A Gifted Pair of Hearts (Lance O_0 here)

[elphy_and_fiyero]

As Lance came at her, her arms lit on fire and she crossed them making an X. The impact, although, still affected her. She almost fell over but still she caught herself. Ember closed her eyes and focused all her energy on one spot. A giant fire spiral formed in front of her. She opened her eyes, now burning with fire, and the spiral shot straight at him.
 

[Lance789]

Oh s**t!!! was the only thing flashing in his mind at that very intsant. He hadn't expected her to generate such a pattern with flames and have the ability to shoot it at him at the same time. Lance tried to side step it, but he was still caught by the flame as his robes were shard mainly in the left shoulder region. He rolled, bracing him self to charge her again as he half-patted the flames away. He rushed her, not directly this time, but ran around her at amazing speeds, tracking her person with his eyes for an opening.  

[elphy_and_fiyero]

Ember watched as he began to run around her. It was making her dizzy but she had to concentrate. The wind from his running blew her hair in all sorts of directions. Ember threw fireballs at where she thought he would run but missed almost every time. Not being able to catch him was making her furious and annoyed. Ember closed her eyes and, once again, concentrated her energy on one spot of her body. Anger filled every inch of her well being. Finally, she released that energy as she screamed at the top of her lungs. Fire blew out in all sorts of directions.
 

[Lance789]

Lance had expected her to do such a thing, he ran himself out of ranges, skidding to a complete stop just outside the dome of flame which sped toward him. Even though her maximum burst was only twenty feet, the sheer heat from it irritated his body and singed his clothing. He actually had to back away from more till he was against the wall, just far enough to stand the heat without the heat burning him too much. Damn she can flame, he thought, kneeling down to wait for the flames to self extinguish. It took several minutes for the proctor to activate the fare system, showering the LAN with water. Lance assumed that the proctor had high hope that he would burn and relieve the school of his own presence. He glanced up at the control room with a scowl on his face, holding a stiff middle finger.

Most of the flames died out now and the fire system was shut off. Lance had remained in his squatting position, starring at her with dislike, contemplating how to come at her. He had a feeling that her heat could be generated from within her and knew even though her power was all but new to her, that she would also be able to maintain that inner heat, this would mean that she could possibly generate flames even under water. Lance stood after calibrating what possible outcomes would be fall him if he rushed her again without using his dark abilities. He couldn't use them without the intent to kill, with out that will, he couldn't summon it. He sighed then and stood, walked calmly to stand before, raised his hand, and slapped her with his right palm. "Pathetic... Just plain pathetic." He said even though she began to become outraged. "You are beyond sloppy and you don't have the slightest idea how to control you own abilities, let alone yourself. There's no possible way i can be expected to train a snot nose barbie brat like you to be controlling like me... I might as well give up now and go to bed. The whole purpose of this exercise was to see what all you know and can do, but it is clear to me now that if i spend another minute trying to teach a crab like you, you'll end up killing yourself and i'd have my brain scrambled by Mrs. Fulton." Lance turned to leave LAN but stopped before the door before he exited. "We've been in here only thirty seconds and i can tell all ready you are a wash out failure. Do what you will... Curfew is at nine thirty. I do hope you are very... VERY late..." Lance exited the room, walking down the hall and stopped, holding his arms before him. That wench burned me... He scowled at his own arms before heading to they're bed chamber.  

[elphy_and_fiyero]

Steam rose from Ember's body. Every inch burned as it was soaked. But that wasn't the worst of it. He had slapped her. Again. How many times was he going to do that. She glared at him as he walked out of the room. Her cheek seemed to burn more than the rest of her body since the pain was from the water and from the slap Lance had placed upon her.

Rage filled her body as he had walked out of the LAN. If it was up to Ember, Lance would have been dead before the sun went down. Ember began to walk out of the LAN. Each step harder than the first. She didn't have enough strength to dry herself off.

Ember walked in the halls and tried to find somebody. "Excuse me?" She asked someone a maid. "Could I have a towel please?" She asked. The maid watched as steam rose off her body. "I'm allergic to water and this is how I 'break out.' At least I think that's why I steam like this." The maid smiled and handed her a towel. Ember thanked her and walked back to her room. She dried herself off as much as she could. With the towel, she wiped off her arms and legs and scrubbed her hair. Another maid passed by and Ember handed her the towel. Since her hair was still wet, her head still steamed. When she stopped at the door to her new room, she slammed it open and glared at Lance.

"You have some nerve hitting me again. Just because I burned you doesn't mean I'm a failure. It doesn't mean that I needed slapping. You think I need training? YOU need training." She slammed the door and walked in the room. "You need to learn how to treat people. Do you know why people don't like you at all? It's because you treat everyone like dirt. You think you're some big hot shot who's better than everyone else. Well news flash, genius, you're not. You think your arms are bad? Slap me again, and your whole body is going to feel like your arms do now. Screw what Mrs. Fulton says. If I must, I WILL cause you pain and I'm sure you will gladly to the same to me." Ember began to pace back and forth, habit she had done for years when she got angry at a person.

"I'd bet it make you the happiest guy in the world. But if we're going to 'train'" Ember put her fingers in the air and formed quotation marks to add affect. "together, we need to change our attitudes. You ate me. I hate you. We got that. If you won't slap me, I won't burn you. It will be hard but I won't if you won't. You slap me. I burn you. Got it." Ember stopped pacing and folded her arms. "But, you are highly against the whole working together thing. That I can tell. You don't really have very good social skills. Since, you hate my guts so bad you can do us both a favor. Kill me. Tell Mrs. Fulton I ran away." Ember stood there and waited what he would do. No doubt it wouldn't be good.

 

[Lance789]

Lance stood from the comfortable couch, walking to her, his cold expression darkening with every step, his eyes no longer a cold grey, but an eerie yellow. He came to stop just barely of her person, standing less than inches from her as he gazed hatefully into her eyes with his fists clenched at his side. HE didn't care if Mrs. Fulton or another staff member came bustling through the door, he didn't care if he would be caught, but he wasn't about to let this girl standing before him, talk him down as if he is some mere mutant like she.

He breathed slow, cognitively letting go of the control he held over his powers, starring into her eyes as the light streaming into the room from the setting soon faded quickly, the windows appearing completely black in color. Lance's breathing became more ragged and could plainly see the same was happening to her. Breathing became rapidly difficult as the lights in the room flickered on and off until they were completely black in color. It was at this point to which Lance could no longer see the girl before him, just as the sounds of the tormented reached their ears.

The sound alone tore physically at their bodies, the two of them feeling the muscles of their bodies being ripped from them, the pain causing him to fall to one knee, and although no thoughts penetrated the suffocating aroma the feeling of having one's life pulled from him, he wouldn't be able to hear her equally harsh cries, nor would he hear her collapse to the floor.

Another moment had passed since the darkness had engulfed them, and it took a while for the both of them to realize that the sun was streaming through the windows once again. Lance lay there until his body was almost half out of a state of fit. He was staring into Ember's wide eyes, now seeing that she fell just in front of him. "Now do you understand?" He said, more as a fact than a question. "Do not ever question me again." He rolled over, still too weak to stand, but wanted her to see his back to show his up most disapproval.  

[elphy_and_fiyero]

Never in her life had Ember felt so weak. It took several minutes for her to realize what had actually happened. Her breathing was heavy and her body was weak. Lance turned his back to her but she stayed in her spot. "So what?" She asked. "Big deal. Everyone has their own special gift here. Yours just so happens to be darkness and demons." Ember stopped to try and control her breathing. "I understand it's hard. I may not be going through the same thing, but I know it's hard." Her head began to spin again so she closed her eyes and to try and stop it. A few minutes passed before she finally opened her eyes again. She tried to get up.

"Nope. Not going to happen." She sighed to herself as she lied back down. Again, she looked at the back of Lance's head. "Not to get all touchy feely on you here, but when I was a little girl I was afraid of the dark. I would run into my parents bedroom repeatedly. Day in and day out. So one night my mom told me that thinking of light will scare away the darkness." She looked up at the ceiling, almost lost in thought. "I never ran in their room again." Ember sighed and then shook her head. Carefully, she got up and sat on the bed. "It was just a random thought." She shrugged.
 

[Lance789]

Lance rose to his feet with a heavy scowl. How far will this girl piss him off? He turned to face her. “Don’t give me your childhood bullshit as if its even remotely the same, as if it can be evaded by a simple practice. How ******** dare you insult me like! Those aren’t demons! Those are people, ravished in agony and pain, the persons I have killed in the attempt of learning to control it… because I didn’t have a ‘Lance’ to help me to learn without killing someone!” He had been practically shouting as sat down hard onto his bed. “Why don’t you try dealing with that every so often, hearing your parents screaming into your soul just gain the will to control it all!” He turned from her in a disgusted manor, still in disbelieve that he has to be stuck with her for a long time.  

[elphy_and_fiyero]

Ember glared at him. "Well, excuse me for trying to fight with you for once. If we're going to stay like this for awhile you could at least TRY to calm down. I'm sorry people are constantly screaming at you. I was just trying to be one less. But I guess you like the screaming so AAAAHHHH!!!" She screamed at him. Lance was getting on her last nerve. She didn't know how much more of it she could take........could either of them take.
 

[Lance789]

Lance practically sailed from his bed, charging at her, but Mrs. Fulton's words crept into his mind and he halted, beaming at her with the up most distaste. He headed to his dresser then, removed some clothing and a towel, and stormed into the only bathroom in their suite. He turned the knobs to the faucet, peeled off his clothing, and crawled into the tub as it filled with warm water. He lay in the water, the bubbles from the sub floating about him as he tried to calm himself from choking her.  

[elphy_and_fiyero]

Lance charged at her and her hands lit out of reflex. He stopped and walked into the bathroom without saying another word.
Ok, that was weird. She thought to herself. Ember distinguished the flames and sat back on the bed.

"Touchy." She said to herself when she looked at the bathroom door. The water ran and Ember was a little bit jealous. She couldn't remember the last time she really enjoyed a bath. Now that she was "allergic" she wouldn't be able to even go swimming the pool.

Ember dug through her bag and got out her favorite book. It was the same book her and her mother read to each other when they were having a hard day. The book looked warn out and it was falling apart. They both had read it many times. Ember could even quote the book by heart, but reading it seemed to help her remind her of her mother. What she wore, how she talked, they way she smelled. The words in the book made her remember everything, as if looking at a photo album. Ember sat back on her bed and began to read Pride and Prejudice.

(Just to let you know, I'm leaving for a cruise tomorrow. I'll try and get on as much as possible. But if I don't, I'll be back on Sat.)  

[Lance789]

His breathing was slow as his eyes rested against the darkness of the bath room, the temperature of the water had been reduced to room to a cool room setting and the sods and bubbles had long since been absent from his person. He was asleep, his dreams tumbling to fast to log on any particular one, his thoughts over powering any sounds that may drift beneath the door frame. he had been upset with the girl for her insults, this Ember wench he'd be sharing a room with was a complete fool and a absolute nut job. Lance didn't want to be anywhere near Ember, and he was sure glad that they would be not be sharing a bed. He thought about that for a moment, wondering if it was possible to become affectionate for a steam head like her, the thought of his skin touching hers without the after math of burning didn't phase hims one bit, however, the mental image of her bare legs and body wrapped around his nude body moving between had...

His eyes opened then and he sighed out of disgust, now angry at himself for having such a sick and unappealing thought as that. He'd rather bang Mrs. Fulton, though the thought of particular image in his mind was highly appealing. Mrs. Fulton is a gorgeous woman after all... too bad she was married. Lance wondered ho long he had been asleep in the tub... an hour... maybe two... maybe even longer than that. Rolling out of the tub and onto the cold tile flooring, he dried himself off and dressed in only a towing, snickering as he made the decision to creep Ember out by walking about the dorm suite in only that one bath garment. Though, even as he turned the knob and braced himself trod into the bedroom once again, he paused, feeling a bit childish and even more out of place for actually feeling embarrassed. He sucked in some air, telling himself to get a grip, then proceeded to venture into the room with the white bath towel wrapped against his dark waist.  

[elphy_and_fiyero]

Ember was half way in her book. The words were stained in her brain that she didn't even have to look at the book in order to know what it said.

The more I see of the world, the more am I dissatisfied with it; and every day confirms my belief of the inconsistency of all human characters, and of the little dependence that can be placed on the appearance of merit or sense.

Ember couldn't agree with that statement even more now. Suddenly, her image of Mr. Darcy changed. The face was all too familiar and it just so happened to belong to the air head in the bathroom. And the image of Elizabeth changed to herself. His arms around her as they kissed in the rain. The feeling she imagined they had together was now a feeling she imagined between the two of them. Her heart racing as she pressed her lips against his and her hands moving.....

Ember grabbed the pillow and shoved it over her face in hopes of losing oxygen and dying instantly. How could that image pop in her head? They hated each other. She placed the pillow down and grabbed her book. Just as the image of Lance touching her escaped her mind, he walked out of the bathroom in nothing but a towel. Ember kept her gaze on the book and tried to concentrate, although she couldn't help what she saw out of the corner of her eye.

Words from one of the previous chapters came to her mind.

A lady's imagination is very rapid; it jumps from admiration to love, from love to matrimony, in a moment.

For the first time in her life, she grew hatred for the book she was reading that she had read so many times with her mother.
 

[Lance789]

Lance looked almost disappointed when he noticed no reaction from her. She merely read her book without even glancing over to give him a hateful look. It disappointed him for a moment, walking to sit over to his bed, waiting to receive an indication that she had seen him and was grossed out. A thought about how he could piss her off more later until his stomach began to growl. He stood, feeling no shame of the loud rumbling sounds, and stretched, his towel slipping from him slightly and displayed more privacy areas of his body. Instead of dressing himself there, he walked to the kitchen, surprised that this room (unlike the other dorm rooms) contained one. Going through the refrigerator, he pulled out bacon and some eggs and began to cook for himself, thinking that a girl like her who likes to burn stuff should know how to cook. He scowled down at his risk, which had nearly completely healed. That damn wench! He thought.  

[elphy_and_fiyero]

(This idea popped in my head on the way home...........so here's what I came up with)
No longer was Ember reading her book. She couldn't read one word without thinking of Lance constantly in her head. Out of the corner of her eye, she noticed his towel inch down lower.
Ugh! This is ridiculous! She thought as she felt her cheeks burn. It was a good thing he had walked in their kitchen or else he would have seen her blush. But another thought came to her mind. One she couldn't really control. One she knew it was something her mother was telling her.

Ember reached into the first aid kit by the bathroom before walking back into the kitchen. She placed a tube on the counter next to Lance. "Here." She sighed. "It's for the burn." She pointed to his hands and then looked at the bottle that read Burnt Ointment. But that was all she could take. Him just standing there in a towel made images that she didn't want, came to her mind. Without another word Ember walked into the hallway, the sun now fully down and the corridors empty.

One person sat at the piano alone. A little girl with blond hair stared at the key in front of her. "Hi," Ember said as she sat down. It was then that she noticed the little girl's features. Her eyes were silver and her lips were blue. "I'm Ember. What's yours?"

"Cindi. But the others call me ice princess." Cindi pouted and looked at her hand. The tips of her fingers formed ice in the air and Ember melted it with her fire as she placed the girl's hand down. The girl couldn't have been more than seven.

"Take that as a compliment. Trust me. No one else will make fun of you." Cindi still couldn't not look at her. With her other hand, she played random keys. Eva began to play the song "Bad Day" by Daniel Powter and she began to sing to Cindi. Somehow the words helped her. When the song ended, Cindi gave her a hug and went to bed. Ember continued to play the piano.

The next song didn't have words. It didn't need them. It seemed almost sad but it made her feel better. She didn't think about the book she was reading or Lance in a towel. She only thought of what notes to play.


( http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Sr64NI33qUo )