Mythfits

26- Steve

"What happened to you?" I blurt, staring at Ella's heavily bandaged foot.

The werecoywolf in question glances at me, one eyebrow raised, asking: really? "I was set on fire by an army of tiny ninja-zombies." she deadpans.

"Clearly." I scoff, looking back and forth between her and Christine, who stands slightly behind Ella with a protective hand on her shoulder, which I can see Ella itching to shove it off. What is going on here? I wonder: clearly something has happened, most likely related to the papers I gave them, but what exactly, has eluded me.

"Are either of you actually going to tell me what happened?"

Ella shrugs, "That depends. If I do, will you stop talking?"

Smirking, I tilt my head slightly, "Why? Are you on the run from zombies? Should I be scared for my life?"
A snort. From Ella's side, Christine rolls her eyes, smiling slightly, and I mentally pump my fist- I got one of them to respond. Looking back at Ella, I see her wipe all emotion off her face, not that there was much to begin with, and reply, "No, you're safe. Zombies eat brains."

I barely hear her over the bell, and she's halfway down the hall before I realize that she just insulted me. "Hey!" I protest, but it's too late, and I'm left wondering two things: What happened to Ella? And more importantly- Did Ella just make a joke?

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Christine fills me in on what happened, mainly just broad strokes, during a pep rally at the end of school. It may have not been the best time, since she was trying to prevent Ella from attacking a cheerleader and I was giddy with the energy from everyone around me. Seriously, for someone who feeds off of the energy of the people I'm near, a pep rally- which is essentially two thousand pre-football game, hyped-up teenagers jumping and screaming in a large gym- is like chugging a few of those 5-hour energy drinks.

But despite my inability to focus on any one thing for more than five seconds and Christine having to yell above the crowd in order to be heard, I got the basic idea- Ella's sister is sick, they found a potion recipe, obscure ingredients, and something about a rose and metal teeth. Somehow, I find myself asking about the ingredients, if the need any help. And when she mentions needing a vampire fang and holy water, my punch-drunk self offers to find some for them. In the back of my head, a little voice tells me that I'm being stupid, and why are you helping them, this is a bad idea, but it goes mostly ignored as I already start running ideas through by head of how I'm going to steal one of Ethan's old fangs.

Seeing the aloof, slightly spaced-out look on my face, Christine frowns, "Are you sure you're alright?"

"Absolutely!" I grin back, more than a little enthused.

"Are you high?" She asks suspiciously, then narrows her eyes at the cheering crowds and general madness all around us, "Wait-" I can almost see the gears whirring in her head, thoughts and ideas racing around at lightning speed, "You are, aren't you! Off the..." she waves a hand at the gym full of screaming teens and the pounding drumline.

I give her a lazy smile, the small, rational part of my brain reminding me that I should probably remember to watch myself next time so that I don't act so strangely. The rest of my brain quickly over-rules that thought with a loud, giddy I-don't-care-right-now. "Just a little." I assure her, then ruin it by completely losing my balance when someone slams into me.

As expected, Christine's eyes light up and lose focus, as she stares off into middle distance, seemingly oblivious to the chaos around us. With a shrug, I turn my attention back to the rally, letting the waves of pep wash over me as I ignore the strange look I can see Ella giving me from out of the corner of my eye.

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When at last the bell rings, and the stampede of students finally exits the gym, Ella turns to us- Christine muttering excitedly about residual energy, empaths, life force, and the nucleus accumbens, and me staring blankly at nothing, probably with a dazed and out of focus look on my face. "You two can't go anywhere!" she mutters, shaking her head, "What am I supposed to do with you guys?"

Ella faces Christine, "You look like you need a large white board, a library, a small medical lab, and a week alone to work on whatever you're talking about. And you..." she turns to me, but at this point, I honestly can't be bothered to do anything except smile dreamily. She shakes her head, "If you hadn't been in my field of vision for past hour and a half, I'd think that you were stoned out of your mind."

When I don't respond, and Christine grabs my wrist and starts taking my pulse while rambling about baseline or something, Ella sighs, "This is going to be fun." Normally, I'd agree with her, or start poking fun at the fact that she of all people is secretly a total mother hen, but in my current state I just blink lazily and watch the shimmery swirls of residual energy that linger in the hallways. They're so pretty.....