself down on one of the bleachers, a bright flicker of electricity lighting up the darkness, and popped another Pocky stick out of the box. She clamped down on the end with her teeth and leaned back, staring up at the dark ceiling.

She didn't know how long she'd been sitting there, but after what could've been a minute or an hour, she felt her eyelids begin to droop.

Sneaking out of the dorms had turned out to be an easier feat than she'd expected. Brailynn had expected light-sleeping prefects and wandering teachers, but she supposed considering the later hour she found herself up, she shouldn't have expected any unfriendly faces. The poor Spring had been up all night, her sleep ruined by a certain stuffed animal, even when it was taken out of her hands. She was bored and had energy that needed burning off.

She tried not too make too much noise once she'd reached the gym, closing the large metal doors slowly to minimize the loud, obnoxious clang that usually followed. It was slightly warmer in the enormous room than it was outside, however not by much. Lynn almost regretted slipping her usual work-out attire of all things, but she didn't plan on staying still for long, that was until she'd spotted someone snoozing in the middle of the bleachers.

Curiously, Lynn tip-toed lightly over, but it hadn't taken her long to figure out who it was. Even in the dim moonlight, she could make out that black and white hat all too easily. Kayla Croft, one of the most talented fighters in the school. They never really had the chance to talk before, or at all really, but the blonde admired her all the same. ... What was she doing here?

The Spring climbed up into the benches, hovering near the girl and waiting to be noticed, but she seemed to be almost out of it. "Hello there?" She called, waving a hand in front of Kayla's face. "You alive?"

Huh? Had she imagined that...?

A dark shape hovered over her, and the voice spoke again. No, that was really someone here, right now. Kayla's eyes flashed open and she shot up, and then immediately leaned away, her face twitching in surprise. "Wh-wha—...?!" Electricity went shooting out of her bangs, lighting up the face leaning over her. She wiped the blurriness out of her eyes and focused on the shape in front of her. Blonde hair, hazel eyes... She knew her from somewhere. It took a moment for it to click. Right, the Moore from the Tournament. They'd talked a bit one time, but she wasn't sure if that even qualified as a conversation. "Jesus, what are you doing here...?" she muttered, letting herself relax. This was the last place, and the last time of night, that she'd ever expect to run into someone. "You almost gave me a heart attack."

Instinctively, Brailynn recoiled back in the other direction, holding her hand up awkwardly to shield her eyes and ward off any stray bolts of lightning that the girl had shot off in surprise. "Hey now - Thankfully, none of the sparks seemed to reach her. Once the Autumn had seemingly relax again, she allowed herself to start to as well. "I was just passing through. I couldn't sleep so I'd thought I'd try and blow off some steam."

Since it was just the two of them, she allowed herself the seat beside Kayla, brushing a few broken pieces of pocky off the bench and onto the floor. "And you? Last I checked, beds were better than bleachers for a late night nap."

Kayla eyed her as she settled down beside her, but didn't say anything. Just passing through? During the middle of the night? What were the odds? With an exasperated sigh, she brushed it off and sat up straight, munching down the rest of another pocky stick and rubbing at her temples. Well, now at least, she was wide awake. That was better than laying around half-dead, at least. "I couldn't sleep either," she answered, just a trace of fire in her voice. Until just then, apparently. Either that, or she was seriously losing her touch. She was feeling hazy-headed more often than not lately, but she didn't see any need to bring that up. "I didn't think anyone else would be here, that's all."

Something in the way that she spoke told the Spring that she didn't exactly appreciate the company, but then again, she supposed anyone would sound a little peeved if they were woken up the way that she was. Lynn thought about getting up and leaving her with a few kind words, but the thought of leaving her all alone again in the cold, creepy gym was sad in itself. "I see," the girl murmured.

For a few moments, there was mostly silence as she tried to pick out what to say. She leaned back, clicking her heels together. "Have a few pocky you can spare?" The blonde asked casually, eying the little box between them. It was a little late for midnight snack, but she figured there was nothing wrong with an exception now and then. "So, who are you hiding from out here? All your adoring fans?" Brailynn was teasing, but she heard people talk about the Autumn more than others. She couldn't have been the only one. common.

Kayla held up the box and rattled it around without looking at her. She didn't like sharing, but it would've been a little depressing if she finished off the whole thing by herself. The Autumn took another stick for herself and bit off a chunk, staring into the shadows.

She shot her a look at her little tease, sparks running down her arm. "Haha, very funny," she said in a flat tone, turning away again with a snort. Kayla just tried to enjoy the quiet moments where she could get them. "And what? Are you one of my 'adoring fans' too? Gonna try and punch me in the face when I let my guard down?" It was hard to catch her by surprise with that kind of thing anymore.

With a small smile she picked her choice of pocky out of the box, holding it delicately between her fingers and looking it over. She couldn't even remember the last time she'd had this sort of candy. "Ah, yes. I see you already have my dastardly plan figured out." Her voice had turned mockingly low, feigning a look of crossness in the dim light. "I can never show my face around school until I've made my mark on that Kayla girl." People talked about getting into fights with her like it was a badge of honor, and her reputation made her out to be some battle-hungry miscreant. But every run that Brailynn had had with her, she'd always seemed rather dull...

She let down the serious facade with a small laugh. "I'll pass. What would be the fun in going straight for the cheap shot?" she joked. Lynn bit off the end of her pocky, chewing slowly and leaving some time to pass by before she spoke again. "I'm saving all my energy for the tournament anyways."

She was joking around, but as stupid as it was, some idiotic bullshit like that wouldn't even make her blink. Somebody had already attacked her in the infirmary because of some crap half-baked reason like that, and in the end, who got hung out to dry for blowing up the infirmary? It was the same thing with everything she did. Kayla pulled out another pocky stick and crunched it down in a few bites. "The tournament, huh?" Funnily enough, she'd almost forgotten about it, but summer was just a few short months away. It didn't feel like a full year since the last time. Still, spring was thinking early. "That's pretty far away."

Her lips turned in a small bitter frown. "Our perfect prefect won't be there this year." There was a zap of electricity above her head to signify her annoyance. That made her path to the finals clearer, but it gnawed away at her to leave things unsettled like that. She finished off another stick, staring up ahead. "Do you really plan on winning?"

She supposed it did seem a slightly early to most people, but time loved to fly by when she could. The next thing everyone would know, Summer would be right on their doorsteps, and Brailynn was determined to be ready for it. "I've been training all year for it." Her grin grew as she took another bite of her pocky, savoring the sweet treat. "Nobody will know what hit them."

Their perfect prefect? It had taken her a moment, but she'd realized that Kayla was talking about Hosa, the previous winner of the tournament. As far as last years competition went, the Spring hadn't gotten near as close to the top, so she wasn't any bit upset about the shapeshifter's win, or her sudden guardianship afterwords. But both her and Magic lost to Hosa, if she could recall. She could see why it upset the electric girl.

"Neither will the school's finest Angel, I hear. It's just a rumor, but I'm still disappointed." Leo had been the one to knock her out of the brackets. He'd kept flying around in an open field, shooting arrows her way, and she simply couldn't keep up. She would've loved to have a rematch, but she'd heard he had other certain things in mind now-a-days. "Of course, I plan on it." Brailynn answered simply, "What's the point of competing if you don't aim for the top? I'm ready to handle anyone, even you." She smiled softly, finishing off the rest of her candy.

The angel? Did she mean the prefect? Something that might've been a smirk touched the corners of her lips. Yeah, she was roommates with the other prefect, and practically everyone knew what trouble those dumbasses had managed to get themselves into... Thanks to them, they'd gotten stuck with those fucking bears for close to a month. It was too bad if he wasn't going to jump in again this year. She had more than a few things she'd have liked to say to him if he ever showed his face around.

Kayla gave a small laugh, almost dismissive. She pulled out another stick, one of the last ones, and held the end of it in her teeth. Electricity frizzled around her hat. "If you say so."

Despite the casual air, Brailynn felt a little indignant, letting her pride get the best of her for a moment. The blonde let out a low, breathy laugh. She tried not to take it personally, sitting up a little straighter and turning her body closer towards Kayla. "I do say so," She smiled, flicking her hair over her shoulder. "And I'll give you a run for your money, I promise. So long as you swear not to get knocked out before then. The competition is going to be a lot tougher this year, I hear." Warmly, she held out a hand for the Autumn to shake, her hazel eyes shining expectantly in the dim moonlight.

She rounded to look at her. Get knocked out before then? Man, she really knew how to catch her attention. "You can forget about that. I'm winning it all." It was almost impossible to think otherwise. Her first year, she'd missed out on the semifinals on a fluke mistake, and her second, she'd lost last minute to that fat peacock. She wasn't going to repeat any of those mistakes. Magic, Brailynn, Leo, the rest didn't scare her. Kayla smirked and reached out to meet her hand with a lightness she probably wouldn't have expected. Even when she was holding back like this, she couldn't stop the light little shocks and tingles from the skin-to-skin contact, but it would've been worse to refuse the handshake. "But sure thing. I'll see you there."

Kayla clasped Brailynn's hand.

Brailynn smiled, seemingly satisfied that she managed to spark the Autumn's full attention so quickly. A few bits of lightning had escaped from around the girl, almost warning the blonde away, but she was unafraid. She took Kayla's hand firmly, instantly feeling the energy surge into her from the close contact. A soft light glowed between them and her light grin only grew. "I'm holding you to that," she said in a slight-sing song tone.

It was as strange of a feeling as it was amazing, just from holding the girl's hand Lynn felt like she was drinking in a constant sweetness that made her heart race and left her feeling a bit light-headed. The Spring held on longer than she probably should have. She didn't want to let go.

Damn, she had a strong grip... Kayla met her eyes, but the longer she looked, the harder it was to focus. Small flickers of electricity rippled down her arm and twined around her fingers before scattering into nothing, and light tingles began to spread from her palm to her wrist. Her head was swimming. It felt like all the blood in her arm was being drawn into Lynn's hand. She couldn't help but smile. It was almost like being drunk.

After a few moments of silence, she was still staring. "You can let go of my hand now."