The Doldrums (Odion, Adam)

[Lani Hunter]

Lani’s world was upside down. Everything was confusing, even normal things were now complicated and Lani couldn’t get that goddamned redhead out of his head. He loved Odion so much it hurt to keep pushing him away and at the same time he was so afraid of what might happen if Odion was close again. He and Odion had been getting somewhere then Odion decided it was a good idea to break into his apartment. Really, was Odion trying to get himself killed? Lani needed to have a place where he could be away from Odion if he needed to be and if Odion went on breaking into his apartment Lani was going to have to find a new hiding place for when things got too confusing. So Lani paced the living room like a caged animal, upsetting the kittens by his quick and agitated stride.

To: Odion
We need to talk. Can you come over?

Lani texted and as he clicked send he tried to think about how much time he would have to figure out exactly what he wanted from Odion before the redhead showed up. There was no more questioning, no more way around it. He loved Odion and he wanted to be with Odion. There was still so much between them. Lani’d tried to get across to Odion and he’d met Odion halfway across the rift, but without ground to stand on things just got bad again. They needed to figure things out with Odion’s memories and they needed to talk about what was still sore in their hearts. They had to make sure the wound was completely clear of debris before they patched it up or else they’d just get sick again.

There was something Lani knew now. It was that he couldn’t be without Odion again. He didn’t want to do this anymore. He didn’t want to keep pushing Odion away. At the same time things were hard to figure out and perhaps it was time they set boundaries. Like how Odion could see the cats, and how Odion should not sneak into his apartment in the middle of the night. Hell, what if Adam had been around when all that happened, Lani could only imagine how his conspiracy theorist roommate would have reacted to more meta humans sneaking into their apartment. He would probably think that this was all part of Lani’s master plan. The master plan that Adam had in his mind that Lani still hadn’t been able to figure out. Adam was out and Lani didn’t think he’d be back for a while and so he needed to talk to Odion before he changed his mind and shut out Odion altogether.

[Odion Martins]

Aside from momentarily allowing himself to act like a total moron and try and steal the cats from Lani, Odion thought things were going rather well considering the circumstances. It wasn’t like he blamed the entire incident on Jared, but he was going to be blamed for a third of it. The other third came from being completely smashed, and the rest Odion blamed himself for. It was bad enough that they still hadn’t managed to look at any past memories, but Odion was driving himself mad just trying to keep himself at bay. After their fight at the university, Odion had drunk himself into a stupor and then confided in Jared, which wasn’t a good idea when his best mate was also drinking. They did stupid things together when they were drunk.

That night was a blur. But what wasn’t a blur, was why Odion had gotten to that point in the first place. He didn’t know what Lani wanted, well, he did know, and Lani seemed to also know, and yet was denying himself of the truth. Odion knew that Lani was good at telling lies, he just didn’t think he was that good. How could someone lie to themselves anyways? Wasn’t that the reason why Odion had done what he had done, and tried to erase it all? There was no denying that he was in love with Lani and always would be. And their kiss... God, it hadn’t been long enough. And like he had questioned before, some of life’s mysteries were completely baffling, like how someone could be both a weakness and a strength. Lani was his.

So when Odion received a text from Lani, he felt obliged to give his consent.

To: Lani
I’ll be right there.

Checking himself in the bathroom mirror before leaving, Odion wished he still didn’t look like hell. Most of the cuts and bruises had faded into nothing more than slight skin discoloration, but his nose was another story. Between the dark blues, was an angry purple mess of a nose. Granted, it was healing quite nicely, but just because it was healing, did not mean the process would go quickly. And as if that wasn’t bad enough, there were two dark circles under his eyes. “For shit’s sake, like one bloody black eye isn’t enough...” He muttered to himself, giving up on looking in the mirror and leaving the bathroom. On his way out of his apartment, Odion slipped on a pair of large sunglasses and nicked a fag out of Jared’s jacket pocket.

There was only one way across the rift they had created between one another, and included some clever telekinetic tricks that Lani couldn’t seem to manage just yet. So since they couldn’t float in the middle of it, maybe it was just better if they fell. At least if that happened, they would fall together. Odion, not a fan of any kind of transportation, took a few long drags on his fag before abandoning it altogether. Lani wanted to talk, this wasn’t some fucking leisurely stroll. Taking a running start, Odion launched himself onto a ladder in a back alley. And as soon as he was on the rooftops, he was flying over rooftops for Lani. The darkness of the sunglasses didn’t bother him much, he knew exactly where everything was. He knew exactly what his foot would be hitting next and exactly where he would have to grasp the next pipe, or building ledge.

Landing on top of Lani’s apartment building, Odion slunk down the side and entered the building like any normal patron would. Now was a time to be using the shadows, as he didn’t want to be seen at all. Odion tucked his paranoia away and rapped on Lani’s apartment door. He touched the sides of his sunglasses just to make sure they were still in place, and as soon as Lani opened the door, Odi let himself in without a word. How was he supposed to act around Lani now? He didn’t care how Lani defined their relationship, but he couldn’t handle the mixed signals anymore. “Before you say anythin’,” Odion said, his accent stronger now that he was bunking with Jared, “just know I’m sorry for trying to steal the cats.”

[Lani Hunter]

Glancing at the text Lani tried to sit on the couch. The cats swarmed him now that he was down but he wasn’t down for long. He had far too much energy and nothing to expend it on. If he hadn’t just invited Odion over he would have gone for a run or something. Sometimes even the best planner didn’t think things through. Maybe that was his problem, he tried to plan but he couldn’t force himself to put things together one after another because he couldn’t find a plan in this. There wasn’t a step by step mending process for this, nor was there a step by step breaking process. He couldn’t say he would spend x amount of time doing this and x amount of time doing that. And it was damn frustrating! He went into the kitchen and then back out unsure of what he was doing pacing around. His power moving things here and there, absently tossing about the cat toys for the little ones to run after.

Lani didn’t understand why he was feeling so nervous or was it that he was anxious? He wasn’t sure what would happen. He knew what he wanted to happen, but if it would he wasn’t sure. The fact still remained that Odion had crossed the line that night. He had crossed the line with Caroline, or perhaps it was Caroline who had crossed the line. He couldn’t very well be angry with either of them but Odion was at least not someone he was related to. But that also made this work harder. He and Caroline would mend their relationship eventually, but with Odion Lani knew he needed to put in work and he, up until now had been doing it halfway. “What am I gonna do?” He asked aloud and looked down at Shadow who blinked at him from his perch on the couch arm. “I mean, how would you feel? I told myself never to love again.” Shadow still didn’t answer but blinked again. “You’re right,” Lani said, rolling his eyes and flopping onto the couch next to Shadow, “It’s Odion. You know, you’re as bad as Caroline.” He huffed and still the cat just looked at him and blinked.

Lani rolled his head back and stared at the ceiling. “Oh God, I’m a crazy person.” He muttered and stood again to resume his pacing. He had no idea what he was going to say when Odion actually got here, he just knew that this had to be now, while he was holding his fear at bay and hope that seeing Odion didn’t give it the strength to win. He didn’t know how long it would take Odion to get here and he didn’t know how to relax at the moment. At least his power was distracted and enjoying its time for the moment. He was actually really glad Adam wasn’t home. He didn’t outright say it was Lani was pretty sure that his telekinesis still freaked his roommate out a bit.

The sound of the door captured Lani’s attention and he was actually very surprised that he didn’t jump at the noise. He let Odion in and opened his mouth to greet him at least but Odion jumped in first. Lani raised a brow, Odion’s voice sounded different, it had gotten a little bit like this when they were in Europe and it sent a foreboding chill through Lani. He swallowed and nodded. “I know,” he said, “It’s okay.” He knew Odion missed the cats, but there was a limit. And he appreciated the apology. Were Lani in a better mood and the subject not so heavy he might have made a crack about the sunglasses but instead he gingerly reached forward the glasses to push them up so he could better see the bruise. From what Lani could see of Odion's nose it still looked like hell. Lani winced in sympathy and swallowed at the realization that he had done that. “How’s that feeling?” He asked. Lani’d made it out easy, all things considered. His head had been sore, but his power had recovered swiftly and the bruise on his jaw was hardly noticeable, and he’d been hiding it for the most part with stubble. Anything else had been quickly remedied with pain medication. Suffice it to say Lani really hoped that Odion’s nose was a case of ‘it looks worse than if feels’.

[Odion Martins]

Odion was more than through his pleasantries. Lani had asked him to come over, to talk, so he didn’t see the need for saying hello, and he sure as hell didn’t want to be asked how he was doing. The redhead nodded a couple times, putting a hand to his head. “That night was completely bonkers...” he said, still trying to remember exactly what had happened that night. But he was trying to conserve his power while it healed. That kind of memory could be explored at a later date, what was more important was that Lani was willing to forgive him for it. At this point, it just felt like another thing to add to a never ending forgiveness list.

Wincing as Lani pushed the sunglasses up, Odion didn’t feel comfortable taking them off, so when Lani was looking straight at the injury, Odi stared straight ahead, not directly at Lani, but he didn’t want to look down either. Straightening them out again on his face, Odion would rather not have the injury on display. “About as good as one could expect,” he said, which wasn’t very good at all. Lani seemed to be alright at least, and Odion knew that that only meant that Lani simply hadn’t seen the worst he could do. Odion hoped Lani would never have to see that side.

Finally feeling a bit relaxed now, Odion went to sit on the couch. Almost instantly the cats were climbing all over him. He smiled weakly and shoved them away as gently as he could. “Lani,” Odion said, not bothering to look at the blond when he felt absolutely ridiculous in these sunglasses, so he stared at LJ instead. “Why did you ask me to come here?” He sighed, putting his hands together and sitting back as straight as he could. “I don’t want to assume anything.” He didn’t want to get his hopes up, he didn’t want to think there was still a chance if there wasn’t. And he wanted to know if he would ever have those memories back. Thinking about them now, didn’t hurt as much as they once had. He knew they were there, just waiting to be unlocked, and he was ready to uncover them.

[Lani Hunter]

Lani nodded in agreement. Bonkers, that was definitely one way to put it. Odion had no idea just how dangerous the situation could have been if Lani’s power hadn’t recognized him. It did feel like a never ending forgiveness list. There was so much that was left unspoken that shouldn’t be silent and so much said that would have been laid to die before it left their lips. Lani’s eyes flashed over Odion’s injury and came to Odion’s eyes and Lani backed off biting the inside of his cheek. He’d screwed up, again. He looked at Shadow and gave him a shrug without being able to do anything more. Lani suppressed a sigh and watched Odion move to the couch. Even Shadow got up from his perch to say hello to Odion. Lani swallowed, was it selfish for him to want to keep the cats? He’d be terribly lonely without them, maybe he was the one that needed them.

Lani didn’t realize he was standing by the door his eyes just staring after Odion, a little in shock by the cold shoulder Odion was giving him. He should have expected as much. He’d literally punched Odion in the nose and then kissed him and run off. He never realized how much he wanted something until he was about to lose it and the way Odion spoke his name told him he was losing Odion. Swallowing a hard lump, that was exactly why he wanted to talk. He was tossing mixed signals at Odion and asking Odion to figure it out, which was unreasonable. Lani walked around Odion and sat a moderate distance away on the couch. He tucked one foot under himself so he could look at Odion. “I need to apologize to you as well,” he said and looked down at his hands playing, with his fingernails. “I’m sorry I reacted the way I did when we kissed,” He said softly, “I wish…” He bit his tongue, if wishes were fishes, Lani.

There was a part of Lani that had to learn how to feel safe being vulnerable. With a deep breath Lani slowly dropped the shields away from his heart. “I want to talk about us. Odion, I meant what I said, but I don’t know how to move forward.” As much as Odion wanted his memories back, Lani was stuck in his own and he was selfish in wanting to protect himself. “I’m being selfish, and I’m sorry. I just panicked.” Lani’d trained himself to see any attempt at his heart as an assassin’s strike and he’d had just as much time as Odion’s spent erasing him, to perfect his own defense mechanism. It was strange that he was attempting to confide in Odion about being with him. The cats clearly weren’t very helpful in this regard and Caroline didn’t understand that just being with Odion wasn’t going to fix everything. He didn’t want sympathy from Odion, he wanted understanding. Lani wanted to be with Odion, and he’d told Odion that he was scared and Odion’d kissed him. Such a thing should be a comfort, a reassurance, but his mind turned it into an attack. “I want to keep working on your memories, if you still want to,” Lani said, he had been hoping that he might find closure in Odion’s memories as well, but Lani was going to have to make peace with his own issues.

[Odion Martins]

Even though he was in a foul mood, Odion decided not to let his emotions get the better of him today. It was a hard task, seeing as tipping a bottle of medicine down his throat was much easier. But he had given enough, he wasn’t willing to give anymore. Lani would have to make more moves if he was truly being sincere in wanting to be together. Odion believed his intentions were a straight shot – being with Lani was hitting the target dead center. As it was, he felt like he was sitting somewhere on the edge of the circle, or perhaps he had missed it completely. There was no doubting his intentions, and they could dance like this forever if he didn’t take a stand. It was just how Lani operated. Keeping his eyes on Lani, Odion just waited. Odi hardly reacted to the apology, aside from a hint of a smile. “I wish the same,” he said, not a hint of remorse in his voice. He had many wishes and desires, but they didn’t seem to matter at the moment.

Odi shifted uncomfortably as Lani mentally prepared himself to say something. He listened and held back his remarks. Lani never wanted to talk about them, something drastic must’ve changed, or Lani was trying to make a drastic change in himself. Odion sighed deeply and put a thoughtful hand to his chin. “Well we can’t move forward standing still,” he said, because there was no reason why they couldn’t try again, and perhaps Lani wouldn’t budge until they uncovered the past. Lani didn’t want to move forward with Odion until they both knew what had happened. “I do want to,” Odion said with a nod, “and I think if we do, that’ll help us move forward.”

The redhead finally removed the sunglasses completely, setting them aside on the coffee table. He moved closer to Lani, looking at him curiously. Hesitantly, Odion gently took Lani’s hand and hoped his appearance wasn’t too terrible. “You’re not... you’re not afraid of me, are you?” Really, he just wanted to know what was stopping Lani from moving forward, and he wasn’t going to assume that it was because of the past. Because that was said and done, and Odion didn’t want anything stopping them from carrying on where they left off, only this time it would be different. This time, he hoped they could share what they had with the people they cared about most.

[Lani Hunter]

There was a slight nod from Lani as the corner of his lips twitched upward. Lani glanced up at Odion and his sunglasses before dropping his eyes back. Why couldn’t things be like the movies, where everything was fixed with a few simple words. The ‘L’ word had flown from Lani’s lips and there was no denying what it was that he wanted. Lani was really starting to get bored with this repetitive act he kept doing, but he didn’t know how to get out of his own way. He was who knew what was best for him and there was nothing to tell him what to do. The answers had been there and then he’d shut them away. He didn’t want to be the kind of person who needed to be under pressure to make split second decision, but Odion never had gotten around to teaching him to think on his feet with parkour. If Odion had to keep waiting for him to take a step back and analyze everything they would be moving no faster than a snail’s pace.

Lani clenched his jaw, feeling a slight twinge but nothing more from his bruise. Sighing in return the telekinetic waved a hand to indicate he agreed. It was strange looking at Odion and not being able to see his eyes, especially since they were indoors. Lani’s eyes skated over the dark shields and he nodded slowly. “I think so too,” Lani agreed and he dropped his eyes again, why did this have to be so complicated. Lani felt Odion shift on the couch but he didn’t look up until Odion’s hand appeared on his own. Taking Odion’s hand in return Lani looked up at Odion and he couldn’t stop the worried flash through his eyes as his brow creased. The bruises looked absolutely terrible. What was more terrible, however, was the question. Lani’s eyes widened momentarily in surprise and he swallowed before shaking his head.

Honesty, he reminded himself as the terrible feeling of vulnerability made Lani’s mind squirm uncomfortably. He reached up with his free hand to scratch his forehead and give himself a momentary cover. “No, not you,” he said and dropped his hand onto Odion’s holding his hand between his own, “It’s what I feel when I’m around you. Odion, we had different ways of dealing with what happened and mine was to just not feel.” He looked up and waved his hand unable to find the words any longer, it was as simple as that. It sounded stupid now that he’d said it aloud and he half expected Odion to laugh, it was all too ridiculous. He dropped his hand back onto Odion’s. The most terrible part was that it had worked, it had worked wonders, Lani’d never been so in control of his power, nor had the telekinetic been more clear headed and logical. But his control was false as he was realizing because as soon as Odion had woken his heart it had started to react to that again.

It was just why Lani couldn’t handle Odion ambushing him like he had to try to get the cats. He didn’t trust what he was feeling and when he invited Odion over or went to him he had a moment to prepare, that night Lani’d been meditating then Odion was suddenly there bringing with him all of those emotions. Lani wasn’t going to touch that, that was done and Odion’d apologized and that subject was done. When they’d been dating a surprise visit from Odion wasn’t only something Lani’d gotten used to but it was something he enjoyed, now it felt like an invasion. He knew Odion had been drunk, and he was willing to forgive a lot purely based on that, and he was more inclined to place blame on Jared, as he was about 75% sure it was the phaser’s idea, at least in part. Besides, if Odion took the cats what excuse would he have to come over?

[Deleted]

Adam had heard nothing about this “catnapping” incident, he was blissfully out of the house at work then off boozing it up with a friend or two. He didn’t even come home. There were a lot of nights like that, so if there were any problems that Lani was having with one person or another, Adam was completely unaware of it. He wasn’t even entirely sure that Lani had friends, mostly just knew that he went out for classes. All other times of the day, Adam was out himself or locked up in his room making the ever-so-important internet reports of how John F. Kennedy was really a meta-human with maximum charisma and the government was trying to hide the fact that his assassination attempt was due to an anti-meta radical group much like the one that he was trying to track down and dig up some concrete evidence on here in Pilot Ridge. Adam was on to something, he could smell it.

Anyway, that wasn’t what he was out doing today, today had just been an outing to cover for some dip-shit who didn’t show up for his shift at work and Adam was usually the first person they called because, hey, more hours meant more money and Adam would not turn down the prospect of getting some time and half overtime. After all, he needed a new drum set, and a was in the works of building a new gaming computer. Them processors and video cards were fucking expensive! But there were some pretty kick-ass deals on that Newegg site, they had a “build your own” computer tutorial as well, not that he needed help, but the feature was worth it because he got more for his moolah, at least that was the plan. But back to the work day, Adam was called in, expecting to cover this loser’s shift and then his own at the end of it(double shifts baby!) only to have the guy call in about three quarters through the day to tell him “omg i’m sorry! family emergency and whatnot~” and then agreed to take Adam’s shift to make up for it. Which was fine, except Adam was looking forward to the extra cash. But having more time off to play the new Thief game that was released a couple months ago was also looking pretty damn good to Adam. Also finishing off the grass that he scored a few weeks back was sounding pretty good too.

Adam assumed the door was unlocked, so didn’t bother pulling his keys out and jingling them over the lock before waltzing in like he owned the place. Well, he kind of did, he paid for half the rent after all. But he was still peeved about having his schedule messed up so much, he had plans today and then was expecting to pull a double then was sent home so now he had nothing to do for the next eight hours of his existence. So he was grumbly. “Fucking piss-offs, don’t know how to do nothing right!” he mumbled and complained as he stepped across the room with his backpack slung over his shoulder. He almost didn’t notice Lani sitting on the couch, definitely not the red-head next to him. The rodent-dog came skittering out from Adam’s room with a couple of yips and jumped on Adam’s leg. “Hey hey there, Paco! What’re you up to?” Adam knelt down and picked the chihuahua up, cradling him in his arms and cooling like a baby.

That’s when Adam noticed the other two, however.

Adam acknowledged his roommate with a nod but when they laid on the other person next to him, holding his hand, no less, Adam creased his brow and cocked his head, his mouth hanging open slightly as he tried to recall from where he remembered the other guy. Then it hit him and out flung his good ol’ pointin’ finger. “You!! I knew it!! You two were in cahoots all along! You’re a goddamn liar!”

[Odion Martins]

Odion gripped Lani’s hand tighter. “So what is it then? You don’t feel anything around me?” How could anyone just, not feel? He knew the pains of feeling unwanted things, that’s why he drank more than any one liver could take. Odion pursed his lips as Lani tried to wave the subject away, his eyes steeling. “I thought you wanted to talk,” he said, pressing onwards. Odion wasn’t sure what he expected from Lani’s possible breakthrough, but he was tired of being tugged around, especially by his sore heartstrings. All Odion had ever want to know what sitting before him, and if he couldn’t reach that, then he would never get to the stars. But Odion wasn’t ready to give up just yet.

“You listen to me Lani Hunter,” he started, “even if your words sound like bullshit to you, they’re not to me. I know we have a long way to go but...” Odion let his sentence hang in the air, his face turning sharply towards the sound of the door opening. It was too late to really move anywhere, so Odion just stayed put, bracing himself by way of holding tighter to Lani. He was not about to lose the one person he loved in this whole world. Of course Odion would assume the worst and forget entirely about Lani’s roommate Adam, who he had all but forgotten until the other blond waltzed through the door.

Odion didn’t have a problem with Adam, he was amusing and had some good albeit long winded points. As Adam’s ‘dog’ came into the living space, the redhead lifted his feet as though he didn’t want to be touched by the rat. He glanced at Lani briefly, assuming that Lani wasn’t expecting his roommate since he had invited him over to talk, and they were talking in an open space. Odi released his grip on Lani’s hand after the initial shock of Adam entering the room wore off. He wasn’t fond of public displays of affection, and he assumed Lani didn’t want anything to do with him at the moment anyways. Odi all but turned his nose up as Adam pointed at him. “Yes, you caught us,” Odion said, his voice dripping in sarcasm. Leaning away from Lani, Odion snatched up his sunglasses and put them back into place.

There were just some things Odion hadn’t gotten around to telling Lani yet, and old habits die hard. He wasn’t in the mood for this. “You’re an idiot,” Odion said flat out to Adam. He sat straight, keeping some distance between himself and Lani. Was this some kind of setup? Was Lani mad at him for buying drugs when Adam happened to be buying from the same dealer? He crossed his arms – well, this time he was going to get in his side of the story. “We bought something illegal from an ungrateful bitch who stole this idiot’s wallet, and I stole it back for him,” Odion peered over his sunglasses at Lani, “he thinks I stole it, and somehow you’re involved.” Lani would know better than anyone that Adam was... special. And Odi? He wouldn’t bother stealing a wallet he couldn’t keep. This was the fucking thanks he got for doing something good! Ha!

[Lani Hunter]

Lani’s eyes drifted up to meet Odion’s as the next question was asked. “No, that’s not it,” the telekinetic blurted in surprise, that wasn’t what he was trying to say at all. Lani swallowed, what was he trying to say? How was he supposed to tell Odion that the reason he was so upset was because he did feel things for Odion, very strong, overwhelming things? It was because it was taking him out of his numbness and making him become a part of the world again. “I… I do,” Lani replied when Odion pressed further. Lani was going to have to answer the question. Lani’s eyes dropped as his mind worked through what he wanted to say and how he wanted to say it. He was treading carefully because he knew he was being an idiot and he wasn’t being fair to Odion, who had been nothing but honest since he’d returned, well more or less honest, there was the whole thing with Caroline.

Surprised eyes looked up at the sound of his full name, it was very rare for someone to address him like that. So he obeyed and he listened, never taking his eyes off of Odion. Odion’s words gave him hope and also knowledge that they were both on this road together, it wasn’t ‘I’ or ‘you’ or even ‘you and I’ it was ‘we’. But Lani never got to hear the rest of that sentence because the door opened and Lani blinked in bewilderment as his roommate walked through the door. He thought Adam was working tonight, why was his roommate back. Lani unconsciously gripped Odion’s hand tighter when the redhead tightened his own hold and if Odion had any doubt about whether or not Lani knew Adam was going to be here he need only take a glance at the ‘deer in the headlights’ expression on Lani’s face when Adam walked through the door.

Lani withdrew his hands as soon as Odion let him and Adam’s snap accusation had Lani even more confused and he glanced from Odion to Adam confusion the dominant expression on the blond’s face. There was a reason Adam had no heard about the catnapping, mainly because Lani was pretty sure that Adam would overreact, as it appeared overreacting was Adam’s specialty. “We’re in cahoots? You two know each other?” Lani asked Odion who confirmed that they’d been caught. How did Adam and Odion know each other? “Who’s a liar? Am I the liar or are you the liar?” Lani asked, questions falling from his tongue before he could stop them. If this were any other case Lani would be certain that it was he who was the liar but Adam had never asked him about Odion or if he knew anyone with red hair. So who was the liar then? Odion? Lani gaped at Odion, who apparently knew Adam well enough to call him an idiot. “Would someone tell me what’s going on?” He had barely asked the question when Odion started in with the story.

Well that only brought up more questions. What sort of illegal things was Odion buying with Adam of all people. Lani knew Adam smoked, and he knew Odion smoked cigarettes but his mind was not on that sort of illegal ‘something’ that came to Lani’s mind. With all of Adam’s crazy conspiracy theories Lani was now worried that he was going to have to bail the other blond out of something stupid he’d just done. Lani’s mind tried to focus, that was not the point of the story, apparently Odion stealing back the wallet was. Lani looked at Adam, “Adam, if Odion had stolen your wallet you wouldn’t still have your wallet,” the telekinetic pointed out to his roommate and gave a shrug, “But I’m confused. What did I do?” Lani swore to god if this was anything like the wacky accusation Adam had made about the fire alarm Lani was going to hit him. Really Adam thought the world was out to get him and didn’t seem to realize that 1) Lani wouldn’t mess with someone he had to share a living space with and 2) Lani was just far too lazy to plot against Adam for his own amusement, he had bigger fish to worry about. Lani’s eyes snapped back to Odion, “And what illegal thing did you buy?” Code between thieves for ‘why didn’t you just steal it’ after all if it was illegal anyways, why not?

[Deleted]

At this point, Adam was utterly convinced that Odion and Lani were in cahoots with each other. It was the only thing that made sense! Why else would that red-head be hanging out in their apartment if not for a secret meeting they planned while Adam was supposed to be out working in order to come up with new and spectacular ways they could prank and/or otherwise cause a disturbance in Adam’s coveted existence.

The fact that the two boys were intimately holding hands(and not bro-ly holding hands) and looking like they were speaking sweet nothings to each other just a moment ago was completely lost on the Genius.

After all, he wasn’t the idiot here. Adam couldn’t believe that the red-head just spilled the beans about where and how they knew each other! If he really wasn’t in cahoots with Lani - Lani, the straight-laced and law abiding citizen he was - then he would be far more liable to actually hide his illegal drug involvement. Therefore, under this flawless reasoning, Adam felt inclined to take offense at the title of “idiot”.

“Who’s the idiot? You must be, like, some n00b or something,” Adam said not-so-discreetly. After all, who told the truth about being involved in illegal activities? Adam turned to Lani, attempting to salvage this mess that Odion(so that was his name!) clearly created. “Nah, he’s fucking with you! We was, uh, meeting at the supermarket, had to get me some eggs, you know.” Adam sent Odion a look and a “subtle” wink. “Nothing illegal about running through the produce aisle.” Anyway. “Thats when the chick swiped my wallet.” Adam shrugged. “Either that, or that’s when this guy swiped my wallet, claimed it was the hot blonde chick I was chatting up, all at the command of my dear roommate.” Because Lani was clearly out to get him. This only proved it!

[Odion Martins]

Adam was in fact, the idiot in the room, aside from that rodent that was running around on the floor. Clearly if Odion was going to tell the truth, that meant he trusted Lani, and if Adam used his god given sight, he might put two and two together. Regardless of how little Adam knew about the two thieves, Odion wasn't about to risk his relationship with Lani to cover Adam's arse. He had done that once before and look where that landed him! “We know of each other,” Odion corrected, although it seemed like he wouldn't have to say much, Adam was proving Odion correct.

And he wasn't really buying illegal substances with Adam, not directly. Odion had just made nice with a fellow buyer and thought nothing of it. “I didn't know you two were roommates,” he said, because clearly if he did, he would have found an entirely different dealer. Odion shrugged when Lani asked Adam what his role was in this whole business, and Odi couldn't help but feel smug. At least Lani knew him well enough to know that if he had stolen this idiot's wallet, he wouldn't have known about it. Odion had actually tried to do something nice, for once. Never, ever again. Not for someone he didn't know.

Odion glared in Adam's direction. “Why in the fucking hell would I go grocery shopping with you? For eggs? Which are not produce, by the way.” The redhead laughed once and shook his head. “The produce we bought was very illegal,” Odion assured. Looking back to Lani through his sunglasses, he knew that look. It had just been easier to buy in the state he was in. Odion took a big breath and started to speak as though Adam were not in the room, but still entirely in a code only Lani would comprehend. “It was around the second week I came back, I met up with a dealer in the usual spot and someone else happened to be there.” If Lani wanted more details, they could talk privately. “Bitch stole his wallet. I stole it back for him and this is the thanks I get.” And truly, Odion thought he would never see the dunder head again.

As for Adam, well, Odion didn't bother saying a word, it would only add fuel to the fire, and frankly, Odi didn't give a damn what Adam thought of him.

[Lani Hunter]

Lani raised a brow between Odion and Adam they were doing nothing to calm his confused mind. This wasn’t making any sense. So Odion and Adam knew of each other, that was news to Lani, he could give that to Odion, after all Lani even after everything trusted Odion more than he had a few weeks ago. Besides, if he wanted to lie to Lani, he probably wouldn’t have said that it was illegal in the first place. “Well now you know,” Lani said simply, “I’d introduce you but it seems kind of redundant now.” If Adam had voiced the idea that Lani was straight laced and law abiding it would have probably taken the telekinetic and the time turner a good while to recover from laughter. Sure there were things that he kept from Adam, but it wasn’t like Adam needed to know that Lani was a thief. The less Adam knew the less he could be responsible for. And with Adam’s crazy logic chances were he’d convince himself that Lani was a spy or something.

Adam started in on his side of the story and Lani just raised a brow amusement starting to spread across his face. Adam realized that Lani wasn’t born yesterday, right? Lani nodded along and looked at Odion a small smile sneaking onto his face. “Oh, I see, illegal eggs,” he said giving Odion a look and nodding in mock understanding. Honestly even if Lani had doubted Odion’s story at all, which he didn’t, Adam made it very easy to deduce who was telling the truth or not. Lani gaped at Adam. “Seriously Adam!? If I did half of the plotting you think I do, I’d be exhausted,” Lani said and rose to his feet holding his hand up. “Why on earth would I tell someone to steal from you, only to give it back?” Lani actually met his face with his hand and groaned. Why did he have to live with a crazy person? “Tell me, what would that have accomplished for me?”

He looked down at Odion as he spoke again. Lani was curious about what he’d been buying but he had a feeling he wasn’t going to get it out of him, not with Adam raging like a lunatic. Light struck Lani’s eyes as he nodded, drugs, that was easy to tell. Two weeks after Odion had come back hadn’t been good ones, not for either of them, but Lani was curious. He shook his head, for the time being that could wait. Lani looked at Odion, once upon a time Odion had asked Lani why he wasn’t standing up for him against Adrianna. Lani swallowed, he’d never been a very good boyfriend, but he could try harder. Lani held out his hands and waved it down at Odion and the other at Adam, a plea for calm and rational thoughts. “Adam, from the sounds of it, you owe Odion a thank you. Listen we’ve been living together for a while now, I’m not stupid, I don’t care whatever illegal thing you do.”

He glanced at Odion and then back at Adam. “I’ve also known Odion a long time,” well maybe not so long but they’d been close and Lani knew if Odion had stolen the wallet from Adam, well Adam being Adam wouldn’t have noticed until he was home and looking for it, then he’d probably blame Paco for taking it. “The way I see it, some girl stole your wallet and Odion got it back and right now you’re being very ungracious.” Lani pointed out and crossed his arms, “And I don’t know what I did to convince you, but I am not out to get you, neither is Odion and neither is Paco.” He was going to cut Adam off from smoking if he kept up like this. Maybe getting that book of conspiracies for Adam for his birthday had been a mistake. He didn’t know what he done to Adam. There had been that one prank but he hadn’t thought Adam thought it made him out to get him.

[Deleted]

“Hey! I never said we went together, I said that’s where we met.” Or at least what he meant. “And geeze, you must be new at this or something, man, don’t you know, you’re never supposed to give up the truth that easy, am I right?” He looked at Lani as if he expected him to agree with Adam, despite Lani having been the one they were supposed to be keeping the truth from. Well, if Mr. Red-head here had already given it up, then there wasn’t any point in lying anymore, was there? It only worked if there was some room for plausible deniability. Which there clearly wasn’t anymore because this guy just wouldn’t stick to the agreed story! (Btw, there was no agreed story if you hadn’t gathered).

Adam looked between the two, making a myriad of suspicious faces at their explanations. Lani…had a few good points, but Adam wasn’t completely convinced. “Okay…let’s say you’re right and I’m just going crazy here. If so, then fine. Thank you for rescuing my wallet from the bombshell blonde. You know, that’s the last time I use that supplier, last time I did he sent me to the wrong alley for a pick-up.” Yeah, that hadn’t been cool. Now that Adam thought of it, it was far more likely that Mr. Dealer was just a creep and trying to rip Adam off by selling him bad weed and stealing his life savings.

Adam started pacing back and forth, his dog under one arm and his other waving about logically. He pointed at Odion. “Anyway! If you weren’t there as some part of master plan executed by my dear roommate, explain to me why you were there that night! I mean, what kind of person takes their drug deals in front of their friend’s home unless their friend was fully aware of it?” Adam would never arrange a drug meeting outside of Dakota’s apartment, that was for sure!

He paced again. Adam was definitely on to something. “You two obviously know each other, it would be easy to orchestrate something like that and then feign ignorance later, you know? You can’t tell me you don’t collaborate, or rather, aren’t collaborating now. I mean, why else would…Odion, right? Why else would Odion be here at the exact moments when I’m not supposed to be?” Adam pointed his finger again, this time at Lani. “And if you’re not out to get me, explain to me why I get the distinct feeling that someone’s been in my room, moving my stuff, and then putting it all back right where they found it!” There was always just something….off…when he came back from his excursions.

[Odion Martins]

“Why would anyone meet up to buy eggs, or whatever the hell you’re blabbering on about now?” Odion shook his head, trying not to feel provoked by Adam. The dolt wasn’t worth his time, but he sure knew how to get under Odion’s skin in the worst way. But clearly Adam didn’t respond well to looking inside of himself to answer his own stupid questions. Odion glanced at Lani too, unable to hide a grin. But just because Lani didn’t care what Adam did, didn’t mean the same went for Odion, and the redhead would be willing to bet whatever money he had left that Lani was going to ask more questions later. He was always the curious one.

Somehow, the thanks he received did not seem sincere. Watching Adam pace, Odion didn’t feel the need to answer that question. So his drugs happened to be being sold near Lani’s apartment, so what? Odion hadn’t thought it was a big deal and was a tiny detail in his otherwise hectic life. Lani wouldn’t be caught dead in the open in an alley by himself for no reason, so unless he too was buying drugs, why would he be in that exact spot? Adam’s logic in this scenario was flawed and Odion didn’t need to say anything for the dumb blond to continue.

Odion’s nostrils flared and he decided to take this little conversation in a new direction, clearly uninterested in hearing more about their previously shared dealer. “No you’re right,” Odi said in Adam’s direction as though he and Lani were really in cahoots and genuinely up to something. He crossed his arms over his chest as though sizing Adam up. He leaned closer to Lani and then looked at him critically, nodding at Adam. “You think he would do?”

Now this, this was how a good story was made. This was how a couple of tricksters had their fun. Rather than dissuade Adam, why not go along with it? Put on an act? Odion knew that Lani had to live with him, but maybe if Adam thought they were a part of some super hero league or something, he would fuck off.