The Inadequate Experiments: 1. White Noise [Rough Draft]

Part 3; Immunity - 17. Timing Out

“Who’s Cooper?”

Oliver blinked and looked up at me, taking his eyes from the road and twisting his body so rapidly that the wheel swerved. I forced my body forward against the inertia of the vehicle and pushed the wheel so it was straight once more as Oliver stamped on the breaks. He gripped me by the shoulders and pushed me back against my seat to stop my head from slamming into the dashboard, and the car crashed to the ground with a large thump.

“Shit.” He murmured, his heavy breathing mirroring my own. His eyes travelled from the flashing dashboard up my shaking body until he met my eyes. It wasn’t until then that he realised how close he was to me, leaning across the centre console with his hands on my shoulders to protect me from a blow that never came. For a fraction of a second, his gaze drifted to my lips and back.

“I’m okay,” I said quickly. “I’m okay.”

He leant back a little, stopping himself from closing the space between us. “You sure?” His eyes searched mine.

“Oliver, I’m fine.” I insisted.

He turned to face the road once more, and nodded before starting the car again, his hands shaking on the wheel as the car rose steadily from the ground.

“Are you okay?” I pressed.

He took a deep breath before pulling out into the stream of traffic. “I will be now.” He said shakily. “Now I know you’re okay.”

I shrugged. “I just want to know who Cooper is.”

I could see him straining not to take his eyes off the road that time I mentioned Cooper’s name. “I’m not sure what I can tell you about him, Sera.”

I folded my arms. “You have to tell me something before you can make that judgement.” I complained.

“But Sera, it’s your—”

“Headaches. I know.” I finished for him. “I need to know who he is.”

He gathered up the courage to look away from the road to meet my eyes for a second before speaking. “You’re in love with him.”

I flinched. When I was trying to put all the jagged pieces of my mind and memories of Cooper together, it was one of the possible conclusions I had come to – considering I didn’t love Oliver as much as normal Soul Mates loved one another – but it was the idea I had singled out as the least likely conclusion. “But you’re my Soul Mate.”

“You don’t seem to think so.” He said coldly. “Or, you didn’t, before the Scientists did whatever they did to you.”

That was when the pain in my temple decided to flicker to life. “So… what I’m feeling… everything I’ve been feeling since waking up at the Compound is a lie?”

“Well,” he paused, thinking, “if I were to take an educated guess, I’d have to say it’s a mix between some really strong memory block, and a huge amplification of the slight feelings you had towards me when we first got there.” He met my eyes. “We’re going to the Scientists on the sixth of June to get our Watches reset.”

I looked down, intensely studying the black carpet covering the floor of the car.

“Sera,” Oliver said slowly, “I hope you realise that, chances are, you won’t even remember this conversation by tomorrow.”

“I know.”

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