Everything's Almost Fine (Reignfinite)

"Pfft," Tyler rolled his eyes yet he grinned at Adam fondly. "Okay, fine. I'll humor you. Yeah, your incredibly cool yet warm personality totally did the trick," he said, elbowing Adam in the side as payback for the shove he received on his shoulder. "And Green Lantern is totally better than Flash. Go GL!" he drawled out, smiling all the same. If there was one thing Adam knew, it was making people smile. He just had this aura around him that just screamed friendly. That is, once you forget about his scars and burns though. They still looked pretty scary, but they did look cool in some way.

When Adam asked if he wanted to get some food to eat, Tyler bit his lower lip and stared at the ground for a moment, his pace slowing down a bit. "Yeah, but... I think it would be best if you buy it," he said. "You don't want to see what my power does to some people," he smiled weakly, trying not to look at Adam directly. "Go ahead though if you're hungry. I'll just wait somewhere not crowded," he said with the same weak smile still on his lips.

He was still jealous of his friend's ability to just live normally. Adam could maintain eye contact with other people while Tyler couldn't. Adam could probably walk through a crowd without having a panic attack while Tyler couldn't. Adam could be normal should he choose to, while Tyler couldn't. It was just... unfair.

"Well, what do you want me to get you?

Tyler shrugged, trying to appear unaffected by the unfairness of it all. "Whatever you recommend, I guess. Just make sure it tastes better than yours," he joked, trying to lighten the mood again. Adam probably didn't mean any harm by his suggestion. And Tyler was pretty hungry at the moment. "I'll also want fries with whatever you're getting," he added, nodding to himself in affirmation. "Yes, fries sound good right now."

He glanced at Adam briefly with a raised brow and smirked. "I bet you can't come back here with food within 10 minutes," Tyler challenged him. "Without using your powers, by the way," he added as an afterthought.

"..." Tyler stared blankly at Adam, still avoiding eye contact as he listed down his order. "I think I'll just have the apple pie and fries," he intoned slowly after a short while, deciding that he did not want to puke on the way to school. 'Can a normal person even finish that?' Tyler shook his head in disbelief, wondering if Adam's powers had anything to do with his appetite. "Don't throw up on me afterwards, though."

"What do I get if I win?"

Tyler raised his eyebrow again. "Bragging rights not a good enough prize for you?" he asked with a small smirk. "Besides, you wouldn't be able to do it. McDonalds has a looong waiting line, and I'm not an expert on fast food chains but I think it's going to take them a while to prepare your order," he looked to the side, looking confident that Adam wouldn't be able to do it. "And I didn't see any nearby McDonalds on the way here." He looked at Adam's face again with a smirk and said, "But alright. If you win, I'll owe you a favor. But if I win, you get my stuff from my hotel room to our dorm. Shake on it?" he held out his hand and waited for Adam's response.

'He looks smiley again,' he thought fleetingly as he realized that his powers were probably affecting Adam again now that he was staring at Tyler directly.

"Tell me when to go."

"Alright then," Tyler held Adam's phone in one hand and raised the other, as if he were a referee at a starting line. "On you mark," he readied his thumb over the start button. "Get set," he grinned, pausing a bit longer just to screw with Adam. "And... GO!" he brought his arm down as he yelled the signal.

"Don't forget my order!" Tyler yelled at Adam as he watched him run away. He stared at Adam's back a little longer before he sighed and sat down on a nearby bench. Adam was a great friend. 'He was funny, generous, honest... and normal,' Tyler thought the last part bitterly. No matter how hard he tried, he still can't get over his envy. It's not Adam's fault, of course. He sighed again. He came here with a solid plan. Avoid everyone until he learned how to properly control his powers. Now, he wasn't quite sure he could do that thanks to meeting Adam.

Tyler bit his lip. 'Alright, this just means I have to train my powers more quickly. The faster I get control over my ability, the less people harmed,' he thought, nodding to himself. 'Yeah, that works.' He looked at Adam's phone. "Seven minutes left," he muttered. He smiled. 'Yeah, I'm going to win this bet.'

Tyler squinted his eyes to make sure that it was Adam approaching him. 'Yeah, it's him,' he thought and then looked at the timer. "14 minutes," he said smugly as he returned the phone to its owner. "I told you the lines were going to be long," Tyler said smugly as he took the bag and got his fries.

"Anyway, I forgot what the name of the hotel I was staying at was, but it's the one nearest to the port," he told Adam as he munched on his apple pie. "My room number was 34. I'll give you the key later." Tyler thought it would be best if he didn't go retrieve his bags with Adam. His friend would probably want to get his bags around noon, when there would be a lot of people hanging around the hotel.

"So, where are the dorms located anyway? Are they within the school grounds or what?" he asked Adam as they continued their walk towards the academy while eating their food. Tyler still had limited knowledge of where everything was on the island, so he decided that asking someone who knew would help him.