| khloe |
"What'd you do?" I asked Harley as she appeared and she shrugged as she pushed her hair back. "It doesn't matter what I did, they'll be back," She responded as I looked at the others.
We ended up back at the Valley, so we're away from the town.
"Are you okay?" Harley asked Chase as he quickly approached her and didn't respond as he swept her in a tight hug.
"Hey, I'm okay," She assured softly and I wiggled my eyebrows at Harley as I took Athena's hand and gave them space.
"So what's the plan?" Athena asked and she looked at Ricky. "Are you getting any...?" She sked and he shook his head. "Nothing's coming to me," He sighed. I turned to look at Katalina, who was deep in thought.
"Wassup Kit-Kat?" I teased as and looked up and stopped biting her nail. "They're after my sister. We need to find them."
Awkward silence fell upon us as Chase and Harley joined us.
"I don't trust them," I stated and everyone turned to look at me and I shrugged. "It's their job to keep us in line. According to them, they've been doing this for like, ever, but they don't even care if we die at this point. They're only interested relationship drama and Athena's money," I said coldly.
"Trust me, I'm not okay with what they're doing-" Kat replied but Athena cut her off.
"You don't have to side against them for our sake. You're not really part of this team." Athena mumbled and it got really awkward.
"Fine, if you wanna go there, my whole team wouldn't have died if it wasn't for them," Katalina said coldly. "So yes, I was more than happy to pretend like they were dead for the last 10 or so years."
A harsh wind blew past us and we all stood in a circle as the summer sun shone over us. "I don't like what they did. But if they're coming for me, then they're coming for my sister. They're our problem whether we like it or not," She finished and I looked at the others.
"How long do you think till they reappear?" Harley asked as Chase wrapped his arm around her waist. My heart warmed slightly.
"Well, they haven't shown up yet so something tells me we got time," Athena mumbled. "Well, I'm not talking to Originals," I said as I held my hand up.
"Not it!"
"Not it!"
"Not it!"
"Not it!"
Athena crossed her arms as she was left until last. "Whatever. I'll do it," She mumbled. We decided on a meeting place and we made our way there whilst Athena went to go and find them. "We really shouldn't have sent her," Harley muttered and I nodded.
I honestly wanted to go, but if I slap Natalie then who'll stop me from killing her?
"I think she'll be okay," Ricky admitted and Chase agreed. "We don't give her enough credit," Katalina added and we all nodded. "What about you? How are you feeling?" I asked her and she shrugged.
"I don't feel anything right now. It's almost the same, but there's like an unimaginable amount of energy coursing through me. That's all,"
"Yeah, you're the most powerful Inhuman to ever live. But it's nothing," I drawled sarcastically and she smirked before lightly hitting my shoulder.
"Please don't say it like that. You make me sound like an Original," She scoffed.
| trey |
"I swear we've been walking in circles," Cynthia groaned and I paused as I felt the wristwatch buzz. "You seriously still kept that on?" Jenn asked as I lifted it up.
"Hello?"
The others immediately joined my side. "Hello? Am I talking to myself?" Athena repeated in a bored tone and I pressed the communicator and spoke into it, "No. You're not."
"What a great way to respond to your ex," Cynthia drawled. "I can make a move right?" Lucas asked and I glared at him.
"If you were gonna talk about me, you could've at least turned off the communicator,"
Her voice rang out loud and silence fell upon us as Natalie stifled a laugh.
"Where's Skylar?" She asked cutting straight to the point. "Away from the Fire Hunters," I replied. "You know, you could at least pretend like you don't look like a bunch of lost travellers," Her snarky remark sounded a little too close and I could feel her presence.
I turned around and she lowered her wrist from her face as she walked towards us. "If you've come to blame us for everything that went wrong, then you can shove it up your-" Cynthia began as she pointed to Athena.
She slowed her regular-paced walking to a stop and raised her eyebrow as she crossed her arms. "I'm not here to blame you." She said in a monotonous tone. She almost seemed bored.
"Oh,"
"Honestly, I'm not even here by choice."
"Then why are you here?" Natalie asked and Athena didn't even take in her presence. "I'm gonna be straight with you because we're all adults here, well you guys are like corpses so I guess that doesn't count," Athena mumbled to herself.
She lowered her head slightly as she played with her fingers and I could see the slight smile on her face. It was a sly smile, like the one she would use to manipulate me into staying the night with her. But her expression was cold like the way one would greet their sworn enemy.
Natalie stepped forward and Lucas grabbed her. "Let her have this one," He mumbled into her ear.
"The sooner we sort out this problem, the sooner you all leave. I can speak for my entire team when I say that you all overstepped your boundaries one too many times," She said coldly as her eyes flitted between each one of us but they shot past me. She's still hurting.
"It doesn't work like that. We can't pack up and go wherever we want," Jennifer interjected.
"Well, you should give it a try. I haven't been yet but the Bahamas are great around this time of year," Athena shot back with a tight smile. "Let me guess, cause you got money to go that far every year?" Nat smirked and Athena's face hardened as her eyes draped over Lucas' restraining arm, holding Natalie in her place.
"Yes Anasztázia," Athena challenged and Natalie shook her head and moved to fight out of Lucas' arms, who gripped her tighter. "Because I have money. I am rich. Anything else you wanna point out?" Athena asked and Natalie didn't respond.
"The Restorer brought us here for a reason-"
"And when did I say I give a shit about this rock that you worship?" She asked as she finally looked at me for the first time. I could see the slight pain in her eyes, but it was only there for a flash. It was replaced by a cold exterior.
"There's no point in arguing about this. I'm assuming we're meeting the rest of your team?" Lucas asked and her eyes softened slightly as she looked at him and nodded.
My eyes flicked between them. Sure, he teased about wanting to have sex with her, but I knew Lucas cared for Athena in a protective, brotherly way. She once told me that the only person she truly felt safe with, other than me, was him. Despite her streamlined rage towards me, she could never truly be mad at Lucas.
"Where's Skylar?" She asked, her eyes looking around us. "She's with Alex," Cynthia answered. "Well I'll send you coordinates," She said as she stepped away from us.
"Why don't we just follow you?" I asked her and she kept slowly walking backwards. "You can find your way, you don't need me,"
It felt like she was saying it to me, rather than to the rest of us.
"You can stop staring at her ass now," Lucas muttered and I didn't even realise she had already turned around and walked away. "You still like her, a lot," He said and I sighed.
I think I like her more than I did before. I can still feel her presence when she's near, and my heart still beats faster as she gets closer. Not being able to touch her, or hear her steady heartbeat when she sleeps on me or being able to kiss her-
"I'm gonna take that as a yes," His quiet tone cut me off my thoughts. I turned to walk away with the others as he slowly walked in front of me, with his arms shoved in his pockets. I know Athena's hostility towards me hurts him. Lucas and I are pretty similar in the way we protect the ones we care about.
From the moment I met her, I wanted to be the only one to protect her. They also had a close friendship which means he shielded her from harm, in the same way he would for Skylar or Jenn. Her shutting out our entire team because of me annoys him, but he would never tell me.
"Stop thinking."
"Huh?" I mumbled as I returned to reality. "Stop thinking about how you lost. Think about how you're going to get her back," Lucas said and I realised that he was walking by my side.
But I already lost her once...
"Then you know she'll hear you out again," He advised.
"Get out of my head," I grumbled, but I took into consideration what he said.
𐐒𐐚 ° ˚ ₒ ∞ 𐐒𐐚 ° ˚ ₒ ∞ 𐐒𐐚
Silence filled the underground space we were standing in. We were in some secret boiler room under their school. There was a light whistle in the air, along with continuous dripping water, which made the whole awkward situation ten times worse.
"Are we all just gonna sit in silence?" My eyes wandered to my people leaned against the wall. My eyes flicked to her.
Her team stood in a line, all of them radiating power and confidence.
"So what are we doing?" Skylar asked and she looked to her sister for support. Kat looked at her team and they all gave her similar looks. "They said the only way they'll leave is if we die," Kat said as she spoke to her sister.
"You have more knowledge. There must be another way to get rid of them,"
Skylar looked at us and I didn't move to respond. "If there was anything we knew, we would've said something by now," Jennifer responded awkwardly.
"Really? Cause-" Khloe asked as she raised her eyebrow. "Don't bother," Athena said to her and Khloe held her tongue but she clearly had a lot to say.
I tried to keep my eyes away from her. If I looked now, I probably wouldn't stop.
"So what do we do from here?" Cynthia asked as we looked at each other. Katalina turned to look at Athena and she blew out a breath before she stepped forward.
"We would be willing to cooperate if it means we work together to end this. For good," Athena said and Skylar turned to look back at us.
"So we're getting the band back together?" Alex teased and they all held stone-cold faces. "For this to work," Lucas said as he approached Athena specifically.
I could tell by the slightest movement of her index finger stroking her thumb, that she was tense.
I know all of her tells.
One would say I'm addicted to reading her. The feeling of control and power that appears when I'm right is insatiable. It makes me feel like I'm the only person that knows her as well as herself, maybe even better.
"You guys have to relax and at least pretend like you wanna be around us. Just for a second," He said softly and Athena lowered her head slightly in thought. Lucas encased her in a hug and she gave in and hugged him back.
He lifted her off the floor and her face broke out with a grin as she laughed. The others moved off the wall and slowly the tension eased and the barriers broke down.
My arms were folded and I turned my head and my eyes caught Natalie's in the same position as me. Harley approached her and she dropped her stance as they began a conversation. She would never admit that Harley is her favourite.
"Get your ass up," Khloe hissed as she hit my chest and I turned to look down at her. "You've been wanting to do that for a while huh?" I questioned and she glared at me before her eyes softened.
"I believe you."
"Y-You do?" I stuttered and she nodded. "You still like her. She's pushing it away but trust me, she knows."
"Wait you guys can't fight in that," Athena said as she gestured to our clothes. "Where did you even get those?" Khloe asked me as she looked down at my clothes.
"We robbed a Forever 21," Cynthia said with a smile and Athena and Khloe looked at each other and simultaneously raised their eyebrows.
"Well, you better get your suits back,"
"But we don't even know where they-" Skylar interjected and Jennifer roughly elbowed her to shut her up.
"What did you just say?" Athena asked her and Skylar forced a smile.
"We'll just go and get them back."