toes tapping, straws snapping {Jessica}

[ĸara вelova★]

There were many things people didn't know about Kara Belova. What they did know was that she was very quiet, a little hostile, and that she was Eiji Almasy's latest reject. The last bit she didn't know. That is, until a couple hours ago.

She was listening to music, something Kara was actually quite passionate about. Kara was leaning on the windowsill, looking out at the school grounds with her third story view, listening to her cheap mp3 player. Right now she was listening to Vivaldi's violin, an upbeat Concerto in A minor. She listened to strings when she was upset. She could just numb herself to the pain, but she was hesitant to keep doing that. The alien look Eiji had on his face, the expressionless horror in his eyes when she'd numbed him. She'd kept her distance since then, self-conscious about the painting she'd made him as well as the revelation of her powers.

But Eiji seemed to be staying away from her too. She hadn't heard from him, no texts, no calls, no visits. Their 'book meetings' had stopped altogether, and Kara had learned to stop hoping. He finally realized that he was better than her. She knew the day would come. She just hadn't known how quickly he would figure it out.

Today she thought he had changed his mind. Today she thought he had come to visit her... she saw him in the gardens, and she had been debating whether or not to go see him. Just as she stepped into the snow-covered garden she spotted Jessica. As she did automatically now whenever the girl drew near, Kara turned invisible, blending in with the floral surroundings. She still wasn't very good at walking while being invisible, so she had stayed still. But now, as she stared out at the school grounds from the third floor, she wished she had risked it.

Poor Kara, Jessica had sneered, Poor Kara, to be shoved aside for the prettier model.

That's what had happened. Eiji found another girl, a prettier girl, to shower his attention upon. Kara had lost him not because he discovered how far out of her league he was, but because he found a girl who was equally as superior. Kara couldn't remember the last time she felt this low. This dirty. This insignificant. He had almost convinced her she was worth something. But then he abandoned her, and now she was alone again, the way she liked it.

At least, she thought she would have liked it.

Kara was used to being alone, she was more than accustomed to the feeling. But now, knowing that she was truly, honestly, and completely by herself with not even Eiji, the boy she had actually let herself depend on, made her feel more empty than even her own power would let her feel.

She sort of found herself craving almost anyone's company.

Almost everyone.

[jess]

There were many things people could say about Jessica Rey. For that matter, there were many things people did say about Jessica Rey. Few of them were anything good. Which was fine with the heiress, who firmly believed in the idea that "any press was good press."

So many rumors had been started by her foul mind that Jessica rarely bothered to pay any special attention to any of them. Kellan and Kenneth were doubtless struggling with the "knowledge" of how unfaithful he was (he slept with Jessica, after all) and how cold she was (so much so that she drove Kennedy away in shame). There was also the bit about all the people who'd run off. Clearly they were all kinds of mental.

But lately Jessica had solidified her hold on the Academy. Her Gift had actually grown in strength of late, and most of the people with the skills and will to resist had left for one reason or another. Without positive influences like the Cavan siblings, Cylo or Kiri, people were starting to look to Jessica.

which suited her just fine.

Jessica and her posse had been strutting down the halls. The fearless leader had recently decided that black leggings under micro-jean skirts were now in, along with long boots. So naturally everyone followed suit, not daring to argue with the unstoppable force that had become Jessica Rey.

then the redhead spied her personal favorite prey. That altogether too familiar, cruel smile spread red lips, and Jessica pointed.

"Look, it's last year's model. Ridden while it was easy to drive, but traded in for the hottest new ride," Jessica announced. The posse made the appropriate noises, and a few people stopped. Even those that had the ability to resist Jessica thought twice about doing so now.

[ĸara вelova★]

Kara's broken and uneven nails bit into the palms of her hands, but other than that she was the picture of serenity. She kept her eyes focused on the window and forced the bile down in the throat. Jessica never failed to make her feel worse than she already was. Any other day she might have gone along with it; let herself become the brat's punching bag. But today she didn't think she could lie down and take it.

So with a sickeningly sweet smile that was extremely out of character for something who exhibited so few emotions, Kara turned. The light in her eye that had been vacant (nay, dormant) all this time was almost scary, and would be terrifying if anyone knew exactly how it made the girl feel.

"Hello Jessica," Kara greeted, still looking very fragile in appearance. Jessica didn't know everything she'd been through. Sure there was Eiji, and that seemed like the biggest thing. But Kara had been held against her will in a top secret facility. She had been forced to lead the strangers that invaded the school right to everyone else (and the worst part about this was that she didn't care). There were needles, and there were tests, and there was a crappy teenage novel that romantisized vampires... as if being prodded by syringes wasn't enough torture.

Her Concerto ended, and she plucked the earbuds out of her ears to give Jessica her fullest attention.

"I was just on my way out, was there something you wanted to say?" So many words were unusual. Generally, Kara kept quiet and took the abuse she knew was coming. Today it looked like Jessica might meet a little resistance from her usually unresponsive prey.

[ĸara вelova★]

A hush fell over Jessica’s group of friends. Meanwhile, Jessica beamed. She looked dangerous; the way her super-white teeth were bared was almost as though she was snarling. Kara didn’t so much as blink.

“Yes, there was something I wanted to say,” Jessica said, taking a moment to look down and examine her nails. So Kara finally had the balls to stick up for herself. Jessica would show her what a mistake that was. Without even looking at Kara, she inflicted her power over her, “Go fuck yourself.” One of the girls shrieked with laughter.

Kara was suddenly overwhelmed with the urge to do exactly what Jessica said. It was a fire that erupted in her very core and seeped into every fiber of her being. The worst part was she didn’t want to, but she had to. The heat her body started generating was hormonal and heavy. She couldn’t stop it. Her hand drifted lower and she cowered back against the window, fingers hovering over the button of her jeans. Jessica held a hand to the side, and the laughing girl hurried provided a cell phone, ready with a camera.

“Come on Kara. You know you won’t get anyone else between your legs,” Jessica cooed, her vile sneer making a spectacular appearance. “Do it!”

Kara’s conflicting emotions was all that was stopping her. Now that Jessica had unleashed the next wave of her power, resistance was impossible. The jeans came undone and the zipper broke in her frenzy to get them loose. Some more people gathered around to see what Jessica was making such a fuss about. Kara slid her hand down the front of her jeans and moaned. Jessica snapped the first photo.

Kara wanted to disappear. She could become invisible, but only when she was totally calm. And in this bothered state, she was far from tranquil. Her eyes widened as more people joined the circle crowding her to the window. She squeezed them shut. All that power… it was overwhelming. Jessica wasn’t the only one taking pictures now. Kara was horrified.

How had she gotten into this? Was it really because she turned around? Kara regretted her anger… but now she remembered why. She remembered why she hated her so much. Jessica was a loathsome, disgusting bully. She was forcing Kara to do things she didn’t want to do. Just like that bastard scientist, sticking his needles into her. Jessica was inserting her power where it wasn’t wanted, and Kara seethed. She gritted her teeth, and summoned her own gift. She brought herself into a complete calm. The hand down the front of her pants was slowly extracted. She straightened up, buttoned her jeans, rolled her neck, and stared straight ahead into Jessica’s video recording.

Jessica’s brows furrowed. Kara took a step forward. Something in her eyes made everyone else back away. No one really knew what it was Kara could do. Some saw her with her fluctuating invisibility, but no one but Eiji, those blasted scientists, and certain teachers knew of her first gift. Kara pointed at Jessica, all her accusation channeled into two words.

“Fuck. You.”

With that, everything that ever brought Kara pain was blasted from her and into Jessica. All the terror, all the tears, all the shame and regret and remorse ripped through the girl. The agonizing pain of the stake entering her stomach, the panic of waking up and bleeding in a refrigerated morgue, the agony of learning you only had two years to live, and the dread of every passing day being wasted because you didn’t have the courage to make it worthwhile. The crushing sensation of being abandoned, the constant burden of being ugly, the reminding jeers of girls who sauntered by in designer labels she could never afford. That burning need to humiliate herself in public and the red-cheeked embarrassment that came from witnesses… every sin committed against her, everything she had ever bottled up, all came bursting forth and into Jessica. The emotions she never let herself feel, the ones she suppressed so she wouldn’t have to deal with them. They rattled out of her, draining her in a way her gift had never left her, and they settled in a new host.

All that strain could kill Jessica. The beat of her heart was like the wings of a hummingbird. Kara wanted to stand there and watch her die. But no one would understand. All they saw was Jessica, writhing on the floor, screaming and clawing at herself. One moment she was clutching her stomach, the next she was pulling out her hair and kicking violently. Kara knew what she had to do, but she didn’t want to. At all.

“Stop it!” Someone screamed. It was her laughing friend. Kara shot the girl a look that shut her up, a threat that she might be her next victim. She shied away.

Jessica started laughing and crying hysterically on the floor. Kara had probably driven her into insanity. The angry brunette slowly withdrew her emotions from the wriggling girl, leaving guilt and despair for last. Jessica grew still, twitching every now and then.

“What did you do to her?” An amazed boy asked, staring at Kara with a look of awe and fear. Kara was silent for a long moment while she suppressed all her feelings again. Then she answered, in a voice that was eerily cool.

“I made her feel what I have to feel every day.”

The frail girl slipped in her head phones, right in the middle of an ominous violin chorus. Then Kara left.