Caught

Chapter Twenty-Eight

"So what do you think?" Taylor asked. "We changed the gown a bit, the sparkles looked better."

"I - uh -" I was truly speeches. "I'm pretty sure you put way too much effort into what I look like for your party."

She wore a huge smile. "Let's go downstairs, it's supposed to start soon."

-- : --

The boys were already downstairs in the ballroom, talking while fixing the cuffs of their suits. The room was beautifully decorated with silks of royal purple and gold hanging from the walls and ceilings. Light shone down from the glass ceiling. A group of string musicians were seated in a corner of the room, practicing ballroom music. A table was set for evening snacks and presents.

The boys must've heard us walk down the stairs, for they turned around the instance we turned the corner.

Remind me never to wear heels when I'm on a late night expedition.

"Woah..." Both boys said in unison, mesmerized by us, probably.

"You look..." Aidan couldn't find the words to describe us - or probably me because he was staring at me. "different?"

"Different?" Taylor asked. "That's the best you could come up with when describing a girl? Come on Davis, Lauren's your date. She is beautiful."

I blushed hard, not being used to being called beautiful.

"Wait." Tyson turned to Aidan. "You didn't tell me that Lauren's your date."

"It was her or Bethany Asher," He stated, shoving his hands in his pockets.

Tyson looked at him with wide eyes. "She still remembered? Six years and she still wants a date with you?"

Aidan turned red and nodded.

"Taylor!" A voice called her name. Seconds later, Kassandra and Spencer burst through the doors. "You're father wants you outside to greet the guests." She turned to the musicians. "Get ready."

"Oh, alright." Taylor frowned, not wanting to do this. She gave a small smile, then walked out to meet her father out in front.

The five of us left stood awkwardly in silence in the large room. I looked down at my dress, still mesmerized by the beauty of it. When I looked up, I saw Kassandra nudge my brother, who shot an annoyed look back. She whispered a few words which I was able to catch: tell her she looks nice.

I could tell that he hesitated before speaking. "You look really nice, Lauren. You like just like..." He stopped before continuing, knowing that the next word would be more like and insult to me than a compliment. Mom was plenty beautiful, but I hated that I resembled her so much.

"Thanks," I said in response. There was still tension between us from earlier today. Again, we stood in silence for a couple minuets, until Spencer dragged Kassandra away.

Tyson turned to Aidan. "You did tell her about the seeing-the-future thing, right?"

Assuming that 'her' was me, I jumped in. "Aidan, you cannot just tell someone they have clairvoyance and just expect then to be okay after."

"We're evolutians. We can do literally anything," He countered. "It shouldn't have been a big deal."

Yeah, I knew we were capable of crazy, impossible things but seeing the future is just... a whole other level. It's beyond crazy, seeing things before they even happen.

"Is the Institute even capable of something like that?" I asked. "I mean, it's so advance."

Aidan shook his head. "Mom said that the Institute tried to give a few of us the power but they were unsuccessful. They were still experimenting on kids when we left..." His voice trailed off a bit. "If you have the ability, it would be a gift - something you developed on your own."