“-The hell is a-”
“-Element-what-now-”
The three stood dumbstruck, each for separate reasoning. Donnie gaped at the two boys standing in front of him. “You mean you don't know what a-” He paused, then let out a “done with this bullshit” kind of groan. It'd been a long day for their dear thunder boy. “You didn't know you were a goddamn fucking elemental-?”
The older boys flinched at the freshman's raised tone. He was small but he packed quite the bite.
He sighed, long and hard, through with these idiots already. “You know-! Elementals! Magic-? Water, Earth, Air, and Fire kinda shit-!” The blanket almost fell off of his shoulders with how wildly he was gesturing.
Corey muttered something along the lines of “this is coolest fucking shit that's ever happened to me”, resting his body against the counter in order to hold his head and tug his curly, dirty blonde hair out of his face in complete amazement. Kan stared out of realization that he was actually a superhero.
“You guys are literal morons.”
“-Are you like a lightning elemental then-?” It was Corey who spoke first, pushing the insult the freshman had thrown aside.
Donnie seemed to have taken offense to his question, baring his teeth for a quick second before sighing for what felt like the hundredth time already. “I'm a weather elemental, you dolt.”
Kan stepped in, still quite confused but trying his best to stay collected. “So like, what happened to you in the parking lot-? Is that like, a part of this whole elemental thing-?” A giddy gasp bubbled out. “Do I get to go into that avatar state like you did-?”
“Well- It's not exactly an avatar state-” An exhale, meant to calm himself. “These couple of fuckwads cornered me outside and my body kind of took over. It happens when I get too steamed. I'm trying to fix it.” A glow of vulnerability passed by his eyes when he spoke the last part. Although brief, Corey seemed to have caught it. He didn't say anything but as thunder boy's gaze turned to him, the signature it's okay smile hit him like a monorail, the face dotted with star-like freckles doing much more than it should’ve to reassure him.
Kan seemed to deflate a bit, a whine breaking from his throat. “So, no avatar state?”
Donnie tilted his head, as if talking to a child. “No avatar state.”
Kan's pouting wasn't indifferent to a five-year-old's. And with wide eyes, Corey had just then realized that they had skipped school for this kid. He frantically searched across the walls for some sort of clock. He was never one to wear watches. He used to wear a digital Star Wars one when he was eight but he gave it away to Kan for his birthday, he'd never seen it since. And he was kind of regretting it right now. Finally, he discovered an ancient cat clock in the far corner of the room, somehow still ticking. And, just as he'd expected, school was long over. He lied a hand over his still salty friend's shoulder.
“Dude, Kan, school ended ages ago, your parents are probably pissed at you.”
Kan's attention snapped to his best friend. “Oh, God- I gotta go, dude, I'm sorry-” He lugged his backpack over his shoulder, the bag still worn down and filled to the brim. His eyes caught on Donnie, and he came to a halt at the door. “Do you live anywhere near here-?”
Donnie jerked at the sound of Kan's voice. He wasn't even two feet away and he was already yelling. “No, not exactly.”
Kan glanced around Corey's house, as if trying to decide whether or not to speak, hand resting in the doorway. “Here, just- You can spend the night at my place tonight and I'll buy you a bus ticket tomorrow.” He glimpsed at Corey, lending him a light smile before returning his attention to their thunder boy.
Donnie's eyebrows drew together, and he looked to Corey for either an okay, or a get the hell out of my home already. Corey just gave him a shrug, leaning against the fridge. “Go for it, Donatello, I'll meet you guys for class in the morning. Library?”
Kan nodded from across the room, a large grin plastered on his face. Donnie scowled at the disgustingly dorky nickname, eyebrows remaining connected as he pushed the bangs out of his eyes and accepted the taller's offer. What's he got to lose?
And with that, Kan waved off his best friend and closed the large, paint-chipped door behind them. He hopped down the extremely unsturdy steps that lead to Corey's home, holding the straps to his very broken pack. The sun felt nice on his rich, brown skin, although almost set. Their clothes had mostly dried within the time they'd spent with Donnie, who followed with quite a distance between the two, eyes trained back on his muddy sneakers. Kan slowed a bit, allowing him and thunder boy to walk at the same pace, side by side. He listened to the sound of their footsteps against the sidewalk as his eyes followed the setting sun, the silence between them peculiarly calming.
“Is it scary?” Kan's eyes were focused ahead when Donnie looked over to him.
“Is what scary?” The grey orbs that were so intently focused on his shoes stared at the taller with closed-off curiosity.
Kan seemed to choke out the words, voice quiet. “..Waking up on the ground, scared that you might've hurt, maybe even killed someone without any control over it. Not being able to control that side of you – I don't know.” He stopped for a minute before continuing his steps along the thin path, a short intake of breath caught the smaller's attention as Kan stared down at the concrete. “..It would scare me.”
Before he had a chance to reply, Kan gestured to the house ahead, coming to a halt in front of it. “And, we've arrived!” It was like a switch had been flipped. “My folk's will probably freak if they see I brought you here but-” He strolled up to the steps, leading to the front door. “if you go 'round back, there's a ladder that leads to the roof. My window'll be the first on your right, Donnie boy.”
And with that, he entered the house, the shut of the door behind him louder than Corey's had been. Donnie heard a faint “Percikan, where on Earth have you been?” come from inside. He was figuratively and literally just left in the dust. His raven eyebrows drew together once again, to create one long caterpillar across the boy's face. After glancing around the yard a bit, Donnie whispered a small “fuck it” under his breath and rustled to the opposite side of the house. As Kan had specified, there was a ladder across the side of the patio leading to the beige rooftop. What he didn't specify, however, was that the ladder, was essentially an old bunk bed staircase. This was so not what he signed up for. So, as Donnie made his way up to Kan's window, the constant fear of this thing breaking was very much so at the forefront of his mind. But, with only a single scratch, and a face filled with relief, Donnie finally made it onto the roof. And the view of the beautiful night sky almost made it worth it. Although, he'd come up here for a reason other than to gaze at stars. He turned to the right, as per Kan's instructions, to meet a window that was ever so slightly cracked open. Just enough for him to slip his slim fingers through. He planted his sneakers on the slanted, tiled roof below, and yanked the stubborn window open, loud voices from downstairs revealing themselves as he hauled himself into what he really hoped was Kan's room. With one short sweep across the small bedroom, he knew for goddamn sure it was Kan's. Marvel posters lined the rosey walls from ceiling to carpet, stacks of comics stood beside the twin sized bed inches from the window he'd come through. His bedspread – God, his fucking bedspread – was covered in tiny rockets and little purple aliens over a light blue base. There was a dresser in the far corner, photos and doodles jammed into the white rim of the attached mirror. Most of the dresser's drawers were extended out, papers, supplies, and knickknacks overflowing out of them. Then, as he went to place himself on the rocket ship bed, he heard them. Kan's parents, supposedly. What started out as what sounded like a peaceful conversation turned into straight up screaming in seconds. “Why do you have to put us through this?! You know we just want what's best for you, Percie!” Another voice. “Ladybug, we let you cut your hair, wear whatever clothes you've wanted, but this is enough! You've convinced yourself that you're a boy! Can't you see what's wrong with that?!” And then, piercing through the blaring words, came Kan's voice. “No, dad! I can't! I'm not your ladybug, alright-?!” The cracks stood tall in his tone, and Donnie knew, almost as if an alarm had gone off in his head, that Kan was crying. Stomps of squeaky converse could be heard from Kan's bedroom, voices quickly following. “Don't walk away from us, young lady!”
Then, as the bedroom door swung open, only to be slammed shut, Kan finally came into view. Red rings around his glazed eyes, streams running down his dark cheeks and past his chin, retreating to his graphic tee-shirt. Donnie startled to his feet, grey eyes filled to the brim with worry and confusion. He had an urge to comfort him, this boy he'd just met. Wrap him in his arms and never let the world harm him. He could've gone his whole life without seeing that shattered of an expression, and he swore to make sure those chocolate eyes would never have a trace of anguish taint them again. Before he could even give an attempt to start on his promises, Kan turned around, treading towards the closet that had been left slightly ajar, clothes poking through, ready to fall out. Surprisingly, nothing actually fell as Kan opened the closet with more force than necessary, retrieving a black winter coat and making his way to the window. After maneuvering his body out the small opening, Kan poked his head back through, looking directly at Donnie with the most fragile, yet determined face he'd seen in his lifetime, a forced grin pasted over his mouth.
“Well, you comin' or not, Sunshine?”
Donnie let out a breath he didn't know he was holding as he chased after the gentle side smile that skipped across the loose slates in the starry night. It wasn't much of a trip, but they soon ended up back in Corey's front yard. Like he'd done it over a million times, Kan hoisted himself onto the wooden fence that circled the home. Which he probaby had, for the record. With only a bit of terror from Donnie's side, Kan leaped onto the edge of the Wrighten's roof. Kan looked at him with expectation. Like he wanted him to do that. And, after three tries, he actually managed to. Kan walked, one foot in front of the other, arms out by his sides, along the dark brown shingles until they reached the other side of the wide roof. Moonlight bouncing off the glass, there it was. Corey's window. Kan perched himself on the edge of the window sill, knocking on the glass. It didn't take long for a very groggy blue-eyed sixteen-year-old to pull the window open.
“-Kan? What happened-? Are you alright-? Did something happen with thunder boy?”
He obviously hadn't noticed the kid until Donnie sputtered, barely balanced on the edge of the sill. “-Fucking thunder boy?”
Corey almost jumped halfway across his own bedroom floor, holding his chest with a small huff of “Jesus Christ”.
“I just needed to get away, is all.” That's all Kan said, and apparently that's all he needed to say, because Corey stopped asking questions faster than he'd jumped a few minutes ago. He let the two in, gathering some spare blankets from the small hallway closet. With team effort, the three had set up a makeshift mattress on the floor next to Corey's bed. After a discussion that was much longer than it should have been, they decided that Kan would share Corey's bed whilst Donnie slept on the floor. “You're the newcomer, this is your fate now” in Corey's words.
Corey's room was somehow messier than Kan's had been, which was saying a lot. Kan and Donnie ended up going to bed in the clothes they'd been wearing all day. Listening to the quiet snores of the two above him, Donnie stared up at Corey's popcorn ceiling, studying patterns his mind created in the shapes. He thought about all the strange events that had occurred that day, the total dorks he'd befriended. He thought about how easy it was for Kan to climb a fucking fence, Kan's idiots for parents. He thought about how Corey and Kan mutually agreed on calling him thunder boy whilst he was unconscious. Then, he slowly drifted asleep to the soft sound of his new friends' hushed breathing.
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