[hr][center][img]https://i.imgur.com/KzmdUGG.png[/img] [img]https://i.imgur.com/MzIHaGw.png[/img] [img]https://i.imgur.com/C4njhfP.png[/img] [/center] [b][code]Grand Ridge Academy - Conference Room.[/code][/b][hr] 


Everything was going well... they needed a bit more of a "push" to remind them what was at stake here - but Britney knew that perhaps, maybe, she could create one. Then Penny ran her mouth, barraging Claire with so many insults that had to stung. Just because Claire said that she want anything to do with this. Britney bit her fingers - she could ignore Lawson, but Claire couldn't.

"Oooooooh..." Justin knew this was gonna get ugly. Real ugly. You don't just say that kind of thing in a room full of people, and expect there to be zero reaction. Especially when you stab that deep. He didn't know Claire 
like that (he figured she had some problems, but if she kept it to herself, Justin was fine), but given her reaction, Penny may have some merit. On one hand, maybe Penny was right that Claire shouldn't be so reluctant to protect this town. On the [i]other[/i] hand, nobody has to fight any battle that they don't want - or have any stake in. One thing his late grandmother taught him was to pick his battles [i]veeeeery[/i] carefully.

An attribute that neither Claire nor Penny possessed, it seemed. Even though Justin hadn't been very active in this conversation, he knew that, perhaps, he should stop Claire from tearing this girl a new one.

The edge of the table snapped because Claire gripped it so hard - her aura was a bright red color, and smoking. She dropped it to the ground. Each and every one of Penny's words made her mad. [i]Very[/i] mad. It was a quiet rage that boiled up inside of her... and she did nothing for a few moments. Not anything as the fat fuck ran his mouth, and nothing as the stupid foreign girl told Penny to leave.

"Penny, if my voice makes you want to end it all, then motherfuckin' do it already and stop wasting air already!" Claire screamed as she tried to maneuver over to Penny, but was stopped by Justin. She tried clawing her way past him, but he stopped her by grabbing onto her shoulders. The only thing stopping her telekinesis from crushing him was the fact she inherently didn't want to hurt [i]him. [/i]"You are the most pretentious, arrogant-ass, self-righteous little bitch I've ever seen in my entire life! You act like you're some kind of sane-woman in a town full of assholes, yet I don't see you actin' any better than the people you shittalk."

"Claire, she's not worth it." Justin tried to convince her, but she wasn't listening.

"Is it fuckin' [i]cowardice[/i] to only want to be left alone?! Is it cowardice to wanna' live in fuckin' peace while you do whatever asshole crusade?" Eventually, a wave of force knocked Justin away and there were nothing stopping her from tearing at Penny. "Actually, it ain't even a crusade! What good are you doing sittin' here bitchin' about what [i]I'm[/i] while Scott 'strolls around and murders' here? Sounds to me like you just like putting other people down to sound bigger - but yet you're [i]soooooooooooo[/i] small to me."

This was more than enough for Britney. Her heart was pounding, and there was a tightening in her chest. [i]All I'm trying to do is the right thing - why is it so hard?[/i] Britney thought to herself as every sound, every thought, started to seem incredibly loud. Her face rested into her hands - why? Why couldn't they realize that there were things far bigger than their stupid grudges out there? Why couldn't they all just [i]stop[/i] for second.

"Would all of you..." Britney stood up from her slumped position. "... [i][b]fucking[/b] stop!?[/i]"

At this moment, a wave came fourth that made them do just that: stop. The room went completely black - and not because of Martin's abstraction - for just a brief instant. When the light came back, everyone found themselves in a teal-blue colored space - standing on seemingly a transparent platform. Claire looked around, and wondered where the fuck she was even. She looked at her hands, and noticed that she was transparent again and ghost-like again - like that dream.

"Okay, this is getting weirder by the literal moment..." Justin said to himself as he realized he was red and transparent. "Well, I can at least say I prefer this to all that shit going on in that conference room?"