Lunch, Legends, and Loneliness ((and Lex, too!))

Carmen sighed, staring down at her food- and God only knew what she had gotten, the entire day was a blur of frustration and silence, and this stuff just looked strange. Things weren't better here. Not like she'd thought they'd be.

People were safer with her here. She wasn't allowed to leave campus without ample supervision, which meant that she couldn't hurt anymore regular people. But she was still surrounded by people she couldn't talk to, and the thought closed off her throat in a way that made air a very rare source.

She was still trapped inside her head. It didn't help that it was somewhat boring in there, too. Carmen's world basically revolved around school, much like the other students who lived there, but there was something missing. While other kids learned to fight and protect themselves, Carmen felt herself drifting into the corners of the training room.

It was, of course, completely her fault. She chose not to use her powers, not even under the supervision of a teacher, so who was she to complain about not being able to use her powers? She still had normal classes, which were hard enough when taught by blue monkey-people who were smarter than she thought she would ever be.

Besides, Carmen thought bitterly, pushing her fork through her... stuff. Who would actually volunteer to be my sparring partner? Who actually WANTS to be ordered around by a girl with absolutely no physical prowress at all? That's right, no one. So it's all a moot point anyway.

Maybe she was angry for other reasons, too. The whole 'no talking, no friends' thing was putting more of a damper on her mood than she'd like to admit, not to mention the internal restlessness she was afraid to acknowledge. That, and the fact she was still alone.

There was no one like her in this place.

Oh, there were mutants abundant, that's what it was for, but no one else had to be afraid of their own voice, no one else could do more damage with a single word than a blow. Well, that one scream-y chick, but, really, she just blows things up. And, it seemed, she really was the only one.

Even Google had failed her. First, her actual title- Hypersuade -was something only represented in T.V. characters and comic books. And then the actual symptoms only brought up old stories of dead mutants and legends of a time before people even knew what mutants were.

It wasn't exactly the most uplifting of searches.

Especially the legends. It seemed that none of them, the women like her, had actually done anything good for the world. Most of them, it seemed, convinced men to give them things, or sang them to their deaths, like the Greek Sirens.

One, in particular, was eerily familiar. The Lorelei. A woman, in a small village, was in love with a man. That man died. Afterwards, the leader of the town accused the woman of bewitching men, and was sent away to a nunnery. Throwing herself off a cliff, the woman died. But her soul lives on, luring men off the cliffs and into their watery deaths with the echoes of her dying voice...

Carmen shuddered, and abruptly pushed it from her mind. Joe is not dead. My mother was not the sherriff, nor the leader of the town. This is a school, not a nunnery. But the ending was still there, an omen she'd be stupid to ignore...

But, apparently, she was set on it. A legend from thousands of years ago cannot change my life. An Irish woman who was probably PUSHED off the cliff has little to do with me. Besides, she obviously wasn't even a hypersuade or she would've convinced the male sherriff to let her stay in town. Don't be ridiculous, Carmen.

It wasn't fear that turned her stomach. Really, it wasn't.

Carmen took her ever-present notebook from her bag, which was much lighter thanks to the fact she no longer had to carry around food and clothes. Soon the purple gel pen was swirling across the page, leaving a small line of print behind it.

The Lorelei.

Carmen pushed her plate away, situating her paper more normally, and continued writing, fractured little sentences that popped into her mind. Memories that belonged to someone else, lives led by those who had once been like her, the names of those who died because they could not help but have their voices heard...

Truth be told, it wasn’t easy for Lex to be the world’s most reclusive mutant ever.

Whilst some may think he enjoys living life as the friendless and brooding shadow-like being, he is actually filled with a repressed need for companionship. Of course, his conscious and cold-hearted side would deem this ‘need’ ridiculous and completely unnecessary, but the humane part inside of him was waiting to be uncovered and acknowledged. Many times he had stayed awake at night just because debates between his heart and his mind shot back and forth like a never-ending tennis match, and in the end he would only shake his head in annoyance at how he dared think such emotional and Hallmark-y thoughts.

So, technically, his mind always won.

However, there were instances when his heart actually won. For example, he had managed to establish camaraderie with two mutants he has met quite a few times already. Angel Smith, the winged mutant, had actually managed to break through his ice-cold barriers after a few encounters with him. Whilst he had expected things to be dreadful with Charlie Black due to how he had managed to ‘sneak up on her’ twice now, it had actually turned out to be quite… fun. For the first time since his first and only murder, Lex found himself establishing ‘more-than-acquaintances’ relationships with two mutants he had never even met until he arrived at the Institute. So, his heart would argue, why stop going this way now? Why is he trying to keep himself caged in that ridiculously miserable lone world of his?

Of course, the mind would always have an answer. People are not to be trusted, no matter how good and compassionate they might seem to be, the mind would say. Remember, that’s what the most evil people are looking for. They will find ways to deface you, and as they do so they shall be wearing two faces. The mind’s arguments would then win and trample on the heart with its cynicism and cunning, and Lex would be left feeling miserable. And Lex is left with the thought that no one will ever understand him, because he is the only one going through this. The only one…

…Until he steps inside the dining hall one fateful day, and sees a brown-haired girl sitting alone amidst the lively groups of mutants around her.

Lex wouldn’t have paid attention to her if it weren’t for the aura she gave off. Why was she sitting alone in a place where crowds usually gathered to eat and be merry? What was with the sombre expression on her face, and why did it feel like she, too, didn’t trust herself to be friends with anyone? Even Charlie Black wasn’t this reserved.

For a moment, Lex stood still as he watched and analysed the girl. From afar, and due to the light of the day, he couldn’t see the girl clearly (his eyesight was better in the dark), but she could see that she wasn’t what one would call ‘bad-looking’. If that’s so, then there must be something else that’s stopping her from making friends in the Institute. She didn’t seem like the type who was mean to people, so there had to be some other reason for her to avoid (or be avoided by) people. Lex would’ve tried to guess, but he was quite famished and he needed food, so he broke his own trail of thoughts as he walked away to get food for himself.

When Lex finished getting food for himself, he found the dining hall full. Not a table was empty, and excluding the brunette all the mutants seem to have found themselves companions to eat lunch with. Lex tried to suppress a sigh as he looked around. He really wasn’t fond of eating beneath the shadows as it felt too miserable even for him, and eating someplace else didn’t look too appealing to him. Eating in places not meant to be for dining felt extremely wrong to him, especially when he wanted to enjoy a fairly large meal. The French mutant sighed. It seems like he would have to step out of his comfort zone for the moment to eat a meal with the reserved brunette—if she even allows him to, that is.

Slowly he walked towards the girl, who didn’t seem to notice him approaching her. Her plate lay untouched on the table as she wrote on a notebook. Lex harrumphed before he spoke. “Excuse me,” he said. “All the tables are taken, so would you mind if I…?” Lex’s voice trailed off as he motioned to the empty chair across the brunette. He wasn’t exactly sure how he’d phrase the question without sounding stupid, so he just simply waited for the girl to respond.

Oh, how he hated having to talk to people.

((Sorry for the awful post. Muse ain't cooperating too well. :[ ))

Carmen felt the boy before he even spoke.

She should probably be used to it now, after all the time she'd spent here. Some mutants just gave off and air, something to do with their powers, she supposed. But no matter how many times she felt someone walk beside her, it still felt wrong. And this one... he seemed to exude darkness.

Carmen risked a glance at the boy, and rolled her eyes. Honestly. Was there a mutant in existence that wasn't an absolute dream boat? And what was worse, they all seemed painfully unaware of the fact. Even today, she'd heard a group of girls talk about how ugly a boy in their Calculus class was. Curious, Carmen had gone to see him... Of course, the boy was built like a Greek God with the face of a German super model.

And this boy, with his dark looks and seriousness, was no exception.

What, he the mutant version of the obligatory hot emo kid? Because he's nailed it. Sadly.

Sighing, she brought her attention back to her half-formed scribbles. It would probably be easier to get through her life if she could just stay away from boys. Her first experience mixing herself and the opposite gender had ended in an epic fail that had forced her to quite literally skip town, and doing that again did not exactly sound like the best of ideas.

But, still, a pang hit her heart. Not a while ago, Carmen would've called herself a very determined romantic. She was set on falling in love, to have the small town life that was expected of girls like her... And now she'd never even be able to talk to anyone ever again. Now I'd have to fall in love with one of those creepy telepathists that can read your every thought.

And then, horror of all horrors, she heard the voice that went with the brooding face. Excuse me, all the tables are taken, so would you mind if I...? Then he motioned to the chair in front of her. She could've feigned ignorance. Sure, a hundred percent of Carmen's daily communications went through useless motions and gestures, but this boy didn't know that. But... she couldn't just leave him standing there. Inwardly sighing, Carmen gestured back, indicating he needed to sit down. She quickly turned back to her thoughts.

He has no idea what that means, does he? Carmen looked back up at him with blank green eyes. Without looking, she flipped that page and scrawled on bright green paper. Yeah. You can sit down. She held it up for a moment, long enough to read, then let it drop back down to the table with a soft whump.

She flipped back to her original page, staring down at the words she'd already written. She needed something to put it all together. A bridge from story to story, from hypersuade to hypersuade... this would require thought. Carmen stared at the notebook, and unattractive frown forming on her face.

And, without thinking, Carmen started to hum...

((... I have no idea what this crap is. 0.0 You can decided whether the hum uses her powers faintly, or is just REALLY ANNOYING.))

The French mutant wanted to think that this setting wasn’t awkward at all. He tried not to think of how it probably would’ve been better if he had eaten hidden beneath the shadows… at least there he wouldn’t have to deal with this ridiculously awkward setting. Amongst all possible people he could’ve shared tables with, why did he have to end up sharing a table with someone who seemed to be even less sociable than him? Lex even thought the girl would give him the ultimate brush-off as they looked at each other, but after a moment of silence the girl wrote something on a page of her notebook and she showed this page to Lex.


Lex’s brows furrowed and his head tilted slightly as he read what was written on the paper. For a moment, he looked at the green-eyed girl before placing his food on the table and taking a seat. Was the girl mute? He certainly had never experienced communicating with people that way before, and usually in the films people only communicated that way when they become mute or are not allowed to speak. Lex assumed it was the former. After all, why would this girl not be allowed to speak? Surely her voice wasn’t very horrible-sounding?

Painfully he mentally slapped himself for not minding his own business.

As he sat down, Lex wondered if he should write his thanks on the paper when he remembered how the girl had heard him. Almost inaudibly he muttered “Merci”. Remembering that he was supposed to constantly use English as his language, he ever so slightly bowed his head as if to ask for an apology then said, “Thank you.” There was an awkward moment of silence for what seemed like the nth time already before Lex spoke again. “I do hope I am not bothering you.”

Lex tried to think of what to say next, as an attempt to break the ice perhaps, but Lex couldn’t think of anything and so he just decided to smile one of his rare small smiles as he looked the girl in the eye.

Well, awkward as it seemed, it was certainly turning out to be quite amusing at the same time. Here he was, eating lunch with a girl he had never met in his life… and though Lex was really not the type who cared about people or what they did with their lives, he was curious about what kept the girl in front of him from eating her lunch. What was she writing or drawing? Well, that wasn’t Lex’s business at all, was it? However, the place’s culture was probably starting to rub off on him, and so as he ate he couldn’t help but steal glances at the girl. The motion of her hand showed that she was merely writing and not drawing, but maybe she was drawing something so unbelievably tiny that it looked like she was writing. Whatever it was she was doing, Lex had really no clue. Days like these made Lex wish that he had telepathic powers instead of umbrokinetic ones.

Oh, well. You get what you get. And realising what he had just thought, Lex inwardly scolded himself for being so nosy. Since when did he care about other people, anyway?

He had decided on just focusing on eating when he heard the girl start to hum. It seemed as if she was doing this unconsciously, for it looked like she was perfectly comfortable with it. Lex’s eyebrow raised as he glanced up to look at the girl. She was still scribbling on her notebook and she seemed to be lost in deep thoughts, so Lex just stared at her for a while. It would have seemed perfectly normal for Lex if it weren’t for the fact that he had assumed the girl to be mute, and that just when he thought he had another correct guess to add to his extensive list, the girl’s correctly-pitched humming proved him wrong.

Well, what should I do now? Lex wondered as he looked at the girl. Of course, I could ignore her… But you can’t just ignore a girl’s humming when she’s supposed to be mute, can you?

Suppressing a sigh, Lex spoke. “I know eet eez not my business, but are you not ‘ungry?” Lex’s French accent sounded thick as he broke the silence. “Eet eez bad for ze stomach to not eat a proper lunch. ‘Ere, you can ‘ave some of mine if you do not want your food,” Lex said as he slightly pushed his plate towards the girl’s direction. With a small smile forming on his face, he suddenly had an idea. A little bit of charm here and there would probably work and would most likely help the girl, so why should he not use it if it is simply for the benefit of the girl? After all, he was only concerned about her eating habits… “Lovely ladies like you must not starve, especially when training for us starts to eencrease in difficulty.”

((Ama, if you call your post crap, then I'm quite afraid of what you'd make of mine. And I do hope the French accent thing is not too awful - HP books are my only sources...))

((This is sort of short. Meh. I don't know much about French accents, but yours seemed realistic enough. ))

He was very... French, wasn't he?

A smile quirked up at the ends of her mouth. Five minutes ago her boredom never would have revealed she'd be 'eating' lunch with a French Emo God. Then again, it was a surprise for her that she knew his nationality at all. And not a very good one, either. It was something she wanted to talk about, a question she wanted to ask. And, of course, something she could never do. 'Tell me about France' would probably land her with a twenty page report and a brochure.

But it was okay, at least for now. She'd almost gotten her conversational urges back under control at all times... mostly. Often, anyway. When she felt good. And thankfully for all involved, he didn't seem the type to be all chatty with a girl he didn't know. So, it wasn't an unreasonable hope that she could make it through another day without ruining someone's life.

The staring wasn't so bad either. Of course she could feel his too-intense eyes on her as she scrawled a few words into her notebook. But, really, there wasn't much she could do besides ask him to stop. And while that worked better for her than most, it was not and option. And, well, if he wanted to stare at her, that was his business. After all, she wasn't much to stare at to begin with.

Besides her wild hair. And the fact that she communicated via notebook. And she was sitting in a cafeteria, alone, not eating anything.

Okay, maybe he had a few reasons to stare.

But then he had to ruin all her lovely thoughts by speaking. In a ridiculously adorable French accent, of course, but that didn't make it any less annoying. The boy was talking about lunch, the sort of concern in his voice that strangers only got when they had decided you were too insane/fragile/young to take care of yourself. Carmen wasn't exactly adverse to having people to take care of her, but you couldn't just eat someone's food and then refuse to talk to them. It was that sort of weirdness that got you marked for life.

When he pushed his plate closer, she pushed it back. "Do-" She bit the word in half with a sense of defeat. She was seriously in the wrong place to have a relapse of will power. She'd almost done it, almost ordered someone to stop doing something, knowing that they would have no choice but to obey. Oh, she was going to be sick...

Now even the thought of food was disgusting, and Carmen pushed the plate even further back to its original owner, shaking her head vigorously. It was then that he smiled at her, a smile that didn't fit with his dark clothes and serious air. Charming, kind, persuasive... Carmen had to physically work to keep her jaw from dropping. He was trying to charm her into eating?

Oh, sweet, you have no idea.

Carmen turned on her own smile, small and apologetic. Scribbling quickly, she wrote in her notebook: 'I don't train'. It was a subversion, she knew, but maybe he would take it as a cue she didn't want to talk. And if he didn't, he'd soon find out why.