Seven Minutes » stylinson

introduction

story: seven minutes

part: introduction

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With only a few minutes left in lunch, Niall is playing with his food while Louis is─actually─trying to be productive. At least Niall's trying to be supportive. "C'mon Lou, you can do it!," he insists, picking at his cheese covered hamburger, "Well, probably... but you won't know 'less you try!" Louis rolls his eyes and tilts his head like he can't quite believe Niall is real, and the blonde lad gives him a toothy grin through a bite of his cheeseburger, making Louis cringe. Always the optimistic cheerleader, though, Niall looks positive. Focusing again, Louis licks his bottom lip nervously and nods at his smiling best friend.

He gets into position again, tilting his hands just right, his fingers just right, his whole entire being just right. He can feel in the defier part of him that the pebble is wanting to move. The small object is responding to him, but it doesn't move, no matter how much effort Louis puts in it.

With a gasp, Louis lets his stiff arms fall to his sides. The ability to defy water and wind are where Louis has his greatest power. He can feel the toothpick's tip of ability in earth, but absolutely nothing in fire. "I can't do it, Niall!," he huffs, throwing his hands up, "It's responding to me, but it won't move!" Niall just cackles at his complains, and Louis scowls at him as he rubs his sore arm muscles, willing his abdomen to unclinch, slumping into his chair beside Niall, dejectedly.

"Can't never could," says the girl on the other side of Louis, Jesy, sliding over to them with a tray of food.

Louis rolls his eyes, again, and breathes out of his nose. "Pipe down, Nelson. I'd really like to see you try and defy stupid rocks," he scoffs, and Jesy pretends to wipe spit off her face, which causes Louis to cover his face with his hands and Niall to laugh behind him. That's the thing about Louis and Jesy's friendship. If you don't know them personally, you probably think they hate each other. They are both naturally quick witted and sassy, and that clashes a lot.

"You know I defy fire, numbskull. Not everyone has the blessing of defying two things," Jesy says, sticking her tongue out at Louis.

"Three," Louis says, turning his attention back to the pebble in front of him, "If I could just figure out how to move damned pebbles, I would─ah!" the small gray rock suddenly flies in the air and Louis' eyes widen. It starts to rise up slowly, and he twitches his fingers like he's been taught. It doesn't move, it just keeps rising until it's eye-level.

Niall looks surprised for a moment, and then ecstatic, clapping Louis on the back. "Woohoo, Lou, told you that you could do it!," Niall whoops, fist pumping the air. Louis gulps.

"I─I'm not in control of it," he stammers, and Jesy shrieks when the rock suddenly flies right at Louis' face so fast it looks like a gray smear through the air. He instinctively clinches his eyes shut in fear, and when nothing happens, he hesitantly opens one eye, opening both when he realizes that the cost is clear. He scowls when he realizes what just happened.

One table over, one of the Australian exchange students sits, laughing his stupid arse off. He rises up and pops one of his friends on the back, and walks over towards Louis, Niall, and Jesy. He rises a hand and tilts a finger and the rock soars away from its stopping point─a hair's distance from the bridge of Louis' glasses─and softly lands in his large, open palm.

"O' course you're not in control of it, Tommo, you're not an earthier. But that was pretty funny. You should'a seen the look on your face. Priceless, mate. Say, how is your earth mastering going, overall?," he light heartedly chuckles, stealing one of Louis' carrots from off his tray, "Still think you can do it?"