Acquired Lightning*

Acid fizzed in my veins and the edges of my vision smudged as I started to blackout. As my eyes closed, I felt someone tugged on my legs.

"Enjoying yourself?" A hard voice suddenly asked.

It was Gabriel who pulled me back to the dry land. Hel hauled me out of the water and swung me over his head to get rid of the liquid from my lungs.

Drizzles slid down our face and legs when we emerged from the pool. I spat out pool water as I swiped wet hair off my face.

"Yes." I stuttered as I tried to catch my breath. I was confused and seeing spots. "So?"

"I don't--" Gabriel broke off, took a breath, and regrouped his thoughts before starting again. "What the hell happened between you and Leif?"

"This is none of your business." I coughed until my inner ears stung. I could hear the blood thumping in my head as chlorine burned my eyes.

"You almost died and now you tell me it's not my fucking business?" He said with a sneer, his blue eyes turning nearly black as he sensed my untruth. "You got a death wish." There was an odd sheen in his eyes, a sheen of some dark emotion I'd never seen him project before. Anger, maybe. "Jesus Christ, that... that...what the fuck are you even wearing?"

"Lauren dared me to wear this piece of nothing," I said, surprised he even noticed my swimsuit as if it wasn't important that I almost drowned.

"Lauren's a real bitch." Gabriel said. "I can't believe you accepted it, either."

"I know it's stupid and—" I hastily added, "Nothing happened between Leif and me."

"This isn't nothing. Didn't I tell you to stay away from everyone and don't be alone with them?" Gabriel yelled as he tried to get me on my feet again. "Which part of my warning you didn't get, stubborn woman?"

"I was bored. You were ignoring me and I wanted to know how to swim." I stammered, not understanding his anger. "Leif offered to teach me. Instead, I learned to drown."

"This happened because you're fucking bored and you wanted attention." Gabriel suddenly reclaimed my weight as he frantically assessed the damage. "You don't listen to me at all."

My heart ached from seeing Gabriel's beautiful face, smelling his scent, and feeling his hands on me. I had a vague sense where the ground was but the whole world was falling over and I was so tired of this crap.

I needed a nap.

"Can you just shut up for once, Gabriel?" I howled at him. "You're making my headache."

I just couldn't do this anymore.

Gabriel stepped back as he stared at the halo of pale blue light crackling around my hands.

"Oh god, here it comes again." I chuckled nervously as I moved away from him. "Don't come near me Gabriel if you don't want to be another Leif."

I felt like I was to attempt bungee jumping and I was about to plunge. I threw an arm out to the side to steady myself.

Gabriel took a step forward to grab unto me but wisely stopped himself before he touched me and got electrocuted. Then the blue light went out like a switch had been turned off and I plopped onto the floor.

"I feel awful," I told him.

"What the fuck is happening?" Gabriel asked me, concerned. "Why are you becoming like this? It's too early for your abilities to reveal themselves."

I looked at the floor and giggled insanely as the electricity running around my body tickled my brain.

"I don't know what to do," I said anxiously as I slapped the palm of my hand against the floor. My vision swam in static. I had to get rid of the energy stat.

"Cassandra, I don't like this..." He said, hesitant.

"RUN, GABRIEL. STAY AWAY FROM ME." I said tightly as my bolt demanded to be released again. I held it too long.

Desperate to rid me of the monster I had summoned, I slid unto my knees and placed both of my hands on the water.

I felt a huge sigh of relief as I let it loose.

"Are you safe now?" He asked anxiously.

"I don't know what's happening to me, Gabriel." I sighed, too tired to care.

"What the fuck was that?" Gabriel abruptly screamed and fell to his knees when he touched me accidentally, panting for a moment before continuing through gritted teeth.

"Oops, sorry. " I said, my voice still shaking with fear. I took a deep breath, pulling myself together. I was still throwing off some sparks. "This isn't normal."

He stood up and balanced me on my feet when he recovered from the shock. "You're not normal in the beginning, Cassandra."

I looked him in the eye. "We are all dangerous, in a sense."

"It's good that you should be able to defend yourself against any attacks," Gabriel said in admiration, brushing my hair back from my face and placed a long lock behind my shoulder. I think it'd be fine to hold you again."

We sat next to each other for a while, both of us too tired to move as Leif's lifeless body floating on the pool.

The sky went dark.

"I killed Leif..." I rasped.

"I think he's just unconscious," Gabriel said, his voice thick with frustration. "We lots are tough to kill."

"Aren't we going to help him?" I asked, my voice rising into a higher pitch.

Figuring out how to swim a bit after that near-death experience, Gabriel helped me carry and stretch him out in the grass.

"It's better that he's in this position than you." He trailed off and ripped a hand through his hair as he paced around in a circle. "I can't believe I haven't seen the signs."

"Take me home please, Gabriel," I said, blinking with thirst, fatigue, and shock. "I'm so tired."

"You're going to be okay. I'll take care of you." Gabriel breathed through a small smile when I looked at him. He looked back at me with so much tenderness I had to remind myself that he wasn't interested. "But I can't let you go anywhere without you putting on some decent clothes."

"Yep. These tiny black triangles were just enough to cover the good parts." I mumbled.

I couldn't resist smiling at him even though I knew I spend hours rethinking and regretting it. The guy had a girlfriend. "It's a good thing Katrina tied the strings tightly or it might have fallen off during earlier."

He swallowed hard and nodded his agreement. "I'll go get the clothes."