Fearless

She's on a whole 'nother level

Alex was smiling so hard her cheeks were sore. It was seventh period.
Pe. Physical Education.
In other words, sweet sweet distraction heaven.
Most people disliked the fact that Alex loved p.e. She didn't give a shit, though.
Wouldn't you love doing something you're good at?
"Hey, Mrs. Collins!"
The teacher smiled, checking her name of the attendance sheet. "You seem to be in a good mood."
"I like pe."
She chuckled. "Wow, I had no idea."
Mackenzie came in from science, drained and looking overall done with life.
Mood.
"Hey Mack!"
"Hey."
"What's with the tired face?"
"I got Gilbert Moreno as my lab partner." She shivered at the memory.
Even Mrs. Collins frowned in sympathy. "Oh, I'm so sorry..."
"He wouldn't even touch the damn thing, so I got to pull apart a rotting cow eyeball while he freaked out in a corner. Everyone had a great time."
They looked around as students started arriving, and class was about to start. Mackenzie hurried to her number.
Alex spotted Ryan in the back and waved.
He smiled and saluted to her.
Cute.
She realized what she had just thought and immediately wanted to die.
Nope nope nope.
That's what the main characters in fanfictions do in the first five chapters. You've known the guy for a day, Alex. He could put ice in his cereal. He could hate cheesecake. Or milk. Or mangoes. Or mac n cheese. He could buy blueberry cheerios. Or eat jalapeño bagels. He could write the word "boobiez" on his walls with sparkly blue lipstick. He could have cooties, for all you know.
Heh, cooties.
As you can tell, Alex is very mature, and didn't panic over this small matter.

"Ready... set...."
"Can I please go to the bat-
"GO!"
Mackenzie groaned as she started jogging, settling a bit towards the front. She may not look it, but she could do pretty well on these runs. She was indifferent as she saw what was almost a blur that she barely identified as her best friend race past her, and everyone else, right away.
What she didn't expect was for Ryan to zoom past her whisper-shouting the Sonic theme song.
"Gotta go fast, gotta go fast, gotta go faster, faster, faster faster faster!"
I-
He-
What???

"Hey."
"aAH ohmygodwhatthefuckiswrongwithyouwhywouldyoudothat"
Ryan chuckled. "Sorry."
She sighed. "You seem a lot more at home now than earlier."
"Yeah..."
"Hey, I meant it in a good way, don't pout at me."
"You weren't even looking at me!"
"I know you were."
He sighed.
"Hey, do you happen to know that blonde guy? Nate or something?"
"ummm... oh you mean Nathaniel Greene?" He nodded. "What about him?"
"Nothing, he just reminds me of someone in New York."
"I heard him in history saying he was gonna hide his dog when he got home so the new kid couldn't ching-chong over to his house and eat it."
"pfFT JSOAJSSKSKSJDJ"
"What?" Alex looked at him, concerned. "He was dead serious."
"Well then I guess I'm just gonna have to break into his house and eat his dog." He tried to talk as he laughed, panting a bit. How did his legs already feel so heavy?
"Well, everyone kinda agrees that his brain is the size of his Nathan Jr., as he likes to call it." She chuckled.
"So he's racist and has a name for his wee wee. Definitely a turn-off."
She laughed, and he really took a good look at her.
Well, not her features, exactly. He wouldn't mind doing that. But he took a good look at her gift.
He'd rarely seen another gifted's markings that looked like his, let alone another teenager, but hers.. did.
Wait, what the fuck??
It was hard to see because she was pumping her arms to help her go faster, but on her right he could barely make out... lightning. The tendrils moved and appeared and disappeared like real lightning. It shimmered in the light, and it looked like it was dancing across her skin. He could almost imagine it flowing straight out of her fingertips.
Every time her foot hit the ground, he almost got the tiny renewed sense of energy, like she imbedded electricity into the dirt with every step.
It suited her.
So lightning was her power. It wasn't an animal. Now the speed thing made sense. It explained why her markings glowed gold. She was an Un.. Un... What was it??? Ah whatever. A powerful one.
That didn't necessarily scare him, he'd met them before.
Heck, he was one. His markings glowed silver, and waves would move across his arms too. When he used his powers, that is. Another thing about TPOs (newly-made-ryan-exclusive-acronym for 'the powerful ones'): their markings are always on their arms.
Not like normal people could see them anyway.
Ryan huffed. This was getting exhausting real fast. He could barely stay on her pace.
"Hey, Ryan?"
"Hm?"
"I already told Mack and Sam yesterday, but just... be safe around this neighborhood ok?" Her whole mood had changed.
"Is this a bad area?"
"Not at all, just..." She sighed and lowered her voice to a whisper, despite them being a safe distance away from the rest of the class. "Stay on guard, please."
"Why?" Time to play clueless.
"There's just... some bad people around here who have done some bad things."
Not exactly false, but he knew it was a lie.
"Why haven't you called the police?"
Cause someone shot me and I can't tell my parents cause I wouldn't be surprised if they shipped their mutant daughter off to a lab or something, or at least told the police, and who would absolutely call bullshit because I'm a child, and a freak?
Is what she wanted to say.
"Umm... I have no.. proof?"
That was her excuse? No proof? When she was supposedly a witness? She needed to get better at lying.
"I still think you should." She probably shouldn't.
"I'll... think about it." She probably won't.
There was a silence, despite the constant sound of their shoes hitting the dirt underneath them and the obnoxious kids behind them.
Ryan wheezed loudly.
Alex turned. "Are you tired already? Do they not make you run at your rich kid school?"
"It's not a.." huff... "rich kid school! And you're just..." wheeze... "extremely..." huff... "fast!"
"I'm slowing down for you, you know?" Her smile was back.
Her i-put-this-on-right-after-i'm-sad-smile.
He wiped off his I'm-psychoanalyzing-the-person-in-front-of-me-face.
She started speeding up, pushing forward and leaving him behind. He heard her laugh and call to him.
"Slowpoke!"
He mumbled under his breath angrily. "Asshole.." But he couldn't help but smile.
Cute.
The main group caught up to him and he was given a collective look of surprise. Was it cause he had kept up with her for so long?
Said girl was already close to lapping them, racing ahead like he'd never seen before.
"You never try to race Alex..." He heard someone to his left somewhere laugh.
"She's on a whole 'nother level."