brice | Open to burning

Brice didn't really know what he was getting in to. At the school, he'd always been a background player. Family rich enough to keep him from the bottom, not powerful enough (yet) to be considered top tier. But still, he'd someone ended up in Warren's orbit and their texts back and forth had been fun. The idea of eating greasy food and watching a movie with him was enough to keep Brice's attention.

After shooting off his address in case War didn't have it, Brice fluttered around his parents' home, trying to decide what needed to be hidden or what deserved more time in the spotlight. This just left him not doing anything but he made sure the iced tea was ready to go as well as some sports drinks and sodas from the basement he moved up from the basement.

Unsure what to wear, Brice didn't want to try too hard or come off too desperate so he'd decided on comfy gray cotton pants and a larger-than-necessary long-sleeved shirt. He was used to hiding his physique, because it wasn't like anyone cared anyway.

At the knock at the door, Brice floated off the sofa in a rush and settled himself to walk to the door, heart hammering in his chest. He knew enough to ask, but if it was Warren, the door would swing open with no effort.

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

From:

burning_youth

Warren is there, of course. With not one but two bags of food. He was plied with plenty of extra, and that was a relief. Extra fries, two flavors of shake, and a second burger for himself. All the best.

"Brice?"

From:

brice

The door opened and Brice hung onto the frame. "Hey!" He greeted Warren, smiling at him before taking in the sheer amount of food he had with him. "Wow, dang." He chuckled some, backing up on foot and gesturing for the other to come in.

"Looks like I need to grab some plates. You can just put all that on the coffee table and get comfortable. Bathroom's to the right if you need to use it." He didn't know if the merry pranksters had given Warren a chance to even wash his hands. Brice busied himself in the kitchen, pulling down a couple plastic plates and filling two big cups with water, in case they wanted anything besides milkshakes to drink.

From:

burning_youth

"I could stand to wash up a bit," he agrees as he steps in.

His eyes cast about, taking in the space briefly before moving to put the food on the coffee table. Then he nods and follows the directions off to the bathroom. Once he's cleaned up he finally returns.

"Need help carrying anything?"

From:

brice

Brice had the two cups pressed against his chest, with an arm holding them in place, the plates in the other. "No, I've got it," he assured Warren, giving him a grin. The plates got set down first, then Brice eased out one cup with his free hand, then the other. Sure, he could have levitated them, but it hadn't even crossed his mind.

Once the cups were on the table, he sat down. "So, did they win?" Brice was eager for a story, even though he was hungry, too. Warren didn't look any worse for wear so that was a good thing. "C'mon, sit. Need help emptying the bags?"

From:

burning_youth

"Nope. Not even third place. We were a measly fourth," he laughs. "That's why I got extra food. For the inconvenience of it."

He sits himself down and starts parceling the food out. This he can absolutely manage on his own.

From:

brice

"Ouch," Brice joked. He could imagine the hit those actually trying to win took to the ego on that one. Not that he cared, because Brice felt like he'd won, Warren in his house laughing, right beside him! "At least they were good sports to you about it, since you played along and all."

Brice watched the plates get piled on, his eyes growing wider as the food just seemed to keep coming. His stomach rumbled and his hand went to his belly, massaging it. "Thanks again for sharing," he said, the side of his leg pressing against Warren's.

From:

burning_youth

"I really did," he laughs. "I was with them for two hours. It was just so strange, but I accepted it. Apparently I was, like, the task they chose for first. Because they figured it would be hard."

Guess that makes him easy.

"Figure I can't eat this all without putting on weight."

From:

brice

"And they still scored that low? I think they just deserved to lose," Brice decided, charmed by Warren's laugh. "Guess maybe they don't know you like I do, huh?" Brice wasn't complaining, he liked Warren's company, pleased to have gotten that text in the first place.

Brice rolled his eyes, side-eying Warren. "Well, you might get a stomachache, but if you played two rounds of Save the Citizen, pretty sure you'd still have the bod you have now." But when the plate was offered him, Brice didn't push it away. His metabolism was off the charts and figured Warren's probably was, too. Brice specifically hadn't eaten, just so he could do it with Warren.

"Okay," Brice announced, looking at the plate. "There a special way to eat this? Teach me Obi-Wan."

From:

burning_youth

"I mean, they got to know me for a little bit. Though you know how I am with strangers."

Which is not really forward and friendly at all.

"Three rounds today. I need the calories to recover from it. So damn much fire. Burns me out just a little bit."

Special way to eat it? He laughs and shakes his head at the very suggestion.

"No special way."

From:

brice

"See, indulge!" Brice encouraged, glad to know that Warren was going to eat it all, because he planned to eat all of his, too. While short and a little blocky, since Brice liked to use his skateboard over flying most times, he knew he had some good muscles.

Warren's laugh was a surprise and honestly pretty pleasant. Some people thought he was scary, but Brice knew different.

"Well, from your texts I thought there was like some special way to indulge in fast food. No nuggets, tenders only, skinny fries with chocolate shakes, not vanilla," he paused in his teasing, waiting for Warren to dive into his plate first.

From:

burning_youth

"I have opinions on what foods go together, or what has quality or not. I don't really care about how people ultimately eat them. But trust me. Chocolate shake with the fries is going to change your work," he says with a laugh.

Because it's just tastier.

From:

brice

"Then I guess I'll save that for last," Brice answered decisively, leaning back against the cushion and tugging gently on the back of Warren's shirt so he knew he could relax a little, too. Tucking into his meal with the plate on his lap, Brice inspected what was under the burger bun. Finding nothing to his dislike, he took a big bite, holding the burger in one hand as he hunted around with the other for the remote.

Swallowing, Brice found the remote and waggled it. "You wanna watch anything ooooor," he drawled, debating options himself, "listen to music?"

From:

burning_youth

Yeah, he can relax a little.

"Pretty sure I was promised some monster movies in exchange for food. You going to let me down here?"

That would be sad.

From:

brice

"Oooh! Right. Rightrightrightright," Brice admitted, turning on the television and bringing up the right streaming service. He'd decided on Rampage since it had some slow parts at the front end so they could still chat but some pretty cool monsters later on. Plus, it was pretty light, definitely a popcorn action flick, nothing really scary, since he knew Warren wasn't down for slashers.

"I never back out of a promise," Brice promised, hitting play and relaxing back into the sofa. This was probably his favorite night he could remember. Brice just hoped he didn't find a way to screw it up.

From:

burning_youth

"That's good to hear," he says with a smile as he leans back with his meal. This was just what he needed after a long day. A terrible one at that.

"You know, it gets boring, just following fratbros around for a while. This is going to be wonderful."

From:

brice

Brice tried to nonchalantly let himself lean against Warren's upper arm, picking out three of his best fries and placing them to the side. When it came to food and television, he could be a bit mindless eating.

"Yeah, I don't that woulda been all the fun for you." Or for them, honestly. Warren looked tough, so Brice imagined at least one of them in the fratbro pecking order had been uncomfortable each time War glared at the group. It made Brice feel good that Warren seemed to really be looking forward to something as silly as this movie was going to be. "It's The Rock at his most The Rock-ness. Plus giant animals?Hard to go wrong," Brice admitted, taking a big bite of his burger and feeling ketchup squirt at the corner of his mouth.

From:

burning_youth

Listen, he might not have the most experience with people hitting on him that he notices, but he's not exactly blind to what is going on. That leaning in is definitely a sign, especially mounded on top of all of the teasing. Which is amusing.

"See, everyone can appreciate the Rock. Most people don't know he's a former hero."

From:

brice

"Oh yeah? I didn't know that. That's cool. It'd be cooler if he made a bigger deal about it. Or, maybe not him, but the school. You'd think he'd be in the hall of fame but I don't remember seeing his picture." Of course, maybe he was a chameleon with super strength, so he could have been there without Brice even noticing him.

"Unless he reinvented himself," Brice admitted, putting his thoughts into words. His thumb went to the corner of his mouth and snagged the ketchup, sucking it off the side, attention on the screen.

From:

burning_youth

Most powered people don't want a big deal made, so was it really that shocking.

"I think they're disappointed that he went into acting instead of keeping his pro-wrestler cover. How often do you get a person choosing to leave the work so they can act?"

From:

brice

"He had to follow the money. And I..." Brice shrugged, took a bite of burger and swallowed it before continuing, "I was rooting for him when he went from wrestling to acting. He's big, but still not Tom Cruise. Starting out, he was the underdog."

Like him. Like Warren. Like a lot of people at Sky High.

From:

burning_youth

"Well, he IS Groot. I have to approve of that," he says with a laugh. It made sense to him.

But Warren, he gets it. That pull toward something else.

"Maybe... I want to be more like him, you know? Able to choose a path that isn't in my biology."

From:

brice

"Oh crap, I totally forgot about that!" Brice glanced at Warren, pleased that his nerddom was showing. It made him more approachable, honestly.

"I think you can be whatever you want to be," Brice said without hesitation, eyes sliding back to the screen and finishing off his burger. "I mean, you could do a lot as a firefighter or a...librarian. Just follow your passion!" Brice's parents had plans for him, the first telekinetic in two generations, but Brice was stubborn and had plans of his own.

From:

burning_youth

While his nerdom did lean toward literature, even he could admit to watching some superhero movies. Call it an occupational hazard.

"Tell that to my mom," he grumbles under his breath. She'd never approve. "She'd think dad got to me."

From:

brice

"The go save the whales first, or something unrelated to your power." From what Brice knew of Warren, he could do anything he wanted to do. "Or open a restaurant, sell the best burgers and fries out there. Shakes extra." He smiled to himself, leaning forward, shifting away from Warren as he picked up a shake. It was heavy, heavier than the glasses of water that were untouched.

Popping the lid, Brice picked up a fry he'd saved and swiped it over the top. "Like this?" He asked, but didn't wait for an answer, popping it into his mouth.

From:

burning_youth

"Of course like that," Warren says with a shrug. This wasn't complicated at all. Though he knows it's not that simple.

"I want to go into academia."

It's so not something that the son of Barron Battle and Lady Striker would ever be expected to do. And his mom could be so intense.