Two Minds are Not Always Better than One

Class had ended recently, and Riley was bored out of his mind, really. The lectures were always a waste of time- he'd forget most of it, anyway. That said, he didn't want to be dropped, so he attended anyway, and often made snide remarks behind the teacher's back. No detentions yet, but he was pushing his luck.

For now, though, that wasn't his focus. He just wanted to relax and read in the sunlight, now that school was finally out for the day. He seated himself on a bench close to the school closing his eyes a moment to relax before he even bothered taking out the book. When he did, though- he didn't use his hands. He pulled it out with his telekinesis, which is something he'd do on occasion out of laziness. Sighing heavily, he finally delved into reading, with the book floating in front of his face.

@Sissel

Riley had merely been reading, not even noticing the surrounding crowds- until someone spoke, that was. His focus was lost enough for the book to drop into his lap as he jumps slightly, looking to the boy with wide eyes. Oh no. No, no, no, someone wanted to be friends.

Initial panic remained subdued, though, as he forced himself to relax and contort his expression into a sneer. "Okay, one, I don't care who you are; and two, I don't care what you do. Get the fuck away from me. You look ugly as sin, and I don't have time for other mind-bending bastards like you." It doesn't matter what his name is anyway, not like I'm going to remember, he thought to himself as he kept a cold expression.

@Sissel

When Sissel continued to inquire, Riley's defenses only rose higher. His smirk fell into a full-out glare as he leaned back on the bench, crossing his arms. His heart was pounding, though- especially over the mind reading comment. He didn't know if that was this guy's ability, or just a random comment, but he wanted to play safe and be careful.

"I'm not afraid of you, shit stain. I just don't want to deal with you. I don't want to deal with anyone. Go. Away." He needed to remind himself of something important- it didn't matter what happened here, in a worst case scenario, he could just leave. This calmed him a bit, allowing him to just wrinkle his nose. "Or do just you not have any friends? Lonely bitch."

@Sissel

Facade? Protecting? Riley's anger flared, burning like a raging inferno as he used his telekinesis to, albeit gently, shove Sissel back. "I said. Fuck. Off!" He hissed, narrowing his eyes. "I said I'm done with you. You're a piece of shit! Go fuck yourself!"

His thoughts were racing, though, as his heart pounded all the harder. The most prominent was, 'Why can't he see I'm not worth it? You're just going to hurt him. He's going to get hurt, and it'll be your fault, as always. You don't deserve that kind of concern. You don't deserve anyone.' Negativity encircled his mind like a grand vulture in his panic, despite his exterior- save for slightly flushed cheeks- being chilled.

"Just... leave."

@Sissel

When Sissel spoke, it caused Riley's entire frame to freeze up, as he stared at him like a deer caught in headlights. He had read his thoughts, or at the very least, he was seeing past his defenses. Those defenses began to tremble and shatter as an earthquake of emotions came over him, and in that moment, he felt fear.

"Leave me the fuck alone, okay?!" He finally shouted, standing from where he was sitting. There were probably people eyeing them now, because of his volume- but he didn't care. "You don't know me- you don't know anything about me!" He stepped closer, his fists balled. "All I fucking do is hurt people. My existence hurts people. You wouldn't know shit because you weren't there! Hell, I don't think I even could count myself as 'there' anymore with how my memory gets!"

He didn't even realize how the tears were pouring down his cheeks; his breathing was labored, his face a dark red from the exertion. "I don't deserve anyone! Fucking-- bud out!"

@Sissel