tushanshu | 14. [Video]

I'm pretty sure I'd get locked away as well, I mean even for my standards this place is still weird?

[Kon rubs at his arm and frowns. Bart had said how he'd rather forget as well. Part of him saw where they got the thought from but Kon was just unsure and didn't want to forget.]

Since we all started showing up. Guess it's been almost two years? Y'know if we don't count the little break.

[Hayley takes a long sip of her coffee as she considers his words, ignoring that the liquid is slightly too hot for drinking at length. Then she lowers her mug again. The idea that this place is even weird for Kon is almost unsettling, given who he is and where he comes from and everything. He should be used to this.]

That's.. a really long time. [She sounds equal parts surprised and concerned. After a beat, she decides to add her own admission, something she wasn't planning to talk about.] It'll be a year for me, in two days.

[A pause.]

Are you okay? [She asks suddenly, having noticed the way he rubs his arm as a reflection of her own nervous habits. He's harder to read than Bart. Maybe because he isn't saying aloud pretty much everything he's thinking.] You seem to be handling all of this really well.

[Parts of it were more than normal, it was the how he was brought here, the living that was made here, some of the things that had happened. He hadn't experienced seeing people from different worlds gathered like this in the one place. Thinking about it too much though sometimes gave him a headache.

All Kon does is nod as he thinks on how long it's been and then he looks at her.]

I dunno whether to say congrats or not. [He stops for a second or two and then there's a slight smile as he shrugs.]

I'm fine, I've got friends here so it's not as bad as it could be. I dunno what I'd be like if I didn't have you guys though.

[Hayley pointedly shrugs, an atypical gesture from the teen.] I don't know either. I like it here, but it's weird.

[To the latter, she raises her eyebrows with a smile and healthy dose of skepticism. She likes Kon including her in that, but it's still kind of weird.] Oh come on. It's not like we're best friends. I'm the murdered girl who attacked your original, remember?

[There's a slight pause and then her expression is serious.] Should I not call him that? Should it just be your cousin?

[Another pause, then she continues with a partial sigh.] We are friends, don't get me wrong. I'm just not used to my presence really making a difference to someone.

[Except for Donna, Jeff, Aaron, and those others who wouldn't live to recognize the difference she made. Obviously this isn't like that. Here, he's talking about being grateful that she's around.]

Maybe we should just keep it to having some cake then.

[It's not a term he's fond of being used. Whether it's true or not it's a word that kind of pulls and twists at his gut. But it doesn't show on his expression, if he did then that'd just let people know it gets to him, well the wrong kind of people anyway.]

Cousin works better. [Why wouldn't he include her in this? It was true and he felt like, even through the horrible things that had happened, they'd bonded? They'd found something that made them as people click and allow for them to talk. Talk and not argue.]

Don't have to be best friends either to make it matter. C'mon you gotta think more highly of yourself.

As if. [Cake to celebrate this place seems like too much.] When's your birthday? We can totally have cake then.

[She silently accepts the correction, knowing how upsetting the word might be to him. It's why she clarified in the first place, not wanting to upset him without meaning to. Rather than make a big deal out of it, she gives an apologetic smile.] Cousin it is.

[And then another smile, almost wicked in its own way.] Trust me? It has nothing to do with low self-esteem. I'm not used to having friends, and not because I was a loser or whatever. I'm.. pretty content to keep to myself most of the time, you know? You guys just make it really hard to talk and get along without having some kind of relationship, so the whole friend thing was kind of inevitable.

[And on that note.] By the way, did Bart tell you about.. uh.. the.. [She lifts one hand as if to make a gesture and then realizes there really isn't one.] ..you know, that whole thing where he kissed me and I pushed him away but then I kissed him because I didn't exactly mind, but it was really weird and now he's pretending it didn't happen and I might be kind of avoiding him a little?

Was a few months back so we should probably do it by yours instead.

[Kon appreciated it, the fact that there wasn't a big deal made out of the request and the fact that she had even bothered to ask if it was okay or if he'd prefer something else. It made him feel good about it and he nodded in thanks.

Okay, so usually he would have said how at times he guessed he understood the being okay by yourself thing. And that he believed what she said about it not being low self-esteem because she carried herself well and lots of people had nervous gestures. He would have said how he was glad that was the case, that the friends thing had to happen. Usually. Because what she began to say next distracted him. Actually no, it surprised him and it showed as he sat there almost dumbfounded. He hadn't expected that to be a thing that would have happened between them and his mind was scrambling to put it all together. To make sense of this ease concept but with these two people and...then he stops for a moment, lets his eyes go back to their normal size and picks up his jaw.]

Holy crap, really? So do you you like him? That why you're avoiding him? How did I not know? When did you kiss?

Next month. I don't really do parties or whatever, but we can do cake. [There's a very slight glare that accompanies the comment, a subtle threat that no really, just cake, or else.]

[She regrets telling him immediately, grimacing at his shock. When he begins on the questions, her replies come with a begrudging tone and she lifts a hand as much to idly scratch at her eyebrow as to subconsciously hide her face.]

Calm down, spaz. First of all? I think you're the only one who knows and I'd really like to keep it that way. Second, like I said, I've been avoiding him and he's pretending it never happened, so it's not like we're suddenly dating. And third? ...This is super awkward. Never tell him I told you. If he tells you? Pretend you don't know. Although at this point, I kind of doubt he will.

[That smile right there should tell you that telling Kon it was next month was a bad idea. Because he's keeping that information and when the time is right, he's so doing something.

Kon shakes his head, his initial 'what the fuck' reaction has already blown over and the rational part if kicking in. As rational as he can be any way because whaaaat?]

Don't worry about it, I'm not gonna go blabbin' my mouth at folk about this. You know you gotta talk about it though, right? Like you can't just...not? Cause it'll just keep gettin' more weird? And yeah, I won't tell him you told me, it's cool. [Because if Bart told him, he was sure he could act surprised again no problem.]

[Hayley is very obviously rethinking this whole 'confiding in Kon' thing. Between his evil birthday plans and the whole excitement about her and Bart, maybe he's way more like a normal teenager than she gave him credit for. And that's generally the kind of thing Hayley tries to avoid.]

Talk to who? You or him? Because he's.. [She glares down at her coffee, as if that drink is somehow responsible for everything that has transpired between she and the Flash.] I'm not okay with his whole 'pretend it never happened' gig, but it's not like I'm going to just ask him about it. He doesn't want to be a couple and neither do I, so.. I'll avoid him until he finds someone else or something.

[There's a hint of pettiness in her tone. Her remark about not wanting to be a couple possibly meaning that her disinterest is a response to Bart's rather than sincere disinterest. Normally it's something Hayley would hide, but she struggles keeping complete control when she's not playing a role. She looks back up at Kon with a very calculated facade of apathy.]

It's really not a big deal.

[It wasn't so much excitement as it was complete surprise. He knew Bart was the touchy feely kind but he hadn't gotten any sense from him that said he was interested in anyone on the turtle. With Bart and Hayley, he'd always seen a close friendship and okay, now that he looked back on it he could understand where the desire to act came from? And because it had happened and this was the reaction to it, he didn't want things to be strange between them. If they liked each other, then great. If the kiss had really been a mistake then they should talk about it and work it out. Not let it affect their relationship.

Kon finished his coffee and put the cup down on the floor, the look Hayley gave him wasn't fooling him and he has to sort this out from one end.]

He's acting like a kid and you need to talk to him. Avoiding him isn't the way to go about it, that's just going to make things worse and so's his attitude. You're smart Hayley, you know it's true. It's a big deal if my friends are acting strange around each other.

[He gave a small shrug and drew him lips together for a moment.]

If you both like each other then cool, just don't...act and then freak out.

What I know is that I didn't have to deal with stupid situations like this when I didn't have friends. [She gave him a pointed look.

There was a reason Hayley had spent so many years being close with a very, very few people and had opened up to even less of them. If she and Bart stopped being friends now, she trusted him not to talk about her past and she would keep his secrets. They could part ways amicably enough and not have to worry about all the awkwardness that came with relationships and being in too deep.]

Kon, he kissed me and I yelled at him and he promised it would never happen again. I told him I liked him, I kissed him, and that's when he backed off and decided to pretend it never happened. How am I supposed to take that?

[His movements reminded her of her own coffee and she took another long sip. The pause made her suddenly aware of just what she was doing, admitting to her confusion and chatting as if they were old friends. Her muscles tensed and her posture stiffened as she focused on ensuring her expression didn't convey her sudden discomfort. She forgot that he might be able to hear her heartbeat increase or notice the tightness of her sudden smile.]

I meant what I said about it not being a big deal, okay? And I'm.. alright with being your friend or whatever, but that doesn't mean I'll automatically get along with Bart. I shouldn't have even told you. I just wanted to give you a chance to explain if he'd mentioned it. Because maybe he and I aren't friends anymore and I don't want you freaking out.

[Her voice became just a hint manic by the end. Hayley remained unaware of how desperate she was to convince Kon of that. In truth, the thing that scared her most was the idea of she and Bart actually working things out and trying to make a go at it. Avoidance was easier.]

[He frowns at the look he gave her. But he wouldn't change the fact that she had friends here. He was glad that she did, that if she chose to, there was people here she could rely on. Talk to and hang with and that they didn't expect her to do these things.

Relationships though, between friends, those seemed to be tricky. Especially when therer wasn't really a relationship going on and things were getting awkward. So all Kon can do is shrug his shoulders because he doesn't know. He thinks they're both being stubborn and should just talk to each other about everything that had happened, about what they meant with what they said.]

Dude, there's no way he'll stop being your friend, not over something like this so...don't worry about that. I'm glad you did though, that you trusted me enough to tell me without knowing if I knew or not already.

I'm not worried. I don't think he'll stop being my friend. [Hayley replies, giving him a sidelong glance to suggest the unspoken: she would stop being friends with Bart, not the other way around. Of course, she tried that with Bart before and somehow they ended up here. He's not exactly an easy person to get rid of. Less so, she imagines, with Kon around.]

[She shakes her head to clear the idea away and stop Kon before he can protest.] We'll figure something out, okay? But.. like I said, no telling him that I told you and don't go hinting at it until he guesses or whatever. I'll.. try to let you know what happens or whatever.

[Kon didn't really need to glance to be able to tell which of the two would be more likely to end things. It wasn't something he would ever hold against her or judge her on. Some people were like that, cut ties quick and get out. Kon thought that in some situations it might be better to be like that, but only some. But he did think that she might be worried about it in some way.

There's a smile as she talks and Kon nods his head in understand.]

Promise. I'm not that kinda guy. Well, not anymore at least. I believe you'll get things sorted, it's a small shell after all.

[Hayley gives him a questioning glance, trying to read his thoughts with a simple look. Obviously it fails horribly. If not for Clark, Bart, super powers, Lex, and a half dozen other reasons, they could almost be best friends. For now, she's stuck trying to puzzle him out.]

What kind of guy are you, Kon-El?

[They could work on trying to puzzle him out together. He used to think things were straight forward, but given all he knows, it's not so much any more.

Kon smirks and clasps his hands together, pushing them outward so his fingers crack.]

The best kind. The fun kind.

[Hayley immediately makes a show of rolling her eyes, grateful for the amicable interlude.]

That's such a Bart answer.

[She shifts a little, getting more comfortable, and takes a long sip of her coffee. It's not great now that it's cooled to room temperature. Still, beggars can't be choosers. Or maybe she's just trying to play nice.]

Hey. Well, since you're back.. I mean, we'd talked about maybe starting a team, right? But then you left and I wasn't about to try to start it on my own, so I thought it was just a random idea. Now you're here and I wasn't actually sure if you were serious about it or not? Besides, it would be your team, not mine.

If anything, he took that kinda answer from me.

[Kon tapped at his lips as he looked at Hayley, brow scrunching slightly. It wasn't because he was thinking about what she was saying. He remembered they had a talk about it, that it had seemed like the perfect idea. He shook he head slowly.]

Not mine. Ours.

Arrogant much?

[She teased. But then she was adamantly shaking her head, sighing loudly. Kon had a way of talking her into things she only partially wanted. Although perhaps good for her from an objective point of view, Hayley wasn't sure it was something she liked about it.]

Only because I'll be on it. I'm not helping you run the thing. How would that look? [She lifted her hand to gesture as if writing out a major headline.] 'Girl who attacks Superman leads team of teenage vigilantes.'

Totally the truth.

[He was going to take the credit for it because clearly Bart leaned from the master. He looked to the ceiling quickly, not quite rolling his eyes at her, but he was shaking his head again.]

I don't care what people say. You contributed to it, so you should take credit. Like hell I'm a leader on my own. [Or at all. That was a thought that was more than a little terrifying.]

I'll let him know.

[Her chin lifted with the smallest smirk at the idea, as if Bart would actually care beyond perhaps some friendly disputing banter. She idly wondered if the three of them had become a group of sorts or if their relationships remained entirely independent. These days, she found herself wanting Kon around more and more to defend her and make her look good to the many people who doubted her. He was invaluable - and fun.]

I'm not really a leader either. [Her thoughts unknowingly echoed his own.] I mean, I don't know who else would do it besides us, but..

[Hayley just kind of looked at him. If it was really what he believed was best, she'd be willing to try. Some part of her appreciated being so deeply woven among their lives and integral to their activities. But she was also the type to run if things got emotional and she doubted that would change if she was in charge in any capacity.]

[Kon knew about doubt, he knew what it felt like. Like you weren't good enough, there was always someone better than you. And with their idea to form a team of sorts and lead it in some way, Kon would be there to support her. To tell her how it was with an idea that she came up with. He'd been on a team before, he had some idea of the things that would go down alright and be able to be pulled off. Since most of the members would be meta, that list was pretty long.]

We really the type to play along with authority?

Neither of us mind authority, but neither of us would take orders either, right?

[She's speculating, guessing that they're as similar as she sometimes worries they are, as she appreciates that they are. Unlike Kon, Hayley has no experience with teams. She didn't even have her family to fall back on for most of her life and, when Donna was killed, she was the only one who could follow through on making sure Jeff and Aaron died. There's never been anyone else before this place.

Hayley doesn't doubt her ability to make decisions. She figures she could probably be a good leader if she tried and that people would have a reason to listen to her because she's not crazy or ridiculous. But the idea of relying on others and trusting them to trust her words? It's weird. Besides, she would have to keep her own beliefs in check with people like Bart around. It's playing a role of its own.]

So you're saying we start our own team. That way we can still do good even as the adults do their own thing and we don't have to worry about taking orders.

[She lifts a hand to scratch at her hair.] It could be a disaster.

Right.

[Even in this place, the thought of taking orders from someone like Evandau, especially now that he was Emperor, was something that was got to him. It made him feel uncomfortable and it made him tense and bristle even at the though of it. Back home, he hated the adults coming in and trying to tell them what to do.]

That's exactly what I'm sayin'.

[He didn't want that for this team, the 'adults' telling them. He wanted it to be for teens, for them to do what they wanted. Kon wanted them to all help out in their own terms with their own ideas and not because some Emperor told them to do it.

He grinned.]

Or it could be totally awesome.

Edited 2014-05-12 19:43 (UTC)

14. [Video]

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