thisavrou_log | I'm going Superpowered! (Closed to andrew detmer)

I'm going Superpowered! (Closed to andrew detmer)

Who: ~~Charlie McGee~~ Leigh Manders and Andrew Detmer
When:A couple days after Charlie's arrival
Where:Beach Planet.
What:Getting ridiculous amounts of Boardwalk food, and typical dumb teen shenanigans.
Warnings: Charlie and Andrew's lives are shit, and they probably swear a lot.

Charlie's not quite settled on the idea of using unlimited access to money, but she's also not down for starving or being bored. Or carrying around the ratty bag she kept all of her belongings in. So with this in mind, Charlie went to the beach again, this time with a plan. Get a bag, get something to keep her entertained while she sorted out the situation she now found herself in, and get some food.

The bag part was easy. She didn't have much in the way of demands that needed to be met in a bag. Just that it was big, durable, and easy to put things in. So she settled on this one. Soon enough, she had a few books in it she'd bought while shopping, and a couple new journals. Outfits she had sent to the ship.

This also met the second part of her plan; find something to entertain herself with.

The third part? This was harder than she'd realized. See, her issue with food is she didn't have enough of it back home. She either didn't eat, or ate just enough to keep her going and now, with all the choices before her, it just took her too long to decide.

Finally, however, she ordered a big plate of nachos and a soda and tried to find somewhere to sit. Backpack over her shoulder, plate and drinks balanced carefully in her hands, she worked her way through the crowd, finally settling down at a small out of the way table. It was in the right place to people watch and that worked for her.

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Andrew usually stayed on the ship when he felt like the majority of the crew was checking out the planet - it usually meant the observation deck was quiet. It was his favorite place to hang out. Today it wasn't, so he decided to check out some more of the planet. He hadn't been as interested as he was the last few times. It was crowded and hot, and with Andrew's refusal to wear short sleeves or any kind of shorts that just made things uncomfortable. But today he decided to force himself off the ship, and hey, he's wearing long shorts and his sleeves almost go halfway up his arm! It really is hot, so he had to compromise or get heat stroke.

When he wanders into a particularly crowded area with his own tray of food - most of which he didn't even know what it was, some kind of array of finger food as he understands it - he instinctively gravitates towards the less crowded areas. That's when he spots ~~Charlie~~ Leigh, and not knowing anyone else in the area or seeing a less crowded place to sit he walks over. His camera is sitting on his tray, balanced by his power though you couldn't tell.

"Hey, uh...mind of I sit?"

Edited 2016-06-07 04:21 (UTC)

Charlie's not about to stop the grin that forms on her face when she spots Andrew. He was one of the first people she met here and one of the nicest, so it's easy to be glad to see him. When he asks if he can sit, she's happy to move her bag off of the chair she'd planted it on, nudging the seat out as she hastily swallowed the bite of food in her mouth.

"Go for it. Good to see you again." Guess what, Andrew? Not at all a lie. Not even a little bit.

Good to see you again. His cheeks turn a slight shade of red though he hides it by looking down as he takes a seat, setting his tray down. Although he's slowly coming to terms with the fact that people actually want to talk to him and hang out with him it's still a surreal experience.

"...Same." If that sounded awkward it's because he feels really fucking awkward now. "So, uh...the food here is kind of weird."

Kill him now.

Charlie did in fact catch the blush, but saying something about it would be dickish and ruin a potential friendship, so Charlie won't be rude. Instead, she latches onto what he says about the food and nods.

"Yeah. I mean, when I got this, I was kind of expecting it to taste like nachos but...it's more like a dessert." And too delicious to not eat. "I'm basically having dessert for dinner because someone handed me unlimited money and left me unsupervised." She kinda finds this amusing.

Andrew's lips pull back into a small smile, almost becoming a laugh but not quiet.

"I thought these things were like, chicken nuggets or something and they're actually some kind of cake." So she is not the only one eating dessert for dinner. "My brain and my tongue are seriously fighting one another right now."

"Huh. Knew I should have gotten those," Charlie replies with a shrug. She looks down at her nacho things, picking up one of the chips for Andrew to see. "This reminds me of these awesome lemony sugar cookies my mom used to make, but they're crispy. And I have no idea what the rest of this is."

She doesn't care, either. It's food. She has an appreciation for food.

"Does this happen often? Getting shoved off onto a planet and told to buy whatever with no spending limit?"

And are there really no strings attached? She wants to ask that, but it felt like it'd lead to too many questiond.

"You can have some of mine. I got a lot." He gives his tray a little nudge towards her.

His lips twitch into the tiniest smile when she mentions her mom, but it's barely there for a fraction of a second, almost as if he tried to force it and failed. He couldn't help but think about all the things his mother would make before she got sick, but the memory is still too much to bear. The loss is far too fresh to think about.

"I wish. I mean, we do make stops often to all these different planets? But this is like, the first one that's actually not so bad." Well, he didn't have a problem with Ceta. He actually thought it was cool once he got over the shock of everything. It's just what was happening on Ceta that was bad. Or at least, people made it into way more big of a deal than it needed to be. "I guess that should make me suspicious but, I don't know."

He shrugs. "I guess if it turns out to suck it turns out to suck."

Andrew was far too confident in his ability to keep himself out of danger for his own good.

And that was another thing that Charlie caught. That sad smile that wasn't. She had a few of her own, and for similar reasons. Her mother's murder which she blames herself for. Her father's death. Something had to have happened with the Manders after she left and whatever it was, Charlie was to blame.

All of those people were reasons for smiles that due before they even fully form.

So Charlie once again latches onto something that isn't her own bad thoughts, nudging her plate to the center of the table. They're sharing. She can't eat all of that and Andrew is her friend.

...right?

"I tend to be suspicious of 'do this big thing no strings attached' gestures. This kinda seems like one of them."

If she's going to be somewhat honest.

"What happened on Ceta?"

Andrew shrugs lightly. "Yeah, me too."

But like he said, if it turns out to suck it turns out to suck. If anyone tried to hurt him or do anything to him he's sure he could take care of them himself.

Thinking back on Ceta, Andrew rolls his eyes.

"It was stupid. There were these awesome flying whales, right? Like, the whole planet was basically just a bunch of floating islands. Anyway there were these hunters that hunted the whales because like, that's how they made their living and survived and stuff. And people just...didn't like that. And everything was made into way bigger of a deal than it needed to be. I didn't get involved so I don't know exactly what happened. I was new at the time anyway so I didn't really care."

The whales were awesome, and he's leaving out the fact (unintentionally so, since it doesn't matter to him) that said whales also were sentient, but the weaker species were dying off and that's the way it should be anyhow.

Charlie leans forward some when he mentions flying whales ad floating islands. Oh, that sounds super cool. So very neat, except for the hunters. That seems to irk her some, nose wrinkling in frustration, but she listens. One elbow rests on the table by this point, Andrew having Charlie's full attention entirely. She's not paying attention to where she has her food, though, not aware that her glass of soda is right behind her elbow.

Drama seems par for the course around here, though, so hearing people seemed to have gotten a bit bent out of shape doesn't surprise her.

So she leans back, opening her mouth to say something, but her elbow has caught her glass, sending it to the ground.

There's no hesitation in the way she moves, hand reaching out to the glass, but not actually grabbing it to stop it. Oh, sure. It stops about six inches from the ground, but Charlie isn't touching it at all. It's sort of hovering in the air and Charlie's watching Andrew out of the corner of her eye, wary and worried.

There's no covering this up.

"No freaking out?" Please do not.

There are some details Andrew is leaving out about the whole Ceta thing, but he either doesn't think them to be important or he wasn't paying enough attention to them to begin with. It doesn't really matter to him.

When the glass falls he was actually prepared to stop it himself, barely able to apply any "force" in time when he realizes what's going. He trails off of his explanation, eyes on the hover glass, mouth slightly hung open leaving whatever word he had been on unfinished. His gaze slowly moves to Charlie when she speaks. He hadn't expected that from her. Then again, people around here don't seem as dependent on their powers as he is. She must come from someplace where she has to hide it, judging by her reaction. Andrew's bad with words and reassurance, so instead he leans to the side of the table a little, arm outstretched and palm out. He uses enough force to try and wrest (carefully) the glass from her "grip" and pull it back on to the table. His way of saying, "it's okay, me too" or something.

Somehow, it's reassuring when Andrew tries to take the glass. She can feel that subtle tug and looks at him, a smile on her face. One that looks at peace with what just happened. So, she lets him have the glass, easing her telekinetic grip away.

She looks hesitant, running her fingers through her hair with a thoughtful look on her face.

"That's...not really all." But she's still hesitating and that most likely confirms what Andrew thinks about her having to hide things.

All he does is let the glass float back on to the table, nudging it towards the center so it's no longer near the edge. He's actually...really glad. He likes hanging out with Charlie and having this common ground makes him feel less nervous talking to her. Not completely, but less so.

"I come from a place where I had to hide it too. But like, a lot of people do all sorts of different things here. And people who are like...us, I guess."

That's...his drawn out way of saying "go on".

It shouldn't surprise her that he wants to see more, but it does. And it kinda makes her pause, looking around with a practiced glance. She's used to making sure she's safe, just by glancing around as subtly as possible. But this is a whole new world for her. Someone wants to see what she can do, because they're like her.

This is a lot for her to take in.

She looks at Andrew, though, smiling some. She's not getting any 'dangerous situation' pings, so maybe for once this is really okay.

Just...paranoia is controlling what she says so, after another look around, she looks at Andrew again, almost apologizing.

"Not here? I don't really like crowds."

"Oh, yeah, sure. Me neither."

He doesn't seem bothered by it. He understands the dislike of crowds. Even when he's with someone else he still feels the overbearing-ness of being surrounded by so many people. Most of the time he doesn't do anything about it but when he gets a chance to he will take an out if he can.

"We can go down the beach, if you want. Where there's less people."

It's really the only place he can think of where there won't be many people, honestly.

That's when Charlie light up some, her smile turning into a grin. The beach was a good idea. Probably the best one she's heard all day.

"Okay. Yeah. That's a great idea. There's kind of something I've been wanting to try, anyway."

So she stands, picking up her bag and pulling it over her shoulder and picking up her food. It was already on a to-go plate, why not?

She waits for him and then starts leading the way through the lighter part of the crowd, turning to talk to him again once they were through enough of the crowd where it felt safe enough to speak.

"So, I'm guessing you know what pyrokinesis is." If so, it'll make things a lot easier.

Andrew's food came in these seal-able containers anyway, so with a wave of his hand it closes and he picks it up, grabbing his camera with his free hand as he follows her. He usually didn't let it float freely in crowded places, always used to people grabbing and trying to mess with him. Stuff like that hasn't been happening here, but years of it is enough for his own paranoia to stick with him.

"Uh...something to do with fire, right?"

"It's the ability to create and control fire with a thought." To put it simply. Charlie is sure there are more scientific terms to put it in. She's also sure she doesn't give a flying fuck what those terms are.

"That's what I can do. Since as long as I can remember."

She definitely looks briefly bothered by this admission, but then her usual expression of wariness. When they hit the edge of the beach, she takes a minute to take her shoes off, shoving them into her backpack to go barefoot in the sand.

"It can get big. And for the longest time, I couldn't control it for shit. I mean, picture it. Some two month old baby, losing her shit because she's hungry or wet or just not in a good mood, suddenly the teddy bear is on fire."

That was Charlies life.

Edited 2016-06-16 13:41 (UTC)

Andrew's eyes had been on his feet as he walked, hands in his pockets once they reach the edge of the beach so he could allow his camera and container of food to float freely.

Eventually he glances at her from the corner of his eyes.

"That...sounds dangerous." But he realizes how that might sound to someone who barely admitted this in the first place, so he quickly adds, "but cool."

"Not...not the setting teddy bears on fire part..."

Right, time for him to shut the hell up.

"Yeah. It kinda was. Is? I don't really know how to put it. Just that it uh...got me years of unwanted attention before I got it under control." And boy, did she ever let the people who made her life Hell have it. But she doesn't want to think about that. That's awkward and uncomfortable and not why she wanted to go to the beach.

She watches the camera and the food float, tilting her head with some concern at the camera, but she doesn't say anything. Maybe just saying it got her unwanted attention will be enough to be careful with when he plays whatever he's recording.

"I've burnt toast, started fires in a fireplace and blew cinder block to bits. But, I've never melted sand and after reading the melting point, I want to give it a shot. If you're interested in seeing this, I mean."

"Oh."

He's curious what 'unwanted attention' means but he'll leave it alone for now. He understands - maybe not in the same way, but he definitely gets unwanted attention. He catches that reaction to the camera and makes it a point to allow it to record the waves along the beach instead. The plus side to being quiet is that he's used to observing things about his surroundings, and other people.

"Oh, yeah, totally." He means it too. It'll be awesome. "Uh, like, just so you know..." he gestures to the camera, "I'm literally the only one that looks at the recordings? I mean I might show some people stuff, rarely, but like...only stuff like the flying whales or...things like that."

He's basically trying to say that anything sensitive or private won't be shown to anyone.

Oh, at this rate, she'll tell him soon enough. For now, she's going to look surprised that he's actually turning the camera away. This is, very obviously, brand new territory for her. And just as obviously, it's appreciated. She visibly relaxes, all camera-related anxiety and stress just fading completely as she tries to figure out how to even react to something like that. It's kind of a big deal for her.

After a moment of silence where she just looks shocked and happy, she finally looks at Andrew and speaks.

"Thank you. I appreciate that, very much." Message received. She trusts him to keep his word, here. "I'd love to see the flying whales sometime. If you're okay with that."

She obviously values privacy and that's something he can understand. He's glad she didn't react hostile like he's accustomed too. At the same time the shock and happy look on her face throws him off so he looks away again, finding that avoiding eye contact is easier.

"Yeah. Yeah, sure. I have like, 30 minutes of whale watching on video." Which includes him and an alien being nerds about it. He may...be too embarrassed to show her that part.

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