{OPEN} what a scene!

[thejokerlaughsatu]

The booth in the corner was usually empty at this hour. It wasn't time for a main meal; in fact, it was only about three in the afternoon, and the clear skies gave the students every reason to be outside. To sit in the almost-empty cafeteria seemed like a perfect waste of time, especially in the cramped corner booth.

Still, there was a boy there today, curled up with a small book and a pencil. The tips of his golden hair hung into his face as he hunched over the book on the table in front of him. Closer inspection would reveal a blank page that was slowly being filled with carefully-sketched lines. Despite the care he took with his art, though, his clothes could almost be considered ratty. The t-shirt and jacket that hung limply from his frame were a very poor fit, and the hems of his jeans were encrusted with mud.

His hand moved quickly over the paper, the tip of the pencil only a blur of lead as it scribbled out the scene. There was nobody there at the moment, but Nathan preferred it that way. People in motion were too hard to draw. Only when the cafeteria was empty could he draw a lunchtime scene. The people were easy enough to add in later; it was the backdrop that gave him trouble. All of those people moving through and obscuring it ruined his sketch. But not today. Today, he was alone.

[Kaiser Joseph Kittes.]

"I should probably eat something." The boy said as his stomach let out a large grumble. Kaiser pulled himself from his bed and sat the book he was reading down on the nightstand. Of course, the book he was reading was 'To kill a Mockingbird.' He had only read it a few dozen times, but with a book so good why wouldn't you want to read it over and over? He walked casually down the hall to the cafeteria, smiling to a few of the students. He was finding it tough to actually make friends here. It seemed every already had their friends and didn't want anymore...or they were just fine being alone.

The boy opened the door to the cafeteria, not looking at who was in it, it wasn't like he knew anyone here anyway. He walked to the assortment of fruits and picked out an apple. "You know what they say..." He mumbled to himself as he pulled out some change to pay for it. "Hrmmm..." He said as he looked around for a place to sit. "Ah..." Kaiser walked over to a seat, not noticing that his "best friend" was sitting only a few seats away. He took a bite of his apple and pulled out his phone. 'Of course.' No one had tried to contact him since he had been here, why should they? His parents hated him, his brother was dead, and he didn't have any friends at his old school. He thought it would have changed the moment he got to Powers but apparently not. Just because everyone here had powers didn't mean everyone would like each other...it was far from that. Kaiser let out a sigh as he shoved his phone back into his pocket. "I don't even know why I'm here." He said under his breath as he brought the apple back to his lips to take another bite.

[thejokerlaughsatu]

Nathan was completely absorbed in his work, so much so that he didn't notice the people slowly starting to enter the cafeteria. There weren't many, only a handful, but his sketchbook was the center of his world at the moment, and if they weren't directly in his way, then they were of no concern to him. In fact, he barely needed to look up now; he was almost done with the picture, and it would soon be time to add human figures. That would be when he sought people. They didn't even have to be in the cafeteria; a person in any setting would likely be in a natural enough pose that he could adapt it for his sketch of the cafeteria. Just a few more minutes, and he would be done.

Even though his eyes were busy, his ears weren't, and in fact, they were more alert than ever. That was how he noticed the familiar voice drifting back to him, from very close by. Nathan looked up. There, only a few seats away, was his loathsome roommate, or the one that he'd met, anyway. (He had no doubts that the other would be equally as awful, especially if Kaiser got to him first.) Still, the words were an invitation for an insult that Nathan couldn't resist giving. "Well, quite frankly, neither do I. It's not like anyone wants you here."

[Kaiser Joseph Kittes.]

Kaiser turned when he heard the voice. "Oh, it's you." He said with a sigh. The boy wasn't in the mood to deal with Nathan. "Just leave me alone. I just want to eat and not have to put up with your noise, ok?" Kaiser said turning away from the other boy. He still hadn't met his other roommate, but with his luck he'd be just as horrible as Nathan. "Just don't talk to me, I don't want to be friends with you, I don't want to be your secret boyfriend, I don't want anything to do with you. Just leave me alone." He said repeating what he said earlier to to make sure the other understood.

[thejokerlaughsatu]

"You think I want anything to do with you? I wouldn't date you if we were the last people on earth." Nathan turned his attention back to his sketchbook. He could ignore this kid... all he had to do was find something else to listen to. The problem was, he didn't have anything with him to distract him. No iPod, no headphones to put in, even without music... he was stuck. If Kaiser had something to say, Nathan would have to listen unless he decided to leave, and he wasn't going to let some jackass chase him out of the cafeteria. He couldn't let Kaiser have that victory over him. "Besides, you probably already have a boyfriend." He wasn't quite sure how that was meant to be offensive, but he couldn't give Kaiser the last word.

[Kaiser Joseph Kittes.]

"I knew you liked guys." Kaiser said with a smirk. "See, if you were straight you would have said 'I would never date a boy' but instead you said 'I wouldn't date you if we were the last people on earth.' So obviously you do like guys. I know, I know it's hard to grasp that you just put yourself in a place where one of your deepest secrets have been revealed...especially to a person you don't care much for." The boy said with a grin. "And no, I don't have a boyfriend. Seems like all the boys here are too scared to come out the closet." He said looking directly at Nathan. "You would know how that is, huh?" Kaiser said as he stood up from his seat and tossed his apple in the trash can behind him.

"What's wrong Nathan? Did I say something to make you upset? My apologies. I would never want to do that to my best friend." He said with a smirk. Nathan had started this so Kaiser felt no remorse for what he was saying. If he would have just kept his words to himself today none of this would have even happened. But no, of course Nathan would have to open his enormous mouth and say something. He had to try and start a conflict when there was absolutely no need for one. 'People like him make me sick.' Kaiser thought as he glanced outside. 'Well, if anything goes down the sun has got me covered.' The boy thought as he turned his head back to Nathan. "What? No snappy comeback?"

[thejokerlaughsatu]

"So? What's it matter? You're just some sort of jackass homophobe, aren't you?" snapped Nathan. His face burned. He should have thought ahead, let his mind work before he spoke, like he normally did, but something about this Kaiser kid just pissed him off. He wanted nothing to do with him, but at the same time, he couldn't resist picking at him, like a scab. As soon as it had healed over, he would pick at it until it bled, just to watch it bleed again.

He set his sketchbook down on the table and stood up. "You think you're funny? You think being a jackass is fun for you? Just because you guessed one thing doesn't mean you know everything about me, and that is far from being my deepest secret." His orientation hadn't even been a secret at home... that was partially why he'd decided to keep his mouth shut when he'd reached a new school. In middle school, he hadn't been sure, and every move he made towards tentative exploration had been met with mocking and humiliation. But no more. "Whatever. If you tell anyone, I'll know it was you, and I do know where you sleep."

[Kaiser Joseph Kittes.]

"How can I be a homophobe?" Kaiser asked. Was this kid just dumb? "Are you deaf or something? I mean obviously you're mental, but I didn't know if you had some other kind of illness too." The boy said standing up when Nathan did. He was inches shorter than the other boy but knew he could handle his own. "You're the one who started all this stuff! I don't even know what your damn problem is!" Kaiser said wanting to walk away, but knew he couldn't not unless he wanted Nathan to think he had won the fight.

"You're just some weird kid who doesn't have any friends and likes to mess with other people to make himself feel good. Well unlike you, I have friends! And one happens to be able to transform into a dinosaur, so you better watch what you say to me or I'll have him eat you!" Kaiser said, not even realizing how ridiculous that sounded. "I never planned on telling anyone in the first place, but maybe now I will." Kaiser said, even though he knew it was an empty threat. He would never do that to another person, no matter how much he hated him.

[thejokerlaughsatu]

Nathan scowled. He didn't know what it was about this boy that made him so angry. Normally he was nice to people, as long as they didn't start something first. That older boy he'd met in the forest was an exception, and so was that girl who'd tried to kick him. Both of them had given him a reason to be furious. But this Kaiser boy made him angry beyond reason, more than the other two combined could ever manage.

He clenched his fists, but he knew he would never throw a punch. Touching people was out of the question. He didn't want any contact, not even in a fight. That was really out of the question for Nathan; he'd spent most of his life avoiding physical contact with others, and wouldn't have known how to fight if he'd been paid to do so. Still, the words made his blood boil. "You think fighting makes me feel good? I'm not some sick freak like you. I don't have delusions about dinosaurs, and I don't threaten to get people beat up."

[Kaiser Joseph Kittes.]

Kaiser watched as Nathan balled his fist. 'Is he really going to try and hit me? I thought he would have learned.' The boy thought as he looked around, a few students had stopped what they were doing and were now staring at them. 'Great, I really hope I don't get in trouble because of this weirdo.'

"I don't like fighting!" The boy yelled at Nathan. "I'm not a freak and I'm not delusional, my friend's name is Aiden and he is a student here." Kaiser said with a scowl. The boy wasn't much for saying hate, but he was getting close to actually hating Nathan. He still wasn't sure what he did to this kid to start this fight. Kaiser watched as more people started to gather around. "Just leave me alone." Kaiser said with a low growl as he stomped his foot, cracking the tile that lined the cafeteria. "You're a mean kid who just likes messing with other people!" Kaiser said creating a fist and slamming it down on the table, causing it to break in the middle. "Leave. Me. Alone. OK!?"

[thejokerlaughsatu]

"Sure he is. I'm sure you're friends with all the other freaks around-" But Nathan didn't get to finish his sentence. He took a stumbling step back as the ground cracked beneath his feet. What the hell was this shrimp of a kid doing, breaking the cafeteria? It wasn't damage to the building that Nathan was concerned about; it was how the kid was doing it. Kaiser was small, much smaller than Nathan, but the larger boy's actions were nowhere close to breaking anything, except perhaps a few of his bones, if he got into a severe enough fight. How was this little kid doing this?

Super strength. He had to have super strength. Of all the people for Nathan to hate, it had to be the kid with super strength. "What, you think I started all of this? You were the one who came up to me and started staring at my art! You could have just kept your fat mouth shut and walked right on by!"

[Kaiser Joseph Kittes.]

Kaiser wasn't even listening to the other boy now, he was too busy fuming. "IF YOU DON'T LEAVE ME ALONE...I'll...I'll..." Kaiser yelled but stopped. The crowd that was growing around them had doubled in size. The chants were starting to come now. "Fight! Fight! Fight!" But that's not what Kaiser wanted, he couldn't fight...he didn't want to fight. Tears started to form in the blonde boy's eyes. "I just want you to leave me alone!" He said as looked at Nathan. "I don't want you to mess with me anymore!"

Kaiser couldn't take this anymore, surely a Teacher would be coming soon and he would get in trouble. The boy looked down at the floor and over at the table. He'd be in big trouble. Kaiser wiped his eyes with the sleeve of his shirt. "You're going to get me in trouble for this...I'm a good kid! I didn't want to do this!" The boy yelled at Nathan. "It's your fault!"

[thejokerlaughsatu]

Nathan glanced around at the growing crowd. Where the hell had they all come from? Somehow they'd just appeared, as though they'd sensed the developing fight in the cafeteria. It was like the entire campus had a trouble radar that brought them straight to Kaiser and Nathan. But Nathan couldn't fight... that would mean touching this kid, and that was out of the question.

But there was a solution... something to save both of them. "Then get out of here," he snapped. "I don't want a detention, you don't want a detention, just get out of here and take your scared ass with you! He took a step backwards, away from all of it. If he and Kaiser both walked away, then nobody could make them do this.

[Kaiser Joseph Kittes.]

Really? Nathan was going to let it go? Simple as that? "I'm not scared of you for the record. I just don't want to get in trouble." The boy said as he started towards the cafeteria's side door. "Like I said, stay away from me." The boy said, then bolted out the door. Kaiser ran as far away from the cafeteria as he possibly could. He ran to the edge of the woods. "Why does he have to hate me!?" Kaiser yelled as he threw a punch at a nearby tree, punching a chunk out of it. "I just want friends." The boy said, the tears now flowing down his face. "I just want people to like me..." Kaiser slid down the tree. "That...all I want."

[thejokerlaughsatu]

Nathan watched him go, then pushed past the rest of the crowd and left the cafeteria as well. He wanted to go back to his dorm, but he had no idea where Kaiser had gone, and the last thing he wanted right now was to be stuck in a room with the boy. No... he needed a respite. He turned towards the woods. Even without his sketchbook, he could go out and sit in the silence of the trees... he needed to think.