Not an Innocent

Mental Capacity

"Sometimes I would because it would make things easier in my life, but other times it just really useful. Being a controller is rare, and that makes them apparently dangerous and makes people want them as prizes, but with my ability, it's easy to check in on people, and it makes for fast travel." I decided that was enough to explain it, so I nodded.

"That makes sense."

"What about you?" I look up immediately, did he know something? Why would he ever ask that?

"What?" I interrogated with great shock. He laughed.

"That's not what I meant. I meant, would you want abilities if you could have them?" I breathed a sigh of relief.

"Oh." We sat in silence for a minute as a million thoughts run through my head. If I was an innocent, would I? But I'm not, and I have abilities that are dangerous, and I would give up most of them, if not all of them, on an instant. They made me dangerous and unpredictable. If only I could control them, then maybe, just maybe, I'd want to keep my abilities. But that's not the case, and I can't control my abilities. But as an innocent?

"So," John's voice brings me back to reality, "Would you?" How did I answer this?

"Well, I don't know. Maybe, but then again, having abilities, in general, can be dangerous if you don't know how to control them. So, I guess it all depends on the situation and the ability." I guess my answer had been satisfactory, because he just nodded, and I knew the conversation was over.

He didn't tell most people that he was a controller, most people thought he could just make surfaces ripple. I knew because I saw it in his eyes and I asked him about it, he told me hesitantly, but he grew to trust me and knew that he didn't have to worry about it with me. He didn't know that I was a controller, at least, he didn't know he knew. I had known John since I had moved there three years earlier, he didn't find out about me for a long time, and even when he did. Things were, well, complicated.

It started when he followed me. Turns out John's capability to pass through reflections allowed him to follow me to the woods, where I always went. I didn't notice anything until he said something.

"Is this where you always go?" I swung my head around to see him standing there, inside the field.

"What?" I said, panicked. I had just put down my gloves.

"You know, you sneak out of your house every night, same time, same direction. Is this where you always go?" John asked like there was nothing odd happening.

"You're not supposed to be here, John." He couldn't be here; he couldn't see that I'm not an innocent.

"Neither are you."

"What are you doing out here?" I asked him, how in the world could he follow me when Lily couldn't? And how did he get inside the field without me noticing? Not only how, but why did he follow me? What could he possibly get out of him following me, a thirteen-year-old girl?

"You sneak out every night, I've been getting worried, so I followed you this time," John answered innocently.

"But, how?" How the heck did he follow me all the way here?

"Well, I used the reflection of your window, then jumped to your watch, after that, your field gave a slight reflection, so I jumped to that reflection, and got out of the reflection realm, and here we are."

"You what?" I didn't even know that he had that much control and speed. Was I the only controller in the world with a difficulty to control their own abilities?

"I'm not repeating myself, Dustine," John said, he took a step closer, "The real question is, what are you doing here?"

"I always come here." Maybe that answer would throw him off the sent.