Out of My Mind (COMPLETED)

Chapter Thirty-One

Mia's POV

Headquarters is pretty freaking cool.

When I ran out of Monique's office, I expected Brayden to come after me. Shame on me for thinking that.

Luckily, AJ was right around the corner, saving me from having to search the building for him or Mom. After telling him what his mom offered to me, he took me into a tight, comforting hug and then grabbed my hand and started giving me a tour of the place.

The training space is by far my favorite. AJ explained to me, as we walked through the area, that when you gain your power, you come here and the trainers help you control it.

"I can always help you train, get stronger," AJ said as he smiled down at me.

My eyes scanned the area once more and took in all of the children, teens, and young adults spinning fire from their hands, breaking large cinderblocks with their laser eyes, and disappearing in thin air, like they've thrown Harry Potter's invisible cloak over them. It's beyond fascinating how many varieties of supernatural powers are within this compound.

I could fit in here. Maybe I could even make it a home.

"I'd love that," I reply, smiling up at AJ. "Alastair was going to, but never did."

AJ's smile falters slightly. "I'm sorry, Mia."

I shrug my shoulders. "It's fine. I can't really be upset about it. I mean, I was the cause of it." One single chime echoes off the concrete walls. My eyebrows furrow. "What the hell does that mean?"

A big, goofy grin crawls across AJ's lips. "Lunch time, love."

My stomach grumbles, loudly, and I realize I haven't eaten since before the football game. I'm pretty sure that's the longest I've gone without food.

AJ takes my hand and we walk with the thick crowd of people to the dining hall, or so AJ called it.

"So, you guys have set times for when you eat?" I ask, confused. Why would anyone want to be told when to eat?

AJ nods, once. "Yup, it keeps things organized."

I can't help but laugh. "What if you're hungry before the bell goes off? Do you just starve?"

"No, Mia. My mother doesn't agree with starving people. If you set your body on a set schedule, it'll follow it," AJ says, matter-of-factly.

"This is going to take a lot to get used to," I groan as we walk into the large dining hall that reminds me of the one at the Dauntless compound in Divergent. The room is loud with chatter and AJ leads me towards the far end of the hall, where Blondie, Brayden, Mason, and another girl are sitting. Brayden and Mason have their backs to us while Blondie and her friend don't. Blondie's lips turn up into a slight smirk when she sees AJ and me, causing Brayden's head to jerk around to look at me. His eyes travel all the way from my face to my hand intertwined with AJ's. When his eyes flicker up to mine angrily, I slip my hand out of AJ's before I realize what I'm doing.

"Hey, guys," AJ says coolly, like Brayden isn't about to breathe fire at him. He takes the open seat that's two away from Brayden. I stand awkwardly trying to decide what the hell I'm going to do. I have no choice but to sit beside him. AJ notices my hesitance and pats the seat next to him, the same one that is next to Brayden.

This is going to be bad.

I settle onto the hard plastic and AJ's hand is instantly on my thigh. Is he doing this on purpose?

Out of the corner of my eye, I see Brayden's head glance down and then his mouth is at my ear.

"We need to talk," he grunts and it almost sounds painful. Ah hell. "Now." I nod quickly as Brayden stands abruptly. He glances at everyone sitting at our table except AJ, who looks amused. "We'll be right back."