( And then it starts again. *waves away song* )

Hey, she left. Nicholas thought, holding his things to his chest. Oh, well. He strolled out of the cl*censored*room behind the rest of the students, obviously not in a hurry at all. He was never in a hurry if he was safe, of course, because if he did hurry, he might seem suspicous. And you never know when someone's watching...

"Stop standing around my locker," Nicholas barked, shoving his way through a bunch of guys. The girl who had the locker next to his always attracted so much attention that Nicholas was barely ever able to get to his books.

What a weird boy, Karin thought as she gathered her things from her locker and shut it tight. She slung her tote's strap over her shoulder, adjusting the position before beginning to head out of the building, not bothering to wait for her friends.

As she was walking, she spotted Nicholas again, and recalled her conversation with him. Light me on fire... Karin tapped her chin, a little suspicious of him. Well, more or less. Though she was constantly full of conspiracy theories and such. She shrugged, then lowered, waiting until the boy left his locker, then she began to follow him. I feel like such a stalker...

( ;-; You always know exactly what I'm thinking. )

Stuffing his hand into his pocket, Nicholas glanced over his shoulder, noticing only the buses and the other walkers. They'd all eventually go their own way. And, being at the head of all the other students, he was sure no one would see if he were to spontaneously light a match or something.

Nevertheless, Nicholas ducked into an alleyway. He wouldn't get lost; there was more than one way to reach the house he was staying at. Going through the alley was the longest way, but then he'd have more time to mess with fire. Nicholas flicked his lighter on, and his hands lit on fire.

(I do. o3o But what exactly were you talking about?
Nevertheless ;; I was thinking about using that word, then nonetheless, but I decided against it.)

Karin flicked her head to get the hair out of her eyes, then blinked, wondering why the boy went through an alley. He's probably hiding something, she thought, continuing to walk after Nicholas. Her steps slowed, getting quieter so they wouldn't echo. But she tended to be as quiet as a mouse.

She spotted a flame, and her sense of smell confirmed it. His hands! Karin thought. They're on fire! She scowled. There's no more doubts no, eh?

( o3o Okay. )

Whatever Nicholas p*censored*ed by lit on fire, which amused him. The flames died out quickly, though, as to keep from burning the buildings he walked by to the ground. He tossed the flames in his hands from one hand to the other, and often let the flames grow all the way up to shoulder before promptly disappearing. When he stopped at the end of the alley, the ground beneath his feet went up in flames, and he turned to make sure nothing else was still on fire.

Spotting Karin, Nicholas drew in a sharp breath, and all the fire evaporated. The thought, Oh, sh.it. was his only reaction. But, only for a second. The next second, he was running.

Watching him intently, Karin was awed by his power. Nicholas was one of the most talented Pyros she had seen, for his age. But regardless of how old he was, Nicholas was still very good at weilding fire. She smirked; what a very interesting boy, indeed.

She froze. Oh. Shiit. Nicholas had turned and saw her, and Karin held her breath, staring at him motionless, wondering what he would do. A split-second later, the boy bolted off down the alley, and she wasn't sure what to do. "W-wait!" she called, and ran after him. Damn, this guy is fast, she thought, going full speed and catching up to him.

Taking him by the shoulder, Karin grasped him and whirled him around. Panting, she said, "Don't.." In between breaths, "run."

:U You didn't log out for me, turdfais.

Behind him, Nicholas could hear Karin calling, "Wait!" but he ignored her. He kept running, but somehow she managed to catch up to him and grab his shoulder. Face-to-face with Karin, he just stopped running. Flailing and then bolting off again would do nothing. Maybe, he could persuade her to not tell anyone about what she'd seen.

"You won't tell anyone," Nicholas began, obviously out breath. "right?"

Nicholas' eyes widened. Slowly, he asked, "You are?" and lowering his head. He held out his hand, which was on fire once again. "This is...almost normal to you?" he asked, trying to keep his voice leveled. If someone heard them, they'd be in a lot of trouble.

"Perfectly." Nicholas repeated, puckering his lips a bit. He moved his hand away, the flames dying out, and shoved it into his pocket, coming up with a piece of paper. He dropped it on Karin's hand.

"Well... Maybe not to other people," Karin said. "But to me, it is. I've... gotten used to it." She blinked when he withdrew his hand, and when the paper dropped into her palm, it got soaked, so she made the water disappear. She grabbed the paper then looked at Nicholas. "What's this?"

"Note?" Karin glanced at the damp paper in her hand, but the penned letters were smeared because of the water. Then she looked back up at him. "Where'd you find this guy?

Nicholas shrugged. "He found me. Or, at least, some woman did. She just came up to me one day, and she knew everything about me." he explained, smiling sheepishly. "I guess it just goes to show that you never know who's watching."