[h2] [color=662d91]Tobias Rivenridge[/color] and [color=007236]Stella Herbalem[/color]

In the Gym to the Parking Lot[/h2]

The details of the assembly seemed to roll right past Tobias. It was a sickening experience, certainly, but it all seemed a blur. Too many things were sprinting through his head, and knowing beforehand what had happened because of Stella made clinging onto the words unnecessary. Trackless questions passed through his brain, each one answered only producing further questions, until suddenly a great wave of force tore his mind from its wanderings. Without any warning at all, the gym was in chaos. Students transformed and shifted in appearance, strange phenomena occurred at will, and the elements of the world burst into a frenzy in waves, all amid screams and shouts. Discord reined in Northwood, that minute.

It was only after the deluge that Tobias realized it. Buzzing, tingling sensations began to run up and down his limbs, each of them more intense than the last. At first, he disregarded them; the sensations were a typical, albeit annoying, consistency of his power. But as they started to grow in number and magnitude, his mind put the pieces together and his heart skipped a beat. He looked down toward the bleachers he sat on as his face blanched, then turned toward Stella as she looked to him. As the air around him crackled and snapped beyond his command, the only thing he truly saw was her, sitting atop a metal structure, soaking wet, and no more than a foot away from what was about to become a living lightning strike. The personal horror behind the thoughts that followed galvanized him into action, and fast as he was able Tobias was hurling himself toward the edge of the bleachers. His body, he knew, could only contain a certain amount of electricity before it began to automatically discharge itself. Had he been in full control of it, he could have known precisely how long he had before then. But now, with some unknown factor multiplying the charge, how much time, how many precious seconds did he have before he unwillingly put hundreds of teenagers to the electric chair? How long did he have to stop himself from killing the young woman he...!

[color=662d91][i]NO![/i][/color] he screamed internally as he kept moving, [color=662d91][i]Don't think about it, focus! You need to get off this conductive bench, isolate yourself, then redirect the discharge so it doesn't hit anything! MOVE![/i][/color]

The charge was building even faster than before. He felt it, down to his very bones. With almost no bleacher left he took the rest of it at a leap, flying over the edge and down to the floor below. The hard landing forced him to tuck and roll, and no sooner had he finished than he felt the lightning start to burst from him. He forgot the pain of the landing, he dismissed the questions he'd had about the school, and he outright ignored the unfamiliar voice trying to make itself heard for the time being; the only thing he was concerned about, the only thing he even thought about, was keeping the crackling bolts that flew off him by the second away from anywhere they might cause harm. It was nothing short of a herculean task. For all the electricity he was getting rid of, it just kept building, faster and faster. And with each new surge, it became harder to limit and control. He needed to let all of it out at once if he wanted to stabilize himself, but where could he possibly fire it? His eyes looked around, not finding anything feasible... until he noticed the nearby doors were open. And just outside of them, in the middle of an appropriately grey sky, stood the school flagpole. 

[color=662d91][i]Perfect.[/i][/color]

[color=662d91]"AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!"[/color] he yelled as he willed all of his power into his right arm and flung it outward toward the flagpole, letting all of the lightning erupt from his palm. A blinding flash engulfed the gym as the bolt streaked out the doors and into the tall metal pole, and a few seconds later it was done. The pulses were no greater than they ought to be, there were no more arcs coming off of him, and he could finally rest. The little voice came back again; she called herself Amy Snow, and she had a lot to say to him. Having little other choice, he listened. Some of what she said, he had guessed. Most of it, he had not. But all the same, he listened very carefully- she'd transcended death to tell people what she knew, so it was not to be taken likely. After Amy had faded away, Stella had reached him. And after a short discussion, a touch of reassurance on both sides, and a quiet little symbol of growing affection, she was lying in his arms again.

By that point, Mrs Sandiford was asking everyone to make their way to the parking lot. A few students started to shuffle toward the doors, and more began to slowly follow suit. Tobias stayed where he was. For the moment, he had a lot on his mind; his spine still shivered every time he thought about how close he’d come to harming hundreds of people, how close he’d come to [i]killing[/i] Stella. The very idea made him hold her tighter, as though he wanted to be sure it was really her and not a ghost. But even aside from that, there was the warning Amy Snow had sent to him. What on earth did the architecture of the school have to do with anything that had been happening? 

A finger tapping on his shoulder tore him away from his thinking. It was Mrs Symmins, the Art & Design teacher, holding the bag he’d left in the classroom when the assembly had been called. She left it near him and gestured toward the door, indicating the two of them ought to head for the parking lot as soon as they could. Tobias nodded his thanks and turned his attention back to the adorable blonde botanist nestled in his lap.

[color=662d91]“Stella? You feeling alright to move?”[/color]

Stella looked up at Tobias and nodded. [color=007236]“If you’ll let me, that is,”[/color] she said. He was holding her pretty tight at the moment. 

[color=662d91]“Oh!”[/color] he responded in surprise at himself. He’d completely forgotten about that in his mental wanderings. [color=662d91]“Right, sorry ‘bout that.”[/color] he said as he released her, [color=662d91]“Just… thinking about some things. How I nearly electrocuted people. You, more specifically.”[/color] This time it was his cheeks that flushed red.

Stella reached up and gently touched his cheek. [color=007236]“But you didn’t. However, didn’t help that the pipes burst… I gotta ask however. Did she tell you something as well? Amy Snow?”[/color] Stella asked, looking a bit lost in thought herself. [color=007236]“I think she told everyone something. Or at least most of us.”[/color] She frowned a bit as she said that. 

[color=662d91]“Yeah, she did.”[/color] he replied, [color=662d91]“Something about how the school is a lot older than it’s supposed to be. Called attention to the architecture, how it looks way too gothic for being established in modern times. How that connects to anything else is something I’m not sure about.”[/color] By then the two were getting up off the floor. [color=662d91]“What’d she tell you?”[/color]

[color=007236]“There are books in the school library that an american school library should not have normally. She said it was only logical that we should not have these books, but I wouldn’t really know. However, I guess it doesn’t really matter right now, since we are evacuating,”[/color] Stella said, looking around the now almost empty gymnasium. Her frown seemed to get a bit deeper at that moment, and then she shook her head, like she was ridding herself of an unwanted thought. [color=007236]“We should join them all outside,”[/color] she said. 

[color=662d91]“I can agree with that.”[/color] 

After he stooped down to grab his bag and slung it over his shoulder, he wrapped his arm around Stella again and they walked out to the parking lot together. Standiford was issuing the order to group up in vehicles and head into town right as they got there. Something bothered Tobias as he looked around at the assembly, as though something- or someone- was missing, but he couldn’t quite place it. Calling himself away from that, he figured there were other problems to be solved.

[color=662d91]“Well…”[/color] he began, [color=662d91]“I don’t have a car, and I’m guessing you probably don’t either. Bus it is, then?”[/color]

[color=007236]“I don’t know what age the driving limit is in England, but yes, I don’t have a car,”[/color] Stella said, with a small giggle. However, her attention was diverted by one of the students marching up to Mrs. Standiford. [color=007236]“Zaylin?”[/color]

Tobias’ head snapped around to see commotion as one of the students descended in front of the principle in a whirl of fire and air. Heated words flew from her mouth, words Tobias suspected many of the students were thinking but lacked the courage to say. 

“And I believe you owe all of us an explanation.”

[color=662d91]“Stella…”[/color] Tobias said rather pointedly, [color=662d91]“I think it’d be better if you stayed behind me for a bit. Things could get ugly out here…”[/color] With so many students, almost all of whom possessed some form of power or ability, and the potential for frustration and anger rapidly increasing, it was better to be safe…

Stella looked up at Tobias and stayed right at his side. [color=007236]“I’m staying right next to you. If they do get ugly, I want to protect you too,”[/color] she said, and smiled at him. [color=007236]“Besides, I gotta get up to being by your side, right?”[/color]

His eyes widened in surprise at first. Who knew Stella had that kind of confidence? But, then, what was life without a few surprises, he reasoned, as he smiled and nodded back at her. [color=662d91]“Alright. Let’s see where this goes, then…”[/color] And with that, the two of them turned back toward the crowd to hear what the principle had to say.