//------------------------------// // Chapter 4 // Story: When Lightning Strikes // by Necrogen Lord //------------------------------// Trevor panted as he slouched against the wall opposite of the Principal's office door, his eyes shaking as he tried to calm his nerves. Taking a short breath, he stood up and forced himself to open the door. "Principal Cele-" Trevor's voice caught in his throat when he saw who was in the room. Director Charles was sitting in front of the desk, Celestia holding a stoic look while a familiar man in a custodian uniform looked to him. "H-Hank?" Trevor said. The Smoke Conduit gave a stern look to Trevor before slowly walking up to him. "Hey there, kid," Hank greeted, "just stoppin' on by to make sure there's no confusion." "What are you doing here?" Trevor asked. Hank held his hands in front of him in a calm motion. "Whoa there, don't mean no harm to anybody, alright? I've gone straight since Seattle." "Then why are-" "He's part of the Program," Director Charles said from his seat. "What?" "He's here to monitor your behavior and intervene if deemed necessary at any point, should you start to act out. He just informed us of something that happened not too long ago." Trevor went pale at the thought of having the truth exposed already. "I-I'm so sorry, I-" "It's alright, Mr. Bowick," Celestia said. "Mr. Daughtry was just explaining how it was a simple slip on contact, nothing more than just some static. Ms. Shimmer hasn't been injured in any major way and it's clear that it wasn't intentional. You will not be expelled or reported for a small accident like that, but I would advise learning to control your power a bit better." "I can assure you, Principal Celestia," Charles said, "we've been monitoring his fluctuations and have determined that it's a mental trigger, not a physical one. He sometimes begins to emit a small charge when learning about electrical behaviors or anything related to the science of electricity. He starts to think about how it applies to himself and channels his powers without noticing. It's happened quite a few times, but it's relatively easy for him to control. Right, Trevor?" Trevor nodded at the Director's words. "Very well then," Celestia said. "So there is no need to worry about the incident, just make sure that you keep these moments from happening, if you would." "O-Of course, ma'am. Principal." "Good. Now, I believe that it's almost time for fifth period." Trevor nodded and walked out of the office. \\\\\\////// "I can't believe that we've all got Art together!" Pinkie said as she sat down at the large table. "Yeah, kinda lucky, huh?" Rainbow said. "You alright Sunset?" Fluttershy asked. Sunset kept a watch on the door to the class, her schedule in hand as she tapped her foot. "The new guy, Trevor, has this class too," she said. "Well, try not to be too distracted by tall, blonde and terrified," Rainbow said. "Seriously, what kind of guy just runs away like that when five girls wanna sit with him?" "An anime protagonist?" Pinkie suggested, to which Fluttershy nodded. "Maybe he just wanted to be alone," Applejack said. "Darling, he ran away in a panicked hurry at the sight of us approaching. That's beyond just being shy," Rarity said. "I think that he might very well be somewhat afraid of Sunset." Sunset turned to look at Rarity. "What? Why? I haven't done anything to him and I don't think he's heard about the Fall Formal." "Well, you did say that you got a static shock thing from touching his shoulder, right?" Applejack asked. Sunset nodded. "Well, maybe he's thinking that you'd be mad about that." "But it's just a tiny little shock, and it wasn't even his fault!" Sunset said. "He acted like he had just punched me by accident and took off." The girls sat in silence, Pinkie balancing a box of pencils on her nose while Rainbow tapped the side to try and make it spin. The athlete backed away and chuckled as it wobbled about. The door to the class opened and the girls turned to see the new student enter. Sunset straightened up in her seat as she smiled to the boy, waving her hand for him to approach. Trevor looked away from the group, sliding into a seat at an empty table by the opposite end of the classroom. Sunset dropped her smile and her hand as she slouched into her seat. The door opened once more as a short woman with a brown bowl-cut entered the room. "Hello, class! Welcome to Art! I'll be your guide, Paige Turner," she greeted. "Today, I want us all to introduce ourselves to one another and- Oh! Dearie, what are you doing all the way over there?" she said, looking at Trevor. The blonde shrunk into his seat, trying to avoid eye contact as he spoke. "I just wanted to sit over here, it seemed comfortable," he said. The teacher shook her head with a "Tsk, tsk" sound. "I don't think so, young man. In this class, we're going to learn how to get out of your comfort zone with your expressiveness and I want everyone to be in groups. So why don't you sit... ah, over there, with those six girls!" Sunset sat up when the teacher pointed to their table. Trevor seemed to freeze at the suggestion, trying to back out. "A-Actually, I-I think I'd-" "Upupupupup!" the teacher said, pushing him forward, "no arguing with the teacher!" Trevor then found himself standing in front of the six girls and their table, the lot of them giving him large smiles while they shifted their chairs to form a gap between Pinkie and Sunset. The pink-haired girl pat the seat next to her while Sunset gave a reassuring look. Trevor tried to control his breathing as he sat down in the chair, his eyes darting between the six of them as he tried to hide underneath his hat. He slid his bag over the back of his chair and pulled out a notebook and pencil before trying to make himself seem as small as possible, his arms close to his sides while ducking his head. He felt a tap on his shoulder and jumped back a bit when he saw Sunset with a small smile on her face. "I just want you to know that I don't hold anything against you. That shock earlier was just a freak thing, something that happens to everyone all the time. I'm not gonna hate you because of a little shock, okay?" Trevor looked at her face in detail, taking in an image of her soft voice, her smooth skin, the flowing reds and yellows of her hair, and those shimmering blue eyes. He felt his heart rate increase looking at her, and he tried to get it to stop. He nodded to her before looking back at his notebook, relaxing his posture just a bit. "O-Okay," he said. "I'm just... really sorry about that." "Hey, no need to apologize, alright? Let's just put it behind us, alright? It's what friends do." Trevor perked up at the word. "F-Friends?" he asked, looking at her. "I-Y-You think that- I mean, you want me to... be your friend?" "Not just her friend!" Pinkie said as she gave the pencils another spin on her nose. Trevor looked around the table to see the other girls smile and wave at him, giving their greetings as they introduced themselves. "You hang with one of us, you end up hanging with all of us," Rainbow said. Trevor pushed a lump in his throat down as he returned to his notes, noticeably straighter and taller in his chair after the introductions. "Th-thanks," he said to the group.