Can't Take It (Lani.)

[Lani Hunter]

Lani’s brow raised and a little bit of concern reached out. What was that supposed to mean? Was Odion not doing as well as he looked? Lani frowned and his eyes averted from the redhead. “They can,” Lani agreed, “So I guess we all fall into the trap of assuming, don’t we?” Why was this so hard? Lani should be excited about being able to talk to Odion but all he could think of was all the trust he had broken. Well he had been thinking something was about to send him down the spiral again but stubbornness and the things had been knocked into him kept him from traveling down the darker road. So he had broken Odion’s trust, that was done. He couldn’t go back and change it, but he could still work to fix it. Maybe this was where the madness lays. In the constant drumming of the ‘what if’s and regrets. Yes the week had been the hardest he had ever faced because there was nothing he could do. He could fix things with Adrianna and amend the wrongs he had dealt Dr. Neville, but Odion was a loose end and Lani honestly didn’t want that to be the end.

Really without Shapiro knocking sense into him he wouldn’t be nearly as well put together as he was today. Today was a good day, who knew what would happen tomorrow, maybe he would fall back into the sleep cycle. Lani might be coming out of this strong emotional battle but he was not stable. Lani’s heart was a mix of glass and ice and he was trying to get his walls up but he was just going to have to get used to there being people who could see the real Lani. People like Odion, and now Adrianna. He shook those thoughts away, those were thoughts for times when he was alone, not now when there was a possibility for conversation. His mind was still deep in its caverns prowling the depths of his own self and examining what it liked and didn’t like but for now he could pull it toward the light and reluctantly force it away from the inward search.

Lani nodded. “Good thing,” Lani’s smile waned and then waxed again, “Hopefully he’ll listen, or at least learn how to hide things.” Lani’s little joke was a relief to his heart. Depression did not suite the trickster very well, he really loved joking, it made life bearable. Lani just wasn’t so used to being this bare as he joked. Odion was making an effort, and Lani appreciated that, but he couldn’t help wonder if Odion was doing this for Lani’s sake. Lani wanted to prove that he could be better than what he was now. So much better, he wasn’t done learning who he was and he would have stayed stagnant if it weren’t for Odion, Lani knew he couldn’t back away from facing himself in the mirror but he wanted to change the face that looked back at him. Mirrors told the truth often more harshly than most people liked.

Odion was inviting him in, now that was unexpected. Lani’s eyes snapped up to Odion in shock, this was strange. So strange. But Lani was grateful so he didn’t do anything but smile. “Thanks,” he responded. But now he had to accept the invitation and get off the wall. He hesitated and then pulling his hands out of the pocket of the hoodie pushed himself up off the wall. Lani smiled a little bit as he approached with hidden wariness. Not that he was afraid of Odion, but afraid of what he might be walking into. As if he were walking to the inferno, but instead of abandoning all hope he was afraid of gaining false hope. “Wow,” Lani exclaimed as the kittens, very close to beings cats now, appeared in his eye sight. Shadow darted to his feet first and Lani stooped to pick him up. “Wow,” he repeated, “I used to be able to hold him in one hand.” Talk about the kittens, that was easy.

[Odion Martins]

"Never assume," Odion sighed with impatience, "I thought I've told you that once already." Lani was awfully quick but sometimes he was awfully dumb. Odi wasn't about to tell Lani everything, not after being kidnapped because of the blonde and then completely covering for him. No, it wasn't worth sticking his neck out any more for someone who clearly wasn't interested in him, or in telling him the truth. That's how Lani wanted Odi to see it, then that's how Odi would accept it. No more digging around for hidden emotions.

Odion laughed again. "Hide things? That man is a terrible liar, I can tell." Odi's smile faltered. At one point in time he would have believed he was a master people reader. But he had judged Lani wrongly. How many other people would end up betraying him as much as Lani had?

Odion only raised his eyebrows as Lani decided whether to come in and stop propping up the wall or not. It wasn't all that strange, not to him anyways. After all, he was trying to turn a new leaf, trying to be a little different a little... better. And being friendly to someone you wanted to give a new slate to, well, that was a good first step. At least, he thought so. And if they could have a common bond, such as the kittens, then it was an even better step.

Watching Lani from the doorway, it was Odi's turn to hold up the doorframe. "I know, life happens with or without you," he said, thinking nothing of the phrase. He smiled a bit as Lani interacted with Shadow. Oh, Odion had missed this. Something of the old feelings he once had for Lani rose in him as memories flooded his mind. They had found the kittens together, that's where all this 'good' in Odion had come from. From Lani. How ironic. Perhaps talking about the kittens wasn't so easy after all.

LJ sat at Odion's feet and wouldn't stop meowing until the ginger picked him up as well. Immediately purring arose and Odion smirked a bit as LJ pressed himself against Odi's chest. "I think they're about ready to be spayed, or neutered." He said, wondering just how he was to accomplish that under the pretext of living at Hammel and not having a legal guardian. It wasns't 'we' anymore.

[Lani Hunter]

Lani nodded. “You have, but that doesn’t mean it doesn’t happen,” he considered that for a moment. Seeing things clearly was never something Lani did well. Life was so rarely black and white that when it was Lani missed it. Things should be easy in situations like this. There was one bad guy, one good guy. But then what if Lani was the bad guy and just refused to see it, Odion couldn’t be the bad one, he had done nothing wrong. Lani sighed, why was this so hard? No one had ever said that life was easy, but then no one had ever said it was this hard either. Perhaps it was human prerogative to learn to be lonely, and those who chose not to would just suffer though the lessons some learn earlier in life.

Lani tossed a small smile at Odion. He swallowed hard and nodded. Odion hadn’t seen Lani’s lie coming, it had broadsided him. If Lani had had the chance to tell Odion before he still was sure he wouldn’t have. How funny it was, that the thing Lani kept from Odion to keep the redhead from leaving was the thing that was now pushing him away So was it about being a good or a bad liar or just having a good reason to lie. Well, a good reason for one person wasn’t the same for another. And Lani’s lie was hardly white, it was black and clotted with smoke. When he had met Odion he had started to question who he was but now he was even more lost than before.

One step in the right direction Lani’s eyes instinctively flickered to the window, not with the intent of escape but remembrance of the night when he had followed Odion out that window to the roof where Odion had showed him all about Rhett. Lani wasn’t sure how much he was around mentally as he walked and his mind and power wandered through the familiar room. Lani and Odion were fooling themselves thinking that they could create a clean slate. No, they had too much history, too much ammunition against each other and too much knowledge of each other’s ways to start anew. But the illusion was nice.

Scratching the kitten’s ears Lani looked about as LJ and Darshay appeared LJ going to Odion and Darshay looking altogether rather grumpy that there were no arms to hold her. Lani flinched at those harsh words. Life happens. With or without a Lani Hunter, or an Odion Martins. Or any one person. Life happens. Lani’s heart twisted like the knife had been driven deeper in. That was that. Life happened. Without him life would go on, Lani was again struck by his own insignificance. “Yeah,” He answered looking at the cat instead of looking at Odion, “I guess it does.” When once before standing beneath a starry sky Lani would have been awed by his smallness now that brought in pain, especially coming from Odion. Odion might have said it innocently but what Lani heard was far different. The world didn’t need any one person. If there was no Lani then life would go on, for Odion, for Caroline, for his parents, for the billions of people who would never know him.

“Really?” Lani said for something to say. “Already? But they’re only a few months old.” Besides how would they accomplish that? Perhaps there was a vet somewhere out there that would do that without asking too many question. “How could you get someone to do it?” He asked taking the hint, these were Odion’s cats, not Lani’s and certainly not theirs. Odion had to have enough fake IDs to be able to get away with it. Even with the vast majority of Lani’s now melted and burned into the bottom of his trashcan he had several identities left to use. Shadow started wiggling as if he had been held for too long. Lani crouched and let the cat down and watched it meander off under Odion’s bed. “I suppose it wouldn’t be so hard to find someone to do that, but it might cost a bit.”

[Odion Martins]

So really, it only made sense that Odion doubted Declyn so much. After deeming himself an orphan, a man to coming out of the blue claiming to be his brother was almost certainly a lie. But Dec had described Odi’s abandonment almost to a t, which was why he was pinned against a wall by the redhead. Well that and Odion was having enough drama in his life to begin with. He failed to tell Lani that he had met this brother before the kidnapping happened. But Declyn was almost too good to be doubly good at lying. At least Odion knew Lani was hiding something from him, Declyn had approached Odion with only honest intentions.

Illusions were just another part of Odion’s magic show.

“The sooner the better,” Odion remarked, focusing solely on the cats, “I don’t really want them spraying everything.” Marking their territory, or better yet, having more kittens. The circle of life was both beautiful, and disgusting. Considering the state these kittens had been found, more of the latter. “I’ll figure something out,” Odi said, his laidback nature coming into play. He wasn’t really in a rush, and the best idea would probably hit him from out of nowhere. There had to be someone somewhere willing to fix these cats without causing too much fuss over it. An idea was already starting to bloom. “Money is easy to get,” Odion said, sitting on his bed, LJ purring away. Odi tried to set him down but LJ only dug his claws further into Odi’s lap. The ginger sighed, scratching at the cat under his chin.

A moment or two passed. Odion had so many questions, and yet, how or if he should vocalize them was the problem. Should he ask about Adrianna? Did he even want to know? What about Lani’s family? Had Caroline arrived at Hammel safely? Just because Odion wasn’t acting like Lani’s friend at the moment didn’t mean he hadn’t kept tabs on the blonde. Odion was a good thief, and an equally good spy. There were a number of things keeping him back from talking to Lani though, and nothing seemed good enough to say, so instead of wasting his breath, Odi let the seconds tick by, and the silence didn’t bother him. Time wasn’t something he slipped through like most others.

[Lani Hunter]

It was those leaps of faith that made people sink or swim when it came to trusting people. It was the trust that someone would catch another if they fell. That was why an exercise in trust was falling. But what was it that made people trust in inherent goodness in people? Lani didn’t trust people and neither did Odion but they had taken a chance on each other and Lani had failed. What about other people? Could they still trust other people? Lani shook his head, he could trust people. He had enough bruises to his ego and to his body to know that. It had really amazed him how many people had risen to help him, when he should have been tossed into the dust. The directionless feeling was starting to fade the longer he was with people that he realized he would go on doing what he had been doing, trying his best to help people and protect them.

Lani didn’t need to forgive himself for what he had done, he just needed to get over it. He could live with himself in the dark about his real emotions. He had done it so many times before it wouldn’t be very new. Lani had foolishly hoped that perhaps he could stop hiding from his emotions. His power rose and fell with his emotions and he knew if he let it he would tear something apart. Perhaps in a war zone they would be just as well sending Lani in when his power freaked out. Nothing would touch him, but then his power wouldn’t hurt other people so maybe it would be useless.

A small smile formed on his face as Darshay took advantage of Shadow having left and rubbed his legs until he picked her up. He scratched her ears and he went absent minded for a moment. His mind turned inward and he was only half listening to Odion talk about the cats. He did snort a little when he talked about them spraying. Odion would be worried about that. He nodded offering no other solution. “And people will do just about anything for money,” Lani added as he looked up from the cat to Odion. Enough money and someone would do anything with little or no questions asked. LJ was sitting not so quietly on Odion’s lap, it seemed like the cat had pretty much decided that that was where he liked to be and that was where he was staying. It made Lani’s lips twitched. He looked into Darshay’s blue eyes. He might not be a hero but he was certainly unchained. But only to be caught in the trap of his own making.

Again silence lapped into the conversation and Lani stood there for a few moment wondering what could be said. He wasn’t going to keep thing to himself anymore, but how much could he reveal without giving away too much. The silence was starting to bother Lani, he remembered the times when there wasn’t a moment of silence, but now it seemed greater than ever. So Lani spoke, if only to fill the silence. “So… um, Caroline is coming to Hammel,” he said for lack of a better thing to say. Lani’s emotions were so mixed about this. He was happy, his little sister was going to be here with him. And on the other hand he was angry at fate. He had yet again not been able to protect her from this. He wasn’t sure why he was telling Odion about Caroline, but it seemed right to say. She was arriving tomorrow morning. “She loves cats,” he commented absently as Darshay purred. He knew Caroline would be terrified of leaving home, perhaps the kittens could help. Well that was up to Odion.

[Odion Martins]

Odion had given up on people almost instantly, it was like he had no other choice. With Lani, it was like Odi suddenly woke up and realized he did have a choice. Strangely, Lani was worth knowing because of how alike they were, because of that night on the rooftop, because of the night Lani found Odi so close to the edge, because of the laughs they shared, because how slowly but surely the masks were falling away. No one had worked harder to spend time with him, even now. Odion had been back in the States for a couple hours, back at Hammel for a couple seconds and here was Lani, a welcome plague. No things wouldn’t be the same, but maybe, just maybe, they would be better.

Odion shrugged like it wasn’t a big deal. “Maybe I could ask a vet in training? Extra practice?” Odi shrugged. He wasn’t really asking for Lani’s opinion, just stating an idea. It could or could not work, some things would just have to wait and see. Odion had been oh so close to renaming LJ to something else less... memorable. But it was futile. Not only did the cat not respond to anything but LJ, but the name didn’t matter. Every time Odi would look at LJ, all he could see was Lani. Memories are the most powerful of tools, almost as powerful as words.

Perhaps a clean slate included moving on to other subjects, talking about things they hadn’t spoken of before. But was such a thing possible? Could someone really look forward and never look back on their past mistakes in order not to repeat them? Or would those memories claw at the back of their minds in never addressed? Odi was willing to find out, and should they become too terrible, something would have to be eradicated.

Once again, Lani started talking about things he might not have had the kidnapping never happened. How easily he gave away his cards. Odion glanced at Lani, a hand resting on LJ’s belly, the cat totally content. “I know.” Odi said simply, averting his eyes back to the cat and smiling at it. His dark blues were contemplative. He didn’t know she liked cats. Well, he didn’t know he liked cats either until hethey found them. “I’d like to meet her,” he said, wondering what it would be like to meet Lani’s source of inspiration and drive. “And I’m sure they’d love to meet her too,” he said, grinning at LJ. Granted Caroline would have to come to Odi’s room, and of course Lani could come too. Odion’s eyes connected with Lani’s – he hoped Caroline wouldn’t mind a second bodyguard so long as he was at school.

[Lani Hunter]

Lani was lost in his own thoughts for a few moments. His head wasn’t aching for once and for some reason that bothered him. No amount of medication he had taken before had done that, maybe Odion was right, he was taking too many, but he liked the feeling of having nothing hammering in his brain. It almost gave him a good illusion that his power was gone for good, but he could still feel its stir around his mind. He looked at Odion, he had been the best friend that Lani had ever had and even those strange emotions were still stirring, that was worth working to keep. There had been a moment midweek when he had decided that Odion wasn’t coming back and that those words were the last he had said to the redhead. But Odion was back and now that he was back Lani was there to jump on the chance to prove that he too could be a friend worthy of keeping.

“I’m sure if you went to the SPCA or something they’ll do it no problem.” Lani supplied, they had a clinic and probably had plenty of interns. He shrugged, he wasn’t really sure but the chances that a shelter would gladly make sure that the cats couldn’t reproduce were rather high. It was sad to think that the kittens could have ended up in a shelter like that; Lani had been the one encouraging that. Now he was exceedingly happy that Odion had disagreed enough to ignore Lani’s reality. But then Odion had proven him wrong, without his help at all Odion had raised these kittens very well and they were some of the sweetest creatures that Lani had ever encountered.

The past was an integral part of the future, without one the other would not exist. Perhaps this was bound to be a fatal flaw in their clean slate plan. But Lani was too focused on the chance he had for a new start to think about that. He was so grateful. Maybe Odion could give him the chance and he would be surprised but Lani was also terrified. For what if he failed? This was his second chance, after this there was nothing else. Well at least he didn’t have any life altering secrets hidden in his back pocket, just little secrets, the ones that weren’t dangerous to him if brought out, just things he would rather refrain from talking about. But they were secrets, would Odion be angry with him for not telling him? It was the same trap he had fallen into before, trusting someone only as far as was comfortable for him. To be truly honest not only Lani but Odion would have to come out of their comfort zone and be willing to expose the chinks in their armor.

Lani’s eyebrows jumped and he looked sharply at Odion. “You do?” He narrowed his eyes and wondered how much Odion knew. What did it mean that Odion knew that without him saying anything? Lani watched Odion with LJ. Lani’s brow raised and now he was skeptical. Odion wanted to meet Caroline? He couldn’t help the smile that grew on his face. Caroline would need to meet other people here, after all what if Lani couldn’t be around all the time? “I’m sure she’d like that too. I think you’ll like her, she’s the best.” He loved his sister more than anything and of course even if she wasn’t the best she always would be in his eyes. It was a good thing that Caroline was good at keeping secrets, or else showing her the cats would be a terrible idea. “I’ll have to bring her over some time. She’s supposed to get here tomorrow morning.” Lani’s smile faltered and was followed by a little sigh. He met Odion’s blue eyes and the small smile was restored, he had to be strong for Caroline, that alone could motivate him out of his emotional wreckage, but the fact that Odion was here and even willing to meet his sister filled him with a new sense of joy he was starting to think was lost. Though he wished with all of his might that Caroline would never have this life, at least she was going to be protected.

[Odion Martins]

A different scheme was brewing in Odi’s mind as Lani spoke of interns. What if he dropped them off, posing as so and so’s son? Then he could just steal them back later, easy as anything. He had been thinking of researching it and doing it himself, but after about two minutes of reading, he just didn’t think he would pull it off. His hands were steady, but he didn’t want to kill his cats. Odion had done what he could for them thus far and intended on having them around for a while to come if time would allow it. And for the record, it hasn’t been that Odion didn’t want Lani around, he just knew that Lani obviously had more important things to do.

Everyone was truly only their memories. If suddenly Odion had amnesia, he wouldn’t be the same person anymore. You are who you were. But Odion had put on a different mask to show off. One of trust and friendship, a mask he was wearing so well, Lani thought it wasn’t a mask at all. Odi was truly just protecting himself while keeping Lani close to him. It almost felt as though someone else were telling Lani these things, like he himself was just a spectator. But what if this wasn’t a mask? What if he really did trust Lani and want to be his friend? That was the scary part, the part that kept him from saying how he truly felt. Odion was under the impression that no one was interested in his feelings.

Odion only nodded once to Lani’s questioning. Of course he knew, couldn’t Lani feel the eyes everywhere he went?

It may not have been what Lani wanted, but perhaps it was what Lani needed. Caroline being here would mean that he wouldn’t have to worry over what he couldn’t see. “Well just let me know, once she’s settled in and what not.” He mustered a smile, but it was almost unbelievable. It was a smile reserved for those he only just barely knew, a smile that him get him without questioning from the other party. But part of him realized Lani wouldn’t question him, even if he was suspicious. There were many parts to Odion, and while most of them were happy, just as many were confused and even sad. He knew he wanted to be friends with Lani, but now he didn’t know how even more than the first time they had tried. Odion wanted to be able to fill in the space between when Caroline and Lani would visit, with Lani. But that would be awfully clingy, and definitely not starting something over.

“What’s her power?” He asked then. It was easy, this talking bit, so long as it didn’t have to be about him. Odion smiled at himself, before laughing lightly. “I don’t even know Declyn’s power...” It just wasn’t the first thing that had come to his mind, and now, trying to use it in small talk? You could tell what was and wasn’t important to Odi. And this was just, odd, not digging around and trying to see past what Lani was giving him. This was different than what they had before, yes, but it was missing something. It didn’t feel real.

[Lani Hunter]

That was an easy solution. It really wasn’t like they were very careful about making sure that security paid attention to animal hospitals. And if someone did report to whoever Odion was pretending to be they would be completely unaware. It was sad that Lani no longer had anything he had to do anymore. He was free, he could do what he pleased, go where he pleased and be whoever he wanted to be. But he wanted to be a thief, and he wanted to mend things with Odion. Now that he didn’t have a boss breathing down his neck it would be much easier to Lani to find the time. A good and a bad thing, as this past week had shown. Idle hands tend to make for destructive forces and a mind left to its own devices would soon drive itself mad. But loneliness did make the heart grow to appreciate what was lost, and it did cause for a severe reflection of self. Something Lani had been avoiding for years. Now he was forced into it and he had learned quite a bit.

Lani couldn’t lie, his skin shivered when Odion nodded. All this time? Had that really been Odion? The waking nightmares, the feeling of being watched by unseen eyes, that was driving him slowly mad. The only thing that gave him solace was that at least it wasn’t a hoard of eyes. The eyes that saw all and felt the truth, the ones that knew just what a liar he was. Lani blinked and shook his head tearing his eyes away from Odion’s. Lani just shook his head a little. He couldn’t tell Odion not to watch him, he didn’t think it would work, but now that he knew he was going to be cautious. Every feeling that created a hunch that he was being watched would now be taken to heart. It was unsettling to feel like there were ghosts or spirits following around. When Lani himself felt like a wraith half the time he felt as if he belonged in the world ruled by shadows. He shook his head and scolded himself with a bit on his own tongue. He needed to stop thinking so darkly or he was never going to rise.

“I will,” Lani agreed. Without looking at Odion Lani wondered what the other boy was thinking. He scratched Darshay’s ears and his eyes wandered around the room for a moment the strange feeling of déjà vu came over him. Sighing at himself, of course he would feel like that, he has been here before, just a different time. As a different person even. He looked back at Odion and for a moment reflected the smile before his eyes wandered off again. He chewed on the inside of his cheek. That only made sense, Lani was a strange, this was a clean slate. He looked back at Odion and let out a pathetic laugh. “You know, it’s sad, I was so stunned I forgot to ask.” He shook his head at himself. How had he forgotten to ask the most important question? Brilliant, Lani, really just brilliant. Lani frowned, he was feeling like he had been hit by a board far too frequently of late. He smiled as Odion commented about not knowing Declyn’s power either. What good siblings they were.

He shrugged. “God, I hope she doesn’t have telekinesis,” he commented dryly. Wouldn’t that just be the icing? Their poor parents, having to deal with two telekinetics that was too much to ask of anyone. Anyways, Lani didn’t even want to give that any thought. “So, what classes are you signed up to take this year?” He asked struggling to keep the conversation moving and staying strictly at the surface level. Letting his eyes drift back to Odion wondering if he was regretting having to have stayed back a year, especially now that he had to deal with Lani. Lani was honestly not sure that he would ever get out of here. And now that Caroline was here he was set on staying in Pilot Ridge until she graduated.

[Odion Martins]

Odion has been and always will be a thief. It was like his nature had set up him for it. He was good at it and it beat the system. So really, it was perfect. It was even more perfect when he had found out that Lani shared that with him. Well, it wasn’t perfect at first, but after a while it was. And then that was destroyed. Odi still planned on keeping up his bad habits, after all, he was in need of some new cat toys. The thought of Lani suddenly having more time now that he didn’t have a crime boss’s ass to kiss had dawned on Odion. But mentioning all that free time to Lani wouldn’t happen today.

It was strange, that as much as Odion spied on Lani he hadn’t figured out the real truth of Lani’s actions. Odion had really just thought Lani had been stealing for himself. All the big jobs he did? He thought it was just for the fame, the thrill of being known and yet masked. And really, Odion had come to admire Lani for all the huge jobs he pulled off, all by himself to boot. Odion supposed it was ill timing that he didn’t notice Lani giving most of the profits to someone else. Hunch or not though, Lani was only being watched on Odi’s time. The deeds he did had already been done. And back when Odion was very interested in Lani, Odion had done more research probably than was allowed.

In Odion’s defense, he’s never been a sibling up until now. Really it’s Lani who should be the prime example here. Odi smirked as Lani and himself were once again in the same boat. Lani so stunned he forgot to ask something? Huh, that didn’t sound like him at all. But Odion put his smart remarks aside.

“Um...” Odion started, as though he really had to think about it. Really he didn’t, it was just a matter of c context and trying to act normal. “Advanced AP English, French, Spanish, Italian, and Calculus for the first term.” He wondered how much of his classes would overlap with Lani’s, though he doubted they would. They were so similar, and yet, so different at the same time. He wasn’t planning on taking any of these classes, but now he might as well. A moment passed before Odion realized maybe he should ask the same. That was normal right? “And what about you?” Then he wouldn’t have to wonder what Lani was taking and just know. Not that it really mattered. Once school was out and Odion was truly done with Hammel, he wasn’t sure what he would do. Maybe he would sneak into college, make up a fake ID so he could actually attend since his current grades were horrendous. Sure he was signed up for classes, but he didn’t actually do well in them. He just didn’t care what a letter on a piece of paper said. He wasn’t sure he cared about school at all.

It wasn’t this that held him back a year though, it was his damned power. He shifted uncomfortably, remembering that’s what he had been doing before Lani knocked on his door. “I could use some more power training though, I’ll be doing a lot of that if I want to graduate,” he said. This wasn’t an invitation, merely a statement. Besides, his power didn’t require help from others, it meant him having to concentrate on walking into the future. This was torture. Trying to have small talk with Lani was like trying to get a book on a high shelf, and only being able to touch the spine. You really just couldn’t grasp it. It was such a tease, you just knew there was something more at your fingertips. Who would break first, Odion wasn’t sure.

[Lani Hunter]

Lani wasn’t surprised that Odion hadn’t figured it out. Lani had been very careful, especially after that girl with the super hearing had jumped down his throat about everything. He never spoke on the phone and he hid things very well, really Odion would have had to search Lani’s room for a clue. It was funny though, how Lani’s heists were still large, he still loved the feeling of fame, he couldn’t let his reputation fall, after all. He didn’t like to think that he was being spied on but in a world where people had strange powers Lani felt like his guard could never be down. But now his guard was completely down, he hadn’t cared who saw him crumble these past few days. He simply didn’t care so much anymore. Though this was probably a time when caring would be the only thing to save him from certain failure.

Running a hand through his hair Lani absently pulled at the roots. He needed to stop getting surprised by things or he was going to spend the rest of his life in utter confusion. Another thing he needed to start doing again, getting aware of things again. The external world still existed and Lani couldn’t deny that fact anymore. The movement of time proved that enough. It was time for Lani to start rolling with the punches again and swimming with the tide. This whole thing standing in a moving stream was too much work. And now that Caroline was coming he needed to be prepared for all sorts of things. He would have to keep his head if something happened. He was always the stable rock in his family, it did no good for him to get loose. He sighed and a whispered that wasn’t quite a word, but not quite just a sound, emerged. The word was a mix of a sigh and an ‘oh well’.

Lani looked at Odion and nodded as he listened to the class list. That was a lot of languages. Impressive. He didn’t know that Odion was so well versed. Lani did smile that he was taking Calculus. Surprising enough Lani had taken that last year, one of the few classes he attended regularly. Lani was really stuck taking a lot of what he had failed over again, he wasn’t sure why because he wasn’t planning on going to them this time either. “Um, yeah, I’m in Multivariable, then AP Physics, Earth Systems, this Mechanics lab, and they’re making me retake history and English.” Yeah Lani was big in the math and science but give him basics of everything else. He couldn’t even say he was up with Odion in AP English, he liked to read but he hated the structure of those classes they took all of the fun out of reading. Writing he did for fun but anyone would be damned if he let them read it. But he liked Physics and thinking about how things worked. Give him those any day over history and English.

For some reason Lani found it hard to believe that Odion’s power was out of control. Really if Odion was still having problems Lani was rather depressed about possibilities for himself. He might very well be here forever. Lani nodded in agreement, recognizing the statement but unsure whether he should offer that they work together again. He really didn’t want to push things, perhaps at a later time in order to graduate they might get into that. Not now. Things were simple now. “Same,” was all Lani would say on the matter. Odion didn’t need to know why, he had experienced Lani’s power first hand. And silence was brought about again. Lani sighed and hugged Darshay to his chest as she purred loudly. Small talk was hard. Should they talk about the weather now?

Well that was better than nothing right? “It’s strange; I’m actually looking forward to some of my classes this year.” Sometimes being a super senior did have its perks. If he had graduated last year he never would have been able to take these fun classes. Save the ones he was retaking anyways. Well, try to pass and get the hell out. “But yeah, lemme know if you ever need help in Calc.” Lani wasn’t sure why he offered, it wasn’t that he didn’t think Odion could do it, it was just that he had been there and he would have loved to have a tutor at some points in that class. Lani shut his mouth now, now he was just talking to fill the silence. He was looking forward to Multivariable a lot and physics. He looked back at the cat and into the blue eyes as he scratched her head.

[Odion Martins]

It wasn’t that Odion had terrible grades, they were just good enough to get by and graduate. They weren’t anywhere near up to par if he was seriously considering university, but he wasn’t, so it wasn’t really a problem. And like he had thought before, if he did decide to go, he would make up some straight A student to impersonate. It was better to beat the system anyways. Why bother going to university if there wasn’t a thrill involved? Odi wondered what Lani was up to after he graduated, but he wasn’t going to ask. Not yet. Odion nodded as Lani told him the list of classes he was taking. Not something he really cared about. This was the type of person he tried to avoid. It did say something about the kind of person Lani was, if Odion read into that at all. The conversation was so dull his mind couldn’t help but go in that direction. Lani was science smart. At least that was something they didn’t have in common. Odion smiled to himself at this revelation.

Staring at Lani like he was some kind of moron, Odion couldn’t believe what Lani had said. Looking forward to his classes? What the fuck was wrong with him? Odi glanced at the floor, before snapping his eyes back to Lani as he offered to help. Huh, that was unexpected. “I’ll let you know,” he said amiably instead of saying what he wanted to say. No, this was not going to work. At least when he had first met Lani, Odion had been nothing but himself. Now they were just kidding themselves. This wasn’t a friendship, this was a load of bullshit. Odi glanced out the window. Was Lani worth the pain?

“Look,” he said suddenly, and then, he fell short, changing his mind when he had already spoken. He sighed. Maybe Lani would just leave now and they could try this again another day.

[Lani Hunter]

There was a long silence that followed and Lani took a chance to look at Odion. Really all Lani had going was science smarts, and street smarts, anything else and he was clueless. He gave Odion a ‘What?’ face coupled with a shrug. If he had to stay an extra year why not enjoy the fact that he could do more science. He had said some of his classes, for he was dreading all but the physics and earth systems. Just because Lani didn’t go to class didn’t mean he didn’t enjoy learning, he just did what he had to scrape by and it was usually enough and he learned more on his own anyways. Now had Lani had a schedule similar to Odion’s he would have never gone to class. He didn’t pretend to have any talent for languages. Lani wasn’t going to college, not even close, the only reason he was making a half effort now was because he had to be here anyways.

Lani offered a little smile and nodded. He would never hear from Odion on that front. This really wasn’t working at all. This sounded like the kind of conversations people had with those that they weren’t close with, those that they wanted to get away from as soon as possible. Lani sighed with that realization. Maybe this was where they were. Lani hated the thought of that and he really wanted to fight against it with all of his might but it was looking like Lani was going to lose this. Maybe this was because he and Odion had never started out like this. They had been enemies turned friends and suddenly turned enemies again. It was a hard thing to keep up on. This wasn’t working because there were memories when they helped each other. It hurt more to try to act like they weren’t close friends than if they just acted like enemies.

His eyes turned toward the redhead. He slowly stooped and let the protesting cat out of his arms. He waited the time it took him to straighten again and look at Odion before he grew impatient with the lack of a statement after such a commanding word. “What?” Lani asked his eyes guarded and his legs twitching with the sudden desire to not be here to hear what Odion had to say. Lani turned so that he was facing Odion head on. It was too soon. Too strange for them to be so distant. He was praying for Odion not to say what Lani though he was about to say.

[Odion Martins]

The problem wasn’t that they were getting close too soon. The problem was this was all a sham that Odion couldn’t deal with. “This is stupid,” he decided to say. He held Lani’s eyes carefully, knowing that the blonde would know exactly what he was getting at. That alone reminded Odion just how close they were. He leaned forward, a troubled look on his face. It wasn't that Lani was stupid, it wasn't that at all. No, he just didn't now how to start again while his heart was still hurting, and yet still yearned for his best friend at the same time.

"I'm just tired," he said, LJ snuggling into his abdomen and not going anywhere. Odi really was tired, but maybe that was good enough to try this again some other day. When he wasn't so rattled. Please, can we try this again... Odion's eyes remained on Lani for a few more moments, and would stay on him until the blonde said or did something.

[Lani Hunter]

Lani sighed and nodded in agreement. He was caught by Odion’s eyes and he resisted letting out a sigh of relief, that wasn’t a ‘let’s stop trying’ that was an it was stupid trying to make small talk. Another nod and Lani flushed. “Yeah, sorry, I should have known better. Get some rest, Odion.” He moved toward the door and glanced back offering a smile bidding him farewell with a wave of his hand. “I’ll see you later.” Slipping out was easy it was wondering what to do now. So Lani went to his room. He’d best clean himself up better now that Caroline was coming tomorrow.