Stirring the Surface

Cole's worries were growing. It hadn't been a week and he'd run into his first telepath. Telepaths were a problem for him, being able to read his thoughts. He thought about his power quite frequently, and if someone caught wind that he had two powers, not just the one the school had him registered under, people would get suspicious. Which would lead to investigation.

Which could make trouble.

Perhaps he would finish her off here. He knew he could do it, it'd be easy enough, given the nature of his power. But that would only draw more trouble and suspicion. But what if she were on his side? Someone who knew what he could do? He didn't know anyone who could possibly keep a secret better, most telepaths got feedback trying to read each other's minds.

Maybe.

Crushing her was still an option.

Cole sighed, sitting on the courtyard bench, wheelchair next to him. This area was empty of others, nobody to listen in. Leaning his chin into his left palm, he flicked his right wrist, making small adjustments to the hedge.

When would she come?

Cole was feeling more and more unsure of his plan as time passed, paying special attention to a flower he held in his left hand in a mound of dirt, adjusting it and cutting off bits and pieces where he saw fit. As he swiped a finger at least an inch over the leaf, the thing simply fell away cleanly, no sign of any knife anywhere on him, and his power, well this one, didn't extend to cutting. He was making a small cut when the girl sat next to him.

Startled, he jumped a little, accidentally slicing the stem in two. Sighing, he tossed the handful of dirt, flower and all, into the garden. Smiling a little as she spoke. “Wheels, huh.” He laughed a little, genuinely. Such an alien feeling.

“Well, Alex-” He said, looking around. This was his last chance. He could still do it if he wanted to... “- About your power.” He said, smile fading a little. Now he was too late. No turning back now. “You never said what it was, and I'm a bit curious. I think I have an idea.” His confidence built as he spoke. It had nothing to do with her being a girl, he had never had problems speaking with anyone. It was the subject that bugged him.

“Tell me your and i'll show you mine.” He said with a grin, letting his thoughts fade.

Cole felt his stomach lurch as she confirmed his suspicions. A small part of him had hoped she wasn't a telepath, that she was a pyrokinetic or some such power. She'd told him her power, and he wasn't too concerned with the other, whatever it may be.

“It's a better deal than you may think. You'll be the only one who knows.” He gave a weak smile. Looking around once more, he felt strangely paranoid about this, his smile grew some. It was the truth. Nobody knew anything about this, some suspected, but not one knew for sure. Even his parents thought of him as another kid with a weak power over plants.

Thankfully it was too far from his real power to give any confirmation to any stories about him or his work. Chlorokinesis was a great cover.

“throw something at me.”

Cole smiled as she complied, cocking an eyebrow of his own as she did so without hands. So. A complete psychic then. Without wavering for a moment, he lifted his hand, feeling the power flood from him. He always reveled in the feeling, guiding the force he used, in perfect control of its every aspect. He made the simplest field he knew, a rounded shield.

The pebble glanced off the shield three feet from his head, bouncing off the rocks with a click, skittering to a stop at alex's feet. “Simple, yeah? why would he hide that from people?” He mused aloud, reaching into the pocket of his wheelchair, pulling out a red apple.

The apple sat in his palm, perfect, clean. It was one of his own, made from the apple tree in this very courtyard. Lifting a finger, he grinned as he moved the power again. The field seemed to melt, falling back into his palm. It had a bluish liquid-crystal look to it, purely for visibility. Watching Alex, he spoke as the ball of shifting force moved in his hand, a tendril beginning to form.

“I'm trusting you'll keep this a secret.” He said, frowning at the word trust, as if it were burning his tongue. The consequences would be clear enough.

Trust.

What a funny word.

He focused again and the tendril lengthened, thinned. Smoothly the end portion flattened, edge coming to an extremely fine edge, as fine as any scalpel. The force blade sliced through the apple as easily as the pebble had flown through the air. The two halves fell outwards, cleanly cut center moist and gleaming in his hand. His force was a tricky thing, as it was no purely physical material, it could be given a finer edge than any commonly, and some rarely, used tools.

Cole offered a half to Alex, using the tendril to scoop away the core as he bit into his own half.

Cole smiled to himself. She didn't seem to take it as too big a deal. Thankfully. If word got out to anybody who could put two and two together, provided they had the police cases on hand, he would be given a nice, long while to sit in a cell and run images of those he'd had his fun with run through his head.

One image ran through his mind now, a scene involving a boy, no more than a child, pinned to a wall, being slowly crushed by a crystal-like force pressing into his body, a small, dark haired, infuriated boy curled up in a corner, watching the scene with burning eyes.

Cole came back to himself, banishing the scene from mind. He realized his hands were shaking slightly, feeling a chill. A pleasurable chill more than anything to do with the cold.

“Thank you, Alex.” He said quietly, smiling as he took a bite. He didn't know she'd thought he was threatening her. He was simply showing her a side of his power the best way he knew how, avoiding a sure disaster.

“It's a bit cold out, isn't it?” He asked, letting force steady his hands for him.