XLVI.
A world where no one is the same. Where two minds clash in a flurry of blood and anger. That wasn't hell... was it?
"I escaped a while ago." Jason began when the two of us were seated around a poorly constructed wooden table. "I was really confused at first, and I didn't know where to go, so I found the first place I could with enough people."
"Enough people for what?"
"Enough people so that I could disappear." He shrugged. "I'm a pretty shy person, and I realized that I liked the prospect of kinda... hiding among the public was really appealing. So I hung around the city for a while, learning about people and sneaking into the library to read up on the history of that building, as well as the city itself. I didn't actually know about this place until I found you."
"Me?" I frowned. "But when we did that little fake tour, I didn't know about it either."
"I know." Jason smiled, showing teeth. "The answer is that pendant I gave you."
"This?" I looked down at the box in my hand. "I was actually a little surprised that I still had it in my backpack. I thought I had taken all the valuable things out before we left for the forest. I guess I just forgot about it."
"It's a good thing you forgot about it; that's actually what led me here." Jason explained further. "Take it out, it's probably not going to look the same way it did when I gave it to you."
I lifted the lid again, setting it down on the table and holding the box just under an arms length away. "Yeah, I kinda snuck a little peek a few seconds ago. Something happened to it."
"I know." Jason reached forward and removed the darkened pendant from it's little velvet pillow. "I don't really remember what happened to me when those bastards took me away, but I gained a pretty interesting ability. I can manipulate the iron content of any object, and amplify it to the point where it takes over the system."
"Iron?" I looked down at the coated pendant. "Is that what's all over the ornament?"
"Yeah." Jason turned it over and let his palm hover, and slowly the dark coating broke down into a sand like substance before sifting off the pendant and dropping to the ground. "I also marked it. It's not hard for me to tell when there's mutated blood in another person, friend or enemy. I was able to see right away that you were one of us, so I thought maybe I could get some information out of you as to what I was supposed to do next. But that night, you seemed pretty out of it, and I got the feeling you just wanted to take a relaxing tour and get out of there."
"Wow." I sat back and skimmed over his words a few times. "So you were playing me like a puppet that whole night? How did you mark the pendant?"
As a reply, Jason turned the ornament over, revealing the side with the mini version of the light and dark painting. He then twisted the face, and the front popped off with a small click. Underneath was a small hollow space, the surface of which was etched with a unique pattern. The boy handed it over, and I accepted the bottom face to peer down at it curiously.
The pattern consisted of an arrow, pointing upwards from the direction I was holding it. The head was longer than average, swept up in a sharp point and following down into a small square at the end of it's neck. Crossing perpendicular to the arrow's stem was another line, and on either side was a series of four black dots in a square formation.
"What does this symbol mean? Does it have something to do with your power?"
"I gravitate towards this pattern." Jason said with a shrug. "I've known for a long time that this symbol has meant something to me, so I made it my goal to figure out exactly what the meaning was. Most of the research I did at the Harrisburg public library was to figure out if it had any significance. Turns out it did."
"So what does it mean? Did you figure it out?"
"Yep." Jason held out his right hand, and within his palm was another piece of pure iron that was shaped into the same symbol. "I did. This arrow is one of the alchemy symbols. It represents iron."
Looking at his hand, I searched my brain for any trace of knowledge on alchemy, but came up empty. Letting him know, he just shook his head and smiled.
"Alchemical symbols were used to represent metals and other elements until the science we know and love today took over." He shrugged. "It's essentially a group of little pictures, each representing it's one unique element that eventually evolved to build all the chemistry we use now. Alchemical symbolism is kinda like planetary symbolism, or zodiac symbolism. Each metal has its own meaning."
"So before we had a proper grasp on the universe, people used pictures and symbolism to explain what couldn't be explained?" I tried to clarify, picking up the pendant once more and giving it a once over. "That's kinda cool... and maybe a little crazy."
"Agreed." Jason seemed satisfied with my summary. "Like I said, I gravitate towards that arrow. I marked this ornament, hoping that one day you would help me find where it is I needed to be. Not long ago, it reacted harshly with a massive influx of energy in this area, and I picked up on it."
The lightning.
"So I headed out here, and low and behold, I found you."
I leaned forward, balancing my elbows on my knees. "Alright... so show me what you can do. How do you use this iron mutation to fight?"
"You saw what Ally had me do to that guy." Jason grinned. "It's kinda gruesome, but I take the iron content in any material, living or dead, and amplify it into a solid, more plentiful form."
I watched as he looked around for a moment, then got out of his seat and traversed to the other side of the room. "What are you doing?" I asked, my gaze following him with interest. "Are you going to turn the walls into iron?"
"I could." Jason chuckled. "But I think it's easier if I use something a little less... destructive."
"Like..." I edged him on.
Jason then knelt down and snagged some splintered wood that was fraying off the leg of the table, and broke it off with relative ease. I frowned, jumping up out of my seat when he drove the sharp edge of the wood straight into the palm of his hand, wincing.
"Fucking hell." I swore, darting forward with every intention on putting pressure on the fresh wound. Jason moved his hand away, closing his fist and cringing as blood began to spill out down his wrist. "What are you doing?" I exclaimed, grabbing his arm and trying to pull it towards me. "Stop!"
"It's alright." Jason opened his hand, and the crimson red that had covered his palm was beginning to form into a dark, solid material. "I can bend and fuse iron in it's most raw, pure form. Iron is the metal that alchemists have deemed as the most human. The blood that streams through our veins contains iron, as do our tissues and muscle. Iron is important in our diets, and we need it to survive."
The black material began to bend and twist into small, bullet like objects hovering over Jason's palm. His wound had healed, and all the blood was gone. "I take that iron, and I form it into something I can use to fight. A spear, a sword, a shield, anything really. Anyone with blood is also susceptible to my metal manipulation. That's how your little game of cat and mouse ended back there."
"Amazing. I mean.... Kinda gross, but amazing." I held my hand out, and he handed over the iron pellets. They were heavier than expected, smooth and perfectly spherical. I took a deep breath, focusing all the will in my body to feed just the slightest amount of electricity out of the palm of my left hand and coat each iron sphere in lightning. First Normani's butterfly, now this. My own control was improving, even if it was just a little at a time.
"That's really pretty." Jason commented, nodding down at the lightning. Electricity definitely suits you."
I grinned at him, turning around and hurling each of the pebbles at the wall. They burrowed through the polished surface like it was paper; I straightened my back with pride once they slowed.
"And that's how you take down a wall." I nodded at him. "Keep practicing, you'll get it eventually."
"Very funny Florida." Jason laughed. "It's good to see you again."
"You too, civil war miniatures." I nodded back, unable to withhold the smirk. "I'm going to let Normani know that she needs to put you on my team for training. Sound good?"
"Sounds great."
There was one last thing I needed to ask before returning to Lauren, and it needed to be done soon. Closing my eyes momentarily, I inhaled deeply, then looked at the blue eyed teen.
"Jason, would you say that you've seen this alchemy arrow in your head for most of your life?" I asked, watching his features for subtle shifts. "Like when you close your eyes, can you see it?"
"Yeah." The boy nodded, heading back over to his seat and taking it once more. I did the same, shuffling my chair a little closer. "Why? Do you have something like that as well?"
"Not me." I placed my hands on my knees and slowly turned the right one up to expose the dual triangle pattern. "My girlfriend, Lauren. Her thoughts have always been associated with these two triangles, and she's sure that they mean something to her but she was never given the chance to figure it out. Do you recognize it? Maybe the triangles mean something special?"
"Two triangles." Jason took my wrist in his hand, studying it carefully. "Triangles hold a lot of symbolism, usually having something or other to do with sets of three. What kind of mutation does your girlfriend have?" He asked. "Maybe the triangles are somehow connected to her power."
"It's kind of hard to explain." I leaned back in my seat again. "She can create these really cool bursts of energy, kinda like forcefields? They're really strong, and have this crazy paralyzing effect whenever they hit someone. She can basically push anything or anyone away from her during a fight."
"That's interesting." Jason looked down at my wrist again. "But I'm not sure what triangles would have to do with pushing people away... maybe it isn't mutation based..."
I got to my feet and took his arm. "Come with me, we're going back to the room."
"What for?"
"Lauren did a bunch of drawings of the symbol when she was young. Maybe there are more clues in the way she drew them." I didn't give Jason any time to protest before pulling him out of the room, down the hall and back to where my friends still sat in a conglomeration and my girlfriend was bundled under the covers.
"Hey, you guys are back." Shawn stood up from my desk chair. "Camila, are you going to introduce us?"
"Yeah, guys this is Jason. Jason, these are the people who technically all have their own rooms, but have decided to camp out in mine. You already know Normani, Dinah is lying on the floor over there, that's Shawn, and the lump of shivering misery you see in the bed is Lauren."
"Hi." Jason nodded kindly while everyone reciprocated the polite gesture. "It's nice to meet you."
"I never expected you two to know each other." Normani sat up from where she was stretched out next to Lauren. "So how did you meet?"
"When Lauren and I stopped in Harrisburg, she fell asleep before I could find a hotel to stay at. I was awake, so I parked the car in a quiet neighbourhood and locked it up, letting her sleep in the back while I went for a walk." I explained, noticing that Lauren had opened her eyes and was sitting up in bed with Normani's help.
"I ran into her right after she scaled the gated fence to the capitol building like a spider." Jason joked, looking down at me. "She expressed interest in the building, so I offered to give her a tour. I knew a bit about the city's history and the building itself, so I stole a security guard outfit and a set of keys."
"And we kinda made a date of it." I smiled, eyes drifting to Lauren, whose brows were inching closer together in a frown. "It was fun. He gave me this cool ornament from the gift shop..." My voice trailed off as I looked back at the boy. "Which I now realize must have been stolen, right?"
"Right."
"Of course." I shook it off and turned to Lauren. "Do you have those pictures that Mike gave you before we left? Jason and I are trying to figure out what the triangles mean."
"Don't bother." Lauren leaned back against the pillow. "I've been trying for years without finding a thing. Apparently the answers are in my mind, whatever the hell that means."
I rolled my eyes, walking around to her side of the bed and giving her a pointed look.
"Top desk drawer." Lauren shrugged, succumbing to my thinly veiled annoyance. "Sorry."
Dinah stepped over Shawn, pulling the drawer open and removing a single sheet of paper. She handed it over to Jason with a kind smile, all of us watching as the boy studied the page.
"Jason's got a symbol that represents his power as well." I mentioned, removing the pendant and showing Lauren the underside that was marked with the alchemy arrow. Normani had shuffled up and was peering over Lauren's shoulder at the ornament. I then granted them both a quick explanation, recalling what I had been told moments earlier.
"Alright, I think it's a pretty good time to tell you about the diamond." Normani sat back on the bed. "What do you think Dinah?"
"There's not much to tell." Dinah was busying herself by peering down at the paper over Jason's shoulder. "Normani's been seeing this really pretty diamond pattern recently, usually when she sleeps."
"A diamond?" Lauren glanced over at her friend. "Is this recent?"
"Pretty recent, yeah." Normani nodded. "It started not long after you got knocked out, but it's not a normal diamond. Well it is, it's just a little... bland."
"It's a bland diamond?" I cracked a small smile. "Let's see."
Normani situated herself with her legs crossed, holding out her hand and moving her fingers. Hovering above her palm formed a small slab of ice an inch or so in thickness and a translucent light blue in colour. Within a matter of seconds, it twisted and turned in the air, taking the shape of a simple, five plated diamond. It was identical to the one that I had seen on her door earlier.
She brought her hands down, holding the diamond carefully as it floated in the air. To get a better look, I stretched out over Lauren's body, resting over her lap and squinting.
"It's pretty." Dinah had stopped studying the page and was looking at the ice.
"Can I hold it?" I asked Normani carefully. "I won't break it, I promise."
"Sure." Normani moved her arms over to me as I made a bowl shape with my hands beneath hers. The cool energy characteristic of the dark-skinned beauty was quickly transferred to me, sending a unique chill racking down my spine. The moment Normani moved away, a sharp cracking sound broke everyone's focus, turning all attention to me. The diamond was breaking, little by little a fissure was beginning to inch it's way across the ice.
"Damn." I swore, trying to patch it up again, or at the very least stop the damage.
"It's okay sparky." Normani chuckled. "I can make more."
"Wait." Lauren straightened up beneath me, wrapping her body around mine and placing her hand close. I knew her intention; to use her power of suppression to stop the damage I was doing, but it didn't work. In fact it did the exact opposite, and the diamond began to break further. Lauren's face fell, and she receded back to leaning against the headboard.
"Let me try." Dinah stepped forward next, and leaned over Normani to hold her hand out similar to how Lauren had. I held my breath, eyes flying wide as the moment Dinah's hand positioned itself under mine, the ice began to spin, twisting and smoothing out. The surface became glassier, allowing the fissures to fuse back together so the diamond was once more in a single piece.
"It melted." Shawn marvelled from where he stood some ways away. "That was so cool Dinah."
"I didn't know you could do that." Lauren agreed. "Did you?"
"I don't even know what I did." Dinah shrugged, glancing at Normani who looked like she was trying to hold back the beam of pride. "Does someone want to tell me what I did?"
"You did something." I furrowed my brow, letting the diamond settle down into my palm. The slab of ice was cool to the touch, but not nearly as cold as a natural block of ice would. My body was suddenly his with something akin to frustration when I realized that Dinah must have acquired some kind of mutation. "Normani, what did you do to her?"
"Hm?" Normani tore her eyes away from the blonde so they could land on me. "Sorry, what?"
"What... did you do to her." I muttered through gritted teeth.
"How crazy does this usually get?" I heard Jason ask in a hushed tone, leaning over to Shawn.
"You have no idea dude." Shawn shrugged. "It's always fun to watch and see how things turn out though."
"I didn't do anything to her." Normani held her hands out innocently. "I promise Camila, this is completely new to me as well."
"I don't believe you." I muttered.
"Well believe it." Dinah looked over at me, granting me a pointed look that I had grown up to understand as "stop talking". "She didn't do anything. I literally put my hand there, and the diamond fixed itself. Do you think I have some cool mutation as well?"
"Diamonds don't fix themselves." I straightened up. "And no. You don't."
"Camila..." Lauren reached forward, her hand landing on my arm. "It's okay, this is a good thing, not a bad one."
"It's not." I wrenched my arm away. "It's a bad thing; a horrible thing. Dinah, whatever mutation you think you have, you aren't going to use it. Not at all."
"What?" Dinah frowned. "Are you serious?"
"I'm serious." I tossed the ice in my hand across the bed, letting it vanish into the air. "No more of this. In fact, maybe you should just stop training."
All eyes turned to me, and suddenly I felt as if I was under more scrutiny than the moments prior. "Camila, you don't get to decide whether or not I go through with this. If this is a mutation, then I'm going to foster it, and use it in battle." Dinah countered with a frown.
"No, you're not!"
"Why not?!"
"Guys." Shawn stepped forward. "Let's try not to shout."
"Because you're not a fledgling!" I shouted, ignoring his naturally calming tone. "You're not bulletproof, and you're not meant to fight!"
"You're not a fledgling either!" Dinah threw her hands up in frustration. "What gives you the chance to fight with this lightning you have, but I can't use whatever potential I've got?" She then gestured over to Shawn. "What if Shawn develops something as well?! Are you just going to tell him that he can't use whatever ability he might have?"
"I am." I glared at her.
"So why do you get to explore this world, and the two of us can't!?" Dinah protested. "Camila, don't you hear yourself? This is ridiculous! Since when do you get to choose what Shawn and I do or don't do?!"
"Because the two of you are weak! And everyone else is too idiotic to see it!" I shouted, my voice reaching it's absolute peak as all other sound in the room cut out and jaws began to drop.
"Camila... I've been training both of them for as long as they've been here, and I can tell you firsthand that you're wrong." Normani's voice was calm, yet sincere. "Your friends aren't the same people they were when they left Florida, and you aren't either."
"I..." I looked at her, then moved my eyes to Shawn. He was looking down at his feet, clearly not wanting to hear or contribute to the conversation.
"You don't know what you're talking about." Dinah shook her head, eyes angry. "You haven't even stuck around long enough at a training session to see either of us fight, we've been working with Normani nonstop. We're not weak Camila, you are. You don't want us to succeed because of your own weaknesses."
"That's ridiculous." I closed my fists. "You know very well that's not what I think."
"No, what you think is that you can prevent Shawn and I from putting ourselves in danger because you're too scared of us getting hurt. You're being selfish Camila. You want everything to go your way because nothing has before." Dinah began to hit the nail on the head, and it was making my stomach lurch in agony. I did the only thing I could think to.
"Shawn? You understand where I'm coming from, right?" I asked, my voice turning into a light plead.
"She's talking to you dude." Jason elbowed Shawn.
"I know." Shawn shot him an irritated glance. "We're not weak Mila." He said quietly. "I'm sorry, but Dinah has power then I don't see any reason why she shouldn't get the chance to use it."
"Lauren?" I looked over at the green eyed girl, who had until now remained silent. I stepped back in shock when Lauren just looked away, actively avoiding eye contact. "Lauren..." I tried again.
She was silent.
"Let's go." Dinah started towards the door. "I'm done with this."
"No." I stopped her, turned briskly and marching across the room to grab Jason by the hand. "Stay, you assholes are always in here anyway, I might as well be the one to leave."
"But what about the..." Jason held up the page, displaying to me the triangles.
"Forget about it." I cut him off, grabbing the creased piece of paper and crumpling it into a ball. Lauren looked up every so subtly just to see me toss it to the ground, spin on my heel and pull Jason out of the room.
***
Rarely did Lauren feel this awful. Nothing broke her heart more than the inability to back Camila up in every way, yet she just couldn't bring herself to agree with the young brunette's premise. She wasn't about to tip the balance between being a good friend, and being a good girlfriend because she knew deep down that there was a reason why Dinah and Shawn were conforming so well to this new world. It was because they belonged.
There were a few moments of thick silence before Normani sighed. "I guess one of us should go after her, right?"
"No." Dinah sat down on the bed and dropped her head in her hands. "I'm done with chasing after her every time she goes running off. At least this time she isn't alone, she shouldn't do something stupid this time."
"I can go get her." Shawn started towards the door.
"No!" Lauren watched as Dinah shot the boy an angry look along with the single word, causing him to slink back to the middle of the room and hold his arms down at his sides. He then crouched down to retrieve the ball of crumpled paper, smoothing it out and placing it back down on the desk. "Everything I said was true, sometimes people need to hear the truth rather than being comforted every single time they screw up."
Shawn just sighed. "You didn't have to be so hard on her DJ." He shrugged, using a nickname that Lauren hadn't ever heard for Dinah thus far. It must have been a childhood thing. "She might be selfish, but she's still a human. With feelings."
"And so am I." Dinah looked down at her hands. "If I have some kind of power locked in me, then Camila isn't going to stand in the way of me using it."
"If you have something within you, then it's only a matter of time until it forces its way out, no matter how much Camila or anyone else tries to suppress it." Normani joined in. "Every person here knows that feeling. It's a feeling we're all grateful for."
"Why did you say that when she was here then?" Shawn asked, glancing over at the girl. "That probably would have helped our case."
Normani shrugged. "Because I've kinda taken an oath with myself to not rag on Camila so much anymore. We kinda had a few moments back when she insisted we patrol together. We're close now. Or at least closer."
"I feel horrible." Lauren groaned, sliding down against the pillows and pulling blindly for the covers to fold them over her in any way possible. Normani and Dinah began to help, drawing down the sheets so she could slide under and nuzzle down into the pillow. "Bring her back." She mumbled, unaware as to whether or not the others could hear her. "Please, you don't have to be in the room, you don't even have to talk to her if you don't want to, just bring Camila back here."
"I'll get her." Lauren felt Normani's hand land on her shoulder. "Shawn, Dinah, the two of you should just call it a day. Take a break for now, we'll regroup later."
Lauren close her eyes, letting the free quiet wash over her as everyone began to file out of the room. Uncaring as to whether it was the middle of the day, all the girl wanted was for the fatigue that plagued her body to vanish. Once alone, the girl combed through the events of the past few minutes, coming to a few conclusions in her head. She knew that Dinah and Camila were going to find a way to make things work, it was inevitable.
What frightened Lauren the most was that Dinah was angry at Camila for the same reason that Camila was angry at her. She knew very well that she was being just as selfish; yet unlike the debate that plagued the Miami born high-schoolers, there was no way to work around Lauren's predicament.
There wasn't going to be any way to make this work.
***
I dragged Jason down about twenty hallways before we reached the room we had talked in before. I let him go once we were securely inside, slamming the door closed.
"Is there a reason why I'm here?" Jason asked, moving to the other side of the room and folding his arms over his chest.
"Yeah." I traversed over to the table and hoisted myself up. "My friends are driving me insane right now, and I don't want to be alone."
"So are we just going to stand here and look at each other?" He asked with a small smile as a thin black rod emerged from the wall next to him and weaved around so he could grip it and begin twirling it around his fingers. "Because I don't really want to get on your bad side. You sorta turned into a grizzly bear back there."
"Very funny." I crossed one leg over the other. "So you wanna have sex?"
The iron bar went tumbling from Jason's hand, the solid metal clattering to the ground far louder than I had expected it to. His eyes widened, and he blinked at me like a deer caught in a set of headlights. "Wh- what?"
"I said I didn't want to be alone." I shrugged. "That's the universal code for sex, you didn't read up on that in the Harrisburg library?"
"No, do they put that in libraries?!" Jason knelt down to grab the iron off the ground. "What am I saying, of course they don't put that kind of stuff in libraries."
"Come on." I patted the space on the table next to me. "The clock is ticking."
"Wait, I thought you had a girlfriend." Jason didn't move. "Didn't you mention her like... twenty times? Wasn't that her back there? With the really pretty eyes?"
I was quiet.
"Wait forget that, I thought you dated girls."
"Jason, a woman's sexuality isn't something you can just pin down and define once in your life. It's like a moving target." I explained to him with a sultry smile. "Now c'mon, get up here."
"No." Jason frowned. "You're just angry Camila, this isn't at all what you want to do."
I lifted an eyebrow, curling my lips up into a clever smirk. "Are you really telling me that if I asked you to come over here and kiss me you wouldn't do it?
"Ye...no. No. No no no no." Jason ran his hands through his hair. "No."
I kept my eyes on him, turning on the charm. "No? And what if I slid off this table right now, came over there and demanded that you rip all my clothes off and take me against that wall you wouldn't do it?"
"No." The boy shoved his hands into his pockets. "Look, you're mad at them right now, and I get it. They sorta ganged up on you, and I really don't think you had any bad intentions with what you said. The way you said it was just a little... harsh."
I heard it, and I knew it. "Is it really bad to want to protect your friends?" I asked him, crossing my legs up on the table. "Is it a bad thing that it can come out a little harsh sometimes?"
"It's not." Jason shrugged. "But there are other ways to protect your friends that doesn't involve... insulting them."
"That's the only way they'll hear me." I muttered, leaning my cheek against my knuckle.
"Do you really think they heard you?" He asked back, still giving me a small smile.
"No."
"You think maybe it'd be best if you go back there and sort this out?"
"Yeah."
I groaned, slipping down off the table and starting towards the door. Before leaving the room, I turned back to him and matched his smile with one of my own.
"Thanks for that." I said softly. "You're a good guy."
"A lanky nerd turning away a girl like you?" Jason shook his head. "I'm a complete idiot Camila."
***
The first thing I did after leaving the room was scurry down the hall to find Dinah. Turning the corner, I nearly crashed into Normani who looked equally as alarmed as I felt.
"Sorry." She apologized quickly, breathing a sigh of relief. "I've been looking for you, where did you go?"
"Not far." I shrugged. "I just needed a second, I'm sorry."
"Don't be." Normani stepped aside. "Lauren's falling asleep back there, she's asked for you to go back."
"I will." I nodded. "I have to find Dinah and apologize first. Do you know where she went?"
"No idea." The girl shook her head. "I delegated myself to come find you, she went off somewhere."
I inhaled sharply. "I'll find her." I nodded. "Thanks Mani."
"Good luck."
Weaving around her, I took off down the hall and descended to the lowest level of the complex, peering into every open door and vacant room. Returning to my own bedroom, I sped past it and found Normani's pushing the door open to find an empty room.
Muttering to myself, I spent another three minutes dashing around like a crazy person, trying every single door until I found one that was partially cracked open. Peeking inside, I breathed a sigh of relief when I saw Dinah Jane sitting with her back to the door looking down. Her blonde hair fell just at her shoulders, freshly trimmed in a series of soft waves.
"Dinah?" I pushed the door open, cautiously stepping inside. "DJ, can we talk?"
As expected, I received no response. Releasing a hearty sigh, I decided I would do the talking.
"I... I owe you a huge apology Dinah. I treated you horribly back there, you and Shawn both. I'm sorry."
I was met with more silence.
"Look... we've never fought before, so I don't know how to do this. I don't know how to apologize to you, and I sure as hell don't know how to explain myself to you... you always just kinda... knew me."
I took a deep breath, continuing. "I only said what I said back there because... I'm scared. From the second you and Shawn arrived down here I've been scared, and it's because you're the only family I have... and I can't lose you."
"If something was to happen to you two... that would be my absolute worst nightmare... and my nightmares have this really really bad habit of coming true." I felt my eyes well up with tears, and didn't even care that my speech was starting to turn into a jumbled, incoherent mess.
"I love you... so so much, and if I were to lose you out there I don't know what I would do. That's the only reason why I acted so selfish back there, because I want you to always be here for me." I brought the hem of my shirt up to wipe at my eyes. Before I could lower it again, Dinah had shifted where she stood and was slowly turning around.
What I saw had my jaw hitting the floor. The girl had her hands cupped together in a bowl shape and hovering just above her palms was a small flame.
***
A/N: https://www.instagram.com/p/BK_hPgzBdww/