Chapter 4

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We head to dinner after a few more hours of training. Shawn and Trish talk about what they learned, and then end up racing each other to the cafeteria. Beast and I are left laughing. Well, he is laughing, I'm smiling at their childish ways. There's still a long walk to the cafeteria, and that means a walk alone with Beast. Great.

"How do you do it?" He asks me.

"What?" I respond softly.

"You ability, how does it work?" I look at him confused, and he pulls his hands out of his pockets and he tries to explain his question. "You can react to things so quickly, is your power like an instinct base one?" I nod, because it's somewhat true. My eyesight is second nature to me. "Is it like a sensing kind of thing?" I smile and nod. "Can you just tell me?" I shake my head, I like the way he looks when he's guessing. His brown eyes look alive with thoughts. "Come on, why not tell me?"

"I can't trust you."

"Can't trust me?" he jokingly scoffs, "I do recall saving you from a crazy gunman and a violent jerk."

"True, but I can't trust someone when I don't even know their name," I say with a smile. I'm surprised at the length and smoothness I'm talking at. This doesn't happen often, especially with a guy.

"My name is Beast," he claims.

"What's your real name?"

He stops, "How about a deal, I'll tell you my name if you tell me your power."

"Sound fair, you first."

He smile and says, "I asked you first."

I smile, "Come on, don't be such a child."

"I'm older than you."

I pause and let the memory of when I first told someone else my ability. It was my first friend. We knew each other from school, and she and I were really close for two years. It's actually a funny story how we first met, but I'll tell that later if I ever get the time. Long story short, I told her I had an ability.

She never spoke to me again. Why would she? I was a freak. I still am.

When John found out about how I lost my friend, he wouldn't let me hear the end of it. He called me names I don't even want to remember as he beat me that night.

"Zoe?" Beast leans down to make eye contact with me. I look down again and back away. "Everything okay?" He takes a small step forward, but I back up quickly.

"Sorry..." I turn around blinking away my tears -another habit credited to my stepfather- and I walk away.

"Zoe," Beast grabs my wrist tightly to keep me from walking away. I struggle to get my wrist from his grip. "Zoe, you can talk to me."

"Let go," I say, too frightened to say anything else.

He releases his grip and steps away, "Sorry I didn't mean..."

I nod my head, and turn my back to him. Holding my wrist, I walk away.

Someone opens the training room door gently. It's been about fifteen minutes, and I was hoping none of them would come in to find me. They are wasting their dinner time, and for me? It's not worth it, I'm not someone they should think about. "Zoe? You in here?"

I recognize Trish's voice, but I don't say anything. She must have a feeling I'm here, because she walks in and looks around. She spots my shoe in the area I'm sitting.

"Zoe," she says softly. She walks over and sits beside me, not too close, but not too far. I curl my legs up in front of me, and hold the wrist Beast grabbed. It was already sore from Flame, now it's just annoying me with pain. Trish says, "He doesn't know his own strength. You shouldn't blame him." He left finger marks where he grabbed my wrist, but I try to not show Trish. I know she'll get worried and she'll want to have my wrist looked at. "He didn't mean to hurt you, I promise."

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