More Than a Battle, Less Than a War || tøp AU

4

"Hey gumdrop! Whatcha doing here sweetie?" Josh greets Scarlet, leaning his elbow against the doorframe.

"I came here for Tyler, Joshua. Step aside." Scarlet shoots him the deadliest glare her sweet face could produce. "Tyler, let's go."

I gather my things while Josh keeps trying to flirt with Scarlet.

"C'mon, gumdrop. It wouldn't hurt to stay a little bit." Josh cooed, placing his hand on her shoulder.

I watched as Scarlet placed two fingers on Josh's lingering hand, and slowly, Josh's hand turned purple from the wrist up.

Did Josh's hand really just... turn purple?

No, I must be imagining things.

"Ow!" Josh recoiled immediately, rubbing his hand feverishly until it turned back to its original pale color. My eyes widen in disbelief.

"Tyler." Scarlet beckons me to follow her. I nod my head and proceeded to walk with her out the door and down the hallway.

We walk in a tense silence. She knows I must be terrified of her right now. At the same time, I want to ask her if what I saw was real. As we settle in the elevator, Scarlet speaks up.

"You must be startled about what just happened." she says without looking at me.

"How did you know?"

"Your body temperature, blood pressure and heart rate. I noticed the change."

Now she's starting to freak me out. There is no way for her to determine those things without touching me at all! What is going on here?

"I will explain everything later. You must be hungry, I suppose. I'm sure the IQ didn't stop to take you out for a meal."

Come to think of it, I am starving. So much has happened today that I neglected my basic needs. The elevator doors then open up to the lobby.

I follow Scarlet out of the building gripping my backpack straps, trying to channel all the negative energy I'm feeling towards her into them.

We walk about the busy streets, me staying staying a step behind her and Scarlet not once looking back to make sure I'm still following her. We've only met just this morning, and she already trusts me enough to know I wouldn't ditch her. She's one interesting girl.

Scarlet cuts a corner and motions me to follow her into a small café. Standing in front of the plethora of food choices displayed in the display cases, my stomach grumbles.

"Hey Scarlet! How are you doing?" the cashier behind the counter says to Scarlet. It seems as if they both know eachother already.

"Absolutely wonderful! Two small coffees and a club sandwich for the big guy, please." she replies. I roll my eyes. Scarlet is actually the most frightening person ever, yet the cashier probably doesn't have the slightest clue. She's evil, I tell you! Evil!

The baristas prepare our order while we sit at a table somewhat isolated from the others.

"Alright, let's cut to the chase." she says, resting her elbows on the table. "I'll start with the basics. Everyone has a lure and a lack, thanks to Xenon. After the Ethical War, he took the few survivors and experimented on them so that they'd come to develop different lures and lacks.

"But anyways, a lure is a special ability or power that you have control of to some extent. A lack is your weakness or fear. Lacks are there to balance the amount of power you have. The most common lures are the elemental; earth, wind, water, and fire. But, most people have unique lures. Jenna Black, the captain of the IQ, her lure is fire. It may sound basic, but she is actually very skilled with her flames. Zephyr's lure is life. She can't create a life out of nothingness, but she can determine fate and the direction your life with a snap of a finger. She's pretty powerful."