There’d been a reason I had been afraid to sleep this past week, and it was more than the pervading sense that I had been betrayed by someone. Anytime I’ve gotten into a good, deep sleep, the nightmares happen. Sometimes I’m aware of them and can wake up, sometimes I wake up in a cold sweat, and sometimes I’m not even aware that I’m dreaming. Those are the worst ones, the ones where I think it’s real until I jerk awake, where I live through scenes of Edward stealing my memories from my head and being frozen in place and unable to do anything to stop it. So for the last little while I’ve set my watch to beep every 30 minutes; it wakes me up and helps prevent the nightmares. But no amount of annoying beeps was going to wake me out of this drugged stupor. It was so similar to when Lucien was rampaging through my mind that for a moment I thought it really was him. When the nightmares changed in complexity I eventually realized it was just my own fears and twisted imagination presenting these horrors; thankfully even with a sedative in my system adrenaline worked to wake me up eventually. Somehow I knew it was dawn outside, I could almost feel the sun rising over the horizon and breaking the hold of darkness both on the land and inside my head. I lay there in bed, gasping around my terror, drenched in sweat and I could feel where I’d torn the sheets with my fingers. My jaw ached, I could taste blood from where I’d bitten my tongue, and my throat was hoarse feeling; as if I’d been screaming. I grimaced as I realized that may be the case.
Someone must have heard whatever noises I’d made because I heard hurried footsteps come towards the cell door. I scrubbed the tears off of my face and used the ruined sheet to wipe some of the sweat off of my body. I noticed that I was shaking more than a little as the cell door clicked unlocked and swung open. A rather sleepy looking Alex, Barry and Jessica walked in so I scrambled off the bed and was over to the trio quicker than any of us expected; then I broke Alex’s nose again. Barry grabbed my arms and heaved me away, trying to calm me down while Alex glared at me.
“I told you this was a bad idea.” Jessica’s offhand comment to Barry interrupted my struggles.
“You planned this?” I demanded and stopped struggling. Barry let my arms go and I turned to look at him. He had the good grace to look mildly ashamed of himself.
“Yes. Jessica told me that you weren’t sleeping so I went to Alex with my concerns. We were hoping you’d sleep the first night but when I checked on you, you were wide awake. And yesterday morning I found your tools to try and jimmy the door lock. You’ve been on edge for a while Cal, and you almost got into a fight with a Changer the day before the full moon. You’re not thinking clearly. I wish you’d trust us to help you.” Barry explained, looking pained.
He looked even more pained when I kneed him in the stomach and then decked him on the chin. He hit the floor roughly and I used the momentum to spin out of the reach of Alex’s grabs. I kicked his knee as he rushed me and he hit the floor. I locked eyes with Jessica for a moment but she backed out of easy reach. The only reason I’d even done the damage I had was due to the fact that they’d just spent the night running around in beast form while I’d been sleeping. Alex was already getting back up; I’d heard his knee pop as I kicked it but he causally popped it back in.
“I had a good reason to not sleep.” I said voice angry. Then I turned and took off out the door, closing it behind me. I heard someone snarl as it automatically locked. Tired or not, a Changer can outrun me easily. I turned away from the door and hurried down the hallway, heading for the entrance. I’m sure there’s a way to open the cell door from the inside, they’d just never told me it. And I desperately wanted out of there. Barry’s betrayal had hurt and my heart ached; I had no one left to turn to.
The hallway I rushed down was cordoned off into sleeping areas and I could hear the slumbering Changers snore and settle. Distantly I heard the cell door bang open so I gave up trying to be quiet and broke into a sprint, aiming in the direction I remembered the exit was. I made it into the large room where the fight with the devilkin had occurred before Alex caught up with me. Goddess damned changers and their ability to run fast. Alex didn’t try anything fancy, he just tackled me down. We hit the floor and I rolled us so I ended up on top. Alex still had a strong grip around me but I bit his arm hard enough to draw blood because I have never been afraid to fight dirty. He just squeezed me harder and I swallowed compulsively which was really gross, but I didn’t get a chance to worry about that because Ashley clicked into view with her friends in tow.
“We’re not interrupting anything are we?” she asked, menace in her voice. Her entourage spread out and we were quickly surrounded. Alex let me go and we rolled apart coming to our feet, back to back.
“What is the meaning of this?” Alex demanded, his entire posture radiating fury.
“Well my dear, you’ve been distracted with this little human of yours. We think it’s time for a little rearranging of the power structure, with us at the top. For that to happen though we made an alliance; the wolves and I. The wolf pack gets to take you down and I get the pleasure of handling your little human whore, I’ll enjoy shredding her skin slowly. It’s a shame you and I hadn’t had a chance to be... close, before the wolf pack kills you.” Ashley purred.
Alex watched her intently. “Your little alliance won’t be enough; I have been aware of your power craving for a while now. Despite your best efforts you’re neither strong enough nor dominant enough to take control let alone keep it. This is you first and only warning to walk away without repercussions, after this I will severely punish you.” He growled warningly.
One of Jason’s wolves jumped at Alex from the side and he just grabbed the smaller man by the throat and threw him back. That moved Alex away from guarding my back which seemed to be what Ashley was waiting for, I tried dodging to the side but Ashley used actual claws that sunk into my arm and held me. I hissed and stopped moving; my blood dripped onto the floor in a quick tattoo so I locked eyes with Ashley, and then I growled. Dominance in Changers is a function of personality and power. I’m not a Changer nor am I particularly powerful, but I have strength of personality and self that has been trained to the highest level I could manage; mixed into that was the pervasive wrongness I always buried inside. So I let that part of me lose and it rushed over Ashley in a hot wave. Her eyes widened and a panicked look replaced the smug confidence on her face. “Kneel.” The word rattled out of my chest and she let my arm go trying to back away, but she couldn’t break the eye contact and my gaze forced her to her knees. In my peripheral vision I could see the others drop to their knees as I forced them down with my anger and personal dominance. The only one not on his knees was Alex which really wasn’t much of a surprise at all; hell I hadn’t even expected the response I’d gotten.
Alex stepped up to me and gently used his fingers to touch my face, breaking my eye contact with Ashley to turn my face so I was looking at him; his eyes had gone entirely tiger. “I’ll deal with them Callahan. Thank you, but you should get that arm checked out.” He said softly and I could hear Ashley whimpering in the background. His tiger used the contact to take another stroll in my mind and this time I actually shuddered at the feeling; it was like when he had bitten my neck, pleasurable and painful at the same time. I think Alex felt that too because his breathing sped up so I had to compel myself to step back and break the connection. The feeling of his tiger faded but I swear I could feel it rub against me in farewell.
I walked quickly to the bathroom, not wanting to think about what his tiger noticing me could mean. It was far safer when I didn’t have Demon Lords and Change Leaders running amok in my life; things made sense a few short weeks ago. My arm stung as I washed it; helping me knock off the self pity routine as I carefully scrubbed off the gore. There was a good amount of blood but when I looked at it, the wounds on my arm were deep gouges that seemed to already be healing. The breath went out of me in a rush and I leaned heavily on the sink. I watched my arm in horrid fascination as the wounds crept a little more closed and my breath was ragged because I have never in my life done THAT before. And worse, I didn’t know why it was doing it now. I shook my head to clear it; no matter what was causing it, I knew I still had to hide the fact from Alex. Pulled out of the concentration on my arm, I heard distant grunts and yelps; Alex kicking some werewolf and jackal ass I presume. A somewhat meek looking Jessica opened the bathroom door before I could even recognize the sounds of her footsteps approaching. She looked at me, noticing the traces of blood and the angry looking gashes on my arm that should have been open and gushing wounds; then frowned and looked me in the eye.
“Alex and Barry are handling the Pack. He told me Ashley had ripped your arm open.” She said slowly, staring at my arm again. Then her eyes flicked back up and a smile blossomed across her face. “I knew it, you are a Changer.” She sounded happy.
“No, I’m not.” I rejected the idea.
“Then how do you explain the evidence?” she sounded so smug. “You’re healing yourself, we all felt the dominance you pushed on Ashley, you feel like a Changer and Alex is acting like you’re his. One or two of these things I can see you explaining away, but all of them?” she demanded, stepping in close to me.
“Jessica, I’m not a Changer. Point one, I didn’t shape change last night, point two I already have two gifts and the sensors didn’t detect one iota of Changer magic in me. So how the hell could I become a Changer out of nowhere?” I demanded. The entire idea was ridiculous, especially the part about how Alex was acting. We nearly kill each other constantly and if that’s how he’s supposed to treat his mate or whatever it was tigers had, I’d hate to see how he treats his enemies. On that thought, I felt the pressure of his dominance sweep over us. It felt like being hit with a tidal wave; Jessica gasped but although I felt it it didn’t win me, I struggled but I shrugged it off. I looked at Jessica, urgency in my eyes. “I need a place to get away and think for a bit.” I asked.
“After the way you treated Barry and Alex, why should I help you?” she retorted. She wasn’t mad, just curious.
I looked at her, trying to hide my hurt at Barry’s betrayal. “I’ve known Barry for ten years but he didn’t even try to talk to me about any of it. He drugged me without asking me why I didn’t want to sleep. I’d just spent hours locked into horrid nightmares, unable to even wake myself up. In a very short period of time I’ve been tortured by a Demon Caster, nearly murdered by a Demon Lord and betrayed by my guardian, only to then be betrayed by my best friend. How should I have reacted to that kind of situation?” I asked her, fighting to keep control of my emotions.
Her response to my anger was to speak softly. “You could have told him that. I think you need to learn to trust your friends, we all thought you were just being paranoid.”
“I am paranoid because people really are out to get me. Now can we please go somewhere else?” I asked, almost whining.
She grabbed my hand and led me from the bloodstained bathroom. I could see drops of my blood on the floor which made me feel real stealthy; I was giving Hansel and Gretel a run for their money. Jessica led me to a door that led outside to the field and forest of their property. “Here.” She said, pointing at snow so I raised my eyebrows. She just winked at me and somehow opened a very well concealed trap door. I could see a flight of stairs and darkness.
I looked at her. “Trust right? Tell Barry I still love him but I really want to kick him.” She grinned at me and I walked down the steps. She closed the door behind me and I was surrounded by darkness and silence, which was the precise moment I realized this was a terrible idea and now I was effectively trapped. Panic chewed at my already frayed nerves and I tried to force deep calming breaths in to regain control. Attempting to look on the bright side, I tried humouring myself; at least I wasn’t investigating the scary noise alone in my sexy panties like all those horror movie morons. Humour failed to calm me, so since sight and sound were useless, I used my hands, feet and nose to tell me what they could. Wood floor, wood panels on the walls, a musty unused smell to the air and faintly, some animal but too faint to get more than a musk smell. There were no dead bodies to trip over, no murderous hockey mask wearing psychos lurking nearby and nothing threatening whatsoever down here with me, which should have calmed my nerves but didn’t. Now I really wanted to know what this spot was for, or if it was exactly what I was using it for, an undetectable hide out. Everything was happening too quickly and I felt like I needed just a moment to try and get a handle of myself before something else came to swipe at me. Even locked in a pit in the ground like this, I was glad that Jessica helped hide me until I could think things over. So I sat on a step and concentrated on my personal energy signature, doing my best to block everything else out. Usually I’m very good at this and I can filter every tiny shred of other energy out, but although I could find the connections to Alex, I could not seem to sever them at all. It put a smile on my face that had no humour. The air was getting warmer with each breath, distracting me with its stale smell. I felt the strands of Alex’s energy and tried to at least separate them as much as possible, in fact I was concentrating so hard that I never realized that someone was coming closer.
Suddenly the underground room was flooded with light and I was blinded. I cried out and hid my eyes in my elbow. “Sorry.” I heard Jessica apologize. She threw something at me. “Here, wrap your arm. I don’t know why you don’t want Alex knowing, but if he hasn’t figured out you’re a Changer, he will once he sees you injury free.” She said hesitantly.
I grabbed her hand blindly. “Jessica, if I tell you a secret that I’ve never even hinted at to anyone else, you’ll understand but you need to swear that not one single breath of it will reach anyone else.” I warned her. This was a huge risk, but she had been right about me needing to trust my friends. I couldn’t ask for her help without explaining a few things first.
“Not now. Alex is coming.” She hissed. I quickly wrapped my arm and hid the evidence as I heard footsteps, in moments Alex reached the pit and I felt obscenely trapped and irritated that I had allowed myself to be put in this position.
“Thank you for guarding her Jessica. I’ll just have a few words with Callahan while we’re out here.” He said casually, but it was still a dismissal. This was not good; I did not want to be alone with a grumpy tiger while I’m stuck in a pit. Despite my misgivings, Alex waited until Jessica had walked back inside, then he sat of the top step and looked down at me. He was way too calm, it was eerie and adding to my tension because now I was waiting for the other shoe to drop. “What were you two talking about?” he asked, a gentle smile on his face.
“Pomegranates, she loves them, I hate them.” I lied quickly.
“Callahan.” He admonished gently. Part of me wanted to tell him the truth; it’d be so much easier if he knew. Maybe with his help I could figure things out... I jerked the thought up short as a sense of someone else toying with my mind hit me.
“Are you trying to play me?” I demanded, remembering the pressure of his magic earlier. It had made the other Changers cringe but our connection was different. Was he already aware of it and able to manipulate me with it? It wasn’t him my instincts were warning me had manipulated and betrayed me, but that doesn’t mean he wouldn’t do it now.
Alex frowned at me in confusion and relief flooded through me. He was calm because he’d just used up all his anger in a fight. It was probably a bad sign that I preferred Alex frowning because I’m used to that and know how to handle it better. “What are you talking about?” he demanded.
I smiled at him, a little careless. “Not a damn thing Alex, right now I’m all good. Why don’t we go back inside? I think I owe Barry a hug and an apology. And if you’re nice to me I might even explain why it is I’ve been avoiding sleep.” I suggested, trying to get where there were other people. I could hide my secrets better if I were in a group that provided distractions, and the longer I was alone out here with him the more likely it would be that I would screw something up. I stood up and walked up the stairs until I was standing only a few steps below Alex, putting us on the same eye line. He hadn’t moved, instead remained silent, watching me. I raised an eyebrow and tilted my head. “Hello? You still awake in there?” I asked and then I waved my hand in front of his face. It was my left hand, which put my arm close enough to his face for him to smell the lack of blood on me; I should have saturated the bandage. I realized this and quickly snapped my arm back to my side. Alex didn’t move an inch, either not aware or ignoring my arm entirely. Instead he kept staring at me, a creepy, patient predator. “Alex, please move or something, you’re creeping me out.” I said honestly. He remained as motionless as a statue so I rolled my eyes and sighed.
I used my right hand to shake his shoulder gently and that was what he’d been waiting for. He grabbed my hand roughly, pinning it in place and locked his eyes on mine. I tried to keep his beast out of my head; I knew that skin to skin touching made it easier for his beast to slip into my mind. Unfortunately Alex had figured that out too; so the answer was yes, he had been playing me. I may have been able to keep his beast out of it if it’d just been skin to skin touching, but the intense eye contact only bolstered it. Add Alex’s own dominance to that and eventually I felt the rub of a tiger inside my mind. Something deep inside me rebelled at this invasion. I was shaking a little, but that slow pressure just kept building up and suddenly I shoved Alex out of my mind as I jumped forward, knocking Alex to the ground. My hands were on his shoulders, my knees were on either side of his hips and I was panting, covered in sweat. The look of shock on his face was matched by the one on mine. And then he flipped me over his head onto my back. I landed properly and rolled to my right as he rolled over to pin me. He missed but only just and as we faced each other, both on hands and knees, and he grinned at me. Oh good, he’s gone insane but at least he’s not angry at me, wonderful. I heard the door open and close to the building and I felt eyes watch us but I was facing the wrong way to see who it was. Finally, after all this time, Alex spoke. “How were you able to subdue Ashley like that?” he asked slowly stalking me on hands and knees. I didn’t understand why we were playing tag in the snow but since there was nowhere for me to go, I figured I’d have to make the best of this.
“Dominance is mainly viewed as a Changer trait but it’s not. In university I trained to get my sensor’s licence and I specialized in dangerous and volatile gifts. I learned how to spot, train and control the most dangerous of us. Out of the 120 students who were sensate, I was one of ten who graduated that course.”I explained, avoiding Alex’s feints.
He seemed to be really enjoying this game and it pissed me off that he was toying with me. “There is a point to this, yes?” he asked and pounced at me. I dropped flat and he flew over me. As I spun around to face him, I saw a shocked Jessica and an amused Barry. Trust my best friend to find watching me get torn apart by a tiger amusing.
“The point is that I learned to use all that I am to be dominant. I have to have that strength to even think of trying to help anyone else. That’s how I subdued Ashley and your wolves.” I explained quickly, and it was even partially true. I didn’t like talking about my University training; it was hard, rigorous and quite often excruciatingly painful. Also, people don’t understand why I’d gone through all that to get my licence and then scrapped it to be a dancer and fitness instructor. But the other part of the equation was that although yes my training had allowed me to do it, I wasn’t sure how I was able to subdue more than just Ashley. But no one needed to know that other than me. Both Alex and I got off hands and knees and into a crouch, he’d initiated the movement and I’d followed instinctively.
“Are you sure that’s all?” Alex demanded, narrowing his eyes. I refused to make eye contact so instead I watched his body for telltale signs, realizing I must look like an idiot staring intently at his chin.
“Oh I’m sure. I don’t like to do that to anyone because I hate it when it’s done to me, so I’m very aware when I have to pull that out and wave it about.” The bitterness in my voice surprised me a little. Alex stilled almost imperceptibly and I took a deep breath to calm down.
“How’s your arm?” Alex asked, looking at it. Like an idiot, I looked down at it too for a fraction of a second. He lunged forward and locked a grip on my supposedly injured arm, I tried back pedaling but his grip locked me dead. I cried out as it caused me to twist my elbow and Alex released his grip immediately, looking concerned.
“Here, show me your arm.” He said, wanting to make sure he’d not hurt it worse. But things were distinctly not ok, and they’d only get worse if he saw that I’d healed so I tucked my arm in against my side and stepped back.
“I’m fine. Are we done your little game of tag?” I asked as I took baby steps towards the other Changers. But since I wasn’t actually sure that I could trust them, I felt horribly exposed.
“Jessica told me.” Alex said blandly and I froze, feeling the colour drain out of my face. She must have decided to turn me over to him, made sense in that this was her greater loyalty and yet it still hurt. “You dominated Ashley and the wolf pack, and you resisted my magic. She felt it and responded by submitting, but she tells me that you just shrugged it off. I know that it works on Normals and Casters, so how did you ignore it?” he continued and my heart started beating again.
I could have come up with a plausible lie, something about my schooling. But I didn’t want to so I looked Alex in the eye and shrugged. “I don’t know.” I replied honestly. “I don’t know anything anymore. I don’t know how I trapped Lucien in my mind let alone survived it for eight days. I don’t know how I’ve broken a Demon Lord’s hold on my mind twice. I just don’t know.” And that fact scared me. “Edward told Cassie and me that our father was special, but he didn’t say how. Now the very same Demon Lord who started a war just to kidnap our father is trying to hunt us down, and I don’t know why. I don’t know why Edward would betray me to the Counsel or rip memories out of my head, I don’t know what hold they have over him. I don’t know how my twin sister is doing because my mind is still so torn up it hurts us to connect. I don’t know what’s going on or how I’m supposed to deal with it.” I could feel the tension in my rigid muscles as I kept ranting. “Can’t you see Alex? I don’t know, not what to do, what will help or what will make things worse. I’m just reacting to the world and I’m losing.” I finally stopped talk and closed my eyes, forcing a deep breath in so I wouldn’t start to cry.
I heard snow crunch under his feet as he stepped closer to me and I opened my eyes. My anger was an almost palpable thing around me, barely covering up the fear we both knew was just under the surface. I was expecting him to tell me to snap out of my self-pity, but he didn’t. Instead he raised my chin so I’d look him in the eyes again. “You can trust me; that is something you DO know.” He said softly and he pulled me into a hug. I resisted for a moment before I buried my head against his shoulder and held onto him, shaking slightly from the tense, angry and fearful emotions I’d been holding onto. It’s not smart to give dominance up to a Changer like Alex, but at the moment I needed the simple comfort. I heard the footsteps of Jessica and Barry in the snow as they approached us. They’re senses were good enough that I’m betting they’d heard the entire thing, which was more than a little mortifying. I hate being an emotional wreck only slightly less than I hate being an emotional wreck in front of people.
“I’m sorry Cal.” Barry said softly. I could hear the tears in his voice; he was always a big marshmallow. If someone else gets soppy, he’ll join right in and it never seems to bother him. “First you get attacked, then you lose your home and finally Edward betrays you. For me to do the same must have just sucked.”
“I know why you did it. You were trying to look out for me. I just don’t know who I can trust in all of this so I fell back on trusting no one.” I was still being held loosely by Alex but I could feel the others hovering close even as Alex kept my head tucked against his shoulder. “I know that I was paranoid and stupid but it’s hard to argue with your gut reaction, especially when it feels like the best option available.” I pulled away from Alex. He seemed a little reluctant to let me go but I needed to stand on my own and face them all.
“You do know you can trust us right?” Jessica asked carefully. I gave her a sad look, and then looked at Alex.
“Can I really? What would you do if I were to say, unwrap my arm and show that it’s partially healed?” I asked Alex. Barry chuckled at my ‘theoretical’ scenario, but Jessica’s eyes widened because she knew the truth.
Alex opened his mouth to respond promptly but I interrupted his immediate response with a raised eyebrow. So he thought about it for a moment and finally he nodded. “I’d have to wonder if you’ve become a Changer. Sometimes it seems like you are on the verge of being one, so a symptom like that is one step short of full proof. The only more conclusive proofs are silver allergy and actual shape changing.” He answered honestly. “What that means in the broad picture is that you’d be one of my subjects and would have the entire Community to back you against this Demon Lord Marcus. On the small scale it would mean that you’d probably have a lot of your independence stripped away until both I and the Counsel are satisfied that you’re safe. Other than that Callahan, I don’t know either; none of us here knows the future. But I think we can all agree to face that unknown together as friends.”
I took a moment to think beyond my fear and unease. Did I think I could trust them, and if I did would I be willing to take that risk and keep trusting them? The options were trusting them, or being entirely on my own and knowing that I couldn’t actually trust myself 100% either. So it wasn’t easy but I was going to throw my hat in with them; one of them can hold my coat while I kick down the gates of Hell. “Okay.” I accepted, unable to really smile. “Let’s go inside and eat. I’m cold and hungry.” The tension eased as we all turned and walked towards the door.
Jessica bounded ahead to open the door so I saw her face when Alex asked me, “That question about your arm was just an example right?” I don’t know what look was on my face, but Jessica and I just cracked right up. My laughter had a slight hysterical edge to it and hers had nervousness but it still felt good to be laughing.
“Does it really matter?” I asked teasingly. I looked Alex quickly in the eye but looked away at his intensity; apparently it really did matter to him. I tensed a little, unease working its way back into me.
“Of course it does Callie.” Barry joked obliviously. “Because if you’re a Changer, it’ll mean that someone has infected you and that makes you our responsibility.” He went on blithely. I love my best friend: Jessica was ready for an explosion, Alex was losing patience and I was ready to bolt, and he didn’t pick up on ANY of it.
My stomach growling was loud enough to even get Barry’s attention. My eyes went wide and I shrugged, glad of the unexpected distraction. “I guess that’s a definite vote for food.” I said redundantly. So we headed to the kitchen and I wormed my way out of answering Alex’s question. I knew it wouldn’t last long though, and sure enough at the breakfast table the conversation drifted back towards it.
“How could someone have infected Callie?” Jessica asked frowning and I wanted to kick her for bringing the topic back up. Especially since she was the only other one to know it was far more likely than I wanted to accept at the moment.
“Well generally a Normal, and rarely a Caster, can get bitten or scratched by a Changer. Their immune system and/or natural magic fails to suppress the Changer magic and voila! However since Callie isn’t a Normal, she’d need to mix a large amount of her blood with a very strong Changer.” Barry joked and I almost stopped breathing. Barry and Jessica had been fighting while I’d saved Alex’s life; there’s been a lot of blood and it had definitely mixed. “But even then there’s no guarantee.” He added helpfully. “According to the text book cases, after infection the new Changer will show an increase in appetite both nutritionally and sexually.” I shot a look at Alex but then pulled my eyes to stare at my plate of food again. “So Callie, have you noticed an increase in your ‘appetite’?” Barry asked me, waggling his eyebrows suggestively.
I snorted and tried to run with the joke. “Why is it that whenever you’re around, the conversation shifts to my sex life? Don’t worry Barry, I’m still a virgin. Fate keeps going out of her way to make sure of that.” I hadn’t meant to sound that bitter, whoops. I forced myself to ignore Alex, not even wanting to know why my heart was thudding so painfully in my chest. “And as I haven’t been eating more than is usual, I’m in the clear.” I added sarcastically. I wanted to veer the conversation away from this topic.
“So Barry how’s things with Melvin? I’ve been out of the loop and I’m hungry for gossip.” I asked, smiling brightly, and then my smile slid off my face to hit the floor at Barry’s dark look.
“It ended. He was using me to try and get a story on hate groups using violence. It turns out that he set me up for the attack by True Humans.” He grated and I flinched a little, feeling like a terrible best friend for not having been there for him during that.
“Well why don’t I make things a little more awkward and uncomfortable at this table by putting my foot in my mouth, oh wait, it’s already there.” I quipped. Barry gave me a humourless smirk.
“It’s ok Cal, the legal system is taking care of it for me. I’m mainly pissed because he was... ah... sweet.” He trailed off uncomfortable, realizing that he was about to over share. “But it has taught me to date people I have a little more in common with.” He added. I slid a look between him and Jessica and raised my eyebrows; only Barry saw me do it and when he ducked his gaze it was confirmation. I know my best friend, and Jessica was definitely his type when it came to women, she has a lot of back bone but is still sweet and he definitely liked her. And I knew she liked him by the way she’d defended him earlier. I smiled smugly, feeling pleased with my discovery. I knew he wouldn’t do anything about it yet, he was still hurting from Melvin, but it would be an eventual which made me happy. Barry started telling a story about his failed escapades in the murky waters that are high school as Alex went and got everyone a second helping of food. I didn’t even look at my sandwich, just started eating it. I felt Alex watch me intently as Barry described how we dated for a week, but I ignored him. Jessica looked over at me, and then stared in shock, but it wasn’t until Barry stopped speaking that I realized the attention wasn’t due to the story.
“What?” I asked, hackled raised. I saw Barry staring at my plate and I finally thought to look down. That second helping of food Alex had grabbed me that I’d been wolfing down without thinking was a raw beef sandwich and I hadn’t even noticed. “Oh by the Mother!” I exclaimed and pushed away from the table. “Are you trying to give me food poisoning Alex?” I demanded, ready to head to the bathroom to be sick. But he stood up with me, blocking the way.
“Show me your arm Callahan.” He ordered, unmovable. Fear and anger, my near constant companions lately, reared up but I kept my temper. Jessica had frozen and Barry looked confused.
“That was a joke, wasn’t it Callie?” Barry asked. I didn’t respond. “Callie?” he sounded less sure.
I was glaring at Alex; after all his talk of trusting him, he had to go and ambush me like that. I really was a moron, just willing to trust anyone who hugged me and told me it would be alright. “You really are a bastard Alex.” I said voice flat. He just watched me, trying to determine if I was going to run or not. “I’m not a Changer. You seem to forget that my piercings are all real silver. If I were a Changer they’d have caused a reaction.” I stated confidently. Alex blinked for a second, trying to recall when he’d seen me close to topless in his apartment. I do have piercings, seven to be exact, but none were actually silver; I just needed to distract Alex. The moment he lost focus trying to recall, I shoved a chair into his knees and bolted for the back exit. I knew nothing would stop him from inspecting my arm, not now. He wanted me to be a Changer, and nothing I said would convince him I wasn’t. So I had to get away until I could prove to him I was still just a Caster. I heard all three of them scramble after me as I leapt out the back door. Now here was the tricky part. Instead of following blind instinct and running for the farthest trees, I pulled in beside the door and tucked down low. The Changers crashed out the door at a dead run a few seconds later and I hopped back inside so quickly they’d never even gotten a chance to spot me. If I truly was a Changer, I could probably have out run them to the trees but I knew I wasn’t infected, so I out thought them. I needed someplace to go but I had just run from the last of my allies. I could go to Sebastian’s but I just knew that’d be a bad idea. I have to admit, it was hard to think straight; the bulk of my brain was stuck repeating the line ‘I’m not a Changer’ over and over. I couldn’t be, it had to be a side effect of me hooking into Alex’s powers but how could I explain that to people when I’d kept it a secret for my whole life, no one would believe me. So right now I went to one location I was sure they wouldn’t expect me, the cell where I’d been sleeping.