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Post by ADAM CHRISTOPHER PERSELL on Jan 2, 2010 23:31:19 GMT -5
Adam wasn't all that religious, his parents had been, so he knew how it all worked. But it wasn't like he had a cross in his pocket and a prayer on his lips all the time. Sure, he believed in the big man upstairs, and he didn't really care how he talked to him. Besides, he was tired, freezing and since there was too much snow on the ground to camp he'd made a deal with the priest to let him stay in the church's parish hall overnight.
It was a thursday evening and a small quiet service had just finished being held and Adam was overpowered with the need to sit and think... sit and pray. Maybe it was because the smell of candle smoke reminded him of home, and the methodic words felt familiar and warm, like chicken soup.
So he sat carefully in a back pew and looked up at the alter quietly. He'd only stay a day or two, checking to see if Maddison was here, the same way he'd checked much of the state already. Hopefully he could find her. He'd been so dumb to not tell her how he felt. They'd be friends for so long and it had been years since he'd thought of her as only a friend. And now she was gone.... But he hadn't given up on finding her. He'd been on the road too long, he was used to it now.
He sighed and closed his eyes, offering a small prayer of his own kind, and when his eyes opened again he felt a pair of eyes on him, but he saw no one. Maybe it was God... But the church was dim and he figured he just felt like an outlaw, running around like he was. Backpacking around trying to find his best friend, the girl he loved. It felt like it was against the law. At least he'd been lucky at finding places to stay as the winter went bad. And he'd gotten enough money to spend Christmas at home. But he was on the road again, and something about this town left him curious.
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Post by MADDISON NOELLE RUSH on Jan 3, 2010 14:56:15 GMT -5
She'd missed the service. Maddie knew that. Actually, she'd done it on purpose. Being raised in a small town meant that church was a big part of her life. That's just the way things had always been for her. The thing was, being a mutant made it hard to mingle with the rest of the people here. She wanted to come to the church because she needed something familiar. She just tried to show up when people weren't going to be there. The last thing she needed was to accidentally hurt someone who hadn't done anything to provoke her.
Tucking a loose curl behind her ear, Maddie sighed and tiptoed through the back door. Everyone was bound to be gone now. The weather was too cold for people to stick around for very long after the services anymore. That, of course, worked in Maddie's favor. It also kept her from having to put too much effort into her appearance.
It was only after she realized she wasn't alone that Maddie wished she had worn something different. Her faded blue jeans tucked neatly into a pair of dark purple snow boots that matched her heavy purple coat. Her favorite sweatshirt broadcast the word "hope" for the rest of the world to see. The boy on the pew before her, though, had seen her in much less flattering outfits. He'd seen her in just about every phase it was possible for her to be in.
Life in Wapasha had gotten comfortable, and the very last thing she expected was to see Adam here. For just a moment, she fumbled with her concentration, and winced as she felt a pulse of energy escape her control. "I'm sorry!" The words were out of her mouth before the power would even have hit him. She only hoped it wouldn't be enough to actually hurt Adam.
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Post by ADAM CHRISTOPHER PERSELL on Jan 3, 2010 16:04:29 GMT -5
"I'm sorry!"
The words jolted him out of his mind as he swung around towards the sound. The words didn't even stay with him, he was too captivated by the sounds. He knew that voice. His eyes found her quickly, she looked prettier than when he had seen her last, but they had been apart for a while. But she looked worried, more anxious than he had ever seen her look. He met her eyes, and then his head started to throb, and he blinked away. Adam raised a hand to his head and rubbed lightly, but the feeling had passed, and he looked up again, hoping she would still be there when he did so.
And so she was.
Adam felt himself get out of his pew, much slower than he had expected. How often had he replayed this moment? The moment when he saw her again. Different places, different ways, but nothing like what was actually happening though. Wasn't that typical? Why ddi he even bother? To feel prepared? Nothing prepared you for life. He stopped when he was a foot or so away from her. Unable to say a word. he was a man of action but nothing seemed to be happening.
"Maddie?" he asked tentatively. That had to be her, but maybe he was losing his mind. "It's really you, right?" He asked, trying to hide his excitement. Did she have any idea what he'd been doing while she was gone? Traveling, camping, saving money, looking for her everywhere.
Adam took another step closer and tried to hold himself back from hugging her, the difficulty of this was physically obvious. He almost twitched as he tried to keep his arms from reaching out. He thought maybe he should say that everyone missed her at home, but he was here for himself. His feelings, her parents might have called the cops, but no one was looking. No one but him. "I missed you." He said.
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Post by MADDISON NOELLE RUSH on Jan 3, 2010 17:58:21 GMT -5
She'd wanted it to be him, to be sure that this wasn't a dream, but at the same time, it was one of Maddie's worst fears. She'd loved Adam for as long as she could remember, and the very last thing she wanted now was to have to tell him what she was. No one could possible care about the sort of creature she was when they could have something simpler, easier to deal with. Her teeth kept ahold of her lower lip as Maddie watched him stand. He stepped toward her, and she didn't move. Her blue eyes held tears that she was trying hard not to shed. It would almost be harder if this wasn't a dream. She couldn't possibly get close to Adam again. Sure, this time she'd apparently only given him a headache. There was no telling what might happen if she let her guard down again.
He stopped a foot away from her and Maddie felt the first tear slide down her face as he asked if it was really her. She didn't exactly trust her voice at this point, so she nodded, her eyes fixing on her purple boots. After a couple of deep breaths, she figured her voice might work again. "What are you doing here?! Shouldn't you be back home? And have you had a shower recently? You look like you've been living in the woods! It's way too cold for that!" Her brow was furrowed, and she hardly realized she was harping on him. That was until she stopped long enough to hear his next comment.
Another warm tear made its trail down Maddie's cheek and she shook her head, trying to remind herself that this wasn't smart, safe, or rational. She couldn't stay here with Adam. But there was nowhere else to go. He couldn't stay. "I missed you, too," she mumbled, her voice betraying her with ease. A moment later, she was crying openly and probably endlessly. Her control was starting to wobble again, and she felt her knees buckle as she fought to gain control of it.
Looking up at him from the floor and trying hard to make her voice stay steady, Maddie frowned. "You can't be here. You have to go." She hoped she sounded more determined than she felt. Actually, she hoped she sounded like she cared a little less than she did. Hoped he cared less than she did. That he would actually go home. Staying here would only cause problems for them both.
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Post by ADAM CHRISTOPHER PERSELL on Jan 3, 2010 18:11:10 GMT -5
ooc- aw i like them <3 and i like ur icon =)
Adam watched as the tears started to slide down her cheeks. Damn. He always hated it when girls cried, and what he hated more was not knowing why she was crying. It couldn't be relief or happiness at him being there since she hadn't moved to embrace her friend, nor did she seem to want him there at all.
"Go?" he repeated. "Maddie, I've been on the road since a few days after you left. Do you have any idea how long I've been looking for you? As for my appearance, I was camping in the woods, until winter hit. I've been sleeping wherever I can get. And you want me to go?" He repeated. It didn't matter that he had no idea if she loved him, but who could send their best friend away? That didn't seem fair, nor did it seem right. He still had no idea why she was here, why did she have to leave at all?
He reached out and touched her arm lightly, as if testing that she was real, before he pulled her to his chest and hugged her. It didn't matter if she returned it or not. She smelled different, and yet, still the same. She felt the same in his arms, a feeling he had missed. And her body was moving with the steady tears. Adam knew he had to let her go, and he managed it, but it was much harder than expected. Not that he even expected it to be easy.
"I'm not going anywhere," he said steadily. If she really wanted nothing to do with him, then he would leave, but only after he knew the whole story. Only when he found out why she had run from him and his world.
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Post by MADDISON NOELLE RUSH on Jan 3, 2010 23:22:49 GMT -5
Of course he wouldn't listen. Maddie had been close to Adam for long enough to know that once he'd set his mind on something, he wouldn't be changing it anytime soon. Her telling him to leave really wouldn't change much of anything. Her mind sifted through reasons that he should go, trying to settle on a way to convince him that it was safer for him elsewhere. But he didn't know what she was. He didn't realize how much she could hurt him if she forgot to concentrate for even a moment.
And then her cheek was against his chest, and Maddie felt her eyes flutter shut. She breathed in his familiar smell (well, as familiar as it could be while masked with the scents of hobo-esque travels) and snuggled gently against the warmth of his chest. Her heart wanted him to be right there beside her ever step of the way. She never wanted to let go of him, and she was pretty sure that if what he said was true, if he'd been looking for her since she left, then he must feel the same way about her. You didn't run around the country looking for a girl who was really just a friend.
All at once, she realized how dangerous this was. Adam's grip relaxed, and Maddie took a much needed step back. His stubborn response was one she expected, and Maddie swallowed the lump building in her throat. "Adam, you have no idea what you're doing. You. Have. To. Leave." She said the words slowly as if she was talking to a child. Then, as if to punctuate them, she started to let her mental wall fall away. "I can't have you hurt," she whispered, unleashing just enough energy to cause a distracting sort of pain, a more persistent one than she'd accidentally tossed at him before.
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Post by ADAM CHRISTOPHER PERSELL on Jan 3, 2010 23:32:51 GMT -5
Adam could feel her relax in his arms, that what made her sharp pull back and tone that much more painful. Why did she want him to go? Had she run from him? Had she never really cared for him at all? He sighed. "I can't go." He repeated softly, looking at her softly.
I can't go, because I love you.
But the words didn't make it out of his mouth, he heard her whisper about him not getting hurt. "Don't you understand how bad I've been hurting since you left?" He said just as a sharp pain collided in his head. His hands flew to the sides of his head. It was like being underwater, when the pressure starts getting tight. It was almost dull in a strange way, it just hurt, he couldn't place it, couldn't name it. He'd never had headaches like this, he almost never got headaches. He bit his lip and looked up at her as well as he could, trying to keep his face smooth. Truth was he sort of thought his head might explode, but that would sound silly out loud. But she was a friend, right? She would help him if something is wrong.
"Fuck my head," he swore, not caring that he was in a church. It was like his brain was suddenly dehydrated. he hated pain like that. Not to mention this was hardly the time for his head to be acting up. This was important. Maddie was important.
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Post by MADDISON NOELLE RUSH on Jan 3, 2010 23:40:41 GMT -5
This was getting more dangerous by the moment. Didn't she understand that he'd been hurting since she left?? Well, she'd thought about that, but she was much more concerned with how much she might have hurt him if she didn't leave. This thing she did... it was terrifying. It took practically all of her concentration and energy not to send people into shock on a daily basis. His cheerleader ex girlfriend had been an accident. She couldn't let Adam be an accident, as well.
She'd almost told him she loved him, and the moment she realized it, her guard slipped a bit more. She wasn't sure what would happen, but she found herself praying under her breath that it wouldn't be enough to seriously hurt him. Her eyes stung with tears again as she watched Adam's hands move to his head. She knew she was hurting him, but maybe that was what he needed. Maybe if she could make him understand what she was, how dangerous she was, he'd realize how much was at stake. Maybe he'd actually leave. He could still have a perfectly normal life somewhere without her in it.
"That's not your head," she mumbled, forcing her mental walls back up all at once. The abrupt lack of pressure on his head would probably be dizzying if nothing else, but at least she wouldn't still be hurting him.
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Post by ADAM CHRISTOPHER PERSELL on Jan 3, 2010 23:50:24 GMT -5
And suddenly the pressure was gone, utterly gone, and for a moment, he looked puzzled, his hands slowly leaving his face. Carefully he straightened and looked at Maddison, eyebrows furrowed. Not his head? How did she know what was wrong with his head? Or... not wrong with it as she seemed to think. "I don't understand Maddie." He said, slight desperation edged into his voice.
She just had to tell him the truth, whatever it was. She had to know by now that he was too stubborn to just leave because she told him too, especially not without an explanation. Adam couldn't find the words though. Had it been anyone else, he might have been yelling in frustration, but if it had been anyone else he wouldn't have left home to search for her the way he had. "Look, just tell me the truth. I want to know why you left, why you never came back, why you never called.... Maddie, I thought maybe I did something, I thought maybe you had died and I would never get a chance to make whatever it was up to you and I couldn't let that happen because... I luh--" He stopped. One more syllable and he was finished. The unspoken V sat on his lips. Not, he couldn't tell her he loved her, not until he found out what was going on.
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Post by MADDISON NOELLE RUSH on Jan 4, 2010 0:00:49 GMT -5
She'd backed herself into this corner, and there was no getting out of it now. It wasn't his head that was the problem, and she knew that. But how was she supposed to explain that to him? He'd think she was crazy. Worse than that, he might be afraid of her. He should be afraid of her. If she lost control, she could end up killing him. It was a difficult decision to make. She wanted him to stay so badly, but she couldn't live with herself if something she did resulted in his death.
Eyes closed, Maddie took a slow breath. "It's not your head," she repeated. She paused for a moment, trying to decide if she was really going through with this. But how could she deny him the truth? "It's... it's... well, it's me." Her eyes fixed on her shoes while she focused on holding up that wobbling guard of hers. Tears stung her eyes, and she didn't have the energy or the will to stop them. Besides, Adam just might give her a reason to shed them in a minute here.
His string of questions was one she deserved. She'd left a lot of things unaddressed when she'd left, and he was well within his rights to ask for more. "I... Your.... Your girlfriend? The one who was in... in the coma? I... um... that was.... me." Her voice trailed off and she slowly brought her eyes up to meet his. She probably wasn't making any sense right now, but it was the best she could do at the moment. Her concentration was faltering, and she didn't have the patience to think through a proper way to answer his questions. In fact, she was so distracted that she almost missed the start of his confession. Even when she noticed it, she wasn't sure she hadn't imagined it, and she decided it might be best to keep her mouth shut until the rest of the truth was out.
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Post by ADAM CHRISTOPHER PERSELL on Jan 4, 2010 0:15:38 GMT -5
Rachel. How could he forget that? He couldn't. Things had been rough with her before the coma, and frankly, he felt bad dumping her while she had no choice. So he had hung in dating limbo for a while, and then he had been running after Maddie.... But on his trip home for the holidays he found out she was awake and visited her in the hospital. "She's conscious again, Christmas time, doesn't remember a thing." He told her, his eyebrows still pulled together.
He was still trying to figure out what she was trying to tell him. It was her? Hurting his head now and putting Rachel in a coma? How? Not poison obviously. Couldn't be a release of gas since it was so sudden and all.... Adam bit his lip as he looked at her. Nothing seemed that different, what could she possibly be talking about. Maybe some kind of weird laser? But where would she get something like that from around here? She wouldn't.
So what did that leave?
Then he remembered what he'd heard about Wapasha--word of mouth was the only reason he found the town at all. Most called it the runaway town, but he'd heard a few things, whispers really, about witches and people who did strange things. Mutants, they had been called once or twice. Is that what was going on here? Was she messing with his head?
"Did you go all Heroes on me and not tell me?" He asked, a smile finding his lips as he tried to make it sound off hand, but it just sounded mocking in his ears. So he shook his head and tried again. "So the rumors about this town are true then?" Nope, still not right. "What is exactly is it? This thing you can do?" He sounded a little apprehensive now. Reasonable though. He'd never been the type that believed in this stuff. But he knew Maddie too well...
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Post by MADDISON NOELLE RUSH on Jan 4, 2010 0:26:11 GMT -5
It wasn't easy to explain at all, and Maddie had been relying on the fact that Adam could tie things together in his head. Wapasha really wasn't the sort of place you just turned up in. He had to have come for a reason, and, at the very least, he must have hears some of the rumors that wafted around the town. Humans talked. A lot.
The change in his eyes that marked his understanding was one that Maddie both welcomed and feared. Sure, he'd been her best friend for practically as long as she'd been alive. She hadn't been capable of killing him before, though. His questions caught her attention, and all at once she lost control, letting out a rather hefty burst of power before she jerked her walls back up. This was not the sort of conversation to be having when she was already tired and trying so hard to keep her concentration on her power. "I'm sorry!" she told him again. It was practically impossible to keep from sending a blast or two his way.
Her first instinct was to get defensive. The reference to Heroes and then to the rumors about the town were almost mocking. As if he didn't believe her. But Adam had know her long enough to know that not only would Maddie never lie to him, she couldn't lie if she'd tried. She would have ended up sounding like a toddler trying to tell a story. Letting out a sigh, she reigned in as much concentration as she could muster and attacked his last question. "I... don't really get it. It's like... I have this energy... It just kind of.... I guess it consumes other people's minds... It does different things. The more energy or the longer it stays, the more damage it can cause.... It's really confusing. And it scares the hell out of me." It was as honest as she could be, and she hoped Adam would accept it.
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Post by ADAM CHRISTOPHER PERSELL on Jan 4, 2010 0:41:16 GMT -5
At the 'I'm sorry' he flinched in advance. He guessed what was coming this time. It hurt worse than before, but it only lasted a moment or two. No wonder she was spooked, it would scare anyone. The power to scramble minds... it was so something she would never do, and somehow that made it more believable. She wouldn't trick him when it came to something so serious anyway.
"Is this why you left? Why didn't you just tell me? I would have come around..." But would he? He only believed her because of what he'd heard, and how he knew her, and what else could have possibly compelled her to run away like she had. Maybe fate knew that and this was better. One thing was for sure. Her power scared him. He still loved her. She was trying to protect him, not get rid of him. Okay, that was more than one thing. But he wasn't sure what to do or say. Was she right, should he go? No, he couldn't leave her in this mess alone.
"I'm not leaving you Maddie, its not fair that you have to go it alone." Maybe he could help, she could test her radius for destruction or something... hopefully not giving him brain damage in the process. But he couldn't go home and live a normal life now, no way. There was no turning back here. And he still hadn't told her the truth. "Nothing is left for me back home." Not completely true, he had his family whom he loved. But no job anymore and no college waiting for him. "Please, don't send me away again."
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Post by MADDISON NOELLE RUSH on Jan 4, 2010 10:37:59 GMT -5
"Adam, I put a girl in a coma. And I can do worse than that. No one would have believed me. You might have tried, but, well... It's kind of ridiculous, isn't it? And I just... I couldn't do that. There are too many people I luh--care about at home. I... I couldn't let myself hurt you like that." Her voice trailed off at the end. It was almost as good as a confession. She'd run away not because she was afraid for herself, but because she was afraid for the people she cared most about. She couldn't stand the thought of hurting them, and she hadn't even meant to do what she'd done to Rachel. She still wasn't exactly sure how all of this worked, and she was positively terrified of her power. Going back home wasn't happening anytime soon.
He was every bit as stubborn as she remembered, and it brought the ghost of a smile to Maddie's face. She knew he wouldn't leave her, but the way he asked her not to send him away again made her think that he might have gone if she really wanted it. It was an intimidating concept. Did she mean that much to him that he'd leave her if she really wanted it? Her brow furrowed and she closed her eyes for a moment. Had she meant that much to him all along? And would it be horribly selfish of her to keep him here when she knew how dangerous she could be?
"You can stay. But you really need to find somewhere better to stay than here.... I've got a couch." It wasn't much, but it was all she had to offer at this point. And she was still old-fashioned enough that she wouldn't be sharing her bed. Not even with someone who already had her heart.
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Post by ADAM CHRISTOPHER PERSELL on Jan 4, 2010 18:30:38 GMT -5
Maybe he wouldn't have figure out what was up with her if she had told him back home. He might have laughed it off, never believed her. As awful as the thought was to him. He couldn't ignore how nuts it sounded, and if it hadn't been for his sharp head pain and the rumors and the fact that he loved her---he still might not have believed her. But fate got them both here, to this point, this place, this understanding of life. And there was no going back.
He loved her too much to care that he might get hurt in the process.
And he wasn't even talking about his heart, he was talking physically. It didn't matter if he got into a coma and never woke up. It would be worth it, to be with her. To love her. And hopefully he could tell her how he felt before some tragic accident. He wouldn't die without telling her the truth and since it could come any time, he was wasting no time.
Adam smiled as she offered him her couch. "Thanks Maddie, you're still gonna be here after I grab all my stuff from the other room---right?" He asked carefully. he couldn't lose her again. And turning his back to walk away would be difficult for him to do. He'd waited so long to see her, to be with her.... he couldn't blow it now. He had to make sure she wasn't dating someone here before he spilled his guts out to her. He had to have her, and if only as a friend, then so be it.
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