Caged.

28

I smiled as Mentalist turned to me and said, "Thank you. You should go home now, before my mom drags you into doing something." I nodded and walked back towards the car. Just before I got there, I heard a loud crash and turned around. A tall boy with brown, almost black hair was laying on the concrete. I walked over to help him as he pushed himself to his feet. Then he looked at me and said, "No way!" Confused, I opened my mouth to ask him what, but he continued, "Crimson Curse?" I nodded and he laughed, saying, "You don't recognize me, do you? We used to be friends when we were younger." Then it hit me. I gasped and squealed, "Oh. My. God. Jason! It's been years since I've seen you! You look so different! You used to be so small, I could literally pick you up! And now you're taller than me!" He pulled me into a hug and then released me, laughing, "I know. What have you been up to? I saw you on the news. Since when were you part of The Broken Skies? That's like the most elite group of people with powers there is." I shrugged and answered, "I'm tough as nails, don't you know?" He nodded and replied, "I learned that a long time ago." Then a thought occurred to me. I grinned and grabbed his wrist, dragging him to the car where Blade and Ace were laughing so hard they could barely breathe. As we approached, Blade choked out, "Hi. Who's the dude?" I grinned broadly and chirped, "This is my friend Jason." Then I turned to Jason and said, "This is Blade, Ace, and my girlfriend Lila." Jason looked at me oddly and asked, "Your girlfriend?" I nodded and answered, "Girlfriend." Jason nodded and looked at Blade, saying, "Hey. Wanna go out to dinner sometime?" Blade held up her hand to show the ring she was wearing and chirped, "Sorry, but I'm taken." Jason looked exasperated and cried, "Why are all the cute girls either taken, lesbian, or both?" I leaned close to Blade and hissed, "You're married?!?" Blade laughed and answered, "Nope. It's a promise ring. But I'll let you in on a little secret later." I leaned away and said to Jason, "Get in the car. We have some catching up to do." Then I noticed the dog tags around Jason's neck. The name on them read, "Michael D. Black, commanding officer." Jason noticed me looking at them and muttered sadly, "Dad never made it home. At first, all they found was his dog tags. Then they found his body a few days later. He had been shot six times." I hugged Jason and said, "I'm so sorry. That must have been really hard." Jason sighed and answered, "It was. I still miss him sometimes. At least I've still got my mom." I pulled away and raced around to the drivers side, hopping in the car and telling him, "Get in the car. We're going to drop off the other girls, then you and I are going to do some catching up over coffee." He climbed into the backseat and I slammed my foot on the gas, causing the car to shoot forward. Jason yelped and shouted over the rushing of the wind, "Slow down! You're gonna kill us!" Blade laughed insanely and shouted back, "She knows what she's doing!" I soon dropped Lila off at her house and Blade and Ace at their house. Then I sped to the nearest coffee place and parked the car. Jason climbed out, shaking, and muttered, "You are a lot more reckless than I remember." I giggled and sang, "Oh please, that was slow driving for me." Jason stared at me as I ordered an espresso for me and a latte for him, then as I dragged him to a back table. We sat down and I looked at him, saying, "Alright, explain. What's up with the bracelet? You once told me that the only jewelry you would ever wear was stuff that was important to your past. So, that bracelet must be important." Jason chewed his lip for a second before answering carefully, "Okay, so I was in this group. I was really close to the members of it and as part of my membership, I got the bracelet. Then the other members died and I was left alone. I wear the bracelet in memory of them."

A/N: Alright, Jason is going to be important. Pay attention to him. That's all I'm going to say.