Only Memories (Lani.)

[Lani Hunter]

Irony of ironies was when someone you couldn’t yet trust could have helped with your biggest problem. If only Lani had the courage to tell him. But Lani didn’t view that as courage, he saw it was a weakness. Show no weakness pretend something was completely fine. It was all the better that the public Lani had no problems. Public Lani didn’t care about anything and it infuriated authority figures. He didn’t care that his grades were slipping, he didn’t care that he wasn’t working on his power. He was just dancing through life. One of the things Lani had going for him was that he was a friendly person, at least most of the time. And he often times among friends became the confident and trustworthy one. It let him get all the information without having anyone really know anything about him. He was interested in Odion’s method, how did he get around and live life outside of stealing when he had no one to keep him sane. It was nice to insert oneself into the normalcy of life and pretend to be just as normal as everyone else was. Complain about class or a chore, Lani made stuff up and no one ever knew. Their problems always seemed trivial, but to be just like them Lani treated them like the end of the world. But Lani knew what the end of the world looked like and it wouldn’t come from his parents… well maybe his father, but that was beside the point. In many ways he secretly envied Odion, completely without ties, free. But Lani could never be that free, not ever, he just cared to much about people to just drop off the face of the earth.

Lani honestly couldn’t have said what had changed between the pair of them. Lani remembered leaving that rooftop fuming and absolutely sure he had an enemy to deal with now. Yes, he had left there with absolutely certainty that he loathed Odion. Perhaps it was because Odion was starting to look human to him, not just another thief, not just competition. In a way seeing Odion break down had assured Lani that Odion wasn’t evil. No matter how much alcohol he had in his system and no matter how much they both would pretend this had never happened Lani would hold onto that. His new friend wasn’t at the top of his game and he had even apologized. Lucky Lani, Odion had called him. He frowned a little wondering if Odion really saw him. Was he also fooled by the façade? Did he think Lani just skated by completely unconcerned with what happened in the world? If anything Lani knew he was lucky that he didn’t have Odion’s life, and yet life had a card up its sleeve and slammed him down before he even realized he should have folded. If Odion was truly fooled than why wasn’t Lani happy about it? He should be proud his mask worked so well, but he couldn’t make the nagging feeling that he wished Odion knew him. He shook his head to himself and discarded the thought, even if he was vulnerable and Odion asked about his problems Lani would lie, not matter how it felt. He wanted to get to know Odion but he would rather remain a mystery. He could take care of himself, he had everything under control.

Lani raised a brow at Odion’s cut off sentence. He grinned making assumptions. Silly Odion had let a little something slip there and drunk or not, Lani was not going to let him get away with it. “I just what?” He pressed genuinely curious. He was not being very merciful at the moment. He wasn’t really expecting an answer, be it good or bad. That smile Odion had drew him in and he locked on the blue eyes. Lani was rather glad that Odion had a relatively good hold of himself when he was drunk, Lani wasn’t sure he would have liked it if Odion had just spilt his life story on him. It was strange; it left something to be desired. He blinked and shook his head surprised by that particular thought. He wasn’t sure he was ready to be quite so good friend. It was so different than being with Adrianna, Adrianna’s emotions often flip flopped and threw him for loops and more often than not they were always laughing and joking around together. It was a nice change from everything. He really liked Adrianna and didn’t like the way she had been so distant yesterday. He liked it when he could actually be public Lani, be that person who loved jokes and teasing.

Lani had the urge to be very childish and stick his tongue out at Odion but he refrained. If anything that would make the redhead laugh even more. “You might,” Lani said with a wave of his hand, “But I don’t.” There he was pointing out the obvious again. “So therefore, there is only so much time for you to experience the awesomeness that is Lani.” He pressed his hands into his chest dramatically and ducked his head in a little bow. Lani’s humor faded when Odion’s did. Something was up. He perked up both interested and afraid by what he might hear. He didn’t rush Odion but rather crossed his arms again and prepared himself for bad news. He cocked his head when he mentioned Adrianna. Then came the punch line. His eyes widened brows came together as he realized to the full extent what an idiot he had been. “Oh,” he uttered not needing Odion to finish. He closed his eyes for a moment and shook his head. When he opened them they were dark and stormy. “It makes sense… You shouldn’t have told me that,” he held up his hand to pause protest, “But I’m glad you did. She never tells me…” He cut himself off and delivered a glace in Odion’s direction. Perhaps Odion had a point though, he probably should tell her he was hanging out with Rhett’s best… ex friend?

Lani’s thoughts were occupied by Adrianna for a while longer. It made sense. Her hesitation when he hadn’t seen her in a while, oh what she must have been thinking! That innocent trust and yet the fear as well. That night at the club. The one time when he should have lied and didn’t. She was afraid he was going to abandon her. Drop her like a piece of trash as soon as he was tired of her. He had to admit that he was hurt. He closed his eyes and rubbed them letting out a little groan. Odion’s matching groan made Lani smile a little and he peeked at him. He dropped his hand away from his face and rubbed his palms on his legs before crossing them again. He pushed Adrianna out of him mind for a moment, he had Odion’s problems to deal with, not his own. His own could wait. He smiled a little. “Me too,” he agreed and let the topic vanish. Lani had thought he had been making sense at the time but apparently what made sense in his tired brain didn’t make sense to everyone. He knew what he was talking about but he just couldn’t explain it. Odion just needed to take care of himself, or else he was letting Rhett take his life when he left. That wasn’t right.

A laugh boiled up his throat and he shook his head at Odion’s question. “No, I guess not.” Clueless Lani still had no idea that he was freaking Odion out. They were similar thinkers but that didn’t mean Lani knew that. He honestly didn’t want to compare himself to the time traveler. But he really couldn’t help it. “Oh well, what will be will be.” He said. It was his own little philosophy when it came to life question he didn’t want to answer. These were questions that weren’t supposed to have answers and people could go crazy trying to figure things out. Because in the end everyone ended up in a tiny pine box anyways. It was interesting, how Lani could say something like that but on the inside he knew that if it came to someone he loved he would do everything humanly possible to keep them from ending up in that tiny pine box before he did. It was a morbid though but part of him actually didn’t want to outlive anyone, he wasn’t sure he could bear it. He shook his head, why was death so hard on his mind right now? He had a life to live and he wasn’t done with it yet. He just had a few chains that still needed to be broken and then he could fly like the Windrider Unchained.

Honestly Lani wouldn’t be surprised if Odion forgot about all of this tomorrow; he only hoped that when they came across each other again they didn’t fight again. He did rather like talking to Odion and he didn’t want to become so annoyed with the red head again that he didn’t want to be near him at all. But then Lani wasn’t even sure that that would happen, something had changed tonight whether or not they would admit it. A friendship had bloomed, certainly a fragile and cautious friendship with neither completely comfortable with the other. It wouldn’t be a hard thing to break. “You see but everyone knows it’s the quite ones you’ve gotta watch out for. At least Hammel knows where I stand; they let me get away with quite a bit actually.” He grinned a little and shrugged. “You see if you make them think they have you on radar you can go under their radar and make them think they know everything.” Lani wasn’t sure why he was delivering this little piece of reverse psychology advice. “Besides its kinda fun to piss them off,” he said with a little grin. That was what they got for keeping him here when his sister was terrified without him at her doctor’s appointment.

Lani looked up at the stars his mind rushing away from him. He frowned to himself, he was worried about Odion, about Caroline, about Adrianna, even about that old English teacher who had gotten under his skin. It was worse when he knew that he just had to worry and he couldn’t do anything about it. Maybe that was why he was pressing the bread so much on Odion. He could do something about that. He was not on a mission to make sure that Odion started taking care of himself again and if Red had a problem with that he was just going to have to suck it up. He turned back and tried to find Odion’s eyes in the darkness. With a shrug and smiled back. He shook his head realizing he had contradicted himself. He had said ‘what will be will be’ but then he had revealed that he worried. So which part had he lied about? Maybe it was just that he worried about people and just let life be. “So just deal with it,” Lani retorted a little more snappishly than he had intended. He really just wanted to drop the subject, Odion had no idea that he was digging into an old wound. He shook his head and forced a smile onto his face bringing the mask back up. “No, but I can do all I can. And if worrying is the only thing I can do I’ll do it.” He shrugged at Odion, he wasn’t trying to be mean, he just didn’t know.

Lani shook his head and couldn’t hold back a laugh. It was half relief and half out of real humor. Lani raised his hand and straightened his posture and saluted Odion. Lani couldn’t help grinning at the look Odion was making. Now that he wasn’t being annoying and eating the bread, even though he was doing it with so much displeasure Lani couldn’t help but smile. Odion’s face was rather entertaining. It was kind of cute… Whoa! His mind stopped the thought right there and shook his head at the thought. That was strange… No, that was too strange. He was tired, that was it. Tired. He dropped his eyes away from those piercing blue eyes and wondering what crazy thing he had eaten today. When he finally found the courage to look back up at Odion he realized he vulnerable he had made himself wrapped up in this blanket. But it was so warm. He was letting his guard down, maybe it was a lapse in judgment or perhaps he just didn’t see Odion as a threat at the moment.

Lani huffed in agreement and felt the warmth spreading in his toes. “So inconsiderate,” Lani teased with a grin, then added, “Don’t worry about it, this is very warm.” He shifted a little and tilted his head to the side so his cheek rested on the fleece. It was so terribly comfortable he loved it. Warmth spread through him and he was pretty sure that unless one of his legs fell asleep he was not moving. He straightened and little and shook his head at Odion’s answer. “Uh-huh,” he voiced with a grin and looked back up into those eyes. “You’re sick of me already?” He asked and then with a shake of his head laughed at himself, “Don’t answer that.” Lani wasn’t sure he had said the wrong thing until Odion snapped at him. He shrugged and gave Odion an apologetic look. He ducked his head and rested his head on his arms. Part of him knew he was making himself vulnerable. He should be up and pacing, what if something happened he wouldn’t have nearly enough time to untangle himself and make a run for it. For some reason the other part of him was comfortable showing this side of him to Odion. He knew he had the power to fight off Odion if he needed too. Lani perked up a little when Odion changed his answers. He held the time traveler’s gaze evenly and realized he couldn’t find a response for that. That would be very tempting and Lani wasn’t sure he would be able to resist if given the opportunity. Lani finally broke eye contact for a moment and looked down doing a mental inventory. His stomach was a little queasy and he had the strangest sensation of vertigo. “Yeah, yeah, I’ll be fine,” he insisted. He closed his eyes and felt the throbbing of every blood pump through his brain. He looked up at Odion unwilling to be more vulnerable than he was. He wrapped his walls around his heart again and considered Odion with interested eyes. “Just warn me if you’re gonna do that again. So I’m curious,” Lani said as if he were thinking aloud, “When did you get your power?”

[Odion Martins]

Insanity wasn’t something Odion really thought about, nor did he want to discuss the topic with Lani. There was literally nobody keeping Odion sane, so Lani must have come upon a conclusion moments ago already. There was nothing and no one to drive Odion, for better or for worse. There was no one pushing him to steal other than himself. There was no one telling him to do good, there was no one encouraging him, and unlike the stealing aspect of his mind, he wasn’t pushing that cart. Lani wouldn’t be interested in Odion’s method once he realized that the redhead didn’t have one. Odion was only normal as everyone else in that he went through the motions. He got up, sometimes showered, usually had breakfast just not as of late, dressed himself, drug himself through class, and then twiddled his thumbs the rest of the day. Homework went undone, or was done poorly, and the rest of his time was spent online wasting time when he was feeling lazy, or out robbing people, when he was feeling adventurous. So yes, he pretended to be as normal as everyone else, as far as anyone else could see. Who could guess what was really going on inside his mind? Odion did have a couple friends to cling to, but they were just as absent as Rhett was, although they weren’t missing. Avi was busy with her girlfriend, Tyler was busy with his boyfriend. And honestly, they didn’t really know Odion at all, only what he chose to tell them. To them, he was an insatiable flirt, a side of Odion Lani probably wouldn’t believe until he saw it. At least Avi’s problems weren’t stupid. Her girlfriend was battling cancer. Odion wasn’t one to waste his time, and therefore, did not like wasting his breath on mundane things no one really wanted to talk about anyways. Odion cared about certain people, but lately it seemed like people didn’t care about him.

Odion had never loathed Lani. His good mood on the rooftop that night might’ve coloured how he saw the blonde, before bad things had happened with Rhett. As far as Odion was concerned, he was the best card Lani had. A fellow thief in case he ever needed some backup. Odion had a point to prove to Lani, but he wasn’t sure what it was yet. He knew it had something to do with trust. Yes, that was it. He wanted to show Lani that he could be trusted. Whether that resulted in friendship or not wasn’t the point. He needed someone to give him recognition again. Rhett had stopped doing that long before he left. He had started to believe he wasn’t destined for greatness at all, but a life of petty crime and evil. Not even the awesome kind of evil, just the pathetic kind, where the villains only wanted to rant about their plans. That was who he thought he was, and now, he doesn’t think he’s too far off with his thinking. If Lani were to pretend that this never happened along with Odion, than these moments were as good as nonexistent. That was a good thing, right? And Lani wasn’t lucky at all, Odion was just being sarcastic. Between his pretend friends and fake girlfriend, Odion had nothing to be jealous of. Not that his life was any better really. As much as he didn’t envy Lani’s life, he didn’t love his own either. This conclusion had only been reached very recently, around the same time Rhett left. Odion would never ask about Lani’s problems, even if he wanted to know what they were. It just wasn’t Odi’s style. Seems like they both have everything under control, don’t they?

Lucky Lani and Silly Odion. Captain Obvious and Lieutenant Clueless. They were turning out to be quite the pair. Odion was still biting him bottom lip, before he started laughing again, lightly this time. He was drunk, right? “You’re just so god damn annoying.” And for once, Odion was joking around with Lani. Yes Lani was annoying to Odion sometimes, but it was almost a good thing. How else would you describe someone that got under your skin, that was everywhere you were at the wrong time, and that you couldn’t stop thinking about? Annoying, that pretty much summed it up. Odion didn’t want to explain his personal definition for the word to Lani though, so he hid behind his smile.

“I could just stop time for the both of us, then we’d both have all the time in the world,” he said, a sly grin on his face. When someone was so used to winning, or getting their way, it was hard to let something small, even trivial, go. He did have all the time in the world, and since Lani was with him, he too had all the time in the world. It made perfect sense, even if Lani didn’t understand the logistics of it.

He would have gladly made this reassurance to Lani again, but things grew serious once more. He had to ignore the ‘awesomeness’ comment if Odi wanted to get his point across. Why did that always seem to be the case with these two? The seriousness? Was it because everything else about their lives was pretend? The way Odion pronounced Lani’s name seemed to catch the blonde’s attention. Odion knew it wasn’t the way he was saying it, which came out more like Law-nee than Laa-nee. It was his English accent and he couldn’t help it. Odi wasn’t trying to be rude or annoying, he was only trying to gain the blonde’s attention, make him stop thinking that he was joking about this Adrianna business, because he wasn’t. Lani would have to make the time for this if Adrianna was at all important to him, and Odion knew that she was. Fact of the matter was, Talen had been a cheater, and Rhett had helped him along. It was something Odi never felt comfortable with, but for Rhett’s sake he decided to let that detail go. Now it was coming back to haunt him in a most peculiar way. Odion looked away from Lani as soon as he said Odi shouldn’t have told him. Odion actually felt bad for telling Lani, unsure of why he needed to reveal the truth all of a sudden. It was easier than lying and needed to be said, and for some twisted reason, Odi had an easier time telling the truth when it was cold and hard. He also didn’t know where to draw the line sometimes, as mentioned before. This was why he rarely did the right thing, because whenever he tried, it always ended up being the wrong thing anyways. It seemed that Adrianna was hiding a lot of things from Lani. Actually, Adrianna was hiding a lot of things from Lani, hadn’t he just admitted that? “At least the relationship is equal,” he stated, looking back at Lani. There he went again, telling it like it is. What was Lani gaining from that relationship anyways? A false sense of security? “I think you and her have some serious problems to sort out,” he said, his eyes wide. Why did he have to tell Lani about Talen? And why was it that Odion knew things about both Adrianna and Lani that the other didn’t? Now Odion knew that didn’t make any sense at all.

Odion grinned back at Lani, and managed a chuckle after they both groaned, frustrated by life in general. He thought it would be humorous to ask if Lani had any headache pills on him, but that would just be stupid. You weren’t supposed to mix drugs with alcohol. Odion didn’t want to know what that would feel like. He didn’t want to die today after all. Odion waved his hands in front of Lani before he could say anything about his and Adrianna’s relationship, or the state it was in. “No more fishing,” he said sweetly. Fishing, just another inside joke they both had now. Lovely. Wonderful. If Odion learned anything more about them, he wanted Lani to tell him from his own free will, not because Odi was annoying the piss out of him. As much as Odion wanted full control over his life again, it was hard to adjust to not having Rhett around. Odin had known the boy for so long. He felt something similar for Rhett as Lani did for his sister. Now how would Lani cope if she just up and left without a trace? Betrayed? Depressed? A lot of both? Well that’s how Odion felt. Rhett was more than just a friend, he was the only family Odion had ever known. The whole situation was screwed up, and Odion had thought about it many times over in his head and it never made any sense. Maybe that’s why Rhett had such a strong hold over Odion – he was the only security Odi had ever known.

“Good,” he said to Lani, “I was starting to think you had a handbook about life or something.” Odion smirked at Lani. Another joke. At least one of them knew they were on the same line of thinking. Did that also mean they were on the same hook? Whose hook was that again? “Que sera sera,” Odion repeated back to Lani in a different language. It was a well known phrase which shouldn’t tip Lani off to the ginger’s multilingual tongue. Repeating things back to people just made them feel understood, and that’s what Odion was trying to accomplish. He understood Lani. And yet, if whatever will be will be, why did the blonde worry about everything? He was a tiny bit of a hypocrite, just like all humans were. Perhaps death was so heavy on Lani’s mind because Odi had been on the brink of it. Not such a farfetched explanation, one that Lani might come across on his own at a later time.

Odion wouldn’t necessarily fight with Lani, unless you count picking on him. Odion would never stop doing that to Lani, after all, old habits die hard. Lani would probably find him annoying, but that was okay with Odion, he knew he was a little prickly. Odion wouldn’t put his life on this new friendship, but it was nice to have someone understand and sympathize with him, even if it was only for a night. He would take it in a heartbeat. As for tomorrow, tomorrow would come. He couldn’t stop time forever, not that he had tried that trick before. “So what you’re saying is that Hammel should be watching everyone but you?” He challenged, a thoughtful fingertip on his chin. Lani may think he had everything figured out, but Odion wasn’t going to play along. He was keeping Lani on his toes, and always would. “I’d rather not be on the “radar” at all thank you very much,” he said, and yes, he air quoted this with his fingers. Odion wasn’t trying to criticise Lani’s way of going about things, he was just figuring out that they had very different ways of going about things. Odion laughed again. God it felt good to laugh. “I like pissing people off as much as you do, but the less this school knows about me, the better off everyone will be.” Odion cracked up again, realizing he made an unintentional rhyme. His charming side was poking out again and he quickly tucked it back in.

“Just try living by your own words,” Odion said. It came out as more of a challenge than sound advice. Lani said whatever will be will be, but didn’t live by it, and Odion knew firsthand how hard it could be to follow your own advice. When Lani snapped slightly, Odion was reminded that he needed to keep his guard up. It was a shame, because it felt so good to let his guard down around Lani. But it was still like walking on eggshells, and Odion would just have to accept that. He was actually trying to be kind and Lani had let his mask slip, and he obviously didn’t like it when he didn’t have his proper masking. Odion could just imagine Lani putting on his smiling face, like a true artist. “I can see you,” he said. If he could, Odion would wipe that mask off Lani’s face. He desperately wanted to do just that. Odion locked eyes with Lani. He couldn’t help saying what he did, it was his own form of calling Lani on the various bullshit he was throwing around. “Doing all you can is very different from the only thing you can do.” Odion may not have known the nerve he was hitting, but he didn’t really care. Lani wasn’t going to treat him like shit in the crapper, especially when Odi was trying to help. If Lani wanted to play the mask game, Odion would play, but that would be fake and Odion thought they were being real now. He would just have to keep chipping away at Lani’s poker face.

Don’t make me regret this Lani.

“Seriously,” he said, his mouth full of dry bread, “I should’ve put some butter on this, this is fucking gross.” He threw the rest of the slice in the trash can by his desk. “And I swear to god, if you make that bread rise out of that trash can,” he was pointing his finger at Lani, “you’ll be eating it faster than you can blink.” Odion was ignoring the grin Lani was wearing, not even thinking that Lani was thinking along the same lines as him, as they had been before. What he couldn’t ignore though, was that Lani stopped looking at him as intently as he had before. A puzzled look crossed the ginger’s face – had he done something wrong?

“So inconsiderate,” Lani said, which made Odion grin like mad as Lani laughed. And then Lani leaned against his blanket with his face and it was Odi’s turn to look away. Had Lani been flirting with him just there? Lani was definitely teasing him now, and the whole acting adorable thing? This wasn’t the Lani he first met. He was tempted to tell Lani he could keep the stupid blanket, but he didn’t. What had come over him? Lani was speaking again and Odion looked back up into the other boy’s eyes. Odion would have answered him too, but since he was given permission not to, her pursed his lips together tightly instead. He felt like a newborn duckling who had mistaken the chicken for its mother, if that made any sense at all. Was this going to be some obscure rebound for him? Odion put a hand to his temple again, doing his best not to snap on Lani again. He just seemed so... sweet, acting like Odion’s snapping had truly affected him. But hadn’t Lani’s snapping truly affected Odion mere moments before? And that look Lani gave him just before he ducked for cover, using the blanket as a shield. What did that mean? Perhaps the beauty in this relationship was the ability to have their guards down, and have the other understand when the guards went back up. It was unknowingly teaching them forgiveness. They were equal. Odion was happy to see Lani coming out of his shell again because he had changed his answers. It was strange, the effect they were having on each other. It was unlike anything Odion had ever experienced before. “You don’t look fine,” he said. Out of spite, he reached for the loaf of bread and tossed it at Lani, a little harder than last time. “Why don’t you try that out and tell me what you think of it,” he said, nodding at the bread by Lani. Just because Lani was unwilling to be vulnerable, didn’t mean he wasn’t. It seemed that Lani did such a good job of taking care of everyone, that he forgot about taking care of himself. “First trip’s free, I’ll have to charge you for any future time travelling escapades.” Odion grinned sheepishly at Lani’s next question. “Right about as I was starting high school,” he said carefully, unwilling to give more than a pointed answer. “You?” Odion found this question odd and was only humouring Lani. All of this information would’ve been explained in his file, but he was curious to see where Lani was going with this. Maybe he just didn’t want to leave.

[Lani Hunter]

Lani examined his hands for a moment as his thoughts tried to organize themselves. This whole night had been one big mess. Starting with his inability to sleep starting it out he had spent a lot of time thinking and doing things to occupy his power. He hadn’t tried to fly again tonight which was probably for the best because his power was a little too over excited about that. But he guessed that must mean his mind was also over excited about flight. Lani contemplated Odion for a moment taking another look at him. It was good to see him smiling and hear him laugh. Lani found himself smiling softly. Now all he had to do was make sure that Odion started eating and sleeping again. He was sure that this wasn’t the only breakdown that Odion had had and he wasn’t sure it would be the last. When someone broke their heart it wasn’t a quick fix. Sometimes the best medicine was to forget and distract, whereas other times it was better to talk it out and see that maybe that person wasn’t the best for them anyways. But he hardly thought that Odion would like to talk about Rhett with Lani. They weren’t close friends. Friends now yes, but Lani would hardly call them close. Though another reason this night had been strange was that in the span of an hour he felt like he knew more about Odion than he had in all of their other meetings. It wasn’t so much what Odion had said but rather what they were doing now. Both slowly bringing down their walls and showing who they really were. It still kind of freaked Lani out but he was willing to try it out for a little bit.

It was true that if it came to something in the secret half of his life he would go to Odion and not Adrianna. It pained him to think that right now just by the pure fact that Odion and Lani were similar in their thieving Odion already knew him better than Adrianna. Adrianna knew the normal half but Odion knew the secret half and was slowly making the two halves mesh and become one. Whether it was that Odion had trusted him or that Odion was slowly starting to get him to open up Lani was starting to want to trust him. But want was a far different thing from actually doing it. He wanted to think that he could count on Odion but then there was always that nagging doubt. Lani just wasn’t sure he was ready to let down that wall to Odion. Lani sorely hoped that things would be different when he left, he found himself rather enjoying Odion’s company. Well, wouldn’t it be fair to let Odion in a little bit? Fair yes, but no Lani was too afraid. If Odion knew he had a boss that could cause him avoid Lani, see him as a failure. Lani didn’t like to know that someone could control him and he didn’t need another person who knew him well enough to be able to control him. He wasn’t about to leap out of his boss’s hands and into another person’s hands. It sucked, to be frank. Lani hated that he couldn’t tell Adrianna about his problems, and now he hated that Odion was here and would probably understand and Lani was getting cold feet. Oh well, Odion probably didn’t want to hear about his problems tonight. He frowned; Rhett had really done some damage before he had left.

A grin formed on his face and he laughed hearing Odion’s comeback. “I’m annoying?” he asked in mock offense and shock. He shook his head. “You chased me down over rooftops and you’re calling me annoying?” He laughed a little gesturing between the two of them when he addressed himself and the redhead. They were indeed quite the pair. If anyone saw them in public they would probably wonder why it was that they didn’t kill each other. Keeping the friendship secret probably wouldn’t be too much of a problem, they just had to pretend to be more offended than they were when they made jabs at each other. Lani laughed a little at his thoughts. No, no one in their right mind would ever peg Lani and Odion as friends and if they did it would be a wonder to them how they ever stood each other.

Lani raised his brows at that. All the time in the world? Lani shrugged at the suggestion. “This whole time thing is way over my head,” he admitted swiping his hand over his head. “But that would make our jobs easier. You could stop time and we could just walk in anywhere grab everything and walk out again and no one would be the wiser.” Wow had he just said we? He wasn’t actually considering working with Odion was he? He didn’t need a partner, a friend, perhaps he did need that, but a partner that was another thing entirely. Maybe every once in a while it wouldn’t hurt to have someone who could stop time. It would certainly help with those timed alarms and locks. But then Lani hadn’t met a lock he couldn’t unravel or an alarm that caught him off guard.

A feeling of insecurity grew in him as he looked at Odion trying to find the answer in his eyes. Lani might have made a comment about the pronunciation of his name if Odion hadn’t said it so seriously. It sent chills down his spine when people said his name like that. It was never followed by good news. The joke was done, that was clear, finished. This was not something that was to be joked about. And as soon as he heard the reason he knew why. Adrianna would probably not take very kindly to them being friends. His thoughts analyzed Adrianna’s actions and he could see it all now. She was terrified of him abandoning her and he had been thinking about his freedom the whole time. He was selfish, so selfish. He didn’t even think about what she would feel if he up and left. Now seeing Odion like this… If abandonment was all she had known Lani couldn’t do this to her. He couldn’t leave her wondering why he had left without a world. It would be cruel. Lani was relieved when Odion looked away because now he didn’t have to deal with those blue eyes on him while he realized what a terrible person he had been. He should have lied that time. Told her, ‘no of course not, we’ll be friends forever.’ Not ‘I can’t promise that’. What a fool he had been! He looked sharply up at Odion wondering what he was playing at with that kind of comment. He had lied but it was different… wasn’t it? He clenched his jaw and shook his head at Odion. “She can never know.” He said simply and they both knew what he was talking about. Adrianna could never know that he was a thief, she’d leave him with a slap on the face if he was luck, if he was unlucky she would leave him with a stinging face and a prison sentence. In his heart he knew Odion was right though. Their relationship was based on lies, on their masks.

Lani blinked rapidly as Odion flapped his hands. He was glad he really didn’t want to talk about his relationship problems anymore. Especially since Odion was having relationship problems of his own. Lani laughed and gave him a real smile. “Agreed,” he bobbed his head. No more fishing. Lani couldn’t be sure what he would do if his sister vanished without a trace. He would probably believe the worst and drop everything and tear the world apart in search of her. Depressed was certainly something that would come up. But he would believe that it wasn’t her doing. Caroline wouldn’t do that to him. But then again hadn’t Odion not seen Rhett leaving? If anything someone’s blood would be spilled if anything ever happened to his sister. It seemed like his boss knew that and held that card as a last resort. Most people knew Lani to be very nonviolent but only a few knew what love he held for his sister. Some of his boss’s underlings thought they could just have Lani by the neck with that but others who were closer to Lani knew that someone would not come out alive if that happened, be if Lani or whomever had hurt his sister. It was a risk to be used only as a last resort and even then with the utmost care. Lani knew that. He didn’t consider his sister safe but he knew that he could at least do something if she were hurt.

Lani hissed out a little laugh through his teeth. “Hardly,” Lani replied matching Odion smirk for smirk. He grinned, he and Odion must be on the same wavelength, or hook, but they had agreed to stop fishing. Life lessons were hard to learn but they stayed for a while. Lani’s brow came together at the strange language but then he realized he recognized the saying. He nodded and didn’t try to repeat the saying knowing he would butcher the pronunciation. But it was essentially Lani’s personality, at least when he wasn’t worrying about something. It was strange hearing it, Odion knew he worried so why then was he throwing this back at him. He silently vowed that if he ever found something he could toss back at the redhead he would love to do so. Odion seemed very good at this. But perhaps that was because Lani’s mask had slipped and it didn’t make sense that he could have that idea but at the same time worry about everything. Lani liked to come off to people as carefree, it helped him get through better. If people knew he worried about things they might use that against him. That was what it all came back to in the end. Can so-and-so used such-and-such against me?

Half of the reason Lani put up with the teasing was that he picked at himself just as much as other people did. He knew he wasn’t perfect and he had no problems pointing this fact out. Lani snorted out a laugh. “Yeah that sounds about right,” he said, “Come on, I’m sure there are tons of people worse than me, closet sociopaths and the like.” He pointed out with his pointer finger waggling as he made his point. He shrugged, he had his ways and Odion had his. “But Hammel watches everyone; it’s a little unnerving sometimes.” Lani couldn’t keep the grin from crossing his face as Odion put up quotes. He shrugged, “Suit yourself.” Lani laughed as Odion admitted to liking to piss people of. They certainly had different ways of doing that. Lani liked to prove he was better than security and the administration, Odion was just prickly and had an annoying way of never missing anything. Lani lived life in the shadows and on getting away with random comments that were there to throw them off the trail but Odion caught all that. He really seemed to have a plan to not let Lani get away with anything. Like manners. No one had ever lectured him on his manners when he was on top of a rooftop for running away from them.

Lani straightened a little startled by the challenge. It was very true, Lani didn’t take his own advice but he wasn’t going to admit that. He decided not to answer that, knowing anything he said could easily be thrown back in his face and he really didn’t want to give Odion any more ammunition than he already had. He regretted snapping at Odion the more he thought about it. Odion didn’t mean to, he was just digging a little too deep. Lani wasn’t ready for that yet. That would open a whole new gate. The gate that held back the secrets about his boss and Lani’s feelings of helplessness and despair. No. He was not ready to let those out. Odion tipped him up again and Lani’s eyes flashed back to Odion’s pleading for him to just drop the subject. He looked away glad it was a little dark and his eyes darted around unable to think of a way to get out of this. He knew exacting what the redhead meant. He saw right through Lani’s façade. He saw that part of Lani that was sensitive and he had honed in on it. In a way Lani resented him for it, but on the other hand his secret wish was coming true. Be careful what you wish for. “Not if there isn’t a damn thing you can do,” Lani answered not looking at Odion. His voice was low and dark but he mentally refused to go into any more detail. Odion was just digging in Lani’s heart and Lani wasn’t sure he wanted Odion there. If only he knew the wound he was opening. He drew a sigh and looked back at Odion. “I’m sorry,” he said with a frown, “That was unfair.” He gestured randomly groping for words. He shouldn’t have tossed aside Odion’s question. “When there are times when you can’t do anything, I worry. It’s just how I cope.” Can we leave it at that?

Lani was glad to leave that topic behind. He would rather not talk about his problems right now. Lani grinned a little. “Well why didn’t you?” He asked, “And it’s only gross because you don’t want to eat it,” he pointed out. For as serious as Odion was threatening him with the bread Lani couldn’t help laughing. It was just too funny of a situation because in all honesty that had been his first thought. “I wouldn’t dream of it,” he joked. He supposed he had to live with Odion only eating half of it. He really didn’t want to do that again. He counted it as a win in his book and he could always make sure Odion ate more later. Once the alcohol was gone Lani hoped the redhead would find his appetite once more.

Had Lani been flirting? He himself wasn’t really sure. How strange, his emotional center was overloaded with things he didn’t want to think about and things he wasn’t sure he was ready to analyze yet. Flirting though… that was certainly strange. He needed to get him mind in the right place and maybe sleep more. Then surely this would make sense. Lani could argue that Odion wasn’t who he was when he first met him either. Odion had infuriated him beyond reason initially and yet now here he was enjoying his company. Lani’s guard was down and perhaps Odion was seeing a glimpse of the real Lani for a little while. Besides he had dropped the whole act superior thing, Odion wasn’t having it. Lani smiled a little, maybe that was why he liked Odion, he didn’t let Lani get away with any crap. It felt so nice. Lani hadn’t been able to be this person since he had left home. Completely, well maybe not completely, relaxed and comfortable. It left him open for attack but for some reason a little part of him trusted that Odion wouldn’t do that. Lani grinned a little pulling his arm out of the blanket and catching the bread. He honestly didn’t trust his power when he was dizzy like this. The less his head moved and his power worked the better, and more quickly the dizziness would pass. “Really, I’m fine,” he repeated and rolled his eyes at Odion. He opened the bread and took a slice in his teeth. Odion had underestimated Lani, for Lani actually loved bread. He wrapped it up and chewed the first bite slowly. “Taste’s fine to me,” he said with a little smirk. He grinned a little at Odion’s little joke but didn’t elaborate. Lani nodded a little, not sure if that was really the answer he was looking for. “September,” he said simply, “Just started my senior year.” He took a few more bites willing his stomach not to act up. He gained a sour look on his face but kept what was churning down. He brandished his half finished slice at Odion. "See, everything's fine." He smiled and tried to ignore his stomach. He could deal with it, at least his stomach was empty and the bread was helping as unpleasant as it was.

[Odion Martins]

Nothing could be done to cure Odion’s obsessive thinking over Rhett. And he couldn’t simply stop thinking, unless he were to go brain dead. So the only solution was to drink. He just hadn’t expected someone to judge him for his actions. It would be a long time before he ever went on a binge again, not when he had Lani to worry about, popping in at the most unpredictable of times. It wasn’t up to Lani to keep Odi healthy though, no matter what he thought. If that was Lani’s goal he was going to have to work pretty damn hard to attain it. This was the second time Rhett had broke Odion’s heart, though the French boy wouldn’t have known about the first time at all. Odion had though the best medicine would be exactly what Dr. Hunter was describing – forget and distract, since Odi had no one to talk to. Lani was the first and last person he was going to personally blubber tell about Rhett. Everyone else would figure it out for themselves, that was if they even cared. In time, Odion would sit down with himself and realize just how abusive his relationship with Rhett had been, but that wouldn’t happen tonight. He just wasn’t thinking straight. Lani was there when Odion needed someone and Odi would never forget that. He didn’t want to have a soft spot for Lani, but it had been made. There would be many walls to take down yet, but tonight was a good start.

Some friendships last for a day, others for a lifetime. Odion wasn’t sure where this friendship with Lani would end, if ever. He had thought he and Rhett would be together forever, and forever ended when he was just about eighteen years old. He wasn’t sure what Adrianna knew about Lani, but Odion knew that she didn’t know about the stealing part. That was something Lani would have to deal with on his own, and as much as Odion wanted to help, he wouldn’t be able to. Why he wanted to help Lani succeed in this sham of a relationship, Odi wasn’t sure. Maybe he didn’t want his newfound friend to feel what he was feeling at this very moment, thought he probably wouldn’t – Odion didn’t really see their relationship as being very deep. Wanting to trust someone and actually doing so were different things. Both parties were hesitant in that regard, and only time would break the bonds of mistrust. They were both cowards in the realm of giving hearts, afraid they really didn’t have one to give at all. Odion wasn’t in the business of gaining minions, like Alice or Lani’s boss were. If someone wanted to mutually partner up with him though, that was a different story. He could have a little admiration for someone’s style, and didn’t mind having the compliment returned, but he didn’t want to know someone with strings attached. He stole for himself and no one else. But would Lani steal if he didn’t have his sister to look out for? Odion was usually a good listener though, and would be at Lani’s beck and call from this point forward, though he’d never admit to such behaviour.

A grin spread across Odion’s face. “Yeah, that’s right. You. Are. Annoying.” He raised his hands and shrugged. It was just a matter of fact. He laughed a shrugged. “I was in a good mood,” he explained. It really was as simple as that. He had been happy then; Rhett hadn’t left the face of the earth. Truth was, nearly everyone wanted to kill, or at least hurt Odion. He had more enemies than friends, and that was fine with him. But this, this was something he would miss if it ever went away. Odion had to wonder though, if they told each other off in public for the sake of keeping up appearances, would a knowing glance pass between them? A hint of a smile in the other’s eyes? Odion wouldn’t dwell on that until the time came for it.

“No matter,” Odion said about the time control, “you have an expert in your midst.” He grinned. And then Lani rambled a bit and Odi was shocked. Did Lani really just say that? Our, we, you, me... “I’ve been doing that myself all along,” he informed the telekinetic. He wasn’t aware that they were suddenly a team. If Lani didn’t have a problem slipping past the security devices, why had he suggested any of this? Odion watched the blonde carefully and could only think of one thing: where was the trap in all this?

There would be time to make fun of Odion’s accent later. For now, he was being dead serious about Adrianna. The both of them had some serious things to work on if their relationship was going to continue. Odi wasn’t trying to say that people shouldn’t have issues. Everyone has issues. But Lani and Adrianna were delving into things that had strings attached, and they weren’t taking it seriously. Odion had always taken his relationships seriously, and he knew where each of them stood. Except this one with Lani, he didn’t know where this one was going but he was willing to find out. The question was: were they? Odion would keep his and Lani’s relationship a secret out of respect for Lani, which he had plenty of after this evening. Odion had given a piece of Adrianna’s puzzle to Lani, and he was hoping Lani would fill in the missing pieces for her. Odion was thinking the exact same thing as Lani: don’t play around with her emotions. Maybe Odi was a good person after all. Lani spoke again and Odion looked up, trying to act indifferent. “Then you’re a selfish fool for leading her on,” he said. Oh he knew what Lani was talking about alright. If Lani couldn’t tell Adrianna about the stealing, then he was stealing far more than he was bargaining for. Of course, Lani didn’t know about the crime boss part of situation. He only saw Lani as a thief and a liar now, to someone he apparently cared for. If this was how he treated Adrianna, just how would Odi be treated later on? Lani was being more selfish in keeping Adrianna around in this way. Odion frowned deeply. “I don’t understand why you’re wasting your time.” Why be with someone you couldn’t really be yourself around? Odion held his questioning gaze on Lani – maybe Lani was more confused than he was willing to admit. Maybe there inlay the hesitation.

But Odion had laid that subject to rest, for now. Lani was giving Odion many cards to add to his hand. Odion would keep them close to his heart. Lani worried about those he cared for, and yet Lani pretended he wouldn’t care if something happened to those people. This bothered Odion, because that made Lani an easy target for predators. So why did it seem like Lani was starting to trust Odion? It was that or he was a really good liar. He wasn’t sure if Lani felt understood or not though, because Lani hadn’t said another word.

“I guess you’d never know, since their files are so paper thin and all,” Odion said with a wink. Lani’s assumptions might be correct, but Hammel was going to keep a tighter grip on the blonde, than someone like Odion. They both knew that. “It’s sort of their job,” idiot Odion added, grinning a bit. Lani was still curious still, interesting to Odion. His eyes sparkled a bit from their pointless conversation and he was glad for the break from all the drama. Odion was quick to catch onto people and their habits. Lani used humour to buffer things, but Odi knew better than that. He had caught Lani off guard chasing him down on the rooftop. Lani had spilled out many true colors that night, and Odion wasn’t quick to forget things. And since that night he has committed the city map to his brain, because he said he would. Both boys were good at what they did, even though those things were very different from the other’s usual way of doing things. Odion liked to think he could adapt if he had to, but he liked to throw in a bit of charm and humour into conversations just to throw people off. To say to them that he could be versatile and that he was someone you needed to watch your back with. Had he known Lani was staying up at night thinking about him, Odi would say mission accomplished.

Lani wouldn’t have to admit anything for Odion to know he was a hypocrite. Had Lani said something, Odion would have taken it for a lie, but since Lani didn’t say a word, Odion took it as that he had been right. Otherwise, Lani would be saying he did live by his own rules, and he would be fighting Odion about it, like the bread thing. But he wasn’t, and that said more to Odion than any words could. The ginger already had all the ammunition he would ever need, whatever Lani gave out now was just icing on the cake. And yet, Odion didn’t really want to use the cards as ammunition, but personal tidbits. Hadn’t that been what he was going after anyways? That’s why he stole that wedding band that night on the rooftop. Not everything needed to have monetary value in order to be precious. Like his power, he knew how to make people tick, or stop ticking. Being hopeless and despairing were never something Odion would guess Lani was feeling – how could he, when the blonde had a girlfriend and a sister and a family, and everything Odion thought was good. But the thing about Odion was, that he wasn’t about to let Lani run around thinking he had the ginger pinned. He would challenge Lani in every aspect of the word – the way he thought, the way he saw things, even himself. That’s what made Odion so annoying. He was that pest that lingered on festering wounds and opened them up again. And by the way Lani was reaciting, Odion knew he had found the lock to something important. It was only a matter of time before he found the key. Lani should’ve known that Odion only knew about masks because he used them himself, and eventually that would come as a relief. Again, they were more alike than Lani was seeing. A little more thinking would cure that up. It takes a liar to know one. Lani spoke after a while and Odion pressed his lips together again. There was something seriously bothering Lani, something he couldn’t control. And then Lani was actually admitting to the thing Odion had already concluded. Odion had won, and yet, he didn’t feel accomplished. He was after something different this time. He wanted to know what was bothering Lani, but admitting that would mean Odi cared for the boy. “Alright control freak.” And that was all he was going to say about that. He would give Lani some mercy because Lani had done the same for him. It was only for tonight though.

Odion snarled a little bit, but it was playful. “Because Captain, I didn’t want to eat it in the first place.” He stared at Lani, as the blonde said what Odi just did. Lani started to laugh again and Odion tried to hold in his own laughter. “I’m serious!” He said, but he ended the sentence laughing at himself. “Good,” he said with a sigh, trying to catch his breath, “you eat it if you enjoy it so much, go on.” Lani could take the whole damn thing with him, including what was in the trash. Odion went to rub his temples again, the onset of a hangover starting to kick in. He really hadn’t had the chance to sleep it off, and it was something he was going to have to deal with.

Odion had never really considered his own sexuality. He had never really put a definition on it. He assumed himself to be more homosexual than heterosexual, if there were such a spectrum. He found men more attractive for the most part, and the prettiest things about girls he wanted for himself. Like their jewelry, for example. Odion knew when someone was flirting with him though, and he had to wonder if Lani was being genuine, or toying with Odi’s emotions. Odion knew Lani had been flirting though, there was no doubt about that. Odion had never realized that perhaps letting people in more would allow said people to enjoy his company. He just didn’t see himself as someone others wanted to be around, and he didn’t want to be around others either. He had to admit he was having fun with Lani now though, and found being around this version of the blonde quite enjoyable. He supposed that everyone had different masks they liked to use for different situations. If this was the real Lani, Odi would have to admit that he liked him, more than before anyways. If Odion couldn’t be the other boy’s superior, then he wouldn’t be anything to him at all. Odi was bound and determined to make this a different relationship than the ones he’d had before. Odion would always hold Lani to a certain standard, and maybe that’s what Lani needed – someone to look after him. Odion tilted his head to the side, surveying Lani. “What? Can’t have a little of your own medicine?” The ginger asked, grinning slightly. It wasn’t like he had sold the bread very well, calling it disgusting and all. He wouldn’t press the matter further than harassing Lani about it, he didn’t have to eat it. But there he went, eating the bread almost immediately. “You must be hungry,” he said, grimacing at the bread. Maybe he just wasn’t hungry due to his upset stomach, head, etcetera etcetera. “Or my taste’s off.” He shrugged. It really didn’t matter, he wasn’t going to eat any more of that loaf.

Pondering when Lani’s powers manifested, Odion leaned forward in his seat, his elbows on his knees. “That’s late, no?” He asked, watching Lani eat unabashedly. Odion thought on the facts a moment too long as a half eaten slice of bread hit him in the face. “Charming, really,” he said, peeling the slice from his face, and throwing it into the trash where the other slice was. Odion laughed a bit and shook his head. He thought a moment more, and pointed at Lani, smirking maybe a little too excitedly, “Have you figured out how to fly yet? With that snowboard thing?” Odion was wide awake.

[Lani Hunter]

How strange, Odion’s thoughts would keep turning to Rhett, like Lani’s thoughts would constantly be turning to his sister. It wasn’t really Lani’s intention to not show up when people were upset about something or when things were inconvenient. He didn’t mean to. Half the time he wished he could always have days like the mudslinging day he had had with that charming little girl a few days ago. Sometimes mudslinging days were what was needed to keep one sane. Lani had felt a little better after but only until his thoughts caught up with him. Odion was in a fragile place at the moment and Lani knew that was why he was able to get in so deep. Chances were that if this had been a normal night he and Odion would have ended up fighting again because neither could yield. Lani honestly wasn’t used to someone standing up to him. He could usually charm his way out of anything or twist his words so thoroughly that the person didn’t realize that they didn’t make sense until Lani was already long gone. But Odion wasn’t letting him get away with that and he wasn’t sure whether he was angry about that or not. He was calling his bluffs and his flaws and Lani was feeling more defensive and yet at the same time more vulnerable.

Lani was a bit dense sometimes, for all his skill at thinking on his feet and clever problem solving skills, he really had a hard time understanding people. He could understand emotions but he could never delve deeply into their meanings like Odion could. It was a handicap but Lani often let people get close to him so he could learn who they really were without them learning about him. But then again, there were parts of him that they figured out too. That was what pained him about Adrianna, he was hesitant to say that he had feelings for her, but the fact was that they were there. Guilt was weighing on him, she had spilled her heart out to him a few times and Lani had yet to give her a snippet of the real Lani. She had seen his happy mask and his protective and supportive side but he hadn’t seen him angry or sorrowful. He would rather not be so vulnerable to her because he didn’t like who he was when something really terrible happened and he couldn’t deal with it. Part of him wanted to trust Odion but the other didn’t want to trust him as far as he could throw him… well with his own hands because admittedly Odion could go flying quite far if Lani’s powers got involved.

Lani laughed and shook his head, “And you, Red, are oh so charming.” He drawled sarcastically, rolled his eyes and made light of the teasing. Lani raised a brow and one side of his lips lifted in an impish smile. “So that was you in a good mood?” He asked rhetorically and pondered the answer. He tapped his chin and cocked his head at Odion curiously. “You know, you’re not bad,” he said in compliment. He wanted to add, not as good as himself, but Lani’s arrogance couldn’t say that. To be honest, the telekinetic was still a little freaked out that Odion had been able to keep up with him at all. So he had been training. Perhaps that was what he needed. His skill had been slipping and perhaps Odion had showed him that and so Lani had been doing something about it. “I have to thank you for that,” he added, “I’ve been careless lately.” He didn’t elaborate; he didn’t think he needed too. Lani thought he should be better than to be cornered but then again Odion should have known better than to corner a thief. When cornered Lani ran, he didn’t ask questions or wait for accusations he just made like a puff of smoke.

Lani matched him grin for grin but didn’t comment. The slip of the tongue hadn’t been missed and Lani raised a brow at the shock Odion was showing. Oops. Well if there was something Lani didn’t want it was a partner, the comments to our and we he had meant to reference to their situations. But was that all? No. That was it, he told himself stubbornly. He didn’t need anyone’s help. He could… had to do this on his own. Lani smirked a little and leaned back crossing his arms again. “Well, where is the challenge in that?” He said in challenge as if to compensate for the slippage. Lani Hunter was solo in this and he liked it that way, though some help might be nice sometimes, he couldn’t afford to leave something out of his hands.

Perhaps it was that Odion was a good person or perhaps it was that he had just been abandoned that made him sympathize with Adrianna. Either way Lani couldn’t figure out why he would care. He frowned deeply and convinced himself that Odion didn’t understand. Adrianna, she was different. He wanted to always be the person she saw him as. A hero, one of the good guys. What would it do to her if she realized he was really just like the rest of them. He gritted his teeth and shook his head at Odion. “I’m not leading her on,” he protested, “I mean it’s not like it comes up in conversation. Besides what am I gonna say? ‘Hi, Adrianna, b-t-w I’m a thief’?” He smiled like he was delivering great news. He shook his head and his mood darkened. “Come on, Odion, don’t be stupid. You know where that road would end.” Now he was calling Odion out. Nowhere in anyone’s book would that be something to tell someone. They could betray you, turn you in. For all Lani knew if Adrianna knew about his profession he would spend the rest of his life in prison. His relationship with Adrianna couldn’t be compared to this. If anything Adrianna’s relationship to him was more like his sister’s. He didn’t feel the need to protect Odion from the world, but his sister he wanted to shelter her from everything dark even though he was one of its ministers. “You don’t have to understand it,” Lani said with a simple shrug. If Lani would have known that Odion was questioning his understanding of the situation perhaps he would have come up with a less cryptic answer. These kind of things worked with other people but Lani was starting to realize that Odion was not like other people and in being cryptic he might actually be giving away more information.

“Besides,” Lani added with a little grin. “I thought we stopped fishing.” Fishing for answers now. Perhaps it wasn’t Odion who was on the hook, maybe it was Lani. That was an unsettling thought, he shook it away and stored it for later. Lani frowned thoughtfully, this was strange. He half realized he was giving himself away and he tried to attribute that to his lack of sleep. But it hadn’t been him who had been broken down on the floor a little while ago. He had learned that there was a part of Odion that was very much like him. Terrified of getting close to people. But then again, Odion had said Adrianna was afraid of getting losing people. So was Odion. It was just different because Adrianna flung herself at people and Odion pushed them away. In a saw Lani wanted to call Odion selfish, attack his image that kept people away from him. Then he wouldn’t have to go through this alone. When someone put all of themselves into one person they leave themselves isolated and so when, or if, that person leaves they are left with no one to carry them.

“Yeah you wouldn’t know until half the school ends up dead,” Lani retorted, “Then they would have wished they watched them instead of trying to track down me.” Lani grinned at Odion and shrugged. “Well, I suppose they don’t do it so well after all.” He looked at the ginger for a moment considering him. Maybe Odion was right and he was an idiot, but ever since Taitum had left Lani had found it rather annoyingly easy to get out of this place. But he rather liked to be able to spit in their faces. No matter how many locks, no matter how much security no one could keep the telekinetic pinned down. It wasn’t just necessity, it was a matter of pride. They thought they could trap him, but Lani liked to show them just how wrong they were. Odion would have to be careful because if Lani thought he was getting to close to the truth Lani might do something to try to throw him off the trail. He knew Odion was better at reading people than he was how else could he dig to deep? But Lani also know that Odion’s mask was slipping as well. Lani pondered for a moment if Odion attacking holes in his logic and his unending questions were a way to turn the spotlight away from himself and he was really curious about how people worked. Lani wouldn’t dream of calling Odion a people person, but perhaps Odion wasn’t as detached as he thought he was.

Lani regretted giving Odion the opportunity to see the real Lani. Honestly, he wasn’t sure he liked him. The fake Lani was confident and humorous. The real Lani was fragile and worrisome and altogether unsure of himself. The worst part was when the real Lani came out he was faced with himself in the mirror and he was just plain disappointed. In his desperation to protect his sister and the people he loved he had often driven himself into the ground and forgotten all about his safety. The fake Lani knew how to take care of himself and throw people off his trail. Even now he was trying to throw Odion off his trail. If he didn’t show the real Lani, if he only came out in glimpses he might be able to survive this encounter. If Lani knew Odion’s intensions were to dig at this wound he had found until Lani broke then Lani might actually be able to prepare himself. Like he had with Taitum, sealed his heart and pushed Odion away in every way possible. This was not something Lani was going to give away freely. Not by a long shot. This was the one secret he held so close that not even his sister understood how deep he was. Caroline had no idea that she had a gun to her head and Lani wasn’t about to give anything away that might jeopardize that. When his mask came back up Lani felt a lot better. Odion wasn’t wrong in thinking that Lani disliked having his mask fall. Rather, Lani loathed it. When Odion’s comment opened the door for dropping the topic Lani let it slip and didn’t comment but rather smiled slyly back at him.

Lani grinned at Odion and shrugged. “But you did it anyways,” Lani pointed out and simply raised his brows at the redhead. There was something there; either he didn’t want Lani to worry because Lani worrying would make him more of a nuisance. Or he didn’t want Lani to worry because he cared that Lani was worrying. Lani smiled rather sure it was the latter. If Odion hadn’t cared he would have kept fighting against him. It was actually rather easy now that Lani thought about it. Lani grinned and joined him in laughter. He leaned back against the bed and considered Odion. “You know Lieutenant,” Lani commented as he noticed Odion start to rub his head, “Food would help with that head.” He looked down at his hands as if examining his nails and tried to make the comment as innocent as possible. He was pretty sure he was going to get a bread loaf to the head for that comment but it was too good to pass up.

To Lani’s credit, he hadn’t meant to flirt, it just happened. Though he couldn’t honestly say he was upset that he had done it. Perhaps part of him liked the attention. He didn’t see himself as homosexual, but mostly because he had never been faced with that kind of choice. Now Adrianna was in the picture and he really couldn’t figure out what he was doing. Oh well, sleeping wasn’t really something he needed or anything like that so he was good… Oh well, it was late or rather early and his mind wasn’t too sharp and so figuring out this problem would not be a good thing. It would be good for someone to hold Lani to a standard because Lani had a terrible habit of slipping up and letting things slide that he didn’t view as important. Morally this was also true. He had tried to teach his sister moral lessons but then he hardly followed them and it was hard for him to set an example for her. Lani shook his head. “I’m taking my medicine just fine, thank you,” Lani retorted taking another mouthful. Lani laughed a little at Odion and shook his head. “Well I wouldn’t call it ambrosia or anything but yeah your taste is probably off. He pulled the blanket back up around his shoulders deciding it was warmer that way. He blinked hard once and forced his eyes to focus. Why was Odion looking at him like that? With such interest and yet indifference.

“So I’ve been told,” Lani said flushing remembering Cassie’s mother. ‘They say it manifests when you reach sexual maturity’ or something along those lines. Well that had certainly not been the most comfortable conversation. The bread hit the redhead in the face and Lani couldn’t hold in a burst of laughter that turned quickly into a half controlled guffaw. That had been completely unintentional and all the more funny because of Odion’s reaction. He held his sides and was glad he had the bed to lean against. “I… I’m so… s-s-sorry,” he said fighting his laughter. He took a few deep breaths and got himself under control. “Oh my God… sorry that was an accident. He only could restart his laughing when Odion peeled it off his face. He shook his head and found his cheeks aching from laughing.

He curled himself back up and shrugged his shoulders at the question. “It’s a work in progress,” he said. He leaned forward a little wiggling his hands free so he could use them in his description. He waved them around as he spoke making little shapes with his hands. “So here’s my theory. The biggest problem is that it’s hard to imagine the normal force on the board with the angles that I’m trying to get and such. It’s all about force balance but the problem is that it’s a lot easier done on paper than in the air.” He had a strange hue of glee in his voice as he explained the physics behind his problem. He had been studying. “But then there’s also air resistance and wind and all sorts of other stuff that are playing a role here and consequently it’s hardest because it’s hard to adjust my center of gravity so that I don’t tip one way or another. I think I might just need a different mode of travel.” Lani’s enthusiasm practically oozed and Odion’s excitement only fueled his. If Odion had any ideas Lani would probably jump on them like a fox on a hare.

[Odion Martins]

Odion had never had a mudslinging day. Every day and with every encounter with someone, it seemed like he had something to battle. Even when he tried to have fun, like spray painting a department store or going out dancing with a friend, things had turned sour. Spray painting results in the cops showing up, and dancing caused Odi’s friend to develop a crush on him and almost kiss him. Things were never really light hearted, even with Avi, who was a burst of fresh air now caught in a jar because of cancer. Life was cruel and Odion should’ve known better than to indulge any other thought when he came after Rhett. The whole thing had taken so much courage to get here, courage he didn’t know he had. You see, Rhett had been gone for about a year before Odion went after him, even when Odion had known for a couple months where the boy had gone. It had taken a lot of time to prep himself for a flight overseas. Not even Rhett had known Odion’s fear of flights until much later in their relationship. How stupid and noble he had been to endure his own fears, and looking like a fool as he hyperventilated on that long flight here, only to be abandoned. No, there were no good times here that seemed to last. There were no good times anywhere. Lani was right about the depth of sensitivity tonight though, and had it been any other night under any other circumstances, things may not have turned out the way they did. But some things were bound to happen sooner or later. Someone had to notice Odion withering away for him to notice it himself and try to get back to his version of normal. There were many parallels between the two boys, and with every word spoken, Odion was starting to notice this shocking phenomenon. He was also wondering why he hadn’t noticed Lani earlier on in the year.

For what Lani lacked, Odion made perfect skill of. Odion did think quickly though, and often he wondered if this had anything to do with his power, but he was also good at reading people. Reading between what they did and did not say, body language. It was why he paid such close attention and did his best never to look away. You had to be able to catch just that one look someone had, whether it be annoyed, grieved, or humored, and you had to be able to pinpoint it in a millisecond. Odion was especially clever in that regard. Odion’s mind stretched out like fingertips that prodded people and the inner workings of their thought processes. It was interesting to him, and it was useful. It was also something that helped him sort through what people actually felt, and what they wanted you to think they felt. And that was also why he was so good at convincing people of certain emotions he apparently felt, but never had at all. No one really learned about Odion either, he just made them believe they were getting to know him. He didn’t waste his time reading people he didn’t want to read though, and he judged that almost right away upon meeting someone. Lani had passed Odi’s little ‘interesting’ test. If Lani was smart, he wouldn’t put his hands on Odion. It would be too intense with the powers clashing between the two titans. No, better just to hold each other at a distance, right?

Odion grinned, “Pet names already? I didn’t think you were the type.” Of course, anyone could be the type to give someone a nickname, but Odion didn’t pay any heed to that. Red, Ginger, it was almost the same nickname and both had to do with his hair – hopefully. “And I am charming! You just haven’t been lucky enough to see it.” Another lie. Odion had purposefully kept his charm intact, because he didn’t want Lani to see that side of him. Odion chuckled a bit, and shook his head. They both knew that had he been in a bad mood, Lani would be sitting in a jail cell and not in Odi’s dorm room. There was a significant different between good and bad moods, and Lani after tonight should’ve seen the different. Therefore, in Odion’s mind, the comment was only a joke. Odion looked at Lani through his dark lashes, trying not to smile. Not bad was progress. But he wasn’t going to comment on that. “You shouldn’t be careless when you’re on the job,” he said, trying to steer the conversation in a direction that was clear of compliments and flirting. Lani was saying he wasn’t bad, and that he thanked him. Either this was genuine, or he was seriously trying to throw Odion through a loop. But no matter how slippery Lani seemed, Odion would always keep a firm grasp on him. Even if one minute he was saying they were in essence, a team, and the next minute he was asking Odi about challenges. Odion smirked, and shook his head in laughter. “I didn’t think you were the spontaneous one around here.” Hadn’t it been Lani who couldn’t think on his feet when another thief chased him down on a rooftop? Wasn’t he the one who didn’t like winging it? Lani was sly, but he couldn’t remember his own comments.

Odion didn’t want to care because he was jealous. And if that’s why he cared, he was determined to be jealous that Lani had a relationship, and nothing more. And even though he didn’t know Adrianna, he knew that she had a soft spot for all the wrong men. First Talen, then that moronic crow boy Craven (just another person Odion didn’t like), and not Lani, who was a flat out liar. If the fact that he was stealing didn’t shake her, then the fact that he had been lying about it this whole time would. And maybe Odion cared simply because it was an interesting human interaction – but nothing was ever that simple. Lani was like Superman hiding his secret from the world, great guy, but still a liar. And he looked great in spandex. Odi could tell that maybe he shouldn’t have given Lani a critique of the relationship, but sometimes people needed an outsider’s perspective, to throw the rose colored glasses off. “I’m sure a lot of self-revealing comes up in conversation,” he said, knowing the opposite was true for Lani, “and b-t-w, you are leading her on.” Odion stood firm in his accusations, Lani was just trying to find a way around the truth. He sighed, Lani would do things as he saw fit, and there wasn’t a damn thing the redhead could do about it. “Not everyone’s heart is made of steel Lani,” he said as a kind of warning. Adrianna wouldn’t deal well with this kind of news, no matter how it was presented. Either way, no matter what road Lani took, there seemed to be an end where Adrianna was concerned. That’s why being with Rhett had been so great, not always easy, but truthful at least. Or so Odion thought. Lani was being selfish if all he was worried about Adrianna turning him in, but Odion couldn’t see that far. He thought they were discussing the dynamics of the relationship itself. It just showed what was really important to Odion without him saying it was. Odion’s dark eyes steeled for a second as he felt something like lightning shoot through his body. “Maybe I want to understand.” Obviously a relationship between thieves hadn’t worked, and obviously a relationship keeping secrets wasn’t going to work either. Odion was curious to know what would work in the end, if anything at all. It wasn’t necessarily something personal. Necessarily...

Odion tried to relax, and rubbed the back of his neck. “Yeah, you’re right, I did say that,” he grinned softly, “sorry...” Even he had to admit he had gotten a bit carried away. He put his hands together in front of him and tried to let the thoughts go, though this was a hard task for him to accomplish. He didn’t like to stop thinking about things until they were settled. Even if the conclusion was that he was terrified of people. It seemed that both boys were learning just how alike they were to one another, but in different ways. Indeed Odion had invested all of his chips into Rhett, and now he was broke. Odion knew he kept people from seeing his heart of hearts, but what happened between himself and Rhett only reinforced this habit, it didn’t make him want to spill his guts to everyone he came into contact with. But weren’t they done fishing?

“You mean, trying to track me down,” Odion said, correcting Lani’s grammar. It was just something Odion did automatically because he had done it to himself when he was learning English. He grinned with Lani in attempt to make the situation a little friendlier. And he didn’t really know what to say about the school being blown up: good riddance? It was all he could think of really. “You pass under the radar, doesn’t mean they’re not trying,” Odion said, though the comment was arbitrary and not backed by any proof. Odion had no idea what the staff did with suspicious students. Had he been one at some point? With the ‘family’? And honestly, not every had the kind of resilience Lani had, but Odion wasn’t about to let a compliment like that go to the telekinetic’s head. Odion was a people person, but not in the typical sense of the expression. And he didn’t seem to mind that his mask was slipping around Lani, because if he did, he would have left a long time ago. They both had to know that was the reality, no matter what angle it was being viewed at.

The more Odion saw of the real Lani, the more sweet he became. Being a worry wart wasn’t the worst thing in the world, and honestly the whole stealing thing didn’t bother Odion one bit. Lani just seemed even more worried about how to present his real self, than one of the many masks he had in his arsenal. It was funny, that for them, masks were easier than just being themselves. The real Odion was a lonely orphan who cried into his teddy bears at night. On that note, he’s very glad that Lani hasn’t found them under the bed. In the end, Lani was doing to Odion what he did to Adrianna and probably a handful of other people: lie about himself and never truly know himself in the end. If Rhett had been good for anything, it was that Odion had learned a lot about himself, even if he would rather forget all that progress right now. But Odion had another virtue that Lani probably wouldn’t know about until later, and that was patience. Odion didn’t expect Lani to just come right out and say whatever it was that was bothering him, but he would always wait to hear it. Odi was a good listener.

Realization about what it meant for Odion to eat the bread seemed to be hitting Lani in all sorts of ways. But there were many options to choose from and Odi didn’t want to make his intentions clear for Lani. Odion really hoped that Lani would just let that slip away too, but Lani’s smile said it all. The blonde knew the truth, but Odion didn’t look away from Lani’s smile. One because he liked it, and two, he didn’t want to confirm Lani’s suspicions by looking away now. To argue and say he only ate it so Lani would shut up would also confirm Lani’s suspicions so Odion simply gave Lani a blank stare. He was guilty as charged and there wasn’t a thing he could do about it. Odion grinned softly at the other pet name Lani bestowed upon him, waiting for what he would say next. “Or some sleep,” he said, hinting that if Lani didn’t let up soon, he was going to be kicked out. Odion wasn’t sure if he liked Lani being so stubborn about his health or not, because that meant Lani cared just as much as Odi did.

Not meaning to flirt was probably more meaningful than intentionally flirting. Odion still saw it as flirting either way, whether it was subjective or not didn’t matter. Lani was still adorable under his blanket, but he didn’t need to know. Odion didn’t say another word about taste, as he was a bit distracted to be able to focus on such a mundane topic like bread. Lani was blushing from the topic of power manifestation and Odion didn’t really understand why. It happened to all of them. “Probably because telekinesis is a rare power,” he concluded, trying to make Lani feel better for some reason. There was no need to be embarrassed. “You are not sorry, don’t waste your breath,” Odion said with a grin. Now it was his turn to blush. It was nice to observe Lani in mirth. At least they were both laughing together.

Watching Lani carefully as he made descriptions with his hands, Odion tried to keep up with the process. Lani claimed it was a lot easier on paper than in the air, but both seemed fairly complex. He boiled it down in his mind to a balancing act. Odion couldn’t be impressed over something he didn’t understand, but he was glad Lani was perking up. “Okay, so a balancing act, with gravity and all that,” he said, really just to see how it sounded next to Lani’s description. Odion grinned – it was much simpler, but at least it was straight to the point. He’d rather stick to his time manipulation. “The board seems flimsy,” Odion said, looking to the ground in thought, his hand cupping his chin. If Lani was having so many problems levitating because of that, he’d need something more stable to stand on, like a table or a desk, or maybe just a surf board. “How many things can you control at once? And,” Odion grinned, “how big can they be?” Lani didn’t know it, but concentrating on something other than his own problems was helping Odion get over them.

[Lani Hunter]

If there was a true evil in this world it would be cancer. It stole good people away from their families just as much as it gave the foul their just reward. How many times had Lani cursed the heavens and demanded to know why it hadn’t been him? How did he, a thief, the lowest of the low get passed by? But his sister, the sweetest person he knew someone with a true heart of gold. How did she get the death sentence? Perhaps that was what drew Lani’s attention to Odion’s state of neglect. There were so many similarities between those that have given up in life and those who are slowly being destroyed. Caroline, even bald had at least had that glow of determination in her eyes. In that way he and his sister were very much alike. Stubborn as mules, people who when faced with the impossible with fight back tooth and nail. In many ways Caroline was Lani’s hero. She was so strong and after what she went through she was determined not to waste any time. She was a daredevil, but she had a soft heart and didn’t stand up for herself easily. That was where Lani came in. He could be her knight, like those storied he used to tell her.

Lani had quite a bit that he could learn from Odion and if he could swallow his pride and admit that he might learn something. He had never had to try very hard, most of the people he knew were rather black and white. Odion was one of the few that fell into that gray area that he couldn’t quite figure out. He locked onto those blue eyes and matched their penetrating stare knowing full well those eyes were going to haunt him. He was frustrating. He felt exposed and vulnerable under those eyes, like he was being dissected cell by cell. But worse still, was that Lani couldn’t figure out how much Odion knew. This vulnerability bothered him. Hadn’t Taitum said something about gods to him? They were gods stuck in mortal bodies. And Lani was a kid with a machine gun. Odion would have to be careful, because Lani hadn’t realized how true that was. They were very much mortal and his parasitic power would surge up if it felt the need. Lani almost wished he had a less active power, then he might be able to let his mind wander without having the danger of blasting people into oblivion. The fact was simple. If Lani wanted to flatten something, it would be flattened. And whatever or whomever was between Lani and what he wanted to flatten they would be just as flat as the target. Odion had it right in his mind that this was indeed the encounter of two titans. A mountain calm and patient and holding silently within it the secrets of ages on one side and on the other a tornado ferocious and determined and shouting so loudly that no one could know the truth. The one met the other and the mountain was patient enough to outlast the tornado but what the mountain didn’t realize was that the tornado would leave a mark on the mountain.

Lani rolled his eyes at Odion and crossed his arms. He then pulled his lips back into a grin and winked at Odion. “Don’t pretend you don’t like it.” Ok, now that was flirting of that Lani was sure. The reason of why was still escaping him but his most logical explanation was that he wanted to keep Odion on his toes. Besides Adrianna had stolen his affections and he wouldn’t betray her. Now it was Lani’s turn to snort with skepticism. “Uh-huh, right, ok, we’ll call it charming.” Odion was perhaps not as misanthropic as Lani thought. It was clear tonight that he did care about what people thought. Granted some more than others. Lani was indeed very glad to see this side of Odion, it made Lani more curious about him and honestly desire to be around the redhead. Lani smild back at Odion as he shook his head. Yeah he was glad that Odion had been in a good mood that night even if Lani had been less than pleasant. His admission wasn’t made without careful calculation, he wanted Odion to believe that he was better than he had been that night. “Pilot Ridge PD is a lot more relaxed than Boston PD,” Lani offered as an explanation. A huff came from him as he realized once again he had gotten his words tossed into his face. “I’m not,” he agreed, “But let’s be honest if you were a cop you would never have caught me.” Lani thinking logically and Lani being chased down by a jail sentence were very different things. If it hadn’t been Odion, or if he didn’t think that he could take Odion Lani would have tried to make that jump. It would have been interesting to see if he could have made it with his power but he had certainly been thinking about it.

Lani would be inclined to agree that he was very much bad for Adrianna but then he had already established that he was selfish. Well that and he certainly wasn’t going to let her out of his site anytime when someone might think she would make a good hostage. He still couldn’t quite describe his feelings for Adrianna, though he certainly would love to spend more time with her and very much enjoyed the way she made him feel. Secrets were secrets because they were meant to stay in the shadows. He just hoped that if he ever told Adrianna she wouldn’t find out the hard way. He would rather tell her himself than someone spill his secrets for him. Though his sister would agree with Odion about superman, Lani was inclined to disagree about the spandex. Lani shrugged and weighted his options for a few moments. “Self-revealing comes differently for different people.” Lani bit his tongue to avoid lashing Odion with it for his insistence. “I am not leading her on. I really like her.” Odion was overreaching himself. Sometime relationship advice was needed but now was not the time. Not when Lani had a million other things on his mind. He hummed but didn’t comment on Odion’s warning. What was that supposed to mean anyways? A heart of steel was something he boasted but even he knew that there was a point at which even steel would break. A sense of dread overcame him. Adrianna would be completely betrayed but he couldn’t tell her. He just couldn’t. Lani’s eyes snapped to Odion and he frowned at the redhead shaking his head. That was going to be too bad. Besides what did Odion care if Lani broke Adrianna’s heart? Certainly Lani would care but why did Odion?

Lani gave Odion a smile not really too terribly upset. After all, Odion had told him very important information about Adrianna and for that he was grateful. He just couldn’t figure it out. “It’s all good,” he replied with a dismissive wave of his hand. Perhaps Odion was just sensitive because of his situation and Lani was willing to give him that and let it slide. One thing he had to give the redhead was that he was determined. And stubborn. He refused to drop things even if Lani gave him the clear indication that he should. Lani knew it was unfair but wasn’t it just as unfair to dig into someone’s secrets without their permission. Though the way Odion dropped this was surprising. He had expected to have to put up more of a fight. Oh well, he was going to take this small victory and not let go.

“What? Why?” Lani asked confused and misunderstanding Odion’s grammar correction. Hadn’t the redhead just gone on and on about he wanted to keep a low profile. He narrowed his eyes at Odion suspiciously when he didn’t say anything more. The grin then came and Lani’s lips became a line. His mind went back through what was just said and realized his mistake. “Oh… never mind,” Lani said with a huff, “It’s late, give me a break.” He waved his hands as if to ward off his stupidity. Wow, Odion must think he was an idiot. Lani snickered, “Then maybe I’m just good. They usually don’t realize you’re missing until they need you for something.” He said with a shake of his head. Honestly the security here was a joke. Save Malcom, he had respect for that guy. The rest however, let him get away with so much it wasn’t even funny. Well actually Lani found it hysterical but that was beside the point. Lani had one step up on Odion he knew the inner workings of the security, he knew who worked nights and who worked days and he knew who he could charm and who he couldn’t. Of those he couldn’t most hated him.

Patience was probably Lani’s worst enemy. Not for himself, he could be patient when he felt like it and when it was necessary. But when someone set to be patient with him he set to be stubborn and became so tightly guarded he might as well be a statue. Or so he thought. Odion had broken through some of that without Lani even realizing until it was too late. Lani on the other hand was far less patient; if he poked at something long enough without the desired result he was more likely than not to give it up. Maybe that was where he had gone wrong with his power. It required calm, focus and patience. He only had the one. Calm and he didn’t even have that all the time. Focus, well his mind wandered like a leaf on the wind. If Odion came out and called Lani a liar, he wasn’t sure he would disagree but if he said that Lani didn’t know himself he would. He knew his mind was somewhere he didn’t even understand but other people didn’t need to know that. He would just keep his masks in place and play this masquerade until the sun set. If it was a question of patience versus stubbornness Odion might have to wait quite a while until he broke down in front of Odion. The fact that he had seen Odion break down did nothing to make him more comfortable with himself doing it. He was the strong one in all his relationships. People cried on his shoulder not the other way around.

Lani had to hand it to him, Odion was good. Not that he would ever say that. He wasn’t all that good at reading people either but the steadiness of his eyes threw him a little bit. However Lani decided to keep his initial assumption, he liked it better. He had caught him red handed and he was handling it quite well. Odion’s masks were coming back up, he didn’t want Lani to know what he was thinking and unfortunately for Lani it was working. He liked it when he could at least be on an even playing field with the redhead. Captain and Lieutenant, he could get used to that. Lani was the kind of person who when names didn’t come readily in a conversation he bestowed nicknames upon them. He’d done it with Odion thinking of him as Red and there was that lightning guy, who he still only knew as Sparky but he happened to have vanished around the same time as Cassie. Lani raised his hands in mock defense and grinned back at him. “Fair enough. If you wanna go to bed just let me know and I can skedaddle,” he said with a nod. He smiled but decided he would much rather be here with Odion than alone in his room right now, so he dropped the bread subject.

Odion didn’t understand why he was blushing and Lani would be all too happy if he never figured it out. His words let no hint that he knew what Lani was thinking and he breathed a little sigh of relief. He shrugged. “Maybe, I don’t know, no one else seems to be able to figure it out either.” He smiled a little his cheeks cooling and he let his eyes dance around the room in a carefree way. “Oh well, not like I can change it now.” A smile rested easily on his lips and he stole a glance out the window. The night was still dark but the stars were starting to fade and a grayish hue was spreading from the southeast. Almost sunrise, this was pretty impressive, mostly because only one of them was drunk and surprisingly he wasn’t the one babbling on about physics. If reading physics books and talking about physics when he was tired was going to become a thing of his he was going to be rather upset. He wrinkled his nose and chuckled Odion almost setting him off again. Odion’s blush made Lani laugh harder and he just couldn’t resist, “Odion, your face matches your hair!” He was actually rather cute blushing… whoa! Again? Come now Lani get yourself together, he thought at himself shaking his head as his laughs faded again.

Lani nodded at Odion’s simplified version. “Basically,” he said not really willing to go into very much detail. He had a feeling that he would most certainly get kicked out if he started lecturing Odion on normal forces, gravity and vector addition and balances. Physics was something Lani felt like no one had a good grasp on. Hell, his power was all about physics and he could barely tell which way up half the time. He nodded again, “Yeah it bends a lot and it’s easy to dip to one side or the other. What sucks the most is when I think I have it but the wind decides I don’t.” He huffed a little, those damn eddies got him every time. Lani raised a brow, why was Odion so interested? Oh well, it wasn’t like everyone at this school didn’t know how crazy his power was. He shrugged at his own question and listened looking up into Odion’s eyes fueled by his interest in his power. He tucked the blanket back around his shoulders and thought about it for a while. “Depends,” he finally decided, “With control probably about five or six at a time. How big again I don’t know,” he shrugged and scoffed a little, “They don’t let me do anything. But I did lift a few cars once, but it was more like launching them.” He shook his head. That had been when his power first manifested and he hadn’t been able to do so with control. Then he had passed out next to a hobo for the night his brain feeling like it was about to bleed out his ears.

[Odion Martins]

Maybe the saying only the good die young was true. It was people like Lani and Odion who seemed to get by without much more than a scratch. People like them, who probably cosmically deserved punishment in a way, didn’t get cancer. Of course, Odion didn’t know that his sister had it, and Lani didn’t know one of Odi’s friend’s girlfriend had it, but it was another thing they had in common. They both wished they could control something that simply wasn’t up to them to control. Odion didn’t have anyone to protect anymore and in the end, he wasn’t sure if Rhett had even needed him at all. Odion blinked hard at this realization and held back the tears. This had been brewing in the back of his mind, and was eating away at him as he refused to eat anything of substance. He was dying in every sense of the word.

Most people were never as black and white as Odion pretended they were, making them so was just easier to remember them later. Usually there were many different categories for the people he encountered, whether they be interesting or not was of first priority. The rest was details he loved to capture. Lani was staring back at him intently and Odion couldn’t look away. He wasn’t sure what was going on here, and he was taking steps but he wasn’t sure if they were in the right direction. Lani would always been someone Odion would be wary of. It was just such a shame that he had to have the same eyes as Rhett. A shame, and very very odd. What were the chances of something like that? There were a lot of people with grey eyes, but not these particular grey eyes. Odion searched them intently, wondering what Lani’s secrets were and what exactly lay behind those bright, grey eyes. Lani had already left his mark on Odion and the redhead wouldn’t have it any other way. Some things just happened for a reason, and he thought maybe he and Lani had met now because they were supposed to. He liked to think that he had allowed Lani to leave such a mark, and that when it came down to protecting himself, he could chose to do that as well.

What was that? A flirtatious wink? Odion couldn’t hide the deep pleasure within the smile on his face. “I never said I didn’t.” He raised an eyebrow at Lani, because two could play at this game. Odion just had to figure out if Lani was bluffing or not. Truth was, pet names had been thrown around all night, Odi just decided to point them out now. “How would you know what to call it if you’ve never seen it?” He said, shaking his head. He could be very charming indeed. Odion could have Lani wrapped around his little finger, but that seemed to be happening without the charm. At least, Odion knew he wasn’t trying to be charming... “Really? I don’t know a lot about Boston,” he said, then smirked, “is that why you were so relaxed on the rooftop?” Odi just loved to see Lani suffer. Lani’s next statement made Odion laugh really hard. “If I were a cop, I wouldn’t be in this school talking to you right now,” he rolled his eyes, “besides, I don’t want to be a cop.” He didn’t want to be anything really. There was nothing in life he couldn’t get through stealing, and that was good enough for him.

Rules were meant to be broken, and secrets were technically meant to be in the shadows, but both had disproved this. There had been a lot of things said and done tonight that didn’t make sense, or that shouldn’t have been revealed, but they had been. Again, not everything or everyone is as black and white as people hope they are. The path Lani was going down, Adrianna would learn the hard way because he wasn’t giving her another option. The way Odion saw it, if Lani was smart, which apparently he wasn’t when it came to relationships, he would break things off with her until he decided if she was right for him or not. If he could trust her or not. Lani would look great in spandex, but he probably wouldn’t feel comfortable about Odion picturing him that way. Odion steeled himself against caring about what Lani did to Adrianna, not wanting to believe that Lani was proving to him, truly representing that there was some good in the world and at the same time, the world was just as cruel as it always had been. Odion became physically uncomfortable as he bit his tongue. Lani was an idiot. The act of self-revealing was essentially the same, no matter how it came to you. And liking someone and leading someone on were very different things. Odi simply held Lani’s gorgeous grey eyes and didn’t say a word. None of this was getting through, but like Lani said, self-revealing comes differently for everyone. For Lani, it would come too late, and Odion would have only one thing to say: I told you so.

Odion wasn’t the only one who was determined and stubborn in the room. But he was holding back now because he didn’t want to be in the middle of Lani’s mess of a relationship. It really wasn’t any of his business anyways and Lani had made that perfectly clear. He would let it go in conversation, but not in his own thoughts. Lani seemed so bent on doing the right thing, but remained inactive about it, and that was something Odion didn’t like. Lani hadn’t won a thing in this conversation, not when Odi had let him win.

Odion laughed at Lani and shook his head. “Your words...” But Lani beat him to the punch and again wanted to drop the subject. The ginger raised an eyebrow again as Lani asked for a break – interesting. Odion wasn’t saying much anymore as the conversations tapered off. What was he allowed to talk about and what was off limits? Lani had basically seen the whole extent of his relationship with Rhett but when Adrianna came up, that was off limits. Maybe it was better just to remain silent. He didn’t say anything else about the security at the school, as it was an irrelevant thing for him to consider. He didn’t need permission when he was slippery as a fish.

Patience seemed to get Odion more places than his stubbornness, although it was very hard at time to separate the two. One was pushy and didn’t let up, and the other knew when to let things go and wait for things to come. In the end, the result was the same, patience was simply gentler. Odion didn’t give up very easily, Rhett would be exhibit A. But everyone had their limits and Odion knew it was time to give up on that blonde, because he wasn’t coming back and he didn’t return Odi’s feelings. Maybe one day Odion would teach Lani how to be serene and calm and harness his powers, but Odi wasn’t giving out free lessons to a twit. After tonight, Odion would assume that Lani knew himself as well as he did, and that wasn’t very much at all. Again, making everyone believe you’re a certain person is different than actually being that person. And Odion didn’t believe any of the masks Lani was putting on. Odi wasn’t looking for a breakdown, he was looking for someone who seemed to have so much in common with him, to admit they were alike. Maybe not in those words precisely, but someone that would tell Odion he wasn’t the only one thinking this way. He was looking for someone who could keep up with his mind games, and win once in a while. A challenge. And since Lani was proving to be all those things already, Lani would have parasitic Odion around for quite some time. Eventually Lani would need someone to lean on when the shit hit the fan, like it would inevitably would. What goes around comes around.

It was nice to see Lani leave the bread alone, literally. Odion was glad to know that the blonde respected him at least a little bit. And maybe he wanted to stick around a while longer, which meant a whole number of different things. At least they were always on the same page. One’s mask went down, so did the other. When one got uncomfortable and put their masks back on, so did the other. It was a give take thing that was working out tremendously even if Odion didn’t fully understand what was going on. So what if he cared about Lani’s worrying ways? They were friends now, right? Odion seriously doubted how long that would last. He also wondered how much convincing it would take to make Lani hate him and find him annoying again. He would have to get cracking on that if he wanted to keep Lani away from his heart, because no one could trust a heart that was bleeding. “You can leave whenever you’d like to,” he said, the corner of his mouth twitching up into a crooked half-smile.

For all Lani knew, Odion could very well know why Lani was blushing, and perhaps he was letting his guard down too easily. It’s a good thing he’s safe from Odion’s manipulative ways this time. Odion shrugged. He had nothing else to say about telekinesis. He had only wanted to make Lani comfortable again and he seemed to have achieved that. What would Lani do if he knew those were Odi’s intentions? To make him comfortable and not embarrass him? Odion pondered this for a moment before he realized he had been trying not to embarrass Lani ever since he met the blonde. He didn’t rat him out to the cops, or Adrianna, even though he had really asked for it a couple days ago when Lani basically told Odi to fuck off in front of his girlfriend. Odion fidgeted in his chair as Lani looked around the room, wondering why he had opened up to someone who had been so rude to him none two days ago. That was a sting Odion wouldn’t soon forget. Lani was impossible to understand. “Oh shut up will you?” He asked, wiping at his face which only served to make it redder. He had heard that line a million times from people before, and it only grew older the more he heard it. And here he thought Lani was so original. Why did Lani have to tease him so? It was probably due to lack of sleep. Odion glanced to the floor so he would stop looking at Lani.

Odion didn’t want to pretend that he knew what Lani was talking about, but at least he was trying. If he didn’t care or didn’t want to hear about it, Lani would be the first to know. But the first time they met, Lani was trying to levitate himself and it just wasn’t working. “Maybe you need to levitate someone else,” he said, raising his eyebrows at the idea, “like your girlfriend.” Odion grinned a bit. Maybe if Lani had to deal with someone else’s wellbeing other than his own when it came to his powers, he might be able to control them how he wanted to. He seemed to fret over everyone else anyways, maybe Odi’s idea could work. And maybe you couldn’t levitate yourself if your own emotions were unpredictable. Maybe Lani needed someone more stable to test his powers on. Odion blinked a few times as Lani said he had launched a few cars like it was no big deal. “Remind me not to piss you off,” he said with a smirk. It didn’t mean he would listen, but he really didn’t fancy being tossed around like a toy car. Odion yawned softly and shook his head. Things were getting blurry. He wiped at his eyes. “In any case, you should try using something bigger to lift things with.” Odion thought Lani needed to think outside of the box and push his limits, some advice that maybe he should take himself. Odion covered his mouth as another yawn erupted. He glanced out the window and smiled softly, “Sunrise.”

[Lani Hunter]

Maybe that was why people hated people like them; they got away without a scratch. In people’s eyes Lani knew that if it came to a choice between one of them and someone just the same but without their felonies people would do everything in their power to save the others. Lani and Odion had made their choices. They deserved what they had coming to them. They would never believe Lani if he told them he had done it for his sister. He was self-serving. Lani missed the descent of Odion’s thoughts and just stared at the boy across from him with his head cocked to one side in thought. He wondered if he and Odion were alike in more ways than he thought. Already it seemed like they were parallels in the universe and Lani was going to have to admit that. Some people believed in fate and Lani would have to admit that if fate didn’t exist he was going to be really upset that all of this was just random acts of the universe. The chain of events that had led him here was a long one and he was sure that Odion’s was just as long. So what had happened to make their paths cross? Was it fate or just another random event?

What was it his mother was always saying? People come into our lives for a reason? Lani had never believed it at least not until now. A coincident was meeting someone twice randomly, now this was the fourth time he had run into Odion. This couldn’t be called coincidence anymore. It was too farfetched. Lani didn’t know how Odion saw it but maybe Lani was supposed to help Odion. He would never admit that he himself needed help but if there was help to be offered from Odion Lani would take it. First things first, Odion needed to take care of himself and Lani was planning on being annoying about it. First sleeping, then eating and maybe if Odion needed something to take his mind off of this, a job. Not as partners but as friends? Did friends do this kind of stuff? Lani had never had a friend like Odion, honestly. Most of the time when Lani shut down a topic that was it. The end. Odion kept pushing. To say Odion hadn’t gotten into his head would be a terrible lie. Odion had wiggled himself in, busted down the gates and now sat comfortably in his thoughts. And there wasn’t anything Lani could do about it.

Odion’s smile made Lani’s cheeks pink a little and he didn’t know how he was going to get out of this one. Lani chuckled and scratched his head grinning at his feet. He shrugged at Odion and leaned his head back against the wall a smile ghosting his lips. What was it about Odion that made him enjoy making him squirm? Lani’s eyes lit and his expression softened and he touched his heart, “Oh Odion, I’m touched.” Ok now Lani was flirting there was no way around it, no excuses he just couldn’t resist. Lani clucked his tongue at the question and shrugged. “Call it skepticism,” he teased, “I bet you couldn’t charm your way out of a paper bag.” Now it was Lani’s turn to goad Odion, he crossed his arms and leaned toward Odion interested in his response to that one. It was quite entertaining this back and forth thing they were engaged in. Lani was enjoying the challenge even if it felt like Odion was dead set on knocking him down a few pegs. He was willing to give that to him, just for tonight.

And then he tripped again. It seemed like every time he started coming out in front Odion did something to put them on an even playing field and then jump ahead. “Boston’s nice. Where are you from overseas?” He asked curious and realizing he didn’t really know that. His tongue stumbled over itself momentarily but he swallowed determined not to let Odion under his skin. “I suppose we’re both pretty good at pretending,” he nodded his head. He knew that one was a joke but he wasn’t going to let it get at him. They both knew that Lani had been about ten seconds away from trying that jump. He had been so freaked out that night he couldn’t even think straight. More so because he knew Odion. He wasn’t sure if Odion knew it but if he hadn’t known Odion he probably would have ended up with a black eye. “Good, I wouldn’t want someone like you on the other side.” He nodded his head very sure of that. It was strange that there was such a dark line between the ‘us’ and ‘them’. The criminal and the cops. There was no in between. If a criminal helped the cops, that was it, he was out. Same if a cop became a criminal he could never be called a cop again. No honor among thieves. That wasn’t just a saying, for trust came hard and betrayal quick and cold.

Well the redhead had him there. Lani was stupid in relationships. This was his first one, technically. But he was not about to let that become common knowledge. He couldn’t see it now, he was too blinded, but part of him knew that Adrianna would find out eventually and it would either go really well or really bad. Lani just liked what they had now and didn’t want to think about the future. The future was a dark and scary place. He looked away from Odion unable to bear those eyes. They were accusing and warning but Lani wouldn’t listen. In this Odion might as well be talking to a brick wall. He swallowed waiting to see if Odion would try to press the subject but when he was silent Lani risked looking up and was immediately captured by those depthless blue eyes. Why did he have to have those eyes? Lani was sure he could get lost in them if he wasn’t careful. Especially when Odion had him on the ropes like this. He blinked and let out a little sigh. He only hoped that Odion was wrong.

Odion hadn’t missed Lani slip up and though Lani grinned he was a little embarrassed that Odion was laughing. Perhaps it wasn’t fair that Odion had showed Lani his relationship but Lani didn’t want to talk about his own. He didn’t realize he was making a lot of topics off limits, his relationship, his worrying. Maybe that was what he did. His defense mechanism. Make sure people knew what he was alright with talking about and push them away when they crossed the line. Besides he’d never have to deal with it if it never came up in conversation right? Odion was slippery in more ways than one. Lani couldn’t quite pin him down and make sense of him. He was different and yet so much the same it was almost like looking into a mirror sometimes. It was unsettling but at the same time reassuring in a very strange way. It made Lani want to let his guard down and let himself slip. Be himself for one. Be that uncertain person that also needed someone to lean on. But he couldn’t. Not now at least. Well maybe a little…

He shifted under the blanket and moved it around so that it was only over his legs and feet. That way he could get to his feet quickly if he needed to. He stretched out a little and crossed his arms as he leaned against the bed. It was a strange thing to allow his mask to slip, but this way he could at least chose how much he was revealing. He had a feeling that Odion wasn’t buying his masks anyways, oh well, maybe if he brought his mask down a little Odion would bring his down a little and they could leave the tense subjects behind that had made him hide. He smiled a little and his eyes drifted around the room taking it in for the first time. “Do you ever want to be anything else?” Lani asked in a questioning mood. He was genuinely curious and the question seemed harmless enough. He wasn’t sure if he had a life outside of stealing. Of course his grades didn’t leave him a lot of options but he was curious to see if there was a way he might be able to get out. Or perhaps if he could just get away from his boss he could learn to enjoy the thrill again. That thrill he had loved so much at the beginning. He pulled his knees up and rested his arms on his knees as he looked at Odion.

Odion had gained more than Lani’s respect tonight. He smiled, Odion seemed to have gone deep into thought for the past few minutes. And Lani wanted to bring him back into the conversation again. He rather liked seeing Odion without his mask. When he had first met him, Lani had been sure that Martin couldn’t be human for all the spikes he had around him. But now it was so different. He was calling Odion a friend and enjoying his company. For now he could ignore the emotions that were threatening to send his power haywire. He blinked finding himself watching Odion think and wondering what the other boy was thinking. Odion underestimated Lani’s ability to be tolerant. It was going to take quite a bit for Lani to go back to hating someone once he had decided he liked them and cared about them. Lani’s brows rose at the redhead’s comment. He mulled over how to answer for a while and smiled when he found his answer. “Well with an attitude like that I might as well just camp out on the floor.” He grinned for some reason very much liking that cocky half-smile Odion kept wearing.

Odion was too adorable trying to hide his face like that. It only set Lani off again and he realized he was going to have sore sides pretty soon. Lani didn’t really think he had been rude a few days ago, certainly if he looked back on it now he could think so but he was just pissed off and wanted to make it clear Odion was crossing into all sorts of things he wasn’t ready for. Also, a couple of days he had hated Odion, thought he was an unfeeling rock covered like a cactus and who he still though might be going to tell his secrets. It was almost like the person in front of him was a different Odion. One who was human, just as breakable as Lani was and someone he could relate to. He hadn’t known that Odion had taken his words so much to heart. Lani closed his eyes and remembered that look he had given the redhead. Now that he regretted. He had only seen Odion as another thief trying to show that he was superior. Now he knew better. Well, Odion might still be trying to show that he was superior but Lani, as much as he didn’t want to admit it, he trusted Odion. The realization startled him so much he nearly bolted to the door. It made sense, Odion could have said something and Lani would be a fugitive, but he hadn’t. He wasn’t sure if his expression showed that shock but he looked up at Odion and his mask came back up with an almost audible snap. That was way too dangerous, trusting another thief could get him killed. Odion was getting too close. And worse Lani wanted to tell him his problems! What was happening to him? The fake Lani took over smiling and the transition was smooth.

Lani huffed, hadn’t they already been through this? He didn’t want to lift people it was too dangerous. “No,” Lani said shaking his head like a dog, “No, no, no, no, no. That is a terrible idea!” He shook his head again. Too dangerous, it was almost a laughable solution. Odion was probably right that Lani would focus more if someone else’s well being was a stake but the fact remained that Lani would never do that unless he could guarantee their safety. He rolled his eyes a little shooting that idea down. He grinned at Odion’s reaction. He still had a hard time understanding that no it was not normal for him to be able to launch cars. He laughed and shook his head. “Odion that ship has sailed. If I didn’t launch you off the side of a building it’s probably a good assumption that I’m not going to.” He meant it as a joke but at least now Odion knew that he had succeeded in the past in pissing Lani off. Lani tapped his chin thinking, perhaps Odion had a point, something heavier might require more energy but it would certainly be more stable. Now all that was left to deal with was Lani’s balance, which was superb on land but in the air not so much. Lani gave Odion a knowing smile when he yawned. That was his cue. He pushed the blanket off of his feet and rose to his feet. He gathered the blanket and looked back out the window with a smile. He had to admit, this was the first time he had ever stayed up until sunrise with someone. “You should get some sleep,” Lani said handing him the blanket and gesturing at the bed.

[Odion Martins]

The fact that someone with similar ponderings was in arms reach, and yet so far away, baffled Odion. How could he have missed Lani? It was going to bother him for a while. He blamed it on being distracted by Rhett, oblivious to anyone else in the world, in the school, that might be like him. But it was better late than never. Random or fate, it didn’t matter. For Odion, time wasn’t linear, and he could go back and see exactly when they would meet, and maybe why it mattered, but he really didn’t want to. For someone who could go back in time and maybe forward, he was content living in the present, and taking every moment captive, which he literally could do. Maybe that’s why he became so lost so often, and spaced out when people weren’t around him. It was a blessing and a curse. As for this moment, he wasn’t sure if Lani was a curse or not. Only time would tell. The bad thing about slipping into the future though, was that the future could change depending on what happened in the present. There were many possible futures, and he was guaranteed to go insane trying to pick which one would be the right one. His mind did enough of that for him to begin with. This was why he was so much better at going back in time, than forward. At least the past was already set in stone.

Yeah, the boys didn’t exactly text each other to meet up now, did they? Maybe Lani was onto something with this whole fate business. But Odion wouldn’t know a thing about that. Through it all, maybe they were supposed to help each other. Odion knew that he wanted to help Lani more than he wanted to push the blonde away, but there was something blocking him from thinking that Lani felt the same way. Odion could dish out annoying, but he wasn’t sure he could handle it himself. Anything Lani had to offer Odion would greedily take. Anything, to take his mind off of Rhett. Damn, he had nearly forgotten about him too... Odi bit the inside of his cheek, wishing that every other thought wasn’t about Rhett. It didn’t make any sense to be in Lani’s thoughts and yet have him in Odion’s mind as well. Slowly, Rhett was being pushed through the back door and this new obsession was taking over. Lani was a puzzle Odion would keep trying to solve, even if that mission was unattainable. Odion didn’t mind so much.

Odion couldn’t tell if Lani was pleasantly surprised by the reaction he gave the blonde, or disturbed. Judging by the last time Lani was disturbed, this couldn’t be it. Odion held his grin as Lani seemed to mentally squirm. He was adorable really. “See, charming,” he said, pointing a finger at himself. He had Lani hook, line, and sinker. Maybe fishing was fun after all. Odion grinned triumphantly. If Lani couldn’t resist flirting back, then there had to be something there, and Lani wouldn’t convince Odion otherwise. Most would’ve caved by that point, and Lani wasn’t playing; he was just unsure of what he was doing. Again, very different things. Odion crossed his arms in front of his chest, observing Lani as the blonde observed him. Lani was enjoying this, that much was obvious. Odion chuckled softly then, and wiped his face with his hands. Lani was so Obvious he didn’t even catch on to his own antics. Odion had charmed Lani talking about how charming people worked, and Lani was completely unaware. Odi didn’t say a word, but he wore his smile like a badge of honor. Your turn Lani.

And then his smile evaporated like warm, sour milk. He Lani had read his file, but he didn’t like being reminded of the fact that he wasn’t really from here. And he had come here just to have his heart broken. It was just another nerve Lani was hitting, when really he was just trying to talk. Odion registered this and didn’t react other than putting his guard back up. “If it’s so nice, why did you leave?” Or in other words, I am not talking about where I’m from. Odion didn’t have a hot clue about his past until Rhett, practically able to read minds and all, told him more than he wanted to know. It was bad to know he was an orphan, it was worse to know his biological family was alive and well. Filthy rich actually. Lucky them. Odion gripped his hands into fists until his knuckles began turning white, and he kept holding them. Odion’s eyes shot over to Lani – if Lani would’ve tried to give him a black eye, he would’ve gone off that roof one way or another. Odion looked back to the floor, wondering why he was still surprised at the pain he felt. Well, Lani had his secrets, and the blonde sure as hell didn’t know everything about Odion either. “Right, because you want me on your side.” Odion said in a hard voice. His words were deliberate and he glanced at Lani again, waiting to see how the blonde would react to the truth.

Again, Lani and Odion had much in common. Lots of people believed Odi had been with two handfuls of people, but just the opposite was true. Before Rhett, there had been no one. It seemed like a commonality between lunatics criminals. Lani was selfish and Odion couldn’t really blame him, for he was selfish too. Odion had plenty to say, various names to insult Lani with, but it wouldn’t help. Odion may have been a pest, but he picked his poison. And Lani, he had already swallowed a vile of his own. Relationships were a pill to begin with. Odion held the other’s eyes mercilessly, lost to time itself. He could’ve done this all night. Lani wasn’t used to giving people ammunition against him. It seemed like knowing about his rendezvous in the middle of the night was all the fire power Odion was going to get. There was no relationship, not an honest one anyways, if one revealed and the other took. Odion had plenty of these, and as he stared at Lani, he realized that maybe Lani was treating this relationship, as one of those relationships. Maybe they weren’t friends at all. And Odion turned very pale upon realizing maybe Lani had tricked him after all. What if all of this, including Lani’s hiccups, were all a lie? Odion’s eyes turned to slits as he also realized, that this was how Adrianna must feel. Or at least, how Lani was treating her. She was the only one communicating while Lani held back. Odion was almost ready to bet that what he didn’t know about Lani, Adrianna did, and vice versa. Lani was beyond sick, he was demented. Had the blonde ever let one person in? Like Odi had with Rhett? Odion didn’t think so, and maybe that’s why the epiphany seemed so clear now. Lani didn’t have to say anything for knowing to pass over the ginger’s eyes. And Odion had to wonder, would that bother Lani? And did it matter? Because obviously, he wasn’t going to talk about it.

Lani could hide all he wanted behind his glass masks. A smile picked up the blonde’s face, and Odion watched for what wise word-vomit would spew from Lani’s mouth. The ginger raised an eyebrow. He shrugged, “Does it matter?” Stealing and lying and cheating and running away when the going got tough was all Odion had ever known. Besides, he didn’t have anyone to impress, no one who put expectations on him, no one to change for. He hadn’t even wanted to change for Rhett, like Rhett had quit stealing and gotten a job for him. Odion wished he had a reason to be someone else, but he didn’t have the drive to go beyond what he had always known, because it was the only stability in his life and he hated that fact. No, he had never thought about being anything else. Anything, like they were a couple of disposable objects. And Odion supposed they were in the end. And then there was Lani, playing cute, and Odion could only feel disgusted as he looked away, finally, from the blonde. Lani was charming too, and Odion had been caught in the snare. Maybe Lani didn’t need any help, not Odi’s help anyways. So then what was the point of all this? Odion slumped in his computer chair, his mind wanting nothing but to shut down and stop thinking.

Odion enjoyed Lani’s company, but he couldn’t decide if he resented Lani, or liked him. This really was turning into a Rhett thing, and Odion wished he could stop comparing the two. But Odi refused to let his masks down if Lani kept his up. He didn’t need another fake relationship. He had been hoping this was something else. His patience told him to see what would happen tonight, and go with the moment. He still believed he could annoy Lani silly. “Sorry, I don’t have sleepovers with strangers,” he said. Lani was flirting again, and Odion liked it, but he wasn’t going to fall for something Lani wasn’t being sincere about. Besides, the last time he let a friend sleep over, they had both wound up naked in the morning, and Rhett had decided to check up on Odi that particular morning. Of course, it had been totally innocent. How was Odion supposed to know that Logan’s power disintegrated clothing in his sleep? Along with the bed sheets... Odion’s smile turned fully fledged, but only because he believed Lani was enjoying the view.

Odion laughed softly out of embarrassment, shaking his head, still unable to look Lani in the eye. Lani was not going to shut up. Whatever Lani was mad about two days ago, he was still unwilling to share with Odion, and until something gave and the playfield was level again, Odi wasn’t sharing anything else. He wasn’t going to be Pandora’s Box and reveal every secret from one crack. No, this relationship would be different. Odion didn’t know how yet, because he’d never had one like this before, but he would try. At least Lani was laughing, even though he was laughing at Odi. How did Lani even know anything Odion had said had been true? Maybe Odi misjudged Lani’s scope of trust. And then, maybe that’s what Lani wanted him to think. Odion wasn’t different so much as he was broken, and he had been two days ago as well, which was why he backed off instead of telling Lani where to go and how to get there. These two owed each other all kinds of things. Maybe Rhett wasn’t the only tipping point for Odi’s drinking tonight. He wanted things to be equal with Lani, but that just wasn’t working. Lani, like in the rest of his relationships, now had the upper hand. Odion had given him too many cards and realized this too late. And since he wasn’t looking at Lani, didn’t catch the look of trust that passed over the blonde’s eyes. By the time Odion looked back into those grey pools, they were exactly the same as before only mirthless. Odion frowned, knowing he had missed something, but he didn’t know it was critical. And Lani suddenly smiling again tipped Odion off to this fact. It was too smooth.

Odion shrugged, “Just trying to help,” he said, half-grinning again. He thought that maybe if Lani raised the stakes it would force his power to come under his control, give him the edge he was looking for. “If you’re worried about hurting someone, I would do it.” Odion was completely serious. Usually he was a coward, but for some reason he wanted to be a part of this. Maybe this was the difference in this relationship. If worse came to worst, it was as simple as rewinding and trying again, literally. His blue eyes watched Lani for some kind of reaction to this new idea. There wasn’t a lot Lani could do to harm Odion, not in a physical way. That wasn’t what Odion was afraid of. “Just, take a day to think about,” Odion said, nodding along with his own words. It would all be clear in the morning. Besides, if Lani wanted to harness his power, he might have to do something he hadn’t thought of. It didn’t make it any less of a good idea though, even though it was Odion’s. The ginger grinned at Lani, the blonde growing on him by the second in spite of his earlier resolve. “I never assume.” He said. There was nothing stopping Lani from changing his mind, especially if he had the capability to launch people at will. No, Odion would continue to pry at Lani and his mind, but it was good to know he might have to be more mindful of Lani’s reactions. Just another reason why Lani should get a hold of his powers. Odion didn’t need confirmation to know he had pissed Lani off before, it was his intention.

Odion blinked a few times, breaking his gaze from the window to watch Lani as he stood up, wondering what the smile was all about. “That shouldn’t be a problem now that the sun is pouring in and all,” he said, standing with Lani, the blanket over his own shoulders now. He went ahead of Lani, opening the door that lead into the hallway. Odion’s eyes met Lani’s, an unspoken thank you passed between them, and the ginger even managed a smile. The blanket smelled like Lani. But he was going to forget all this tomorrow – until he saw the box under the counter again, or that stupid locket.

[Lani Hunter]

It was interesting how parallels worked. Parallels were supposed to go along their paths without ever touching but it was strange now since it seemed the parallels had deviated and crossed paths. Perhaps that was why the universe seemed so out of whack. But then humans were lines, nor were they curves. They weren’t abstract mathematical models. People had a tendency to deviate. Anomalies became the norm. People couldn’t be thought of as equations or force balances. Lani’s mind was hardwired for math and he had always excelled at it where in reading comprehensions he always had it wrong. Maybe that was why Odion was so much better at understanding people because he didn’t think of them in a systematic way. Lani shook his head a little not wanting to think about how he thought about people anymore. It was too crazy and he really didn’t think his way of doing things was bad. So far it had worked rather well for him.

If only Lani would admit to needing help Odion could help him carry this burden. Shared pain was halved pain. Hadn’t he shared Odion’s pain? Why couldn’t he let Odion share his? He couldn’t quite figure out where Odion stood when it came down to the end of everything. After the events this morning and the past events Lani was still a little uncomfortable with the flip flop of roles from hating rivals to tentative friends. He wasn’t really sure if they could be call friends, sure they had shared a lot tonight and he would always cherish that, but he knew they couldn’t be enemies because Lani wasn’t looking to use this against Odion at any point in time and he had given Odion just enough to trust him with a deceptively strong heart. He was trusting Odion not to break his trust and he wasn’t altogether sure he should. Oh well, what was done was done, nothing he could do about it now. Odion might be able to take it all back but not Lani. He was stuck on this path and he couldn’t deviate and change the past. But all the more terrifying realization was that he didn’t want to.

Lani shook his head and wrinkled his nose a little in displeasure. Why was it he just couldn’t get the upper hand? He grinned back at the redhead and matched him gaze for gaze. He stared for a moment looking into those blue eyes wondering which of the two of them would be the first to cave. Once Odion declared himself charming Lani huffed a little in defeat and dropped his eyes first. He wasn’t going to let Odion enjoy his victory long however. “Alright Prince Charming,” Lani said with a dramatic bow, “If you say so.” Lani still wasn’t buying it though. He didn’t believe that he had been charmed into anything. He laughed softly as he shook his head. They were both fools, how had their conversation gone from serious to this? But at least one fool knew what he was doing. The blonde fool had no idea what he had gotten into when he had engaged in this battle of wits.

Lani realized his error when Odion’s smile faded and that guard came back up. Very well, two could play at that. Lani’s guard came up as well and he sealed his lips against the questions burning in his throat. He snorted at Odion’s weak attempt at distracting him. He was willing to give Odion that, just for tonight. “Ask Hammel,” he responded just as sourly. He would let Odion interpret that how he wanted. If not for Hammel Lani wouldn’t be here talking to him. Without his power he never would have left. Things would never have gotten complicated, he could continue working his job without the interference of the school or even this new found friend. In all honesty his thoughts about leaving were not new and chances were that had Lani not found his power and come to Hammel he would be in prison, or worse in the ground. Lani’s eyes trailed down to Odion’s hands and he chewed on the inside of his lip and fell silent until he knew it was safe again to speak. A genuine smile twitched its way onto Lani’s lips as he beheld the redhead. It was a strange reaction to such a harsh comment. “I’d rather have you on my side than against me.” It was probably one of the most honest things Lani had said all night but he wasn’t looking for Odion to challenge that, he was looking for the redhead to accept it. But he doubted he would get what he wanted.

When there were two liars on either side it was hard to tell what was truth and what false. Lani was so deep in this world of falsehoods that he didn’t know if he could open up to anyone. There would always be some lie. Something to cover up. In Lani’s case he hated his failings and he was terrified of what people would think if they knew the real Lani was still some scared kid who was so desperate to protect everyone around him. It wouldn’t be sweet thoughts, of that he was sure. He was a fool, but he was a clever fool, and the more he kept people thinking he was one thing the more it seemed to become true. Lani’s brows came together in confusion as Odion went pale. Well, paler. Odion was just like him. He could see Odion thinking but he didn’t have a clue to what the redhead was thinking about. If Lani knew how sick Odion thought he was he would have laughed. Of course he had let people in. His sister, but then there was always something he couldn’t tell her. She was so honest, she was his hero. But she saw him as her hero and he had make sure that he could be that strong person for her. Lani didn’t see how Odion could blame him for that, but then Odion also didn’t know about his boss. Every time his boss discovered some new selectivity in Lani it was another link in the chain.

Lani shrugged back at the question. “Maybe it doesn’t. I wonder if everything has an expiration date.” He responded and let the topic drop. Odion did have a point but that wasn’t what Lani was hoping to hear. Perhaps he wasn’t the only one looking for a way out but Lani wasn’t even sure what it was he wanted out of specifically anymore. Now Lani wasn’t even sure what to say. He was being just cryptic enough in his weariness that he wasn’t even sure he understood himself. He really shouldn’t subject Odion to his insanity this early in the morning. It simply wasn’t fair, especially when Lani couldn’t be asked to explain himself and do so in a successful manner. There were some things that he couldn’t run from, Lani had learned this recently. Things they couldn’t charm their way out of, things that they couldn’t keep hidden forever. Though Lani had yet to learn the last of those lessons.

Lani grinned, it would be nice to know that Odion enjoyed his company as well but out of all the strange things that had happened tonight, that would have been the strangest and probably just a little too much for Lani. For some reason the world was senseless tonight. Everything was all wrong, he and Odion shouldn’t be speaking and, yes, flirting like this. If past experiences were any proof of how this should have gone they should be at each other’s throat at the moment. Lani had no doubt Odion could still annoy him silly but Lani wasn’t about to let it bother him, at least not too much. Lani grinned at Odion and laughed a little. “Well now that you’ve passed the sanity check you should be fine,” he said and shook his head. He grinned knowing that Odion had taken a spot in Lani’s life. In a way it was relieving, to know that he could concentrate on slaying his demons while his went on being ignored. He wasn’t sure what would happen when his own demons got sick of being ignored but he only hoped if he broke down it could be somewhere safe from prying eyes. But then Lani wasn’t that lucky. Odion’s smile widened and became absolutely hypnotizing. Lani was finding it hard to look away. Dammit.

Those blue eyes filled Lani’s mind even when he close his eyes and he had a feeling he wasn’t going to be able to forget this night anytime soon. In all his life he had never been so honest, so exposed. Even if Odion didn’t see it, it was freaking Lani out a little bit that Odion had been able to get so close. Honestly he had never been so scared. Most of his fears about his boss and his family were things he could deal with. But how was he supposed to stop someone from knowing him. Wholly, all the good and all the bad. His power coiled and readied to strike. At something, anything. He closed his eyes bringing up his mask smoothly and through his mask he was able to hide his fear from himself and his power calmed and the panic receded into the background. His power was just the tip of the iceberg. His emotions linked with it and it almost forced him to expression his emotions so they didn’t build behind his power. It was his curse, his bane. Telekinesis Lanisbane. His mask was secure against those feelings he had realized so terrifyingly. Odion didn’t comment and Lani was led to believe that he still had the skill not to let it slip.

Lani shook his head biting his tongue to keep it from letting out a snide comment. He looked at Odion and smiled a little shaking his head. “Yeah, how about I send you flying through the air, huh? Then we’ll see what a good idea that was,” he chuckled a little, not really taking the thought seriously anymore. He really wasn’t sure how he would even do that. ‘Hi Adrianna, how do you feel about me lifting you in the air, spinning you around for a little bit… and oh… by the way, you might die…’ Not a good idea. Not a good idea at all. But it nagged at him. Perhaps Odion had hit onto something that Lani hadn’t even thought about. Odion had seen through his masks and noticed that he would be careful around people he loved. But… no, this was a bad idea, why was he still thinking about it? He shrugged and humored Odion, “Fine. I’ll think about it. But it’s still a bad idea.” At least Odion was suggesting something, not like his trainers who had him lifting things over and over again. It was so boring. He looked at Odion for a second and a sad realization grew in his eyes. All those things he thought he knew and thought that the trainers were just annoying him with. ‘Lani you could seriously hurt someone…’ He thought he knew that. Now he knew why they had kept telling him that. Because he didn’t know that. He hadn’t even realized it at all. His eyes darkened with a little bit of determination and just a touch of sadness. “Good,” he responded. At least Odion knew he had to be careful, if his power had lashed out like it had tried to a little while ago, who knows what would have happened.

Lani grinned over at Odion his sad mood slipping off like the blanket. He really didn’t want to give the blanket back. And that of course had nothing to do with that smell that clung to it. As Odion held the door open Lani paused looking into those blue eyes memorizing them and smiled back. Something had changed tonight and they both knew it, but neither would admit it. Instead of commenting on the look Lani turned back to the window. “You should invest in black out curtains.” He advised and slipped out the door. Odion’s box forgotten Lani went back to his room and looked at his bed wondering if he should even try, but miracle of miracles sleep found him that morning.