[event] Damage Control

"Why am I the best candidate? Well, first of all, I'm the hottest candidate. SA deserves a hot president, don't you think? I also have a lot of contacts and projects that... I..."

He gave her a slow, once-over when she said that, as if he was just noticing for the first time that she was attractive. He said, "I suppose you might have the competition beat there."


She'd taken a step back and seemed slightly flustered for a moment, which Lochlann took as a good sign. It was easier to redirect the situation later if he could catch her off guard.

Unfortunately, what happened next caught him off guard.

"I dorm at the High School dormitory, third floor, fourth room to the left. I think there's some room for shotgun if I throw my pompoms and gym bag at the back with the boxes. It's not like there are fragile stuff anyway. Come on in."

He hesitated outside of the car, scratching the back of his neck a little nervously. Lochlann had never been in a car before.

It's not that he hadn't been around them. His brother, Lawrence, had the highest tolerance to iron in the entire family, and considered himself something of a mechanic. He'd been fixing up an old mustang when Lochlann left with the intention of selling it. Lawrence just couldn't shapeshift for shit.

"Well,there's a first time for everything," he mumbled, put his hands on the door handle, and immedietly regretted it. He did it again, slowly, and folded himself into the passenger seat. Inside the car, he suddenly felt too.....

He wasn't sure he knew a word for this feeling.

Cramped wasn't quite it, though he did make a bit of a figure with his long legs folded into the front seat. He had an expression on his face like he was biting the inside of his cheek.

She'd just gotten the upperhand.

"Let's do this," he said, but he didn't say quickly, please, before I throw up because this entire car is saturated in iron.

"Do you think you'll win, or is the competition challenging?" he asked, hoping to distract her with small talk.

"Wow, it's almost like you've never been in a car before!"

Her tone was either meant to amuse or mock him, and he wasn't entire sure which. His right hand was holding onto the door, like at any moment he might fling it open and duck and roll. His skin felt like it was crawling, like poison was trying to physically sink it's way in through the air and into his flesh. He felt both exhausted and invigorated, watching the world move outside while he sat stationary.

That was a familiar feeling, at least.

"I actually haven't been in a car before," he said. There was a slight hitch in his voice and he tilted his head back, resting it against the seat and closing his eyes. For a second, it felt like he might pass out, and he was wrestling with his consciousness. He shrugged. "We didn't really need them where I lived before, we just walked everywhere, and it's been the same here, really."

He missed her wink and kiss at her reflection.

"I almost got this whole thing in the bag. I'm super popular and my campaign was going smoothly, but...Did you hear what happened in the cafeteria the other day?"

When he thought he'd been doing better with his drinking, it was true--he was only getting black out drunk a couple days during the week. He couldn't remember anything interesting happening the days he was conscious, so he said, "No, but judging by the sound of it it must have been bad."

The car was making him grumpy, so he almost said, what did you break a nail in front of everyone?

She reminded him of this girl he'd dated once, in that she had strange priorities...but Lochlann still wanted to fuck her brains out. He wondered if she'd ever slept with anyone in the back seat of a car. He wondered how he could still think about sleeping with her when he was pretty sure he was only a few more minutes away from having a panic attack. He wondered if he could sleep with her while having a panic attack. He rubbed his forehead.

Really? Where did you live, like in the country? Walking freaking sucks. Didn't you have horses? I spent a summer riding horses all day long in the country. You should try it, it's fun,"

He nodded--he was technically a farm boy, he could agree to that. The comment about horses had him worried for a second--was she aware of what he was? He didn't think so. Most girls wouldn't get in a car with a known murderer...but if she knew what he was, then she had to know what this car was doing to him. Damn.

"I grew up around horses," he said, and it wasn't a lie. "I'm really good with them. If you ever want to go riding, give me a call."


It wasn't an innuendo. He really could show her a few things about horses, and he could do it in his human-shape.

His sentence was punctuated by another sharp breath of air. His fingers touched the door handle and, as if his prayers were answered, he managed to get the window pulled down. The fresh air helped, a bit.

"This guy flew off his rockers because of my campaign and almost killed everyone! And a teacher had to kill him! It was wild. People won't stop talking about it. Hashtag Carlsmash — Carl is the dude that ruined everything, FYI — is trending on my twitter feed and it's totally ruining my ratings, you know?"

He leaned his arm out the window, letting the air blow him in the face. It reminded him for a second of what it was like when she blew his bangs out of his face.

"So let me get this straight....people died over a student election?" he wanted to arch and eyebrow and make a joke, but his vision was tunneling and he was struggling to control his breathing. "That sounds...uhh...serious. I didn't know they were such a big deal. What's your plan for damage control?"

She seemed to know he was going down hill fast because she dropped a bag on his lap and maybe it was just him, but it seemed like the car was going faster.

"We're almost at the school. Don't you dare vomit in my car, Lochlann."

She was right, they were almost at the school. His skin was still crawling, his lungs felt like they were on fire, this was horrible, there must be more metal in here than he was anticipated, was that what cars were made out of?

"I'm not going to vomit in your car, I promise I'm going to-dammit!" he shouted, and then he didn't care, he flung open the car door and jumped out, rolling to break his fall, and stationed himself sitting on the curb with his head between his knees, gasping for breath.

It might have been cool if there's been an explosion or something, but as he sat there gasping for air, Lochlann knew he'd just blown whatever small chance he had. You don't just dive away dramatically from a girl and expect it to go well.

His leg was throbbing and it took him a long time to catch his breath and get his head to clear. She'd probably be parked by the time he could get back up, but he'd still be able to carry her boxes in. Holy crap. What the hell was wrong with him?

There was a screech of tires, some yelling, and a bunch of other noises that Lochlann couldn't process. His breath was coming in short gasps and his vision kept doing that annoying tunneling thing that kept threatening him with the loss of consciousness that never quite came.

He was pretty sure he was never getting into a car sober again.

He hadn't realized there was people around him until he heard Marina's voice, but it sounded really, really far away. Had he passed out? He might have. He had no idea how pale he was, or that his hands were shaking.

"Holy shit, ...Are you all right? Can you stand? We were almost at the school! You couldn't wait until we get there, Bruce Willis!?"

Lochlann had no idea who Bruce Willis was or why Marina was calling him that. Had she forgotten his name already? Jeeze.

He realized she'd asked him a question and it was not good to be sitting here letting people see him feel like he was dying. The last thing he wanted was for someone to call the hospital.....although maybe they should because he had a feeling Marina was the sort of girl who would kill him for this. Didn't she say they had to kill someone for messing up her campaign right before he did this?

Having a guy jump out of your car couldn't look good.

Still, he really couldn't get up, not yet.

Thinking quickly, he looked up at her, his head spinning and said, just loud enough for the first few people around him to hear, "Marina, you just saved my life."

He knew how crowds worked so that the whispers would spread, but he also knew he still felt like shit and no one would believe that without any further explanation, so he took a deep breath, trying to get his heart to slow down. "It was irresponsible of me to have left my medication back in my dorm, thank you for trying to get me there so quickly! I never know when those attacks are going to happen or how long they're going to last..."

He shook his head, which he immedietly regretted because now he did feel like he was going to vomit. "Thank you, Marina Bellamy."

She would be the only one there who knew it was bullshit.

Thank you! Thank you for your support, but I need to get this young man to the school infirmary! If you're ever in SA, vote Bellamy 2015!"

She'd hoisted him up--she was a lot stronger than he expected, but then again Lochlann remembered that was why he liked cheerleaders. There was a lot of muscle beneath those little uniforms.

He'd loved to have used this opportunity as an excuse to get closer to her but unfortunately he really did need her support to keep standing. Holy shit. His head was still spinning but as the crowd parted and they made their escape, he felt his breath start to even out, and he began to limp less as his strength returned.

"Remind me to buy you dinner sometime, handsome,"

Then she squeezed his waist and he was dizzy all over again.

"I'll pay for your car door," he said to her, when they were further away. "and if you give me a few minutes, I'll be okay to get the rest of your stuff to your room....but I don't think I'm getting back in your car. Not sober, at least."

He untangled himself from her grip--the first time he could ever think of ever willingly leaving a girl's embrace--to lean against the streetlight.

"I'm sorry," he said, then took another deep breath. "I'll just...I'll see you there."