NOT TODAY SATAN NOT TODAY

Grant didn’t know what to expect after talking with King, but it seemed to have gone better than he originally thought. Originally, Grant was only going to check up on him. Maybe Grant felt he needed to because Malcolm had saved his sister’s life. Maybe he just wanted to see how King was doing for his own sake. Regardless of the reason, Grant was happy that he went to go see King. The fact that the two of them are going to at least attempt to hang out like they used to made Grant’s face gleam with a certain smile that hasn’t been seen in a long time - and as it should be. Combined with the newly-rekindled friendship with King and him and Olivia being together, out in the open for everyone to see, really made Grant happy.

Entering his room, Grant came to the sight of his family — well, most of them. He saw his mother, Ava, DanI, and Adam all waiting around his bed. “Oh, hey guys,” Grant awkwardly waved. He was happy to see his family, but he had no idea why they were even there.

“Hey bro, you seem to be happy for some reason. Olivia drop by or somethin’? “ Ava, though teasing, asked with a smirk.

“Ava, please!” Grant embarrassed, raised his voice, “but, uh, I haven’t seen her around. She must be at home or something.” Grant said, scratching his head.

“I’m shocked!” Ava literally was. Those two never left each others sights. If they did, they would let each other know where they went.

“Then why the happy grin, bro?” Adam asked curiously.

“Oh, uh, I just came back from talking with King.”

“Richard King?” Adam said.

Grant nodded.

“Wow, I haven’t you say his name in good opinion since middle school. You two finally friends again?”

“We never stopped — just not as much.” Grant said, scratching his head.

“Right, well I’m happy for you bro.“ Adam smiled. He was genuinely happy for his little brother.

“So, what are you guys doing here? I’m not getting discharged today, am I? I thought they said I was going to be here for another day or so.”

“Seems like you were misled, kiddo.” Ava said.

Grant looked to his mother, “so, should I get my stuff now?” Grant asked her.

“Sure, but in a minute. There’s something we need to discuss with you.”

“We?” Grant raised an eyebrow.

“Yes, as in all of us.” Amy said. She gestured Grant to take a seat next to her on his bed.

As Grant sat down, he simply looked at his siblings and his mother. Aside from Ava and Adam having their usual, weird grins, DanI and their mother seemed to be less happy. Grant didn’t know whether he should be calm or anxious. After last night, there seemed to be a diverse opinion of Grant among the Wells family. He recalled his father grilling him about going to the party. He took that chance to further torment Grant by saying that what happened at the party and how Grant got hurt was his fault. He recalled Wesley saying that if he hadn’t disobeyed him, Grant wouldn’t had several bruises all over his body. Just the thought of his father saying all of those terrible things to him made Grant almost lose his grin, but then he remembered the face of Olivia and how he and King are finally going to start hanging out again. Still, there was the matter of why his mother wanted to talk to him so urgently.

“Grant, I know that what you did to your father last night--”

“Wait what!?”

“You pushed him and stole his car.”

“Yes, I did but..”

“He’s very disappointed in you..”

“Mom! You don’t know what he said!” Grant stood up, backing away from the sudden jerking of his body upward. “You don’t know what he said about you, about Olivia, about me..”

“Whatever your father said, I’m sure he had a good reason.”

“A good reason? A good reason!” Grant rolled up his left sleeve and revealed a medium purple shade on his arm. “Is that what you call a good reason?” Grant’s face was livid right now, but he also started to rage-cry(when someone’s so angry that they’re crying).

While Amy refused to look at it, Ava, Adam, and Dani all saw it. They knew that their father was abusive. They had all gotten smacked around a few times, but nothing compared to what they saw on Grant’s arm. Ava and Adam had gotten a few slaps and punches. Dani had gotten a push into a wall. Thomas even got a few punch to the guts when he told them about it one day. However, with Grant, they never imagined it would be that bad. They always thought that, because of the way their brother was, that he wouldn’t be subject to that kind of torture. Perhaps the mental and emotional torture — Wesley was an expert at that — but never physical torture.

“Mooomm…” Dani looked to her. She saw that Amy wasn’t even looking at it.

“Come on mom! You can’t still believe he’s right here..” Ava said.

“He’s violent to all of us.” Adam said, backing up his siblings.

“He has anger problems, but nothing that you didn’t deserve--"

“What mother? Like how you didn’t get anything that you didn’t deserve?” Grant boldly said. His siblings looked at him as if he was high.

“What are you on about, Grant?” Dani asked.

“Should I tell them or do you want to?” Grant looked to Amy.

Amy looked at Grant wide-eyed. She would say that she couldn’t believe her ears, but looking at Grant, she saw the worry in his eyes and heard it in his voice. “Wesley gets stressed from his job here and at Seattle. As such, he can get angry sometimes. It’s nothing that I didn’t get when I was your age.”

“And you’re letting it happen to your children.” Ava said.

“No, it’s not like that--”

“But it is, mother — it is.” Grant said, sitting back down, holding his mother’s hands. “He has a problem. Worse than that, he doesn’t seem to think that how violent he is to us is wrong. He believes that what he’s doing to his own children and his wife is what they deserve, like it’s some kind of respect and loyalty thing.” Grant looked at his mother, “either he needs to get help or we need to do something.” Grant was pleading with his mom to listen to him.

“Grant’s right, mom. Dad needs a reality check.”

“I’m with Grant and Adam. If something isn’t done, we might end up dead. You know how these cases can go from worse to absolutely unfixable.”

Dani rolled her eyes at Ava’s comment. She had to admit her dimwit sister had a point. “Ava might be exaggerating a bit — probably from all of those cop shows she likes to watch — but she’s right. He’s only going to get worse.” Dani said, “I think Grandpa and Grandma should be brought in on this. If anyone would know why he’s like this, they would. I mean, they did raise him, after all.” DanI said, looking to her siblings then to Amy, their mother.

Amy did the same to her children. They all looked at her with a smile, but stern expressions. “I know you guys are right — god I do, but what if he finds out?” Amy sounded worried. No, it was more like fearful for what Wesley might do to her if he ever found out. Dani and Grant put their hands on Amy’s own. Ava and Adam joined them in a hug.

“If he does, we’ll face him together.” Grant said.

“You kids really are stubborn ones,” Amy, along with her children, laughed.

About a minute later, The Teddis family embrace ended. Amy stood up and looked to Grant. “Alright, let’s get you discharged.” Amy said, smiling as she would walk out of Grant’s room. She would go see about getting him discharged by talking to Dr. Okada. It wouldn’t take that long since it seemed Grant didn’t need to be in the hospital that much longer. Not like Grant had severe injuries, so Amy was confident that Okada would let him go with his family.

“So, Grant, what do you want to do when you get out of here?” Ava asked her brother.

“I think--” Grant was interrupted by the sound of his phone beeping. “Hold that thought!” Grant said, getting his phone from the nightstand next to his bed. He saw it was from Alice.

You were asleep when I popped by! You're not dead, are you? If you're alive, text me soon! I'm worried about you. If you're dead... Come haunt me in the park. I'm headed over there now with a new kid! I... I can't talk to new people. Help. Give me conversation topics ASAP. Please.

I'll drop by again when I walk back to the clinic to pick up my car. Be sure to be awake (and not dead)!

“So who is it?” Ava asked curiously, almost peeking over Grant’s shoulder.

“It’s just Alice.”

“oooo, Olivia is gonna be jeaaalouuus~” Ava teased him.

“Would you cut it out? Grant is not like that.” DanI said, smiling to Grant.

Grant simply ignored his annoying sister. He was typing away a response.

To Alice:
Oh no, I’m definitely alive haha. ^^; Sorry if you thought otherwise. I talked to King today. We’re going to be hanging out more.

A new person? I can meet you at the park, if you want. I’m being discharged today. My mom is talking with Dr. Okada as I’m typing this. I can ask one of my siblings to give me a lift. You said the park right? Should I assume that you’re at the Riverview Gardens? I know that’s a popular hangout spot. I can be there in, like, ten minutes? Maybe less depending on traffic.

As Grant finished typing the reply to Alice, he sent it. As he did so, he saw his mother with a smile on her face. He also smiled when she would begin to explain that he was free to go. “Actually, I was gonna meet Alice and a few others at the park…” Grant said, his voice fading into awkward silence.

“That’s fine, but you’re going to need a ride.” Amy said.

“I’ll take him,” Adam said calmly.

“Alright then. See you later then.” Amy said, waving bye to her sons and the daughters left with her. They each gave Grant and Adam a hug and kiss. After Grant got dressed into a pair of black jeans and a white t-shirt with some artistic design on it, he and Adam left, going to his car, and driving to the park.

---

With Adam and Grant in Adam’s car, they ventured onto the road. It wasn’t far from Verona Clinic to the park. It was probably only a ten minute drive at most. Along the way, Grant and Adam got into some simple conversations, mainly about how the party was. Grant had to admit to Adam that he did enjoy himself a bit too much. He had some alcohol and definitely did a lot of making out. Adam got a good laugh out of that. But he also saw and heard the way that Grant was when he talked about Olivia. His younger brother was in love as much as a teenager his age could be. That was something special, and Adam was glad for his brother on finding someone like that.

When they pulled into the parking lot, Adam noticed that there weren’t a lot of people, but there was definitely a few familiar faces. He saw Alice Malone not far off from where they were parked. They were with a Malcolm Okada, and some two new faces. There was also that Jay Hunter kid as well as Sienna, and another that Adam didn’t recognize. He looked tall. Well, at least from the distance. “Okay kiddo, here we are.”

As Grant was about to get out, Adam stopped him momentarily. “Is something the matter?” Grant asked.

“Listen, I don’t know what’s going to go down between mom and pops, but know that we are here for you.” Adam looked at Grant with reassuring eyes.

Grant smiled. “I know — and thank you.” Grant kept on smiling, hugging Adam suddenly.

“Alright, now go to your friends. God-knows I’m no fun.” Adam laughed.

Grant laughed as well and left for the park. He would run as much as his slightly injured body would allow him. Eventually, after a lot of small steps, he was able to get to where everyone was at. He stopped next to Alice. “Hey, sorry I’m late.” He said, hugging her lightly.

---

---

It had been a night like any other. Jesse was at his checkout, trying to get some homework done before he inevitably had to ring up some condoms, but that was when he saw it; the eclipse. Through the glass panes and fluorescent lights, Jesse could see the glowing circle hanging right in the centre of the sky. No doubt he found it strange, but sooner than later, he’d turned his attention back to the task at hand. His algebra homework, more specifically.

The next morning, Jesse woke up with an unbelievable headache. If he didn’t know any better, he would’ve thought that someone jammed a nail through his eye-socket while he was asleep. Still, it was all he could do to grit his teeth and push through. As much as he wanted to stay home, the guilt that crawled up his spine was enough to convince him otherwise. Mom would want him to go to school, make something of himself, so that was what he was going to do.

He’d made himself a quick breakfast of eggs and toast, taking care to prepare an extra portion for Mom. She was still passed out on the living room couch, having just gotten back from her nine-hour shift at the diner. Most days, Jesse barely said a word to his mother. Most days, Gillian Callaghan was too tired to do anything but sleep. It wasn’t the best arrangement - both of them knew that much - but when you had to work two jobs in order to pay rent, cultivating a healthy mother-son bond was the least of your concerns.

Jesse just grimaced at the sight of the sofa - a hideous, moth-eaten affair the colour of mustard - before draping a blanket over his mother’s sleeping form. In a few hours, she would have to leave for her second job at the clinic; the least he could do was let her catch some shuteye.

Then, Jesse had followed his usual route to school. The day was rather uneventful - up until lunch, anyway. After the usual, torturous boatload of lessons, he’d been on his way to the cafeteria, and while it might’ve been hard to believe, he wasn’t looking for any trouble.

He should’ve known trouble was looking for him when he got cornered in the bathroom.

Logan Hall and his cronies were like a pack of hyenas, baying for blood the moment they laid eyes on him. The group might’ve seemed vicious - cruel, even - but there was a primitive, feral efficiency to their penchant for violence. They were bruisers, sure, but they were bruisers who knew how to wield their fists as well as any weapon. A few weeks back, Jesse had made the mistake of passing a little too close to Logan in the hallway, and they just never let go of a grudge, did they? They never let go of a grudge no matter how utterly asinine it was.

The wind-up was so massive that Jesse was able to dodge the first blow, but it didn’t matter, and when he delivered a fist against Logan’s stomach, it was like punching a rock. An uppercut sent Jesse stumbling backwards, and a well-placed hook dropped him to the floor.

If he felt intimidated to be facing someone three inches taller and a good sixty pounds heavier than himself, he didn’t show it. The dull, sluggish pain thrumming through his skull didn’t seem to bother him one bit, even as warm blood slowly began to drip down his chin, and onto the linoleum. With a valiant effort, he tried to stand, but all it earned him was a kick to the ribs. He wasn’t getting up anytime soon, was he?

“Well, shit. Looks like I hit a nerve, huh?” Jesse spat through gritted teeth, a humourless huff of laughter bubbling up from his throat. “Thought you were all bark no bite. Guess I was wrong.”

Every last fibre in Jesse’s body screamed at him to stop, to run with his tail between his legs before he got really fucked up, but when Logan grabbed him by the throat - that was when it happened.

Like jet fuel, the sudden burst of energy left a toxic afterburn in his veins. It only lasted for a second, but a second was all he needed to subconsciously tap into his newfound abilities. Jesse still isn’t quite sure what happened, only remembering bits and pieces of information, but the moment Logan’s fingers loosened around his neck, the moment the screaming started, he knew that all this wasn’t just some crazy coincidence.

Logan and his crew didn’t stop shrieking about the “bugs under their skin” until Jesse had left, and as far as anyone could tell, they’d clawed themselves open without any help. It itched and they’d given in, perhaps with a rather misguided conviction that with sufficiently surgical application, they’d be able to remove the creatures dwelling just below the surface.

Sneaking out the side gate, Jesse only noticed the nosebleed when he got home.

---

That was two days ago.

Since then, he’d heard a few rumours about the eclipse, and the alleged effects it had on the population of Verona. It sounded ridiculous; I mean, come on. Superpowers? Really? Who’d ever heard of an eclipse causing some fucked up alien shit like this? But all the same, he found himself entertaining the thought that maybe - just maybe - all this could be true. What happened that day in the bathroom… Jesse couldn’t think of another plausible explanation, and when half of Lincoln Memorial High’s senior class landed themselves in the hospital after a freak accident involving lava of all things, he felt this was worth looking into.

Barely an hour later, he found himself at the clinic. Call it a gut feeling, but he figured that this was where he needed to go to get answers. It was an easy enough matter to get into the wards, the nurses were all in a dither trying to deal with the sudden influx of patients, too busy to pay any heed to an extra visitor.

The building was deceptively large, filled with winding hallways and the stinging scent of hand sanitiser. Truth be told, Jesse had little idea who he was looking for. He’d never been particularly close with any of his classmates, and would they actually be in the mood to entertain his inquisitions? Maybe this was a bad idea, maybe he was just having a psychotic break, maybe all of this was just in his imagination. What if he’d hallucinated this whole thing up and was now seconds away from being hauled off to the funny farm?

While he was having this internal meltdown, however, Jesse’s feet continued to carry him towards a ward near the back of the clinic. It was only when he peeked through the blinds and saw those telltale locks of golden hair that he realised who was inside.

Richard King.

Huh. So he was caught up in this mess, as well. Jesse didn’t know what he expected, but this sure as hell wasn’t it. For a moment, he felt almost torn. Did he really want to talk to him? King was already bad enough on a regular day; now that he was hopped up on a cocktail of painkillers? Jesse didn’t even want to think about what he’d be like.

Still, as he turned to leave, something stopped him in his tracks. Maybe he could wring some answers from King about the accident… or just take a video of him and upload it to Youtube. Whichever was fine, really, though the latter clearly had greater potential to go viral. Quickly stepping inside, Jesse made sure to close the door behind him.

“Hey, you awake?”

Interacting With: The Kim Twins(@Apokalipse)

---

---

Charlie's phone buzzed on his desk and he snatched it up, quickly unlocking it and checking his reply from Katalina, curious to see what his friend had to say about everything that was going on.

From: Kata
"It is a long story that I'd have to tell you in person. I was involved, so I'm also at the clinic. If you wanna stop by, I'll be in till tomorrow according to Dr. Okada."

Charlie chewed on his lip, pondering what to say next. It was a pretty cryptic message, one that made him wonder as to what was going on in this town. First he develops the force, and then a dead body shows up. And then, there's a random fire in the middle of the forest. Something was going on in Verona. Charlie had read enough books and comics to know that much.

To: Kata
is it cool if i swing by in a bit?

Charlie hit send on the text and then quickly got dressed, throwing on a hoodie and some sweatpants. His other plans for the day were pretty easy. His mom had wanted him to go swing by the Kim's house and say hi. Dick was a good friend of the Collins and he'd asked if Charlie could show them around Verona, and introduce them to a few people. Apparently he wanted someone who was closer in age to show them around. Charlie had been reluctant, but after some persuading from his mom, he'd agreed.

He looked in the mirror and ran his hand through his messy, dirty blonde hair, swooping it up in the front. He made his way down the stairs and into the kitchen where his mom was dancing around the kitchen, cooking pancakes. "Morning Mom," he said as he took a seat at their kitchen counter, grabbing an apple and biting into it. "Morning Charlie," she replied as she flipped a pancake. "You know, as much as I love you, I believe you're supposed to be meeting the Kim twins soon," she said, shooting her son a knowing look.

Charlie sighed and spun around and out of his seat at the counter. "Okay, okay I'm leaving. I'll be a gracious tour guide and all the like," he said, giving his mom a quick hug and running out into the garage. He hopped into his car, a red VW Beetle, and pulled out of his garage and out into the street. He passed by the other New Verona houses, on his way to the park where he was supposed to meet the Kims. A lot of people were a little confused as to how his mother, a teacher, had been able to afford a house in New Verona, but he wasn't too sure either. His mom said that her family had been filthy rich, although he hadn't met any of them.

As he pulled up to the park he saw the twins horsing around, and he grinned at the goofiness. He hopped out of his car and walked up to the two younger teens, smiling. "Hey, you guys must be Levi and Lucy, I'm Charlie," he said, offering up a small wave as he placed his hands into his pockets.

---

---

Grass didn't taste nice.

She briefly heard Jay as she wobbled up to her feet, the stiletto heels squelching in each muddy step towards the hut with him. She felt horrid - as in, more so than she expected to be. Still, Sienna pegged it down to motion sickness. She always got queasy in a car, so perhaps it was something similar. Only magnified a thousand times. As Sienna tried to encourage her stomach to remain strong in her time of need, Jay opened the door to the hut-aaaand there were people in there. Sienna stepped back and tried to hide behind Jay, worried that they were all policemen or something. However, trying to hide her curvaceous body behind Jay's lanky form was like trying to hide behind a street lamp.

Grant rocked on up as Jay was talking, and there was Alice, Malcom, and-...a new person. "Well whAT IS THIS-" yelled Sienna as she barged in and took a good look at Fox. Tall, rather innocent-looking, very proper...Certainly new around here. Her face broke into a big, beaming grin. She gestured grandly towards Fox, an awed expression on her face. "Fresh meat, guys! How come nobody told me?! Honestly, I'm almost a little offended..." She almost immediately thrust out her palm, realising then that it was covered in dirt and grass. She hastily rubbed it on her jean and tried again. "Sienna Hartwell, hun. Nice to meet you and sorry you came here at what is, most likely, the WORST of times."

Sienna glanced over at Jay and pulled a face of disapproval and worry; she didn't know whether or not her new friend had any idea what was going on. But it was inevitable, really; how long would they have been able to keep hush-hush about abilities like these? "WELP. You only gone and done fucked it up now, Jay. Might as well run out there in a spandex superhero costume and get the press in on us." she replied, her voice laced with sarcasm. Her excitement was still bubbling at the sight of Fox and she burst out into raucous laughter, shaking her head. "Yeah, I kind of gave it a shot. I mean, come on; what else do you do when you spontaneously create a copy of yourself? I'll tell you what you do. What everyone else would've done. I MADE A CONGA LINE!"

Sienna rubbed at her temples, as if the sheer thought alone was enough to give her a headache. "I got to around...what - 5 copies of myself in the living room? And all of a sudden I started feeling not-too-good. But I had to keep going, science was counting on my efforts!" As per usual, Sienna augmented her speech with grandiose gestures, leaning in and raising her voice in theatrical dips and cadences, enthusiasm leaking out of every syllable. "By that time, the rest of me were cheering me on. And as you know...I never disappoint a crowd. Well, uh, I managed to get TEN COPIES - yeah, eleven Siennas - and I think the sight was too beautiful. Next thing I knew I was on my own on the sofa and Jake was shaking me awake..."

Sienna's enjoyment waned as she looked away, her voice a shade quieter than before. "Oh god, guys, it was horrible. There was blood all over my face, apparently I had a massive nosebleed. My head felt like it was being split open with a rusty fork, and I could barely move or see anything." Sienna shuddered involuntarily at the thought - it was, by far, the worst thing she had ever experienced. She thought it better to withhold the fact that she sobbed like a little girl at the sheer amount of pain, because...well, they didn't need to know that bit. "My parents locked me up inside and wouldn't let me out after that, so I got Jay to bust me out of there. And now...We're here! And I have a new friend! And you all look like you've been through hell and back would someone please tell me what happenedohmygod?!"

This is a placeholder

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---

King was floating. Awake but at the same time not, he hung suspended in an air of white, feeling much too warm and much too detached to enjoy the experience. His head didn’t hurt much anymore, save for the occasional pang of remembrance, and his body felt as though it were covered by a variety of invisible pillows, pillows that suffocated him in a comforting and heavy air. Painkillers were a magical thing. They managed to fill his mind with enough fluff to even make the room and bed around him vanish into nothing, leaving him stuck in a pink-white place with only the faintest feeling of dread keeping him weighed down into the real world.

Floating, floating. White noises, warmth, distant colors, static, far-off shapes and faces. Static, static, rain. Thunder, lightning, rain, storm, pain. Lightning, a face, thunder, his face.
.
“Hey, you awake?”

King’s eyes shot open at the sudden voice and instantly he groaned in agony, squinting up at a familiar expression. Drugs still weighed at his mind, dragged him down into a state of drowsiness that couldn't quite knock him out fully, and his half-lidded gaze slid lazily around his visitor's face. Questions were swallowed by feelings of highness, covered by various fake pillows that also seemed to coat his body, and his daze was expressed honestly through his confused, groggy face.

“Whosisit?” King didn't seem to notice the slur in his voice, instead he assumed his question got across and he tried and failed to gain a more quizzical expression. Tilting his head slightly caused some minor discomfort, and he let out a soft ‘tsk’ as red pain momentarily claimed the hazy whiteness of his mind and vision. He tried again, however, turning as much as he could until he was able to see the entire figure standing over him. “Who’s there?” He asked again, voice low and growling and mixed with pain and grogginess.

“It’s Jesse, you dumbass.”

Now, Jesse didn’t usually take pleasure in the misfortune of others, but the dazed confusion so utterly apparent on King’s face was enough to elicit from him a snicker. The guy looked to be in about as bad a shape as he was - save the bruised jaw, of course - and from the way he spoke, it was plainly obvious that they had him under a veritable dose of painkillers and sedatives. He was almost tempted to pull out his phone, capture a video of this incredible sight, but he wasn’t that much of an asshole. No matter how much of a dick King could be, there was still a part of Jesse that sympathised with him, and hey, he wasn’t nearly as bad as Logan. At least the former didn’t feel the need to break his nose every time he even looked at him wrong.

Sliding into the chair at King’s bedside, he shot him a scrutinizing gaze, eyes narrowing. God, what was he thinking, coming here? How could he expect him to know anything about what happened? In his current state, King could barely even string a coherent sentence together, let alone recount the events that’d put him here. He would’ve been better off relying on the paper-thin rumours that circulated in school.

Of course, he could just up and leave. King didn’t seem to have regained his bearings yet, and Jesse was willing to bet that if he left right now, the other would chalk this whole thing up to a drug-induced hallucination. If nothing else, it’d save the both of them some really, really awkward conversation, but Jesse had never been one for doing things the easy way, had he?

“You look like shit, dude.” Involuntarily, the words spilled past his lips, though there was no real malice in his voice. “What the hell happened?”

“Jesse?” King’s eyes fluttered and shook for a moment, but eventually his lips pulled into a cocky, familiar smirk. “Jesse~? Callaghan~? How's it hangin’, homo?” His words were stunted and messily strewn together, making him sound more like a drunkard than a teen, and his expression read of dim satisfaction. Though he still couldn't focus entirely on Jesse’s own face his mind and eyes easily managed to pick up on the cloud of colors surrounding him, his emotions, but looking at the wavering feelings made his head burn and stomach flip. It was like at the party, everything had mixed together in his drunken mind, appearing psychedelic and formless and honestly it was rather sickening to remember such an experience.

Jesse just rolled his eyes at King. How painfully middle-school. Perhaps a few years ago, he would’ve been offended by such a comment, but he likes to think he’s gotten past that.

“I look like shit, really?” King pursed his lips as the faintest hint of shock filled his voice. “I'm hot always, right? Y-You're just lying like a jackass, right? Right?” He wanted to move, perhaps lift a hand to pat his or Jesse’s face, but his body remained stagnant and heavy thanks to the weight in his brain. Lips parted into a slight grimace as his brows furrowed together, and the color of purple frustration came and went through the waves of emotion above him. He was mad, was he? What did Jesse say again? Thoughts curled in his mind like fog, confusing and unreadable, and then all at once he was back to staring up in blank unawareness.

“No, I’m serious.” Jesse quipped, leaning back in his chair, mouth pressed into a tight-lipped smirk. “You look terrible. Just the worst, really.”

He wasn’t going to lie… this was pretty funny, and if he had to be honest, he liked King a lot better this way. Sure, if he squinted, he could still see the remnants of ‘insufferable shithead’ that’d been left untouched by sedatives, but it was an indisputable fact that high-as-fuck-King was much more tolerable than regular-King.

“Mmm, I can't see you,” King tried to turn his head again but a pang of agony twisted his expression and kept him still. “I can't see you but I'm sure you look bad. Were you at the party~?” Hazy faces popped up in my brain, people who he remembered from last night, and Jesse wasn't among them. King wasn't exactly trusting himself currently, though, and without waiting for a definite answer he barreled forward,

“Dude, like, last night was crazy, huh? D-Drunk teens all in one place is never a good idea!” He bit his lip slightly, sweat forming at his temple, “The storm was fucked– too loud– and… And– Dani Wells… Dani died? Did she?” King groaned, eyes squeezing shut as waves of red clutched at his heart and head. “I saw the murderer’s emotions, see? They were bright yellow! And I got rocked. He hit my head I think, and–” A memory pulled him from his words, a color, sickly pale and gleaming through the wooded darkness. King’s mouth involuntarily pulled into a dark smile, a smile that most definitely did not belong to him. A smile he had chased last night. He shook, trembled despite the warmth that held him down, and his twisting expression focused silently on the sitting figure beside him.

Jesse frowned, brow furrowing. Some of his amusement was gone, giving way to worry and confusion, especially when King bared his teeth in a disconcerting smile. What he said was barely coherent - a broken jumble of facts and questions - just what did he mean by seeing the murderer’s emotions? Was he also affected by the eclipse? Was all of this connected somehow? King’s muddled recollections of last night seemed to elicit more questions than answers, and Jesse scooted closer to him in curious earnest.

“Murderer? What murderer? What happened to Dani?” He probably sounded just as confused as he felt, though he regretted asking as soon as the string of questions tumbled past his lips. King was agitated enough as it was, and no matter how much he disliked the guy, sending him into the stress-induced coma he looked to be about two seconds away from did not seem like a great idea. Still, Jesse couldn’t help squeezing in one last question before he had to make a quick getaway. Maybe King would actually be lucid enough to put together a coherent sentence after he’d had something to eat, but by then, he would’ve gotten answers out of someone a little more agreeable. “You could… see his emotions? Like an aura, or something?”

King’s smile faltered, shook, and then vanished all together as his brows knitted into a worried expression that almost exactly copied Jesse’s. The vivid oranges and purples surrounding the boy were already enough to make him forget his last hideous joy-inducing memory, but also they clouded his judgement. King’s eyes grew misty with a concern that did not belong to him, and his head rocked over to lean into the pillow beneath him.

“Emotions– Callaghan, what're you worried about? Me?” A croaked, confused chuckle slipped out into the air, saturated with whatever other emotions were slipping into King’s subconscious. “Emotions, yeah… Presley said I was an Empath? At the meeting, nerd meeting. Astronoooo–” His eyes shut after a moment, a look of regret crossing over his pale face.

The few clear memories he had from Monday were sewn together messily, but through it all he knew for a fact Jesse had not been at the meeting. What did Darling say? Or Moon? The skin on his forehead puckered with concentration, an action that in turn caused more sweat to form and drip from the base of his hair, and his lips pulled back into another pained grimace.

“Don't tell… Anyone without powers?” King’s mouth reacted before his mind did, and his eyes opened wide to stare bewildered up at Jesse. “Oh. You–You shouldn't know. But did I tell you? Oh...!” His voice cracked suddenly, and his eyes narrowed as he literally felt some of the highness in his brain fade away to reveal the agony he had managed to ignore. His breathing hitched slightly, caught in his throat and pumped his chest, and King gritted his teeth in annoyance at the new found awareness in his mind.

Jesse would’ve made a wisecrack about how he should’ve just kept his mouth shut, if he was so scared of people finding out, but he was far too concerned about what King said to do so. Was it really true? The eclipse had given them powers? It sounded like something straight out of a young adult novel, and he wouldn’t even give any of this a second thought if it weren’t for what happened with Logan. Random people off the streets, granted supernatural powers by some strange, cosmic phenomenon, it all added up to a recipe for disaster. If all of this happened to be true… he shuddered to think of the consequences.

“Shit– Callaghan, wha… Did I say much?” King turned his head again, pressing the back of it into the pillow until he felt an uncomfortable amount of pressure on his wound. “Don't repeat… Calm down, you’re curious… Confused and concerned. Orange, blue, purple. He was yellow, joy, Rachel Lewis–” His voice crumbled into discoherent mumbles, eyes half-lidded and stormy. The painkillers were weaker, proven by the rawness he felt from his concussion, but for some reason his mind still felt full of cotton and clouds, and each thought was swept up into a storm that was brewing at the base of his forehead. _{“Murderer… Still out there…”}

“...Yeah, you should probably stop talking.” Jesse murmured, a little half-heartedly, thin lips pressing into an even thinner line. King’s explanation might’ve been jumbled - confused, even - but it did shed some light on the whole situation. From his description of last night’s events, it was clear that there were others like him out there, and they’d already congregated to try and make sense of things. It still wasn’t a concrete lead, of course, but for now, it seemed like it was all that he would be able to get out from King. Jesse was, however, able to pick out a name that stood out from the rest.

Presley.

King was talking about Scout - Jesse knew that much - and he nodded to himself, the motion barely noticeable in the dim lighting of the ward. He knew who he had to talk to next, though along with resolution, he felt a nauseating concern well up in the pit of his stomach. He hadn’t exactly done a headcount of the missing students, but if Scout had been injured as well…

“Alright, dude. You literally look like you’re about to pass out, so I’m just gonna get out of your hair.” Jesse made to stand, wincing a little at the noise his chair made as its bare, aluminium feet scraped against the linoleum.

“Don't...” King’s face contorted again at the noise, voice low and grumbling in annoyance. “Don't… Do anything stupid, Callaghan. It– it would probably suck if you died.” He clicked his tongue again, breathing out loudly through labored lungs. And then, slowly but surely, his face relaxed and his breathing calmed to a gentle rhythm. He was floating again, but it wasn't pink and pearly any longer, instead strips of red stained his dreams, and distant pain kept him from truly fading away to nothingness.

At King’s comment, Jesse almost cracked a smile. Almost. There was something strangely endearing about the way he said it, almost like he actually gave a shit, but before he could dwell on it any further, he pushed the offending thought to the back of his mind, and headed for the door. There were other things to worry about - things that were much more important than a simple, offhand comment from someone doped up on pain medication. Still, there was a part of him that hoped this slightly more tolerable side of King would last. Maybe they could become something close to friends, if they were all still alive at the end of this.

Without another look back, Jesse left the room. There were too many thoughts in his mind, too many things to do. The limits and capabilities of his power were unknown to him; hell, he still wasn’t sure whether it was even real or not. Doubtlessly, some experimentation was in order. If he wanted to finally convince himself that all this wasn’t just some communal fever dream, that was what he needed to do, and he made a quick note to drop by Scout’s for visit once he’d done so.

Location: Jelen Houshold -> Verona Clinic
Interacting with: Tessa @Kirah, and Ash via Text @Undine

As Nina was tugging on her jacket her phone buzzed to life. She saw two texts, one from Tessa, and one from Ash. She smiled, and typed out responses.

”T-I’ll be there in a few minutes. Just gotta walk/ bus over.-<3 N”

”Ash, just hope on by anytime after 3:30, I’ll be there working. As I said, cocoa on me. -<3 N.”

She hit the send button and headed downstairs. ”I’ll see you later!” She cried out as she left the house and walked the all familiar route to the bus stop. One bus ride later, she was at the Verona clinic doors. She frowned to herself for a moment, and paused. She knew there were a few other people in the clinic she wanted to talk to, but at that moment, Tessa was the important one to her. She pushed in through the doors and went up to the front desk. After arguing with the nurse there for a moment, she was directed to Tessa’s room. She knocked on the door and waited for a reply.

“Come in.” Tessa’s voice was just loud enough for Nina to hear. When she stepped into the room Tessa was sitting up, a nurse at her side.

“Well we should be able to discharge you now.” The nurse said with a nod. “Most of the kids are out now. Glad to see you’re feeling better. I’ll leave you two alone and get the paperwork started with your mom.”

Nina stepped in and smiled, and took the seat next to the bed Tessa was on. ”Thank you. I appreciate that.” The nurse smiled and nodded and left the room. Nina turned to look at Tess. ”So, aside from the probably massive headache you have, how are you doing?”

“A little bloodied on the arms, but I’ll be fine. They were talking about sending me to the hospital to have brain scans but I assured them there was no need for that.” Tessa rolled her eyes slightly. “Couldn’t have them scanning my brain and finding out I was different. How about you? How are you and Petyr?”

”We’re both fine. Mostly just scratches and the like, but traumatized for life. I’m never going to another party ever again.” Nina sighed and leaned back in the chair and closed her eyes for a moment. ”Petyr told me briefly what happened with you guys, but you wanna fill in some blanks for me?”

Tessa gave a slight shiver, at the memory of the night before. “Yeah I don’t think I’ll be going to any parties any time soon again.” She paused and looked at Nina, fear written clearly in her features. “Someone was actively trying to kill us. I don’t know how we all got away, but he was chasing us. And I think he has powers like us. More importantly I would say he used at least two that he copied from Grant and Alice.”

”Well… that’s… fuck.” Nina leaned forward to look at Tess and took her hand. ”You gonna be okay?”

“Eventually.” She gave a slight shrug. “I’ll talk to my therapist, obviously well edited.” Tessa stood up, and pulled the clothes her mom had left for her on the chair over to her. “One sec, let me change.”

Nina nodded and turned away to let Tessa change. ”I should probably also talk to a therapist, but… y’know… But yeah. Someone was trying to kill us as well. They were using Jade as some like kinda puppet thing to, well, burn us all into nothing. She can manipulate freaking lava Tess. And… I just kinda stood there like an idiot.”

Tessa was nodding as she exited the bathroom from changing. “I totally understand. At first I was frozen with fear. And then I just hid. I went invisible and didn’t help anyone.” She paused. “That’s the other power the shadow guy was using. Emotional manipulation. I’ve never been so scared and confused in my life. It was strongest when he was near, and King was passed out most of that time, so it couldn’t have been him.”

”I think that’s what was happening to Jade. It was like whomever was doing this was using all her hidden emotions against her. Or I assume hidden emotions, I mean, she yelled at me, but her target was Ali’s new girlfriend. Scout took the brunt of it for her, apparently she has like shield powers. But, so there’s like a person who can use our powers against us? Well… fuck.” Nina started tugging on her piercings, not liking the thought of someone out there able to use her fire power against her.

“This isn’t good.” Tessa frowned. “We’re all in danger. We should make sure we stick together as much as possible. One of us alone would be an easy target.”

”I agree. I don’t think I could stand it if I lost either you or Petyr.” Nina continued to tug on her piercings. ”At least at school we’ll have each other, but outside… you said you were super grounded right? Can you still have friends over?”

“I might be able to convince mom, but only after I convince my therapist that it’s for the best. He’s got some good sway with mom.” There was a knock at the door and then Tessa’s mom stepped in.

“Okay you’re discharged officially now. I’ve got to go to the office.” She sighed a bit at that, glanced at Nina. “Hello Nina, you doing okay?”

”I’m doing alright Mama Gray. Just wanted to come and see how Tessa was doing.” Nina said, standing up and looking at Tessa’s mom. The woman gave her a gentle smile.

“I’m glad to hear that. Nina will you do me a huge favor?” She asked after a second of thinking.

”What is it Mama Gray?”

“Will you make sure Tessa goes straight home from here? No detours or meeting with anyone. I’d have her grandma pick her up, but she’s being particularly ornery right now.”

”Sure. I have some time before work. Besides, I enjoy spending time with Tess.” Nina half smiled over at her friend.

“Excellent thank you.” Tessa’s mom leaned over and kissed Tessa on the forehead. “I’ll see you tonight for dinner, and Nina,” She added turning to her. “If you and your brother, and father if he’s in town, want to join as well please do. Our door is always open for you and your family.”

”I will let them know. I’m working tonight, but I’ll keep the invitation in mind. I’ll pass it on to otec and bratr.” Nina said and gave Tessa’s mom a hug before she left. She then turned to Tessa and let out a snerk. ”Your mom has no idea I was there last night, does she?”

“I don’t think so...” Tessa trailed off grinning and shaking her head. “Let us let her continue to have that misconception.”

Nina nodded. ”I hear ya. So how far do you want me to go with you back home? As I said, I don’t have work for a bit, but… oh wait if your grandma is at your house, I better make sure you get there, huh?” She let out a sigh as she looked over at Tess.

“Yeah knowing mom, she probably called Gran to tell her you’d be with me.” Tessa rolled her eyes. “I would have said all the way anyway.” Her face looked grim again at the thought of walking alone.”

”Good plan.” Nina said and smiled at Tess. ”Hey… despite all that’s happened, I’m really glad we’re friends again.”

“Me too. Let me catch you up on a few things while we walk.”

---

---

Mal had a key, just a small one, that always and without fail rested in the back pocket of his jeans. When he’d returned home from his time at the park, he’d swiped it from the dish at the entrance before he went further inside to see if his mom was home, or if she was meeting some of the other mothers whose kids had been involved in the violence of the previous night. Trying not to track mud in the carpet, he left immediately, and locked the door behind him as if he’d never been there.

He had a master key to the clinic. The only reason Mal didn’t have one already for personal use was because teenagers plus small town equaled drug abuse, apparently, and there’d been issues with that in the past, long before Mal was even aware of the concepts. Either way, Mal’s intentions were pure.

Sort of. He was breaking and entering.

Verona was shrouded in a blanket of dark blue-grey that made it difficult to see the road from Riveredge to the town centre by the time Mal made it there. There weren’t many street lamps in the town, which made it easy and not at all suspicious for him to check that his dad’s car wasn’t in the parking lot anymore, and there was just one nurse left in the building. Even then, she was going to be doing paperwork, which meant Mal could just… Duck out before the hour was up and she made rounds, checking charts and fluids and anything else that was important.

It was way, way too easy to get in through the back door. Mal wondered if this was what Scout Presley felt like, but then he remembered she’d practically melted the night before, and didn’t want to ever feel anything similar to her again. (Those burns were sure going to make lockpicking hard, weren’t they?)

He stopped at the foot of King’s bed and pulled out the chart, brows furrowing as he skimmed through it. He was a wreck. Ouch, even just reading the notes on the concussion written in his dad’s supposedly illegible handwriting was enough to make Mal wince. Slipping in behind the privacy curtain that had been put up between beds (for the first time Verona’s history, probably), he observed King’s state of peaceful sleep.

Y’know, like a stalker.

Mal tentatively reached out and brushed King’s hair away from his forehead with some amount of delicate care involved, as if scared of him going into sudden cardiac arrest for no reason. When his fingers so much as grazed against the other boy’s skin, agony bloomed through his skull for a grand total of ten seconds, just as it had last night when he’d been healing his classmates repeatedly. He was sure that the pain was made much worse by a sense of exhaustion that hadn’t fully gone away. Mal’s eyes even drooped, despite him having slept for twelve hours and being supposedly ‘well-rested’. He let his head fall to the bed sheets from the aftermath of his ability and sucked in a hissed breath as he rubbed at his forehead.

Pain suddenly vanishing wasn't normal, dream-King knew that much. The constant darkness that swallowed him up each time his eyes shut hadn't been nearly as peaceful a few moments, in fact it had been a much more torturous experience due to the constant aches that had formed from the back of his skull. But now it was gone, faded, the horrid red swarms of pain were sucked away into nothingness and he was left with only silence and confusion. He floated there for a moment or two, slowly accepting the fact that the brilliant colors and pain had perhaps finally done him in, but soon enough more after images stained his eyelids and infected his daze. Bright, foreign colors formed swirling lights above him, reds and blues and purples that pushed into his mind and churned uncomfortably with his own unconscious brain.

King forced himself awake after countless minutes mutely accepting the unwanted emotions, blinking passed blooming feelings of drowsiness and nausea that had came with the painkillers he had taken a few hours before, and his head tilted slowly to stare at the source of the colors. A skinny body, male, leaned against his bedside, head hidden and buried under a mop of dark hair and shoulders tense with pain. King’s hand instinctively squirmed out from beneath the thin blanket above him and reached over to lay gently on the crown of the visitor’s head.

“Mal…?” He blinked at his own voice, raspy and raw and pained, though he no longer felt anything worse then a slight ache in his muscles and a brief sting from a few untouched bruises. He had no reason to sound so sickly and embarrassing! Feeling Mal’s familiar emotions, no matter how intense and painful they were, managed to calm King’s thudding heart and cease the shakiness in his limbs, and embarrassment instantly melted away into worry. His hand shifted to card through the boy's hair thoughtlessly, eyes narrowing down at him with unmasked concern, “Heal– You healed me, huh? Are you okay?”

“Richard,” Mal said with some amount of relief. “Are you okay? That’s what I want to know.” He leaned into the touch, and though he was still slumped over the side of the bed, his eyes trailed up to look at King, scanning his face for any further sign of discomfort. His smile was surprisingly bright for someone who so rarely did so.

“I'm fine, I swear.” King wouldn't mention the other faint pains he had, not after seeing Malcolm’s bright smile and feeling his masked discomfort. His pain tolerance was high enough to ignore most of the aches anyway. “My head doesn't hurt– You healed it? That hurts you right? God, Mal, are you okay?” He repeated the earlier question because, really, that wound on the back of his head had burned with an agony unknown even to King. Concussions were normal to him, being a soccer player and all, but the constant state of agony he had suffered in since last night was nothing compared to those injuries.

“S’all right – it only hurts for a few moments. I don’t think I get any lasting damage from it,” Mal told him, downplaying his own suspicion that the pain he did feel was infinitely worse than the wound itself, just condensed into a shorter timeframe. He wasn’t even sure how it worked – for all he knew, his body was getting ruined by the use of his ability, though he honestly couldn’t bring himself to care. “You did worry me a bit, though. I went full Presley to get in here.”

“Are you not supposed to be here?” King glanced towards the darkened ceiling above, eyes closing briefly to listen for any chattering or footsteps, but in the end he only heard the faint breaths of Malcolm and his own heart beat. After hours, of course. No visitors allowed. “Jeez, since when did you become so hardcore?” He asked with a faint lightness to his voice, ruffling Mal’s hair playfully with a still-drowsy hand.

Mal grinned. “I was always this hardcore – you just never noticed,” he said, and flushed a shade of bright pink that was visible even in the half-light over the hospital bed. “I had to climb out of my bedroom window. I… may be grounded. And banned from hanging out.” With you. King’s head tilted to the side, eyes growing wide as images of the party played softly in the back of his still-dim feeling mind.

my fault

King’s hand lifted away from Mal’s head slightly, tense and shaky as his eyebrows upturned into an apologetic expression, “Sorry, Mal. I got you in trouble, huh?” It was his idea to go to the party, his idea to drink and mingle and drag Mal along through the entire thing. How careless was he? He had even left Mal and the others behind after sensing something that he just couldn't remember currently. His hand lowered down again after a moment of hovering, and his fingers tangled and played with long, dark strands, eyes narrowed into stormy slits.

“Are your parents super mad? I'll take responsibility if they think it was your idea to go…”

“It was my idea. Sleuthing, that sort of thing,” Mal said, defending King from himself. “Although you running off into the woods and getting almost-murdered before Jade Taylor went psycho wasn’t my idea. God.” He tapped him on the chest with the back of his knuckles, somewhat chastising. Mal had been terrified for King, especially so soon after a murder in their little blissful town. “Never change.”

“Sorry,” King lifted his free hand to clutch at his tired eyes, rubbing at them to dispel any lingering after effects from the pills and the dissipated injury, but after processing what Mal had said he lifted his head up and cocked it to the side. “Jade Taylor? Wait, what happened while I was, er, out?” Clutching at memories again, King could only really recall being dragged around like a rag doll and then briefly conversing with Alice, Tessa, and Everett. Everything else was muddled into a cloud of unknown thoughts and assumptions. His lips peeled back in irritation.

“Grant said… His sister had been hurt bad. And you helped her,” King stared down at his lap, clutching the blankets with a tight fist. Really, the fact that his mind was fighting against him putting everything together was bugging him to no end. “But he didn't tell me how or why any of that happened– Mal, what happened?”

“I… I honestly don’t know. It was chaos, King,” Mal said, and put his hand over the other boy’s to squeeze it. “One minute, Taylor goes mad and the earth splits in two, Grant’s sis is dying, literally, and then we’re all running for our lives from… from… I think it was the murderer? He was… he was using Alice’s powers. Not just hers, either – I have a suspicion he was using yours.”

“Mine?” King breathed out a sigh, eyebrows knitting together as he attempted to think, to piece together the broken thoughts that simply floated through his mind like shards of shattered glass, but again the basis of a headache formed and he was forced to clear his mind and relax his brow. Leaning back against the pillow, King stared up at the ceiling that was painted with both the colors of Mal and himself, tracing the shades with a wavering glance. Empathy, emotional control, why would someone want to use that?

Grant’s visitation popped up in his mind again, playing out the scene where he had miraculously calmed the crying boy down with just his own emotions, and then King turned over Jade Taylor’s apparent madness in his head. It was possible, right, for his power to cause something like that? And now was it possible for someone else to simply take it and use it for such a dark deed?

King’s hand twisted around in Mal’s, closing tightly around his fingers as fear began to creep up within his chest. “The murderer, huh?” He muttered, eyes cast down to stare at nothing in particular, “We could've… Died last night. Haha, what the hell?” His voice cracked, and his eyes turned up to stare into Mal’s. “This is fucked, the whole town is in danger if some crazy guy can run around using other people’s powers– This is bad.”

“I don’t disagree.”

Mal leaned back in the large chair he’d taken a seat in and sighed, closing his eyes against the burning glare of the light. “I’m starting to wish this hadn’t happened to us at all.” It was somewhat true. Half of the people Mal knew and talked to on a daily basis were out of commission, and the others were in some way prevented from going outside. A girl was dead. Surely, in just a few days, they’d put in place another curfew…

But at the same time, selfishly, Mal had no real complaints. He was holding his crush’s hand, and he wouldn’t have thought that possible. “But at the same time, maybe we were given these for a reason: to stop this.” Very heroic. Such thoughts had landed King in the hospital in the first place. “When are you getting out? Has my dad said yet?” Mal skimmed through the flipchart still on his lap, and reckoned that a home release would be possible for tomorrow morning, though that was just his far-from-expert opinion.

“Haha, that's corny.” King stuck his tongue out at Mal, lips easily curling into a small smile at his best friend’s little speech, and as soon as it appeared it faltered. He blinked once at that thought, eyes gliding down to stare blankly at their joined hands. Huh. What… Were they, currently? King’s lips pursed, but he didn't try to pursue the thought, yet. Instead, he squirmed out from under the covers, slinking up to lean his back meekly against the headboard as his eyes eventually rose up to stare at the clipboard. Looking back on the passed day, King realized he only had a few interactions with nurses and doctors, and most were merely passing conversations while handing out more painkillers. He tapped his chin thoughtfully, then shrugged and sighed.

“Not sure. I've been, er, pretty high the whole day.” He ran a hand through his messy blonde hair, rolling his eyes at his own stupidity, “If your dad said anything to me I probably wasn't paying attention.”

“Story of my life,” Mal joked, and grinned tentatively, furiously glad that they were both alive. He’d lifted his free hand to run it through King’s hair but pulled back, face flushing with embarrassment as he realised belatedly that King himself had already gotten there first.

“S-Sorry…”

King blinked, cheeks heating slightly at the sudden movement from Mal. His hand lifted up to tug at his bangs, a cheeky, flirty smile slowly forming on his lips. What are we, his mind whispered again, pulling at his feelings like some kind of coy temptress, and in response to it he leaned towards his friend and beamed.

“What're you apologizing for, Mally?” He questioned, “You just touched me, nothing wrong with that.” King’s head tilted, eyes scanning the boy’s emotions up and down like some kind of judge, and his smile grew even wider and more sensual. He moved even closer, shoulders shaking slightly as the bruises on his back burned briefly from the sudden lurch, and only stopped when he lacked any bed or bed frame to hang on to.

“Something wrong, dude? Your face is very red~.”

Mal opened his mouth to say something then abruptly shut it when he realised he had no words whatsoever to answer King. He covered his nose and mouth and cheeks with his hand to try and hide the embarrassment, and the burning heat in them. “W-Well,” he ended up starting a moment or two later, voice strangled. “You were sorta ‘touching’ yourself; I didn’t want to interrupt.”

He felt sort of proud of that line, a cheeky grin tugging at the corners of his lips.

King snorted in response, face heating even further, “Mal, if you ever find me touching myself I would love for you to interrupt~.” King smirked playfully, eyes crinkling ever so slightly as a feeling of pure happiness seemed to clutch at his mind. He was flirting, flirting with his best friend. And it felt like the most natural thing in the world. Well, they did kiss the night before… Right? King glanced over Mal’s appearance for a moment, eyelashes fluttering as the dimness of the room did nothing to mask the other’s red face and glittering eyes.

“Mal--” A compliment came and went, and King glanced away briefly, pouting at his own incompetence.

“King, you’re going to be the death of me,” Mal swore with a exasperated, but no less fond, sigh. He bit on his bottom lip and wet it to smooth out the chapped skin from where he’d worried at it for hours during the daylight before he leaned in ever closer. Long fingers tilted King’s chin up so as to face him before he lowered his head to press a kiss to his lips. Mal’s long, messy hair fell unevenly like a curtain around him before he pulled away.

Wiping at his lips with the back of his hand, slightly nervous after a burst of confidence that was certainly unbecoming of him, Mal let one of his hands fall to the rail of the bed while the other tangled in his own hair. “So… um,” he cleared his throat. “Would you like to..?”

Ah, words. Words were horrible in so many ways.

“...Date? Me?” He paused before feeling the need to add, “Please?”

The kiss was short, too short. King wanted to lengthen the embrace but his back kept him from following after Mal as he pulled away. Blushing vividly now, King tried and failed to meet Malcolm’s eyes without growing even redder in the face, and his lips were pulled into an anxious, excited smile. Confessions, proposals, King wasn’t new to them, but when it came from Malcolm, well, he would be lying if he said his heart wasn’t swelling to capacity.

“Ah--” King’s voice cracked, and he turned away briefly in embarrassment, holding a hand over his mouth meekly. Words, words, words. Why was it so hard to speak all of a sudden? King shook, preparing himself with a quick mental pep talk, and then he quickly switched back around and grasped Mal’s face with his hands. A mixture of aggression and delicacy made for a weird combo that pulled Mal perhaps a bit too far onto the bed, but he wasn’t very focused on that. Instead, King pressed his lips against Malcolm’s again, fighting off a goofy smile and giddy laugh by deepening it from a soft peck to a real kiss.

“Date, huh?” He muttered after pulling away slightly, feeling a bit breathless but mostly cheerful, reaching up slightly to tangle his hands in Mal’s hair. “I’d like to, I really would love to date you, Mally~.”

Having been pulled in unexpectedly (though really, he should have expected it), one of Mal’s hands shot out to the other side of King to brace himself. It wasn’t really the most comfortable position for romance but he’d make to – his proximity to his… official boyfriend was making him giddy. He sighed with relief this time. “Good. God, thank god – I’m not sure what I would have done if you said no. Aah.”

He wet his lips again and pressed them to King’s cheek far more chastely than anything else they’d done. “Boyfriends,” he said with a snort. “You don’t– you’re not gonna get… your dad’s not going to do anything if I come out, right?”

“Boyfriends.” King beamed at Malcolm, voice snapping and breaking at every syllable but he didn’t seem to care anymore. His red face practically gleamed in the darkness, and their emotions bubbled in pale, inviting colors that he was glad to bathe in for the time being. At the mention of his father, however, his mood seemed to stiffen.

“Dad--” King paled slightly, eyes widening as he remembered his father’s words right before they left for the party, and whatever grip he had on Malcolm tightened into a stress-lock. “Oh, Jesus Christ, he hasn’t come in yet, mom did but…” His voice was shaking, along with his shoulders and hands. Dear God, he was terrified. Terrified to see his dad, terrified to feel welts on his back and face, terrified to watch his mother once again sink back and ignore it all again. King stared blindly towards the door, as if half expecting to see his father’s sinister figure behind the curtain, and a broken laugh escaped his lips.

“I don’t know, I don’t know…” He blinked a few times, breathing in a quick gasp to try and calm his thudding heart, “Jesus, Mal, I’m so dead. Oh maaan, hit me over the head again please so I don’t have to go home.” He couldn’t control the tremors in his limbs, and he swallowed dryness for a few moments as he tried to calm the sudden swirl of panic in his head.

“King? King,” Mal said, repeating himself twice over just because he wasn’t sure if he’d managed to get through to him the first time. “Listen, shh, it’s okay – if I tell my mom, if I tell my dad, they’ll let you stay over. Hell, I won’t be surprised if my dad doesn’t let yours in here. Ever.” He reached up to run his fingers through King’s hair, putting a knee on the bed so he could actually reach to pull King into a legitimate hug.

King sat stiffly for a moment, mind wandering back to the hug he had received earlier today from his own mother, but eventually he leaned into Malcolm’s embrace, laying his head limply against the other’s shoulder as his arms shakily reached up to grip him shirt. He wasn’t entirely sure if Mal was just whispering sweet nothings to him, escape just didn’t seem like something he could imagine, but… King sighed, eyes fluttering shut for a moment, feeling a bit of bliss spur from being held. Everything faded away into the dim whiteness of surprise, however, when King heard the faintest sound of footsteps outside of the room. He shifted around in the hug, head turning out to stare in the general direction of the doorway.

“... Shit, you hear that?” He muttered, untangling himself from Mal to lean towards the hall. Steps, faint but there, echoed throughout the clinic and were soon followed up by the softest blow of a melodic whistle. The nurse was making their rounds. King turned back to Mal, lips drawn into a thin line as he hissed; “You’re not supposed to be here, right? Hide!” He glanced around the room quickly, looking for something or somewhere for his boyfriend to hide.

First, he pointed down, signaling for him to hide under the bed with a slight shrug. After a moment of consideration, though, a flirty smirk spread across his still pale face and he shifted slightly to raise up the covers beside him, giving Mal and invitation to curl up under both the blankets and King. Was it a cliche move? Yes, probably, but hey, King was as cliche as they come and he knew it, so why not flaunt it?

Mal, though he froze briefly, quickly jumped into action, checking beneath the space to see if there was enough space to hide without looking like a total freak. Plot twist: there wasn’t. When King gave him bedroom eyes in jest, he tugged at his collar and slipped in, kicking off his Vans at the same time.

Blushing with the wrath of a thousand suns and with his heart thudding in his chest like he was some sort of female protagonist in a young adult novel, he ducked his head under the covers and threw an arm over King’s waist just as the curtain was pulled back.

“Well,” said the nurse – a stout, stocky woman with bottle-blonde hair and bright shocking red lipstick. “You’re not hiding very well there, doll.” Sheepishly, Mal pushed himself back up, but the nurse cackled. Cackled. Like a witch. Mal had the strangest feeling that there had been bets made about them.

She turned on her heel and walked out, calling out behind her, “I’m not gonna tell your folks!”

“Oh…” King blinked owlishly as the nurse came and went with only a few words to pass on and a laugh that seemed to echo throughout his mind harshly. His gaze drifted slowly from the doorway down to Malcolm, and his smile grew and grew until he was shaking with giggles. “Worried for nothing, huh?” He managed to sputter through peals of laughter, arms subconsciously wrapped around Mal’s back as his own body curved in to contain his voice.

Malcolm swatted at King for finding it hilarious apparently, when he had been mentally freaking out about a nurse coming in and making him leave. His huffed laughter, however, eventually escaped. “She’s totally going to spread goss with the other nurses,” he informed him, though by the quirk of his lips, it was clear that he didn’t much care about that.

King’s head rested against the pillow lightly after a few moments of quiet chuckles, and his soft snorts soon drifted into light sighs as the colors in the air settled. Anxiety and panic was swallowed by warm feelings, feel-good emotions that warmed King from the inside out. Worries of his family, or Mal being discovered faded into the back of his mind, and he was simply left with the faint hum of the clinic and the rustling of trees beyond his windows.

“This has been a… Strange visit, I think.” King eventually whispered, head turning up to stare blankly up at the ceiling, “Ha, what do you think your dad will think of my wound vanishing. Wasn’t that…” He blinked, slipping a hand away from Mal to tentatively prod at where the wound had used to be. Not even a scratch, nothing. “How do we explain this, then?” He muttered, glancing down to offer Mal a thoughtless, weak smirk.

“I don’t know. For the person telling other people to keep their powers a secret… I’m fucking up just a little bit,” he said worrying at his lip even as he propped himself up on one arm. His gaze slipped to the curtain around the bed rather than at King’s face, and he rubbed at his forehead tiredly. “First with Dani – who would have died – and now with that concussion of yours. I’m… surprised they didn’t send you to a hospital, really.”

His head dropped to press against King’s side after he rolled his eyes. “Although that would have been a bit of a longer commute – they’d actually think I was a runaway then.”

“I guess it wasn't as bad as everyone thought, hmm?” King’s eyes never broke contact with the ceiling, and they barely gleamed in the half-light of the room. “You would have come all the way to the hospital just for me, though? Man, it's like you have– had a crush on me or something~!” His head rolled down until his chin was barely touching the top of Malcolm’s head, and a goofy smile stained his expression. Of course, his boyfriend’s apparent crush on him had come into light merely yesterday, but still King couldn't help himself. Teasing words spurred in him without fault, so why not use them?

King shifted around in Mal’s hold momentarily, wincing as a bruise on the arm beneath the other boy pulsated with pain, but instead of complaining he merely hid his discomfort with another smile. Didn't want to break up impromptu cuddling with complaints after all. “I'm sure…” His head tilted further down, mouth and nose hidden behind Mal’s hair, “No one will notice it was you. I doubt Dani or Grant will spill, and when the doc comes in tomorrow I’ll say you were never here.”

---

---

The small gathering at the park had been uneventful at best; well, that wasn't the complete truth. Alice had met a handful of new people, conversed with friends... It was really nice to be able to wind down and relax after the events of the previous night. The lack of certain people at the park was a sore reminder of their injuries, but Alice was hopeful that everyone would recover in due time. She was half-expecting a monster to rip the ground apart and attack everyone, but fortunately nothing like that happened.

Maybe they were finally done with their streak of dismal luck.

Alice had her father's car, so before everyone parted ways Alice offered people rides. But the prerequisite of walking back to the clinic to pick it up seemed to deter most people--everyone was rather lazy, it seemed. It was getting dark, and it was never a good idea for a small girl walk alone in the dark; especially after a murder, and whatever happened at the party. Grant had been the only one to accompany her, but it was better that way. It felt like she hasn't had a chance to catch up with him for a long time.

"So what's been up with you Grant? Heard you were dating Livvie," Alice commented as she drove them out of the clinic parking lot. Driving wasn't her favorite thing to do, so she was taking it a bit slow and cautious. Running someone or something over would not be a joke, especially at a time like this.

Grant's head quickly turned left, facing Alice's own. "Even you heard, Alice?".He asked, surprised. "I didn't even think anyone noticed us. I mean, both of us fly under the radar, so I figured no one would talk." He let out somewhat of a laugh.

"No one told me," Alice chuckled, flickering a mischievous glance at his surprised expression. "It was obvious at the party. I'm a wallflower, remember? I notice these things."

"Oh..," Grant's voice suddenly went into a low tune, almost silent. He remained quiet for at least ten seconds, "were we really that obvious? I mean, with all that was going on before the earthquake, it didn't seem like Olivia and I stood out that much." As he spoke, Grant, inside his mind, was trying to figure out exactly how obvious that they were being.

"Mmmm, not too obvious I don't think." Alice mused quietly as she rounded a corner and paused at a stop sign. She shot a reassuring smile at her friend as she stepped on the gas pedal. "I just noticed that you guys seemed... different than usual, so I thought that I'd ask and see you react. It was just a hunch."

"Oh, so you didn't.." It had just dawned on Grant that Alice didn't know about him and Olivia — well, not really, anyways. "Well, I guess the cat's out of the bag now," Grant let out a semi-defeated laugh, but most of it was that kind of laugh one does when they are found out or something of the like. All of the talk about him and Olivia made Grant think about his girlfriend and how he hasn't seen her since the night before. Grant didn't want to, but he was getting worried for her and that something might've happened to her.

---

Pretty soon, Alice drove her way into Riveredge. She was always struck by the sheer grandness and luxuriously large mansions of this part of town. As someone who lived on Hillside, Alice was one of the families were were better off. Upper mid-class was nothing to sneeze at. However, Riveredge was some place she couldn't even imagine living in. Some mansions had gates, private swimming pools, large driveways and four stories... It was definitely one of the more beautiful places in Verona for good reason. All of the richest people in Verona were gathered here; Oh look, there's King's house.

Alice knew where Grant lived, she had visited a couple of times. So with relatively no directions from him, she automatically pulled into the large driveway next to the enormous mansion that she still couldn't believe people actually lived in. "Well Grant, looks like we're here. Cab fare is about $50 plus tax."

As they pulled into the spacious, concrete driveway, Grant, even through the limited lighting that the motion censored lights provided, noticed the lack of a certain Red Audi that he took out the night prior. "So, father's not here, huh?" Grant mused aloud, not particularly paying attention to anything outside his own thoughts. When the car stopped, Grant looked to Alice briefly. "I'm sure I can reimburse you for the gas you used to drop me off - just let me get--" Before Grant could finish what he was going to say to Alice, Ava was knocking at the window to the passenger side door. Alerted, Grant turned his head around. "Ava!?" Grant shouted, more scared almost to death than he was surprised.

"I didn't mean it!" Alice quickly protested with a dismissive wave of her hands. "Seriously, it wasn't that big of a deal. I don't pay for gas, anyways. This is my dad's car. He can deal with--" Alice was cut off by Ava and Grant's (rather amusing and exaggerated) surprise. It was surprising to Alice as well, but nothing to be terrified about.

"Hey Ava! Just dropping off this guy here. What's up?"

"Alice? Alice Malone? Is that you? Wow, haven't seen you since you were a pudgy little thing. You look great, babe." Always one with clever words, Ava was. "And thanks, but Grant!" Ava was getting impatient. Before Grant even had his right foot out on the hard, concrete ground on the parking lot, Ava was tugging at his arm to pull him faster out of the car. 

"Ava, I missed you too, but what's the rush? What couldn't wait a few minutes for me to get inside the house?" Grant annoyingly asked. He loved his sister, but she could drive everyone crazy sometimes.

"Fine, if you prefer to spend time with Alice here instead of reading a letter your girlfriend wrote you, then I guess I could understand that" Ava said, waving a rather elegantly-decorated envelope in her right hand in front of Grant's face.
"I got a letter? Why wouldn't she.."

"Yes, you got a letter! You got a letter! You got a letter! I wonder what it says?" Ava snag to the Mail Song from Blues Clues. 

As Grant took the letter from Ava's hands(who had went inside the house), he just looked at it. Looking at its designs. He should be happy that he had a letter from her right? He should be happy that she took the time to decorate it with such intricate designs that it seemed to take forever to make. He should be happy that she thought of him so highly to write him a letter. And yet, Grant couldn't help but feel wary about the contents of this letter. He didn't see Olivia all day today, and no one he asked saw her still be at the clinic where most of the kids from last night were being held at. On top of that, she sent him a letter instead of just being there on his doorstep. All of this didn't set well with Grant and the feeling he had in the pit of his stomach.

Alice had been about to back out of the driveway, but the skeptical look on Grant's face made her pause. Her eyebrows knit together in a concerned frown as she considered why Grant could be so hesitant to open it up. If Alice had gotten a love letter (which, for the record has never really happened), she was sure that she would be eagerly opening it, as carefully as she could with haste. And a letter from her non-existant boyfriend would be even more exciting to rip into. She took her foot off the gas pedal and rolled down the window of the passenger seat. "Grant, you okay?"

When he heard Alice's words of worry, Grant looked over to her, seeing her eyes look at him. "I-I'm not sure. Liv sent me this letter, but.." Grant's words seemed to be scarce, his eyes looking back at the letter briefly. "I just cant' shake this feeling in my gut that something's horribly wrong with this." Grant said, looking back at Alice.

"I'm sure it's nothing to worry about," Alice called back with a hasty smile that she hoped was reassuring. She couldn't blame him though, after everything that had happened over the span of two days, it was only natural that there was paranoia stirring around in Grant's mind. Biting down on her lip, Alice turned the engine off and hopped out of the car to make her way over to Grant. She placed a gentle hand upon his back and patted it gently. The words "Everything will be fine," died upon her lips. Everything wasn't fine, that's just the way it was. Surely Olivia's letter couldn't be that bad? Something help Alice back from empty reassurances though. After a moment of silence and carefully considered her words, Alice finally murmured, "You're not going to find out unless you open it."

When Grant felt the touch of Alice's hand on his back, an instinct in him told the young Wells to meet her gaze. He hadn't noticed it until now, but they had similar shades in their eyes. While Grant's seem to have a slightly darker tone to it, both of their eyes were in the hazel family. For just a brief moment, it seemed like Grant lost his train of thought. He shook his head slightly. "I-I just don't know if you're right." Grant was uncertain. He again looked down at the letter with unsure eyes.

Upon seeing her friend's eyes waver in indecision, Alice's mouth twisted downwards, unpleased by the fact that there wasn't really anything she could do to help Grant. She quickly tugged the corner of her lip upwards in a half-smile for him though. It wouldn't help if she was moping around as well. She clapped her hand lightly against Grant's back, and spoke in as cheerful of a voice she could muster. "Come on, go inside and open it. Whatever it is, it's better than being in agony wondering what's been written. I can go with you if you'd like. Who knows? Maybe we'll laugh at how silly this whole thing is."

"I would..like that a lot," Grant smiled, leading Alice towards the house.When they would step through the front door, it would be like stepping into one of those houses from the famed classic, MTV Cribs. Expensive, interior designs that very well matched the reputation of wealth that Grant's family had. Though he never really cared about it, he didn't mind it so much.

As the door closed behind Alice(Grant held it open for her because he's a gentleman like that), the sound alerted whoever was in the Family Room(that's what Wesley called it). He led them through the foyer, and they were welcomed by Grant's rather snappy Grandmother, Ellen, and his less-than snappy, and more collected Grandfather, Jack. 

"Oh, isn't this a surprise? Grant and a beautiful little flower." Ellen didn't waste any time to bring in Grant — and Alice — in a rather forced embrace. 

"O-oh thank you!?" Alice gasped softly as she found herself suddenly pressed against Ellen and Grant. She was never adverse to hugs, but this one was rather sudden, unexpected and tight. Alice wasn't quite prepared for this, and she quickly grappled for an appropriate reaction. Her mind was blanking on proper my-friend's-grandmother-suddenly-grabbed-us-both-in-a-hug-and-I-can't-breath etiquette. Nevertheless, her arms automatically attempted to rise to pat Ellen on the back, but they were pressed far too tightly against her sides to do so. Looks like the only thing she could really do was stand there and accept the hug.

“Ellen, my dear, you’re suffocating the poor kids.” Jack said, coming from the Family Room.

“I am?” Ellen looked at the almost air-deprived faces of Alice and Grant. “Oh, I’m terribly sorry. I just love this boy so much.” She proceeded to kind of pinch Grant’s cheeks.

“Grandma..” Grant, embarrassed, tried to get his dear Grandma to stop, but she wouldn’t let up until Jack had to half-force her with gentle eyes.

“So, you must be Olivia? Weird, could’a sworn Grant said you were blonde — and taller.”

“Grandma, this isn’t Olivia. This is Alice.” Grant explained to his grandma.

“Come now my dear, let us leave Grant to his guest.” Jack gently motioned his dearest away and to the stairs.  Before he could, however, Grant tugged at his Grandfather’s arm. “Yes, my boy?”

“Do you know where father is, grandfather?” Grant asked rather urgently, his eyes suggesting as such.

Jack let out a low moan, hinting towards unfortunate news. “We will talk about that later when your guest leaves.” He said, looking away, leading him and Ellen to the stairs, probably to their bedroom most likely.

Grant quickly pondered on what could be so bad that his grandfather couldn’t say right in front of Grant and Alice. A quick shake of his head brought Grant to the matter at hand. “Right, this way.” Grant led Alice upstairs. It was a spiral staircase that went about fifty steps until they reached the upstairs level. Grant’s room was the second door on the right. It was right next to Ava’s room, who happened to peek her head out as she saw Grant and Alice head into his room. He saw her. She quickly retracted her blonde, curious head, and her door closed.

When they got into his room, Grant let the door naturally close. The confirmation that it had closed was the click the door made. As Grant walked Alice to his room — or rather led her into it — she would see a rather spacious room that had a good amount of yardage(about three or four yards) in-between the space for his computer/study desk and bed. There were four light blue and purple rug underneath any kind of nightstand or desk. One was big, two were of medium size, and one was small. Of course the smaller one was underneath his nightstand, the medium one was under his study desk and his couch that he had in there for just simply lounging(it was across from his tv). The floor was dark red hardwood.

“Sorry if it’s a bit spacious.” Grant apologized to Alice for the largeness and almost emptiness of his room. He kind of gestured to his couch. “We can sit here if you like.” Grant said.

"Did you really just apologize for having too big of a room? Never apologize for that, it's pretty great." Alice chuckled with a small shake of her head. She glanced around, marveling at how large it really was. Alice's room was fairly large, but she didn't have room for a couch with extra space left over. Rich people truly lived in a different sort of space, didn't they? Alice seated herself on the cushy couch and gave a soft "ooh!" as her weight sunk down into it. She patted the couch cushion next to her and smiled up at Grant expectantly. "Ready?"

Grant couldn't help but smile widely when Alice made that sound as she sat down on the couch in his room. No one who has sat on that couch — least of all a girl — made that exhilarating reaction to a comfy cushion. It definitely lightened up Grant's mood a bit. "Yeah, I guess," Grant shrugged, taking a seat next to Alice.

As he took the envelope in his hand, he was about to run his right index finger through the seal, but then he stopped.

"Grant?" Alice slipped her arm through Grant's and gave it a little squeeze. She leaned over to peer into his face with her wide eyes and a soft smile. "You can do it. Whatever happens, I'm here."
"On three?" Alice prompted gently, sensing how scary this must be for Grant. She rested her chin on Grant's shoulder, resting her upper body against his side. Her free arm also made its way to his arm, patting it a few times reassuringly.

When he felt the touch of her arm lock in with his, the touch of her chin on his shoulder, it all reminded him of Olivia. For whatever reason, Grant smiled, and it seemed that half of the worry he had before was gone. Even though half of it remained, Alice's comforting notions made him feel a lot better.

Grant took in a deep breath, "one," and he let it out.

Alice was watching Grant's reaction carefully as she gave him one more squeeze on the arm. "Two."

Grant smiled. "three."

And Grant's index finger gently lifted up the seal to Olivia's letter to him. He had to be careful not to rip the letter itself. When he was finally able to get the seal completely up, he pulled out the letter. It seemed to be handwritten. It was written on regular notebook paper. It looked college ruled. 

As he was about to unfold it, there seemed to be a tight knot in Grant's stomach. Nerves were getting to him. He almost wasn't going to completely unfold the paper, but then he remembered that he had ALice by his side. Plus, he came this far, so might as well see it to the end, right? Yes, that's exactly right. So, Grant simply unfolded the letter, and he read it aloud:

Dear Gee,
I  would like to just start by saying how all the years we have spend  together have been the best moments of my life. Growing up, Loneliness  was a thing I had tried to get myself used to as I had little to no  friends. The day I met you was akin to a rebirth, and it is just like  what it sounds. Getting to meet you and being friends with you was the  second best thing in my life. You were my closest companion, and stuck  with through my high and lows, as I did with yours. You would be there  for me when no one else would. 

We were always there for each other, in times of danger, sadness, happiness or otherwise. I treasured  our friendship and relationship dearly and would never give it up for  anything in the world. The best moment in my life was the very day at  Simone's where we confessed our feelings for each other and kissed for  the very first time. That is a memory that I will definitely treasure  forever, and keep it close to my heart where-ever I go. I will never  forget you nor will I ever forget the countless amount of memories, good  or bad. 

I am writing this to you now in my remaining minutes  before I catch the flight out of the state; it will be mailed and sent  to you soon enough, I'm sure. I just also want you to know that I had no  say in this, but my family would be moving to to stay with my uncle's  family in Las Vegas for good. He is apparently quite the wealthy man and  has welcomed us with open arms, according to my father. 

I think me ending up in the hospital like that after Everett's party scared the hell out of their wits, and they threatened to disown me if I refused  to go, and you know that as much as I love you, I can't do that. They're  my parents, after all. If I've had any other sensible choice, or if my  parents were complete scumballs, I would have been perfectly fine with  them disowning me, but you know them as well, and for a lack of better  words, nice as hell. With that said, I'll never ever forget you, and if  you ever come to Las Vegas, feel free to pay me a visit. I'll leave the  address somewhere below. I hope we meet again.

I'll always miss you.
Farewell and take care, my dearest.

"No..no - she can't." Grant didn't know what to say. He was at a loss for words. 

He gripped the letter tight, almost wrinkling the thin, white paper. He read over the letter three times, trying to figure out if there was some hidden message in it. Liv always liked to do that. In her texts, she had a tendency to throw some hidden message that Grant always caught. But there was nothing. There was no hidden message, no Easter Eggs that she often threw in, no typo, or anything that would hint that this was a joke. Liv didn't do cruel jokes, but Grant thought that, perhaps, she was trying something new. Even people like Liv had to experiment with humor, right? 

"She's just playing with me. That's it. She can't really be gone, right? —" Grant, almost as if his instinct and refusal to believe the content in the letter, faced Alice's gaze. "—right?" Grant looked to Alice to tell him that this was all just one really bad prank, and that Olivia — his Olivia — wasn't gone.

"I..." Alice's eyebrows were slanted upwards, with her wide eyes bright with concern and slight shock. She slowly turned her gaze to meet Grant, and her heart lurched at his earnest, expectant eyes. It was pretty unbelievable to her as well. In theory, she knew that there were people who moved away from Verona due to the murders that had happened. Any lost friends weren't very close to Alice, however. And she had never expected anyone to move away now. A rational part of her mind knew that it was inevitable--who would want to live in a town with a second wave of death and paranoia?

It's an elaborate prank. You'll see Olivia tomorrow, she's just tired and resting now. Everything is fine, was fine, and will be fine. Oh, Alice wanted to say that out loud so badly. She had to physically press her hand against her mouth to prevent herself from delivering empty promises and reassurances. As much as she wanted to believe that it was all a lie, she knew deep in her heart that it was true. Alice had known Olivia for years. She was one of the most kindhearted girls that Alice had ever met. She wasn't this cruel. "G-Grant. Oh Grant, I'm so sorry..."

"No", was all that Grant could get out. Through the self-denial that he had in and out of his mind, Grant was refusing to believe this. Through the heavy breathing that soon was following by loud cries, Grant didn't want to believe this. A pain tons worse than his father beating him with a leather belt. This was a pain that exceeded everything that his father had done to the family. It exceeded all of the angst and stress that Grant felt when he couldn't do anything to stand up to his father or say anything to anyone. It felt as if Grant's life was coming and crashing down on him. 

Tears flowed down his rosy cheeks, and Grant couldn't do anything else but let them come in the dozens. He couldn't do try and stop Olivia from leaving. The fact of the matter was that she had already boarded the flight to Las Vegas. She was already gone to live with her uncle, and left Grant. She left him, not even knowing what it would do to him. 

Grant's head fell looking down, the image of the floor in his line of sight. However, that's not what he saw. In the place of his floor, he saw Olivia's face. He simply couldn't hold it in any longer. Sacrificing any supposed "manliness", Grant let out a crying, pain-filled, sadness-riden, shriek that would even make the toughest prisoner in the worst prison in the world feel the pain and shed a tear.

The sight of Grant's tears was enough for tears to well up in Alice's own eyes. She had never been good about not-crying. Even movies that were only slightly sad made her cry if the on-screen character was crying. And now, seeing Grant in such anguish and pain, vocalizing it without words.... Alice didn't stand a chance at holding back her tears. Still, the pain that Grant was feeling was undoubtedly many, many times worse that what she was feeling. Olivia had been her friend, yes. But Olivia had been Grant's girlfriend. The only person who could possibly comfort Grant at the moment was miles away in Las Vegas. Alice may have promised Grant that she would be here for him, but what could she do? How could she compare to Olivia?

Biting down on her lip hard to distract herself from sobbing, Alice reached over and wrapped her right arm tightly around Grant, gently rubbing his back in soothing circles. Her left arm draped around his chest, clinging loosely to his shoulder. She pressed her cheek into his shoulder and promised herself that she wasn't going to cry. It was a hard promise to keep; every tremor that ran through Grant's body, every ragged breath, every tear that slid down his face threatened her resolve. She had no words, so Alice simply held Grant tightly to remind him that while someone in his life had to leave, he wasn't alone. He would never be alone, not if Alice could help it.

---

---

This pain was unlike anything he felt before. Even having Alice by his side for the past hour still didn’t do much. Sure, her comforting words and consoling embraces were well-meant, but Grant couldn’t stop thinking about the contents of that letter. He couldn’t get the picture of his dearest Olivia slowly zooming out of his sight, and onto a life two states away from him. The thought of not having her with him anymore, the thought of not being able to see her around town, not being able to call her and ask her if she wanted to get some coffee - none of that was possible now because her parents drove her away from him.

The past hour was his worst. When Alice had to leave(well not had to, but Grant felt like he was making her stay just because he was in such bad anguish). He told her she could go home. He had his family, so he would be alright. Of course she wanted to make sure, and Grant assured her he would be fine. He told her he would see her tomorrow, which was a promise. DanI would see her out.

His mother, Ava, and two brothers were sitting in his room, unsure how they could help. There Grant was in such pain, and all they could do was tell him it would be okay, and that, some day, the pain he was feeling would go away. Or at the very least, it wouldn’t be this bad. Grant heard them sure, but it didn’t register - not yet, anyways. He was so consumed by the angst he felt in his heart. That and Grant couldn’t help but feel suffocated. He needed to be alone.

“I think I need some time alone..” Grant said, trying to act as if his mouth wasn’t about to unleash another anguish-filled shriek.

“Are you sure you don’t want us to stay?” Amy asked, concerned for her son.

“I’ll be okay. I think I’ll just lay down.” Grant told her, having not even moved from the spot on his couch since he read the letter.

“Okay, if you’re sure,” Amy hugged Grant. “I love you son.” She hugged him tightly, and left.

“Hang in there bro. It’ll get better.” Thomas hugged him.

“Try to sleep. I know you’ll feel a little better if you do,” Adam smiled at his little brother as he left.

Ava looked at Grant. She couldn’t offer any words that the others haven’t already said. She simply gave him a hug, uttering “I love you bro.” into his ear as she left. The door closed behind her.

Sitting there, Grant was staring at his phone. He was looking at all of the pictures he and Olivia had taken over the years. Ever since they were about thirteen up until their first official date at the party. Every single picture, every frame, every megabyte that they took on his phone made Grant feel as if it was all for nothing. He felt that him telling her how he felt was all for nothing. He felt as if that he shouldn’t have felt so strongly for her. Why did I have to love her? That’s what Grant had been asking her. If only I could have controlled my feelings to stay at the friend level. If only he could, right?

As time passed, Grant soon found himself on Tessa’s contact info. Before he knew it , Grant was typing.

Tess, are you able to talk right now? You're not grounded from talking with me, are you? I really need to talk. Please get back to me as soon as you can.

Yeah I don't think mom'll kill me if I talk to my own cousin.

Are you sure? I don't want to get you into even more trouble.

Yeah, you know how she is about family.

Right, I guess I wasn't thinking clearly. Sorry. Can I call you?

Yeah, is everything okay?

It'll be best if I just call you.

Okay, call me as soon as you can then. I'm free.

Receiving that last text message, Grant exiting his messages app by pressing the back key, and hit the green phone next to the envelope on Tessa's contact info. The call was ringing, and Grant held the phone to his ear, trying to hold back any tears that he felt start to come again.

Tessa picked up the call before the first ring was even done. "Grant?" She asked, even though her phone told her it was him.

"Tess, it's about Olivia—" Grant said, stoping himself mid-sentence. He knew his voice would crack if he said anymore than he did.

"W-w-what happened?" Tessa's voice was soft, as if she were afraid to ask, afraid to know.

"She left Verona, and..moved to Vegas," Grant was crying agian, but he held it in. It would only become noticable when he would take a deep breath.

A strangled noise came from Tessa. "Seriously? When, well I guess I know today, but why? Did her parent's figure it out or are they just done with Verona?" She paused and took a deep breath. "Do you need me to come over? I'll find a way to do it. Are you okay?"

"S-she sent me a letter. Her parents apparently were afriad for her, so t-t-they packed up, and moved with her Uncle's family." Even saying it to Tess was hard for Grant. "You don't have to. I mean, I don't want you to get into trouble. Besides, Grandma and Grandpa are here as is mother and Thomas and Dani and the twins, but.." Grant had paused. He felt himself, again, about to let out a shriek, but he was able to stop it. "I just needed to hear your voice." Grant said.

"You know I'm here for you." Tessa said. She was quiet, most likely thinking. "Yeah mom probably wouldn't want me to actually leave the house. Especailly-" She cut herself off from saying something. "I can stay on the phone with you though, until dinner. Mom had to go to her office, but she said she'd be back for dinner, probably in an hour."

"I'd like that a lot." Grant said, a tone of slight happiness peeking from behind the wall of anguish he felt.

Alicia sat in her hospital bed with a tray in her lap with a half eaten pizza as well as a glass of water, she turned on the television the news was already on. She took another bite of her pizza as she watched Alice's mom doing a report of what had happened yesterday, bringing up Rachel Lewis up once again. Taking note of what the officer said through the screen, she took another sip of her water and turned to look at Katalina they have been hanging out since their visit with Scout. "So what are you going to be doing tonight?" Alicia asked, Alicia's mother would be at the clinic in about an hour to discharge her.

"Laying in the clinic bed and contemplating how the universe can be so awesome and so cruel at the same time. I mean, yes no school, but Rachel is dead, a bunch of us are still injured, and well... grounded for all eternity as it turns out." Katalina sighed a bit as she leaned back in the chair and scrunched up her nose a bit. 'Enforced curfew huh? I wonder how quickly that will be broken by someone. Any bets on who does it first?" Kata turned to Alicia with a half-smirk on her face, but it didn't quite reach up to her eyes.

"Well no school is a good thing I guess, more time for us to hang out together if your parents let us do it anyway." Alicia said setting her tray down beside her and leaned back in her bed looking back at Katalina and smirked at her. "If and when Jade gets out probably her, or Jay since he can pretty much warp to anywhere he wants without being caught." Alicia then reached out to gently hold Katalina's hand. "I could come back tomorrow when you get discharged and we can hang out if you want."

"Well since you're mom will be off of work and at your house, I should be able to come over to hang out. Their stipulation to the grounding was that if I went over to friends places, one of their parents had to be there watching to make sure I wasn't sneaking out more, or something like that I guess." Kata happily took Alicia's hand and gave it a small squeeze. "And if you can come back tomorrow, I'd appreciate that. And yes, I guess that is true, Jay can go where ever he wants... but with who his step-dad is... that is going to be fun. Also, maybe we should meet up with Jade once she gets out of the clinic as well. I'm sure she'd love the company."

Alicia grinned when Kata took her hand and leaned down to gently kiss it. "I'll ask my mom once she comes in to pick me up, and then i'll text your mom to see if she could give me a ride whenever you are getting out." Alicia grabbed her glass of water once more and took another sip of it, quickly thinking of Jade she had to agree and she did feel bad seeing Jade like that earlier in the day when they went to see her. "I agree with you, whenever Jade is feeling better we can take her out to coffee or something."

Kata blushed for a moment when Ali kissed her hand and nodded. "Sounds good to me. Both plans. You have Jade's number so if you don't mind texting and asking her when she gets out then?" She gently picked up Ali's hand and kissed it in return. "I'm sure mom will be more than happy to give you a ride, but I think with all the kids running around town, they might need extra help at the store, so she might ask your mom for some help getting the two of us to and from places." She seemed to chuckle a bit at the thought.

Alicia blushed slightly when she felt her girlfriend's lips pressing against her hand and smiled she felt so happy to be with her. "I'll text Jade when I get home, and get settled down in the family room." Alicia said lifting her leg slightly. "I wouldnt be able to go upstairs in my room cuz of this thing." Alicia said with a sigh. Alicia giggled at her girlfriend. "I would probably rely on everyone to drive me places for the next several weeks." Alicia gently squeezed Katalina's hand.
"Sounds like me, you know how I'm always bumming rides." Kata chuckled at that and leaned in to kiss Alicia on the cheek. "Yeah, I can see the stairs being a pain for the next month or so. But, if I remember that pull out couch your family has, it is pretty nice."

"That couch is really comfy when you pull it out into a bed, but I wont have much privacy to do what I want though and I would have to share the tv which sucks." Alicia smiled when Katalina kissed her on the cheek and quickly leaned forward to kiss Katalina lovingly on her lips. She held the kiss there for awhile, when she heard the door opening and looked up to see her mother standing in front of the door.
"I should probably go. I'll see you tomorrow I'm sure." Katalina stood up and smiled and waved to Mrs. Smith. "Take care."

Alicia blushed deeply looking up at her mother. "Learn to knock mom jeeze.." Alicia said completely embarrased as she stood up and quickly hopped over towards her girlfriend and pulled her into one last hug and kissed her on the cheek. "I love you so much Kat." Alicia said softly she didnt want to leave her girlfriend just yet, her eyes meeting Katalina's gently running a hand through Kat's soft red hair lovingly.
Katalina's face was soon as red as her hair, as she leaned back to kiss Alicia back on the cheek. "I love you too, Ali. I'll see you tomorrow, for sure." Kata spoke softly and ran her own hand through Ali's hair before leaving the room.

Alicia felt her heart flutter when Kat said she loved her as well and kissed her on the cheek, and watched as her girlfriend left the room. Alicia watched as her mother started gathering her things. "Ready to go hun?" Alicia's mother smiled seeing the two of them together, Alicia nodded slowly. "Yep i'm ready.."Alicia said as she went over to grab her crutches and started to head out of her hospital room, looking back at Katalina one last time and waved goodbye once more.
Alicia and her mother went to the front desk, and then went to sign her out as well as handing her the painkillers that she would need for the next couple of days. Then they headed out and back towards her home.

---

---

Two Tylenol, a nap, and an Advil later didn't stop the pounding ache in the back of his eyes and especially not when woken to loud crashing, cursing and the sound of rolling cans. Convincing himself to get up seemed another matter, only furthered by the failed attempts at getting himself to fall back asleep. The returning beat of his brain against his eardrums brought Fox sitting up on the stripped mattress in his room. Only fully registering that someone could have possibly broken into his home had Fox alert and standing. Of course, the sight of his mother in her pencil skirt trying to stop her mascara from rolling under the stove stopped the beating panic in his chest. Fox slumped sideways into the kitchen's door frame, running a palm over the plains of his face.

"Need any help there?" Fox called out, causing his mother to jump and hit her head on the oven door's handle. She cursed and curled lower as she bit a breath through her teeth. Turning around, Marie gave her son a glare and carefully stood with her high heels and successfully rescued mascara in her hand.

The thud of Marie's purse on the counter top was Fox's only response, along with the utter done look on her face. "We're lucky we have all of your father's life insurance in a savings account," Marie sighed and ran her fingers through her frazzled hair, "I'm on a salary at the school and don't get paid until later next month. Unfortunately, that's set back another month because of the recent murder. They don't know how long the school's closed for. Could be a day, could be another week. What more, the moving truck isn't here till next Thursday."

"So, no furniture until next week?" Fox took a seat beside his mother, a hand on her shoulder, "We're just making the best of a bad situation, mom. I'll get a part-time job somewhere, help pay for groceries. I'll look all over town for something tomorrow." He quickly pulled his mother into a hug before she could protest, a sigh escaping her lips as she let an arm wrap around Fox's shoulder.

"I'm not doing right by you or your father," Marie mumbled, huffing a breath as she broke from the embrace to thump an arm over her purse.

Fox frowned, scratching the edge of his temple before curling over the small island. Letting his hand grasp his mom's his lips curled into a smile and he looked at her the best he could. "Let's make breakfast for dinner. I want some pancakes and the grocery store should be opened for a few more hours. Someone I met just recommended the best organic maple syrup," Fox suggested, immediately standing and pulling his mother to stand. A look of contemplation wrinkled Marie's face before she finally sighed and patted her son on the cheek.

"Fine, but lemme change."

"I left the basket at the clinic too, so we should hop over to get that."

Calling from the hallway, Marie slid into her bedroom filled to the brim with assorted boxes, "There's a town wide curfew, so not too late, Foxtrot."

That made sense, seeing as a killer could likely still be at large. If he had his computer and if they had internet, Fox would have likely spent the entire day studying the infamous 'Jackson Killings' they'd heard about upon arrival. Maybe then he could have avoided the pounding headache he currently tried suffocating with more pain medication. Kill his liver or kill his brain, either one worked. He shrugged and threw on one of his laid out coats before nearly tumbling down the stairs. "Blackbird singing in the dead of night..." Fox huffed the song under his breath, his eyes finding the horizon where the sun slowly set over the dark silhouette of pines.

"Take these broken wings and learn to fly..."

---

After an extensive argument over the brand of pancake batter, his mother conceded to Fox's choice and finally made their way toward the clinic. Seeing as it was a trivial task retrieving an old festive basket, Fox went in alone only to be stopped by the nurse declaring that visiting hours would be over in ten minutes. Alright. That's cool. Fox feigned checking the time on his wrist... which contained no watch, suspiciously, and moved off to where the nurse couldn't quite see him. After a brief cough, Fox found himself in the hallway just behind the nurse and made his way down each room in search. Honestly, he could have just asked for it, but what was the fun in that? Minus the nosebleed he currently sported, of course.

Seeing a blur of green and red catch his eye, Fox stopped himself on the edge of the doorway, spotting what looked to be a broad shouldered lady smooching a rather attractive male to death. Attractive in that douchey way where you know just how much of an asshole they probably are. He knocked on the wooden door and leaned to the side so they both could get a clear view of—oh, that's not a lady.

"Malcolm?" Fox nearly stuttered, almost fumbling to remember his name. His eyes found the dou—other kid's and then the basket on his bedside with one oatmeal raisin cookie (of course, no one liked oatmeal or raisin; terrible combo) lonely in the midst of garish green and red. "I-I'm sorry, I..." he tripped over himself, barely catching the door frame and righting his error, "I didn't mean to interrupt the... kissing gay smooch, uh, homosexuality and the—wow, that's. Um. You guys looked... I mean, I didn't. I wasn't standing there for very long. I mean, I wasn't... watching you guys or anything. It's not like—I mean, I'm not a..."

A high pitched squeak pierced the room as Fox inhaled sharply, a large target painted on his face in bright, bright crimson red. "Voyeurism isn't a kink I usually display so freely?" Fox tried, shrugging and tugging one corner of his mouth to the side in an embarrassed grimace.

---

---

It was getting dark and quickly when Jay decided that enough was enough and it was time to leave the park, though not without making mental notes of the teenagers who he ought to add to a group chat of some sort – those with powers, those who knew of the existence of powers and those who quite possibly were interested in solving the whole murder thing going on in Verona. He left quite early, comparatively speaking, but already exhausted given that he'd teleported thrice over and was only just recovering from it. He waited for just long enough to recharge so that he could make one last, impulsive jump before heading home, and to fill the empty time, he picked some of the colorful wildflowers with a lack of knowledge that would surely make Alice Malone cry.

He said his goodbyes, apologized to Sienna for not dropping her off at her home but he had things to do and reappeared at the front entrance to the town's small clinic. It was a place he had been to on occasion because skateboarding led to a fair few broken bones, but if Jay was being completely honest, he hated hospitals. He hated all sorts of cold, clean, clinical environments, and despite how hard the two nurses in town worked to keep it floral and 'warm', it would never soften the sharp edges of his unease.

But, needs must. He strode in like he had a purpose (and was allowed to be there), nodded and smiled at the lady working at the front desk and went down the hallway to find where Scout Presley was – at least before Doctor Okada's voice could be heard down the way and he had to duck into the nearest room which was quiet, dark and illuminated only by two or three lamps behind dark curtains.

Maybe this was Scout's room? He couldn't make out a face. "Uh, hello?" It was an urgent whisper, because for all he knew, he was at some elderly woman's deathbed. "Scooout?" He crept closer to the privacy curtain separating the bed and the door and opened it just a crack for a sneak peek. Oh shit.

"Sorry to disappoint you, but it's just me," Jade sluggishly said as she tried to adjust body in her bed. Of course, she winced. There was still a good amount of pain from her injuries she sustained. Despite that, the blonde was able to find herself slightly upright, her body in a slight obtuse angle. She looked at Jay, but not really any specific expression on her face. "I'm surprised your cop daddy let you out." Jade said.

As soon as he realised it was his volcano-toting ex-girlfriend his posture straightened and he rubbed at the back of his neck nervously, unable to meet her gaze. The flowers were still thankfully half-hidden behind his leg, even though he had pulled the curtain back.

"I snuck out," Jay said instinctively, a lame excuse at that considering that Harold Logan was his go-to scapegoat as Jade had likely figured out. At fourteen he hadn't been a good liar, and now at eighteen he wasn't feeling particularly witty, which was probably why he stumbled over his words. "I'm, uh, surprised you're still alive, then?"

"It was kind of touch and go there for a while. Apparently getting a bolt of electricity can do wonders for the confidence in whether someone is going to live or not." Jade laughed. If she couldn't joke about her own near-death experience, then who would?

"Shock horror, Jade Taylor not as immortal as everyone thinks. Shock horror." He smiled weakly at the girl's self-deprication and easy-going attitude over something that could quite easily have killed her, killed all of them, even if their jokes combined weren't exactly funny.

He rubbed at his cheek nervously, cold hand fighting away the embarrassed blush that threatened to bloom without warning. While there was the urge to run away like a scared puppy lingering in the back of his mind, now that he was here, he knew that he needed to be. He had a bone to pick with Jade Taylor for almost murdering Scout and making the killer's job so much easier, for putting them all at risk with her stupid meltdown, for showing them all that their powers could endanger their lives just as quickly as it could save them–

But he swallowed the lump in his throat made of tears and what he said was instead, "So you... said some things. When you went crazy. I don't know if you remember..?"

"Yeah, I remember.." Oh yeah, Jade remembered it alright. "That's the thing about being stuck here and having nothing to do but sleep: you end up having dream after dream after dream. It gets to the point that, after a while, you begin to recall everything. Plus, Alicia and Kata helped me get a head start." Jade said, her greenish-blue eyes falling to her blanket, hands increasing their grip. "So yeah, I remember exactly what came out of my mouth last night," Jade spoke but didn't look back at Jay.

It was lucky that she was looking away, because so was Jay, and we brought his arm up to wipe his nose (and sneakily, his eyes) on his sleeve. "Right," he said. Did he sound strangled? It felt like it. Jay pushed the curtain back all the way so he could see the bedside table, if only because he didn't trust his voice to do anything at that moment. There was a vase filled with fake flowers courtesy of the nurses – because real flowers were apparently a health hazard – and he grabbed it and dumped them unceremoniously on the floor to cram his mish-mash of wildflowers in instead.

Scout didn't need them; Jade did.

This was how people apologized to girls, wasn't it, when they fucked up massively? The guilt that had settled in the pit of his stomach was all he could focus on, all he had focused on for the last day since even before the cops caught them. Jade was right. Most of it was his fault. Many of her problems were his fault – up to and including the friends he had but she didn't.
"I - I owe you a sorry," he said a little clumsily. "I didn't realize that you felt that way... Like, I didn't mean to be... a dick."

Her mouth was open, but her voice betrayed her. It wouldn't make words, and deliver them to Jay's ears. She had it in her head too. She wanted to tell him that why was he apologizing? He wasn't the one who almost killed everyone. He wasn't the one who brought the fury to what was supposed to be a semi-harmless gathering of friends and peers. He wasn't the one who had it in their mind — or a lack thereof — to cause total carnage and destruction to everyone around him.

As she was struggling in the match of Jade versus Jade's Vocal Cords, she found her voice as she coughed. "Jay, in all your time skateboarding, you must have had times where you bailed so hard that you had stay in bed for a day or so, right?"

"...Once or twice, yeah." Jay looked at her as if she'd grown a second head, or perhaps as if the one she had was brain damaged from the lightning. He couldn't find any connection from one thing to the other. "What does that have to do with..?" He closed his mouth forcibly. Maybe he should let her talk, the sensible part of his mind said.

Jade adjusted herself to get into a right angle position. "When you bail that hard, you probably thought over what went wrong, specifically, when it turned to shit, and how you ended up bed-ridden." Jade said, seriously looking at Jay. "That's how it is for me and last night." Jade found herself laughing. "I kept going over it in my head: when exactly did it all go to shit? When did it come to the point that I had to nearly kill almost everyone I cared about? Why did I let it get to that point?" She said.

"Jade– it's... not your fault..? It didn't seem like you were in control. Like, you were out of it," Jay said nervously, rubbing at his jaw. "For real, it's, it's like it wasn't really you. You're not the type to try and murder Katalina and Alicia and stuff on a whim... I think?"

"Dumbass, I'm not talking about last night." Jade leaned forward, "I'm talking about how, for the past two years, I blamed you for breaking up with me. I was so clouded by my childishness that I put all of the blame on you. And look at where it got me? I alienated everyone from me. I went so far into my own shit that I barely recognized the girl I saw in the mirror. If anyone tried to throw an intervention or judge my life, I would blow up at them, and make THEM feel like they did something wrong. Fact is if I didn't keep on doing drugs, or sleep around with any guy that would give me the time of day, maybe I wouldn't have.."

"Wouldn't have what?"

"Maybe I wouldn't have lost every ounce of self-control, and tried to kill everyone who ever gave a damn about me. If I would have just confronted you right after you dumped me when I should have, then maybe Scout wouldn't be in the state she is, Kata and Alicia wouldn't be injured, and we wouldn't be in the shitty mess we are in now. But of course, in classic Jade Taylor style, I just kept it bottled up, and it literally exploded." Jade said, if just in a slightly elevated tone of voice. Her hands had tightened their grip even more on her blanket. She could feel the pain surging as the grip was tighter than it should have been.

"Nobody thinks any less of you for all of that–I mean, I don't," Jay said, rubbing at the back of his neck awkwardly before crouching down, keeping his balance with one hand on the rail at the side of the bed so he wasn't looming over Jade. "Everyone makes mistakes. If anyone holds it against you I'll fight them."

As Jade had looked down, Jay's words hit her like a light to the darkness. As corny as that sounded, it was true. Jade looked up at Jay. For a brief moment, their eyes met. For a that brief moment, Jade had completely forgot what she was even thinking.

And without thinking, he reached out to ruffle her hair.

And the moment was gone, killed, and buried six feet under with cement. "You just had to ruin that, didn't you?" Jade sighed, leaning back agianst her pillow. A laugh escaped from her mouth and a smile formed as her eyes fell on Jay's again, then time less of a feely-touchy variety and more calming.

Jay flushed red in embarrassment and, rather flustered, he quickly said, "Well, that's me all over, isn't it?" How on earth could he hurry past the awkward feeling of being laughed at by Jade, even if it wasn't in a mean way? He coughed before clumsily segueing into another topic. "Now. Are we gonna talk about your volcano powers or what? Because, like, damn."

"Yeah, I guess we should," Jade shifted awkwardly in her bed, scratching her right cheek with her right index finger, "I guess you'll have to change that chart of yours, huh?" Jade said.

"Chart-schmart – there's too many of us now to fit on the one I made. I'll need to make, like, a spreadsheet or something," Jay replied, rambling on for a few seconds before shaking his head and taking one of the little plastic seats from the other side of the curtain. He sat back-to-front on it, leaning on the back of the chair. To think that this was an accident, actually speaking to Jade(it allowed him to procrastinate more about visiting Scout, that was for sure.)

"Is it, like, magma? I think you're at the top for destruction–" He winced. "Sorry. But man, I'm sure the place up at the lodge is all torn up now. How does it work?"

"Well, it certainly wasn't a meadow of fresh, spring daisies," Jade said, "as for how it works, I guess I have to get angry like Bruce Banner--" Jade stopped herself mid-sentence, taking a moment to realize that, without even realizing it, she actually referenced herself to a comic book character. God, what has happened to her. "But anyways, I think that's how it works. I remember when it first happened, I was a bit agitated, and then the ground was shaking. I guess having lava spew from the ground was the only logical evolution of that." Jade shrugged, not really sure what else to say. "Oh, and if you tell anyone that I know about comics, you're dead, got it?" Jade leaned as close she could to Jay.

"He's pretty mainstream anyway–but my lips are sealed, promise," Jay swore, a flash of a bright smile crossing his face before it disappeared into the schooled, serious expression of a scientist, or an interviewer. "So... anger-related. Interesting. You say you got mad, right? Well, that much is obvious – don't answer that... Uh..." He rubbed at his head and then twisted his beanie hat in his hands nervously. "Was it a normal sort of mad?"

"You mean last night?"

"Well, yeah, unless you've gone Hulk-Smash before..?"

"Ha. Ha." Jade shook her head, "hm, well let me think about it." Jade said, her face looking deep in thought. She tried to recall that feeling that she had right when her entire mind went completely red. "I can't say for certain, but I remember just seeing red. Yes, just like that Chevelle song. All I saw was red aside from a choice few: you, Alicia, Nina, and Kata. You each had your own individual color. And for some reason, I was solely focused on-on-on killing you four." Again, Jade gripped her sheets again. "I know this is going to sound completely outrageous and silly, but it felt like someone was making me feel these things, like a puppeteer or something." Jade laughed, realizing that was probably the last thing it was.

Jay scratched at his cheek, trying to disguise some of the confusion – and the tension – on his face. "So, like... do you think someone has mind control?" It seemed like a logical conclusion: people's thoughts and feelings were getting messed with, by the sound of it, and how else would someone do that other than through a weird, freaky supernatural power of their own–feelings. "King has that thing, doesn't he? Sympathy? Empathy?" Jay wasn't necessarily biased against his archenemy, but it was a little bit coincidental – enough to turn his statement into a question. "I wonder if it's like that."

When Jay brought up King having some kind of empathy power, Jade tried real hard to remember if that was on that list of powers that they all had. God why did she have to jolt out of there instead of just look at that board. She grunted and shrugged. "I-I don't think it was King. I mean, sure no proof, but even if he does have some kind of feeling-warping power, he's not like that. Granted, I don't know him as well as Malcolm, but he just doesn't strike me as the type." Jade said, somewhat thinking out loud.

"I don't disagree, I'm just saying–" Jay paused, trying to order the words correctly to make a coherent sentence. He didn't want to seem like his tinfoil hat was on too tightly just yet. "Well, the other group apparently, uh, were chased by someone in the dark, and they found King unconscious – or at least that's what Mal said at the park, so it's probably not him... but... Maybe... someone using his power..?"

That idea felt a bit like a violation – more so than the power itself being thrust upon them – and Jay wasn't quite sure why it gave him a sickening feeling in the pit of his stomach.

"You serious?" Jade's eyes were blinking at Jay. "Wow, I thought I was the only problem last night." Jade was a bit mind blown. "What is even going around here?"

Jay snorted weakly with laughter. "God knows. It's enough to make my nose itch, that's for sure – but I'm like, 90% sure someone'll die, and if I go snooping, it's gonna be me." He shook his head. "For real, though, that's like two murder attempts – one of which actually worked – in as many days. Verona, what the fuck: you're meant to be rural and peaceful."

"Well obviously there was something lost in translation." Jade sighed, a laugh escaping. "Either that or someone's definitely got something against our shitty small town." She sighed again, "next thing you know, it's going to get full of cliches and our major will get held hostage or something." Jade laughed..again.

"What is this, a TV show? Heroes?" Jay figured that it was the most apt comparison to their lives right now: a mess past the first season. Nowhere in Verona was safe at the moment what with lava erupting from the earth and forcefields and headaches and feelings. He loved it, the adventure and excitement of it all – far better than the idea of going to college – but at the same time...

Well, people were getting murdered.

"I think this is the only time I've ever agreed on there being a curfew," Jay mused. "When you get out... stay safe, right? Please?"

"You actually agreeing with that curfew? Shit must be really bad." Jade wanted to laugh, but the look on Jay's face really cemented it in her mind that that it wasn't fun and jokes anymore. "Fine, you win. When I get out of here — which could be tomorrow at the earliest — I'll take it easy." Jade smiled at Jay. She kept a look on him for half of a minute, not saying anything, but then she kind of coughed, slightly looking away. "The same goes for you too, Nightcrawler." Jade looked back at him sternly.

"I don't have a tail– wait. Whoa. You really are a comic book nerd," Jay said in shock, awe and amazement – in a slightly crude attempt to change the subject. Sadly, he would feel guilty not making a similar 'promise' and so, holding up his hand as if making a Boy Scout pledge, he continued, "I swear not to get into anything I can't teleport out of."

Jade simply ignored that comment about her being a comic book nerd. It was true, but she wouldn't openly admit it to him. "Sure you won't — just like you won't break curfew — but it's at least good to hear, even if you are just saying it for my sake." Jade said, half-smiling.

"Now... I think I have another house call to make– uh. I should probably visit Scout before I go. Gonna steal one of your flowers, actually." Jay picked a slightly drooping tulip that he'd stolen from the park and was now stealing from Jade's vase with a wink. He waited in interest for a response before he decided to teleport out.

"Yeah, go on and get, let me sleep in peace," Jade said, snuggling herself into her sheets, "but, uh, Jay—"Jade's eyes looked at him, "— thanks for visiting. Even if you didn't mean to, it was ..nice." Well there it was. Jade gave Jay a compliment of thanks.

"As Bob Ross would say, a 'happy little accident'. I'm glad I came." And with that, he was off, gone in a flash of displaced air.

Location: Simone’s Cafe
Interacting with: Each other, Nina’s Boss

---

---

Nina was barely paying attention to the news as it played on the mounted TV at Simone’s. She was reading over some homework from Monday since the cafe was mostly dead that evening. Until her manager walked over. “Nina, I know you got a minute, can we talk?”

”Sure, what is up?”

“So, I don’t know if you were paying that much attention to the news, but there is a curfew in town again.”

”Goodie.”

“However, they’ve also closed down the school till their investigation of Rachel’s murder is done.”

”Double goodie.” Nina sighed. This wasn’t going to look good on a college application.

“So, I want you and your brother to swap shifts while the school is closed and while the curfew is in effect, starting tomorrow. Come in during the day, and go home early. Tonight, well, I won’t report you, since Alicia is called out. However, call your father or go home with someone at 7:30, ok?”

”Yeah boss.” She looked at the clock and noted it was just past 6. That meant she had about an hour… and Ash still hadn’t shown up quite yet. She frowned a bit and leaned against the counter.

”Also, if you need…”

”I’m fine. I don’t need any time off… you know that.” Nina’s manager nodded and walked off to the back. She sighed and turned towards the door.

The door happened to open at that same moment that Nina glanced at it. Ashton promptly ducked inside, a small grin spreading across his face when he saw his friend. Without a hurry in his step, he made his way over to the counter. ”Hey, what’s up?”

”Hey! Well as you can see it is dead here, but I can understand why. I hear at least half of our class is either in the clinic or grounded, including you. Also apparently a curfew? Did you hear about that?” Nina smiled as she looked at Ash and stepped to the side to start making his usual cup of hot chocolate.

”Oh yeah, part of the reason why I’m grounded actually. Something about ‘if I don’t go out, I won’t be caught after curfew.’” Ashton chuckled, leaning casually against the counter. ”Parents are kind of--no, they’re definitely freaking out about the whole thing. Understandable, but it’s just a bit overbearing, you know?”

”Otec was mostly worried about Petyr and I, and well, surprisingly, not grounded. However, I will be working during the day during curfew and no school. So, are you the sort of grounded that can’t have friends over? Nina worked on making the hot cocoa, and soon handed Ash the paper cup full of the warm brown liquid.

”Technically yes.” Ashton accepted the cup and took a sip. After a drink and a moment of thought, he smirked and tipped the cup slightly at Nina and winked. ”My brother isn’t grounded though, so if a mutual friend of ours came over to hang out with him and I just happened to be in the house…. Well, that’s not breaking any rules, is it?”

Nina had to smirk for a moment. ”I’ll keep that in mind then. I do hope the hot cocoa was worth the trouble. As I said, I think I owe you a few hundred after last night.” Her smirk seemed to vanish as her thoughts turned to the night before.

”Delicious as always, Jelen. And you don’t owe me anything,” Upon seeing Nina’s face darken, Ashton leaned forward to peer into her face with slight concern. His elbows supported his chin upon the counter as he turned his gaze upwards towards her. ”You alright there?”

Nina paused and looked at Ash and blinked. ”Ah… sorry, was just thinking about last night. I mean, for a moment, I was pretty sure we were all dead… and, I just… there is so much that is so confusing now. You know how they say when you think you’re about to die, your life flashes before your eyes? Well, just some of those glimpses were confusing, and honestly I was terrified. I just made up with Tess, and if I lost her, or Petyr, or even…” She trailed off at that moment and looked at Ash and her cheeks grew red. ”Ah, sorry.” l

”You don’t have to apologize,” Ashton said, his eyes turning a bit more serious as he reached out to place a hand on her head. ”I was scared shitless last night, I’m sure all of us were. But we made it out alive, every single one of us. Even if some people ended up in the clinic, everyone is going to be fine. And that’s what matters.”

Nina nodded and leaned into Ash’s hand a bit. ”Yes, we’ll be fine, for now. I suppose, but…” She looked around and frowned. ”This may not be the place to discuss some things, so maybe I can pop by tomorrow when I get off shift?” [go ahead]

”As long as you’re visiting my brother Daniel, and not me,” Ashton said with a slight smirk, taking another swift sip of his drink. ”I’ll let him know that he has a guest tomorrow.”

”Thanks. If anything comes up, I’ll let you know, otherwise, I’ll be over after, hmm lets say 4, to see Daniel.” Nina let a small smile grace her face as she leaned back a bit. [all yours]

”I’ll be sure to be properly grounded and in the house,” Ashton winked. He pulled out his phone to text his brother this information, knowing that he would likely owe his brother more after this--a fact he noted with a wry smile.

”Alright. I’ll also bring around some cocoa for you and that really carmelly thing your brother likes. Now you should probably head home before you get more grounded.” Nina walked around the counter to hug her friend goodbye.

”Sounds good!” Ashton returned her embrace, gently rubbing her back. He turned to make his way out of the coffee shop, but paused and twisted around to face Nina right before he stepped out the door. ”Don’t get too caught up in what happened last night, okay? Everything is fine.”

Nina nodded. ”Yeah, I won’t. Take care Ash, and till later.” She waved at him as he left and sighed, and went behind the counter. ”Everything is fine… everything will be fine… don’t worry.”

---

---

Tessa stood outside the office building that housed her therapist, a brightly colored umbrella blocking her from the rain. She hated the location of his office, right across the street from the park where Janice had been killed. Tessa was convinced that was on purpose, though there was no way it could be. She would probably be late if she waited on that cool step much longer, but she knew exactly what the doctor would bring up.

Tuesday.

So much had happened Tuesday, that thinking about it gave Tessa a headache that wasn’t associated with her power. It wasn’t as if she had seen Rachel’s body. She had been very careful since then to avoid anything that may have had an image of the girl. Tessa had barely known Rachel. Then again in the first murder spree she hadn’t known many of the victims. Their faces, all of them, flashed through her mind. Ending on her sister’s face, one that looked so much like her own.

Tessa had seen those pictures. It had been hard to avoid. The picture of her identical twin sister dead. The casket where she had been laid forever. Tessa’s face identical to the dead sister. Those images were impossible to get out of her head. Her phone chirped, one minute warning. Tessa looked up at the sky, rain hitting her face, it was a miserable day perfectly reflecting how she felt.

She sighed and climbed up the last steps and walked into the small medical building. The receptionist smiled and greeted her. “He’s ready for you, go on in.” Tessa did, giving the receptionist a smile and a nod, leaving her umbrella sitting on a mat left there just for that purpose.

Admittedly the office of Tessa’s therapist wasn’t intimidating, it was homey if anything could describe it. He did his sessions in a room separate from his actual office. The session room was small, and held two high backed chairs. A tea table separated them, as usual there was a pot of coffee sitting on the tea table. Her first session he asked which she preferred, and since then there always a pot of coffee for her to sip at.

He had explained once that the warmth from a hot cup of anything did wonders for people. Tessa wasn’t certain if that was true, but she did enjoy the feeling either way.

“Hello Tessa.” The doctor gave her a genuine smile. “Please have a sit.” All part of the formality he played out for them. Routine was good.

“Hey doc.” She took her seat, poured herself a cup of coffee, then added her cream and sugar.

“We have a lot to talk about today.” He started. Tessa looked at his face closely and saw a pinched worried look etched into his features. They had only been having sessions for a few months now, but she could tell when he was particularly worried about her. This was one of those times.

“I suppose we do.” Tessa started. “I spoke with Nina.” His frown deepened a bit, but he took the bait.

“How did that go?” Tessa gave a small shrug.

“It could have gone worse. I told her I didn’t blame her, which is true. Now anyway. Once upon a time I did, but she did what she thought was right.”

“When did you speak with her?”

“Tuesday morning. She sent me a text later, and I’ve seen her around since then. She even walked me home from the clinic yesterday. I think we're actually going to be friends again.”

“We should talk about Tuesday.” His frown thinned a bit. Tessa wasn’t surprised. “Were you at school?”

“No. I wasn’t feeling well so I was at home.” He didn’t want to ask her straight forward. He didn’t want to say ‘When Rachel was murdered’. No one in town really did.

“How do you feel about the events?”

“I kissed Austin.” She blurted out. The doctor raised an eyebrow.

“Those weren’t exactly the events I was talking about.”

“We actually kissed a lot. It was nice. Or maybe I should call it snogging. He is British after all. I once knew someone who thought snogging was fucking.” He pursed his lips at her cuss, he knew her mother didn't approve of cussing, but he rarely said anything to her when she did.

“Did you kiss Austin to avoid feeling?” It was Tessa’s turn to frown.

“No. The opposite. For the first time in years I feel alive. I feel as if I’m not a shadow left over. You know when nuclear bomb goes off and the people leave shadows behind, the one’s who were vaporized in that flash of light. I felt like I was that. That shadow left behind, nothing but a reminder that Janice once walked this Earth and now she doesn’t. Austin didn’t know Janice. He moved here after all of that. He’s only ever known me. Only ever seen me. Not the person I’m not. Everyone who knew Janice sees her when they look at me. They see how she’ll never grow up, never become whatever it was that she was meant to be. I’m a lump compared to her. I was never outgoing. I was never the star. She lit up the world so much that with her gone there is nothing but darkness left. Austin was never blinded by her though. His eyes see my light as their own thing.” Tessa paused and drank from her coffee. The doctor across from her didn’t say anything for a moment.

“You are not a shadow of your sister. You carry your own light, others can see that just as well as Austin.” Tessa gave a shrug.

“I suppose that’s true. Grant and Nina told me as much.”

“Oh?”

“Well Grant told me my strength gave him strength, that’s sort of the same thing. He and I ended up talking a lot last night. Not about anything in particular but just chatting it was nice. Nina told me she missed me, and to be honest I miss her. There’s just so many memories with her.”

“And not with Grant?”

“Well sure, Thanksgiving has gotten more boring without Janice, but Grant’s a cousin, almost as good as a brother. He also didn’t betray my trust.” The last bit was said mostly under her breath, and with pain. Even with all that had happened the last two days it still hurt to think of how Nina had betrayed her. She was moving past it though. Even though it hurt she could be around Nina and not want to cry. In fact the walk home with her had been one of the safest she had felt since Rachel had died, other than in Austin's arms.

“The crux of your issues with Nina.” Tessa sighed and rolled her eyes, of course he had heard her. “You said you didn’t blame her, is that true?” Tessa shrugged. It was mostly true. She could be mad and not blame her, right? “How else do you feel about the rest of the events on Tuesday?” That was an obvious answer, and he didn't even know about what all happened Tuesday evening. Only that there had been an earthquake.

Even with a super power she was vulnerable. She could be smelled out, or touched, or if she made a noise to draw attention to her presence she could be seen. How could she explain that feeling to her therapist? The surge of empowerment she had had Monday had been stripped from her Tuesday. Not even twenty four hours had she enjoyed the endless possibilities.

They sat in silence. He knew her moods well enough to know she’d answer eventually. Tessa sipped her coffee again. Too much sugar she decided.

“Like when I look in the mirror I see her lifeless eyes again.” The doctor was one of the few people who knew about the gripping waking nightmares that she had. The flashes of Janice she saw. He knew why she had broken her mirror in the bathroom that first week after Janice’s death. He knew why she had used those shards to tear into her skin. He knew the real reason she had died her soft brown hair red. “I’m changing, my face has gotten thinner. I have more freckles, but my eyes are the same. I thought about buying colored contacts.” She stared at her cup of coffee, there was a piece of coffee bean floating around the rim.

“Did Austin’s presence help?” Tessa only nodded. How could she explain that the strange boy made her feel safe? Made her feel human, made her feel real, and not invisible. “How long have you known him?”

“Just a couple of years. He moved here after everything was supposedly over.” The doctor paused in his nodding as she said supposedly.

“Tessa,” She looked up at him from the coffee cup. “What do you think is happening?”

“That either the man in jail now is not the guilty person, or someone is copying him. Neither possibility is particularly reassuring.” The doctor nodded again. “If the first, then the man in jail was a fall man. Or maybe an accomplice. Maybe it took so long for the murders to pick back up because the original killer needed a new accomplice. The accomplice theory makes more sense since they caught the first guy in the act.”

“This isn’t the first time you have had this thought is it?”

“No. I used to sleep with my window open. Even knowing the killer was in jail I couldn’t. Nothing’s changed, except now I know for sure I’m not safe. No one is. Not even now.” She mouthed the last sentence. The world crashing around her. The images of the shadow man from Tuesday night burned through her thoughts. “I don’t want to be scared. I wish I was stronger and better, but I’m not. I wish I had a way to protect, but I don’t.” I can only turn invisible. I can only watch if something happened, because I’m still the same Tessa. I can't protect my friends, only follow them and then pass out.

“You are safe.”

“Bullshit. No one is. No one ever is. Nothing has changed except we know the boogeyman in our closet. Especially if this is a true copy cat.” Tessa set her cup down. She was angry, and scared and everything that had happened in the last few days seemed to be closing in on her. She needed air. “I’m done.”

“Tessa, please sit down.” She was halfway to the door.

“Why should I?” Tessa paused and turned to face him. She was supposed to convince him to have her mom un-ground her so she could see her friends without sneaking, that plan was out the window. “What will this do? Hm? It isn’t going to fix anything. It won’t bring Janice back. Or Rachel. Or Everett’s parents. The only thing this does is pokes a sore wound. That’s all this town ever does. Poke at a wound that can’t heal.” She was yelling now. Her eyes burned, and she knew she was about to cry, but she couldn’t stop now. “This town is a disease. I hope the monster behind these attacks takes us all out. Wipes the city clean. Erases this blight that we are upon the Earth completely. Everyone just wants to live in the past. Never forget. Our own little 9/11. Our own tragedy that we cling to as an identity that sets us apart. A sick twisted desire to hold it up proudly. Look at us we had a serial killer. One of the most horrific since Henry H. Holmes himself. Ours displays his victims. Maybe he’s been trying to tell us something and we’re too dense to listen.” She was crying now. The doctor took her by the shoulder and led her back to her chair and sat her down.

“The point of these sessions is to help you Tessa. Do you truly feel that everyone in this town should die?” Tessa through painful gasps shook her head. “I didn’t think so.Tell me why you said that then.”

“Were you there?” She snapped at him, once she gained her breath again.

“Where?”

“At the memorial.”

“Yes.”

“Then you know why I said it.”

“You said you weren’t there though.”

“No, but I was there the year before. Where they read each name. I was there when they planted those damn trees. I was there during the speeches that talked about the tragedy of the whole thing. It was dumb and pointless last year and it was dumb and pointless this year.”

“Some people need it to heal.” Who the hell needed that show to heal? That was stupid. It didn't do anything but make things worse. Clearly someone wanted to make a statement about the whole thing, otherwise why kill the first person outside the memorial?

“Can I just leave?”

“Not yet. Just because you don’t need the memorial to heal doesn’t mean those who do should die.”

“Everyone hates it though. I wasn’t the only one who ditched it. Everyone just feels obligated to go.” She snapped again. “Then what happens someone is murdered outside while we all try to reminisce about the worst years in our history. He just dragged it right back out for us.” This time she was out the door before the doctor could stop her.

Outside she took a deep breath, raised her umbrella, glared at the damn park again, and started toward Simone’s. She sent a quick message to Nina and Austin. “Be at Simones in five.” She would be damned if her mother was going to keep her in lockdown.

Tessa hadn't gone far, even though she was giving the playground a wide berth, when she ran face first into a wall. She hadn't noticed it, but as she rubbed her face confused she saw a pale blue translucent wall in front of her. Tessa reached out with her hand that wasn't holding her umbrella. The wall was solid, despite its translucent nature.

As Tessa considered the implications, her thought process was just a fraction too slow, something hit her hard on the back of her head. Her head, thrown forward, hit the wall again with force enough to make her see spots. A lot of spots.

Tessa opened her mouth to scream but a hand covered her mouth and the scream was lost. Her brain, fuzzy from the hits, tried to go into overdrive. Invisibility was out of the question, for now at least, but if she could get out of sight. Tessa flailed against the person who held her. Her struggle was pointless.