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Chapter 28

"Well, it's good to be prepared." Luke said eventually, deciding just to end that line of conversation.

He realised Adam was still wearing the jumper he'd given him a day ago. He'd vastly underestimated their height difference at the time, and it hung down loosely on him; his sleeves rolled up past his elbows and bunched in a way that hid the scars and bruises. It made him look softer, more stable.

It gave him a heady wave of something to see Adam wearing his clothes. Something he knew he shouldn't look too much into.

Breaking the silence, he held out his hands gingerly and asked, "C-Can you check these are still working? Just... Just to make sure... I don't want her to freak out if they break or anything."

"Of course," he said quietly. "Shall we sit down?"

Adam nodded gratefully and he pulled up two chairs and faced them opposite each other. Sitting down, he took his hand hesitantly, trying not to focus too much on how it felt. It had been a while since he'd touched anyone, and it felt like the last part of his defence was finally slipping away. He wasn't sure how much longer he could keep pretending to be unbiased. Maybe he was losing his mind. If he was, it felt like an improvement. He forced himself to focus on the metal band and struggled to make conversation. "You got down here okay, then? Nobody saw you?"

"No, nobody." He spoke hesitantly, and Luke could feel his hands shaking almost imperceptibly in his own. "I-I probably shouldn't have taken the risk when it was still light out, but with everything that's happened, being alone in that house miles away from everyone waiting for dark..."

"It's fine," he assured him. "Really. As long as you're not hurt."

"D-Don't worry about that. Worse things have happened."

"That's not reassuring." He paused whilst checking over the handcuffs and just held his hands for a moment, steadying him, then looked him in the eye. "You need to get out of that place. I know that the others are staying here as a precautionary measure - it wouldn't be a big deal. At all."

For a moment Adam just looked at him, and he realised how close they were. Their faces could only have been a few inches apart, and he could count the faint scars on his pale skin. It was getting harder and harder to ignore that something about him felt different to the others. Even Jessica didn't have that sort of disorientating effect on him. And if it couldn't be because of what he was, then it had to be who he was, which was a much more difficult reality. He didn't have any way of articulating it, but he wondered if he felt anything similar.

Then Adam drew away. "N-No, th-that's a... That's a bad idea..." He said, seemingly more to himself than to Luke.

"Because of the... Yep..." Luke stood up, smoothed his shirt down, and brushed his hair away from his face. "Smart."

"I mean I'd love to, but..."

"No, no... Really, you're... You're right..." He moved away, straightened up, and forced himself to look casual. "Maybe when things calm down a little we can..." He realised they were still stood in the hallway, and made to put a hand on his shoulder in a comforting gesture. Changing his mind mid-action, his hand stopped in mid air, and then for some reason decided on patting his head instead. Adam looked up at him, confused, so he brushed his hair back and gestured at the USB, feeling his face heating up. "Forget it. Put that thing back in the box for now." He spoke in a strained, business-like tone. "I'll go get the others."

. . .

Quinn leaned against the wall, glancing over at the clipboard, which had been propped up against a stack of books on the table. Her head hadn't stopped spinning, but it was bearable. She wasn't going to lose her temper this time. She was going to be calm and rational until she could decide whether or not her fears were justified. "Where did you find this again?"