Hearts of Palm.

"You must be new here."

Warren Peace's voice was even, calculated. Hiding behind clenched teeth his annoyance at having to deal with this (again), he dropped his bag on the bench and lowered his weight slowly in kind beside it. The russet-haired stranger sitting across from him did little more than sweep her eyes- the color and intensity of bullets- over his hulking form before giving him a sardonic smile and turning her body away in a gesture of dismissal. His usual glower deepened into a scowl, and he cleared his throat quite loudly- he meant bussiness. Her attention returned to him, her expression reflecting the same annoyance he felt bubbling up inside himself. "If you're looking for the welcome committee, it's over there." He nodded towards Stronghold & Co., as he called called his group of friends, who sat at a table a few down from his own. "I'm not the 'new friend' type." And then he gave her the same laughless smile she had given him before pointedly sticking his nose into his book and pretending to be engrossed in the text.

"Really?" Her voice was like gravel. "And you seem like such a charmer." She returned her attention to the sea of students.

Warren felt heat swelling up, uncomfortably fast. He gritted his teeth and closed his book so he could lean in and growl a rebuttal. The firestarter lowered his hand over the arm she had resting upon the tabletop- intending to get her attention by grabbing her- but managed only to get within a few inches of doing so before he was thrown back by some inexplicable, expanding pressure- strong enough to put him into the wall... INTO the wall. His vision swam briefly with stars and dark.

He was on his feet again in seconds, and now his arms were alive with flame. The new girl was a telekinetic... He could handle a telekinetic. All around the cafeteria students were rising, turning, gathering for the oncoming fight. Warren's attentions were focused on the girl. She had gotten out from behind the table and was moving up the aisle to meet him; eyes dark, fists clenched, muscles drawn taut over her bones. Her hair was like blood- cascading stick-straight over her left eye- a razored bob that tapered past her jaw in the front, but angled up and cropped high on her skull in the back; locks stacked above a 'V' of sheared stubble. Her hair reminded him of his fury.

"Do you really think that I'm going to go down that easy?" Warren chided, sending flames arcing on a deadly course towards her. She lifted one hand as his fireball approached, sent it into an empty table at her left... an empty table which first collapsed on one side in a shower of embers, and then rose into the air as she guided it with her mind. It wavered a moment, and she clenched her jaw, staggering back slightly as she braced herself against the strain.

She steadied the table after a moment, and then she watched him.

Warren Peace snarled, his fury curling off of him like smoke, and he started in her direction; his every intention to rush her and burn her alive.

But the table hit him first. Square in the face, sent him reeling once again into the wall. He felt a warm spurt over his chin as his lip split open and spilt blood, felt the ache of what would soon be bruised ribs when he slammed into the floor, table on top of him. And then all he felt was the pressure of the table on top of him. Her face was a mask of effort, brow creased, teeth bared. He was struggling, gasping for air by the time he was able to reduce the table to cinders and get back on his feet. He hurled another blast of fire at her, and this time the toll her exertions had taken on her made her sloppy- she made a gesture that was only half as effective as her first deflection; and the blast just barely licked her left side, scorching her shirt and leaving behind an ugly burn- one which she clutched with an anguished cry.

"Not so tough now, are you, Telekinetic?!" He taunted, advancing on her again. He burned so bright in front of her, but this only served to fuel her, and she rose; once again opening her palms to him, once again gathering another blast of energy.

"Mr. Peace."

Warren spun slowly. Principal Powers stood behind him, arms crossed, that 'I caught you red handed' smile plastered to her face. Warren wiped at the blood gushing over his chin and coughed, realizing quickly that, once again, he had let his short temper get the best of him... the logic seeming to do nothing to quell his frustration. In this moment of clarity, he was sent flying face-first into the wall.

The Telekinetic grimaced as she bent to hold her injury again, sides heaving. She sank to her knees, a groan of exhaustion escaped her. Principal Powers set her jaw and shook her head at the new student, who greeted the Principal with a strained smile.

Warren had just peeled himself from the wall and shook off the daze of the blow when he turned to see his rival get shakily to her feet, knees threatening to buckle beneath her at any moment as they both followed the Principal out of the lunchroom. He wiped at his bloodied face once more, watched her as they walked. Her entire body trembled as if about to break.

"Why don't you take a picture?" She hissed.

"Oh, I'm sorry, do you need to take a break? I know that walking to the Nurse's office can be rather exhausting." She opened one palm towards him, but he didn't fly into any walls or get hit in the face with any tables. In fact, nothing happened. "Good one." He sneered.

"Nurse Spex." The Principal addressed the clinician as she led the pair into the clinic. "These two were fighting. In the Cafeteria. Once you've got them all fixed up let me know, and I'll take them to the detention room." She gave a bright smile to the elderly woman, and then left.

"Fighting, huh?" The nurse said as she turned around to face them.

Warren's pants- that had somehow miraculously come unbottoned and unzipped- fell down.
The new girl looked at him, the laughter bubbling up in her face and mouth.

"You're right... that was a good one." Was all she said.