Wandering around. {Closed}

[grayson wyatt thatcher.]

Wyatt, as per usual, was just roaming around town. Not that there was anything to do. He nodded to a few of the townies that passed. "I swear, this town is so boring. Nothing ever happens. It's like they get the most dull people on the face of the earth and ship them to this damn town." He said with a sigh. He couldn't stand it here, he knew he was destined for something more. "Hey, Mr. Reginald." He said as he waved to an older man, in his late sixties. The man just grunted as he walked down the street. "Ass." Wyatt mumbled under his breath.

He stopped at the local grocery, walking in he waved to the cashier, who was a St. Michael's student. It seemed like in this town everyone knew each other. Wyatt hated it. He couldn't stand everyone knowing every little detail about him. Townies still snickered at him being gay, like it was some giant deal. He had come out his freshman year. Though his parents completely supported him the town did not. He was a freak among them, an outcast.

Wyatt walked to the beverage section and picked up a water and walked back to the front. He pulled out some change from his pocket and gave it to the girl. "Thanks." he said as he took his receipt. "See ya later." The boy opened the bottle and took a sip and wiped his mouth. "It's Saturday and nothing is going on. Oh wait, I forgot, nothing ever goes on in this damn town." He said shaking his head.

The boy walked out the store and kept walking down the sidewalk and let out another sigh. "Maybe the upperclassmen are throwing a party." He said as he shrugged. He wouldn't be drinking or participating in the drugs but it was always fun to watch all the drunks walk around. "I'll need to find something or I'm going to be stuck at home...how exciting." Wyatt enjoyed talking to himself, it was more conversation than he got from many of the people here. Of course, he got weird looks from everyone, but it wasn't like he didn't already get them. He heard the snickers and comments they made about him being a "queer" and "faggot" but they didn't affect him. He knew he was better than the people here, he would actually get out of this town and do something with his life.

[ilina yuliana arnaut.]

Today was going to be a good day. A wonderful day, in fact, and Illi decided it herself. So, darnit, today was going to be absolutely amazing whether she really did like it or not! She'd find a way to make it great. There were a ton of things to do in this town, just waiting to be found! Because, in all honestly, they were hiding. It was kind of depressing, really. But, hey, no town could possibly be really so boring that it literally has nothing to do. So, for now, Illi was just walking. Walking, walking, walking. Walking was fun. She liked it. It gave her time to absorb everything there was. The sights, the sounds, the atmosphere of the place... Even though there wasn't a whole lot of that. She was new here. Illi could possibly get lost, but that wasn't even in her mind at all at this point. What was in her mind was that she was out and about and making the best of her day. Because she had decided earlier that this day would be the best day ever. That prophecy was going to be fulfilled!

Then she noticed people looking at her.

Oh man. She didn't know what to do. So she smiled and gave a little wave. They waved back. She could tell it was awkward, so she went on her merry little way. They knew she was new. Like they had some sort of radar and just knew when people are new. She could just imagine some big jock guy who was like seven feet tall just walking up to her and saying to her, in a thick accent, 'You shouldn't be here.' Just like in all the movies. She'd probably freak out and book it. Nothing ever good happened to people who got that said to them. They usually ended up dead. Though, then again, those people usually traveled in packs. Oftentimes they were a bunch of college kids running around, having parties and throwing their inhibitions out the window. Then they stumble into the wrong town and all of them end up dead except the somewhat responsible and good looking male and the surprisingly tough under pressure female who almost dies, but doesn't, and watched her whiny best friend die first. Because that's always what happened. Illi didn't have a pack. Heck, at this point, she didn't even have a best friend! She barely had any! If someone came up to her and told her to leave, she would turn around and run. Forever. Across to the ocean, back to Bulgaria. She'd been there once or twice. And her parents always spoke Bulgarian, always, all the time. She could totally fit in with those crazy Europeans. It was probably beautiful over there. And more things would be happening than here.

She passed by a group of people chuckling to themselves. She had to, though, because she couldn't just cross the street to avoid them completely. That would be weird. But what ended up happening was even weirder... It was probably one of the saddest experience of her life to that point. There was this other kid walking, too. She could tell who he was. Well, not really, but she knew that's the kid the people were referring to using rather distasteful names. Names that shouldn't be used anywhere ever and frankly it made Illi a bit sick to hear those names. So, she created a situation in which she needed to talk to him. Simply because she just wanted to get to know him! And go somewhere else with him. He was alone, so it wouldn't be that bad to tag along with him. Who knows, maybe there was something fun in this town!

She fiddled around in her pockets a bit. She was sure they were watching her. Everyone was. It was so weird. She had been the center of attention on a few different occasions, but not like this. She swore lightly under her breath and looked around, flustered. Of course, she wasn't really flustered, but as far as anyone else knew, she was. She walked over to the guy. He looked about her age. It wouldn't be that awkward at all!

"Hey! Um, person! With the... Um... Red hoodie skinny jeans guy!" As she approached, she put on a smile and approached. This could be bad. Awful, even, but Illi wasn't going to let that happen. She needed to get used to starting conversations. Non awkwardly, that is.

"Hi!" That's a start. She didn't think those other people were in earshot, so she could say whatever she wanted. "Do you know if there's anything to do here? I'm new, and... I don't really know my way around, I guess. Oh, and I'm Ilina. Illi for short." She grinned. It may be heading quickly into winter, but Illi would be darned if she didn't have her sunny, warm disposition on her side!

[grayson wyatt thatcher.]

Wyatt watched as the girl walked by the group of people...but she kept walking towards him. 'She must have heard what those people were saying, why would she want to be affiliated with me?' He thought to himself. Then she addressed him. 'She must be crazy. Does she want to be an outcast as well?'

"Um...hi." Wyatt said cautiously. "There's never anything that goes on here. This town is a bore-fest. Sorry. If you're looking for excitement you might want to look somewhere else." The boy said looking over the girl. She was a bit shorter than him, and seemed overly happy. "I'm Wyatt, and I've lived here all my life. Hence why I know it's a bore-fest. Are you attending St. Michael's?" The boy asked.

He didn't mind the conversation at all, it was great actually. Most people here, the adults at least, replied with grunts. Everyone was so dull, but this girl seemed so lively and bright. He couldn't help but smile. "I bet you don't go here..." He said watching the girl. "I have this thing about me, I know students from SM. You're not like them. My bet is that you're a Power's kid. Is that right? there's always something about Power's that sets them apart from the rest. I don't know what it is..." He said trailing off. 'I hope I'm right...if not I'm going to sound like a lunatic.'

[ilina yuliana arnaut.]

He seemed to take well to her question. At least, well enough to give her a response. And a name. That was already better than most of the people she'd met here! Yay! And for that, Illi was happy. But Illi was happy for a lot of things, so it really didn't result in much change. She was just... Full of life. That was a nice way to put it, really, she liked that. 'Full of life'. The boy informed her that the town was boring. Great. That was wonderful. Illi thought that she'd probably be taking to her laptop most of the time. She had movies on it, books too. That way she'd at least have something to do. But just walking wasn't so bad. Even though that was really all she was doing. Usually, when she walked around places, she found places that interested her. She'd check that place out for a bit and continue on her way. But she hadn't stopped once since she started, and she was almost getting to the point where she'd just turn around and head back home. Home. At Power's Academy. It was such a surreal thing, living here. She didn't know whether to feel happy or scared. Probably a little bit of both. For many reasons. Both emotions had those reasons. But it was best to not dwell on the more negative aspects of her move here. That would just sour her mood, and she didn't want that!

The boy smiled at her, and it was nice to see him smile. Even when people were calling him awful names, he could still smile. She always liked it when people smiled, she always felt like she may have had a little tiny part in making that smile possible. And that was one of the greatest feelings ever! Luckily for Illi, she felt it many, many times in her life. It just made life even better. And she was full of it, too. So that's about four times the amount of happiness the normal person has in their life. Except it was Illi, so that number was more like twenty. Million. No wonder Illi was so happy all the time. There was just so much to be happy about. But she couldn't help but feel as if her inner monologue was getting a little too carried away with the whole happiness thing. It was true that she was happy almost all of the time, but she wasn't one of those robotic happy people who just had a grin plastered to their face all the time. And she didn't stand still. She moved a bit, swayed a bit, adjusted her sleeves... Man, the sleeves on the hoodie she was wearing were awful. The kept falling down. Usually sleeves rode up on your forearms, but these kept deciding to fall down her hands. It showed her right to steal a hoodie from her brother before she left. She wondered if he knew about it. Probably not. She always made jokes about how the hoodie was unisex. Most hoodies were, but he seemed to always get a little defensive about it. It always proved to be a quick laugh.

"I bet you're right," she replied before letting him finish, thinking about her course of action while he was talking. She had the ability to do those sorts of things. Listen and think at the same time... Some people weren't so great at it. Case in point, her brother. "I just got to Power's a little while ago." This was when her acting skills would need to pay off. She knew they would, she was good at this sort of stuff. "I wouldn't say there's much different. Maybe 'cuz we live there, we just kinda... Stick to ourselves? I dunno, I haven't been here long enough to know for sure. And I wouldn't call you a lunatic, Wyatt." Could she? Would she? Did Illi just make a new friend? She hoped so. Friends were great! Especially when they actually knew about things around here. That was always nice, even if there was nothing to do. Whatever. It was better to look at the positives.

"Is there... Anywhere we could go? At all? Or is this just it?" She hoped that they could at least hang out in a grocery store or something. If it was normal for them, Illi'd get used to it eventually. She hoped.

[grayson wyatt thatcher.]

Wyatt chewed on his bottom lip as she spoke. 'Stick to ourselves huh?' The boy thought as she spoke. 'No, why would it just be that. Something else is going on there. I'll find it out.' "Um..." He thought for a second before speaking again. "There's a little coffee shop down the road from here." He said, not that he actually wanted anything. He had met a student from Power's this was a great time to learn all he could about it.

"If you want we could go there and hang out for a bit, talk if you want. I don't have many friends here." He said shrugging. "Who would want to be friends with the faggot, right?" He said with a smirk. The words didn't bother him, for they were just words. They held no special power over him. He was great at blocking out the pain, just ask all his suppressed memories. "Come on. I'll show you the way there."

"So what's it like at Power's?" He asked looking over towards Illi. "I'm sure there is more to just 'a boarding school' right?" Wyatt had to figure it out, it nearly was driving him crazy. All the people in St. Michael just accepted it as if it were normal, but it wasn't. He had heard rumors about that place from a few passerby, rumors that couldnt be true. Wyatt believed them though, call him crazy but he knew...he knew something was going on there. "Do you guys do anything...special?"

[ilina yuliana arnaut.]

A coffee shop? Great! Illi's grin grew wider and she wiggled a bit in place. Coffee wasn't so great, but where there was coffee there had to be hot chocolate. And hot chocolate was one of her biggest loves. Hot chocolate and a nice place to curl up... Well, she probably wouldn't be curling up in a coffee shop. As an alternative, she had someone to talk to! And, because she'd be busy talking most of the time, that hot chocolate would last approximately forever. Just thinking about it made Illi's taste buds go crazy. She was really glad that he had brought up a coffee shop.

"Let's go there! They have hot chocolate, right?" She grinned, excited. But when she heard that little sentence tacked onto what he said it almost hurt her a bit. She wanted to be friends with him! Though, actually, maybe Illi didn't count because, in all honesty, she wanted to be friends with everyone. And usually she did a pretty good job at that. But this guy seemed nice, why would people dislike him? Just because he's gay? C'mon. There had to be something else. Maybe he was the weird kid in elementary school and the status just lasted. She didn't know. But Illi wanted hot chocolate. She hoped she had money. Probably. Most likely. In fact, now that she thought of it, she did remember making sure she had about ten dollars or so as she left. Just in case something like this happened. And, lo and behold... Voila. It was like Illi was a psychic, apart from her power of throwing dust and crap around. Her power was totally lame. But she didn't want one of those really violent ones. Those were just scary. So, what did she want? Maybe... Flight? But she could always try making a dust carpet or something underneath her and lifting that up... Huh. Maybe her power wasn't so bad after all. Or maybe she was thinking positively and not realistically. Whatever, the positive world was much better than the real one!

He then began asking questions about Power's. Awkward. How would she ever answer him? She guessed she didn't quite throw him off the scent. As far as she knew, it was a secret. Very hush-hush-keepitonthedownlow. So, once again, she had to employ her acting prowess to get her through this. Great. She didn't like telling half truths to this guy. It wasn't nice! And it was dishonest! And this guy seemed so nice, especially to new people... If not a bit curious. A lot curious. Wyatt was crazy about Power's. Illi almost felt a bit bad for him. Poor guy didn't have a power, he didn't get to go. So Illi now wanted to balance not giving away the whole Power's Academy Powers thing while simultaneously not making him jealous. Did they do anything special? Good question.

"Wellllllll..." she started, thinking, extending that last "l" for a while before continuing. "I dunno what you'd consider special, but it's a cool place. Really huge, too." That's what she said. Illi restrained laughter. She was really immature... "Lots to do." She paused to think again. "I've never really been to a boarding school before this, so I don't have anything to compare it to. But it's nice. A little boring, but that might just be the town," she finished with a laugh and a grin. She turned to face him and kept her grin as wide as ever. "Why so interested? It's pretty normal as far as I know." Oh gosh, Illi was evil. She was going to have to... Wash her mouth out with soap and bake this guy a dozen cookies or something just to make her feel okay again! Or she could totally buy him a coffee, too, along with her hot chocolate! That would be awesome! Now, she just had to see if there actually was any hot chocolate there. She silently prayed...

[grayson wyatt thatcher.]

"I really don't know if they have hot chocolate." The boy said shrugging. "I'd assume they do though, most places like that do. I don't drink much hot chocolate though, I prefer tea." He said smiling to the girl. She was so...different. Not like the monotonous people here. She was so energetic and free. Wyatt was actually enjoying her company.

He kept quiet when she was speaking of Power's, wanting to know as much as he could about it. "Yeah." He said, keeping his his other thoughts to himself. He didn't want to sound too crazy. Like one of those insane people who say the aliens are coming, not that Wyatt didn't believe in aliens. There was just too much proof that they did and still do exist. "Interested? Hrmmm." The boy thought for a second. "No reason really, I just hear weird rumors about the place, though they probably aren't true. Just some local crazies making up stories." He said with a forced smile.

Wyatt kept walking not saying anything though his mind was working overtime. The boy let out a deep breath. "Don't worry about it though. We're almost there." He said pointing to a small shop that had a picture of a cup of coffee above its door. "Come on Illi, let's get your hot chocolate." He said smiling at her.

[ilina yuliana arnaut.]

”They better, or I’m gonna freak out. I’ve been absolutely dying for one. Not literally, but- you know what I mean.” She turned and gave him another large grin and a little laugh. She liked this person. He was nice! And hey, there was always the hope of hot chocolate. He gave her that hope. So, obviously, he had to be amazing. Because hot chocolate was amazing. Transitive properties! She had learned something in math class after all! That was probably the only thing, but whatever. It still counted. Illi didn’t like math. She saved it for the cashiers. And speaking of cashiers, she would be going to get some hot chocolate really soon! And she had enough money, for sure. Ten bucks at least. She pondered getting the largest size they had. Just so she might have some for later. Like a lot for later. Ooh. That would be amazing. And if she didn’t finish the whole thing, she could even bring it back to Power’s and even get some marshmallows if they didn’t put any! Today was just getting better and better.

She then learned that, lo and behold, the people of the town were making fun of the secluded kids! What a change from what would happen in normal everyday life. She heard of it all the time, everywhere she went. Though, in the horror movies she loved so much, those kids who were usually weird had a reason for being weird... Not like the Power’s kids were weird. They just had powers. The kids in horror movies... Had powers. But they used them for evil things. And nobody at Power’s did. So there. Take that, horror movies. Take that and take it home with you afterwards, too! ”Hmm...” she started, pouting a bit. ”That’s not very considerate of them. Yeah, I guess their curiosity’s just unhealthy or something.” She then turned to Wyatt and grinned. ”Almost like the huge hot chocolate I’m definitely getting or else I’m freaking out.” She gave another little laugh and continued on her merry way with Wyatt. Things like this didn’t phase her. She never really was affected by rumors. Especially rumors spread by people she didn’t even know. She supposed it was a plus in her experience at Power’s. It would definitely help. A lot.

And soon, before she knew it, they were there. She could tell it was the coffee shop in town since it sported a cup of coffee on the door. She guessed the people here didn’t appreciate subtlety. Or it really was just that small a town. Only one coffee shop? In the whole place? Weird. Or, just... Tiny. A tiny little town. Though this place was... Quaint! That’s what it was. It had a quaint small town charm about it. It was... Sort of nice, though it had to be something she would have to get used to. And then, hopefully, not get sick of. That would be a real stretch. Maybe. She didn’t know. All she knew was that she wanted as much hot chocolate as she could buy in one cup and hopefully take the rest of it to go. He said, specifically, “let’s get your hot chocolate”. Yes! She was so happy she let out a little sound and wiggled in anticipation. She needed hot chocolate.

”Hey, actually, can you get things to go here? ‘Cuz if not, I probably won’t want a huge one.” That’s what she said. Argh, darnit Illi. She stifled more laughter before it even began. She really needed to catch him in one of those. She couldn’t keep doing this to herself. It’ll just fill her up as much as it could, and eventually explode!

That’s what she said.

Illi needed a hot chocolate intervention.

[grayson wyatt thatcher.]

'She's hiding something.' Wyatt knew it. Her answers were far too vague. She was making it seem like Power's was just some ordinary boarding school, when he knew in the depths of his soul that it wasn't. There was A LOT more to that school than just rich kids. "Yeah, I believe you can get the drinks to go. You really like hot chocolate don't you? Is it like your favorite drink or something?" The boy asked with a small laugh. He held the door open for Illi as they walked into the coffee shop. "Yeah, just go up to the counter and order." Wyatt said as he waited for the girl to go before him. "I think I'm just going to get a cup of peach and blueberry tea. Simple and delicious." He said with a small smile. Wyatt was actually really enjoying Illi's company. Her odd nature was a breath of fresh air to the boy who was used to the doldrums of everyday life here.

[ilina yuliana arnaut.]

Illi was extremely elated at hearing that she could, in fact, get her beloved hot chocolate to go. SUCH a score! It pretty much made her day, besides making a new friend in Wyatt. Those two combined? Instant day maker. For sure. Hands down. And he wasn't even asking any more questions about Power's! Of course Illi didn't want to tell him. Technically, she shouldn't be here. But it wasn't like they kept them under lock and key because of their powers, not at all. It was just a matter of secrecy. And Illi could keep a secret. She could keep a secret and hold it to the grave. Though once in a while, she might just write it down or something. Just to scribble it out. And then she'd burn the paper she wrote it on. Simple enough, right? And, hey, that didn't hurt anybody. A win win. Just like today in general. Her experience thus far was great, really. Even though there were downsides, everything was so new and great! It was almost like culture shock for Illi. All her life she'd lived in a big city with her immigrant parents, speaking Bulgarian about the house and English everywhere else, but now? English everywhere in a quaint little town. She couldn't see how he could dislike this town. Well, besides the homophobia and the boringness. Actually, that's probably what made most people dislike the town. It almost made Ilina a bit sad. But, as always, she made the best of it! Hot chocolate!

"Pssh." She paused. "Maybe a little," she said, holding up her fingers and pinching the air, leaving just a tiny bit of space. Hot chocolate was her favorite drink maybe just thiiiiiiis much. She laughed a bit. By that much she meant it was a hands-down thing. Hot chocolate was the best drink that humans had ever invented, and she was glad they did. And what was better than hot chocolate? Hot chocolate with marshmallows. What was better than that? Nothing. Simple. It was her biggest weakness and, at the same time, her best love. Her grin grew even wider as she glanced at him for a moment when he opened the door for her. "Why thank you! You're adorable." She didn't mean it in a flirty way or anything, and her tone indicated that it was just conversational. She had a habit of complimenting her friends all the time. Adorable and precious were her two favorites, in fact. In that order. Adorable, then precious. Cute on occasion. Lovely, too. Other adjectives for other times, depending on the moment. She just hoped it wasn't too weird for him. After all, he was gay. He admitted it himself. Whatever. He was probably fine with it. Illi was!

She walked, though it was more of a bouncy skip-walk than just a normal walk, right up to the counter. She was asked what she wanted, and she let the words roll off her tongue like they were natural. It was obvious the person had never seen her face before, and Illi only wanted to make a good impression. So, as usual, she was smiling. "A large hot chocolate to go, please!" She was still smiling. The person at the counter must have thought it nice, because as the person turned away to do whatever she needed to do, Illi caught her smiling. Got her! Smiles were contagious, no matter how much people wanted to deny it. It was a fact, plain and simple.

He told Illi his order. A cup of peach and blueberry tea? Simple? What? Illi hadn't even heard of that before! She wasn't the biggest fan of tea, but she liked peaches and blueberries. She knew green tea. Iced tea. Normal tea. And that was it. Nice. "Huh, never heard of that before," she said, thinking on it for a moment. It did sound pretty good. But, then again, it probably would taste absolutely awful with hot chocolate. And no matter what was in that tea, she'd like hot chocolate better. For sure. Oh, she was just so excited for her hot chocolate! She paid for it and received it in the to-go-cup or whatever they called it. It was a normal to-go thing, she guessed. She took a sip, and... Delicious. She grinned, standing beside Wyatt. She wasn't going to just leave, even if they wanted to stay there for a bit. Which she wouldn't be too opposed to. Actually, Illi might like it! Not as much as this hot chocolate. Not many things surpassed hot chocolate in Illi's mind. "Ohmygosh this is so good." Amen. She swayed from side to side just a bit, an inch or two at most, while she drank. She did have a habit of moving around even when she was supposedly standing still. Weird. But hot chocolate just had that effect on her.

[grayson wyatt thatcher.]

Wyatt smiled as Illi received her drink and took the first sip. "I'm glad you like it." The boy said as he stepped up to the counter. "Yes, I'd like the medium Blueberry and Peach tea please, to go." Wyatt pulled out a few dollars out of his pocket and handed it over to the cashier. Wyatt looked around and gave a quick smile to Illi. She was so sweet, maybe power's was just a school for gifted kids. Maybe Illi wasn't any different...maybe she was normal. Wyatt tried, but couldn't believe it. No, something was happening at that school. Whether Illi wanted to tell him or not, Wyatt knew that something was going on. The woman handed him his tea. The boy spun back around to Illi. "Alright love, now what do you want to do? It's up to you really. We can stay here and enjoy the drinks...or we could go explore more of the town." He said leaving the decision up to Illina. "There is a cool little spot in the field just a bit of a ways out of town. It's pretty nice. Or there's an old bookstore. Let's see what else?" Wyatt asked himself, trying to rake his mind for ideas. "There's also an old abandoned house down the road. It's kinda freaky." The boy said with a mischievous grin. "Whatcha wanna do?"

[ilina yuliana arnaut.]

Okay, so, basically, this was the most delicious cup of hot chocolate ever. And she had enough to sate a small village in a third world country twice over, just because. But this hot chocolate was Illi’s! All Illi’s! Besides, if she wanted to go to some third world country to give them the hot chocolate, well... It would probably go bad by then. Plus, she didn’t have enough money to go buy a plane ticket. And she’d have to go through all these baggage checks, and she’d probably have to throw out the hot chocolate anyway. So, all in all, there really wasn’t any wonder why Illi wasn’t going to give away this hot chocolate. Mostly because she loved this. She stood there sipping her hot chocolate while he explained what they could do. Now, that was odd.

He said there wasn’t much of anything to do at all here besides this. But she supposed his mood was just so good at this point that he could think of a million things! Illi knew it! This town couldn’t be that bad after all, she only had to simply be around someone! She loved that feeling. The feeling of lifting someone’s spirits... Nothing else could compare. It was like Illi was the bringer of happiness. And all she had to do was go and buy a hot chocolate. If she could make people feel good just by going and getting some hot chocolate, she’d make the whole darn town as happy as it could be! Some people needed it. She didn’t want to name names, not even in her head. She looked up and away a bit, thinking on what she wanted to do next as he said the options. Staying here would be nice.

Then again, exploring more would be cool, too. She liked fields. Though, she would probably rather be there at night simply because she could look up and then... Stars! Her favorites! Unfortunately, curfews existed in PA, so that was ruled out. That almost depressed her. Maybe one day in the summer or something. Or one day when the curfew wasn’t really being enforced as much. Did that ever happen? Probably not. Bookstores were nice, too, but Illi would rather read on her laptop. It was just easier. And plus, she knew how to turn off the backlight, making it easier on her eyes. It was basically the best thing ever. She could lose books, they could rip... That was probably last on her list. Even though the atmosphere would probably be really nice. She didn’t want to rule out anything!

And then he got to his last suggestion. An abandoned house. Her eyes widened and she had to swallow a gulp of hot chocolate before she could speak. The corners of her mouth turned upward in anticipation, even before she could speak. She coughed a couple times. The darn stuff went down the wrong way. She then launched into a small coughing fit. Oh wow, this wasn’t good. He probably thought she was crazy or something. She still tried to smile through it, and she was laughing at the same time. Laughing, smiling, coughing, and now she was beginning to blush a bit. Illi was falling apart. She pat her chest a few times, and when she was sure she was fine, she turned her head back up to look at Wyatt. Even after her short coughing fit, she was still grinning.

”Yes. That last one, the house.” She turned away and coughed once more into her elbow. ”I think I’m okay now,” she finished with a little laugh. She took another sip of hot chocolate. Even when it betrayed her, it was still her favorite thing in the world. ”Yep, a hundred percent! Trust me,” she added, keeping her smile. She wanted to go to that abandoned house. She loved things like that, and her first expedition into a supposedly haunted location did not end well at all. Though, there were two typed of not ending well. There was the one she’d much rather face, the one where something that is surely there makes some sort of noise and she sprints out of there, or there was the one where she leaves with nothing. Like she did last time. Mostly because of a certain he-who-shall-remain-unnamed. She didn’t like thinking about him. But what she did like thinking about? How amazing this abandoned house is going to be.