The Unmasking

Part 26

Gabriel POV

Sang let her hair clip loose, her chameleon hair falling down around her face as she caught up to me in the hallway. The light in the hallway almost made her hair look brunette right now, a stark contrast to the glowing strawberry blond she had been in the courtyard during lunch. I watched her as she approached quickly with the others behind her, but she wouldn't look at me, just kept her head down. I turned to walk with them and pulled my earbuds out, shoving them in my pocket for later. If she was right with me I wouldn't have to listen in. Motherfucking Volto. I wanted to skin the lousy bastard. Trouble belonged with us, made us complete, gave us better reasons for doing the things we did each day. I looked at her askance as we walked together towards her next class. Her hair still hung around her face, hiding her expression from me. I noticed the clip in her hand and stopped in the middle of the hall.

Sang never took her own hair down. I always had to ask.

She stopped mid-step and turned back towards me, waiting for me to catch up. I reached out and moved her bangs up and away from her eyes before she could bat me away. Her eyes were full of tears.

"Aw fuck..Sang, don't..."

She almost knocked me over, I so suddenly had my arms full of her. She was bawling like a baby as she held me tightly and buried her head in the crook of my neck, her body shaking with sobs. I glanced up at Kota and then Silas to see what I should do, but they were both busy glaring down some assholes that were snickering as they passed by us. I pressed her closer to me in hopes that it would help calm her, but she just wept harder as more students murmured their way past us. I wheezed and cursed when Silas suddenly scooped us both up and carried us through a classroom door Kota was holding open. Fuck, that was the second time in 24 hours that he had done that to me, the big oaf.

He put us both down carefully on a desk in the dark room and I adjusted her so she could sit comfortably in my lap. She curled around me, still sobbing. Kota was swiping his hands across the walls, searching for a light switch, and Silas hovered over Trouble and I, looking unsure. I felt a little unsure myself. I looked to Kota for some help.

"Are we okay for time Kota?"

He pushed his glasses up the bridge of his nose and then scratched at his forehead, giving up on his search for the light switch as he approached us. He only had eyes for Sang as she cried in my arms. He bent down and picked one of her hands up, holding it carefully.

"We have a little time, but not much. Sang, what's wrong? Do you need to go back and see Dr. Green? Are you hurt?"

She shook her head no and hiccuped when she tried to stop her own crying. She was so damn cute it actually hurt my heart. Silas crouched down and touched her face, concern creasing his brow. Maybe she was upset because she was leaving us and didn't know how to tell us. Oh god, she couldn't. I started squeezing her, hard.

"Fucking Volto. I'll hold onto you forever if I have to. He can't have you, Sang. Please, please don't leave us. I don't think I can take it."

"What?!"

She sat up and stared at me, dumbfounded. At least she wasn't weeping uncontrollably anymore. Kota inhaled sharply and his grasp on her hand went from careful to tight. Silas looked like he was beginning to understand why I had been upset earlier, sending me a disbelieving look and then standing with his fists clenched as he studied Sang. Kota looked from me to her again, a mixture of confusion and outrage on his face.

"Sang, what is this all about? What does he mean Volto can't have you? What's going on?"

I forgot neither of them knew what I had heard. Sang shook her head again, hiccups still jolting her body. Kota reached in his pocket and pulled out a tissue, offering it to her. She took it with a grateful look and covered her nose with it and her goddamn gorgeous fingers. It wasn't fucking fair that she had weapons like that at her disposal. That and the tears still quivering in the eyes she had just turned on me.

"I'm not going anywhere, and especially not to Volto. Whatever gave you that idea Gabriel?"

I tightened my hold on her and sighed. "You were getting all chummy with him, I thought you said..."

"Thought I said what?"

Everyone was looking at me and I felt the beginnings of a rare blush heating my cheeks. I couldn't bring myself to repeat what she had said in Hendrick's office. She gazed at me for a moment, and then her own cheeks pinked up to match her nose. She looked down at my chest.

"Oh. You were listening?"

I nodded curtly, blushing harder at being caught, even though I was under orders. She smiled gently and ran her fingers through one of my dyed streaks. I closed my eyes, delighting at the shivery sensations coursing through me at her touch.

"I twisted the truth around so I wouldn't have to lie, Meanie. I mean there are aspects of truth to what I said, but..it's not what it seems. I'm not leaving you guys. You're my family."

I buried my face into her neck, breathing deeply. Now I wanted to cry, in relief. Every word she spoke rang true, and so help me I wanted to believe it. Kota cleared his throat. I looked up to see him holding out another tissue, a small smile on his and Silas' faces. Sang took it appreciatively and sniffed delicately, her green eyes wide and still shining from her emotive state as she reached hesitantly for it.

"Where did you get the tissues?"

"I have them handy for cleaning my glasses."

"Oh. Thank you."

She smiled at him, and I let him help her out of my lap into a hug. I stood up and brushed my backside off. I was pretty sure the last time they had dusted in here had been many, many Mondays ago. Silas grabbed her in a bear hug once Kota was done, and then I twirled her into another hug from me. She giggled, music to my ears.

"Are you okay now?"

"Yes. Just nerves finally catching up to me, I guess. I can go to class now."

We all smiled. We were so late. Explaining this to Mr. B was going to be a bitch, but I didn't care one bit. Kota opened the door and we all walked quickly to drop her and Silas off at their classroom. Sang waved shyly to me before she disappeared through the door, smiling softly as she twisted her hair back up before she was out of my sight. I rolled my eyes and smiled indulgently after her. I dug my earbuds out and began reinserting them into my ears, hearing the scuffle and scraping of Sang's desk and chair as she sat down and readied herself for class. Kota held back before he left for his own class, his face serious once again now that Sang was safely set for the next period.

"Family meeting tonight at Nate's house. We have a lot to discuss."

"I'll be there."

He nodded at me, and then made his way to the stairs. I watched him take them two at a time, and then I headed off to my own class. I was happier and lighter feeling, but still worried. Sang had said she wasn't leaving us, but she was still keeping us in the dark about what was going on between her and this Volto creep. That spelled disaster any way you looked at it, especially for my Trouble.