My Radioactive Heart

troiseme
“propositions”


"So, Warren, you remember that kid I destroyed last week?" Natalie casually asked the boy sitting across the counter from her. Warren was there to pick up Nicole for their anniversary date, but, of course, she was still in the shower. Warren looked up from the newspaper he was reading the front of.

"Um, I couldn't say. I assume you're referring to Battle, and as I recall, you destroyed a decent number of people last week." Warren said with a wry grin. Natalie stuck her tongue out at him and continued to stir the contents of the pot she had on the stove, her dinner.

"Very funny. I mean the new one; he's a friend of yours?"

"Who's a friend of yours?"

Both turned to see that Nicole had finally emerged from her room, her wavy blonde hair done up at the back of her head, wearing a pretty black dress that went to her knees and had an imprint of white flowers growing up to her hips from the hem.

"Again making an assumption, are you taking about Lash?" Warren asked after he gave his girlfriend a soft smile to tell her she looked pretty.

"Lash? That sounds like a boy's name. Is Nat talking about a boy? Please tell me she's talking about a boy. Please. Cause, she needs to stop complaining about not--"

"Shut up Nicky." Natalie growled as a slight blush colored her cheeks and she looked intently as the soup she was making.

"Yes, Lash is a guy." Warren said, standing and wrapping an arm around Nicole's waist. "Remember sophomore year of high school, well, you're junior year, but at the beginning and all that fuss during Homecoming?"

"That Lash? You're into that Lash? Oh no, no, sweetheart, not that Lash, that guy, he's all bad news." Nicole said, putting a hand on the counter and leaning towards Natalie as if delivering need-to-know information.

"Hold up a minute, you were the one who said to give people second chances." Warren reminded her, putting a hand on her shoulder.

"Who said anything about into?" Natalie interjected, turning to Nicole and shifting her eyes left to right in emphasis.

"Yeah but him? He was so much trouble, a complete space-waster when he was at Sky High last time. You actually think he changed?" Warren met his girlfriend's eyes and tilted his head forward and shrugged. "Ugh, well I guess you did say you were friends and I know what a wonderful judge of character you've turned into, so, oh whatever. But how do you know him?"

The question was directly at Natalie, who sighed and rolled her eyes. "I killed him in Battle. And I didn't say I was into him!"

"You didn't say it with your mouth." Nicole insisted. Natalie tucked her tongue behind her teeth and pouted. "Stop that, it's bad manners. Look, we'll solve this problem." She reached around into Warren's pocket, an act he was familiar with and had learned not to respond to, and withdrew his cell phone. "Lash, Lash, here we go." She grabbed a sticky note and wrote down the number. "Now you can call him and go do something interesting rather than hanging here all night."

"Wha-- what? Nicky, that's ridiculous." Natalie objected as the blonde grabbed her coat and winked at Warren. She pulled her coat on as her boyfriend returned his phone to his pocket and started towards the door.

"Not at all. And don't say he's not interested. Everyone's interested. Except Warren, and he would be if we weren't together. Stop acting like a wuss, I know you're gonna go and call him and do something totally insane the moment I leave, so there." She stuck her tongue out at her roommate and looped her arm around Warren's as he opened the door for her. Warren glanced at Natalie's expression and gave her a semi-salute before chuckling and closing the door.

Natalie stood where she was for about a minute before she remembered she'd been cooking. She returned to the stove and bit the inside of her cheek. Reaching over to turn on Nicole's iPod, she picked up the sticky note.

"Whatever, I was going to a club anyway. He could probably get out." She picked up the phone and dialed, but kept attending the soup with her other hand. An older woman picked up. Mother, Natalie thought. "Hello, Mrs. Sanding, is Lash available?"

"Yes dear, just a minute. Jake, there's a young lady on the phone for you!" She heard the woman call. Jake, huh? Natalie thought to herself. She heard another phone pick up.

"Hello?"

"So Lash, or Jake, or whatever your name is Mr. Sanding, what are you up to tonight?"

"Um, possibly homework? Wait…"

"Got a better idea. I was thinking something low-key, like a bar, unless your back's feeling better than mine would had I taken a hit like that." Natalie let the words flow out of her mouth, being coy, open, and still totally in control of the conversation.

"This must be Natalie."

"What, none of the other girls know how bad your got your ass kicked by a girl half your size?"

---

Lash had intended to get some serious studying done, all the Autonomy students had been told to expect a fairly brutal first exam before the month was out and the professor reminded them he was a man of his word. He'd even shelved his pride for long enough to ask one of the more talkative students for a few tips and picked up the extra recommended reading.

He had intended to get work done.

Now he found himself in his dad's old pick-up pulling up to the curb of the nicest street in what was notoriously considered the most power-full neighborhood under Sky High. It was well-known that everyone and their family dog was a Sky High alum in this area. Natalie had mentioned something about the apartment being technically Natalie's; maybe her parents had wanted to keep her close, so to speak.

The house nearest him was one of those two-floor condos with porches on both ends and a balcony with a front staircase. Probably had been divvied up inside by the owners to make separate units for rent. He was picking up his phone when he saw the lights switch off on the upper left-hand side and someone come out the door. The person locked the door and sauntered down the stairs in a familiar manner. Natalie was all smirks as she folded both arms over the door and leaned halfway through the open window.

"Are you really ready for this?" Her tone was playful and mocking. "I mean, really, really ready for this?"

"So long as you aren't planning on breaking, bruising, stunning, or throwing me across the room, yeah, I think I'm good." Lash answered with a laugh. Natalie screwed her face up a little like she was really thinking about it.

"I mean, not planning on it, but you know, these things sometimes just happen."

"Hah, get in." Lash waved his hand at her and she smiled and hopped down from the window and opened the door. Some part of Lash registered that she looked really good; tight jeans, brown leather boots, layered top that showed off her even shoulders, her hair tousled out - but he tried to make himself ignore that. She would never be interested in someone like him as more than a friend at most, and he would have to tread wisely tonight to maintain even that.

Natalie's eyes quickly reviewed his appearance as he continued around the cul-de-sac; casual jeans, black tee-shirt with the name of some band on the sleeve – typical guy, she thought. "So," she began in a semi-serious tone. "I know I said bar, but I know the bouncer at this great club, if your back's up to it."

"So long as there is a bar there, I'll be fine."

"You're sure?"

"Would I lie?"

"Of course."

"'Of course'," he mimicked. She grinned. "Just tell me where to go so I can stop sketching out your neighbors. They've probably never seen the likes of a beat-up truck in a first-world country without the name of some utility company printed on the side of it."

"Probably not. Head downtown. I was actually going to comment on your sick set of wheels here, but I got distracted by your amazingly juvenile fashion sense."

"What? I'm totally fashionable. I even have bling." He curled his finger in the chain around his neck and shook it a little. Natalie laughed.

"And I'm sure your mother's fine taste in men's jewelry counts as 'bling' on some planets."

"How do you know it was from my mom?"

"Oh come on, every boy and their brother has an I-love-you-so-don't-forget-it token of their mother's appreciation. The question is which birthday?"

"Actually, graduation."

"Oh, a fairly new trinket. Very classy."

"Yeah, well, call me a simpleton but this is all I need to make any suit look good." Lash was surprised at himself. He normally didn't feel like he could talk to girls like this, especially attractive smart girls, but Natalie was just so easy to laugh with. That's what it felt like, like everything was a laugh. It was liberating.

"So not to bully you with personal questions and all, but I'm dying to know. How many different names are you going on here? And I really only ask because I don't want to sound like I'm asking for a whip the next time I get lucky enough to speak to your mother."

Lash laughed. "Well, you may have noticed, but they mostly call me Lash at school. My mom likes to call me Jake, but that's not my name either. Hah, I guess I'm kinda like my power, I go by many names."

"And what, Mr. Sanding, is your power?" Natalie dropped her voice down in a light impersonation of Coach Boomer. Lash laughed, so clearly it was some bit of amusing. Poking fun at teachers never seemed to get old. "No seriously, what's your real name?"

"Nah, you're not ready for it yet."

"Hmm, thankfully, I didn't make plans not to beat you up so I will have it out of you by the end of the night."

"Hah, good luck."

---

A/N: 'Lalalaa la laa laa lalalaa lalaaa'. A cookie to whomever can tell me what film that’s from. Oh, and another cookie for whomever guesses Lash’s name before I write it – we’ll discuss the meaning of cookie, I’ll probably write something for you.

Lash: And again I’m concerned. I feel like I’m going to get beat up again.

Natalie: At least things are looking better for you, you may not be having sex with Warren.

Warren: Why is this hard to understand? I’m not having sex with Lash. Period.