“I don’t trust him,” says Kade, in a low measured tone as we sip coffee in the chill-out area.
Both Kelly and Troy are still sleeping whilst Kade and I talk, “I think he’s genuine, but you’re right to be cautious,” I say. Kade isn’t buying it, “But here’s the thing, when Loopy Logan was here, he said how they’d been searching for the perfect guy for you…” I cut in, “That was my father doing his best to make me feel uncomfortable – and, they wouldn’t want me to know how much my escape had upset their ‘experiment.’ They glossed over my escape, like it was a mere irritation, now I know the truth – I destroyed years, decades even, of The Surgeon’s research and experimental work. I’m actually quite proud of that,” I say.
Kade smiles wide, “Yeah, way to go Tan, that’s the right attitude – I’m real proud of you, too,” he says. He ruffles his hair and sighs real loud, “You know, I have to say, this isn’t easy for me – like I get that you’re a guy, a real nice guy – a guy I get on real good with.” He looks down, then directly at me, “A guy who looks like the prettiest girl I’ve ever seen – surreal,” he smiles and nods his head.
Shoot – I can feel my face start to redden so I try and talk over it, “It’s real warm in here.” Kade cuts in, I note the smirk on his face and really start to burn up, “It’s so not warm in here – are you blushing?” he asks.
I drop my head, “No, of course not…”
He jumps next to me on the couch and drops his head to meet mine, “You so are – I made you blush – that’s so damn cute,” he says with his widest smile.
I stand up and get a fit of the giggles – what the fuck! I’m acting like a cheerleader with a crush – I need to man up. This is serious.
I manage to stifle my giggle, “Look Kade, I need to talk to you about the way I’ve been feeling lately,” I say.
“Orrr, why the serious face, I like the giggly blushing one a whole let better…”
….“Seriously Kade, I think I’m…”
…Kelly bounds into the chill-out area – “I DID IT! OMG – I can talk – lal,lal,lal – you hear that? I’ve got my voice back. You have no idea how frustrating it is not being able to talk – it’s like total torture not being able to communicate naturally.” She pauses and looks at the monitors, “I feel for those guys, I really do.”
“How’d you break the band?” Asks Kade.
“With great difficulty, but let’s not go there,” she says dismissively.
Kade seems suddenly pissed, “No, we will go there! I know you probably tried to choke yourself – that could have so gone wrong. You need to involve us in things like this, Kelly.” He looks at both of us, “We three need to look out for each other – and we need to keep a tight eye on Troy,” he says.
Kelly sighs as she hits the couch, “Trust me, you don’t need to tell me to keep an eye on him – he’s seriously gorgeous,” she says, making a swooning gesture.
Kade stands up, “I’m serious here. We have to be constantly vigilant and watch Troy for any suspicious signs. I’m pretty sure he’s valid, but something on my shoulder’s telling me to not fully trust him.”
Kelly rolls her eyes, “Hmm, would that something on your shoulder be the green eyed monster?” She asks.
Kade looks confused, “What do you mean?”
“Your jealous of Troy,” she says.
Kade looks hurt, “Hey, come on Kel, you know jealousy isn’t something I waste time on – you know me better than that,” he says.
