After the group had been tested for their powers, they were granted access to the cafeteria and the rest of the building accordingly. They were recommended to go to the cafeteria because it was lunch time, but it wasn't mandatory unless they were doing it purposely. Obviously it was kind of awkward trying to settle in, especially if they struggled to socialise. Black Hole in particular felt a wave of intimidation once he walked into the cafeteria, slowing down hesitantly unlike the rest of the group he entered with, who continued to walk inside without a problem. None of them spoke to each other though as they all went their separate ways, each having their eyes set on different groups to sit with.
He felt weary of the sudden large number of people.. it caught him off-guard and he didn't expect it to be so busy. It made him anxious, his chest feeling tight while a deep feeling of worry set itself inside his gut, his breath hitching. He didn't really know anyone that well so wasn't sure.. who exactly to go to or where to sit. He imagined how scary it would be to sit at a random table.. he wasn't sure what to do.
He took another look around before slowly turning, deciding that he wasn't hungry anyways. He felt too sick to eat right now.. which he hadn't felt before until he entered the cafeteria. He would have ate elsewhere but he knew that it was forbidden to eat anywhere but the cafeteria as they were told in the rules, so passed on the opportunity and began to head for the door.
"Blackhole?" He heard a familiar voice say in front of him as he turned.
-
I turned around after considering my options, not comfortable enough right now with the current tables to sit at one of them. I had expected to.. just leave, but was stopped when someone stood in the doorway.. it was the guy with the accent.. Tree, I think? He had been the one to greet me to..uh, everyone in the first place. He seemed like an interesting guy. I slowly looked up to him, biting my lip for a moment under my mask. "Uh..hey.."
I hadn't been to highschool for a few years.. so this was intimidating. I didn't feel like being around a big group of people right now, since I was used to just being on my own. I wasn't sure if I was dissapointed or.. uh, glad to see Tree, not knowing if my mixed feelings were showing up on my face. Luckily my mask covered most of it.
"Where are you going..? You haven't eaten.." Tree pointed out, furrowing his eyebrows in concern. I wasn't sure what excuse to use.. or if I should lie.
"I..uh, was.." I speak, but no excuse comes to mind as Tree continues to stare expectantly. He waits for me to say something but since I don't, he takes the lead. "Were you leaving?"
I hesitate, but nod in confession. It felt weird for someone to care so much about my wellbeing.. especially someone I hardly knew. Tree seemed to take this personally and furrowed his eyebrows at me disappointedly. "..uh, sorry." I muster a fast apology, hoping that's what he wanted.
"No need for that. Come with me.. we can find a seat together. " Tree offers, walking past me gracefully and taking lead into the cafeteria. I was surprised, but said nothing and followed him, a weak smile forming on my face.. wow.. he's uh,..pretty nice. I don't mind hanging out with him for a little.. he makes me feel welcome, afterall.
-
Needle was having similar problems. She wanted to eat alone but all of the tables had now been taken up, she could sit at a mostly empty one but frankly she didn't want to be spoken to. She watched grudgingly as Black Hole and Tree took the very last table, gripping her tray with frustration, curling her fingers around the edges as her hair fell over her face. She peaked out of it to look around, not seeing anywhere she particularly wanted to sit.
This was annoying..she was close to dumping her tray in the bin and just walking off, before flinching as someone called her name across the room, it audible over the loud cluster of voices from the crowd. She cringed.. she didn't expect that because she hadn't spoken to anyone.. so they must have remembered her name.
She turned her head with dread, behind her hair she was able to make out a girl who was waving at her rapidly to get her attention, standing from her seat in a very noticeable manner. Needle groaned weakly, wanting to ignore her but didn't want to be rude. The girl wore a black jumper patterned with coloured flames, and she sat at a table that was occupied by a bunch of other girls.
Lollipop was there.. which was embarrassing. Lollipop seemed to be grinning her way smugly as Needle dragged herself over, whose breath hitched as she went to speak up, praying they wouldn't ask her to sit with them. "Yes?" Needle asked as she approached, as if she had no idea what they wanted. She could feel her heart pounding in his chest, throbbing against her ribcage. Her stomach felt like it was in her throat, not realising how harshly she was clinging onto that tray.
Match was the one who had been waving at her, sitting at a table occupied by Bell, Book, Lollipop of course, and Liy. Book gave fast and small friendly wave to Needle as the tall girl was stood at the end of the table, wanting to be kind to her. Needle looked nothing but intimidated however, visibly unnerved from being around them.
She felt anxiety grow because the others girls, accidentally being cynical about their thoughts as she could hear her own heartbeat in her body. Match leaned her head on her hand, her elbow propped up against the table while she held chopsticks, moving her other hand back down as she had been using this to wave.
"You're like, new, right? Lollipop told us your name.. you can sit with us, if you wanna." Match offered, signaling the seat next to her with a flick of her head. Needle looked anxious, confusing Match. She didn't say anything though, watching as Needle uttered a small thank you before slipping into the seat next to her quickly, slumping into it almost to hide. She was a tall skinny girl, so was still taller than all of them even when she sat down, and also didn't take up much space on her seat. She set down her tray, but didn't feel like eating anymore.
Bell and Liy were both cool with her sitting there, but Liy was more curious. She slammed her hands down on the desk unexpectedly, rattling plates and causing drinks to shake, leaning forward by standing and getting up in Needles face, startling her. "Soo, what's your powerrsss??" Liy wondered aloud, trying to encourage her. She yelped dramatically as Bell yanked her backwards by her red tie, almost falling off her seat as she slammed back down to where she sat.
"Dude! The hell?!" She yelled at Bell, shoving her. Bell rolled her eyes and did nothing to retaliate, looking back at Needle while tucking a strand of hair behind her ear.
"Sorry about her. She doesn't interact with people often. " Bell growled passive aggressively, Liy blowing a raspberry at her.
"Is it always like this?" Lollipop hummed gracefully, tracing the edge of her tray with her finger up and down as she grinned with amusement, enjoying the interactions they were having. Book forced a laugh, straightening her skirt out a few times, her eyes falling to her lap.
"Uh, p-pretty much.." she blurted.
"Guys! Like, pack it IN. You'll scare Needle off." Match growled threateningly, giving Bell a harsh kick under the table. Bell yelled in pain, Liy laughing until she was kicked too.
"So, tell me about all your powers, since I am here now." Lollipop requested, cupping her face in her hands as she rested her elbows on the table, interested in their abilities. Liy immediately stopped complaining about her leg, perking up and shooting her hand up eagerly.
"Ohh! Me!! ME. I can summon weapons when I'm pissed off. Which is right now, so kick me again and you'll see the damn consequences. " she snarled at Match lowly, who seemed unphased by her threats.
"Boring hearing powers." Bell complained and slumped foward onto the desk, huffing and crossing her arms while laying her head on them. "I can make you go deaf.. orrr super sensitive to sound..you know, that sorta stuff." She didn't seem too happy about it, sulking slightly.
Lollipop glanced to Match. "You?"
"Fireballs." Match suddenly put her hands together, pulling them apart proudly as a huge ball of flames erupted from her hands. Needle side eyed this, able to see through the small gaps in her hair, the glow illuminating her but also she could feel the warmth from the flames. Liy looked excitable when this happened, audibly saying "Aww" when Match shut up her hands and caused the ball of fire to vanish.
"Basically Fireys powers but worse." Bell grumbled, salty from being kicked in the leg, moving a hand and rubbing it constantly with her fingers as she felt a bruise forming, tracing out the hurt area. Lollipop was amused by Matchs powers, her attention turning to Book, who was in the middle of cleaning her glasses.
"I know what yours are already, don't I? You're able to read out others thoughts when you touch them, am I wrong?"
"N-No, you're right.." Book embarrassedly muttered, pushing her glasses back up her face before fiddling with the sleeve of her jumper. "I-I usually avoid doing it when people don't want me too.. you'd be.. amazed at some of the things I've read from people. " Book trailed off, and it was clear that this was not a good thing.
"What's yours, Needle?" Bell asked, moving her hands to swipe up her own food, taking a bite out of her jam sandwich as she held it with both of her hands. She was doing exactly what she told Liy not to do. Needle looked up, having tried to avoid taking part in the conversation so was annoyed Bell couldn't catch a hint. It.. was hard. She already felt like she didn't fit with them, something about them clicked that didn't click with her. She was hesitant to trust them, too, scared they wouldn't like her or think she was a freak because of her abilities.
Though now all eyes were on her.. and she felt the pressure of expectation befall her. She swallowed her nerves down her dry throat, going to hold her hair and stroke it. "I.. I can't show you prope-"
Before she could finish, Bell cried out as someone crashed into her from behind, knocking her in the head and causing her to drop her food. Lollipop and Liy turned around since they were next to her, frustrated to see Snowball and Blocky having been playfighting which caused Blocky to fall into her accidentally.
Bell whined and ran her hand to the back of her throbbing head, Liy glaring at the two boys as rage began to grow within her, gripping the table and while digging in her nails. "Hey!! Watch where you're damn going, ignorant fucking jerks!!" She insulted in fury, Lollipop rolling her eyes at their immaturity and turning around.
Blocky laughed as he hung on Snowballs shoulder, stumbling off him as he was shoved, looking at Liy and rolling his eyes with a smile. "Come onn, cheer up, Liy! Bell's fine, sorry, though!" Blocky excused, bursting out into laughter while he walked off. Snowball was less apologetic, in disbelief that Liy was so angry.
"Oh, grow up!" Snowball retorted viciously, sticking his tongue out. "Girls are such wusses..." he snarled at them, before turning around. Liy growled and grit her teeth, preparing to stand and fight him but was stopped by Bell, who grabbed her wrist as she was in the middle of standing.
"Just leave him, he's an idiot." She grumbled miserably, rubbing the back of her head to soothe the pain. Liy huffed as she was denied, watching her in pain while snatching her hand away.
"I'm sick of Snowball treating everyone like shit. The only person who he can't mess with is GOLFBALL, because she's the only one who's strong enough to beat his ass." Liy shot, not angry at Bell.
Needle watched hatefully.. she hated people like that, blinded by the need for revenge to care about first impressions. "You wanted to see my powers?" She grumbled.
Needle swiped away the fork that lay dormant on Lollipops tray, clutching it in her hand and wrapping her fingers around it. She lay her other hand flat on the table, and by the time she swung the fork down and violently stabbed herself it was too late for anyone to stop her.
"NEEDLE! The hell is WRONG with you?!" Bell cried in distraught, but Needle didn't seem to act in pain. Bell watched nervously as the blood tricked down her hand from the mild wound, but noticed Needle was looking across the room. Bell turned her head, as did the other girls, as right on time Snowball began yelling.
"DUDE! MY HAND! It's BLEEDING! What the HELL?! GH-" Snowball cried out, clutching it. It was hard to hear what people were saying to him over the commotion and noise of the cafeteria, but the wound was bad enough for him and Blocky to rush out the cafeteria, most likely to the medical room.
Bell was in awe, in a scared way. Liy was astonished in an amazed way, turning her head excitedly to Needle, only to see her wound had completely healed. "The fuck did you do?! That was crazy! Woah- holy shit, did you girls see that? Damn!" Liy was energetic from the event, mostly because it was good to see Snowball getting karma.
"Is it like a .. voodoo thing?" Match wondered, Needle nodding shyly as she placed down her fork. "Mm..yeah. That's it.." she uttered, her voice wavering from anxiousness. She was scared because she was usually called creepy or freaked out others with her powers, but they all in fact seemed pretty interested.
"Th-That's so cool!" Book exclaimed with interest. "So you just.. focus on them and.. whatever you do to yourself effects them?"
"Pretty much.." she mumbled, her gaze on the table while her hands fiddled with each other. Bell was a little scared. "C-Can you kill with it? Like, are you immortal?"
"Nno.. it's not like that. Just.. non fatal wounds." Needle explained, looking up at Bell for a split second to make a flash of eye contact with her. "I..I can ..kill with it, but.. I'd die as well."
Lollipop smirked with entertainment, sliding her fork back to herself. "What an interesting power.. so you felt none of that?"
Needle shook her head no. Liy couldn't believe it, before slamming her hand down on the desk. "Hey! With powers like that, stay away from Blocky. He has this stupid power where whoever he pranks successfully, he gets to turn into them and use their powers. Make sure to keep away from him, otherwise he'll be able to use your powers, too! Bell was stupid enough to get pranked by him, but I haven't yet." Liy boasted proudly, wincing as Bell slapped her arm.
"H-Hey! I damn HOPE he manages to get you too, one day, because then I'll just laugh." She seethed, Liy rolling her eyes boredly.
"Whateverr." She blew her tongue out at her.
Needle would keep note of that, though.
Meanwhile, there was another issue occurring in the cafeteria. Loser was finding much enjoyment in simply showing off his powers to the group, presenting his ability to turn crystals into whatever he wanted. He was applauded and cheered on by a small number of people, sat a table while they watched him with interest. Of course, he enjoyed all such attention.
"The crystals look so pretty! Are they always a yellow colour...?" Leafy asked politely, showing her curiosity. Loser chuckled.
"Why.. of course. I wouldn't choose them to be only yellow.. though, it is my favourite colour.."
"Why did you even come here?? You don't need to improve your power, dude!" Coiny exclaimed, swinging his feet as his arms lay outstretched on the table. Loser felt complimented, smiling warmly.
Donut, however, was not enjoying this. He sat across at a different table with Gelatin, aggressively trying to write in his diary while getting interrupted by the small crowd. His anger only seemed to grow, his pen pressing down onto the page harsher and messier. Gelatin watched with concern, his mouth full while he ate a Pb and J sandwich, holding it with both hands.
"You okay, Donut?" Gelatins voice was muffled as addressed Donut by his full name instead of Gelatins nickname for him, surprised as Donuts powers were causing his plate below him to float, looking down at it. He quickly put his sandwich down on it to hold it down, it rattling against the table on collision. "Hey??? Why are you so mad??" He swallowed his food.
"Loser." Donut growled and shoved his pen to the table, glaring over at him with hateful eyes. "He ALWAYS does this. He always bathes in the limelight, soaking up all of their compliments. He loves it.. it frustates me so much, Gelatin!!" Donut spat, slamming a fist on the table. It caused the cutlery to rattle.
"Uh, I don't see a problem..the guy seems pretty friendly. " Gelatin shrugged passively, taking another bite of his sandwich. Donut grit his teeth.
"That's what he WANTS you to think. That's it.." Donut had had enough, standing rapidly while pushing himself away from the table, rage firing through every part of his body. Gelatin watched him walk around the table, turning his head to keep his eyes on Donut. "Come on, Donut.. don't do anything stupid." Gelatin huffed, helpless as the other didn't listen.
"HEY! LOSER!" Donut suddenly yelled to get his attention, storming over to him and standing right in his way, making eyecontact with the similar heightened male. He didn't look happy, his gloved hands clenched as he looked the well groomed individual up and down. "The hell do you think you're doing?!"
The tables Loser was showing off too quietened down, and soon after this happened to be the case with the whole cafeteria.
"Oh, Donut. What a pleasure to see you're finally talking to me.." Loser sarcastically hummed, but so much that it was unnoticeable. "Hm? But I am simply showing everyone my ability. Why are you so annoyed?" He attempted to act calm, simply putting his hands behind his back with lidded eyes.
Donut glared right at him, unimpressed. "You KNOW what you're doing, you narrsastist! Admit it, you LOVE showing off!" Donut spat back and grit his teeth harshly, not replying to Losers first comment.
The two had never got along, even in highschool, and it was for this exact reason. They were the only ones from their previous highschool, so nobody knew about their rough relationship. Loser seemed to be unphased and amused at Donuts anger, rolling his eyes. "Don't embarrass yourself, Donut. Just let me have my fun, hm? I'm getting to know everyone, I'm not sure what your problem is." Loser lowly remarked, there being a hint of smugness in his voice.
Donut was clutching his hands together tightly, the light above flickering. Loser looked up, as did a few others.
"Still can't control your powers?" He muttered with a growl, getting frustrated that he was doing this again. "Grow up, Donut. Just move along. " Loser didn't know why he was so bothered about this, simply turning away from him.
Loser winced, though, stumbling. He felt himself get pushed forwards, this sparking his anger and causing him to suddenly overflow. Loser whipped back around, knowing Donut had pushed him like that, suddenly summoning a cluster of individual crystals and launching them Donuts way.
Donut ducked, hearing them smash into nothingness into a wall behind him. That was it. He could hear students muttering around him, unsure what they were saying but it only made him feel worse. Gelatin realised what was going to happen, trying to stand. "Donut!" He called, wanting him to walk away from this. It was too late, though.
Donut stepped back slowly, before needing to release some rage as it built inside him. He raised his hands and in a swift motion, lifted plates from the tables in the air and launched them at Loser from all directions, them whirring through air on their way to their target. Losers eyes widened, grinning before outstretching his hands, summoning a giant crystal shield around himself, the plates smashing into it. It enclosed some of the students at the same time, Coiny looking up at it in awe. "Woahh!!"
"Woah?!" Pin yelled back at him.
The two began to notice now, the chants of students around them calling the word "fight" over and over, growing louder the more that joined in. Loser didn't smile anymore, shattering the crystal dome into nothing before summoning a sword, holding it out in his hands. Donut was enraged, firing knives and forks from the tables around in Losers direction. Loser ducked and whacked them away with his sword, hopping up onto a table and stepping over some of the students.
"You'll have to try harder than that!" He boomed over the chanting students. Donut twitched, his anger making it hard for him to control his powers properly. He suddenly made a grabbing motion with his hand, Loser confused until he heard intense creaking from above. He looked up, able to see Donut ripping one of the long lights out of the ceiling and trying to crush Loser with it. Losers eyes widened and he gasped, jumping off the table into a roll, the students who were sat there scrambling away before it smashed into the table.
It broke it upon its messy collison, a puff of dust releasing into the air after it fell with a giant crash, a mangled mess of wires and debris piled on top of the table, a huge cavity left in the ceiling that showed off the pipes and vents. Loser stared back at it in disbelief, before whipping his head over to Donut.
Loser made no comment, yelling as he began to run up to him with his sword, holding it out. He jumped up onto the table, using that as a way to launch himself into Donut. Donut stared, moving out of the way as Loser swung his sword around and jumped at him. Donut yelled as he felt a slick, cold pain erupt across his cheek, realising he had been cut. This only fuelled his rage, shouting in anger as he used his powers to shove Loser into a table, making him hit his head.
Loser dropped the sword, his hands clasping his head in pain. Donut was about to do more, until he heard something over the crowd.
"Gelatins hurt!" He heard Tree say, making him whip his head over. His breath hitched and his body tensed as there was commition next to the table that had been broken, the ceiling had caught Gelatins leg and trapped him under the rubble. Donut completely forgot about Loser and anyone else in those moments, pushing past a table to run over to his best friend. Too many people were around him, though, so he couldn't get through. He couldn't see what was happening. Donut felt a wave of guilt pursue, feeling sick to his stomach.
Not again.. not again. He couldn't do this again. He couldn't let his powers cause another friends death.
"Remind you of anything?" He heard Loser say, it may not have been intended to be heard by Donut, but it broke him. Donuts eyes widened and his head snapped behind himself to view Loser, trembling before pushing a whole table with his powers, flipping it and launching it right where Loser was. Loser stood dumbfounded, about to be crushed if it wasn't for the teacher, One, blasting a beam of ice to freeze the table in his place, encasing it in ice before it could hit Loser.
Loser stared at it, mesmerized, before turning. There stood One, Eight and Three, and none of them looked happy.
---