Power Corrupts. Insanity Cures.

Chapter 16. Surprise, Surprise

.............BOO! Did I scare ya? HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA~~ ....just imagine how scary I can be if you try and steal my story O.O

Chapter 16. Surprise, surprise

 "Dispute not with her: she is lunatic." 

William Shakespeare, Richard III

The cafeteria was humming with the usual business of patients getting lunch trays and drooling on tables. In what had become the norm, Serena and Taras sat at a table with a nice view of the tv, sitting across from each other. Taras scratched at his sleeve, the itchy material of his uniform biting him, and only just nodded at something Serena said.

Taras thought that after Serena revealed her plans she would be hounding and irritating him to give in to her proposal, as was her usual tactic. To his surprise, she acted like nothing happened. Like she hadn't told him she wanted to break out of the asylum. Like she hadn't offered him some bizarre and unholy alliance. She continued on with her usual banter about nurses, guards, tv, Kat and anything at all that popped into her twisted mind. Taras was more subdued, offering a few begrudging replies but was mostly quiet.

"Hey Taras?" she began one day, looking at him innocently.

"Hmm?" he forced his attention to remain on his lunch tray.

"I get that some people aren't affected by inhuman powers...but why is that?"

He sighed. "It's not some people. An inhuman can be unaffected by certain other inhumans."

"But I can still hear your thoughts," she pointed out.

"I'm not the problem," he countered, looking up, "it's you. No one knows why it happens to some when others are fine. It's like a compatibility problem on your end. You can be a blind spot to others, but it doesn't mean you can't affect them."

"Awwww," Serena cooed, "I'm your blind spot."

Taras clenched his jaw, "Why do you do that?"

"Do what?" she asked, in what might have been genuine confusion.

Taras gestured to her impatiently, "You! Everything will be normal and then you'll just start," he searched for the offending word "flirting!"

Serena sat up straight, "I don't!"

"You do," he growled lowly.

"I don't."

"Yes, you do!"

"If I was flirting with you Taras I think I'd know about it," Serena scoffed.

Taras ran his hand threw his hair in exasperation.

"Besides, if I were, which I'm not, why wouldn't I flirt with you?" she propped her head up with her hand, "You're cute enough to get a girlfriend," Taras felt the weight of her gaze as she measured him up, "You're quite tall, girls seem to like that for some reason. Tan, girls like that too. You're muscled in a lean sinewy kind of way. And your eyes," her look softened as she seemed caught in her own words, "Your eyes are like a winter storm, cold and terrible and beautiful. Like frost creeping over a clear blue sky."

Taras couldn't seem to look away, whether it was in surprise or a trance he wasn't sure. Serena's expression was oddly sincere and open for a moment more when, so quickly one could get whiplash, the atmosphere lightened again as she laughed.

"Yep," she simpered, "You could turn even Kat straight if you stopped being a grouch."

Taras shook his head, "You can't take anything seriously can you?" he said in a strained voice, "Tell me why I would want to spend one more minute with you, let alone break out of an asylum and go around doing God knows what."