Averill can’t take it anymore

Averill has been a mind reader for as long as he can remember. At first, he was overwhelmed by the sheer number of thoughts that would constantly flow into his mind. There was no way to turn off this power of his, and he nearly went mad with it. However, after years of living with this power, he eventually learned how to tune out most thoughts. But, this didn’t mean that things went completely silent. Some individuals had ‘loud’ thoughts. Those were impossible to tune out. Luckily for him, such people were few and far between.

As a result, Averill was surprised to find such a person in one of his classes. Your thoughts were loud and clear from the first day of class and Averill considered dropping out of the class. But, it was just one person and he really needed to take this class this semester…how bad could it possibly be?

He’s lived through worse. Surely one person can’t cause that much of a disturbance—

He was so so wrong.

If Averill could go back in time and absolutely throttle his past self for not dropping the course, he would.

You—You had the filthiest thoughts—! How could Averill possibly focus in class while plagued by your thoughts of—of—that! For the very first time in his life, Averill appreciated that images did not come with his abilities to hear thoughts—thank goodness. But, despite this blessing, his mind did not cooperate with him and supplied very unhelpful images to go along with your thoughts.

He was at his wits end. How could you keep up with those thoughts and still manage to take perfect notes at the same time? Looking helplessly around, Averill envied the impassive faces of his classmates, blissfully unaware and unburdened by this problem. He was falling behind in class, and you were the cause! If he didn’t do something soon, not only was he going to lose his mind, he was going to fail the class!

Something had to be done.

Entering the classroom early, Averill snagged a seat next to where you regularly sat. You took the seat right before the class started, and the professor began their lecture soon after. Taking a deep breath, Averill prepared himself. Your thoughts at the beginning of class were always focused and quiet, but—

It’s starting.

It was inevitable. Each time, around the ten minute mark of the lecture, your thoughts would begin to shift into the realm of inappropriate. Averill willed down his blush—today’s thoughts were particularly scandalous—and put his plan into action.

Turning to you, he offered a slightly strained smile.

“Hey, can I see your notes?” He asked, hoping to distract you and get you to stop thinking about that in class.