Party night at ESU.

[Stern]

Michael Stern waded through the crowd of semi-drunk freshmen and fraternity members as he considered the events leading up to his present situation.

Friday night. He was dog tired from the most hectic week an eighteen credit hour course load could afford a person who was also working part-time and holding extra-curriculars besides. He needed to read for his English class, and falling asleep with a book and a glass of Bailey's wasn't a bad choice.

He was just stepping out of the shower when his roommates threw a set of his clothes at him, hurriedly instructed him to get dressed, and then shoved him out the door.

The four of them were out of the dorm room before Stern finally realized what was happening to him. Four girls from one of the local sororities were waiting outside the building.

Hi, I'm Hannah. You must be Michael Stern. Can you really glow? How awesome! I get to take a mutant to the Pan-Hellenic Dance!"

So that's what it was about. Someone needed him to play wingman. The Brothers Karamazov would sit lonesome on the coffee table and the Bailey's would stand in solitude in the refrigerator.

"When I find out which of you three decided this would be a good idea, I'll burn out your corneas," He hissed to his closest roomie.

"Oh, get with it, Stern. You wanted to loosen up, didn't you?" came the hissed reply.

Ten minutes after showing up, Stern's date promptly went off in search of other people, leaving Stern to wander around a bit in the sight of his roommates before slinking out some random service exit and making his way back to his room. He would never understand how more loud noise and crowded hectice situations helped a person recover from hectic situations.

Someone brought a spotlight to the party that switched between colors in the spectrum. The mutant idly synched with the spotlight so he changed as it did. Apart from some other dim lights, it was not a well lit space. It was also hazy and crowded. He wanted out.

At last, he made it to an out of the way exit door. But someone stood in the way.

"Pardon me, please. I just need to get outside to catch my breath. It's awful hot in here."

[Caresse]

"Awww, poor bebe. I don't blame you though, this party has nothing on real parties in the city..."

The person standing in the way of the exit door was of the female persuasion, with long, white blonde hair, red glossy lips and a dress that showed every single curve. She held out a well-manicured hand.

"Hi, I'm Esme."

[Stern]

"Uh, Michael Stern."

She was pretty. Still, he was impatient to leave. With any luck, he could have this conversation pass quickly and he could go back to actually relaxing. The music being loud as it was, a person had to shout almost at the top of their lungs to make themselves heard. Perhaps she would give up the shouting and simply let him move on.

"May I get by?"

[Caresse]

"Why are you in such a rush?"

She moved out of the way, holding the door open for him with a pout. What a weirdo - why even go to a party (even a lame university party like this one) if you're just going to leave? It was interesting enough for her to follow him outside.

"Don't like to party?"

[Stern]

"Depends on whether or not I want to go."

The noise from inside fell damp as the door shut behind them. Much better.

"I like to dance and meet people. But not like that."

Stern's glow returned to its soft white light. "It's dark, crowded, and noisy in there. How do you expect to accomplish anything in there? Besides, I'll wake up in the morning to find my at least one of my roommates knocking on my door trying to figure out how they wound up taking that girl back with them rather than the hot one they thought they were picking up when he left the party drunk at 3am."

Stern leaned against the brick building. "I was not expecting to be here tonight. Sorry if I'm a downer."

[Caresse]

Hrm, glowing. Interesting.

"Well, I was planning on going to the city, but that sort of fell through. I don't even go to school here, so...You go to parties to hook up and hopefully have some fun."

A smile crossed her lips. "I mean, it could be worse. You could be stuck at Cullens' with a curfew. Climbing in and out of your dorm window and having to bribe the security guard isn't much fun either. Luckily, I'm on a weekend pass to visit a "sick friend"."

[Stern]

"Parties and dances were always a way for me to get to know people better. If I'm going stag, I'd rather just chill with a drink and watch people."

Esme wasn't a bad sort of person. He chose to pass over the the deviousness of her means to get out of wherever she was. Instead he went for what was underneath.

"So I suppose you are a Cullen's student? They let you in? Or did they stop checking I.D.s at the door?"

[Caresse]

She laughed, a sexy little giggle as she shrugged. "I never get I.D.'ed. I just use my powers, and I can go where-ever I please, get whatever I want. I don't think I've had to buy a drink for myself since I got my powers."

Esme crossed her arms behind her back, tilting her head at him. "Did you wanna see them? I mean, they arent as obvious as a glow, but they're...pretty interesting."

[Stern]

Stern shrugged. "Sure."

He wondered if she was a shapeshifter or some kind of illusionist. He mentally prepared himself for any sort of mental suggestion she might try if she were telepathic.

Mind properly braced, he turned to face her to see what she would do.

[Caresse]

Stern could feel a warm sensation come over him - it wasn't a mental suggestion, or an illusion. It wasn't as intense as what she had done with Chris; just enough to make him feel nice.

"It's pheromones; I guess I could use it to make people get angry or whatever, but it's more fun to use it like this."

[Stern]

The corners of Stern's mouth tugged at his face. For a moment he felt stirred up. His heart rate increased and he could feel a smile start to form on his face.

Stern found himself starting to forget why he had been so wound up in the first place when the girl's explanation of her powers brought him back to the present.

Pheromones?

Stern had not been prepared for a biological response. He half expected her powers to be near-entirely mental.

Suddenly quite embarassed with himself, he ran a nervous hand through his hair and pulled one clear stray strand in the process. The twirled it between his fingers as a focus for him to settle down a bit more.

"I see what you mean. I'm sure all manner of guys are quite taken with you."

[Caresse]

"I guess, sometimes I wonder if it's me or the powers. Sometimes I don't really care."

Esme smiled, almost sympathetically, as he twirled the strand of hair between his fingers. He was embarassed. Cute. She half expected his glow to turn red, but it didn't.

"Don't be embarassed. You'll make ME feel embarassed!"

[Stern]

Stern pocketed the stray hair. Granted, anyone who ever saw his hair when it wasn't on his head thought it was mostly a small bit of fishing line. But he couldn't help but sour when he thought of people coming along behind him and gathering a stray hair or two as a tropy. Luckily for him no one had tried to come at him with a shaver or scissors to get a bit of "mutie hair."

"You embarass that easily?" he asked. He had a hard time believing it.

Any woman would love the power to work over a man's hormones so he does what she wants.

[Caresse]

"No, but it's not like I'm out to seduce you or something. As fun as it is to make men squirm..." She leaned forward, tracing a finger down his chest with a grin. "Sometimes it's more fun to do without using my powers. So, Mr Stern, care to give me a tour of campus, or are you still going to rush back to your dorm and leave me all by my lonesome?"

[Stern]

Stern gently took her finger off his chest and idly moved his hand in circles around hers, keeping contact at the wrists.

"You sure a quiet tour of campus is better than the party? Even a so-called lame party like this one?"

He stopped the circles, took her by the hand, and led her in a under-arm turn, ballroom style to face the rest of the campus.

"It's a big place, though. Gonna be a lot of walking."

He turned her around again with the same technique. "I mean, I can understand if you change your mind about something low-key with a young old guy."

[Caresse]

Esme couldn't help but giggle as he twirled her around, placing a hand on his shoulder to steady herself.

"That party was horrible, a long walk around the campus with a charming young "old" guy sounds much better."

[Stern]

"Very well," he said, hooking her arm in his.

They started to walk down the hill from the Greek portion of the campus towards the other buildings. "The campus kind of works like a sort of sandwich. We got Dormitories on this side, and some on the other side. In the middle for the most part are the different halls and the Student Center."

They crossed through a parking lot and reached the first set of buildings. "Reed Hall and Grimm Hall are the two dormitories here. I'm in Reed Hall. Just to the right of Reed Hall you can see..."

Stern paused and shone a light towards the edge of the building. "There is construction for a new gymnasium."

They took a left from where they were, skirting around Grimm Hall. The art building is here, and the registrar there," He said, continuing to shine light on the buildings as he mentioned them.

[Caresse]

Esme said nothing, nodding and "mmhmm"-ing when she felt she should. The campus was nothing like Cullens, but it was nice in it's own way. It was neat to see him using his powers, like his own personal flash-light.

"So, are you the only mutant here? I'd imagine having such an obvious power would get a little annoying, being surrounded by mundanes and all."

[Stern]

Stern shrugged. "On a sunny day, my powers blend with the sunlight, so most people don't know that I'm glowing. It really only affects me at night. Most of the time I stick to well-lit areas, so people tend to think that my light is part of streetlamps and such."

Stern walked her out into a large grassy area. "This is the quad. That large building is the administration office. The president of the university works there. The math hall is opposite the administration building. Then there's the English and Communications building on the left of the admin, with the Philosophy, Foreign Language, and Religious Studies department on the right."

Stern was still shining light on the buildings and continued with the other topic. "Most people don't really view me as a threat. I can't invade people's minds, crush cars, wreck buildings, set things on fire, or anything like that. At the most I'm amusing and at the least I'm a minor annoyance at movie theatres. For the record, I'm working on reducing the extent of my passive light."

[Caresse]

"Ah. I guess I can understand. It's not like my power is an immensely threatening one either." She rested her head on his shoulder, sighing. "Have you ever thought of talking to some people from Cullens? Maybe they could help you with toning down the glow?"

[Stern]

"I did once. Thing is, Cullen's is a high school. I'm not a student, and I'm certainly not enrolled as a techer. Spending a good deal of my time at Cullen's would be just wierd."

Stern made an about face. "There's Empire State Plaza. It's not as impressive as it sounds. Just a small circle of benches with a statue of the founder. They say you get good luck on your exams if you rub the statue's head."

They stepped into the circular brick area. "Got any tests on the horizon?"

[Caresse]

"A math test that I am sure to bomb. The only subjects I'm sure to pass are français and art."

She stood on tip-toes, reaching up to rub the statues head, just barely being able to touch it. "You could be a teachers' aide or something at Cullens, and not everyone there is in high school. It could be like a co-op type thing."

[Stern]

Stern took Esme by the waist and hoisted her up so she could reach the statue better.

"I'll be sure to send an e-mail to the Cullen's administration staff when I get the chance."

Stern was reaching his junior year. He needed to choose a major. Perhaps the Cullen's experience would help him decide.

[Caresse]

She laughed as he helped her reach the statue, teetering on her stilletto heels as he set her down. Esme grabbed onto him, wrapping an arm around his shoulder for support. "It would be nice to know someone else on campus, besides friends of friends."

[Stern]

Stern simply raised and eyebrow and helped her to balance. "I don't follow."

[Caresse]

"I meant, I have friends, but none of them go to Cullens. Most of them don't even live in this country. The only people I know from school are friends of a friend."

She straightened her skirt. "If that makes any sense."

[Stern]

"You could always make those friends your friends."

Stern let her go and stepped back so she could fix her clothes. "That, and it's not hard to talk to the person next to you in class. And if that turns out well, you could always get lunch together if your class is before lunch."

He looped her arm in his again and continued walking. "That's how I made friends around here."

[Caresse]

"Eh, it's just...weird. You live a different life from those people, and it's hard to relate."

She took his hand in hers with a small sigh. "Sometimes I miss my "old" life. It was fun, it was exciting. I've tried to find other students with similar interests, but haven't had much luck."

He didn't need to know about her less than legal activities - she'd been a good girl since joining the student body of Cullens. Sure, it was boring, but it was better than jail...

[Stern]

He allowed her his hand. Things were still comfortable.

"Well, I'm sure the night life does have its own slew of excitement, thrills, and adventure. Here's the student center. Want a Coke?"

Stern steered her to the door and into the lobby.

"The exciting thing about new life is that it is so entirely different and new. The sheer fact that there's tons of things for you to experience that you have never seen or heard or done before is plenty exciting."

Stern ran his student ID through the card reader on the machine. A small conveyer rose to the soft drink he selected . The bottle slid onto the conveyer, which lowered itself to the correct height and shifted the Coca-Cola into a small chute. The Cola appeared in a bottle shaped hole.

"These things never cease to amuse me."

He pulled the drink from the machine and casually offered it to her.

[Caresse]

"Thanks" She opened the bottle and took a small sip. "The night life really isn't the problem. It's the "day" life that gets tedious. Going to classes, eating in the cafeteria, hanging around on the grounds. EVERY day. It's dull."

She gave him a sly smile. "I mean, haven't you ever wanted to do something exciting, something you wouldn't normally do, just for the thrill of doing it? To see if you can get away with it?"

[Stern]

"I can understand the tedium of classes. Especially in high school. I actually really enjoy most of my classes in college."

Stern ran his card through the machine again and fetched another Coke. "As for the thrill of doing new things, most of this city is a thrill. The other day I ate at an Indian restaraunt for the first time. That was exciting."

Stern sipped his drink. "I attend Krav Maga lessons twice a week. Learning a martial art has been very fun. It's regular and scheduled, but still exciting."

Stern led Esme out of the student center and they continued to walk.

"Perhaps all you need is a change of perspective. How much do you know about the grounds at Cullens? If you're hell bent on getting into trouble, you might try to find your way to the roof, sneak your way into an off-limits area, or the like."

[Caresse]

"I already have mastered climbing down the drain-pipe by my window and sneaking passed the security guards. It's not as fun as you would think..." She smiled a bit. "Krav Maga sounds interesting. What exactly do they teach you?"

[Stern]

"Mostly it's been basic stances, strikes, and grapples."

Stern and Esme were near the back part of campus directly across from the Greek section.

"Learning to recognize how close someone has to be to strike you or for you to strike them. The big thing is that all of Krav Maga centers around simultaneous attack and defense. So when I'm hitting someone, I'm also defending myself in the best way. When I'm defending, I'm also automatically countering."

Stern smiled. "It's kind of a brutal fighting style. There's not a lot of playtime when it comes to lessons."

[Caresse]

"Hrm, interesting. That would come in handy..."

She let him go, turning to face him, her own smile becoming mischievious.

"Show me some moves."

[Stern]

Stern shook his head. "Not a good idea. Nearly all of Krav Maga training is done against an opponent. It's not full contact, but still can be pretty brutal. It's definitely not something to can demonstrate safely. Without another person who knows something about taking falls and things like that."

[Caresse]

"I can take a fall. Don't let the dress and heels fool ya."

Esme gave him a wink, kicking off her shoes and moving into a defensive stance. She stuck her tongue out at him.

"Cmon, it's not like I haven't ever been a fight before."

[Stern]

Stern stood where he was. "Well, when you're ready."

He was totally casual. He made no move to enter a combat stance.

[Caresse]

She lunged forward, fist aimed for stomach.

[Stern]

Stern stepped to the outside of her punch, grabbed her wrist with his close hand, then locked her elbow with his far hand. He applied pressure to the spot.

"Let me know if I hurt you too much."

[Caresse]

She winced, hoping he didn't see it, and rubbed her arm as he let go. She picked up her shoes in her other hand, an obvious red mark on her free arm. "Okay, maybe I can't take that...owww."

[Stern]

Stern nodded. "It's ok. That was actually pretty basic for a control technique. I thought about taking you down, but I figure you want to keep your dress clean."

Stern was glad that she changed her mind so fast. Campus police would be investigating a man hurting a girl with no shoes in a little black dress.

"Shall I take you back to the party?"

[Caresse]

"Nah, I think you should show me your dorm."

Her mischievious little grin reappeared, just as her powers started to kick in. Faintly, but enough to entice Stern.

[Stern]

Stern looked across the campus in the direction of his room. He didn't really like the idea, but it could remain harmless. His roommates would have something to say, and he already had enough issues with them at the moment for dragging him out in the first place.

"Not tonight."

[Caresse]

"Why not?"

She'd turned away from him, starting to walk in the opposite direction of the party. Esme looked back at him over her shoulder.

"You are in college, have a little fun."

[Stern]

Stern stood where he was, unperturbed. "You know where you're going?"

High schooler. No priorities, no sense of responsibility. And (more than likely), no sense of direction.

"Your bus stop will be over by the administration building."

[Caresse]

"I don't want to go home yet, I want to have FUN. And you should to, Mr Stern."

She nearly skipped back to him, taking him by the hand and leading him behind her.

"You only live once, ma petite luciole!"

[Stern]

"Yeah, and I'd like to make that once be a very long one."

Stern gently pulled his hand free. "Hey, it's been nice showing you around campus and all, but I can't stay out much longer like this. I'm sorry, but the night life is not my idea of a good time. I'll ride roller coasters all day, see a baseball or football game, and I'll attend any play or musical you would ever care to see. But where we were back there--"he pointed towards the Greek sector--"and what I'm sure you plan to do downtown--that's not my idea of a good time."

Stern turned to go. "Again, I'm sorry, Esme. But I have better things to do."

[Caresse]

"What are you? Afraid of the dark, like a little baby?"

Her hands were on her hips, her voice full of annoyance.

"Going downtown to have a drink, dance and oh my god, have fun IS a good time. But fine, go home and go to bed," she waved a hand dismissively at him. "I'll be out enjoying myself and you can go back to being your own night-light."