[u][b]Collab between TheWizardLizard and Shard

[/b][/u]

Bringing him out of his thoughts, Casper turned towards the voice, his mind startled from the sudden outburst. "S-sorry...I didn't...I didn't know I knocked so loud..." There he probably went again. This time he didn't even notice, but at the very least he hadn't broken anything...not yet. "I'm still...getting used to it..." Casper sighed slightly as his eyes dropped down to the floor again. "M-my powers..." He looked up for but a second to meet the other boy's face and was immidiatly hit by a wave of nausea. He quickly brought his hand up to his chest and looked away. [i]'What was that!? Did he use something on me...? Am I just losing my mind? Damn, I'm falling apart...'[/i] Swallowing his insecurities, Casper spoke once more. "S-sorry to...to have bothered you..." 

Greg recoiled, bringing his hands up over his eyes. His glasses. His glasses were in the room. where he'd left them. He leaned back against the wall, still covering his face and staring down at the ground. "No, no, not the knocking. You're loud... loud in here..." Greg pressed his hands against his temples to demonstrate. "Like screaming. You... you hurt... he was a very... he deserved... you did well. You don't need to be screaming, in here, where I can hear you."

"You can...hear me...?" What did he mean by that? Well, it was obvious, wasn't it? Just like Casper, Greg was a mutant and from the sound of it, he could understand or rather...'sense' emotions? Thoughts? Casper didn't quite understand it, he had never met anyone with a similar power before. "H-how...how can I just...?" The boy brought his hand up to his forehead and clenched his teeth. He couldn't just turn his worry off, he couldn't just turn the anxiety off. Leaning against the wall, Casper slid to the floor and hid his face in his hands. "I'm sorry...I didn't mean to...to be so..." He spoke lower now. "...loud." 

"No, no, it's not your fault. Everyone's... loud, sometimes, that's just how it's supposed to be. It's me. I'm not supposed to hear it, but I do." Greg slid to the floor opposite the boy, practically mirroring him in how he shielded his face. He was silent for a moment, and then he spoke. "You know, Casper, it's not really... it's none of my... it isn't by place to say, but, from what I've seen of you... if someone had to have your, um..." The word 'curse' formed on his lips, but he choked it back. "Thing, I think it's a good thing that it was you. And not somebody else."

Despite a serious lack of self confidence, Casper did understand what Greg was saying. It was better that Casper got his power, rather than the guy in the cafeteria or anyone else like him. That was true...even Casper could admit that, but now that he was seeing Greg...he was starting to see things from a...different point of view. "You...you can't control your...'thing'...either?" Greg's powers seemed to be a lot less forgiving towards himself and it made Casper almost feel lucky not to be in his shoes. There was always someone who had it worse, wasn't there? "Th-thank you...though. It was...Greg, right?" 

"Yeah. Greg. And no, I can't control it. None of it. Not just the mind-reading, either, I can't stop my brain from attacking people. Like it just... hates them, or maybe they hate it. Apparently, this sort of thing is... rare, even among psychics, which aren't exactly common. That's a good thing, I think. Shouldn't be any more of me running around." Greg rolled his shoulder slightly and felt it twinge. It wasn't injured, not anymore, but sometimes it still gave him reminders of his bad day. Good. He shouldn't forget. "Are you religious, Casper?"

"I..." Casper revealed his face again from behind his hands, rubbing his eyes softly before he moved some hair from covering his sight. He didn't look up at Greg again, but rather kept his eyes on the other boy's legs. "I don't...really see why anyone would...hate you." He shook his head. "You...you seem like a really good person..." For never being able to control his powers, Greg had maintained a stable enough position. A weaker person would have started hating everything and everyone by this point...being able to hear everyone's thoughts. "Y-you're probably...really strong..." Casper raised his eyes slightly, but still not enough to meet Greg's. "Having...to deal with all of that all the time...you're...you're really strong...keeping it together..." 

As the conversation shifted towards religion and spirituality, all Casper could do was to shake his head. "No...are you?" 

In spite of himself, Greg chuckled a little bit at that. "Casper, your stomach's turning just from being, just because I'm here. That's a... it's a decent reason to hate, people. And you're wrong, you know. I... thank you, but you're wrong. I'm not good. Not yet."

Greg waved the question of religion away. "I am, yeah, sort of. Not, like, a fanatic, but it's sort of, like, it's important to me. I just... nevermind."

The boy rested his head back against the wall and closed his eyes. 

"Well..." Casper began, hugging his knees carefully, not to hurt himself. "I...I don't hate you..." He continued, a soft smile forming along his lips. "I don't really know you but...I...I wouldn't mind...uhm..." He had never really had this conversation with anyone else before, it felt rather odd. The friends he had, they had come up to him and pulled him along. This time he was making 'the first move'. "I wouldn't mind...getting to know you..." Sure, Greg's powers were incredibly potent and made Casper feel more or less nauseous but...he wasn't a bad person, quite the opposite actually. "Besides...if you can't control your powers...it's not your fault that bad stuff happens...that's not reason to dislike you...that would be rather..." He stopped for a second before shaking his head. "That's stupid...you're not to blame for your powers...you're trying to control them...aren't you? Th-that's why you're here..." 

Raising his gaze further, Casper saw Greg's hands covering his face and it was still rather uncomfortable to look at him, but with his eyes covered it made it less so. 

"Sometimes I wonder if the Devil knows what he's doing, and is just too afraid to put a stop to it." The boy wanted to be his friend. That was unexpected, and doubtless short-lived, but it did recall a certain promise he'd made to a fifteen year old girl who thought the world of him. "Yeah. Okay, Casper. Friends."

Had he come here to learn how to control his powers? Maybe. That'd be nice. It wasn't going to happen, but it'd be nice. Why had he come, then? To hide, probably.

There was another voice in his head, getting louder. He'd heard it before. "He's coming. Your friend, the one who was on the ground earlier."

"Friend...? Oh...uh, Mason..." Casper had made [i]two[/i] friends in a day? This had to be a record for him, or...well...it was. "Maybe...maybe we should leave the corridor..." He stood, dusting himself off. "It...it was nice meeting you...Greg. And...thank you." Casper continued, his eyes now on the floor once more.

Greg had to leave. Mason had had a bad day. He didn't need to be around Greg, not now. "Right. I... I should go. Thank you for being... quiet."

Greg rose and shuffled off awkwardly, his stomach growling.

"Y-yeah...bye...Greg..." Casper offered a soft wave before he saw Greg leave. Casper would follow his example and stepped back into his room, sitting down on his bed a second time. His door remained open, but he knew that something good had come of this meeting with Greg...that guy hated himself so much. Well, at least that's the impression Casper got. 

Walking back out into the corridor, he thought that it could be a good idea to resume his previous plan..to speak with Mason...