Vincent's face was hot<span style="font-style: italic">(and quite red he was sure)</span>as he took the candy bar.<br/><br/>"<span style="font-weight: bold"><span style="color: #008000">I--I didn't mean it that way,</span></span>" he started to say quietly, "<span style="font-weight: bold"><span style="color: #008000">I'm sorry it came off like that though,</span></span>" He stared at the floor trying to swallow the growing lump in the back of his throat.  His mouth felt like it was filled with cotton. He swallowed again found his words again for a moment.<br/><br/>"<span style="font-weight: bold"><span style="color: #008000">I thought you'd get a kick out of knowing I had voice of command and haven't used it since it manifested when I was thirteen, that's all,</span></span>" he told her feeling like a suddenly withered flower. Even if he thought she was obnoxious, he had thought things were going sort of well and now he'd abruptly fucked it up.<br/><br/>The heat from his sudden shame flared into his ears and though he clenched his jaw in an effort to contain his emotions, because he'd just met this young woman and he couldn't bear coming off like any dudebro she'd have met anywhere else on campus, bitter tears clung to his pale eyelashes.<br/><br/>Just then, the elevator chimed and he hazarded looking up as the doors opened. Tears escaped and slid down his face as he did so, much to his chagrin. As if that weren't enough, there were two young men stepping out of the elevator. They were not entirely unknown to him, alas, as they were both on the competitive swimming team, which he'd been barred from joining despite not having any particular advantages due to his abilities.<br/><br/>Vincent groaned inwardly and lamented that there was no escape because they made eye contact. There he was, tears staining his face, red with embarrassment, Penelope irritated at him<span style="font-style: italic">(and he didn't really blame her)</span>, and literally nowhere to go.<span style="font-style: italic">Gawddammit</span>, he thought with an internal sigh,<span style="font-style: italic">now I have to deal with these assholes too</span>.<br/><br/>The shorter of the two, David,gazed at him with malicious green eyes. His hair was some kind of mutilated buzzed faux hawk. David's eyes darted from Vincent to Penelope and then he smirked at his taller friend, whose beefy build was quite the contrast. "<span style="font-weight: bold"><span style="color: #0080FF">Look, Bret, it's that loser that thought he could swim with us!</span></span>" he said snickering as if he'd told a clever joke.  His tall dark friend smirked in response.<br/><br/>Vincent narrowed his eyes and closed one of his fists in an attempt to resist the very obvious baiting from David. Bret crossed his arms, as if to dare him to act. Vincent didn't trust himself to speak and tried to push past them, only to have Bret shoulder check him; which sent Vincent stumbling backward, though he managed to stay standing.<br/><br/>"<span style="font-weight: bold"><span style="color: #0080FF">Where ya going with your itty bitty girlfwend,</span></span>" David mocked chuckling to himself. Vincent squared his shoulders, still trying to check his temper that threatened to boil over.<br/><br/>"<span style="font-weight: bold"><span style="color: #008000">She ain't my girlfriend, Dave,</span></span>" he growled, "<span style="font-weight: bold"> <span style="color: #008000">and even if she was, where we're going ain't any of your damn business!</span></span>" he snarled.<br/><br/>His violet eyes turned their attention back to Penelope. He'd just met her, but he was pretty sure they'd just screwed themselves, insulting her and talking about her as if she weren't there. He was doing his best to reign his budding anger in before he got anymore agitated and so he watched and waited to see exactly how pear shaped this was going to go.