part0017

Sierra stared at her arm, her mind not quite catching up to the impossibility before her. She had no idea how to react or what they expected her to do. She had spent her life dealing with the unexplainable, yet somehow this rendered her speechless. How would a normal girl react? Someone without her experience? Freak out? Scream? Run?

"We don't expect anything from you, Sierra." Leo said quietly. "We just want to help you. There is so much that you don't know, but that is why we are here. However you want to react is fine by us, no matter if its running screaming from the house or sitting there saying 'and what?'."

"Although I'd rather not have to chase you through the streets." Nik chimed in with a wink. "It might make me look bad to run after a screaming girl."

A small chuckle escaped Sierra as she considered the possibility of him doing just that, and she grinned back at them, feeling somehow more relaxed than she had any memory of being as she settled herself back into the sofa. Leo and Theo released their holds on her, moving back into their own seats and giving her a small amount of space; something which she found herself disappointed by yet she understood why. They were dropping something odd on her, and they had no idea how she was going to cope.

"Don't worry, I'm not a screamer."

Leo muttered something that sound distinctly like the words 'not yet', earning him a well placed slap around the back of the head from Logan and a curious glance from Sierra. Part of her wanted to know what else they could say to make her run screaming, but the other part wanted to live in blissful ignorance. Choosing to ignore them both Sierra looked at the others.

"I find this very...."

She trailed off as she searched for a word. She wasn't afraid, or confused, or even surprised at what Josh had done. Did she not have powers of her own? Powers that scared her? Yet he had used it so easily, so naturally, almost like he wasn't afraid that they could destroy him, and to Sierra that was very strange .

"That's because they won't." Leo told her, causing her eyes to snap up to his instantly as he winked at her. "Once you control your powers, they can't harm you, not unless you use them incorrectly. And the word you're after is reassuring."

She stared at him, well aware that she was gaping but unable to stop it anyway. He grinned back at her and wiggled his eyebrows.

"That I am." He confirmed. "But it's a bit more advanced than simple 'mind reading'." He air quoted the words to emphasise his point, but Sierra could only stare back at him in wonder. If Josh could heal and Leo could read minds, then what could the others do?

"So, healer," she pointed a Josh who nodded. “'Mind reader'," she pointed at Leo who grinned in response. "So what about you guys?"

"I'm a sort of empath." Theo offered up first. "I can sense emotions from everyone around me, manipulate them, change them, use them..." he trailed off at the end, an embarrassed flush coming to his cheeks as he avoided the proud glances of his brothers. Sierra couldn't begin to imagine what it must be like to have that sort of ability, how over powering it must be for him to feel everything from everyone else all of the time. He gave a shrug as he half smiled at her and she realised he must have picked up on her sympathy, something which she thought was pretty impressive but knew may be more of an inconvenience for him. She'd have to control that from her side somehow.

"I'm strength." Nik told her next, elaborating with a sigh when she frowned in confusion. "I can take strength from body, mind, soul and spirit, and put it back just as easily. My own part of each is stronger than what's normal, and if I take strength from someone else it amplifies my own strength even further, helping me in whatever way I need it to whilst weakening them."

She nodded slowly as her mind drifted back to the day he had given her the breakfast bar and the extra energy she had felt after. Had that been his power? She narrowed her eyes at him and he smiled sheepishly .

"Just wanted to help." He muttered as he understood her look, earning a eye roll from Sierra as she decided to drop it and instead looked to Mr Crean- or rather, to Logan. He sighed.

"I'm an absorber. I can use one touch to learn everything there is to know about a person, an object, a place. One touch and the information is mine, and I can manipulate what other people know, too. I can twist their knowledge and confuse them if I need to."

She sat back in the chair, noticing Josh, Logan and Nik's incredulous looks and assumed Theo and Leo weren't surprised on account of their own unique gifts. She smiled inwardly, amused that her lack of reaction bothered them so deeply. She felt like she should be panicking, like she should be questioning her sanity in the face of such revelations, but instead she found it comforting.

She wasn't alone. She wasn't a freak. She might even be one of many with such abilities. For the first time in her life, Sierra felt the blossom of hope blooming in her heart, and it was delightful .

Apparently she had been quiet too long and Nik burst, unable to wait for her reaction- or lack thereof- any longer.

"That's it?" He demanded. "We do this big unveil and all you can say is 'hmm'?"

Sierra stared at him calmly, reminded of why she didn't like him in the first instant that they had met. He had a very annoying and almost intrusive side to him, something that came off as rude and almost pig headed when he didn't keep it in check. Leo stifled a chuckle beside her and she glanced at him, remembering his ability and smirking herself as she realised he had heard her thought.

"Nicholas." She leant forward to stare at him, deciding to replicate that first encounter just as he had a few minutes before so that he would understand something very simple about her. She may need help, but she was no damsel and she wouldn't act like one either. He frowned at the extended name but kept quiet as she continued.

"You may see me as a weak and pathetic girl who needs rescuing because she has no idea how to control her ability. However it would be foolish of you to believe that anything you say will shock me into hysteria. In case you have forgotten, I have an ability of my own, and whatever you tell me will pale in comparison to the fear that I have had to live with every day since I was five years old and it first manifested. Are we clear?"

She watched as he ground his teeth together and nodded slowly, clearly irritated by her lack of reaction but unable to argue with it. Satisfied she sat back and turned to the other guys who watched on in amusement.

"So, you're like me?"

Logan opened his mouth to reply when a buzzing sound and a few beeps cut through the air. They each stared around in confusion until Sierra gestured to her bag sheepishly.

“That would be my phone.”

Josh leant over to the foot of the farthest sofa, stretching out on his back as he gripped the bag strap and hauled it up with him as he sat back up, offering the bag to Sierra who took it with a smile of thanks. She refused to allow her eyes to wonder to the area where his white t-shirt had ridden up, revealing a very toned and muscled stomach, and instead buried herself in her bag as she dug out her phone. The only person with her number was her Mother, so she knew it would likely be her doing a mid-morning check in after last nights altercation.

Pulling the phone out she quickly unlocked it and scanned the message, reading one simple word that immediately set her pulse to racing as the blood drained from her face.

Sierra had no words to reply, so she instead threw her phone into her bag and was up and marching towards the front door before anyone could register her movements. Her mind had a single track with that message, and though they couldn't stop her, Josh still grabbed a hold of her harm to bring her to a halt.

She tugged her arm from his grasp, not having the time to explain it all to them but also knowing that she owed them something more than leaving in silence. She took in the worried crease of Josh's brow, the way his blue eyes roamed her face for an answer, and decided to keep her answer as simple as possible.

“I need to go.”
“Why?” Nik demanded from behind Josh, his eyes narrowed in what she could only see as anger. “What does that message mean?”

She shook her head quickly, her reply a rush of words as she tried to get them to understand her urgent need to leave.

“It's a long story that I do not have time for right now, but I do need to go, right now. It's dangerous if I don't.”

She ignored Josh's question as the others moved to stand behind him, their faces showing the same concern that Josh's did and made her heart pull to ease their worries. She shook her head, pleading with them with her eyes to understand that she couldn't explain, not right now.

As she was about to turn and walk out of the front door, she felt a soft brush in her mind that turned into a heavy pressing sensation. She gave an audible gasp, her eyes flicking up to meet Leo's wide brown eyes. He winced as remorse took over his face.

“Sorry, I'm not usually that clumsy.”

She shook her head at him, having no time to argue about the impolite invasion and instead yanked open the front door. She half turned at the last moment, pointing a stern finger at Leo.

“We will discuss this another time, don't think me leaving right now means you are off the hook for that little trick. But I'm sorry, I really do have to go. I have to get home first.”

She sighed in irritation as Logan joined the conversation, and she saw Theo behind him, rubbing his chest as he frowned at her. She avoided his gaze, assuming he could feel her panic and was trying to figure it out. She couldn't let them waylay her, not when her Father was already searching for her. As she turned and made her way across the driveway she called back to them .

“I'll tell you another time, we'll do an info for info swap or something. I just can't right this second, I haven't got time.”

“Fine, then at least give me your number in case anything happens.”

It wasn't a question and she couldn't help but look over her shoulder at Nik's words. There was something akin to fear in them and she felt herself wavering. The sight of the five stood together, each watching her leave as though it was the last time they would see her, caused something in her heart that she didn't even know she had to break. She jogged back to them quickly, taking Nik's offered phone and typing her number in quickly.

“There, it's in, now I really do have to go.” She turned to leave before pausing, looking quickly back at them and giving a brief, grateful smile. “And thank you.”

Without another word she turned and ran, ignoring their offers to take her home as she sprinted through the streets towards her house, desperate to beat her Father back and find a reason to give him for not being in school .

Sierra had only had this code appear once before, and it had been the last time she had met with any friends outside of school. Her Father had lost his mind that night, waiting until they were home to begin the punishment he had clearly thought out the whole time he was tracking her down. That was the night when she had truly begun to fear her Father, and she had no desire to relieve the moment when she thought he would finally go too far and kill her.