Who: Seth & Gabby What: Their fifth date When: REALLY backdated October 30th, evening Rating: Medium/High
Seth was in his car on the way to pick up Gabby for their fifth date. Sure it would seem strange for someone like him to count how many dates he has had with the same girl, but it had been a long time since he had dated a girl so many times, also since he had gone on so many dates and had not persuaded into his bed yet. She was very different from girls he had been with before. Actually it was no surprise he knew that she was different from the first moment he met her. She was no pseudo bad girl who was looking for a quickie with whoever was willing, or the innocent type who he could trick into thinking that they were going to ride off into the sunset together. No she was a man-eater, she ate guys up and once she was done with them spit them out. And she rarely gave into just anyone, guys had to work for it. Most guys probably would have given up and gone after an easier girl, but Seth was tired of those easy girls. He had been craving a challenge and Gabby was definitely a challenge. And he knew that once he finally got her all the work he put in would be so worth it.
He gripped the steering wheel calming his nerves. Not getting laid as frequently as he was used to cause him to be more on edge then he was used to, but wearing just a pair of his nicer jean as a v-neck sweater helped feel a little more relaxed. At exactly seven sharp he turned the corner on Gabby's street and a grin spread on his face.
*****
Gabby glanced at the clock over her shoulder as she stood in front of her dresser and closet. Clothes littered the bed and floor, and even more were spilling out of the closet and hanging from the dresser drawers. There were five minutes before Seth was supposed to be there and she was in nothing but a bra and underwear. She'd already gone through at least half of her wardrobe and still she had no idea what to wear. Was she supposed to wear something flashy and fancy? Or was she just supposed to wear something nice looking? Or maybe it was appropriate to wear just a pair of jeans and nice top?
For a minute she stood there and cursed herself. She didn't understand why she was trying to look so nice for Seth. He was just a guy. And she'd done so well to fend him off thus far and out of her bed. So why was he still sticking around? Why wasn't he leaving after going on so many dates with her and not having sex, or even so much as a blow job? It didn't make sense, but Gabby was going to have fun trailing him along for as long as she could. She wasn't going to allow herself to feel anything for him - he was just a game to her.
But was he really just a game? There was no way in hell Gabby would put this much effort into something so minute as wearing the right clothing if she wasn't attracted to Seth, even in the slightest. But she had to tell herself that he was just for fun. If she let herself feel something more, she knew that she wouldn't be in control and then it wouldn't be as fun any more.
Sighing, Gabby grabbed the closest pair of jeans on the bed, and a silky, fashionable top, and threw it on. Looking at herself in the mirror, she sighed again. She wasn't satisfied with what she had on - it looked like something anyone normal would wear, not a high maintenance girl like herself. Gabby shook her head a little as she heard what she assumed was Seth's car pull up to the house. Peeking out the window and seeing Seth in the car, Gabby ran to her closet, pulled on a pair of knee high black boots and started throwing clothes around frantically in search of her purse. "Fuck."
*****
Seth turned on the radio to one of the stations that played alternative music. Now he wasn't a huge music buff but when he was waiting it was a welcome distraction. He was sure if they ever had traffic on Frye Island he would listen to it more, but since so few of the residents owned cars traffic didn't really exist. He drummed his fingers on the steering wheel to the beat of the song that was playing. Every now and then he looked out his window to see if she was there yet. Did she change her mind? Did he accidentally tell her to meet him at his place? He was sure he told her he'd pick her up. He pulled out his phone and shot her a quick text, "I'm outside." He was tempted to type a bit more, like 'where are you' or 'don't break a poor guy's heart and tell me you changed your mind.' However, he thought just letting her know he was there was enough. Didn't want to rush her or piss her off right off the bat. Their dates had been going relatively well and he didn't want to do anything to mess it up now, not after all the work he had put in, he wanted the pay out.
Then he heard a sound and glanced at the door to her building and smiled.
*****
Clothes flew all over the room as Gabby scrambled to find her bag. But then she heard two loud dings come from under the covers of her bed. Nearly pouncing on the bed, Gabby shook out all of the sheets until she found the bag and read the text on her phone. She didn't bother to send him back a message - it would just waste more time and make her look even more unfashionably late than she already was. As she grabbed her keys to the house on her way out, Gabby looked herself over in the mirror. Straightening out her loose curls a bit, Gabby smirked and walked out of the house.
Her boots click-clacked on the pavement as she made her way over to Seth's car and shoved a piece of hair nervously behind one ear. 'What am I doing?' she thought to herself and she fluffed the hair back out, trying to act like nothing just happened. Getting in, she flashed a grin at Seth and tried to calm herself down. "Hey, sorry about making you wait." Gabby tried to make it sound like she wasn't actually sorry for making him wait but it didn't come out quite right. "Er.. so what did you have in mind for tonight?" She fastened her seat belt to purposefully avoid Seth's gaze as she tried to calm herself down and act somewhat normal, like she wasn't completely wrapped around his finger.
*****
Seth's grin settled into his normal lopsided smirk when he saw Gabby come out. He let his eyes quickly take in her appearance. While he certainly liked seeing her all dressed up like they had on their previous dates, seeing her more dressed down was nice. In clothes like that and wearing less makeup than usual he could actually see how beautiful Gabby really was. Pretty much any girl could doll themselves up enough to be attractive to anyone, only a select few could still look flawless without it. It confused him a bit when she pushed a piece of her hair behind her ear. He didn't let it show on his face but he felt a small victory in that action. He had been teaching long enough and been the fantasy of many of his students to know that it was normally a nervous tendency. She was nervous...he knew he'd break her down eventually. However, what he hadn't yet realized, or even if he had he'd never admit, she had started to break him down too. It was slowly but surely becoming more than a challenge to see how quickly he could make a man-eater like her crumble before him. He was actually starting to like the girl and in more than just a physical way, she was funny and smart and could most definitely take care of herself.
He brushed off his contemplation and let his face shift into a simple smile when she got in. Seth shrugged, "No problem, I just got here a minute ago." He glanced over at her one last time before turning towards the road and added, "You look nice." He pulled away from the front of her building on the way to his loft, "Well I think we discussed movie and take out at my place. I have a pretty good movie selection but was their anything in particular you wanted to see. Because if I don't have it we can stop at the rental place if you want?"
*****
Gabby tried to calm herself down as she buckled her seatbelt. She clasped her hands neatly together in her lap as she felt the smallest waves of electricity passing between them. 'Just breathe,' Gabs thought to herself as she first looked out the window and then over at Seth. When she noted his smile, she grinned. He didn't seem to be the least bit nervous which put her at ease a bit more, but her nerves were still getting the best of her a little and she could feel the ends of her hair picking up from the static electricity. Gabby quickly tried to pat her hair down and smooth it out like she was just smoothing out her hair.
Taking a deep breath, Gabby smiled at the compliment. "Thanks, you look nice too." 'At least he's got reasonable taste in dress down clothes,' Gabby thought to herself as she judged his sweater and jean combo. Judging Seth's clothing choice actually put her a little more at ease because she was so absorbed in fashion since it was what she did for a living. She stopped analyzing his clothes when he changed the topic. "I'm sure you have something we can watch. I'm really not as picky as I look." She laughed a little to herself, knowing full well that was a lie. But what guy really wanted to date a girl who was picky and would make him go out of his way just for a movie? Gabby wasn't stupid.
*****
Seth smirked when she returned his compliment and when she said she wasn't as picky as she seemed he gave her a look that said he didn't believe that for a second, "If you say so, but I do have a pretty diverse collection so I'm sure something with catch your fancy." He let his eyes go back to the road as he navigated the streets to his loft, which wasn't too far. Once they pulled up to his building and he parked Seth quickly made his way around his car to open her door for her with a hand extended to help her get out. His lopsided grin still firmly on his face he said, "So you ready to see Casa de Enders?"
*****
Gabby paid no attention to Seth's facial expression when she said she wasn't picky, but just smiled. They hadn't known each other for a terribly long amount of time but at least he was smart enough to pick up on something like that. She just hoped that his place wasn't a complete mess of a bachelor's pad. She'd been back to some places and nearly turned right around before going any further. But Seth seemed to have his act together for the most part so maybe he'd be different.
As they pulled up to his place and he came around to open her down, Gabby smirked. So far so good. The building at least looked somewhat nice. When Seth spoke, Gabby took his hand and chuckled a little. "As long as it's not a bachelor's pad," she teased as she started for the door.
*****
Seth laughed as he let her out of the car and said she hoped it wasn't a bachelor pad, "Well that depends on what you mean by bachelor pad, I mean I am currently a bachelor and it is my home or 'pad,' but trust me it isn't strew with beer bottles or covered in posters of girls in bikinis posing provocatively on cars or anything. However, I do have to say in the trash you may see that I am currently visited by the take out fairy," he glanced over at her and placed his hand at the small of her back and started to guide her inside to the elevator that took them up to his loft, "but that shouldn't be that huge of a surprise since you know the extent of my cooking is tomato soup and grilled cheese."
The elevator pinged as they went up the several floor to the top floor. The doors smoothly slid open. Seth opened the door and held it open and ushered her in with a swooping motion, "Welcome to my home Ms. Murphey. Hope it meets your standards."
*****
Gabby chuckled a little as she listened to Seth defend his place against being called a bachelor’s pad. “So there aren’t beer bottles or girls in bikinis. What does that mean? There are girls fully nude and whiskey bottles instead?” she teased, a devilish grin spreading across her face. As Seth placed his hand at the small of her back, Gabby tried to keep from blushing. She was used to guys trying to court her but Seth was different. She actually liked him, so when he did things like put his hand on the small of her back, it was like she had never been touched before. She felt like a girl in middle school, falling for the first time and inwardly cursed herself for letting him get the better of her.
As they got to the top floor and the doors slid open, Gabby inched her way in before Seth and peered around. It looked like your average apartment for someone who was single, regardless of their gender. “Not bad,” she commented quietly as she looked around. She didn’t go much further into the apartment as she didn’t want to seem nosey, so she waited for Seth to take initiative and either give her a tour or go in further. “It’s not as nice as mine but it’ll do,” she teased again.
*****
Seth shook his head at her reply, "Aw drat you caught me, all this time I've been hiding the fact that I'm the eternal frat boy. However, I have to say I prefer scotch over whiskey." Now he was raised to have manners and practice chivalry when going on dates, when you cared that is. From experience he knew no matter if the girl was completely miss independent she did enjoy little things like when the guy opened the door for them, pulled out their chair, or guided them with their hand. He now did is sort of subconsciously when he realized that girls ate that up. With other girls he never reveled in the feeling of innocent touches like that. However, with Gabby he could feel the warmth of her skin through the materiel of her shirt and longed to rip the top off her and feel her bare skin. But no, he remained calm, he knew the minute he did that all his hard work would be for nothing. Also he had started to like her for her personality, almost more than her body. What could he say he was a hot blooded male and had eyes. Gabby was smoking hot.
Seth smiled at her compliment, "Well thank you, but it does lack a woman's touch, so I'm not surprised that yours would be nicer." He stepped more into the apartment and put his hand on her back again, "Come on I'll give you the grand tour." He walked past the couch in the middle of the room with his big screen television, "Well here is where we'll be spending the first part of our evening, and back behind that little bar is the kitchen...not used that often." He then led her to a room on the side, "This is my office, once again don't use it much, only when I'm having trouble focusing on making lesson plans. However, I have luck that my class is all about freedom of expression, so if I am drawing a blank or get distracted I just have them do a free write. It's bad I know but hey it is Creative Writing." He gave a little laugh, "and over there is my bedroom and my bathroom is attached to it." He resisted from showing her his room just yet, he wasn't quite sure if he could resist the urge to throw her down on his bed if they were that close to it. "And last but not least in there is the laundry room and the guest bathroom is attached to it. Tonight you can use that one or mine, either or." He then led her back over to the couch and he fell down to sit on it as he let out a sigh. "So you want to pick a movie while I order? By the way any thoughts on what you want, pizza, chinese, thai, mexican, or sandwiches and soup from the Cafe?"
*****
Gabby raised an eyebrow at Seth. He was agreeing with her? Weren't men supposed to argue and say they were right about everything - especially when it came to something like the pride and glory of their apartment..? She smirked though, "Maybe we'll have to do something about that." Gabby didn't mean that she was going to move in and change everything around. But perhaps if she frequented his place more often it would become a little more feminine with each visit and a bit homier. Then again, who knew how much longer Seth would be willing to put up with her crap and not having sex with her after so many dates, yet putting in so much effort for it.
She followed Seth as he started to give her a tour of his place. Gabby tried to make mental notes of where everything was, not that his place was big, but more so that she could think of what to possibly change and what she liked in general. Gabby eyed his desk and made another note of how he slacked on making lesson plans every once in a while. She refrained from making any comments. 'Those that can, do; those that can't, teach,' she thought as they kept going. As soon as she had thought that snide comment, they were on to the bedroom and Gabby walked by it as quickly as Seth did. Usually she enjoyed it but she didn't want to know what would happen if she lingered there too long with Seth.
'Tonight you can use that one.' The words took a minute to settle in as Gabby stared at the guest bath. She hadn't been planning on staying the night but apparently he was keen on the idea. "Using the guest bath tonight, eh?" She playfully prodded Seth in the side. "Who says I'm staying over tonight?" And with that, Gabby followed him back out to the living room and set her purse down on the couch. "Anything edible by my standards," she murmured to him as she started to look through his collection of movies.
*****
"Maybe we will...not too much though, no extreme makeover home edition things," Seth said with a smirk. He had to admit he liked how she said 'we'll have to do something' not 'I'll have to do something.' It meant that she thought of them doing things together. A moment of realization of what was going on and what he was thinking hit him suddenly. He hid it under an expression of indifference to not alert Gabby to the thoughts now swirling in his head. He was becoming a sap, a big stupid mushy sap. When did it become more than just him conquering her, beating the man-eater at her own game? When did it become...real....like the precursor to a real relationship and furthermore...why didn't he realize it sooner...also...why did he want it more than anything. It finally hit him that Gabby was perfect, she was the only one who he felt could match him blow for blow. She was the only one who he felt could put up with him....maybe even for the long run. An image of her holding a child on her hip with his dark hair and her sparkling eyes flashed through his mind, but he quickly brushed away. No need to rush things. It probably was just the sudden rush with the idea that this was more than him wanting a challenge anymore and that he liked it that caused him to start having visions of an actual future with her.
Seth didn't even realize how his comment about the bathroom might have come across. "Oh, I didn't mean it like that, I mean you're welcome to stay if you want, I was just mentioning the bathroom in case nature called during the movie." He was somewhat pleased that she jumped to that conclusion. After their intimacy moving at a snails pace on their past dates he didn't want to assume anything, but if that's where her mind was and she wanted to...he wouldn't say no...even though he prepared himself for having to driver her home later or crashing on the couch. He wasn't going to expect too much. "Pizza it is then, so no dietary needs I need to know about. I don't want to order something and have you go into anaphylactic shock or something. Sure fire way to ruin our night am I right? And look at me I sound like fucking Dr. Seuss, I would not like them with a goat I would not like them in a boat, I do not like green eggs and ham, I do not like them Sam I am." He chuckled as he held the phone up to his ear and managed to order a large pepperoni pizza. It definitely was a feat since watching Gabby look through his movies all he could think of how much he wanted to get inside that fox's box.
*****
Gabby mentally started making notes of what she could do to Seth's place since he didn't seem to mind if she changed some things. She ran through the layout of his apartment and started adding little things here and there as they kept going. A change of things hanging on the walls, maybe a few different pieces of furniture swapped out, another dresser for her next to his... Wait. Another dresser? Gabby blinked a few times to try and stop herself from mentally freaking out. Why was she thinking of something like that? This was casual. This wasn't a real relationship. She didn't want to grow up just yet. Seth was nice but she was too good for him. Or was she? Gabby pushed the thought to the back of her head. She'd have to talk to some of her friends about this before she could decide what the hell was happening here.
"Mm.. maybe I'll stay," she thought aloud as she mulled it over. She didn't know if it was a good idea if she stayed the night at Seth's. She might cave in and finally have sex with him if she stayed the night and that was definitely not what she wanted. Perhaps if she fell asleep during the movie, it wouldn't lead to that. They'd just have to wait and see.
Gabby paused as she was thumbing through the movies and glanced back at Seth. As he started rhyming and brought up Dr. Seuss, she laughed a little at the awkward moment and then turned back to the movies. "No special dietary needs," she assured Seth as she grabbed 3 movies and took a seat next to him. "Here, pick one." She put the movies in his lap, "I narrowed it down this much. You do the final picking."
*****
Seth tried to hide how excited he was when she said that she might stay, he tried to hold in the giant grin that was threatening to spread on his face, a tiny smirk managed to slip out though. When she plopped down next to him and put the movies in his lap he didn't even have to flip through them to see the one he wanted to watch, "No contest here." He picked up his choice, "Indiana Jones and The Last Crusade. Harrison Ford, Sean Connery, Nazis, classic." He got up and put the other movies on the coffee table and leaned down to put the movie into the DVD player. He fiddled with the different remotes for a bit to make sure everything that needed to be on to play a DVD was on. One of these day he needed to get one of those touch screen things that did it all with one button so he could avoid all this shit. Once it was all set he went back and sat next to Gabby, a little bit closer than he had been earlier. He rested his arm across the back of the couch behind her. Not quite around her shoulder yet, he might chance to have it...slip....down...to rest around her shoulder. He'd play it by ear or vibe or whatever. He'd just see how she reacted to this first move then he'd go from there. Gabby was the first girl where he really had to calculate his moves with her. With Kristy if he messed up he'd just wipe her mind and start over. Considering what happened to Kristy he decided it best not to do that with Gabby.
However, it wasn't even out of the opening sequence with River Phoenix where his arm "slipped" to rest around her shoulder, damned if she pulled away or smacked him, he wanted to hold her just for a moment.
*****
Gabby smirked at his choice and brief explanation. "I approve," she said as she watched him bend over and put the movie in. She wasn't just talking about the movie as she watched his every move. At least she knew he'd probably be able to keep up with her in bed with a body like that. She couldn't tell if he was muscular because of the clothes he had on but at least he wasn't chubby. Gabby shook her head a little as he climbed back on to the couch with her to get those sorts of thoughts out of her head. If she didn't, she knew she'd probably start coming onto him right there on the couch and as much fun as that may be, she was a classy bitch - not someone who fucked where ever they wanted in the house.
She took notice of how he was closer than he had been when they were sitting before he got up. It wasn't like she minded him getting closer but it felt too PG to be real, so when he at least put arm around her, she felt a little more at ease. Instead of just staying put though, Gabby rearranged herself to a move comfortable position to watch the movie in, pulling her knees to her chest and resting her head on Seth's chest.
*****
Seth smiled to himself when she didn't slap him or pull away...she moved closer. When she rested her head on his chest he gave her a little squeeze with his arm and rested his head against her and started watching one of his favorite movies of all time. The movie progressed and every now and again he'd chuckle at certain scenes. Like the times when Sean Connery would call Harrison Ford 'junior.' He was thankful that he wasn't named Clark Enders Jr or he might have had that very same nickname. While personally as a partner for Indiana Jones he always preferred Marion Ravenwood, the girl from the first movie, he'd be lying if he said that the girl in this one wasn't a hottie...too bad she ended up being evil.
During the middle of the movie the pizza came and it currently rested on the coffee table with a few pieces missing. It had been good and he had to admit watching Gabby who was always so classy eat something as messy as pizza was sort of funny...actually kind of cute. They got to the point where they were entering the temple where the grail was and he leaned closer to her ear, "So what do you think so far?"
*****
Gabby hadn't seen the movie in such a long time that she didn't remember most of it but she was enjoying such a simple evening nonetheless. She wasn't a fan of the pizza he had ordered for supper but it was something she could forgive him for as long as he didn't make her eat junk food too often. It was like she could feel the pizza already sinking to her thighs and making itself a nice home there so Gabby just promised herself that she would go for twice as long on the treadmill the next time she was at the gym to make up for it and not say a word to Seth.
After the pizza, Gabby focused almost all of her attention on the movie. Bits and pieces were coming back to her but she was still on edge a little at what was going to happen, so when Seth spoke it caught her off guard a little. She tried to smoothly turn to him and act like he hadn't just caught her off guard. Gabby nodded, "It's good," and leaned up to kiss Seth, putting one of her hands on his thigh to support herself and slightly tease him. But that was the wrong move. Her hand wasn't that far from his groin and the thought of ripping off his clothes and having him right there on the couch probably teased her more than it did him at the moment. Before she could stop her thoughts, she could feel her power spazz and a small current pass from her onto Seth.
When she pulled away, she could see the small glowing current that connected their lips for less than a few seconds. It didn't hurt her but she touched her lip as if it hurt a tiny bit and tried to laugh it off. "Gotta love static electricity..." She smirked and rested her head back on Seth's chest, going back to watching the movie. Hopefully he wouldn't press it any further because she really did not want to explain why she could electrify him like that.
*****
Seth smiled when she turned to him and he felt himself flash back to high school when his heart started to race when she started leaning up towards him. He tried not to focus on how close he hand was to where he would love it to be, because those thoughts would lead to bad places, because he knew her finally caving to him probably wasn't happening tonight considering the pace that they had been going. During the kiss he felt a spark and he meant a literal spark that stung slightly. He furrowed his brow at her excuse of static electricity being the spark. That wasn't possible he had hardwood floors and his couch was leather. Having enough static electricity built up to be transferred in a kiss was nearly impossible. But if it wasn't static electricity....then what was it. The most obvious explanation would be that she had some electricity power, because like everyone on this god forsaken rock younger than him was part of his mother and her friend's little fucked up experiment. His arm instinctively gripped Gabby a bit tighter to him, he wouldn't let anyone touch her, especially not now that he had accepted that she was more that just a quick fuck to him, a fun challenge to overcome.
Seth looked back down at her moving his hand to under her chin to make her look at him again. If she shocked him during a kiss he assumed it was sparked by nerves or arousal or something. While she could brush it off the first time if it happened again he'd call her on it. If they were going to have a future she'd have to tell him about her little power and he'd have to tell her about his. With that as his final thought he gave her a little grin and leaned in to catch her lips with his.
*****
When Seth held her tighter, Gabby smirked. She assumed that meant she was off the hook and that he believed her half baked explanation. But then he was going in for another kiss and Gabby started to mentally sweat bullets. She slid her hand off of his thigh casually, thinking maybe that would help calm her down but it didn't. All it did was make her even more nervous about whether she'd be able to control her power or not.
Instead of focusing on kissing Seth, Gabby focused her attention on trying to control her power so as to not electrocute him again. But it didn't work and she could feel a couple of small currents slip through her lips and onto him. She grimaced and immediately pulled away from him. How was she supposed to explain this to him? Tristan was the only other person who knew about her power and that was because he had one too. But Seth? He was your average guy. He wasn't someone with a power. Gabby straightened up and moved away from Seth a little. She looked over at Seth innocently, not knowing what to say to him and waiting for him to flip out on her.
*****
Seth seemed to sense her not fully invested in the kiss, but he didn't let it bother him, it wasn't like she was pushing him away or didn't want it. She just seemed distracted and if she did have a power he assumed that he knew exactly what was distracting her. And just like last time he felt some tiny stinging sparks travel over his lips. The pain wasn't that bad, he had kissed girls before who were into...biting...and he has to say that hurt more than a few little sparks. He wasn't surprised when she pulled away and that she scooted away. She wasn't the first person he knew who thought if anyone knew what they could do they'd shun them and call them a freak. He gave her his normal lopsided smirk when she looked over at him,
"That wasn't static electricity. Was it?" He rubbed the back of his neck and his smile grew slightly, "That was you wasn't it. You can make electricity or something right? If you tell me yours I'll tell you mine."
*****
Gabby didn't say anything in response to Seth's questions. Immediately she started debating in her head if she should really tell him the truth or not. She had never told a guy before but really, what was the harm in telling him? If he didn't like her after he found out, she could always just move on to the next, even if she really did like Seth. Part of her wanted to shrug it off and not admit to having a power but then again part of her wanted to share it with someone else than the select few who knew and hadn't judged her.
She looked at him suspiciously when he said he'd show her his power, if she'd show him her power. Gabby sighed and scooted farther away from Seth on the couch. 'Here goes nothing,' she thought to herself as she tugged off the jewelry on her wrists and fingers and tossed it on the coffee table. Holding out her hands, she produced a ball of electricity in the palm of each of her hands. She stared at the electricity and then started playing with it, like she was moving a slinky between each of her hands. Smirking, she looked up at Seth and waited for him to say something. Gabby braced herself for the judgment she knew was about to come.
*****
Seth saw her remove her jewelry and when the balls of electricity appeared in her hands and she started transferring it from hand to hand his smile turned to one of awe. When she glanced over at him waiting for his response he shook his head and let out a little laugh,
"That is so," he paused, "amazing. Really cool, much cooler than mine." He scooted closer to her, "So how long have you known, when did it first appear, were you always able to control it so well?" He wanted to know everything about it but then shook his head out of his boyish wonder, "Or right I said I'd tell you mine. Well I can't really show mine, it isn't as visual as yours but, I can erase thoughts with a simple touch. If I don't mind about being a little rough with it, like don't worry about possible causing permanent damage I can do if from a distance. Most of the time if I ever do it, it's just the most recent memories, but if I try really hard i can erase them all, I could even turn them into a vegetable for the rest of their lives if I wanted to. So you see, I also have to be careful about it." He ran a hand over his short hair, "Also recently I noticed that I can block mental powers, like if it's someone's mind that is the focus of their powers. A kid in my class tried to read my mind, I didn't know I could do that until he tried. Looked really confused when it didn't work." Then an idea came to him, "does your power just happen or do you have to focus on it, like think about it to happen?"
*****
As soon as she had made the balls of electricity appear, Gabby made them disappear and absorbed them back into her hands as if nothing had happened. Why wasn't Seth weirded out though? Why was he so happy? And why was he laughing? Gabby waited for him to say that she was so weird but then he was saying that it was ...amazing? She blinked a few times in disbelief at what she had just heard and then let a small smile spread over her face. Gabs was about to answer all of the questions he had but then she paused. Why was he not so surprised that she was capable of doing something? Why did he seem to think that something like this was normal?
Her jaw dropped a little when he said that he could erase thoughts and memories. She couldn't help herself when a hint of worry spread over her face at the mention of him being able to turn someone into a vegetable. Almost like an instinctual reaction, balls of electricity started forming in her hands again and she started tossing them back and forth between her hands to make it look like she wasn't a little freaked out and worried because of his power. Her power was at least something she could contain if she really wanted to - he could do his from a distance without even touching you.
Before she answered any of his questions, Gabby looked at him a little suspiciously. "Why are you not weirded out by any of this? You can erase memories and block other mental powers. And I can manipulate electricity. Something doesn't seem off to you? This isn't ... normal. Normal people don't go around turning others into vegetables on a whim, nor is it normal to be a... human power plant. And some boy can read minds??" To put it mildly, she was freaking out a little and you could see it as the balls of electricity started to slow grow in her hands from being the size of a golf ball to the size of a cantaloupe.
*****
Seth was happy when he saw the smile spread on her face. Had she really thought he'd dump her because she could do stuff like that? She had something that looked like force lightning! What guy wouldn't be down with that? When he saw some sparks form in her hand when he explained his power he held up a hand,
"Don't worry, I've practiced this for years, I don't 'accidentally' turn people into vegetables. I've never even had that happen, I just am saying that I probably could. If I was rough enough with their mind and erased practically everything they'd be eating from tubes for the rest of their life." Then she asked the question that he knew was coming. 'Why wasn't he weirded out?' He sighed and rubbed the back of his neck again. Afraid that he power might spaz out and set his furniture on fire he reached out and rubbed her upper arm and focused on blocking her power, at least the mental aspect of it.
"Well, the reason why I'm not weirded out by it is because...you're not the first person I know who has a power...pretty much everyone under the age of twenty-six has one. Now I know this is going to sound crazy but...when I was about five years old my mother brought me to work with her. I wasn't expecting anything to happen, just seeing some beakers and some cool stuff. I didn't expect to get strapped down to a table and injected with something that they didn't know what would do. I got something that was like the flu...then nothing. Then college came around and...I really liked this girl but she kept brushing me off and I couldn't stand it anymore so I...I'm not proud at what I did Gabby and I regretted it right after and for some reason the next day she acted like nothing happened. That was when I figured out what I could do...that the treatment I was given had worked...it was just a little delayed." He took a deep breath hoping that admitting he raped a girl wouldn't cause her to hate him...he was young and stupid and....he swore he'd never do it again. If he did he would have already had Gabby several times over. "After the treatment 'didn't work' on me right away they decided to go younger...as in....not born yet younger. They decided to do it on their children or any children of couples who were willing to offer their unborn child to the project. Every kid on this island underwent that...they all have powers and no one tells them that it's perfectly normal...that it was expected. I've seen so many kids cycle through my classes and I can tell when they find out what happened. They change become withdrawn. I want more than anything to tell them that they aren't alone but I can't. They’re innocent and don't deserve to know that they were nothing to their parents but a fucking science experiment. I'm sorry about this Gabby, I know it's a lot, but I feel like if we want this to keep going, because I do, I really do, we need to be completely honest with each other."
*****
The fact that he hadn't done it yet but possibly could, didn't put Gabby at ease any more. At the same time though, she was capable of doing things even worse than that. With even a very low amount of electricity, she could potentially kill someone or cause serious health problems. After thinking about it for a minute and feeling Seth's hand on her arm, Gabby calmed down a little and the orbs decreased in size. She was a little apprehensive to let him touch her after he had just said that he could erase her memories but he was like her. He had a power and somehow that made her want to trust him more. They had something in common that wasn't normal. She also realized that she was probably scaring him a little with her power too though and clasped her hands together. You could see a light emanating from between her hands and you could hear the currents going between her hands but at least it wasn't going to set the building on fire.
Gabby listened to Seth's story. It sounded like just that: a fictional story. But she had to admit that it made a lot of sense. Her, Tristan, and Adam were all under 26 and they all had powers. If the three of them, who weren't all blood related, had powers, who else might have a power? Apparently everyone had a power according to Seth. But that sounded so far fetched. Gabby looked away from Seth as she tried to process all of what he was telling her. It made sense. She had gotten the flu in middle school and so did Tristan at one point. But kids were supposed to get sick, weren't they? She tried to decide whether he was telling the truth or not. What did he really have to lose in telling her this though?
As if the story of how he got his powers was crazy enough, Gabby was shocked when she realized that he was admitting to essentially, what? Raping a girl?? If she didn't look confused and shocked before he told her that, she sure did now. His words echoed as she mentally repeated them. 'A science experiment,' rang loud and clear in her mind. And suddenly it didn't seem so far fetched. Everything he was saying had happened to her or someone in her class. It fit.
Gabby hesitated as she processed it all again and mulled the situation over for a few minutes. Biting her lip, she sighed and looked up at Seth. He already knew about her power, so what else did she now have to lose? "14. I was babysitting. Made the power go out on the whole block for a few minutes and then come back on." She paused for a minute as she remembered how scared she was when it first happened and how she freaked out on the phone with Tristan. Gabby pried her hands apart and watched the currents bounce back and forth between each of her fingers. "I couldn't go near the beaches or a swimming pool for the first two years. Or wear metal. But now it's okay. Except for when I get overly ... emotional.” Gabby made the electricity stop flowing from her fingertips and looked up at Seth. "Any other questions?"
*****
Seth would have been surprised if she didn't look shocked and confused at everything he was saying. Even the story about what happened with Kristy...well the first portion...she didn't need to know the rest of it...at least not now. She seemed to cycle through a few emotions and calmed a bit when she told about how she discovered about her powers. He shook his head,
"Nope. You have no idea how happy I am that we now have that awkward conversation out of the way. I knew it was going to happen eventually and it's never fun." He paused and took a deep breath noticing the credits of the movie rolling, "So if I haven't completely killed the mood did you want to watch another movie or...do something else."
*****
Gabby smirked and kept silent. She was still processing all of what Seth had just told her. It probably wouldn't fully sink in for a few more days at the earliest. It never is easy hearing that you were basically nothing more than your parents’ science experiment. Then again, it wasn't as bad hearing she was just a science experiment since both of her parents were both already dead, though it would have been nice to at least ask them why they had done it and if they had any morals. Gabby stuffed that thought to the back of her head though and refocused on Seth instead.
Instead of saying what she really wanted to do, Gabby moved closer to Seth and climbed on top of his lap, straddling him. She hesitated for a moment as she smiled devilishly and leaned in to kiss him passionately. She had no idea if she had zapped him but hopefully he would get used to it and wouldn't say anything. As Gabby continued to kiss him, she tugged gently at his shirt.
*****
Seth was assuming that Gabby might want to go home and think about everything he told her. He wouldn't be surprised if she would, most people after that conversation did. He had only done it once before and she was pretty silent for the rest of the night. However he was pleasantly surprised when he found her climbing into his lap and giving him a devilish little look. Then she started kissing him with much more gusto than in their previous kisses. He didn't waste anytime kissing her back ignoring the sparks she was sending his way, they didn't bother him that much, they kind of...tingled...in a nice way. His heart was pounding when she went to his shirt. He could hear the Indiana Jones theme song playing in the background...quite fitting for something so monumental finally happening. Also in his head he could faintly hear that little level up tune he used to hum to himself after achieving something he considered huge in high school.
Seth raised his arms above his head to assist her in getting his shirt off. Once that was off his hands went down her sides one around her back and the other traveling lower and he tugged her closer. Both hands then traveled around the place where her shirt met her pants and slipped underneath running around the soft skin of her stomach and lower back.
*****
Gabby pulled Seth's shirt off and tossed it aside. She stared at his upper body for a minute before he pulled her even closer. She debated taking her shirt off too and showing off the cute lacey black bra she had on underneath but she decided against it. Seth had to at least work for it a little bit before she'd give in. Her lips met his eagerly again, both hands cupping either side of his face. When she felt his hands run down her sides, her whole upper body rolled in response, as if it was a knee jerk reaction that she couldn't control. Gabby stopped breathing for a minute as she greedily kissed Seth. Her body was pressed so tight against his by now that she could feel every curve and had to pry herself off of him to think about what was actually happening.
She knew she didn't want to have sex with him just yet. He'd earned something for being this patient but it wasn't sex by any means. Gabby admired his body beneath hers and stole one more kiss, lightly nipping at his lower lip as she pulled away, knowing what she wanted to do with him now. Gabby climbed off of Seth and tugged him to stand up in front of her. Without saying anything, Gabby stared into his eyes and undid his belt and pants. Once they were undone, she knelt before him and pulled the rest of his clothes off.