The Elements

Chapter Three

The knocking at my door jolted me awake. At first, I thought it had just been a dream, so I remained in my bed. When it occurred again, I realized I would not be getting anymore sleep and stumbled out of the bed to answer the door. Opening it, I came face to face with Finn, who looked more refreshed than when I last saw him. He must have taken a shower because his blonde hair was wet and down around his face, and he had changed into another t-shirt and khakis. "You look well rested," Finn joked, no doubt noticing my disheveled hair and that I was still in the same, wrinkled clothes as before.

I just stared at Finn, waiting for him to tell me why he was at my door and interrupting my sleep. "Tracy was going to come get you to take you down to dinner, but something came up, so she sent me." We both glanced down at the state I was in and he added, "I will wait in the hallway while you get ready." With that, Finn quickly backed out of my room and closed the door behind him.

While I was still a little groggy, hunger pains overtook my tiredness and I began getting ready. I changed into jeans and a tank top, and while I was brushing my hair out, I heard conversation outside of my door.

"What are you doing on this floor?" A deep, masculine voice accused, stopping me from opening my door.

I had first though that the voice was directed at me, seeing as I was the one who had just moved into a room on this floor. But when Finn's recognizable voice testily replied, "None of your business, Faulkner," I understood I had nothing to do with the budding argument. Instead of stepping outside to stop what was happening, I instead decided to listen in a little longer and learn why Finn already had a resenting tone with this unknown person.

"What? Did they run out of rooms on your floor and you were booted here? Tell Tracy that you need to just bunk with one of the other hydros because you can't be on this floor." Okay, I was beginning to gain more information on the stranger. He obviously wasn't a hydrokinetic based on the distaste he held when talking about them. He also held a deep hate for the thought that Finn was moving in on the floor, and remembering that the different dorm floors were for the different gifts, I had a good idea who this man was.

Finn's voice had risen when he hissed, "I can tell Tracy exactly where you can shove—"

I had opened my room door and stepped out before the situation got more out of hand. The other man, looking around Finn's age, appeared Hawaiian with sun-kissed skin and shoulder-length, dark brown hair. He was slightly taller than Finn, and used that to his advantage because at the moment, he and Finn were standing toe-to-toe. The sound of the door opening brought both of their eyes to me. Finn had a look on his face telling me to return back to my room while the other guy just looked more pissed. "Oh, I see. Tracy sent your new fuck buddy up here and you are only here for a booty call." The disgusted look on his face that was targeted at me hit me deep. While I was used to being bullied for my lack of money and introvert-personality, I had never been picked on for sleeping around with guys. Seeing that I had never slept with a guy before, the thought was almost laughable, but not quite.

I could see that his words sent Finn over the edge and Finn was no doubt about to sling some ugly words back at this guy, so I quickly snagged his bicep and pulled him away from the other man. Either from fear that I was going to go fiery or shock of me making physical contact with him, Finn backed towards me with his eyes still on the other guy. Knowing he wasn't going to interact in a similar fight to the ones Tracy talked about, I turned back to the other disgruntled being.

"I don't have hydrokinesis." I was proud of myself for how calm I kept my voice, despite the heat I felt building in the tips of my fingers. I kept my hand firmly planted on Finn's arm partly to make sure he didn't charge again, but mostly because I knew my fingers wouldn't ablaze when they were touching him. I do lose control with my powers, but if I put extra focus on controlling them for a short amount of time, I could keep them in check. Especially if I was touching another being.