Corey swung the door open, confident neither of his parents would be home. Corey and Kan had been best friends since the third grade, so secrets weren't really much of a thing between them anymore. They basically told eachother everything. And much like all the others, Corey's home situation wasn't really a secret. His mom was rarely home, his dad was never sober, so that left everything up to Corey. The shopping, the cleaning, and then highschool to top it all off. Kan helped as much as he could, Corey stayed at his place most of the time. They'd spend all day together, and then Kan'd sneak him in at night. There was a twin sized mattress right next to his bed the majority of the time, that he'd push underneath the bedframe after Corey was long gone. So, as Kan entered Corey's unkept abode, thunder boy over his back, he was also fairly confident no one'd be present.
The kid with deep circles under his eyes, the one they'd nicknamed thunder boy, was surprisingly light, considering he'd brought the biggest storm Kan had seen in ages to their school with a simple wave of a finger.
“You know, he looks a lot less scary when he's out cold.” Corey quipped, extremely tempted to poke the helpless freshman. Thunder boy's face was free of wrinkles or creases, a few beauty marks were all that interrupted his pale complexion. Even with the large bags circling his eyes, he appeared oddly peaceful. Color gradually bled back into his features, that being the only indication he hadn't actually died on the way over.
Kan trudged over to the messy kitchen, urging his blue-eyed friend to grab a chair for him to set the kid down on. “Well, I think the fact that he's not trying to kill us anymore helps.”
A snicker bubbled out of Corey as he set a wooden dining room chair on the navy and white kitchen tiles. Tape wrapped the legs of the chair, obviously it had been through much more than they had. And that's saying a lot at this point.
Kan let out a quiet grunt as he hoisted thunder boy into the worn out seat. He pushed back his own damp bangs, which were starting to curl from being soaked mere minutes ago. “Did you buy bandages?”
“Everyone breaks their arm at least once, right?” And with that, Corey raced out of the room, hopefully to return with what they needed to help this kid.
Figuring standing around doing nothing would be pretty pointless, Kan started his search through the kitchen. He swung the old wooden cupboards open, rummaging through the tall shelves, looking for something useful. Two cupboards straight had been filled with ceramic bowls that looked like they hadn't been touched since the eighties. Preparing to give up after three more cabinets full of fragile utensils, Kan finally discovered the medicine cabinet. The relief was clearly visible on his face, digging through the small wall unit that had a very odd smell attached. He pulled out what looked closest to ibuprofen and delicately set it on the counter. Alright. That may or may not have been a lie, and he may or may not have dropped the bottle directly on the floor. With wide eyes, he glanced at the slouched boy, who twitched at the fairly loud sound that emanated throughout the kitchen. He cursed under his breath, steadily reaching down to retrieve the bottle that had crossed him. At last returning it to the place he'd originally meant to place it, Kan plunked the traitor of a bottle on the marble counter. As a last minute thought, Kan reached into one of the previous cupboards, claiming a plastic cup. It seemed to have been used recently, unlike literally everything else in this grimy kitchen. He speedily filled the glass with tap water, setting the still bubbling cup next to the ibuprofen.
“Hey, I couldn't find any bandages but I did find th-”
A blast caught his attention, the freshman clamming out of the chair they'd left him in, dark eyes wider than saucers. Water flew from his thick clothes as he stumbled into the back counter, breath coming out in short, rough sections. He sank down to the floor, trapping himself in the corner, shaking more of fear than anything else.
Corey remained in the spot he'd arrived, staring at the kid with worry, amazement, and curiosity, somehow all in one. Kan stammered out whatever words he could make out in an attempt to calm the boy, who looked like a skittish rabbit.
“-We're not gonna hurt you! Oh, Lord- You're safe, you're safe-!”
If any of his rushed and worried phrases relaxed the kid at all, he certainly couldn't tell. The freshman's blown eyes shifted across the room in frantic passes, as if confirming neither of the strangers where coming close. Then, almost taking shape as a physical lightbulb, Corey got an idea. From the other side of the room, a fluffy blanket perched over his shoulder, he spoke softly. A voice Kan had never heard come out of him before.
“It's okay, there's nothing to be afraid of. I'm Corey, could you count with me?” He let a gentle smile take over his face and edged closer to the hunched figure on the floor. “In on the numbers, out on the spaces between?”
Corey took the boy’s confused but compliant look as permission to continue. He gestured upwards, from his middle to his chest, stomach sucking in with his breath. “One,” He let his palm slowly descend to his lap. When had he gotten on his knees? “Two,”
Corey repeated the same steps until the frightened boy's chopped breathing was matched with his own. Kan watched in astonishment. Corey stood and held a hand out to the thunder boy, the same gentle grin remaining on his lips. Eyes emitting a softer shine, the boy took his hand and lifted himself to his feet. Those grey eyes stayed focused on his muddy sneakers, still quite damp, dripping hair blocking their view. Words heavy on his tongue, the boy spoke for the first time that day. “..Thanks.”
As if remembering it existed, Kan handed him the glass of water he'd prepared before that catastrophe. Corey lied the quilt he'd ventured for over the boy's shoulders, leaning against the counter beside him. Thunder boy almost denied the water, vaguely shaking his head and blinking at a rapid pace.
“Where am I?” The boy croaked out.
“We're barely a block from school. I'm Kan, by the way. Sorry about the whole, dragging you here thing.” Kan gave what he hoped was a comforting smile, but it was nothing compared to Corey's mastered it's okay face.
His eyes dragged around the mess of a house, gripping onto the blanket he'd been given. “..Donnie.”
Corey bounced on the balls of his feet impatiently. “Yeah, yeah, introductions, blah, blah, blah - You have fucking superpowers.”
The boy froze in place, as if the memories of that day had come flooding back, almost like a film was playing behind his eyes. “Oh, sh-shit, I-I'm really sorry, I shouldn't have-” He tried to keep his breathing under control. He looked up to the two with saddened eyes. “..Did I hurt anyone?”
“Well, the thing is-”
Corey let out a dramatic gasp, eagerness basically bubbling out of him. “It was so awesome-! You were all scary and your eyes were glowing! Then, you were coming at us with your lightning powers-! And then Kan steps in like, “Hey-! I'm Kan! I'm super stellar! So stellar, that I can deflect your lightning of doom! With only my trusty hand!” So he blocks the evil lightning fist of destruction and stuff- Then you were like “Oh, no! I've been defeated! Spare me, fair hereos!”” Corey gave a gurgling noise to signify Donnie passing out. “And then Kan was like “We can't leave him out here, he'll die or something” so we brought you to this fine shelter that is my home, and that's pretty much everything.” He sucked in a large breath, all that was left in his lungs going to his just wonderful and completely accurate story.
Donnie growled at the way he'd been portrayed, somehow without any malice, eyes hesitating on the floor before moving to Kan's face. “You're an elemental too?”
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