Nexus held his bleeding side as he stumbled through the street, cursing under his breath practically every step he took. He was livid with himself at the fact he ended up getting injured, and had even started debating whether going there at all was worth it or not.
Knowing Neo now had friends by his side, who also had powers of their own mind you, was certainly good information to have, but the cost it came at was a fairly steep one. Nexus was thinking back to the whole event, evaluating absolutely everything he did. Practically every move he made was perfect, except from dodging that one red beam.
That's what angered him most.
He'd gone for the toughest looking one right off the bat and thought that that would've been him out for the rest of the fight. If only he'd kept an eye on him while he was dealing with the others, then it would've been so much easier to simply sidestep the attack and move on.
Other than that, the visit had actually gone well for him. He certainly managed to assert himself as a powerful foe, which he always loved doing, but more importantly he'd gotten almost all of them to reveal their powers to him. Of course he already knew about Neo's, but the boy's electricity and the girl's strange metal conjuration were definitely things he'd never seen before; he would certainly keep an eye on them. And the boy with the red powers too. It seemed pretty similar to the attacks Zuro had displayed in the street, but they were also different in a way Nexus couldn't quite define. One thing he was certain about though was the fact that they packed a punch.
The beam had only skimmed Nexus but he felt like his organs were about to fall out of the wound. There was a constant burning sensation inside, which was enhanced by the actual pain of the wound. He was thinking about what he could do to deal with it. There was Quinn, he knew for a fact she had some healing spells that would help, but after what had happened between them he was hesitant to meet up with her so soon, especially while his thoughts about the whole ordeal were such a mess. So instead, he just worked on using his powers to apply constant pressure on the wound and keep it from bleeding profusely.
The pain was immense but manageable, and with the help of his powers he was still able to look fairly inconspicuous. He thought about going home and getting it bandaged up, then meeting Zuro afterwards, but his pride got in the way of that. He didn't have time to mess around, he wanted to secure having Zuro on his side as soon as possible so that he could get back to business.
The man was a strange character to judge. So far his motives seemed to be simply causing chaos, as well as a little bit of revenge, but Nexus had faith he'd come to his aid if he ever needed it. He'd yet to judge the full extent of Zuro's power too. Some news articles spoke about him coming from another world, but Nexus had brushed them off as being simply rumours people had spread in order to sell more stories. Everything about Zuro was human, except from the red eyes, but Neo and Nexus were proof that strange eye colours hardly meant you weren't human. He might end up learning more about his backstory actually, if the two did manage to form this sort of alliance.
As Nexus walked his thoughts drifted to Quinn, wondering what she would've been doing at that moment in time. He suddenly became self aware of such an out-of-character thought, but he couldn't help but go on thinking about her. He thought back to the kiss, and hated himself for feeling a small burst of affection at the simple memory of it.
Fuck.
Maybe she knew it would have this sort of effect on him. That could've been why she was so insistent on it happening. One thing was for sure though, he wouldn't be letting her in on a single smidge of his true feelings. He couldn't allow any sort of emotions to get the better of him. The memory of the things she said in the cafe suddenly hit him - how right she'd been about everything. She was certainly a difficult one to trick, that much was obvious. But no matter how she felt towards him, or how he felt to her, he couldn't let anything happen. He felt no guilt about it, he simply couldn't let her become a distraction - or worse, a bargaining chip used against him.
Despite his coldness towards the subject, he was beginning to consider the possibility of someone threatening to kill her if Nexus didn't abide to their will. He supposed it would depend on what exactly they wanted, but he liked to think he would let her be killed if they asked too much and lose little to no sleep over it.
Thing was, he would never truly know unless the time came.
And that thought was a scary one.
Nexus put Quinn to the back of his mind as he continued moving down the street, eventually darting down an alleyway. He'd tried to teleport once he left Neo and the others, but the pain from his side had been too much for him to be able to concentrate. Now it wasn't as bad however, since he'd gotten used to the pressure he was putting on it, so took a deep breath and closed his eyes as he focused on moving himself up to the highest skyscraper in the city.
It ended up being a success, and he looked around the rooftop as he arrived, spotting Zuro yet again at the edge of the building. "Still here? Thought you might've gotten bored and gone on another little killing spree." Nexus said, slipping his hand into his pocket as he subtly maintained the pressure on his wound. Zuro regarded him coldly, then looked out across the city once more. "I've been observing this city. These people are...repulsive. Worms going about their lives, ignorant of their own weakness. Their sins forgotten. Their fragile peace resting on a hair's breadth. They are happy. Content. The death I grant them is a blessing; a kindness undeserved." He spoke without turning around, unable to see Nexus' perplexed expression.
"Okaaaaay. Anyway. I don't have the boy but I know where he is. There's some things you should know." Nexus said as he watched Zuro, who only now turned around and stepped down from the edge of the roof. "You don't have the boy?" The man asked stonily, his hateful red eyes boring deep into Nexus'. It was only then that Nexus realised just how tall Zuro truly was. Nexus himself was considered above average, standing at 6'3, but the man before him must've been around 6'7, at a guess. He remained undeterred by the piercing glare that unwilling set his skin on edge. "I don't. There were more complications than anticipated. The boy had friends, new ones. Each with powers of their own. One could control electricity, one could-" "I don't care about the others." Zuro snapped, cutting Nexus off succinctly "I already assumed there were others like him. All I want is that boy."
A scowl crossed Nexus' face, but his brain was working overtime. He'd thought the knowledge of the others would be enough to temporarily sate the psychopath, but that obviously wasn't the case. His brutish nature and unabashed lack of respect were causing alarm bells to ring in Nexus' mind. "I can get you the boy, but first I want to ensure that you'll honour our agreement. How do you intend to prove that you're loyal to me?" Nexus asked, his eyes watching the man carefully. "Ah yes, loyalty." Zuro practically spat the word, like the longer it remained on his tongue the fouler it tasted. "Truth is, my loyalties don't lie anywhere but myself. And you, human, are certainly no exception to that." Zuro said with a grin, which Nexus was less than impressed with.
Sensing the rising tension in the air, Nexus moved his free hand to his side just in case Zuro tried anything. He was already regretting not getting his injury healed before coming, but he wouldn't let it demoralise him."You seriously think that-" he took a step towards Zuro, but the other man suddenly lashed out with a sideways kick aimed at Nexus' side, so fast it would've been impossible for any regular human to predict it. Nexus did not consider himself a regular human, however, and since he'd seen the attack coming he was able to move his hand up to create a wall of air just in time. Zuro's foot connected with the barrier, but then something Nexus wouldn't have predicted in a thousand years happened.
A whooshing sound filled the air as Nexus' barrier was shattered completely by the impact of Zuro's foot, which had enough momentum to keep going even after demolishing the solid air shield. It collided with Nexus' arm and broke it almost immediately, a loud snap sounding across the roof as Nexus was sent skidding across it. His reaction was far from immediate. It wasn't until he had skidded to a stop against the edge of the roof that he began screaming in agony, clutching his awkwardly bent arm as Zuro slowly and menacingly approached. "You really believed I would work under the likes of you? How pitifully naive." He said as he stopped beside Nexus, looming over him with his insane red eyes staring directly down "Now that I'm stuck here, I think I'm going to spend my time finding new ways to keep myself entertained. I'm still debating whether or not I want to keep you around." He raised his foot above Nexus, who knew full well that if it were to be brought down on him he wouldn't stand a chance at blocking it.
The man who had be so cool until now began spouting defences almost incoherently. "I-...I can help...I'm powerful and...I have men on my side. Willing to do whatever needs to be done. I'm resourceful! I've built a crime network from the ground up, you'll regret not keeping me alive!" Nexus said, disgusted in himself at the fact he'd resorted to pleading - but after having his barrier broken he was left in total disbelief at the power of the demon before him. Zuro sneered, then suddenly brought his foot down sharply right on Nexus' leg, causing that to snap effortlessly too as the man began screaming louder in pain. "You're pathetic." Zuro said with a scoff, clearly enjoy watching Nexus squirm and fear for his life."Please..." Nexus begged, clenching his fist and trying his best to stop screaming out in agony as he looked up at Zuro "I can help...I promise. You'll-...I'll help you with whatever you need. Whatever you came to this planet for! I know this city, these people. You'll regret killing me. I promise, you'll regret it."
Zuro looked at Nexus for a second, then grabbed him by his torso and lifted him up to look him in the eyes "Tell you what. You survive this, then come back to me alive, and I'll let you join me. Prove your resourcefulness to me." Nexus gave a small nod, grimacing slightly as the pain shot through his entire body. "Fine. I will." He said, thanking God for the mercy he was being shown. He could survive a broken arm and leg - hell, he had already survived more in his life. "Great." Zuro said with a grin - something that Nexus immediately understood the meaning of - before his fist suddenly collided with Nexus' gut.
Nexus let out a soundless scream of pain as he felt his ribs explode into pieces, before he began coughing up a less than healthy amount of blood. Zuro wasn't finished, however. He retracted his fist from Nexus' stomach then smashed it clean against his face, breaking his teeth, jaw, and almost every other bone in the side of his face. Nexus was lucky Zuro was holding back with some of his punches, but could still feel his consciousness leaving him, only staying awake through sheer willpower.
Zuro could hardly contain his glee as he watched Nexus flop weakly in his grip, bleeding and broken as his grey eyes stared at him with unrivalled fear. The psychopathic red-eyed man wanted one last finished touch however, grabbing Nexus by the broken arm and leg and lifting him into the air as the man cried out in pure agony. He suddenly threw him down onto his knee spine first, hearing a satisfying crunch, before Nexus dropped to the rooftop with his eyes rolled back in his head, unconscious. Zuro was content with that finish, licking the deep, red, dripping blood off of his hand before he walked over to the edge of the building. There wasn't so much as a second thought or a glance back before he dropped off the skyscraper, leaving Nexus half dead in a growing, sticky puddle of his own blood.
Once Zuro had left, it took a good while for Nexus to come back to consciousness. It was a miracle he did, since his body seemed like it was starting to shut down. He refused to lay back and die however, reaching his good arm forward as he tried to drag himself across the roof. He suddenly let out a cry as he did so, screaming through his gritted teeth as unbearable pain washed through his entire body. His spine was broken beyond repair, as well as a large amount of the rest of his bones, and the sheer agony of it all was almost impossible to handle. His breathing was far from okay, horrible wheezing and croaky sounds emitting from him each time he tried to take a breath. Blood was spilling from his mouth, creating a smaller puddle of red on the rooftop amongst the larger one caused by the rest of his injuries. He could feel his organs collapsing, there was no doubt his broken ribs had pierced more that a few.
Even if he did manage to get off the roof, there was no amount of medical treatment that could help him now. It seemed he only had one option, but it still had the slimmest of chances that he might come out alive. Lucky for him his powers didn't require the rest of his body to be functional, so as he closed his eyes and concentrated as hard as he possibly could, feeling his consciousness start to fade again, he felt himself slowly teleport across the city. He opened his eyes and he was on the floor in the middle of a living room, still bleeding, wheezing and broken but somehow relieved. He had made it to where he wanted to go, and although he suddenly heard a scream and a glass smashing from what felt like a mile away, his mind slowly slipped away and all he saw was darkness.
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Neo made it to Kelsie's door, lightly tapping his knuckle against it in hopes that someone would hear it and open up. He'd mulled over the events of the day on the entire journey back, only realising once he was at the door that it was well past midnight and into the next day. It had certainly been an eventful few hours.
The door slowly opened, though the chain was still on which stopped it from doing so all the way. Synthia's eyes looked out at Neo from inside the apartment, and her expression visibly relaxed. She shut the door again, unhooked the chain, then opened it fully to let Neo inside. He flashed her a grateful look, noticing that all the lights in the apartment were off save for one small lamp next to the couch, and none of the others were in the living room. He also noticed that Synthia was wearing some fluffy pink pyjamas - a style so polar opposite from her earlier clothes that Neo simply assumed she had borrowed them from Kelsie.
"Everyone else is in bed." She explained, like she could tell exactly what he was wondering "You were taking a while to come back so I waited up just to make sure you were okay." He couldn't help but smile at that, shutting the apartment door and dropping the bag off his shoulders "I appreciate it. God knows we could all use a rest after today." "Yeah tell me about it. You especially. Confronting a super villain terrorist, waking up in some girls apartment and meeting all her super-powered friends, then getting a visit from your presumably long lost, similarly super-powered brother." Synthia said, managing a small smile of her own that coincided with her light-hearted tone. "You put that in a way that makes it sound like a movie." Neo commented as he made his way over to the living room, dropping his bag beside his makeshift bed on the floor. "Well, it would make for a pretty good movie. How's Kayla anyway, I'm guessing she made it home?" Synthia asked, going to sit on her couch bed but peeking over the back to look at Neo "Yeah, she did. Luckily she didn't seem too shaken up about today." "When you've got a family life like her's it's difficult to be phased by anything." She said, which Neo raised an eyebrow at. Just how much did her friends know about Kayla's situation?
"I won't pretend I haven't been curious about that. Though I feel like it'd be rude to ask about." Neo said, which was the truth. Hearing about Kayla's life at home reminded Neo of the morning of the previous day, where he'd seen Kayla outside her apartment and heard her parents fighting. That seemed like it was just a taster however, he had a feeling whatever went on behind the scenes was a lot worse. "All you need to know is that it's pretty fucked up. Hell, I don't even know most of the specifics." Synthia said, her arms flat against the back of the couch as she lay her head on them. Neo gave a small nod, then glanced at her for a second "Could you uh...turn around for a sec." He asked, which she raised an eyebrow at "Why? You sleep naked?" She questioned, though it was more out of amusement than anything else. "Not um...not usually. And especially not in the middle of someone's living room." He said, slightly embarrassed at the thought alone. "Then why'd you need me to turn around?" She wasn't exactly objective towards turning around, she just had the urge to poke a little bit of fun at him.
"So I can...take my top off." He mumbled, suddenly far more embarrassed by making it a big deal than he would've been simply taking his shirt off in front of her. He was planning on changing clothes, and underwear, in the morning, hoping to be able to get a shower too, so sleeping in the stuff he'd worn all day wasn't the worst thing. "And now I'm suddenly interested in watching. Such a shame." Synthia said, flashing a tiny smirk before she complied and turned on the couch to face away from him.
Was she flirting with him? The thought suddenly entered Neo's mind unbidden, causing a look of puzzlement to cross his face. That was very new to the boy, he wasn't quite sure how to handle something so blatant and unashamed. Regardless, he let out a small sigh of relief and quickly pulled his shirt off, before sliding under his covers and moving to get comfy. "Can I look now?" Her voice came, sounding slightly amused at the notion of not being allowed to see him. "Yeah, sure." He said, watching as her head returned to its spot peeking over the couch. She looked at him for a second, like she was considering asking something, and even Neo with his awful social cues knew there was a question on the tip of her tongue.
"Shoot." The boy said, feeling a sudden closeness with Synthia that made him more willing to answer whatever she said. "I was just curious about Nexus. He really is your brother then?" She asked questioningly, like she'd been suspicious of it since the man had shown up. "Unfortunately yes. Though I go by my mother's last name, Cahya, whereas he goes by father's, which is Ahriman." Neo answered, letting out a small sigh as Synthia gave a small nod. "How'd you guys end up becoming...distant? I know that's not a great way to put it since he seemed very willing to kill you, but still." She said, fully expecting that it would have something to do with Nexus' obvious heartlessness and villainy she'd bore witness to. "That's a...very long story. And one that I'm too tired to go over in detail right now." Neo said, flashing her an apologetic look, though she gave a nod of understanding "That's fair. I'll let you get some sleep then, God knows I could use it too." She said, reaching over to turn the lamp off before getting comfy in her bed. "Yeah. Goodnight Synthia." Neo said, closing his eyes as he pulled his covers further around him. "Night." She replied, doing the same as the room descended into silence.
Roughly half an hour passed, with Neo failing tremendously at trying to sleep. His mind was filled with numerous different thoughts regarding Nexus, Zuro, and just about everyone else he'd encountered in that single day. At some point, soon after he'd said goodnight to Synthia, his phone buzzed in his trouser pocket. He reached his hand under the covers and pulled it out, looking at the screen as he read the text he'd just received. "I got your note and figured I should send a text just so you had my number too. Don't bother replying. - Kayla" Despite the fact the text was sent purely out of necessity, it managed to put a small smile on Neo's face. He turned the phone off and put it back in his pocket, returning to looking up at the ceiling of the living room. He wasn't quite sure what he was going to do now. He thought about the possibility of staying with the others, though so far they hadn't exactly given him a choice to leave. That wasn't necessarily a bad thing though, he'd found himself actually enjoying being around the others and if the time ever came where they wouldn't mind his leaving, he knew he'd be conflicted in actually staying or not. His life certainly seemed to be changing already though, and it didn't seem to be for the better, so it would definitely be worthwhile having friends by his side.
Nexus had gotten his nerves going though. The fact he was able to almost incapacitate every member of the group without them so much as landing a hit was extremely worrying - Neo wasn't sure they'd get off so lucky if they ever came in contact with him again, which seemed likely at this point. One of Nexus' last points still stuck with him, the one about how Zuro was the one he should fear. Maybe it was just Nexus trying to get under his skin, but if the most powerful person Neo had come across in his life was implying that someone else was stronger and more ruthless, things were getting serious. Neo hated how little he knew about the red eyed man, and how Nexus was able to gain more information on him than practically the rest of the planet in just a few hours. If Zuro's hate for him had been as intense as Nexus made it out to be, he had no doubt there was a future encounter waiting for them, and when that came he wasn't sure what sort of fight he would be able to put up against the mad man.
It was all a mess, and Neo didn't understand much of it, but the thoughts bothered him so much that he lay awake in the silence for a great deal of time. Eventually however, that silence was broken by Synthia's voice from across the room. "Neo?" She said in a hushed voice, pausing to listen for any sort of reply from him. He'd been surprised in hearing her speak, since he was sure she had fallen asleep a long time ago, but thinking back she never actually showed any definitive signs of sleeping. "Yeah?" He said in an equally quiet whisper, curious as to what she wanted. There was a moment of silence, then the sound of rustling came from her direction as though she were getting out of bed.
Without saying anything else she carefully made her way over to his bed, and before he even knew it she had plopped down to lay beside him, causing him to shuffle away in surprise and try to pull his covers further over him and his exposed chest "What are you-" "I can't sleep. And you can't either, evidently." She stated, looking at him as her head lay against the pillow "So lets talk. I know practically nothing about you, and you know practically nothing about me, so I'm sure it'll be good to get to know each other." He watched her for a second, somewhat surprised by her open and confident nature, then gave her a questioning look. "Why can't we have a conversation with you in your bed?" He asked her, with the girl smiling mischievously in response to his curiosity "Up close and personal is the way I prefer doing things. Plus, we don't wanna wake up the others by talking too loudly, right?."
Neo let out a sigh, but then gave a small nod "Alright, I could use something to do." "Well, I wasn't planning on going that far." She said teasingly, almost like it was instinctive, but it immediately put a deep blush on Neo's face. "Sorry, that maybe...wasn't too appropriate. I'm getting cold, can I...?" She nodded at the covers, and though he understood what she was asking he grew slightly timid. "I'm...topless. Like I said." He told her, and could almost feel a teasing remark about to come. "Is that your request for me to level the playing fields?" She said with a raised eyebrow and a slight smirk while she subconsciously chewed her inner lip. The expression she was wearing coupled with her suggestive comment made Neo's blush darken as he struggled for any sort of words, causing Synthia to let out a quiet chuckle. "You're way too easy to mess with. Relax, I actually am cold. I'll take this side, you take that side. I promise I don't have any ulterior motives." She assured him, as he finally managed to form a sentence, though his blush remained prominent. "Fine. Knock yourself out." He said, as she smiled slightly and moved to slide under the covers with him, laying on her side as she looked him right in the eyes.
After a moment of silence, one that Neo found fairly awkward and Synthia did not, she spoke up. "I'm still scared you know. Much as I hate to admit it. I don't know how you and Kayla did it - you both seemed so calm and collected and just...down to business. That's what I wanted to be like, but as soon as the fighting was over I was hit with this fucking horrible sense of dread. It was so overwhelming, I couldn't stop myself from breaking down. Even now I'm worried someone's gonna break through that door and kill us in our sleep." Neo looked at her for a second, seriously unsure what to do and also confused at why she was spilling her heart out to him so suddenly. His attitude quickly grew more resolve-filled however, as he decided to try and give her at least a few helpful words of comfort.
"Me and Kayla are just...used to the trauma, I suppose. And trust me, that isn't something you want to have. It was a scary experience, and no one blames you for getting worked up the way you did." Neo told her, his tone showing just how serious his words were. "Still, I-...I could've done something. Noah was laying there a few feet away with broken ribs and I just lay down and cried." Emotion was starting to build up in Synthia's voice as she spoke, and Neo had no idea what the hell he was going to do if she started to cry.
Rather than sit back and let that happen, the boy tried his best to speak some further words of comfort. "There was nothing you could've done for Noah. You don't have to feel guilty just cause your emotions got the better of you. It happens to the best of us." Synthia looked at him for a second, then gave the tiniest of nods and alongside a deep sigh. "I don't know what it is, Neo Cahya, but something about you seems to just...calm me. Thank you." "Anytime." Neo said, smiling a little bit with complete sincerity.
Silence fell upon the two again, and while Neo was using it to think about how to keep the conversation going, it was clear that Synthia's thoughts were of a different calibre. "God, what am I doing? I appreciate your words, but-" She let out a humourless laugh, then made a movement to get up from the makeshift bed "-I'm sorry." Neo had no clue why she was suddenly trying to leave after all her efforts to talk to him, and in a moment of reflex he reached out to place a hand on Synthia's waist to stop her. He had been expecting to feel her pyjama top but was shocked to feel his hand connect with her bare flesh. It seemed her pyjama shirt had ridden up slightly, which then left Neo with the task of using all his willpower not to blush and continue his pursuit in finding out why she wanted to go. "Wait, hang on. I want you to stay." He said instinctively, unabashed by the truth of his words.
Some sort of emotion twitched through Synthia's features for just a second, but it was soon gone, leaving her looking back at him with a questioning expression "Why?" She asked simply, as Neo chewed the inside of his cheek in contemplation "Just...you seem kinda...I don't know, interesting? That doesn't feel like the right word. I like your confidence. I want to stay and talk." She eyed him skeptically, but he could tell from the tiny smirk creeping its way onto her face that she wasn't going to leave straight away. Instead she moved back under the covers, with him retracting his hand from the spot on her waist. "You're charming with words, I'll give you that." She said, smiling at him as he smiled right back at her. "What can I say."
The two watched each other for a second, until Neo figured it was his turn to strike up a conversation "Noah mentioned you and Axel were siblings. You guys don't look that far apart, age wise I mean." "That's cause we're not." Synthia said, clearly not too bothered about talking about her and Axel "He's older by four months." Neo paused slightly at this, his brow furrowing "But how does that-" "Different Mom's." She explained simply, flashing a small smile although it had a hint of deeper emotion behind it "Our Dad wasn't the most faithful of husbands. Left Axel's Mom shortly after he knocked her up and then got another woman pregnant, my mother. They're still together now but I left to live with Axel and his Mom a good few years ago." "You left them?" Neo asked, surprised by this. He'd never even known his parents, but here Synthia was telling him that she'd outright chose to leave hers for her half brother and a woman she wasn't even related to. "By the time I hit ten my parents had four kids, not including me. I was the oldest which means I was expected to take care of lots of things, and it also resulted in me being the one my parents had the least time for. One night I heard them talking about my half brother, who I'd never even known about let alone met, and they mentioned where in the city him and his mom had just moved to. I confronted them about it but they refused to tell me anything, and when I told them I wanted to meet him they became frantic and forbade it. So, I snuck out one day to find him. We clicked almost instantly, his Mom was super nice too, and the fact we were half siblings hardly seemed to get to him at all. All Axel saw it as was a new friend. I was so devastated when I had to go back home..." Synthia's expression feel slightly, a sad smile on her face which sent a pang of sympathy through Neo's body. "I kept sneaking out more and more, with my parents being none the wiser about it. Being with Axel and his Mom just made me feel...wanted, y'know? Way more than I did at home. Eventually, I made the decision to leave entirely. When my Dad first found out he made a big fuss about it, but after talking to Axel's mom...well, more like arguing with Axel's mom, he backed down and hasn't bothered with me since. Which I'm grateful for."
Neo looked at her for a few seconds, before she turned and met his gaze, suddenly letting out a nervous chuckle "Sorry, I kinda droned on." She rubbed the back of her neck, seriously hoping Neo would say something. "You're lucky, you know." He said eventually, causing a puzzled look to cross her face "You got to experience what it was like to be part of two different families. And not only that, you also got to choose which one you liked best." He went on, unable to hide how envious he was of life she had. "I've never thought about it like that..." She said quietly, trying not to show that she felt a tad bit guilty for complaining about her old family. "I didn't mean to criticise anything." Neo tried to clarify, sensing the slight shift in the atmosphere "I'm just jealous - can't help it. You seem happy with Axel and his Mom, which is what matters."
A small smile crossed Synthia's face, then she let out a long, dramatic sigh and turned to look at the ceiling "He's a really, really good person. I'm glad he found someone like Kelse, they're both great for each other." Neo watched her for a second, then copied her action and lay on his back to look upwards as well. "Earlier it seemed like you were sympathising with Noah for being in love with her." "I was sympathising!" Synthia defends, moving one hand behind her head "He ought to move on, but he's been like this for so long it's hard to see it ever happening. That doesn't mean I want him to steal my brother's girlfriend though." She said the last part with a bit of fire, so Neo felt it was appropriate to react defensively. "I never said that's what you wanted!" He said in hushed defiance, letting out a quiet laugh. "You implied it, don't act." Synthia retorted, a small smile on her face as well "Anyway, we're all good friends and there's no way in hell Noah would ever do anything to come between them. He even fucking waited patiently after Nexus broke his ribs while Kelsie fretted over Axel. Kayla was the one who had to remind her about him." "Man, I forgot about that." Neo said, thinking back to the way Noah had casually sat against the wall after the attack, and how he had even gone as far as refusing his help. He wasn't sure if it was just his polite nature or whether it was for Kelsie's sake like how Synthia was suggesting.
The pair let that topic drift away into the quiet night, as a new subject of interest entered Synthia's mind. "So, I'm taking a wild guess here and saying you don't have a love interest in your life." She mused, glancing over at Neo. The boy let out a small laugh at the thought of it "Love interest? I don't even have friends, never mind someone like that." "No friends?" She said curiously, prompting him to elaborate further. "Well, I've never been in the position where I could make any. How did you all become friends?" He asked her, turning to look back at her. "Well, obviously me and Axel lived together. The others were slightly different. Kayla and Kelsie have been friends for a good while, since the start of school. Same with Axel and Noah, those guys had worked up a solid friendship over the years, but it was a little later on than the girls. After that, when Axel and Kelsie started dating but not quite dating, we all sort of just joined together and formed our little group. We all kinda knew we each had our own powers and other people didn't, so when we became friends we ended up coming clean about it all. It was a relief for all of us, I have to say." A small smile made its way onto her face as she obviously reminisced on the days she'd shared with the others, and something about her smile sent a realisation through Neo's body.
The thought that he had never been this close to a girl - and had also never talked to one for this long - came unbidden to the forefront of Neo's mind. A surge of excitement came with it, but the boy forced himself to keep his cool. Over the course of the day he'd had individual conversations with Kelsie and Kayla, both of which had gone off without a hitch, but that meant he was desperate not to mess up this conversation with Synthia. He knew it was going well though, and quite effortlessly at that. All he had to do was not think too hard. She seemed to like him already, which is the best start he's ever had, so all he had to do was be himself and hope that didn't end up going south.
"You guys have known each other for a long time then. And your powers, have you had them for as long as you can remember?" Neo asked Synthia, keeping his cool and hiding even the slightest speck of his inner monologue. "Not quite." Synthia answered with a shake of her head "My guess is they've always been there, but the signs only started showing when we hit a certain age. After hitting puberty they became super prominent though, and that's when we got a lot more control over them." Neo considered this, trying to line up her tale of events with his own discovery of his powers. It seemed to mostly add up.
"So you all already knew about them before you guys met?" Neo asked, receiving a nod of confirmation "Yeah. We'd all told each other that the powers had been around for a while. Most of us could do the odd thing here and there but like I said it wasn't anything incredible. What about you? What was your experience with them?" She was curious to hear about it, though based on the rest of the group she had a strong feeling it wouldn't be anything new. "I think they just kinda...showed up one day. I remember not being able to do anything, then having to learn from scratch." He said with a small frown, a memory suddenly coming to light from a long time ago.
Neo had awoken, immediately feeling that something was different. It was like a part of him that had always been shut away and locked tight had now burst open, filling his body with something new and exciting - but also absurdly dangerous. It was the latter which had the greatest effect on him. Upon testing this new, strange, instinctual power he now felt, Neo had accidentally destroyed his favourite action figure. That was enough to scare him into silence, and it wasn't until his brother - Nexus - coaxed it out of him that he revealed what he could do.
For some reason, Neo didn't exactly feel like sharing this with Synthia. He knew she'd probably provide a similar story and maybe give him a bit of comfort, but despite them sharing the same bed at that exact time, he had been struck with the thought that she really was little more than a stranger to him. Synthia could sense this twang of reluctance from him, and out of basic courtesy decided to not push him any further.
"It's a shame you don't have any friends." Synthia said, choosing to move the conversation in a different direction "You're a nice guy, and a pretty good conversationalist." Neo stifled a giddy grin at this, as it was the first time his conversational skills had been commented on in his life. "Keep in mind you haven't even known me for a full day yet. And for part of it you were ready to fight me." He said, smiling as he thought back to Synthia's attitude before Nexus' arrival. "Yeah, but in that time I've also seen you shirtless, helped fight your psycho older brother, and cried hysterically in your arms." She defended, putting forward the notion that it hadn't exactly been a normal day. "Well, saying it was 'in my arms' is a bit extreme, it was more just...leaning on me a bit." Neo said, trying not to sound embarrassed.
Synthia's eyes scanned his face for a minute, serving to make him turn a slightly darker shade of red than he originally was. "Wow...that is very modest of you to say." She teased, as he stared at her with an expression of puzzlement "What does that even mea-" "Anyway, next topic." Synthia said cheerfully, rubbing her hands together. "Aren't you tired?" Neo asked with a small, well-timed yawn- rubbing his eyes with his fists. "Surprisingly not. You must be doing a pretty good job at entertaining me." She told him with a small smile, amused by his actions. "I thought me entertaining you was just to pass time before we fall asleep." Neo mumbled to her, which she shook her head enthusiastically at. "Not at all. Come on, aren't you enjoying actually interacting with someone. From what you've told me you're a bit of a loner." Synthia said, poking more fun at him in an attempt to rile him up enough to reignite the conversation.
Neo simply deadpanned at her, with a very blatant 'I'm-not-buying-it' look. "Sure, I enjoy talking to someone new. But I also enjoy sleeping. A lot." He told her, which she rolled her eyes at. "Fine, as reluctant as I am I shall leave you be. It was fun while it lasted." Synthia said, flashing him a smile before slipping out from under the covers and tiptoeing her way over to the couch. "Thank you, Synthia." Neo said, his tone so serious and genuine that it sent a spark through the girl's body. The moment was broken however, as Neo let out a particularly loud yawn and sank deeper into his covers. "Have a good night." He said through the yawn, as Synthia hid her smile in the dark. "You too. I expect some more conversation in the morning though." She replied as she moved under her own covers, laying her head against the pillow and closing her eyes. Neo let out a soft chuckle, an elated feeling coaxing his eyes into slowly drooping closed, and in practically no time at all he was fast asleep.