I wandered down the crowded school hallways, trying to drown out the outside noise with my music playlist. Sure, I had friends inside school, I enjoyed talking to people sometimes. But I'm actually quite an introvert. I prefer to be with myself rather than with a bunch of people. 

I find that even my personality reflects my power. I'm very excitable in the right conditions, but I'll often get a little out of control. I'm also very unpredictable. Like on that day in particular, I was pissed. 

Did I know why? No, of course not. I never know why. It would just happen, and I let it. Maybe I was on my man-period, I dunno. 

My anger only grew when my English teacher announced that we were going to be doing partner work on this project, and that she already picked the groups of two. She put me with this girl named Eira Cole. 

Ugh, her. I remember thinking. I mean, she wasn't a total bitch, but she just always seemed to rub me the wrong way. She kept proving my argument points wrong, making my questions seem stupid... We just didn't get along. So putting us in a group together was a big problem. 

She sauntered over to me, a cocky grin on her face. It took all of my willpower to not set her short, bright blonde hair on fire. She sat across from me, and sighed. 

"What's up, broski?" 

"Uh, nothing?" Damn things got awkward quick. Better change the subject. "So, what are we doing here?" 

She rolled her eyes, but kept smiling. "Were you really not listening?" 

"No, I was. I'm just wondering what exactly we're going to do with it." 

The project, to give you the gist, was a book report on poster board, and a new ending to the book we've been reading. 

We got the layout of the poster board really quickly, but when it came to the ending, we both went in totally different directions. I wanted there to be some huge plot twist, but hers was way more straightforward, and having a crucial character die in the end. 

"Your heart is pure ice, dude." I commented, and she laughed. Her laugh literally sent shivers up my spine. I mean, it was such a normal laugh, but still. 

She looked back at me from the paper we were writing on. I stared into her eyes, examining every detail, every line and hue. 

Her eyes were bright - and I mean bright - blue and silver. I almost commented on them, but she snapped her fingers in my face. 

"Hey, genius, were you listening?"

"No." I said flatly. She sighed, obviously frustrated. 

"I said, let's meet in the middle with this." She said each word slowly and carefully. 

"Hey, I'm not a toddler."

"Well, stop acting like one, then." She snickered. But I was not amused. I simply grit my teeth, and felt crackles of energy in my palms. 

"Let's just get on with this." I hissed. She smirked again, and seemed to find amusement in my fury. Who does that? 

 *~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

I was walking home from the bus stop, strolling slowly through the woods. There was a burning feeling in my chest, like fire was lapping at my rib cage. My hands throbbed, and I could feel crackles of sparks in my throat every time I exhaled. 

Finally, I couldn't take it any more. 

Flames exploded from my palms, and I screamed as fire shot out of my mouth. I could see the bright red that flowed through my veins, glowing through my skin. I quickly quieted my shouts, But kept the flames on my hands as I stomped through the forest, pure power engulfing me. 

I halted at the sound of branches snapping above me, quickly snuffing out the flames. I scanned the trees above me, and saw nothing noteworthy. Thank God, I'd thought there was someone hiding up there... 

I barely got to even finish that thought when someone dropped down from above, a few yards ahead of me. It was a male, no older than I was. He stood at full height, easily topping me by a few inches. He was scrawny, and had medium length, wavy, brown hair that nearly covered his eyes. He was smeared with dirt, and covered in scrapes and bruises. 

My heartbeat quickened. Had he seen what I just did? What would he do? What would he say? He looked surprisingly calm, and a smile even graced his lips. 

"Dude. Did you just set off a firework?" He took a few steps forward. 

"Uh, yeah. Totally. Firework." I could not believe what a lucky break I had. I sighed with relief, and relaxed. "Were you... Up there?" I pointed to the tree tops. "In the trees?" 

"Hella yeah, bro." He looked up, laughing. "I practically live in the forest." 

I eyed his filthy appearance. "Yeah, sure does look like it." We shared a laugh. 

"Yeah, I know. I don't look my best. I kinda fell out of one of these redwood suckers and rolled down a hill." He gently patted a giant pine, and rubbed it gingerly. 

"How far did you fall? Are you alright?" Concern laced my voice. 

"Yeah, totally fine, chill with life and shit. Fell about twelve feet, no biggie." 

My jaw fell open. "You're joking." 

He blinked, not phased whatsoever. "Nope," He poked out a lip in thought. "Why? That weird?" 

"Kinda!" The corners of my gaping mouth turned upright. "Usually something would break from a fall like that." 

"Yeah, something broke." He looked down solemnly. "Quite a few branches were lost that day," He put a hand over his heart. "Today, I mean." 

"Dude," I shook my head in disbelief. "You are such a hippie." 

"Thanks!" He perked up again, and held out a bony hand towards me. "My name's Adam, by the way. Adam Malcovitch." 

"Aiden Locklear." I shook his hand, which was rougher than it looked, and also dusty. 

"Nice to meet you!" He paused, looking up in thought, and a mischievous  grin sprawled across his face, sparkles dancing in his auburn eyes. "Wanna see something wicked?" 

"Uuhh, yeah, sure. Why not?" I shrugged. He skipped ahead of me, coaxing me to follow. It was hard to keep up, he kept taking twists and turns that seemed unnecessary. I grew tired of running, yelling at the energetic teen to slow down a bit. He'd just laugh, and keep galloping along. It was like he knew the forest better than himself. Hell, maybe he did. 

Finally, we were headed towards a large incline. I couldn't see the land beyond it, and Adam stood at the top. 

"C'mon slowpoke, it's right up here!" 

Anger burned in my chest. I was in cross country, who did this idiot think he was? That fury gave me a burst of energy, and I scaled the hill like it was nothing. He smiled at me. 

"There we go, I knew you could do it." I rolled my eyes. 

"What did you wanna show me? The whole woods? Because I have things I have to do." 

"This." He waved his hand to the right, and I looked over. My mouth dropped open, again. 

There were tree houses. Up to fifteen of them, all big, all connected by wooden bridges. Some were higher than others, and they were all painted with forest colors. I stared in awe, whispering a 'wow' under my breath. 

"Did you build this?" 

He nodded. "Every single one, without help. I wasn't joking when I said I practically live in the forest." 

I continued to eye the impressive structures. It looked like they were all made from tree bark, mud, rocks... Not a single block of wood or man-made products anywhere. As far as I could see, that is. 

He nudged me, interrupting my thought process. "Wanna check them out?" 

I looked up at him. "You'd... Let me?" 

"Yeah, why not?" 

I looked down, and sighed. "I'm a pyro, dude. Aren't you worried I'll set the whole place ablaze?" 

"Nah, you managed to set off a firework surrounded by pines and dead leaves with hardly any damage, so why not?" I saw out of the corner of my eye that he was looking at me, and his happy expression turned worried. "Is... Something wrong?" 

"No one has ever treated me this nicely, especially after just meeting. I guess I'm... a little shocked." 

"That's not true, I've seen you at school, dude. You have friends." 

I shrugged. "People I talk to, sure. Outside of the halls, we're strangers." 

"Well, I don't understand them, then. You'll find your place, and you have your whole life ahead of you." 

"They don't understand me." 

"Oh, how come? I can understand you pretty well." 

"Nah dude, you barely know me." 

"I can see that you have a underestimated personality. One that people just have to conform to, to know that you often act on impulse or based on your surroundings." 

I froze. How did he know so much about me? I looked up at him, studying his face; his features. He had high, defined cheekbones, and a hard jawline. His hair was cut choppily, and I noticed that there were tiny braids in them. This guy was truly an enigma... Even his bold brown and emerald eyes showed it. 

"You're crazy."

"Thanks!" 

"But you're smart." I clapped him on the back, then checked my phone. It was already almost four. "I'd love to explore these things, but I gotta get going." 

"That's fine." We bid each other farewell, shaking hands once more before I took my leave. 

Adam... He was a strange character, that's for sure. But for some odd reason, a guy who understood me better than anyone else has.

The moment I got home, my phone buzzed. It was a message from that girl, Eira. I had given her my number so she could contact me about the project, and for that reason only. I rolled my eyes, hoping it was important. 

It only consisted of one sentence, and a video. 

'Nice pyrotechnics... Flame on! ;)' 

I could feel my heart drop into my lower abdomen, and my legs turned to jelly. It was obvious what the video was of. 

I royally fucked up. She'd seen me.