Staring at Whitney blankly, Aiden blinked twice as he tried to process what she had just said. Everything in the last few minutes had happened so quickly it had given Aiden little time to fully process exactly what had transpired over the last couple moments. But Aiden was far more inclined to believe in divine intervention than he was to somehow swallow that he, Aiden Roth had manipulated electricity. Reaching out a sturdy arm, Aiden helped guide the trembling girl to a window ledge as Whitney stated her need to sit down. Rubbing his forehead, Aiden ran a frustrated hand through his hair as Chester finally broke the few moments of silence.

"Y'know." He began, looking from Aiden to Whitney and then back to Aiden again. "It's not impossible that you stimulated the latent static in the air to create an electromagnetic charge. Although how you would have done so escapes me." Chester said as his voice trailed off into a mutter. Perhaps it was because he had read one too many comic books, or perhaps it was because Chester was comfortable with massive leaps in logic that the next few sentences came out of his mouth.

"I think this has to do with why the two of you are the only survivors from last night. There's something different about each of you, and while I've only known you both for a day, I can't say for certain if this is the first time that anything like this has happened. Entertaining the idea that it is, there's two possibilities. One, the two of you have some sort of symbiotic relationship where proximity to the other brings out the potential in each other. Two, whatever drug or toxin the punch was spiked with, reacted with your latent genetic potential, bringing forth something new neither of you expected." Chester stated waiting a moment for Aiden to catch up.

"I can say for certain, that nothing like this has ever happened to me. But since waking up this morning, I've felt different. I've felt like metal is drawn to my hand, like I'm constantly buzzing and a strange tingly sensation has been washing over me all day. Especially when I'm close to Whitney." Aiden added as he slowly processed Chester's words and began to formulate his own thoughts.

Opening his mouth to reply, Chester's jaw hung in the air for a split second as he paused at Aiden's final statement before shaking his head.

"I'm going to ignore that last part, but the rest does sound interesting." Chester replied before turning his full attention to Whitney. "What about you, anything different, anything really out of the ordinary since you woke up?"

"Hmmm." Chester was the first to break the silence as he looked down at Whitney's feet, scratching his chin as he did so. "I would have expected your abilities to be more... related. This is a surprise." He continued pushing his wheelchair back slightly as he addressed the pair again. "It would seem where Aiden has the potential to manipulate electromagnetic energy, you are able to at the very least manipulate the growth patterns in flora. Although I very much doubt we've come even close to seeing the limitations of either of your abilities today." Chester stated flourishing his arms slightly as he grinned from ear to ear.

"Literally the wallflower and the man with the magnetic personality." Chester said as he looked from Whitney to Aiden. "I think we should approach this with a scientific method. Y'know experiment with what the two of you can really do. As great as electric pulses and big flowers are, I think you too could really make use of these abilities." Chester rubbed his hands together with anticipation. "Why don't we meet by the bleachers on the football field tonight? Say... midnight?" He asked, his eyes rolling back as he tried to remember what time it would be dark at. By midnight he was sure the only places visible would be those with artificial light. Meaning Aiden and Whitney could safely practice their abilities with no one seeing them.

"Yeah, I... uh." Aiden started, rubbing the back of his head. This was all happening so fast. Would it affect his football career, what would his parents think? What would the church think back home? "Y'know what," He continued. "Screw it." He said with a wide smile of his own as he put out a hand. "I'm in."

Putting his own hand overtop of Aiden's, Chester looked to Whitney as Aiden followed suit.

"So what say you Miss Carter? Are you in?"

Aiden watched as Chester practically danced in his wheelchair. The roommate was actually down right giddy about the prospect of training Aiden and Whitney in the use of their new abilities. While Aiden had to appreciate his new friend's enthusiasm, there was something odd about just how eager and accepting Chester was being. Perhaps the wheelchair bound sophomore needed something refreshing in his world, something new to believe. Or perhaps, Aiden realized in a rare moment of self-reflection, perhaps Chester was after something.

"I'm going to head back to our room, see if I can't figure out the best way to test your abilities." Chester said, "If you end up swinging by just try not to startle me this time." He said to Aiden before waving goodbye to Whitney. Watching Chester leave, Aiden turned towards Whitney, his mind racing as he spoke lowly.

"Chester's a little too excited isn't he?" He asked before remembering back to the Doctor at the hospital. "And the doctor asked to run additional tests on my blood, did he ask you that? Do you think whatever has happened to us is visible in a blood sample?" Aiden began to pace, his own worries hyping up his movements. His hands beginning to crackle as blue sparks danced across his fingers. Realizing what was happening, Aiden began to panic more as he waved his hands around trying to diminish the sparks. Deciding his best bet would be to simply hide his hands, Aiden quickly crossed his arms as he slid his hands into his armpits, flashes of blue still illuminating the wall behind him as he tried to lean casually against it.

"And then there's the powers themselves to worry about." Aiden muttered angrily. "What if I zap with with however many volts and you die out there tonight?" He asked. "I couldn't live with myself and well, you'd be dead."

Aiden hadn't even considered the government. They were kind of a precedent of some sort, at least so he would have assumed. Perhaps there were others out there like them. Silenced by the powers at be or locked away in underground facilities where needles were injected into them on a daily basis in order to better understand where their strange abilities come from. Gripping his fists tighter, Aiden took a deep breath as Whitney instructed him to feeling the electricity between his fingers fad as he began to relax slightly.

"Alright, well let's hope that Chester knows what he's doing." Aiden said as he nodded in agreement with Whitney's statements. "I would also like to know how this all happened. And what exactly is going to continue happening. Exploring what we can do may not be the worst idea I suppose." Pausing as he looked down at his clothes from the night before and then over to Whitney's shorts and tourist shirt covering the bikini top, it suddenly dawned on Aiden that the pair had yet to properly clean up.

A growl from his stomach broke the moment of silence.

Or eat, he noted to himself as he rolled his eyes in a rare moment of embarassment.

"So," He started sheepishly. "I'm hungry, if you're interested I heard about this brunch buffet just off campus. We could split up to clean up and then meet up again?" Aiden suggested. "I mean, if you want to that is."

She said yes, she said YES!

Aiden could have done a happy dance on the spot as Whitney accepted his invitation to brunch. Perhaps it wasn't specifically mentioned as being a date, but it was two people going out and so the implications were there. Either way, he hadn't exactly had the opportunity to have much alone time with the attractive girl in front of him thanks to Chester so this would go a long way towards determining if there was anything between the two of them.

"If you just want to meet me out by the school's front entrance, I can drive us over." Aiden replied as Whitney asked where he'd like to meet up. "Would rather avoid the train again." Aiden stated, his cheeks flushing slightly as he did. "So an hour or so?" Aiden asked, his hand waving in the air as he tried to get a read on how long Whitney took to get ready. His excitement was barely contained as he spoke, taking his rough estimate and running with it as he reached for the door handle behind him, only to miss and run flat into the door.

"Heh." He chuckled sheepishly before pulling the door open. "I'll see you outside in a bit!" Aiden called as he headed towards his dorm.

Practically running down the hallway, Aiden tossed the door open only to quickly catch it as he realized that Chester had gone to bed. Tiptoing to his side of the room, the young man began to rummage through his still packed bags until he found something that said 'I put effort into this, but I'm not trying too hard.' Grabbing his clothes and toiletries, Aiden backed out of the room and quickly made a beeline for the bathroom.

Entering his the shower stall, he felt the warm water begin to wash over him and the tension and stress of the confrontation with his fellow students began to wash away. For a split second, he paused realizing that his new found abilities and water couldn't possibly mix, but nothing foul appeared to be happening. Closing his eyes, Aiden ran his hands through his hair, leaning back further into the shower as he reached for the dial to increase the temperature.

Suddenly a hand was over his mouth and Aiden's eyes shot open to see a larger male's face nearly pressed against his.

"'Sup, freshman?" He grinned wickedly as another male entered the shower. "Heard you got a little uppity last night, think it's time we reminded you where you sit on the totem pole around here."

Aiden's muffled words were incomprehensible as he tried to struggle, but the other males held on tight as a third joined them, around his crotch was a cod piece with a large black phallus attached to it. Aiden's eyes widened in sickened horror as he tried to comprehend what exactly this was supposed to teach him. These students were little more than wild animals, but Aiden knew how to deal with animals. Digging his hands into his captors, Aiden coiled his body, raising his knees to his chest before lashing out with both feet as he sent the would be rapist stumbling backwards out of the stall. His captors were thrown off balance, and Aiden used that to his advantage, pulling the men to the ground as he wrapped his legs around the skull of the second attacker before delivering a freed elbow to the face of the first.

Blood mixed with water as the nose broke on contact allowing Aiden to scramble free. His hands had begun to tingle and there was no way that was going to end well for either of the three.

"You can tell Quinton, that if he wants a rematch, come in person next time." Aiden managed to gasp, his drawl hanging onto every word.

"You broke my fuckin' nose, man."

"You deserve worse." Aiden replied as he turned to leave.

"We weren't really going to do it, it was just a joke to scare you."

"Hilarious." Came the other teen's reply. "Next time you plan a joke, try it out on a friend first." With that, Aiden left the room as he headed back to the dorm.

---

Having calmed down slightly from his encounter in the shower, Aiden made his way across the parking lot to the red Camaro. Thankfully it was untarnished, obviously word had not gotten around that it was his. Climbing into the driver's seat, Aiden ignited the car before putting it in gear and gently guiding it out of its parking spot and towards the front door. Putting the vehicle into idle, Aiden rolled down the window as he looked around for Whitney.

Catching a glimpse of the girl, Aiden called out to her as he waved to get her attention.

"Hey Whitney! Over here!"

Whitney looked good, she smelled good and Aiden had to forcibly stop himself from staring. He wanted to pinch himself in disbelief, a girl as good looking as Whitney had agree to go out for a meal with him. Brunch even, there's no way that this wasn't a date.

Was there?

Snapping back to reality, Aiden realized that Whitney had asked him a question.

"Uh, it's a chain from back home. 'Mimaw's'" Aiden said with a wave of his hand. "The name is pretty non-descrip, but they serve a wicked all day breakfast. Lots of selection, but most importantly, unlimited bacon." Aiden added with a smirk as he guided the car out onto the road and left the school behind them. Silence filled the car for a few moments before Aiden decided to break it by playing with the radio. Flipping through a few channels, he finally found one he liked when the mournful chords of 'The Man Who Sold The World' came through the speakers.

"Nirvana fan at all?" Aiden asked, looking towards Whitney curiously while maintaining watch of the road. "I love their music, but I can't believe their own fame is what brought on Kurt's death. I can't imagine hating your own success so much that it ultimately destroys you."

"But I suppose, if it wasn't for that, we'd have never gotten the Foo Fighters." Aiden added with a slight chuckle as he tried to lighten the mood from the aforementioned somber sentiment. Pulling off the freeway, Aiden followed his GPS until it led them to the small diner. Parking the car, Aiden quickly skirted out of the driver's seat as he made his way around to the passenger side and opened the door for Whitney. Allowing her to go first, Aiden matched her pace, pausing only to open the door for her as the two came to the hostess' booth.

"Table for two?" She asked as Aiden nodded.

"Yes please, preferably a booth if you can Ma'am."

"Oh hun, I'm not old enough to be a Ma'am yet." The hostess said with a flush of her cheeks. "But I'll see what I can do about that booth for you." She paused looking back at the pair. "You two make such a cute couple."

Aiden felt his cheeks burn slightly, denying himself the privilege of looking to see if Whitney was as red as he felt. As the two were seated, Aiden quickly picked up his menu and hid behind it before the realization they had come for the buffet dawned on him. Putting the menu down, he rubbed the back of his head sheepishly.

"I'm ready to go up whenever you are."

Making his way around the buffet, Aiden felt his stomach growl at each new smell that wafted in front of him. The pleasant aroma of french toast, eggs, bacon, sausage, ham and numerous other breakfast foods was almost overwhelming as he continued to fill his plate with more than he could possibly eat. Returning to the table, Aiden noticed a cup of coffee awaiting him as he raised a slight eyebrow. It wasn't that he didn't enjoy coffee, it was that he was in turn a bit of a snob when it came to coffee. The smell of the dark beverage alerted him to the fact it was a medium roast, brewed for the average consumer. Aiden had to stop his nose from wrinkling, he valued taste above all else and medium and light roasts simply paled in comparison to a dark roast in terms of flavour. However, he didn't want to offend Whitney and so as he placed his plate on the table, he reached for the mug, taking a delicate sip of the beverage and swallowed slowly.

"Coffee's good here." He lied as he made a face of enjoyment before putting the mug down. "You should go get some food, you didn't have to wait for me to return." He said with a smile. "There's a lot of selection up there, and a whole lot of bacon. They've even got Canadian Bacon if you're into that stuff. It's too much like ham for me personally. Fruit too for the lighter appetites." He stated as he began to pour syrup onto a couple pieces of french toast and a Belgium waffle already doused in a combination of whipped cream and strawberry sauce.

As Whitney made her way towards the buffet, Aiden studied her slowly. She seemed almost off, as though coming here with him had been a mistake. Or perhaps he was laying on the whole date act a little too heavy. Maybe she was just looking for a friend and not a boyfriend. He did already know that Whitney had her life planned out, perhaps something like this was too much of an uncontrolled variable for her?

Naw, she can't be that much of a control freak.

He chuckled to himself as he loaded his fork full of hashbrowns, spooning the seasoned potatoes into his mouth before looking up and noticing Whitney's return. Wiping his face quickly with a nearby napkin, Aiden sat back and took another swig of the coffee, for a second forgetting it wasn't exactly to his liking as the tasteless brew hit his tongue.

"So, if Nirvana's just 'alright'" He said making air quotes, "What type of music does Whitney Carter actually enjoy?" Aiden asked leaning back in his chair as he studied the blonde in front of him. He had never met anyone who was both as confident as Whitney and yet seemingly wanting to disappear against the wall. She had a quiet air of mystery about her, and maybe that's what he was infatuated with, the idea of her. Perhaps she thought similar about him, but Aiden wasn't about to get his hopes up.

Maybe she's Mormon, magic underwear and all.

The thought was both entertaining and discouraging as Aiden pushed it from his head, turning his attention to Whitney as she answered his question.