New Beginnings

[Lani Hunter]

Faking it and laughing about it were definitely the preferred way to go through life. A way to make the whole thing a joke. Some people must wonder if he took anything seriously. Though for those that knew him it was just so clear that seriousness was always behind his thoughts. Perhaps Lani could use some lessons from Odion considering he was notorious for lying himself into webs and complicated stories. But then he had always been a story teller from when he was little. He hadn’t grown out of it, just gotten better. He used to entertain his sister for hours with the crazy stories that he could come up with. Whenever he wanted to talk about something serious that was bothering him it help to tell a story about it. Detach himself from the problem but still get the same kind of benefit whenever the listener gave their opinion on the story.

Lani grinned. “You do kind of have that look,” he teased, “Besides I thought you liked fishing.” He winked biting his tongue to suppress the laugh that was bubbling up his throat. Cats liked fish didn’t they? Lani had never traveled, he hadn’t actually left Mass until he had come to Hammel. He had a rather limited culinary experience. He was such a mutt that besides the occasional spur of the moment Greek revival from his mother he really didn’t know what he was a mix of. All he knew was that Greek was in there somewhere and Irish, then basically every other county in Europe. So he was pretty much as American as one could get. He grinned a little bit of pride showing. “I’ve been known to grill occasionally,” he said with a shrug and smiled impishly at Odion. He looked like he was planning something, and perhaps he was, Odion would never know. “Challenge accepted.” He replied. If anything he had learned a few things about guilting people into eating things. Lani wouldn’t even begin to say he was anywhere near her skill for he had seen her convince the most stubborn of houseguests that if they didn’t eat more she was going to be bend out of shape for the rest of the night.

On the subject of riddles Lani was less skilled. He knew a few but he was terrible at answering them. He found himself grinning with excitement and almost anticipating Odion’s next puzzle. He only hoped he could puzzle the redhead a little to keep him as intrigued as Lani was. It was funny that they had inside jokes and were spouting counterexamples and refuting the other just for the sake of not letting the other have the last word. “Tell me Odion,” He said leaning forward with a seriousness that could have made a claim about the end of the world seem completely rational, but instead he simply asked, “Have you any idea why a raven is like a writing desk?” As unexpected as it may be Lani was well read, he might not always be quick at reading or necessarily understand it all in one read but ever since that damned English teacher had gotten into his head he had been escaping this hell of a life he had in favor of books.

It was only fair that in this game they were playing Odion was the cat and Lani the mouse most of the time. But in the game of life Lani’s role changed to that of a dog. On a least and collared. But he was like an abused mongrel afraid of the world and more likely to bite than wag his tail. And if he was let off that least the taste of freedom would simply be too good to give up. LJ was already turning out to occupy Odion’s attentions. He scratched his pair alternating from one to the other. He looked over at Odion for a moment before turning back to the felines. He had to admit that more than once he had had a nightmare of sorts where there were just thousands of eyes looking at him constantly, some soft, some judging, some kind, others hateful. But the ones that always struck him the most were the ones he couldn’t read they were always the same shade of blue and they unsettled him the most because he couldn’t hide from them. He blamed it on the most recent book he had read where eyes watched those that were hiding something.

Lani was having another one of his thick moments and in his desperation his mind jumped to assumption that LJ was Lani Jr. because honestly he didn’t think Leopard Jumper was any more likely. He laughed at himself what a silly thought. There had to be something else that he was missing. Lani nodded when Odion turned to him. He resisted laughing at the slack jaw expression Odion was giving him. “Not all the time,” he shrugged backpedaling on his decision, “But I’m gone a lot. So when I’m gone they’ll have to have someone to look after them.” It was pretty clear that Lani was not going to let Odion have access to his room while he was not there, there were too many secrets lying around in there. “Hey, we’re in this together, aren’t we? It’s not like I’m going to abandon you with them. Just for the first few days they probably shouldn’t be separated. We can alternate and,” He paused pointing at Odion, “This is your crazy idea so I have decided you get the first shift.”

Lani wasn’t one to see reason once he made up his mind about something. So no matter how much sense it made that in order to harness his power he should try crazy thing sometimes, he was not going to accept it. Honestly Lani’s fear of his power was probably the worst thing for him. Because the more he avoided working with it the more potential it had of screwing up and really hurting someone. Lani scoffed at his answer turning into a sullen teenager. He glared at Odion and his lips pulled back into a snarl as he tried to find a fight to that. But the truth was Odion was right. He was right and Lani hated him for it. Finally just for argument’s sake Lani muttered, “Maybe I just need time.” He coiled himself to attack again but as he opened his mouth to speak more strongly but when Odion beat him to the punch it was his turn to be slack jaw. He closed his mouth and opened it twice before he finally settled on a stubborn response. “It’s not the same thing.” He said that for lack of anything better because that was what Lani always did. He helped people and because he helped people that meant he could solve his own problems too. Didn’t it?

Had he realized that skydiving into a lake was an activity on the table Lani would have headed for the hills in an instant. Another closely kept secret was his fear of water. It was irrational and really didn’t make sense but honestly the thought of going into a body of water made him physically distressed. He looked at Odion falling silent as the redhead clearly raged from within. It was the kind of internal battle that couldn’t be hidden. Especially when he bit his lip like that. Lani was starting to notice that was a trend. When something upset him he bit his lip, just like when something upset Lani he tended to shut down outwardly. Different solutions to the same problem. Too bad for Odion Lani was not going to let this go. He hadn’t expected a remarkable recovery on Odion’s part but he realized now part of him had been hoping for it. He chewed the inside of his cheek, even now after having that argument he wanted to help even when he had tried to refuse it.

Back at the pond Lani was nearly to the point of begging Odion to look at him. His power had done this and it was his fault, but he still had a small anger that Odion would blame him for his unintentional power usage. The idea that he had been frozen in time for a while was unsettling but it made him think. Maybe Odion could help him… He would allow himself the thought but he would not let this thought grow into a hope. He was not that naïve. If anything Odion had control, control that Lani so desperately lacked. He looked down at Darshay’s eyes and then looking into Shadow’s. Both were blinking like they were hard pressed to see anything but their eyes were wide and bright and taking in everything. He smiled a little when Odion turned toward him. It was at least something. But then he turned back to his own kitten. Lani braced himself but Odion did not fulfill his promise. Lani’s eyes softened when he realized this. There was no promised yelling even though Lani pressed the issue. This was his fault he could at least try to make it right.

He took the offered milk and looked down at the kittens. He crossed his legs under himself and rested the wrapped up kittens on his legs. Maybe they could smell the milk but they were being quite loud for little things now. Shadow reached out for the milk and Lani tipped it up. Unconsciously his power took hold of the bottle as he held the other one out to Darshay. They drank greedily and quickly. Lani’s eyes softened and he smiled down at them rubbing their heads a little as they closed their eyes in pleasure. It still was strange to him how he could have a power so violent but at times like this could be so gentle holding milk for kittens. He frowned a little and glanced at Odion when he finally decided to answer his question. Lani nodded slowly, it hadn’t been his place in the first place to throw that out the window. If Odion wanted to be free he had to get rid of it himself. “Maybe it’s time to break his chains and let him stay lost.” Lani said looking back down at Darshay and Shadow. He hummed a little, “If the heart was unbreakable we wouldn’t keep it in such a safe place.”

[Odion Martins]

Odion didn’t like stories. He liked his lies to be consistent and simple. This made them easy to swallow. Nobody would think someone lied about their own name. He touched his face. “What do you mean I have that look?” He hasn’t suddenly sprouted fur on his face, had he? He sent a glare at Lani, though he was enjoying every second of this bantering. “That’s neither here nor there.” Odion didn’t know what he was, other than he was Irish. Rhett had begun to see his past, the one Odi couldn’t remember himself, and that’s about the time his former lover disappeared. It made Odion not want to know about thing about himself. What was so scary about him that it drove other people away? Odion would rather push people away on purpose than have them know him and leave voluntarily. That’s what everyone he had come to care for had done. “You have a grill hiding in your dorm room?” Odion teased, a crooked grin of his own. Of course he didn’t have a grill. Odi raised an eyebrow in Lani’s direction – what was going on in that mind of his? “It wasn’t a challenge, it was a state of fact.” Odion hated beef in general, and unless Lani was buying him a new tongue, it wouldn’t matter what he put on the burgers, they were still burgers.

Lani was intriguing, even if he didn’t always have a witty comeback. Odion still liked him, and eventually, they would be on the same playing field. Odion had enough patience to teach even Lani the wonderful ways of how his mind worked. Of course, Lani would have to catch onto his subtle lessons. Odion frowned, reminded of Craven. “I don’t like ravens…” He said. Yet another unknown connection he had with Adrianna. Craven was a stupid bird boy with an annoying pet raven that Odi had come quite close to murdering. “But you can tell me anyways,” he said, an evil smirk on his face. Lani would be hard pressed to impress Odion on purpose. Odion would rather be pleasantly surprised by Lani’s genius, not told flat out. “And then I’ll show you a card trick and we can have that cup of tea we talked about before.” Odion hoped to deter Lani out of this nonsense.

Sometimes Odion was tempted to freeze time and simply look at Lani, try to memorize the boy into his memory. But it felt wrong to do that for some reason, even though Lani wouldn’t know the wiser. It was hard, to stay in this moment only and try to embrace it for everything it was worth. He would chisel what he could out of what he saw from Lani, and paint a picture in his mind without cheating. It was so unlike himself, he just kept his thoughts to himself and looked back to LJ once Lani stopped looking at him. LJ was sweet. Odi could feel the kitten’s small nose pressing against his skin. It was decided, LJ would be the perfect someone to occupy his never ceasing mind. Crazy cat boy would probably come to be.

Odion lied so well that even Lani couldn’t see the truth that was sitting right in front of him. His eyes retreated to the kittens nestled in Lani’s shirt as he thought about what they were doing. He silently agreed because again, he didn’t want them in the hands of someone who would take them in at face value, and then leave the kittens in the dumpster as soon as he left. Humanity was that sick. “It’s my idea, why do you get to decide who does what?” He pouted, but it only made sense. Lani had a family to visit, places to rob. Odion had one roommate that was barely there and acted like he had nothing to hide. So he was the kitten’s best bet. Full-time kitten care didn’t sound so bad. He didn’t feel like Lani wanted any part of this and was starting to think he was only trying to amuse him. “Fine, I’ll do it.” He pointed at Lani. “But not for you.”

Lani really shouldn’t shoot the messenger just because he was delivering the truth. Odion didn’t buckle under Lani’s piercing glare, because he knew the roles had been reversed only a few days ago. Odion had realized the hard way that every once in while people needed help, and he wasn’t exempt from that realization. But Odion couldn’t help but smirk at what Lani said, a puff of laughter sifting through his nostrils. “I have lots of time,” he said, because it was another piece of truth. If there was anything Odi could give, it was time. He wasn’t going anywhere, and hopefully Lani was slowly starting to realize this. But the humour left his voice as soon as Lani went into denial. “How can you say that?” Odion asked, genuine hurt in his voice. That same hurt was written all over his face. “So you get to help people and no one gets to help you?” Odion huffed. There was so much bullshit spewing from Lani, Odi was surprised he wasn’t a dumpster. Odi shook his head, breaking eye contact with Lani, signalling that he was done arguing. Odion just wanted to help, something he had never had the desire to do, and it wasn’t going well. Some lesson he was learning here. This was a terrible friendship.

Odion had noticed quite a few details about Lani as well. He certainly didn’t bite his lip when in an emotional storm, but he had other quirks. Like the way his walls went up as soon as the conversation headed into territory he wasn’t comfortable with. Or the way he smirked devilishly when he was amused. These were a few of Odion’s favorite things, things that made up the person before him. But before he could truly appreciate said things, his own hang ups had to tug at his heartstrings, and he wasn’t himself anymore. Being himself around Lani just wasn’t safe, for the simple truth that Lani wouldn’t return the favour.

It was funny that Lani seemed bothered by how Odion constantly looked at him, and yet now that he wasn’t, Lani missed it. Odion wasn’t blaming him at all, Lani was doing that terrible thing called assumption. Odi just didn’t want to cry. Lani didn’t use his powers to help him steal, while Odion used them quite a bit. If you got it, flaunt it. It was the practice he spent the time perfecting. Odion had forgotten about his empty threat. If he was going to yell at Lani, he would have done so, instead of just warning him about it. Odion prided himself on looking at people to make sure he didn’t miss a thing. Now, stuck inside his own issues, he was missing all kinds of clues from Lani.

There were many sides to powers and the people they belonged to. Odion sighed again. “I’m trying Lani, I’m trying to let him go for good…” Just saying the words, Odi could feel what little of his heart that was left give out. He wiped his face, still unable to look at Lani. “Is that so?” He didn’t want to talk about matters of the heart with Lani, the person who couldn’t even be truthful with his girlfriend. What he said made sense though. He had given Rhett his heart, and now he was paying for it. He would just have to guard it better, keep it safer. Rhett, and no one else would see it again. A new resolve settled upon his face, and he stared at LJ as he tried to sort things out in his mind. Things were easier when he didn’t pour his soul out. That thing was a piece of work. He sighed as LJ finished the milk in the baster and lay in Odion’s hands, totally content. Maybe in the next life, he would come back as a cat. He would like that. Odion scooted closer to Lani, putting tiny LJ into Lani’s lap. He stared at his siblings curiously, as though he couldn’t remember them. And then Shadow nestled into LJ and Darshay swatted at LJ’s ears. Odion smiled, stealing a glance at Lani.

[Lani Hunter]

Odion’s sudden worry about his face made Lani go weak with laughter. “Have you ever looked at a cat?” He asked when his laughter subsided enough for him to speak. He snickered closing his eyes to give himself a little relief from Odion’s glare, as that was what was setting him off. He shook his head a little and tapped his chin as he stared at Odion as if analyzing his feature. “That look you get sometimes, like now,” Lani waved his free hand searching for a description that made sense, “The ‘I know something you don’t know’ face.” Lani tried to mimic it but knew that with his impish smile he was certainly not coming out very catlike. He was really starting to enjoy this back and forth thing they had going. They could tease each other relentlessly and then there was always a return to that. Lani laughed and decided to roll with it. His voice dripping with sarcasm he nodded emphatically and said, “Yes, Odion, I am hiding a grill in my room.” He laughed shaking his head unable to keep up the ploy. “But there are grills somewhere around here. And when I find one you are going to eat a burger.” He jabbed his finger at Odion.

Lani raised a brow curiously. Why would someone not like ravens? It wasn’t like they were evil. They were just birds. He shrugged letting it go, everyone had their thing. Lani bit his tongue, he should have seen this coming really. But he wasn’t without an answer. He didn’t want to give it away, he wanted Odion to fret over it for a while. So he sealed his lips and shook his head giving Odion back his smirk. “I’m not going to tell you.” It really was a hard riddle, mostly because it didn’t have an answer. Or rather Lani had never found one. The best he could come up with was that they weren’t. In no way was a raven like a writing desk, only someone as mad as a hatter would think there was. Lani chuckled. “You’ve got card tricks?” He asked but the latter made him wrinkle his nose he was not a fan of tea. “What is it with you Europeans and your tea?” He teased making a face, no matter how many times he tried tea he had never gotten a taste for it.

He found himself bobbing his head a little as a song got caught in his head. He looked down at the pair and poked the black one with his finger. The kitten meowed at him and his little paws reached out to claim Lani’s finger. Undeterred Lani messed with its ears and let the kitten grab his finger and try to bite it. Oh it was quite a good thing these guy’s teeth weren’t in yet. He looked at Odion as the redhead considered his decision. A little smile came on his face as he realized he had gained a small victory. He raised his hands in yielding. “Fair enough, while they’re with you I’ll get them food.” Lani might still think this was a bad idea but he was involved now and he was planning on being in on this. Especially because he really couldn’t let go of these kittens anymore. “And in a few days or a week we’ll switch. Deal?” He added for good measure, now that Odion had given him the chance to be a part of these kittens’ lives he was not going to let Odion hog them. Besides perhaps that would just be a good excuse to check up on Odion and make sure he wasn’t wasting away.

Darshay nibbled at his collar her little tongue scraping against his neck every once in a while. It was times like these that Lani realized why he kept coming to talk to Odion. Usually when someone started naming his personality flaws he shut down and eventually lashed out, which was exactly what he was doing now. But Odion didn’t break or give into the bait of Lani’s anger. Instead he stood against Lani in a way that almost forced him to see reason. He wasn’t sure he liked it but he knew he didn’t hate it. He hummed in response to Odion’s claim of time. He couldn’t refute that that was more than a proven fact. He occupied himself with the kittens while he waited to see whatever Odion would say. His eyes snapped to Odion’s when he heart genuine hurt in his voice. Lani bit his tongue punishing it for saying such things. This always happened, someone was just being kind and trying to help and Lani struck them where it hurt. He swallowed and looked away. He hated it because Odion was right; it was almost as if he had taken the words right out of his head. “That’s not how it is,” he insisted, but that was exactly how it was. He huffed as Odion looked away. He was not going to leave with a victory here. So instead he settled for sullen muttering. “I never said I didn’t want your help,” he said it softly and was sure he was pouting like a child now.

He had never had someone hold him responsible like Odion did. Well he had, but they had always been people in authority who he was inclined to ignore anyways. This relationship that they had was starting to get more confusing. He had never had friends before that had really cared like this. Mostly it was that they didn’t see past his masks and so when he said he was fine and put on a smile they believed it. Odion was so different. Lani felt like a clam that ever so often would peak out and every time he did he was terrified that Odion would take a grab at that opportunity and try to pry him open. Most other people gave up when they couldn’t get immediate results. Lani found he liked that, but he was finding now that his desire to let Odion in and help him as much as Lani had helped him. But he couldn’t get past the fear of vulnerability.

For reasons Lani could only attribute to their new found friendship and perhaps the kittens Lani felt his heart breaking for Odion. This couldn’t be easy. Perhaps kittens were just what he needed. Something that needed him. Lani smiled down at the kittens and felt a strange amount of jealousy. Of course Lani would never admit this, especially after they had just fought about whether or not he needed help, but Lani was touched that Odion was trying to help him. But against Lani was standing in his own way. Fear and the haunting what ifs were blinding him to what was right in front of him. But at the same time… He looked up at Odion. He was so distracted and so hurt. Lani’s eyes darkened and he knew that if he ever saw Rhett he probably wouldn’t survive the encounter in one piece. Lani wasn’t a violent person but this was starting to be eerily similar to when someone hurt his sister and all he wanted to do was bash that person’s face in.

Lani nodded not looking at Odion as he spoke. “I know,” he said softly and resisted the urge to reach out and comfort Odion. Chances were that would get his hand bitten off. So instead he scratched the kittens’ ears and watched them feed. “I wish…” He began but cut himself off before he sounded like a hypocrite again. He wished he could help Odion through this, but he didn’t want to admit he needed help as much as he wanted to. So it wasn’t fair for him to ask Odion to let him help him. That would just prove his earlier point. He looked out over the water and drew a slow breath. There really was only so much he could do in this kind of situation too. What was he going to do really? He didn’t know how to talk about this, he didn’t have anything physically that he could do. Lani nodded affirmatively. So he couldn’t find it in his heart to tell Adrianna the truth, maybe that just meant that he was keeping his heart in a safer place than Odion had been keeping his.

It was terribly sad and had Lani known that Odion had planned to lock away his heart he probably would have protested. It was Odion’s choice but there was so much that he could miss by doing that. He wanted to tell Odion that even if he closed his heart he could always at least come warm his hands at Lani’s hearth. He wouldn’t judge him for that. He took the bottles away as the last drops were drawn out. He didn’t realized Odion had come closer until the third kitten appeared in his lap. He blinked a few times and smiled as the siblings rediscovered each other. He tisked at Darshay as she batted at her brother’s ears. He chuckled smiling down at them. He distracted the blue eyed cat with his fingers and Darshay caught his pinky and nibbled at it. The milk seemed to hit the tabby last and when she yawned Lani’s heart nearly melted into a puddle right then and there. “They’re so small,” Lani mused as the three cuddled on his lap. He looked up at Odion and offered a small smile. “Dammit,” he said in good humor, “I think I’m in love with them.” He said as he scratched LJ’s head as the kitten snuggled deeper into the warmth.

[Odion Martins]

“Well obviously I’ve looked at a cat, so I’ve concluded that you haven’t.” Odion’s face pinched at the corners of his eyes in laughter as Lani tried to show him what he looked like. “That’s a terrible impression of me, or a cat for that matter.” He wiped the tears from his eyes that spilled out because he was laughing so hard. He couldn’t remember having like this in a very long time. What with Rhett being distant months before he disappeared. The last time he had a truly good laugh like this… He honestly wasn’t sure if he had ever laughed like this. “I knew it!” Odion said, his hands around his rib cage, still grinning like an idiot. “You keep it hidden with all your spy gear.” Of course, he was just making things up. Lani certainly wasn’t a spy. Odi did like the way the blonde said his name though. Odion pushed Lani’s finger away. “I will do no such thing, not even if you do find the secret Hammel Grills.” This was getting ridiculous.

Maybe Lani hadn’t realized this yet, but Odion wasn’t very fond of animals. The fact he even stopped to acknowledge the kittens they now adopted was nothing short of a miracle. Odion shrugged as Lani kept his lips sealed. “Have it your way then,” he said. Odi really knew how to be a stick in the mud when he decided he wanted to be stubborn. The ginger grinned once again though, chuckling to himself. “What is it with you Americans and greasy burgers?” He challenged right back, raising an eyebrow in Lani’s general direction. “And yes, Lani, I know a card trick or two.” He shrugged again, because to him it wasn’t a big deal. It was one of his favorite pass times, but maybe it was better than Lani believed Odion was more exciting than a card castle.

Odion smirked at Lani. “What are you doing to do? Hunt mice?” Again, Odi’s attempts at humour didn’t always work in his favour. The ginger nodded once, sealing the deal. “I’d shake your hand on it, but you’ll probably spit in it first.” He raised a fist to his mouth and coughed into it: “Americans.” Odion was obviously in a good mood, and very happy to have something to focus on over the summer. The school didn’t seem to be as strict during those months, and maybe the kittens would grow into young cats by then. A very serious look suddenly overtook Odion’s face. “I’m going to have to steal cat toys,” he said, looking at Lani with furrowed eyebrows. That was something he never thought he’d ever say in his life.

Sometimes people came into your life just at the right time, and Odion believed strongly in good timing. Take Lani finding Odion trashing the school hallways. He certainly hadn’t texted the telekinetic to come and tap on his door. Sometimes you met the right people right when you needed them the most, and Odi seriously doubted he was going to be the only beneficiary in this relationship. But Lani was as stubborn as an ox, maybe even more stubborn than Odion was. Lani knew Odion wasn’t making things up about Rhett, and he had been more himself that night than any of the other times he’d been with Lani. So yes, he was hurt. How dare you invade my personal life and then shut me out of yours. Odion was done with this. If Lani didn’t want to be bothered with, then so be it. He simply gave the blonde a sideways glance. Lani was looking guiltier by the second. Odion knew that his being hurt had affected Lani, so much so that he was trying to rewrite his wrong. Odion looked away and settled on strange silence. If Lani really did want help, he would have to be the one to broach the subject. Lani was just like eggshells.

Lani had never had friends who cared as much as he did. Funny, that that care was coming from a fellow thief. Oh how the laws of gravity simply did not make sense for these two. Odion would pry, but only because he thought there was a pearl somewhere in the folds of Lani’s heart. He didn’t like to be bitten though, and so would give Lani his space, but would never stop coming back to pry. Being vulnerable wasn’t easy, and Odion avoided it as much as Lani did. But he also knew how good it felt to be vulnerable with someone you could trust. He also knew how much it hurt when that person was gone. Maybe that’s why Lani was with Adrianna, because she was vulnerable and Lani was on some deranged mission to prove to her that not everyone would leave. It was probably what he was trying to do to Odion, only the redhead could see that Lani was just as human, just as vulnerable, as all of them.

The little menaces were just what Odion needed. They need lots of attention, and time was all Odi had. Besides, no one could pay him any attention if he was constantly locked up in his room. It was the perfect solution in the end. If Odion knew that Lani was feeling even the slightest amount of jealousy, he wouldn’t know what to do. It would mean so many different things that even Odion would worry himself to death. Odion remained oblivious as the gears in his mind ticked away. This whole thing was crazy. Usually he would want some kind of revenge, like how he had stolen that man’s wedding band on that rooftop escapade. But he didn’t want to hurt Rhett, and he wasn’t sure what that meant. There wasn’t a lot he could take from Rhett anyways, so instead Odi was left with nothing but memories.

Odion concentrated on LJ to keep his mind at bay. If Lani knew he was trying, why was he simultaneously disappointed in Odi? Of course the ginger didn’t blame Lani, he was disappointed in himself. And as much as Rhett’s ghost was haunting him, there he was, still thinking about him and keeping the pocket watch in his pocket. It was like part of who he was had broken away, and Odion didn’t know what was important anymore, including himself. “Don’t waste your breath on wishes.” Odion said feebly, touching his fingertips to his temple. Wishing didn’t help anyone, no matter how hard they tried. He did however, wish this damn head ache would go away. While hearts aren’t meant to be worn on sleeves, Odion still wished for a place to call home for his heart.

Odion didn’t want to seem like a sap, but he didn’t think his heart had much to offer. It was broken early on in life and trust had been a vein detached long ago. He knew, deep down inside, that Lani hadn’t done this on purpose. But it had still happened, and Lani had delved into the subject of Rhett enough to make Odion unwilling to share more. How was he supposed to explain to Lani that Rhett was his heart? No, he wasn’t some hopeless romantic, the world just didn’t work that way, and he refused to believe he did either. Odi watched the kittens settle into deep sleep, huddle in a bunch, their ears twitching every so often. “The three musketeers,” he missed Lani’s small smile, “they’re bound to be triple trouble.” Odion smirked. “They’re easy to love.” And they were, all cute and adorable. If they had been smelly and disgusting he doubted anyone would care for them at all, innocent or not. They seemed so satisfied with life. “Are you sure you don’t want to take them? I think they love you more.” He said, putting on the best ‘convincing’ voice he could muster. He sat back in the new grass and watched the clouds. “So have you told her you’re a roof jumper yet?” Odion asked lightheartedly. He knew that Lani would know the subject changed to Adrianna and if she knew Lani The Thief yet. Odion still thought Lani was dumb for not cluing her in, but he wasn’t going to make Lani tell her either. Odi usually accepted people for all that they were, but that didn't mean he would stick around for them like he would do for Lani.

[Lani Hunter]

Lani pouted a little and narrowed his eyes at Odion. “Seriously! Look in the mirror some time, and put LJ next to you and I swear you will see a family resemblance.” Really it was the eyes that did it. It was the eyes that did it. It was those eyes that implied he knew more than he was letting on. There was a cold aloofness to it sometimes and at others they were warm with humor. Lani shrugged and shook his head. He laughed grabbed his sides that were starting to ache. Odion tearing up from laughter just egged Lani on. “Lemme try again,” he said and brushed his hand in front of himself to center himself. Then he gave Odion a half lidded expression that implied he was keeping a secret. But he broke as a sudden laugh rocked his whole body. Lani shook his head, “You caught me,” he said with an innocent shrug, “I’m a double agent. But shhh it’s a secret.” He said winking and putting a finger to his lips. “If I find the secret Hammel Grills you can bet your ass you’ll eat a burger. Besides you should broaden your horizons.”

A grin grew on his face and he nodded at Odion. He was not going to tell him. Though he wouldn’t be surprised either way if Odion thought about the riddle or not. He had come to expect the unexpected. Odion was very much like a time bomb, one moment everything was one thing then boom! It was another. Subjects flashed by so quick Lani something thought he could blink and miss something. Though with Odion’s power that wasn’t too farfetched a prospect. Lani’s eyebrows jumped and he found himself laughing. That must be Odion’s thing. Answering a question with another question. Initially Lani would have said it was annoying but now it just made him smile. It was kind of funny. Americans and their greasy food, Europeans and their obsession with tea. Assumptions that were built on stereotypes. He grinned and bobbed his head. “You’ll have to show me a few sometime.”

Lani shook his head at Odion. “I don’t know, I’m not the one that looks like a cat. Remember?” Everything was a joke or an argument with him. Lani couldn’t say he didn’t enjoy the banter. He shifted so he could rest his head on his knee and not jostle the kittens. He grinned at Odion and made a noise deep in his throat like he was getting ready about to get something out. He was never really the kind of boy to spit in his hand but now that Odion had said something he felt the need to act upon it. He laughed and shook his head. “Need a cough drop?” He was going to be really glad when summer rolled around. Rumor had it that they were a lot more lenient during the summer. Lani could only hope that that was true. He was going to need the break. He smiled a little and raised a brow at the serious expression that crossed Odion’s face. When the punch line came Lani stared at him for a moment then a laugh burst out and he rocked back a little as giggles overtook him. “Wow, if you’re going to steal cat toys I want in on that!” He exclaimed taking a deep breath.

Odion’s hurt had surprised Lani. He hadn’t expected it at all. It was completely different. It was relationship problems Odion was having and he had nearly let himself just vanish; Lani wasn’t in any danger of vanishing or even keeling over in the near future. At least not if he kept himself a little closed off from people, or so he thought. When Odion decided not to feed the argument Lani let it drop for lack of anything more to say. He had made himself clear enough. As much as he liked that Odion was willing to offer him that kind of help it scared the living daylights out of him. What would happen if something really did go wrong? In Lani’s mind this wasn’t about himself so much as someone else could get hurt when this came around. But since Odion was so determined to put his life on the line to help Lani was willing to let him. Mostly because he was annoyed that he was being pressured into this and would probably enjoy a little taste of revenge. He glanced at Odion and bit his tongue before it could get him into trouble again.

Maybe it was harder for Lani because he had never experienced a moment when he couldn’t find something to do to solve a problem. It had always been him who fixed thing, stayed strong for other people. Why couldn’t Odion accept that and let him be? Lani bit his lip and closed his eyes. How had he let Odion get so close? It was just like that night when he realized he was starting to trust Odion. He knew it wasn’t a bad idea but he couldn’t get past the idea that he was trusting someone. Trusting someone with the hopes that with the knowledge he gave them they wouldn’t betray him. Besides Odion was pushing him away from sensitive subjects just as much as Lani was. Yes it might be more subtle in ways where he redirected the question or ignored it completely instead of getting on the defensive. But in this there was blame to share. Lani knew he was wrong but he really didn’t want to change, not quite yet. Not with so much riding on the line. And besides if Odion really knew what was going on would he really want to be around Lani anymore?

Lani’s power started to sneak away from him again, but he felt it this time. He hissed a little through his teeth and closed his eyes for a brief moment. He was not going to let his power go crazy again. He clamped down so hard his could practically hear his heartbeat in his ears. He opened his eyes slowly and looked down at the kittens. Lani nodded in agreement. “If wishes were fishes we’d walk on the sea,” he quoted. Lani didn’t know why he was so disappointed. He was almost a little confused by the hurt that came from that. Perhaps it was the knowledge that Odion was hurting himself in the process of trying to heal. And there was nothing he could do. That was perhaps the worst part. He couldn’t do anything. He would worry and fret like a mother hen but he couldn’t actually do anything. Here he was watching Odion go down a path into darkness and all he could hope to do was follow with a lamp and hope that he could help him find the way back, at least before the lamp ran out of oil.

As much as Lani wanted to pry, to learn more about the relationship Odion had had with Rhett he knew that of all the ideas he had had in the past few hours that would be the worst. Yes, worse than his decision to leave Boston like a coward with his tail between his legs. He grinned at the reference to the three warriors. He chuckled lightly and lightly touched Darshay’s ears. “Triple trouble indeed,” he agreed, “We’re going to have our hands full.” He wished he could be as carefree as a kitten. Really any animal. Where the only worry was finding food and avoiding being food. Sometimes life was so complicated that he occasionally found himself welcoming the idea of an apocalypse just so he didn’t have to deal with all this. But it was about those times that he realized that he would be so terribly upset if everyone he knew was gone that even if he survived to enjoy it he would hardly find a way to even survive, simply because he didn’t have the will. He laughed and shook his head. “They love you just as much,” he retorted, “I just happen to be the one with the comfortable lap at the moment. Roles reversed and you would be the beloved couch.” He grinned up at Odion. “See that’s where you’re wrong. This isn’t a you or a me thing, this has certainly become a ‘we’ situation.”

Lani nearly saw red when Odion posed another subject jerking question. His mind picked up a nearby rock and just at the moment Lani realized his power’s intention was to lob it at Odion he redirected the course far around Odion and into the pond where it skipped a few times before splooshing in. He closed his eyes rubbing them telling himself not to overreact to this. But for the love of God why couldn’t people leave this alone? He chewed the inside of his cheek contemplating an answer. “No,” he said simply. He swore he was going to throw Odion in the pond if he said anything about how he didn’t care about her or how he was just hurting her. Why couldn’t people understand he was doing this to protect her? Opposite of what they thought. He had heard it enough from that demon woman and he didn’t want to hear it from a friend as well. He looked down at the kittens and hummed deciding it was time for him to change the subject before they got into this again as well. “I’m just curious, where are you from?”

[Odion Martins]

Odion laughed, looking down at LJ, tilting his head to the side to study his new feline friend. LJ titled his head similarly. Odi shook his head. “I just don’t see what you’re talking about.” He smirked at LJ, who was looking at Lani curiously. “I think he’s offended you said I look like him.” But Odion didn’t mind his new family. It would be nice to be needed for once in his life, and not just be an extra human being. Of course everything Odion knew he conveyed through implication. It wasn’t his problem if people didn’t catch on. Oh fuck, maybe he really was a cat... His eyebrows furrowed as he thought about it. Odion grinned mischievously as Lani tried to explain himself again. He’s very lucky Odi is so patient. “Having the attitude of a cat doesn’t mean I look like one,” he stared at Lani, a half smirk on his face, “and what’s with that face? You look doped up.” He was set off into laughter again. Oh, this was too much fun! Odi shook his head, followed by a deep sigh. “I will do no such thing.” He wasn’t placing bets, he had his foot down. “However, I can show you a card trick whenever you like.” He gave Lani a warm smile.

Odion’s face turned into mock horror as Lani seemed to be readying a loogie. “Disgusting.” He said, his whole body gave a shiver. The day he spit into his hand and shook it with someone else who did the same, was the day he was so drunk out of his mind he wouldn’t remember he did it anyways, which was as good as not doing it to begin with. Odion’s eyes looked down, a large grin planted on his face as Lani giggled. Lani could be really precious sometimes. Odi ran a hand over the back of his neck. “I just don’t know where I’d put them... It can’t be easy hiding a fake mouse.” He chuckled a bit to himself before shaking his head. “I’ll need a lot of them though, since you’ll probably be gone for the summer.” Odion wasn’t one to plan ahead, but for this he would be. He thought that since Lani had family in Boston, that’s where he’d be spending the summer months. That didn’t make it so, but he doubted that Lani would pick cats over family, and yes Odi’s included in that first category.

Only time would tell if Odi would get hurt from Lani’s powers or not. So far he had avoided being thrown off a roof, and he trusted Lani to not do anything similar intentionally. Whatever the case, Odion was confident he could stop it, but they would need a test run. He had never expected Lani to just jump right into levitating him. Maybe he should have started with that first? Odion searched the ground underneath him with a hard stare. He wasn’t very good at this whole friendship thing. He glanced at silent Lani, who still seemed uncomfortable with the whole thing, even though it was for his own good. Oh well.

It wasn’t that Odion didn’t accept Lani as a strong shoulder, he just didn’t understand why Lani was convinced that he didn’t need one once in a while. If Odion had known what Lani was involved with from the start, he might not have gotten to know Lani. Now that he did though, it would be hard to let the telekinetic go, or rather tell him where to go. Odion knew Lani was hiding something, but he thought it was something emotional. He would never in a million years guess that Lani had a big powerful boss he was working for. If he knew at this very moment, Odion would do one of two things: run away, or, be a friend and help Lani out of the situation. It wasn’t something that could be solved yet. Either way, Odion would still want to be around Lani, because who he did or did not work for, didn’t change who he was.

Odion’s hand reached into his pocket where the hurtful trinket lay. His thumb pressed into the backing, wishing it was paper thin so he could break it. He could feel the tiny motor ticking away. “And we’d all cast our nets,” he said, opening and closing the watch. He was deciding, and Lani couldn’t help him with that. Just like how Odi couldn’t convince Lani to tell Adriana the truth. Odion looked at the kittens and managed a half hearted smile. “I think we’ll manage.” Odion’s mind was still on the watch as Lani spoke. “I’m sure your lap is very comfy.” He said, not putting much thought into the statement, it just sort of fell out of his mouth, like the air he was breathing. It was a moment of weakness and not thinking straight. He rubbed his face, a hand covering his mouth as he nodded in agreement. They were in this together weren’t they? And what would have happened if Lani hadn’t shown up? Odion passed a glance to Lani, “You always show up at the perfect time, don’t you?”

Odion watched the rock jump a few times in the lake, unaware of its initial destination. He wasn’t sure if that was impressive or not. Had Lani made the rock skip, or had it done so on its own? Either way, it didn’t matter. Really Odi was only asking in fun, asking as a friend, and as Lani overreacted to the questioning, Odion couldn’t help but smile. “Relax mate, I was only wondering.” Although he couldn’t really blame Lani. Even he knew that questioning was never so cut and dry, but just this one time, it really had been. It would’ve been like if Lani was genuinely interested in Odi’s health and said they should get burgers some time. And then Lani decided it was his turn to change the subject on Odion and the ginger shrugged. “Honestly, I don’t really know. Some part of Ireland.” He waited for Lani to make some sort of joke about leprechauns or drinking. Odi just hoped Lani wouldn’t ask about family. Odion took the pocket watch out of his pocket, and threw it, though this time not at Lani. It flew into the air and with a hard splash, went deep into the pond. Not as graceful as Lani’s rock throwing, but this wasn’t about grace. Odion watched the water ripple out and bubble where the watch sank. He wasn’t going to miss the weight.

[Lani Hunter]

LJ was really just proving Lani’s point now by cocking his head along with Odion. He chuckled at Odion’s denial. He laughed and nodded his head, “I suppose that would insult him,” he teased with a sly grin. Watching the interaction Lani wished he could capture this moment. Someone had once told him that when someone blinks that moment is stuck as a still frame in their memory. So Lani blinked saving the image of Odion smirking at the cat both with similar expressions. Odion’s laughter was easy to join and he found himself not offended but rather found himself showing his silly side as he just went along with it. He obtained a glazed eye expression his mouth slightly open and he looked as if he were completely detached from the world. He blinked and his smile returned and his eyes regained their intensity. “That is what being doped up looks like,” he shook his head, “I don’t understand why anyone would want to go through life like that.” Lani waggled his eyebrows at Odion taking him up on the challenge anyways. “Good, I’d like to see one sometime,” he smiled back.

Odion’s expression threw Lani over the edge and he burst into laughter. Shadow gave a little upset kitten noise as Lani’s laughter shook him a little. Lani probably wouldn’t know what to think if Odion had expressed that he thought the blond was precious. He would probably be a little upset and a little flattered at the same time. It was similar to the way Adrianna called him adorable. It wouldn’t have been his preferred descriptor, but he was willing to let it slide. Lani grinned. “Why in a fake mouse hole of course!” He joked unable to stop himself. His eyes were bright with humor and mischief. Lani shrugged though he couldn’t dispute that. He would much rather be with his family than here. “I don’t know about that,” he said honestly, “I mean I’ll probably get away a bit, but the whole summer… I honestly think they’re too afraid to let me out of their sight for a whole three months.” He smiled, that had nothing to do with his sneaking out but rather that three months out of Hammel scared him a little bit. There was no one to help him if his power decided it wanted to go crazy.

The future was uncertain, that was the only thing to be certain of. When it came down to it they were two titans. Two teenagers with strong powers. They could stand against each other or work together. There would probably be a little bit of both though if they really did start working together. Considering the pair was hard pressed to find things that they agreed on. Lani smiled a little as he stole a glance at Odion. Part of him knew that they would argue just for the sake of arguing. Like about this training thing, Lani had already agreed to it but even after that they had made a fight out of it. But then Lani supposed it was only fair, he had felt attacked so he had jumped on the defensive and Odion had a right to be angry with him. But couldn’t Odion at least try to see where he was coming from? He had said he understood but had he really? Lani closed his eyes and tried to reason with himself why he was trusting Odion with this.

Lani didn’t even try to think about what would happen if Odion ever found out about his deeper secret. The possibility that he would find out seemed so farfetched to him that he didn’t think he had to. He was just as well trying to keep his people straight and what they knew and what they didn’t. It was all proving very complicated. Unlike the superficial friends these people actually cared about him. As touched as he was he was so afraid that they would see the monster he was hiding. Odion at least could relate to him somewhat. At some point in life they had both reached for a desperate solution, Odion’s had been to pickpocketing, Lani’s had been to a gang boss. He found himself frowning as he thought and looked down at the kittens. A smile crossed his face as he looked down at them, at least no matter how much trouble he got in with people these little guys would only grade him on his diligence of feeding and giving attention.

Lani watched the pocket watch in Odion’s hand and didn’t say anything. What could he say? He nodded and tore his eyes away from the watch and cast his gaze across the pond. One shouldn’t waste their life wishing for things to happen. They had to make them happen. Lani smiled up at Odion and hoped that he could at least offer some strength. It was actually very similar to what he and Adrianna had spoken about. She had thought tears made her weak and despite his efforts he was sure he had been unable to convince her otherwise. But she had a point, besides, neither of the thieves was going to let the other see the tears. “You seem confident about that,” he replied. His teeth closed on his tongue and his eyes widened. That was unexpected. “What?” He said as if he hadn’t heard Odion right. That was a strange thing to say and now Lani was overanalyzing it. It was just like how when Odion had said he had liked Lani the other night and totally thrown Lani for a loop.

Lani smiled at Odion’s question and just gave him a shrug; he couldn’t tell whether it was accusing or grateful. He certainly wasn’t doing it on purpose. Lani bristled anyways despite the intention of the question. He had been yelled at too much about that recently. There was far too much of people telling Lani what to do and that only increased Lani’s desire to dig his heels in. Despite his desire to be angry he couldn’t help but be obedient and relax. His hackles had risen and now were smoothing out a little as the question subject was dropped. Lani’s thoughts turned elsewhere for a moment. Odion was trying really hard to get to know him, and not just know him but know the real him. He was digging in and Lani was trying to squirm away but he realized that even when he was out of Odion’s grasp he would stick around because he really liked Odion. He wasn’t really expecting an answer considering last time he had asked the question had been ignored. He smiled pleasantly surprised. He found himself chuckling a little bit. “That explains it then,” he said decisively pausing for effect, “You’re lucky I show up at the perfect time, Red.” He grinned his humor returning. “But I thought the Irish were nice people, O’Dion,” he teased with a wink over emphasizing the ‘Oh’ syllable.

Lani’s jokes ceased as the pocketwatch again emerged. His smile made way for a curious expression. One that was mixed with curiosity, worry, and a little hope. Startled Lani’s eyes went wide as Odion lobbed it. His eyes followed its arch into the pond. That was it. Unless Odion found the desire to go swimming he wasn’t going to get that thing back, and chances of it still working were slim to none. Lani’s eyes turned and looked into Odion’s. “Are you sure?” He asked. There was a silent offering, this would be Odion’s only chance to ask Lani to get it back for him, otherwise it would be gone forever. Lani wanted Odion to be sure, he didn’t want the redhead to ask him to retrieve it. Good riddance. His heart warmed a little as his smile reflected the warmth and the light grew in his eyes. He was happy for Odion, proud of him even.

[Odion Martins]

Odion’s lips pulled into a tight smile. “And what are you? A puppy dog?” He said, very tempted to pinch Lani’s cheeks in order to make a point. Of course, he only said this to get a reaction, though he could think of many similarities between a dog and Lani. All good things of course. Odi shrugged, smiling as he looked down at LJ. “You’ve never been doped up before?” It was said lightly, because he was wanted to see just how street savvy Lani was. “I know more than one,” he stated about the card tricks, only bragging a little bit. Most people didn’t ask about his card tricks, even though he loved them as much as he loved stealing. Only Lani would understand the magnitude of what that meant, but he didn’t know about the connection.

It was nice seeing Lani laugh, as far as Odi knew, it didn’t happen often. He hadn’t made it a priority to spy on Lani when he was with Adrianna though, and she probably managed to see the blonde’s good side more often than he did. Now why did Odion feel a little jealous over that? He scrubbed the thought off of his mind. He raised an eyebrow at Lani as he spoke about fake mouse holes. “Do I want to know where said hole would be?” He asked, smirking at the only place on a man’s body where a fake mouse would fit. Although the hole was very real indeed. Odion smiled only half as much as he wanted to at the news of Lani actually being around for the summer. He didn’t want the blonde to think he was excited or anything. “You know, I don’t really blame them,” he said, smirking. Yes he was teasing Lani, but Lani knew it was the pure truth at the same time. “I’m glad,” and then a moment later in order to hide the blunder he added, “because then the kittens won’t miss you.” He looked at LJ instead of Lani, trying his best to look innocent.

So maybe that’s what it all came down to for these two teens, either they stood together, or fought tooth and nail. If they really did try to train together, there would probably be a lot of yelling, and apologizing, but hopefully results at the end of all that. It could in interesting, and hell, it could even be fun. Odion started to envision the two of them fighting and it only made him grin. For some reason, even arguing with Lani was better than arguing with someone else. There was something seriously wrong with him. If it was a mess to get Lani to even agree to training, imagine actually doing it. Odion chuckled to himself. This is going to promising. He knew exactly where Lani was coming from. He didn’t want to hurt people from his uncontrolled powers. “You really need to stop stressing about this,” he said, trying to disengage that concentrated look on Lani’s face. They were done arguing, so now Odion was trying this whole consoling thing.

It wasn’t very complicated at all. Half the people in Lani’s life new about his stealing habits, the other half didn’t. He just made things more complicated for complication’s own sake. Odion would never admit to caring about Lani, as in flat out saying it, but Lani was right, he did care about him.

If you wanted something done, you had to do it yourself. Odion had always defended himself, or taken care of himself. Maybe he was tired of never having anyone who really cared about him. It made Lani a welcome presence in his life, even though he was afraid that Lani would end up being like everyone else. Eventually Odi would be himself again, he would beat his Rhett-syndrome and decide what was important in life. But those were philosophical questions he would spare Lani from. He glanced beside him and grinned at Lani, unsure of what the blonde was smiling about. It didn’t really matter so much. “Well they’re not going to any damn shelter, that’s for sure,” he said with finality. He cocked an eyebrow at Lani’s surprise. “What what?” He asked, not just playing dumb for once. Odi blinked a couple times, utterly confused.

Honestly, Odion was sick of all the hostility he always felt towards people. If there was one person he could choose to be around, he would want it to be Lani. He was starting to change around the blonde, begin to lighten up, and that was a comfort as well as a fear. Odion admittedly had been trying to tell Lani what to do, but only because he didn’t know how else to offer help. He wanted to help without saying he wanted to help, but that hadn’t worked and he had to come right out and say what he meant anyways. Lani had been good to him, and Odion just wanted to return the favour. Usually Odion wanted to know only what he needed to about people. When it came to Lani, he wanted to know the little details that probably didn’t matter in the long run. Either way, this relationship was quite different, regardless of how Lani viewed it. “Yes, I thank my lucky stars every day for you.” He said it in such a way that made it seem like he was proclaiming his undying love for the blonde. “Oh shut up will you,” he said, though there was a chuckle in his voice. “I could be nice if you want,” he said, his eyebrows raised. Or you can have the real me.

Watching Lani’s expression as the watch sank, Odion was glad to see that his friend was just as relieved as he was. He nodded a couple times, his look hard but serene. “I could go back in time and get it, but it’s not worth my time.” He said, wondering why Lani was asking if he was sure. “I thought you wanted me to get over this whole mess...” He said, a little confused over Lani’s reaction. So he just asked. “Why are you asking?” It wasn’t something he had ever seen before in human conversation. Odion plucked the three kittens out of Lani’s lap, nestling them into his shirt so they could be warmer. He was glad they were hard sleepers as their tiny heads brushed against his freckled skin. He needed to live for someone other than Rhett. He didn’t really want to leave just yet, but he knew classes would be over soon, and he didn’t want to be seen. “I’ll see you around Lani.” He said, unable to see a suave way of leaving. Nimbly, Odion brought himself to his feet, smiled softly at Lani, and headed towards the dorms. Might as well skip the rest of his classes. He wasn’t hungry yet.

[Lani Hunter]

Lani bared his teeth at Odion in a feral grin. He rolled his shoulders back trying to make himself look bigger and gain an air of cockiness. It was all a ruse and they both knew it. He shrugged rubbing the tip if his nose with a finger. “I like to think I’m a rottweiler.” He grinned goofily as he thought about what he had just said. Maybe he should be on drugs, maybe life would make more sense that way. He shook his head at himself. Yeah he was a regular Cujo, he was. Lani looked up at Odion and shook his head, “Nope, and never plan to be either.” He personally wasn’t very into the whole idea of losing his mind, especially not now when his power might take advantage of that. Odion’s pride was hard to miss, card tricks, Lani found them interesting but he was curious to see what Odion knew.

Odion’s smirk drew a confused look from Lani. Really for being a teenage boy he was really bad at this whole thing. He was clueless. Adrianna had basically had to spell it out for him when they first started going out. He gave Odion a sour look and found himself laughing. He connected his palm with his forehead. He just shook his head unable to find something to say that wouldn’t dig his grave deeper. Besides he couldn’t breathe the laughter he was currently fighting. The conversation turned and Lani gave Odion a sour look and his laugh coughed out. “Ha ha,” Lani laughed sarcastically. It was all too true. Damn Odion was good at this, he was going to have to really practice if he ever wanted to get the upper hand. Lani turned to Odion perking up a bit. A strange thing happened he was glad that Odion was glad that he wasn’t going to be gone all summer. He was going to be missed, a bright smile grew on his face. He chuckled as Odion attempted to catch himself and shook his head. He blinked at Odion and his smile wouldn’t vanish. “You’re gonna miss me,” he observed not letting Odion get away with this one.

Lani couldn’t say he was looking forward to training, but training with Odion for some reason as much as it terrified him held a sweeter tone to it. Well just like the mountain and the tornado, the mountain was patient enough to let the tornado rage it out before seeing reason. Lani had changed his mind, Odion wasn’t a mountain at all, he was a volcano. Patient and timeless but still willing to spit fire if needed. He looked up at the sky and he had to admit that if this all worked out he was going to be extremely jealous that Odion was the first one to successfully fly and not Lani. He glanced at Odion and smiled at the effort but shook his head. “You know that’s not going to happen.” By now Odion should know that Lani would worry about this until all of the bases had been covered, including the irrational ones like the sun would wink out and being unable to see Lani would fling Odion into a tree or something. At least when he worried he could expect the worst and work out how he was going to fix it if it did happen.

In many ways Odion was very much like Adrianna. Enjoying Lani and grateful for him but at the same time wary that he would be just like everyone else they knew. In Adrianna’s case, she was worried he would be like all the other men in her life who had turned tail and run every time things got difficult. In Odion’s, he wasn’t quite sure, since he didn’t know he was being compared to Rhett every once in a while. Maybe that was why it was easier for Lani to get closer to people. No one in his life had ever left him, even through all of his terrible decision his father had threatened to disown him but had never gone through the action of actually doing so. There was love between them, small and hard to see, but it was there. Lani grinned and raised his hands in defeat at Odion’s final words. Confusion was met with more confusion until Lani realized what had happened. “Ah,” he said looking at his hands, “I mean I’m not doing it on purpose, showing up.” He shrugged at Odion and chuckled a little bit. “Sorry I have a bad habit of expecting everyone to know what goes on in my brain.” That was a lie, if anything he was a little glad that there were things that Odion couldn’t follow. It gave him a little bit of security.

In reality things would be a lot simpler if both boys would just say things outright. But Odion didn’t work like that and Lani was a liar. Honestly Lani wouldn’t have it any other way. Odion would be extremely boring if he had been easy to figure out. He would be no different than all of the other thieves he knew, all fighting for the top spot and more than willing to throw their fellows under the bus for a better job and a better pay off. The only problem was that Lani resented being told what to do. In his mind it only passed his leash off from one hand to the other. No one ever let Lani out of his collar and then offered him their hand. If Lani was going to do something he would rather have to choice to do it. Lani blinked at this revelation. Maybe that was why he was angry all the time, because he hadn’t had a choice in this whole thing. He hadn’t chosen to become a telekinetic and it was in turn something he couldn’t control because he resented the fact that he had it at all. And one couldn’t control what they didn’t want to. He grinned at Odion pulled out of his own thoughts. He was sure his face was turning red and he tried to force cool it. “As you should,” he retorted. Lani gave Odion a sly look and grinned biting his tongue as he tried not to crack up in laughter. Lani shook his head at Odion and gave him a sardonic grin. “Nah, that’d be too weird,” he teased but in reality if Odion was nice all the time it would probably lead him to think something was wrong.

Lani didn’t react when Odion talked of going back in time. Only time would tell if Odion would really bend time to retrieve it. He just watched the watch sink and trying to keep his heart from leaping. This wasn’t over but at least Odion was actively trying to mend the scars Rhett had left him with. Lani’s eyes slid toward Odion and he looked into the blue eyes. He shook his head realizing what it must have sounded like. “No, no, I’m glad,” he said smiling softly. He shrugged at the question, he didn’t want to say it, not now. It would only lead to make Odion angry and upset. So here Lani was again lying to protect someone he cared for. “I’m proud of you,” he said instead of explaining himself. Lani didn’t move at first as Odion grabbed the kittens. He shook realizing he was getting just as much warmth from the kittens as they were from him. Lani blinked and looked up shocked a little hurt that Odion was abandoning him here. He wasn’t sure how much of that Odion saw but he blinked and his gaze was unreadable again. He swallowed wondering if it was what he had said. With a frown he declared that was not how it was going to go. He scrambled to his feet. “Hey, wait up,” he called after the redhead trotting to catch up with him. His bag trailed behind him forgotten by all but his power. “I… I… I want to help you with the kittens,” he stammered out a lie as quick as he could come up with one. Why was it getting hard to lie to Odion? Besides he wanted to make sure Odion was alright as well.

[Odion Martins]

Odion laughed as Lani went along with the ploy. He hated to admit it, but Lani was actually fun to be around, he was comical at the worst of times. He was a regular riot when he was actually trying. “I’m glad we’re in agreement,” Odion said, echoing the first time he had said something along those lines. The barriers were suddenly forgotten and Odi touched Lani’s nose after he had. “Yes, your nose is cold, just like a dog’s,” he said, grinning. Odi nodded as Lani said he had never tried drugs. Odion had tried a lot of things, but the only thing he was addicted to, was alcohol. He had the occasional cigarette, but that was for enjoyment rather than to stoke a dying fire.

Wasn’t Odion the clueless one around here? Maybe they both were. Odi laughed as Lani face palmed himself. Why was it that every time he managed to make Lani laugh, something blossomed inside of Odion, like a warmth that represented all the good he didn’t know he was capable of? It was the damndest thing, but hey, at least they were happy. Odion was seriously hoping Lani wouldn’t catch on to how Odi really felt about Lani sticking around Hammel, but the cards simply weren’t in his favour. It was getting harder and harder to hide things from Lani. Lani had never smiled like this before, and Odion both liked and loathed this. Liked it because it meant Lani liked being missed my Odion, and loathed because he was rubbing it in Lani’s face. Lani would pay for this later. “No I won’t,” he said truthfully. Now he wouldn’t have to, because Lani wasn’t going to be gone the entire summer. Odion raised an eyebrow. Did Lani really want to hear how Odion would miss him if he was gone all summer? He seriously doubted Lani would rise to that.

Well if Lani changed his mind about Odion being a mountain, then Lani was certainly a tornado with a raging storm cloud. He had some things he wasn’t willing to talk about, but every once in a while, you caught a glimpse of his problems like a flash of lightning. Nothing was set in stone though. Maybe Odion couldn’t stop Lani’s powers. They would have to figure that out later. Odi shrugged. “I know, but I’m still going to try.” He would try to get Lani to stop worry about things that hadn’t even happened yet. And though Odion didn’t know, it was a lesson Lani needed to learn. Worry about whether his sister’s cancer would go away or not, wouldn’t help it go away. Tomorrow would worry about itself. See if Lani could just let his guard down, maybe his emotions and thus his powers wouldn’t flare up. Why hadn’t he given that any thought? Odion was tired of putting the spotlight on all the obvious spots Lani had missed. Odion wanted to help, and he was determined enough to do so.


Odion didn’t want to think about how he was like Adrianna, though it had crossed his mind. For Odi, Lani was compared to all who Odion had cared about, including family. Adrianna still had some of her family left who cared for her. Odion had no one. Unfortunately, Rhett was included in that group of comparisons. It was a flaw Lani would have to deal with if he wanted to be Odion’s friend. Love was a fickle thing, that occurred with very few people. Love implied you were committed to someone, and that it was unconditional. Rhett never did say he loved Odi back... Odion did his best not to dwell on that. “So you can’t have a conversation, or take a compliment. Good to know.” Odion was trying to say that he was glad Lani had showed up when he did, but it just sounded ten times snarkier. He knew Lani wasn’t doing it on purpose, it would be creepy if he was. He chuckled at the blonde’s next comment. “We have that in common mate,” he said, because there was no point in hiding the obvious.

If they said things outright, they wouldn’t be who they are, and things wouldn’t be as interesting. Odion would have said he liked Lani by now, maybe more than a friend. He would’ve said that he thought he was an ass for keeping things from Adrianna if he truly cared for her and was a coward for continuing to work for a crime boss. But these were things that went unspoken or simply not thought. There was a little dignity to the life Odi clung to, even though he often made it up as he went. There was just something different about Lani and he wanted to stick around to find out what it was. At least one of them had control over their lives, otherwise they would both be stuck. If Lani could only accept his telekinesis as part of who he was, maybe it would become one with him instead of a separate entity. Odion accepted Lani’s sly look and shook his head. “I’m glad you’re so humble,” he said sarcastically. How many loops had he thrown Lani through now? “What if I had been nice from the start?” Odion wondered aloud, not really looking for an answer. Lani probably would’ve seen through the facade, or maybe he would’ve gobbled up the whole lie.


Odion would put whatever was left of his soul on a bet towards not getting that pocket watch back. There would be better trinkets, ones worth keeping. Odion’s eyebrows furrowed. Lani wasn’t making any sense. His words didn’t match each other. “You’re doing that thing where your words are not consistent.” He pointed out dryly. Again, Lani was proving to be someone he wasn’t sure if he was able to trust or not. Lani was saying he was proud of him, and yet not explaining why. Now was that because he didn’t know why, or knew why and wasn’t willing to say? Odion had the sneaking suspicion it was the latter. But Lani could hold out on him all he wanted, there really wasn’t anything he could do anything about it.

Odion stopped and looked back to Lani, scrambling to his feet. Neither could deal with the other having the last word. As Lani struggled for an excuse for why he followed, Odion couldn’t hide his bemused smile. It was nice, to be followed for once, instead of tailing after someone who didn’t give a damn. “Let’s pretend I believe that,” he said to Lani, both eyebrows raised, a peculiar smile on his face. Odion crossed his arms in front of his as they headed into the school. The kittens were hidden mostly, and since no one paid him any mind usually, today wasn’t going to be any different.

Unlocking the door, Odi quickly locked up behind Lani. He wasn’t sure how Henry would feel about this, but it didn’t really matter. The kittens were going into Odion’s room, and that’s where they would stay. Odi opened his room door and there, on the bed, were a few teddy bears he hadn’t bothered to hide. “Oh God...” Was all he managed to say before his face turned tomato red. He had completely forgotten about that, and once his mind thought Lani wasn’t coming, it didn’t matter that he actually had. Odion walked into his room stiffly, putting the kittens under his blanket, snuggled up to one of the bigger bears. It wouldn’t matter if he tried to stow them away now. Odi stared at them intensely as they shuffled in their slumber. He couldn’t look at Lani. “Not a word.” He warned, his face still quite red. He sighed, now really wanting Lani to leave. “You know, I don’t think I need help. I have my laptop, so I’m pretty well set,” he said, nodding a couple times as though that would convince Lani. This was just awful.

[Lani Hunter]

Lani grinned and was unable to keep himself from laughing. He shook his head at Odion and found himself unable to keep up his act as laughter shook his shoulders and the sly look grew on his face. His lips curled as Odion talked about their agreement. Imagine that, Yin and Yang were agreeing on something. Granted it wasn’t like this was incredibly important but Lani decided not to argue this one. “But now a puppy dog,” he added pointedly. Lani went cross eyed for a moment in attempt to follow Odion’s hand and his head jerked back slightly at the contact. Startled Lani blinked a few times and he wasn’t sure what to think. But laughter found its way back into his eyes and his hand reached up to his nose to verify Odion’s observation. “What do you know,” he said in agreement, “Probably ‘cause it’s chilly.” He didn’t know why he felt the need to offer that explanation, it wasn’t as if it changed anything. Odion had gotten one thing right if there was an animal Lani was like it was a dog.

So Lani was a little slow on the uptake sometimes. He was very tempted to tell Odion to get his mind out of the gutter but then that would mean that his mind was in the same area. It was pretty much known but he wasn’t going to embarrass himself by saying so. Lani had glimpsed at Odion’s real face for a moment and he realized that he wasn’t the only one who was slipping up with his masks. It was comforting to know that he might be able to be himself. But no, he would just ignore that. It made things too hard to think about. But the at the same time Lani wanted to see more of this real Odion. He was interesting and nice at time, though honestly if Odion was as nice as Adrianna he’d probably be just as much in the dark about him as she was. Lani raised a brow a knowing smile on his face. “Uh-huh,” Lani uttered, “For the kittens, huh?” He said giving Odion a way out that would be both a victory and a loss for the redhead. Victory because he got out of talking about it and a loss because there was no way for him to take back what he had said before.

A supercell raging with lighting, yeah, maybe it was better to compare him to the storm as a whole. Most people only saw him from underneath blinded by the driving rain and hail, but then there were people who saw him at just the right angle to where they saw him rising to the heavens so strong that an overshooting top surged into the stratosphere’s inversion. And maybe the rage and the power could flatten the plains when going over a mountain with the ceiling low the supercell Lani tended to trip over mountains, or rather volcanoes. It was just as similar that Odion’s volcanic insides went so deep into the mantle that Lani could only hope that some of the fire and lava spewed would hold some answers. But there was something intriguing about it. Lani didn’t want Odion to be like Adrianna, he wanted to find the answers. He raised a brow at Odion breaking away from the realization that he paid a little too much attention to the earth sciences. He snorted out a little laugh. “Yeah, well good luck,” he wished the redhead well. Not even his sister had figured out that one, Odion was in for a challenge. Lani frowned a little, Odion was really good at finding his personality flaws, and even pointing out some Lani had been unaware of. He wasn’t sure he liked that.

Odion didn’t trust people and Lani wasn’t sure that he was included in the people never to trust but he hoped that Odion could trust him a little, and in truth Odion had already showed it. Now if only Lani could swallow his pride enough to admit the same and perhaps help would be welcome. If anything Odion’s flaw was something of a comfort. It was something that he could try to help him fix, something he could help Odion with, just as he was trying to help Adrianna. It was something else to help him ignore his own problems. Though, unlike Odion Lani had never been in love, he didn’t know what that was like. He didn’t know what it felt to have one’s heart torn out and ripped to shreds by another person. For that Odion was a stronger person than Lani was. And Lani saw this and it scared him a little. He liked to believe that he was strong, that he could take care of or protect everyone he loved but what if someone he loved didn’t want him to protect them, if they didn’t want anything to do with him. He didn’t think he could handle that like Odion could. He shrugged innocently at Odion and grinned. “Oh so the porcupine is giving me advice on being a people person?” He teased giving Odion a wink. He nodded and looked at Odion for a long time. Look at them, having things in common and agreeing on things. “The world must be coming to an end,” he jested.

Maybe it was a good thing that they didn’t say things outright. Chances were Lani would hit Odion. And vice versa. And that would be it for their friendship. If secrets and lies were how this was going to go Lani would prefer it to losing Odion as a friend. How strange, that he had come to care for Odion and yes, like him, but he hardly knew anything about him. In Lani’s eyes people became different things to him, some people were those people he was serious with, others he was a sullen teenager, to others he was the best friend, and some a confident, but with Odion it was different. He was all those things and ever more strange, Odion was beginning to become all of those things to him as well. Lani inclined his head at Odion. “I’m the humbles of the humble,” he said just as sarcastically hoping to earn a laugh out of Odion. Yes, Odion was becoming all those thing to him and more and he couldn’t for the life of him figure out how or why. Lani glanced at Odion considering an answer. Finally he just shook his head, “Then you would have been just like everyone else.” Everyone tried to be nice, all but Odion. Odion was a nice person deep down but it was kind of nice to have to dig a little to see it. Maybe Odion could have been nice but then chances were Lani would have met him once and forgotten about him. And if Odion had been nice he would never have chased Lani down on that rooftop and made him sweat.

Lani glanced at Odion and forced out a little laugh. “Am I? I’m sorry,” he said not sorry at all. He chewed on the inside of his lip and looked down at his hands and the kittens around them. He was considering not saying anything at all but something took over his tongue and he found himself speaking without meaning to. “I mean I’m proud you’re letting him go. He doesn’t deserve to have you hurting this much over him.” Not exactly what he had been thinking but close enough. Lani had solved his problems of becoming attached by simply not getting attached. Now if Adrianna had given him something he would probably be happy but a little worried at the same time. “… free of the chains…” Lani muttered under his breath thinking aloud. He flushed a little realizing he had said that out loud and he looked down at the kittens and hummed hoping that Odion hadn’t heard that.

Maybe it wasn’t just about having the last word, though Lani was going to let that excuse be his excuse. After all, Odion had admitted that he liked Lani but Lani had never returned the sentiment aloud. Besides leaving on bad terms was not the way that Lani wanted to start their mutual care of these kittens. Oh dear, they were parents. That was a scary thought. He glanced back as he caught his bag in the corner of his eye. He grabbed it letting the strap slide over his shoulder. Lani took a moment to analyze Odion’s expression and found he couldn’t. Instead he smiled and nodded. “Very good then,” he agreed. That was indeed an interesting smile and the light just seemed to catch Odion’s face and radiate from it. Lani tried to tell himself not to think about it but Odion was just too intrusive in his mind for him to ignore.

Lani followed Odion and his brows raised as his eyes fell on the teddy bears on the bed. Those hadn’t been here the last time he had been in here. Which meant that Odion was hiding them and… Lani couldn’t help the impish grin as Odion spoke. He rolled his head back to look at the redhead besides him, who was now playing chameleon and trying to blend in with his hair. Lani was excited; this accidental discovery let him see that softer side Odion always tried to hide. That side of him that wasn’t abrasive and spiky. So he had been right, Odion was just a big softie underneath all of his spikes. Instead of finding it funny he found it very endearing, precious even. That Odion was the kind of guy that found comfort in soft things, it was very cute. Completely unexpected too. And ok, he did find it a little funny. He looked at Odion that silly grin stuck on his face as he watched the redhead go stiff and take care of the kittens without a word. Lani raised his hands in mock defense and grinned between Odion and the kittens and the bear. Lani shrugged. “If you think so,” he said, “Do you have some place to put them, I can imagine when they wake up they’ll be running around in three different directions.” He said instead of commenting on the bears. He went over and rested his elbow on Odion's shoulder despite their heights being similar. Then without being able to stop himself he grinned at Odion, “They’re really adorable, Odion.” He was talking about the kittens, of course.

[Odion Martins]

Being a dog could have its perks. “But of course a puppy dog, I can’t have you being bigger than I am.” Odion smirked at himself and wondered why this conversation was still happening. He made no further comment on the state of Lani’s temperature, questioning himself and his odd gestures. Odion was not someone who liked to be physical with people unless he really cared for them. Well there you have it, that could be the only explanation. Odion smiled brightly at Lani as they had a good time. He really did like the telekinetic. Damn.

Odion revelled in his victory. For once, it was nice to be the bloke who came up with something hilarious and clever. It didn’t happen very often and he would enjoy the moment to its full extent. Watching Lani, Odi decided that he wouldn’t mind having more times like this one. It was far better than moping around in his dorm room all day, or playing endless games of solitaire. He knew Lani was busy with other things in his life, but Odi was secretly glad that the kittens were excuse enough to have more time with Lani. Despite this though, Odi realized that these falsities and this goofing around didn’t bare any more soul than fighting would. Oh well, he would take the lesser of the two evils if he had the choice. Unfortunately, if Lani wanted to see more of the real Odion, the blonde was going to have to take a plunge into a maskless world. It wasn’t so easy to be nice for Odi, so Lani should be thankful for that much at least. Only time would tell if the masks would come off permanently. “I think you enjoy the thought of me missing you,” Odion said, since Lani was still poking at the dead subject with a stick. So much for Lani having an untarnished victory.

Odion would be comparing himself to Lani for as long as he lived. It was something he did when he both admired and respected someone. He would think about volcanoes and tornadoes for a while, wondering why mother nature would make such formidable things for people to deal with. There didn’t seem to be a rhyme or reason to this present time called their lives, but Odion was hoping that he’d come out stronger because of Lani. He even secretly hoped that Lani would too. Odion had no idea Lani was comparing him to Adrianna, and if he had, it would mean they really were too similar for their own good. Odion smirked right back at Lani. “Well if this whole power thing works out, you’ll have one less thing to worry about.” He really was just trying to help, albeit it was philosophical. He was well aware that Lani had other things, probably countless things, to worry over, and Odion knew there wasn’t anything he could do to help Lani with that.

Of course Odion trusted Lani. If he didn’t, he would have made damn sure that Lani wasn’t let into his life an inch more. Odi would even consider going back in time and rearranging it to make sure they never met, but that could alter other things he wasn’t so willing to change. It wasn’t hard to see what care was when you were a thief, because there wasn’t a lot of care to be had in the first place. Trying to solve everyone’s problems except his own wasn’t going to help Lani in the long run, and Odion thought about that a lot. It was just a temporary distraction. Odi wondered if Lani would be graduating this year. Probably not. Odion wasn’t so sure about the saying: better to have loved and lost than never loved at all. He knew at least, the difference between love and other strong emotions or desires. Love was truly selfless, and made you extremely vulnerable. It wasn’t something he though Lani should be jealous of. Odion didn’t think it made him stronger, he thought it made him weaker. What Lani was questioning were the same questions Odion asked himself every day, followed by why. Why did he love Rhett in the first place? And then what. What was he supposed to do now that his love had been denied? So what if the worst thing Odion had done from this was drunken himself into a stupor. At least he had worked through it, never mind Lani being there. But back to the present. Odion blinked at the wink, tilting his head to the side. “I thought I was a cat. You should really make up your mind.” He watched Lani watching him. “And for the record, I am a people person, just not in the way you think.” He grinned, waiting for Lani to figure that one out. Odion rolled his eyes. “What? You don’t like being compared to the porcupine slash cat?” He jested also, raising his eyebrows at Lani. Yes, just what did Lani think about that?

Odion was glad their words didn’t end in cat fights. Some people thought the best policy was always speaking your mind. Odion would strongly advise said people to shut up. Secrets and lies would keep their friendship afloat until one too many tipped the scales. Odion wasn’t really sure where that limit was, but they would soon find out. The redhead could hardly say he knew Lani inside and out, but perhaps that didn’t matter for the stage of friendship they were in. Or rather, the one they had just made up based on secrets and lies. Lani was a fellow thief (a damn good one at that), had a family in Boston, and was dating Adrianna. Other than the little personality quirks Odion now knew about Lani, that about summed him up. But even Odion knew that was the surface and mask of Lani Hunter. He knew there was much, much more. Like Lani, Odion had relationships with people for a specific reason: fun times, stealing things, ranting at. But they were only good for that one thing and nothing more. It scared Odion a bit when he realized that Lani served all those purposes, and what was more, was that Odion saw him more as a person than something to rant at. Odion gave Lani a simple smirk and a tilt of his head. Lani really was humble, just not in this instance. That’s what made it funny. Then he outright smiled. “And you’re glad I’m not like everyone else?” He asked, rather than stating like he normally would have, because yes, he cared about Lani’s opinion now.

Scoffing, Odion shook his head. “You’re not sorry a’tall,” his accent slipping in strongly. It happened sometimes when he was emotionally distraught. Before Odion could call him out, Lani actually explained himself. For that, he was rewarded with a smile from Odion. Well that was unexpected. “Thank you,” he said, “and thank you for telling me why. Maybe you’re not as bad at explaining yourself as I thought.” Odion was proud of Lani as well. He was growing right before Odi’s eyes and wasn’t even realizing it. So maybe Lani and Adrianna had good conversations after all! Though, Odion wasn’t going to hold his breath on that relationship. Odion held his peace as Lani spoke about chains. Not every link had been nixed, but he was glad that the chain was coming loose. It would’ve been nice if sentiments were returned aloud. Odion had spent so much time assuming things between himself and Rhett that he realized the blonde had never said he loved him too until he was already gone. Obviously the action spoke louder than any words he could have said. Rhett had said he would never leave Odion again and that had certainly been a worthless thing to say. However in this case, Odion knew Lani liked him back without Lani having to say so. It wasn’t like he was dealing with love here. It would’ve stroked Odion’s ego far too much if he knew just how often he popped into Lani’s mind.

Odion was not as excited as Lani being witness to his brigade of teddies as Lani was. There was a reason Odion kept this to himself, and it was more than just never hearing the end of it from fellow students as the boy with a million stuffed bears. It was that he wanted people to continue to think he was this unbreakable fortress, and an emotionless psychopath. He didn’t want to see the look on Lani’s face right now, for he could guess what it would be without looking. If Odion could read Lani’s thoughts, he’d be yelling and trying to defend himself. He was not soft, at least, no one needed to know he was. He nodded once. “I’ll find a bed for them, and somewhere they can piss.” Lani made himself comfortable on Odion’s shoulder. Not even a smirk passed his face. Why the sudden closeness? Odion stared at Lani, unsure of whether Lani meant it or not. Either way, he seemed to be trying to make light of the situation, and Odi appreciated that. “None of them are from Rhett, so they stay.” He said, still on the defensive side. Odi assumed Lani was commenting on the teddies. Really he was surprised the blonde hadn’t said more. It was the perfect opportunity to come up with all kinds of jokes. “You can leave any second now.”

[Lani Hunter]

“Oh-ho!” Lani exclaimed before scoffing exaggeratedly. “Psh, too bad, kitty cat,” he teased giving Odion a wink, “but, I’m the big dog in this junkyard.” He matched Odion’s smirk now before falling into laugher yet again. He could not keep a straight face as they bickered about who was a dog and who was a cat and who held the power. Lani certainly wasn’t going to let the redhead get away with that one. He shook his head a little very curious about what Odion really meant by that comment. Did he want Lani on the same level or under him? Well too bad because Lani was going to be his equal if anything. He wasn’t some scared pup with his tail between his legs, he was a beast who was just as likely to bite an enemy as lick the hand of his master. But then things got confusing because if one looked at who held the leash he was both master and enemy.

A maskless world, what a scary place. He wondered if there would be anyone who he could completely be himself around. He doubted such a person existed but Odion was starting to prove him wrong. To be honest Lani was actually looking forward to taking care of these kittens. He really hoped that Odion would welcome him along if he was going to steal cat toys. He grinned as he imagined them both sneaking around only to come to pause where they would argue for the majority of the robbery about what toy the kittens would like best. That certainly wasn’t Lani’s usual hit. It would probably have the Bostonians rolling on the floor to think of Lani using his skill to steal kitten toys. Not every moment had to be soul baring, it made the moments when the real face was shown all the more precious. Besides if the pressure was on at all times Lani was more inclined to resist than let himself slip up. Lani’s brows rose at Odion’s observations. For a moment he looked into Odion’s eyes letting the wordless agreement pass between them before breaking the serious expression with a grin. “I can’t imagine what you’re talking about,” he joked willing to take what he had and run with it.

One couldn’t try to understand mother nature, it was something so unpredictable, humanity was arrogant and foolish when they thought they could outsmart the lady. Despite his best efforts to fight against Odion he was changing. Now he didn’t know if he could say that he was changing for the better, but he knew he was changing. What would happen if Odion knew he was having this affect on him. It wasn’t fair. He had been so determined not to let him or anyone else in, but frankly he hadn’t had a choice in this matter. It was eerie how Odion saw right through the masks that usually fooled people. “Yeah, sure, can’t wait,” he said with dry enthusiasm. What if Odion couldn’t stop his power? What if Lani’s power went out of control while he was working with Odion? What if Odion got hurt? What if he got hurt? What if… He bit his tongue to bring his thoughts back into reality. He had spent far too many nights playing the ‘what if’ game. He was not about to let Odion steal his nights again. Not when he had started sleeping through them again finally. He shook his head to rid himself of the bad thoughts, “Well better to get it over with quick then,” he said clearly unhappy about the whole thing. Oh well it was like taking off a bandage, go quick and it would hurt less.

Lani could only hope that he could help Odion as much as he was helping him. He didn’t want Odion to see that flawed person; he didn’t want to think he couldn’t do it by himself. He wanted to be strong. Lani wasn’t graduating, he didn’t have the grades, or the power skill. If Odion was graduating Lani would be incredibly jealous, but he didn’t think so considering Odion was staying over summer. That implied he would be here in the fall. Love could be a weakness yes, but then so could hate and detachment. Perhaps more so. Lani wondered if he would ever have to face what Odion was facing. He wasn’t sure where things would end with Adrianna. But he had found himself coming to enjoy her company very much and even miss her when he was gone or she was playing study hermit. But he found he missed Odion as well, he was his friend so that was to be expected. Right? Lani grinned at Odion, “You’re both, some kind of hybrid. And besides it’s my prerogative to change my mind.” He nodded decisively and crossed his arms. Lani gave Odion a skeptical look and just nodded, “Uh-huh, sure, that’s what we’ll call it,” he teased. Odion was not a very good people person at least not on the outside. But then maybe he was thinking along the same lines as Lani where he was better at seeing beyond the surface. Lani’s mind backpedaled searching for a way out of this particular hole, right now he was balancing like a tightrope walker but they both knew that one blow and he would be sunk again. Damn Odion was good at this. He narrowed his eyes at Odion. “What dog would?” He countered carefully. This was very much like a chess game.

Tipping scales with secrets and lies would be the most peaceful way for things to happen. With the way they argued chances were the more secrets there were they would drop onto the scale like rocks and ruin the whole thing. Or at least the way Lani saw it and it would definitely create an imbalance of power and Lani wasn’t sure how he felt about not being on the same level as Odion. Lani could only hope that he wouldn’t have to figure out what tipped or destroyed the scale. Odion had no idea what Lani was hiding and there was so much that Lani knew Odion was hiding. So they were friends but that didn’t mean they had to spill their secrets so soon. But unlike other people Lani didn’t want Odion to be in the dark, he wanted to know Odion and Odion to know him. That scared him beyond all reason and he was sure he was going to be in for a rough time if his lies ever broke. Little did Odion know that Lani really was a vain creature, he was humble yes, but he also thrived on complements. Odion’s smile gave Lani a little pleasure that he was the one that had caused it. He stared at Odion for a moment before nodding slowly. “I suppose you could say that,” he said thoughtfully.

Even though the topic was serious Lani couldn’t help himself. Odion’s accent usually wasn’t so heavy and it caught him off guard when he got all Irish on him. So much so that it started a laugh out him. If this had different circumstances Lani might have tried to intimidate the accent. But at the moment Odion was speaking and Lani felt the need to listen. Lani shrugged at the thanks as if it were no big deal. He gave Odion a sideways look at the last part and a small smile snuck its way onto his face. “It happens from time to time. Just don’t ask me about fishing,” he commented his lips lifting into a half smile using his primary defense of making a joke out of it all. Lani bit his tongue punishing it for the slip up; he really must be going insane. Speaking to himself in public now, yeah he was diving off the deep end. And he didn’t even know how to swim. Occasionally Lani hit on something that made sense and was relatively deep. Most of the time when he hit something philosophical he couldn’t make it make sense outside of his head.

As much as Odion would try to claim he wasn’t really a gentle spirit Lani would never believe him. Oh of course he believed that Odion had quite a ferocious bite to him but he would always now that Odion was really a softie and that was enough for him. It wasn’t like Lani was going to run around telling everyone about his discovery. He wasn’t that kind of person. Sure he used blackmail when need be, but Odion was his friend and chances were that he would be right there defending Odion if anyone else tried to blackmail him. Lani nodded at Odion’s decisions. He did seem to have it very well under control. At least until the three menaces woke up. He leaned against Odion unaware that he was breaching the closeness boundaries. After all hadn’t Odion already broken those when he touched Lani’s nose? Lani chuckled and gave Odion a sideways look. “I was talking about the kittens,” he said, “But I suppose that’s all as well.” He dropped his arm and crossed the floor to scratched the kittens ears. He was tempted to poke the bear but unlike his power he had the ability to resist temptation. He straightened and stretched. “Alright, alright, I can take a hint,” he said winking at Odion. “If you need any help you know where to find me.” He took himself out the door smiling to himself.

[Odion Martins]

Odion couldn’t keep in the laughter, nor the awkward smile from eclipsing his face. “Please don’t call me kitty cat,” he said, laughing lightly still. It was the strangest nick name Lani had given him yet, and for some reason, it was just too weird for the redhead. “It sounds like a stripper name,” he said for the reasoning behind his dislike of the nickname. Lani had come up with better ones and should stick to his old guns. Odion knew no one really held the power here, because they were both playing mind games and were unsure of both themselves and each other. Odion wanted Lani on the same level, but only if Lani was willing to rise to the occasion. Still, Odion hoped he had made a friend with Lani. He didn’t need any more enemies.

There had been someone who Odion had been comfortable to leave his guard down with, but that had ended. He didn’t know if there would ever be another person he felt like he could be himself around, but that didn’t need to happen right away, or ever if no one caught his attention. Odion was happy to have the kittens around. They would help heal the bits of his life that were still torn, and give him reason to move on. He was glad they weren’t simply a distraction though. He knew he had a lot to mend and not facing it would only be damaging. It had just taken a really bad night of drinking for him to figure that out. Odion wasn’t worried about what anyone would think of their stealing cat toys, since they’d be the only two who knew. Obviously Lani was invited to such a party – if he had the time. Something that Odion really enjoyed about Lani, was that he wasn’t purposefully trying to show Lani who he was, it just sort of happened. He didn’t think it was all accidental either though, it was just right. The more the slip ups happened, the more they started being themselves instead of acting like themselves. Odion smirked at Lani. Two can play at this game. “You won’t have to,” he decided to say. If Lani left, Odion would miss him and Lani enjoyed knowing that. So now Odion knew they were on the same thought – why did Lani like that possibility so much?

Change wasn’t a bad thing, so long as it was in the right direction and that was subjective. Odion wasn’t someone who particularly liked change, in fact he did his best to avoid it. But evidently, Lani was changing him too. Odion could see through Lani’s masks and Odi’s were just as transparent, it was something the duo would eventually have to get over. Odion grinned. “You just hate that I’m right,” he pointed out, teasing Lani. Lani was such fun to tease. The what ifs would have to wait until the proper timing. Odion knew he was a good thief, but he didn’t know he was doing it without trying to. Poor Lani, he need to learn how to manage his stress. He chuckled to himself, “You really think it’s going to happen quickly?” Sometimes Lani made zero sense.

Lani had already helped Odion, and the redhead felt like he would forever be in debt. It was a good thing that Lani wanted to be strong, but even the strongest of individuals needed help sometimes, Lani was just wearing his stubborn mask. Still, Odion would be happy to see Lani’s stubborn will come the new school year. And hopefully for Odi, it would be his last. Lani would only ever have to face love’s scar if he let himself. People didn’t have to feel anything if they became hermits, it was all about choice. Infatuation was strong emotions and crazy feelings, now love, love was about choice and fighting. And Odion was a damn good scrapper when he wasn’t being a coward. Odion liked spending time with Lani, since time was something he had a strong connection with. If he was truly honest with himself, he would think he was starting to develop a small crush on Lani, but he blamed that on being left with his heart hung out to dry, and Lani had been there when he needed someone and wasn’t willing to admit he did. Odion didn’t want to picture Lani in any light, other than the one that belonged to him. He didn’t want to like Lani because he liked the idea of doing so, but because he liked him. Odion was still working through those thoughts. “So what am I, a Catupine?” He asked, cringing at the new creation. Already he was shaking his head. That wasn’t really something he wanted to be. Odion didn’t try explaining himself, Lani didn’t need to know Odi liked watching people and learn about human interaction. Instead he grinned and played dumb. He was good at playing people and having them think whatever he liked them to think, Lani was the exception because he had gotten through Odion’s oldest trick. The ginger watched his loyal friend carefully. “Dogs and cats aren’t so different in the end,” he said, implying much more than he was ever willing to admit. Lani would always have to read between the lines, would always have to assume that Odion cared a lot more than he let on.

Peaceful isn’t really a way to describe Odion’s life, it had been quite the opposite actually. Odion knew he had secrets, and he did his best to stay close to the truth without telling the whole truth. It kept his life in order so he wouldn’t mix up his lies like Lani did left right and center. Lani was unknowingly digging himself a deeper hole with Odion. The longer he kept his mafia-like boss a secret, the angrier Odion would be. That was something Lani was going to have to deal with, should it ever arise. Odion wasn’t really going to invite Lani for tea and proceed telling him his life story. He wasn’t a woman. He may have wanted a comrade, but he didn’t know how that was going to happen if neither of them was willing to take that first step. They spoke in riddles and played games and never outright said how they felt. Not usually anyways. And not seriously. Odion grinned sheepishly, locking eyes with Lani. A strange feeling overcame him and he found himself unsure of what to say next. It felt like he had been stunned. It was nice, to feel unique in Lani’s eyes.

Odion frowned as Lani barked out a laugh. “Curious...” He murmured to himself, wondering what was so amusing about that. Odi knew his thank you was a big deal even though Lani was acting calmly. Lani’s eyes didn’t lie, they both knew coming right out and saying something was the hardest thing to do in the world. Well, for them it was anyways. Odion chuckled to himself, a sweet smile passing over his lips. He really did find their inside jokes endearing. “I won’t,” he said, because he wasn’t ready to. Lani didn’t say anything about never asking him about it ever again though. It may have been masked through jokes right now, but Odion knew there was something here that needed exploring. And he always liked digging more than fishing. Insanity was repeating the same action hoping for a different outcome. Maybe they weren’t insane if this relationship was actually going somewhere. Lani should really try his philosophies out on Odion some time.

So long as Lani didn’t go around telling everyone how soft Odi was, he really didn’t mind. Maybe it would be a good thing for Lani to remember that Odion was still human. Still, the time traveller didn’t like feeling more vulnerable than his new friend. In fact, he detested it. Besides, who would Lani tell, Adrianna? He seriously doubted that his girlfriend gave a damn about Odion’s stuffed animals. If Lani did tell someone though, he knew there’d be hell to pay. Maybe the physical boundaries had been cracked, but Lani was the one charging through them now. Odion leaned away from Lani, clearly uncomfortable with their close proximity. “Right,” he said, wary of Lani and just what kind of effect the blonde was having on him. He seriously doubted Lani had the power to resist every kind of temptation. Odion’s piercing eyes watched Lani as he left, a sigh of relief escaping him. He had been truly embarrassed to have Lani witness the Stuffie Parade. He liked Lani, he wasn’t ready for him to stick that closely though. Turning on the spot, Odi watched the kittens, trying to think of what to do next. “Well you’re certainly not making me sleep on the floor,” he said accusingly as he opened up his laptop.