A/n: Thank you all for the votes and supportive comments. You are all wonderful readers! This is a long chapter. I know that almost every Academy FF has a scene like this, but I think it's because we all love that one in the series. Hopefully, I pulled this one off okay.
******
After swimming Gabriel, once again, insisted on doing my hair, but this time also dressed me in one of the outfits from our shopping excursion.
"Alright, now sit and I'll put some shine on those lips," he patted the toilet lid and I obliged. Jessica had used enough of Tare's version of make-up, both actual and virtual enhancement, that I was a bit wary of what Gabriel might use. "Now purse your lips like a kiss," he instructed. I pushed my lips out and he laughed. "Shit Trouble, you've never kissed anyone," he declared.
I gaped, "How?...but..."
"Humpf! That is not how kiss you someone. Here, like this," he said demonstrating how he wanted me to hold my lips. He smoothed over a light gloss and had me smack them together. "Perfect, the others should be here soon."
As we came out of the bathroom, North's booming voice rang from the entryway, "What the fuck is that?!"
I glanced over to where North stared in horror. Luke had built a pyramid of all the desserts he could snag from the dining hall. There were pie slices and brownie squares, or at least the Taren version of those. All heaped together, it was quite a delicious sight, but clearly North disagreed. Luke now stood guard in front of the stacked sweets warning North to back off, "It's for SANG!"
North glanced in my direction. I totally gave him puppy-dog eyes. He wasn't going to relent, "That's not good for you." I tried to pout the lips.
Gabe cried out, "Oh, no way!" He pointed to North saying, "She gets her birthday cake, and You," he pointed to me, "put that lip back in. No starting the girl shit. It doesn't work, so just...don't." He marched us over to the Pile of Goodiness.
Nathan stood nearby, looking highly amused. "So, do we just eat it?"
"Uhm, well, there is song..." I drifted off realizing I had gotten all the boys' attention. Now, I was scrambling to translate the English to Taren.
"And," Kota prompted.
"Happy Birthday to you...Happy Birthday to you...Happy Birthday to...name...Happy Birthday to you," I just said the words to the rhythm of the song, thinking the translation was pretty close.
"Huh, weird, you say Happy Birthday to Name?" Luke wondered aloud.
North smacked him on the back of the head. "No, idiot. You say the person's name...Right, Sang Baby?" He looked to me for confirmation.
"Yes," I nodded meekly.
Kota sort of looked around at everyone then started "Happ..." The others joined in, singing in a variety of tones and pitches. It was the worst and best rendition of Happy Birthday I had ever heard.
North allotted Luke one piece of his cake creation, but I saw two other pieces of some sort get snuck away when North's attention was elsewhere.
"Hey, let's watch Hidden War," Luke suggested when Kota asked what I wanted to do next. It was one of the few Taren shows I liked and had talked about with Luke and Gabriel while in MedBay. I hadn't caught up to the current season. It focused on a girl going through the Setari program, or the show's interpretation of the program based on what information KOTIS did release. The Setari-obsessed public had a lot of far-fetched or silly shows, like Jessica's favorite of the Setari Songstar. Hidden War was the one show that Luke and Gabriel said was fairly accurate in its depiction, and which they actually kept up with.
Nathan sort of sighed with a putout expression, while North and Silas looked less than thrilled at the prospect. Kota just shrugged and Victor said it was up to me. Really, we could have all watched a different show over the Interface, but Kota set a public display on the far wall and selected the last episode I had not finished watching. Gabriel and Luke didn't mind rewatching the episode and the others had seen enough of the series to understand the current plot.
We all changed into pajamas. I put on my most-skin-covering ones. North sat on the couch and pulled me onto his lap sideways, so I ended up with legs stretched across Silas and feet in Kota's lap. Silas' hand landed on my knee and Kota rubbed my feet. Most of the time, I fell asleep watching films and such, but this show was interesting enough to keep my attention. Well, most of my attention. I couldn't help but be distracted by the rise and fall of North's chest that I was leaning against. I tried adjusting this way and that. North grumbled and told me to sit still. I did for a bit, but then tried moving again. This time he stood, depositing me into Kota's lap and leaving the room. I sent Kota an Interface message:
S: I do something wrong?
K: Don't worry about it. He is fine.
S: He come back?
Kota gave me a bit of a strangled look...like maybe he was trying not to laugh...I'm not sure. Then just told me to watch the show.
The episode ended with Caszandra, the show's protagonist, being promoted from Kalrani to Setari. North returned with blankets and pillows, which everyone spread out on the floor. We all sat in a sort of circle and Gabriel announced it was time for a birthday game. I had been drilled by he and Luke earlier on this topic during dinner. Silas suggested Virtue and Challenge, which was the Kolarian version of Truth or Dare, from the descriptions I had read about. Everyone would go in order of the circle asking a question or issuing a challenging to the person sitting next to them. Gabriel, sitting to my right, was youngest and got to go first.
He turned to me and said, "Well, you haven't been kissed, yet. Do adolescents kiss on Earth, or is that just you?"
I blushed at the expressions I was getting from the rest of the group.
"Well, we can fix that!" Luke exclaimed, then turned to North who sat beside him, "Hey, Little Brother, you challenge me to kiss Sang, okay? I'll even promise to eat my vegetables without complaint tomorrow."
"NOPE!" Kota interrupted loudly. "No unauthorized touching, remember? That definitely includes kissing."
"Well, virtual kissing..." Gabriel started to suggest, but Nathan protested that first kiss needed to be special, to which some of the others agreed.
I decided answering Gabriel's question was the best way to steer the conversation away from me. "Yes. Teenagers do kiss on Earth. Sometimes, younger. I read and hear stories of kissing game." Great, now they were all listening avidly. "Uh...Spin the Bottle...people sit in circle...put bottle in middle and spin around circle...bottle stops and points at person in circle...person who spin bottle kiss that person" I was pretty sure I was blushing bright red now. Luke looked way too excited and Silas was heading to the kitchen. Kota called him back and reminded everyone of the no touching rule.
"Besides," Kota asked smugly, "Do you really want to kiss one of these other guys?" Silas took one look at North and the bottle in his hand went sailing back to the kitchen in a floating ball of water. "Your turn to ask or challenge Victor," Kota nodded to me.
I actually knew what I wanted to ask Victor. The Interface had several sites dedicated to Setari sightings. The Setari couldn't be photographed or identified properly, but people still saw them and collected data on every occasion. There were dossiers of all of the sighted Setari, including Fourth Squad. It was a wonder they ever left KOTIS at all. There was even a waiting list for people to move to Konna and have a better chance of spotting them. The pictures of our Kanza game had been thoroughly critiqued and were tagged to the public's made-up names for Gabriel and Luke: Gere and Lykon. There were even comments about me. Some were speculating that I was a relative, others a Kalrani. But one of the most popular and trending speculations on the site was if Vedon was actually the famed Victor Morgan, famous onaipist and son of the soon-to-be-elected Unara Lahanti, Jasmine Morgan. "How KOTIS keep you secret?"
Victor said, "You've been looking at the watch-sites." I nodded, then he sort of rolled his eyes, but sighed and said, "Princess, it is a mess. KOTIS holds occasional press conferences and defers that topic more than any other. They don't exactly lie, but it seems that it is harder and harder to cover up. I think our current press representative's favorite comeback is 'If we had such a famous Songstar in our midst, would we really put him at risk?' The truth is absolutely yes, but it seems to appease some of the dissenters who lobby against KOTIS drafting kids with psychic talents who also show promise in other fields, like the arts or academics."
I wanted to ask more, but it was Victor's turn. Those lightning eyes danced as they narrowed in on Nathan. "I challenge you to go In-skin on a visit to North Kolar..in Deep Winter...naked... for three entire joden." Wow, that was harsh and Nathan's face reflected it. North and Silas wore big grins, while Gabriel and Luke snickered, Kota merely giving a pitying head shake. Nathan wouldn't pass on the challenge though, and just swore he'd get Victor back sometime. He scooted back from the circle and searched the Interface for an appropriate file. He mouthed, "I loathe you," to Victor and we could see the change in Nathan as he activated the In-skin file. He was virtually experiencing everything someone had seen and felt while actually doing such a crazy stunt. It sounded like some event that people did back on Earth...I think it was called something about Polar Bears...hmm...anyway, Nathan broke out in goosebumps and hopped from foot to foot cursing about the cold. He made it through the challenge and promptly shut down the file, bundling himself in the nearest blankets to warm up.
His teeth were still chattering as he shivered and challenged Silas to be shocked by Victor. Silas just stuck out his finger for the zap that Victor delivered. He jumped a bit, but mostly I was giggling at how his hair now stood straight up from the electricity.
Silas smirked and turned to North. "I challenge you..." he paused, clearly for some dramatic effect, "to send an Interface Message to Tsee Blackbourne, professing your undying love." Everyone erupted in laughter. North just glared at Silas, then huffed and his eyes got that far-off look showing that he was sending something. The laughter was just subsiding when a message flickered to all of us from Tsee Blackbourne: "You are playing Virtue and Challenge again, aren't you?" We all burst out again, even North letting slip a chuckle.
I was rubbing tears away from my eyes when the door slipped open and Sean came bustling in. "I am missing all the fun!" he exclaimed.
"Sent you an invite after dinner," Kota said.
"Aw, well, I was stuck in MedBay for a bit, but better late than never," Sean said sitting himself down between Luke and Kota.
Luke had been distracted by Sean's entrance, but North now waited patiently to strike and Luke suddenly realized it, whipping around and throwing up his arms in supplication. "Please, no vegetable challenges. I swear, anything but that."
North's eyes gleamed with violent promise, but he sat back and just asked, "What did you do to Jade?"
Luke's face blanked, "Uh, what do you mean?"
North said, "I haven't been accosted in nearly three days. That's a record. In fact, no one has reported seeing her for that time. I know you did something."
Luke coughed and then looked around slyly, confessing, "I put some of the toilet cleaning goop in her shampoo."
I wasn't quite sure how to respond, the others looked sort of horrified for a moment. Gabriel broke the silence, saying, "Shit, that's nasty, dude." The others unfroze and all burst into laughter. Nathan fell over clutching his sides. North laughed behind a face-palm. Silas explained over an Interface Message to me just how awful this was. A specific type of nanocyte was designed to clean various things like appliances and bathroom fixtures. The toilet variety actually consumed human waste and debris left behind in the toilets. Jade very likely had lost all of her hair by the time she would have realized what was happening. There were nanocytes that would grow it back for her, but it did take a few days.
Luke now turned to Sean and said, "Well, since everyone is enjoying confessions so much tonight..."
Sean just waited calmly for Luke's question.
"Why don't you tell us about you and Tsee Blackbourne?"
Sean looked confused for a moment. "We have a special bond. What else?"
"Yes, a very special bond, right?" Luke was trying to insinuate something more. Sean wasn't getting it or wasn't taking the bait.
Nathan cleared his throat and said, "You two are always together... So, are you...together?"
Sean realized what they were trying to say and shook his head, "Oh no, not like that. No, no way."
"Really?" Victor asked. "Because we've all wondered for a long time."
"Ha! Well, sorry to disappoint. Actually, we haven't talked about what brought us together before we formed this squad because it is not a pleasant story." He paused and let out a deep breathe, face and voice becoming serious. "We went on an unauthorized trip to the Ena as Kalrani. Well, it is my fault Owen was there. Pretty much all of us resented him back then. He was Buble's perfect protege nephew with all his amazing sight talents. We were both sort of misfits in the Kalrani program and were assigned housing together. I was really pissed at my parents at the time. They wanted me to solely focus on Medical training and were petitioning for my removal from the Setari program. I decided to prove that I was Setari. Owen was very against the enterprise, but wouldn't let me go by myself. It was so foolish. We made it through about three spaces and an unknown Ionoth type just jumped through a random gate. Owen was fast enough to stop it from taking my leg off with a slicing sort of appendage, but it had a stabbing tail and got him right in the abdomen. I killed it, but Owen was in bad shape. He was bleeding so much I knew he wasn't going to make it if I didn't use my psionic healing ability. It was still new to me and I hadn't realized how draining it would be, but I poured everything I had into stitching his intestines and pancreas back together. By the time I sealed his skin, I was completely depleted of energy reserves and passed out. When I woke up to a very angry Ista Phillips in MedBay, I heard how Owen had carried me back. I outweighed his skinny ass back then by about five kilograms at least. He just silently sat there in the chair at my bedside as I was berated by the greysuits. We've been there for each other ever since. You all know how combat forges a bond, a brotherhood. Well, almost dying with each other...it solidifies that bond." Everyone was pretty somber now.
After a beat Sean tried to lighten the mood saying, "But, hey, no burning desire to kiss the guy...speaking of kissing..." he turned to Kota, green eyes twinkling with their normal light, and added, "Kota, I challenge you to..."
"NO KISSING CHALLENGES!" The other boys were quick to shout.
Sean threw his hands up, "You didn't let me finish."
"No unauthorized touching, right?" Victor stated.
"Oh, actually, Ista Phillips, Owen and I have been discussing this. After reviewing all the footage, ugh three times because Owen insisted, we believe that activating the enhancement ability takes some intention. When we use our talents, we activate them with thought. It is one of the reasons we train so hard, to speed up that activation process. With Sang's ability, it doesn't necessarily have to be her thinking to activate the enhancement. When Jessica Lents activated her teleport ability it simultaneously activated Sang's enhancement ability."
His explanation was cut off by Kota, "But neither Victor nor I were attempting to use our abilities when we both touched Sang and we all went down."
Sean replied, "I know, but we were in a training environment and you had been actively using the talents, your minds were still thinking on the enhancement as we all discussed it."
"So, by thinking about it, we activated it?" Victor asked.
"Right," Sean said. "We believe that if Sang and anyone who touches her, is concentrating on something else, then it will not activate the enhancement. Because, despite your efforts not to, the footage does show random skin-to-skin touches, and North hasn't burst into flames at those times, well not literal flames anyway." He received a glare from North, though I wasn't sure what that was about.
"How confident are you about this theory?" Kota asked.
"Enough to try an experiment," Sean replied. The other's mumbled a bit, but Sean reminded them, "Purple-stripes here. It will work. Alright, Kota, I challenge you to rub noses with Sang. Sang, I am going to place my hand at the back of your neck, okay?"
I nodded. Sean added, "Now concentrate on my touch, clearing your mind."
Kota was starting to lean in but pulled back. "What do I think of to avoid activating the enhancement?" he asked.
Sean winked and said, "Oh, I believe you'll think of something....maybe someone with pretty green eyes."
Kota blushed a bit, but leaned in, our faces coming so close together. I lost my concentration on Sean's hand until he started making small circles on my neck with the tips of his fingers. Heat flared up my neck, and then Kota's nose was gently grazing against mine. A tiny shift and our lips would have met. My eyes fluttered shut and both guys pulled away abruptly. I felt the loss immediately.
"Sang? You okay?" Kota asked, worry sketched on his face.
"Oh! I...uh...feel fine," I said looking down and pressing my hands to my cheeks to cool them.
"Any fatigue at all?" Sean asked.
"No," I said. Actually, I felt incredibly alive and energized.
"What about you, Kota," Sean asked.
Kota smiled down at me. "I feel great," he replied.
"I knew it. Alright, continue to avoid accidental touches, especially by more than one person, but for Fourth Squad only, I think we can relax on the unauthorized touching rule," Sean told the group while we returned to our places in the circle.
Kota looked to Gabriel and said, "Last one. I challenge you to brush Sang's teeth....and then we all need to get some rest for tomorrow."
I tried not to giggle as Gabriel brushed my teeth, and soon we were all settled. The sounds of soft snores were beginning when I felt myself start to drift, tucked between North and Silas.