Kara Davison made sure that her hands were covered when she entered the gas station she stopped at on her way to nowhere. Kara walked into the station smiling at the guy at the cash register and making her way straight for the bathroom. She got in the bathroom and immediately took off the orange button up she had thrown on in the car. She tied her wavy brown hair up in a scrunchy. She scrubbed the dirt off of her hands and arms in the sink.She made sure to get under her nails.

    She could still smell the singed flesh. She still saw the terror on Antonio's face in her head. She still couldn't feel the way she thought she should. She wasn't really remorseful.She should feel bad, but she just found out what he did. She was still so angry and had to control herself before she let loose on someone else. She needed to stop thinking about what he did to her if she wanted to accomplish that. She splashed some water on her face again.

    Antonio was a good boyfriend if you ignored all the lying and attempts at subtle manipulation.She wanted to end it because it wasn't going anywhere.It never was. He just made her less lonely. He knew about her powers and didn't run away from her. He embraced it more than she did when he told her. Now she knew why. They weren't getting married one day. Kara knew that for the last 3 years.The relationship had become lifeless a long time ago. Kara wished she had left earlier, but the same thing would have happened. She would still be angry and she would definitely lost it when she found out what he'd been doing.

    Toni was supposed to make sure Kara never got out of control. He really failed at that job.  Kara was mostly in control except for when she got angry and he could not have done better at making her angry in the last few minutes of his life. He'd seen her sparking before, and yet he kept trying to control here. He threatened her. Kara doesn't know what he was thinking. 

    Kara had been in the bathroom for a while and only noticed when she felt how wrinkled her hands had become under the water. She put her cold hands up to her face and wiped away any dirt that was there still.She use her elbow to get paper towels from the dispenser. She dried off her hands and arms. She tied the plaid shirt she grabbed from her room before leaving around her waist. She looked at herself in the mirror one last time . Her tank top didn't have dirt on it luckily and her tattered jeans were basically in style now. She did not know when they ripped.It didn't matter.

     Kara forced a smile on her face when she passed the cashier and grabbed a bag of chips and a coke. He didn't try to make small talk while she paid. Kara was thankful for that. Once she got back in the car she tried to ignore the smell, but really couldn't. Texas heat and dead body did not go well together. She wondered if the smell would ever go away.She shook it off and tried to focus again.Kara knew she would need money and she was going to drain her account.

    She needed to go off grid. So she might need to get a new identity.She liked her name too much though. She had a contact that she might be able to get help from, but they were in New York. She wouldn't be able to make the drive there. Plus it might not matter if she did make it.

    For a normal person  the idea of going to a different state,and making a new life was somewhat possible. Kara could just buy herself time. Toni’s death was going to give her the time to sort her things and get that money from her account before she left Texas. If he was alive he would talk and she would not be able to get anywhere at all.

     They would find her eventually.Faster than they probably will now. They would say that Kara was someone to be dealt with. They would say that they were neutralizing a national threat when they brought her body in. Kara would admit that she was a threat. She had always been. No wonder they had been watching her that whole time. Kara was surprised they never took her out just for existing and wrote it off as a failed capture.

    Kara pulled out her phone to see that it was dead and she wasn't going to charge it now. She had no one to contact so why bother. The guy in New York didn't do phones. He might not even still be there with the large amount of captures that were happening last time he contacted her. Kara had the directions skill in her relationship with Toni. Kara could find her way to her next stop and that had to be the bank.

    Next time she did kill someone she needed to think of all the options before throwing it in her car to go bury the body. Once she was on the road to go bury it other options could have come to her. She could blow up the apartment, just move the corpse somewhere, or not do anything to it. She could just put it by some exposed wires maybe. Then leave and hope for the best. Except she probably did what will give her the most time.

    This way she has at least 24 hours before any suspicion occurred. No one would notice Toni is gone that fast. He was social and people liked him, but Antonio’s plans were with Kara that night.

   Kara finally put the key in the car and hoped that she wouldn't need to use her power to charge the car. When it started up she smiled. She’d be able to get back  fine.  Once Proteus started looking they’d get here eventually. She just had to fight them off or offer to join them.Kara shuddered at the thought. She would never do that. She knew that she would kill again if she had to. She needed to defend herself. She had the power and needed to act like it. Kara didn't think she would make it out of the country so the few safe houses are not an option for her. Kara heard enough horror stories of the European Proteus branch to last a lifetime.  

    Kara put her head against the steering wheel. She could not have made it worse for herself and she knew it. Why did she even fall for him?  Her mind kept doing what ifs, and then she’d yell at herself for thinking like that. It had been a cycle of that since she finished digging the hole for the body.His body. Kara snapped herself out of it because she had to start moving again. Wasted time meant  agents coming  after her. She didn't want to kill anyone else today. 

                                                                                    ***

     It took Kara close to an hour and a half to get to the town. She arrived at the bank and went in she was going to drain her account and go from there. She should get a couple of thousand out and that would be enough. She thought about putting on a hoodie before going into the bank. Except since she was in Texas still that would make her more suspicious than not. No one would notice anything off about her. She was just paranoid. Instead she grabbed a pair of sunglasses from her glove box.

    When she asked the teller for the money he went to the computer smiling until he looked like there would be a problem. She had a feeling she would have trouble accessing it once Antonio’s disappearance was not a secret anymore so she worried. She really hoped that they did not shut down her accounts already.“There isn't enough in your account to withdraw that much” said the mild mannered man behind the counter. Kara asked for an amount that she thought would be on the low side for the account. Just one grand. The teller explained that there had already been withdrawals in the last month from a sharer of the account. Kara wanted to hit her head against the counter. She breathed in and exhaled slowly trying to keep her calm. Kara could see that worried the teller a bit so Kara quickly responded.

    “Larry, Can I take out whatever is remaining in the account. Here is my I.D again,” she said placing it on the counter. Larry nodded and pushed his glasses back up on his face. Kara wasn't even sure what was left. She couldn't believe it.Kara knew she should have changed the account over a year ago. What did Toni even spend it on? She was given the money, which was less than two hundred by Larry who apologized again.         

    Kara wondered if she looked as upset as she felt when he kept apologizing or if Larry was just the type that apologized too much.he looked like he was. He was a frail person. his movements and voice were weak.Kara had been like that for awhile with Toni and she wasn't ever going to be like that again. Kara turned rapidly in a fight stance at the sound of gun shots, but stopped herself once she realized what was going on. Four guys had entered out of the back wearing all black and two burst through the front door firing shots in the air. They were there to rob the bank not collect her for Proteus. 

    Kara  did not need to add exposure to her list of felonies today even if that was a specific to Proteus felony while murder was one everywhere. Murder and using her powers during a bank robbery all in one day did not increase her chances of not being executed if Proteus did catch up to her. She felt like she was on some messed up television show.Somewhere people are betting on if she will get away. Picking between different options for choices she’d make. All the customers were making sounds of distress and she wished they would calm down. 

    One guy had the gun pointed at her and told her to move to the side of the room and get on the floor with the rest of the hostages. She had not been paying attention to anything they said until that moment. She blamed her ability for her lack of focus. She needed to not zone out when people had guns though.Kara realized that her electricity had probably caused interference with the cameras already. She never could be filmed in stressful situations. So this wasn't even on video. She knew that a teller had already hit a button to alert the cops probably. Her mom used to work at a bank. Kara knew the protocol for robberies. Larry was ducked down behind the counter now and she guessed there was a button somewhere there.

            The robber that had her move was probably a little confused when she pushed the gun away from her face and walked over to where she was told to go without even showing a bit of fear. He looked definitely not how she thought a robber should look at all. He was kind of on the heavy side. His face was scruffy though. She thought she saw fear in his eyes when she grabbed the gun,which Kara almost laughed at. Kara knew he wasn't holding it right so she could have taken it from him then easily. Definitely his first robbery. He’d probably never fired a gun before. Kara was sure she had more experience than him.

    She hoped they would take the money and go quickly.She sat on the side lines watching with the other hostages. Kara tried to block out their whimpers and ridiculous freaking out. “Chill out!” was all Kara said to no one in particular. She didn't even realize she said it out loud until she  received some glares from a couple people.Some had the same mindset as her though she was sure.They did not want to make it worse. The security had been taken out at some point and Kara definitely did not see that happen, but she’d been a little absent minded due to having just buried her boyfriend. Kara still doesn't know how she didn't at least hear a scuffle even with her mind wandering.

    Kara saw the teller boxes open with the flick of one of the robbers hands and she was possibly more shocked than the others who saw it.many missed it and the ones who did said nothing. Kara concluded that they must have used some kind of ability to get in and took out the guards when everyone was still going about their business. The guards weren't anywhere.Kara is not even sure there were some when she got here. She went straight for a teller. It made sense in her world. Nothing was difficult anymore with so many powers out there except grasping actual control of one’s own power. Kara could not believe that there were still people around stupid enough to use their powers in public . Plus they were robbing a bank. Proteus killed people or locked them up with life sentences for way less than that.

    Plus with telekinesis and some type of way to get in what was the need for the spectacle, which was going to get them in more trouble. She wondered if they knew the cameras were out. If not they were beyond idiotic. A couple weren't even wearing anything to cover their faces. The guy who had the gun on her. Plus the blond who she thought might be moving the bags of money to the back with his mind.They were probably using the other guys to clean out the safe. Kara couldn’t see it from where she sat on the floor.

    “Everyone be calm and no one gets hurt. You all won't remember a thing when this is over.” said the chubby robber who had the gun pointed at Kara incorrectly earlier. That  made everyone freak out so much more. Kara realized that some of the hostages had a let’s do something look on their face and really did not think that would be a good idea for them. If she said anything else and got the incredulous looks she was sure she would get then she would gladly add hurting civilians to her list of crimes for the day. Kara already had a headache and thought maybe she’d die from using her powers too much and not have to worry about getting caught before shaking that thought off. She had a lot of juice left in her. She knew she was going to go for it and the only ones who were going to regret it were the robbers.They were already publicly using powers so she stood up and walked toward the guy who had the gun on her before. “Get back down” he said pointing the gun at her again. She thought he’d sound more angry.

    “Actually, you should get down” Kara said pulling down her sunglasses and looking up at the guy and sending enough electricity out of her eyes to take him out without killing him.At least she thought she didn't. Before the two with mask could come at her she blasted them with pretty powerful bolts from her hands. She was actually concerned about these guys when she saw the telekinesis, but the rest of them had been way too easy. The hostages were freaking out, which drew three more from a vault. When one saw that Kara was standing next to two of his unconscious friends he raised his hand and surrounded her with all the guns they brought.She thought she figured he would try something like that but the kid was fast.

    “If you try anything I'll kill you,” he said sounding way too pompous for Kara's liking. Kara didn't mean to laugh. She vaguely heard the surprise of the crowd at that. She was laughing with multiple guns pointed at her head. Kara just let the electricity surge through her body. The hair tie she had on snapped letting her hair fly free like it always did when she used her power like this. She thought her hair always looked like a mess afterward, but she knew people who got hit by her power usually looked worse afterward. The fact that he still hadn't fired was a good sign for her. 

    “How about you guys leave before I do what I did to your friends?,” she asked sounding way more confident than she normally was.Maybe it was because of her powers. She had a plan, but he had the guns at the moment.“We have the advantage” here said one of the robbers that actually had their face covered standing behind the spiky haired brunette with telekinesis. He still looked confident even with the electricity being visible around Kara.

    The others in the bank had freaked out way more when Kara revealed her ability, but she didn’t really notice at first.She only did now because she needed to focus. Kara was surprised no one had made a run for it yet honestly. The last time she did this people ran. They had their own abilities and they still ran. The surging electricity was a scary sight to see and totally getting to the guy. She could see the worry in his eyes as he looked over to his friend on the ground.

  Kara got tired of the stand down that was happening and using herself as a distraction worked. It only took her seconds. The ATM, computers and the cameras all exploded sending probably too much electricity at the three remaining robbers including the one who had floating guns on her.Not enough to kill though. The guns dropped and  landed in a circle around Kara. Kara was loving the cheering that was happening for her right now. That's when she noticed the lack of bodies on the ground and that some of the guns disappeared. Any robber with a mask on was just gone.Plus he first guy she hit was also missing. No one ever vanished when she hit them. Kara did think that would have made killing Toni easier.

  The cheering was great and all, but she really needed to go and hoped that there was a way out in the vault. people were about to try to talk to her so she sprinted into the vault. There were no people and a huge hole in the floor. She closed the vault door behind her. She jumped down the hole in the bank vault. She figured the police would be bursting in anytime now. She needed another way out and hoped the hole actually led to somewhere.It wasn't a bad fall, but Kara should have braced herself a bit more before landing. When she got into the tunnel she started to piece together what happened. She saw a couple of guys with duffel bags she assumed were filled with money. one looked like the guy who held the gun on her earlier. She took both guys out quickly enough.She did not want to know what kind of power they could have.

    Kara stood for a second smiling. She was proud of her work. Except she needed to leave now.  The police would rush in soon enough and find a room full of terrified people and she would be screwed.That’s when her freak out moment happened.The police were close enough to hear sirens.She rushed down the tunnel, but hit what was definitely a dead end. Kara needed to get out of there without anyone noticing. She looked around on the wall to see if the thieves had something planned that she didn’t see.She felt along the wall, but found nothing. When she heard a footstep behind her she turned and shot a powerful blast of electricity. She missed her target, but his hands were up in a surrender.

    He was wearing jeans and what looked like a  Hawaiian print shirt. Kara was immediately confused. His reflexes were fast too to be able to dodge one of her bolts.Even if she had not aimed it directly at him. It was normally a  hit.  

    “I can get us out of here. That's my ability. I was just the getaway guy I promise. I know you probably don't want to deal with the police.” he said. Kara did not respond right away. Kara could not see him well at this end of the tunnel. She made another ball of electricity form in her hand. She took a moment to adjust . She wanted to make sure she could see his face.

    “I just thought you might not want to have to explain how you took out a bunch of bank robbers who seemingly had unnatural abilities. Might draw too much attention to yourself. Don't you think.” he said tilting his head a little while staring at Kara. He looked more fascinated by her power than scared in that moment. Kara had met people like him before.     “I'm supposed to just leave here with the guy who was trying to rob this bank? ” She asked. The electricity crackled around her.

    “Please. Proteus will be here soon too you know. I’m assuming you don’t want to deal with them.” he said dropping his arms down.

    “How do you know I’m not Proteus?”  she said glaring at him.

    He looked like he would laugh at the thought of Kara being a Proteus agent, but stopped himself. “You don’t have the uniform for one.Although you could be high up enough to not need one.  I’m just sure you aren't“ he said smiling.

    Kara definitely  took that as a complement.The guy had a good response even if it wasn’t what Kara wanted. She wanted nothing to do with that group or their training program. The rules and the breaking of the rules. The amount of people they had locked up for doing nothing at all. The experiments that she was sure were still going on. She  grabbed two of the bags from where they were. She put them in her backpack with the small amount  she got from Larry before the robbery started. She had a bargaining chip to ensure her safety now.

“Get me out of here and it's yours. Do anything weird and you'll be the second person I killed today,” she said intending to be threatening and not falter. She let some energy visibly surge around her to induce a little fear in him. She couldn't tell if it worked or not. The guy just went to the wall . After  tapping twice a door appeared. He opened it and curtsied  toward the door. Kara just stared at him in disbelief.

“Fine. I'll go first, Close the door all the way behind you. All hands at your side for the ride please.” he said chuckling a little at himself. Kara pulled the door closed behind her.

***

Teleportation didn't feel as weird as she thought it would. Kara was partially planning on taking him out when they got to the other side, but she wanted to know where they were first. She wasn't expecting to walk through an actual door when they came out and she wouldn't admit how much it threw her off.She was mentally preparing herself for some level of dizziness, but she felt okay. It was like there was a doorway from that tunnel to the house they were in now. She’d heard of something like it, but this guy could not be the person she heard about.  

“Welcome to Luke’s humble abode. Can I get my money now?” He held out his hands to her.

    Kara barely registered his not so introduction. She wasn’t planning on letting him know her name. Her real name anyway.She decided to not tell him anything though since he had not asked.  

    “Actually I still need some things from you, but you'll get your money. I kind of need things from my car. So I need you to go get it,” she said. She knew for a fact that she was not in Texas anymore seeing that it was way brighter out than it would be. It was light out when she entered the tunnel under the vault in Texas, but this was a different light.

    “That was not the deal” Luke whined. “I am the one with an offensive power here. I can change the deal.You will still get one of the bags, but if you heard earlier I killed someone and was heading out of town before your friends were stupid enough to rob a bank.” Kara said keeping one hand on her backpack strap.

“They weren't really my friends. I was recruited because they needed my power. I only wanted the money,” Luke said .

“Whatever. I want my car. ” she said still glaring at him.Kara was surprised the fact that she murdered someone wasn't causing more hesitation or something, but who knew what this guy has seen. That telekinetic had those guns on her and may have pulled the trigger. Who knew what this guy could be involved in.

“We had a contingency plan.We’d get out. Proteus would erase their memories so no one at the bank would remember. It was far from where any of them lived. We wouldn't be tracked down I was supposed to make sure of that. Then you came along and took out my entire team,” Luke said the last part with a little frustration.

“I'm not apologizing for that . They were robbing a bank. I needed to get out of there before the cops showed so I did what I had to. Go get my car,” Kara finished adding a glare that was reserved for when she really wanted to intimidate people.She never really used it, but she thought she might get used to it. It was funny really since she should not actually be that intimidating now. She was running really low on energy at that point and thought her headache would never go away if she exerted energy again.

“You want me to go back to the scene of a crime. Are you trying to get me killed?"

“You guys didn't even make a plan for the cameras.I caused interference when I walked in.” She said ignoring his question and falling down onto the sofa in his front room.It was comfortable. She kicked her feet up to the table.

“Illusion makers can lay illusions over each one. The cameras would have had nothing. My team was pretty good. I would not have joined otherwise.” Luke said sitting in his love seat.  

“I parked a block or so from the bank because there were no spots. Just get the car here. Here are the keys.” Kara tossed the keys at him and they fell into his lap. 

“Alright. I'll be back in a jiff he said. Just wait here.” He stood back up and walked out the door . It freaked Kara out how he didn't actually make a step outside of the apartment. He was just gone.It was really odd.She never could get used to other people's powers quickly. Daniel still freaked her out and she had known him longer than shed been with Toni. She sighed heavily and looked around the apartment she was in.

    She dropped the backpack because it was heavier than she thought it would be. Kara had not had time to pick anything up from the apartment during the day.She figured she didn't need anything anyway. The blast damaged a lot of the apartment.Plus Antonio had more stuff there than she did. She pulled out her phone and turned it on before putting it back in her pocket.  It charged when she was surging earlier. It usually did.There were luckily no messages from anyone. No one was looking for them.

    Luke's apartment was small.There wasn't anything that stood out about it. It was definitely his place though. She found a few pictures of him.All recent and all by himself. There were some from what looked like a few years ago stuffed in a drawer in the kitchen under other papers. She didn't find anything else interesting there. She could tell that he stayed alone. He probably didn't have many visitors either based on the how everything stayed in general good order. It’s not hard to manage by yourself, especially if he spent more time traveling outside of the home than in the home.

    Kara made her way into the bedroom to see that his whole wardrobe was a mess style wise. Nothing really matched. More of the Hawaiian shirts Kara thought were hideous, camo, muscle shirts, scarves, gloves,  dark, bright, and everything in between. The bedroom and closet was the weirdest thing in the house. The rest was bland. The sofa seemed lived in at least.  It reminded her of her own home honestly. Kara wondered if people with powers always had homes like this. Ones where you don’t have to worry about figuring out what to grab when you leave. She pretty much had anything she could really want in her car already.

    The guy seemed normal. Not like someone who would be stupid enough to plan a robbery with all of the captures that have been happening. Proteus has a strong hunt team right now. Then again Kara was smart and she just murdered someone while this is all going down. 

    When she came out of the room Luke was there again. He tossed her the keys. “Can I get my money now?” he said seeming a bit frazzled. “If the car is here then yeah you can.” Kara planned on keeping her word.

    She took one of the bags from in front of the couch and tossed it at him. Luke caught it but fell down to the ground after. He moved into a cross legged sitting position then.“I'm keeping the other bag.” Kara wasn't startled by him falling over. She figured out what was wrong with him already. She felt bad that she did not think about it with the pain she’d been feeling. She must have shown her regret on her face because he tried to reassure her or he just wanted to explain why he fell. Kara wasn’t sure.

“I knew that was going to happen.Not your fault.  I never teleported an entire car through one of my portals. It was difficult. I had to do double doors. Those suck.” he said as he put the bag of money on the ground behind his head to use as a pillow.

“Hey, I’m sorry about that. I didn't think about your capacity at all.“ Kara didn't know why she said it. He was a bank robber.She still felt bad though.

“No. It’s good to know what I can do. I moved a car after having done a lot of movement today.I think that’s pretty good.” He looked like he might pass out or puke at any moment. Kara walked over to his kitchen sink. She turned on the sink and pretended to struggle to find him a cup in one of the cabinets.She didn’t want him to know she snooped. Once she pretended to discover the cups she filled it with water and brought it over to him. Luke sat up and sipped from the water.  

Kara put her backpack on both shoulders and headed for his door.She was ready to pass out too,but didn't want to show it. Luke stood and  put the money in a compartment under his sink. He was still weak from getting the car and had some difficulty getting around his apartment. After he put the money away he went to the couch and his living room and toppled down. He breathed heavily. His head stopped spinning as much after lying down, but he needed to rest.When he started to drift away a loud bang made him jolt back up. He looked at the doorway to see Kara standing there with a smaller ball of electricity than the one he dodged earlier.

“We are in Alaska. Why are we in Alaska? “ Kara yelled. Luke thought one of his neighbors would definitely be calling the landlord soon if she kept it up. “I live here Kara. Of course I’d come here.You are here because you busted up a bank robbery earlier.” Luke spoke as if it was obvious. Kara stopped when she realized that Luke said her name her hands fell to her side and her face must have shown her confusion because he now looked confused.

“How do you know my name? Kara asked. When Luke said “I saw your license and registration.” Kara’s anger was back. She could not afford for her anger to be back. She tried her breathing again. She wondered if she had done that before if she would not have killed Toni for a second, but then realized she still would have.

“I’m Sorry,but I know for a fact you looked through my stuff when I left to see if you could find anything out about me. People like us don’t trust people generally and we shouldn't. I've learned that first hand in the last few months,” Luke said. He exhaled afterward and Kara realized he was still out of it and attempted to reign in her anger.

“You killed someone today and the way you are acting you will be caught in no time.It doesn't mater where you go.The police isn't who you are worrying about.I know Proteus better than you could.”

“ I can handle myself,” Kara said.

“I took you extremely far away from Texas. Wasn't that your whole plan. Plus I know you are as weak as I am right now. You probably can’t even use that right now.” Luke said still from his position on the couch.He pointed to Kara’s hand where the ball of energy was before. Kara wondered if he was really as tired as he sounded.  

Kara absorbed all her energy back into herself. He saw through her and she didn't like it.That energy ball was mostly  show. She could feel her body drifting before she walked out into the Alaska weather the first time. She never planned on even a small zap for Luke. “You are making good points so far.” Kara said.

“You need to get rid of the car and probably should destroy phone. That can be tracked. Trust me, I've been surrounded by criminals my whole life. Kind of.” Luke stated. He was going to say more, but was cut off by Kara. “You might be right, but I can't get out of Alaska or anywhere without my car.”

“Do you think I can take you  right now?  I need to rest after the car. We could end up anywhere and I wouldn't be able to get us back.” Luke said with obvious irritation. Kara sighed. She definitely wanted control over the location.

“You can sleep here tonight. Take my bed. I'll sleep out here. I had to portal several people into the bank from all over the country and then did your car, but I should be fine by morning.”

“Right. So you can steal my part of the money.” Kara said while glaring at Luke.

“I won't do that. You'd still be in my house. I plan to get this money doubled a different way." That sounded weird, but before Kara could say anything she yawned.  

“I'll be back in the morning. I'm going to find a hotel. When I get back you are taking me wherever I want to go.” Kara said as she exited Luke's home and let the door slam behind her.

  Blaise slung the shotgun over his shoulder and started sorting through some of the other equipment in his trunk. He stopped to head back in his house to grab something that he felt he would need. He had barely made it to the front door when he felt an uneasiness come over him. He heard what sounded like branches breaking and whipped his shotgun from his shoulder in the direction he heard it come from. Blaise sighed when there was nothing there.

   “I know you're here.” Blaise was not happy about being attacked outside of his home for the second time. He had changed locations before and was hoping to kill the attacker so he didn't have to do it again.If they had friends the friends would probably stay away after that. He felt in control of the situation with his heightened senses until he heard a sound from the other side and flipped that way instead. He didn't know how it moved that fast, but he didn't like it. Especially when it happened again. He kept looking back and forth. 

   “If you are going to attack! Do it!" He backed up towards his car hoping to get something a little better than a shotgun from his trunk. He didn't sense the attack until it was about a second from hitting him. The nails of the creature coming into direct contact with his arm made him let go of the shotgun and fall to the floor. Blood seeped through his shirt. He could hear the creature that hit him make a growl.It wasn't one of an animal Blaise knew and that worried him.

   Blaise crouched down on the floor and began his shift. He rushed it.Pushing through the pain had become easier for him over the years. A cheetah leaped from where Blaise’s black jeans and red dress shirt now lay in the road next to his shot gun. Blaise quickly moved toward the creature that attacked him. He was able to hit it, but ended up with a new injury to his other side in the process. Instincts were telling him to run. Blaise didn't listen to the cheetah side of him. He attempted to hit it again. Blaise couldn't even see the creature move out of the way.

   Blaise didn't want to give up, but the instinct to run in the situation was too strong. He thought it was probably a good decision since his hit on the creature didn't affect it at all.It acted as if it couldn't feel it. It did not even bleed. He would have smelled it, but all he could smell was his own blood at the moment.

   Blaise sprinted down the road, but needed to shift again.A cheetah running down the road would stand out. The thing was  following him and getting too close. Blaise was still having trouble figuring out what it was. long nails,sharp teeth, but not an animal.  Plus there were no eyes that Blaise could see. It was like the monster in some horror show.  Blaise knew the shift would hurt before his body slowly started shifting mid run sprouting wings and turning into the much smaller hawk taking to the air and speeding as far up as possible.

   Blaise was losing blood from under his wing. Blaise struggled to get high in the air. He wasn't expecting the creature to try to jump up to where he was and then just decide that climbing the telephone line would work. He was still hurt,but began flying away as fast as he could. There was no way he was getting caught.

   Blaise didn't know where he was going. He couldn't make it back to base without his car and he honestly didn't feel that he would be able to land for it any time soon. He just needed to keep going so he did. He hoped his blood wasn't leaving a trail for the creature to follow. He lost him faster than he thought he would in his plight and just needed to make it to some kind of safe point. Call Katrina and get some backup here.

   The loss of blood finally got to him as he couldn't keep himself together anymore and began to plunge toward the ground. He landed as safely as he could forcing his other being to work in the last moments before he hit. He couldn't shift back.Not enough energy and not enough blood. He thought he heard footsteps in the distance and tried to see where they were coming from. He'd die if it was what attacked him. He couldn't fly again. He couldn't run. He couldn't shift again. His vision fell completely. He could still feel how much blood he was losing. He could  feel the footsteps now. He  hoped it was Proteus. They would help him. They'd yell at him for being reckless, but he'd survive. Before he passed out he realized the approaching smell was not like any agent he knew.

***

   Ken should be celebrating, but his closest friend just left town for the summer. The day after Ken graduated high school too.He'd already started the drifting from his few other friends at school. All going to university really far away while Ken was going to be joining Alec's university just a few miles from his house. Alec didn't have a choice in leaving. He understood that, but this was honestly the first time they’d really be apart since they became best friends besides that period of time where Ken spent every moment he could with his former boyfriend Johnathan. Alec was like family to him though. More like family than his actual family sometimes.His mom and step-dad were always busy. He loved them, but it was a rough situation. Alec was the only non family member that knew what he could do. He was also the first person ken told he was gay.  

Ken's summer was empty. He could go to comic-con again. Maybe make his own costume this time. Going without Alec might be weird.People expected their awesome costumes now. 

Ken also wanted to train his ability more and if he did it at home his mom could find out what he was doing.She wanted him to avoid using it at all. Alec always knew where to go to train. Ken wasn't good at making ways to practice on his own.With his luck he'd accidentally kill himself. If it's even possible. Ken moved to the side and made sure not to make eye contact when two guys were coming down the path from the other side. Alec always told him he shouldn't walk the trail at night. Ken still did it all the time. It was the closest thing to nature in their town even if it was man-made. It wasn't like he could really get hurt anyway. The chill in the air was something he could do without. Especially since it was well into Spring.Ken put his hands in the pockets of his hoodie.

   When Ken felt a liquid  hit his face he began to turn around and head back to his car. If he knew it was going to rain he would not have come out on the trail. He stopped when he didn't feel anymore. He reached his hand to where he felt the drop on his face. When he pulled his hand away he saw it was blood. Ken looked up immediately, but didn't see anything.

   He was sure it was blood though. Ken closed his eyes after looking up and around searching for any sign of where it came from. Ken didn't even think about using his power before he decided to. His mother told him not to anymore. He never really listened to them though so why would he start now. After closing his eyes he could feel an extreme amount of pain in his side and other pains throughout the rest of his body. He could feel where the brunt of it was coming from. He ran toward where he felt the most pain. He had to shut his connection to the pain off. to move forward once he was closer.

   Ken didn't even realize how far he was down the trail. When he finally saw the bird on the ground he was confused, at how it could still be alive with that much pain.Ken couldn't feel the dead though.  He also wondered why he felt it so strongly. He usually couldn't really feel pain from animals. He thought he might be getting stronger. He’d never healed an animal before, but really hoped he could stop the pain.

   Ken knelt down and placed his hand on the hawk. He thought it was a hawk at least. Animals weren't his specialty. He wasn't sure there were supposed to be hawks anywhere near his town. The gash in the Bird’s wing healed up quickly. The animal had internal injuries that should have killed it by now though. Ken was impressed with it’s resilience and glad it held on. Ken was happy his concentration wasn't being broken because the creature was still in a lot of pain. It also meant no one was around to see him either. Enough people knew about him already.His mom never even wanted his stepfather or Alec to know.

  Ken  stood and was in agony again. Ken could barely shut himself off from the amount of pain he was feeling.It took more concentration than the pain was allowing him. He closed his eyes and took in the full pain before opening them again. It was gone. Now it was just a small ache. He exhaled. He wanted to continue the healing process, but when he looked the hawk was now a guy. Ken leaned over him.The guy jolted up and threw Ken back against the ground. Blaise fell on the ground again after having stood fully up.Ken crawled over toward him somewhat hesitantly.Probably not as hesitantly as he should have considering the fall he just had.He could tell that Blaise wouldn't be able to do much with his current pain levels though.

   “Who are you?” Blaise yelped as he jumped away from Ken and looked around for a weapon. Blaise could feel the chilly air against his skin and realized he was very naked. He had just come back from a shift. The memory of his attack was hitting him. Blaise extended his hands and revealed claws from an animal that Ken couldn't recognize while on a human.

   Instead of running like Ken thought he should have he stayed still. He just wanted to stop his pain. Even with the claws or the fact that he was a bird a moment before. Ken just really hoped he wasn't about to get his neck clawed at. He never really tested what would happen if he was repeatedly struck there. 

   “Stop doing that. You are in enough pain.I feel it.” Ken said clutching at his hand now mainly for the dramatic effect. 

   Blaise looked confused, but pulled the claws back in. He was still in pain and didn't think the kid he saw in front of him now had anything to do with what attacked him.

   “Thanks,” Ken said still holding his hand even though he could turn off the pain sensing if he wanted.Ken still didn't move yet. He wasn't sure the guy wouldn't still attack him. He thought he’d be able to get away if he did, but it still concerned him.

   Blaise saw that his side was healed, but he still had fallen over when he stood. He felt shift pains from doing a double shift. He figured that was keeping him down.The aches in his leg bones and in his back. A soreness on his side where he was clawed. he had to get to a phone. He looked around to see how dark the area they were in was. he was glad that he was able to steer clear of anywhere too public. Even if he wasn't really in control of where he went. His hawk was always a good choice. 

   “I'm Ken.You need to let me heal you more if you want to be able to walk off from here,”  Ken said looking  Blaise directly in the eyes, but still not moving.The deep brown eyes looked back at him with confusion. Ken looked sincere. It was possible he just wanted to heal Blaise. The smell of his own blood in the air was strong. Blaise eventually nodded.Ken moved closer to Blaise and touched his leg hesitantly.

Blaise wasn’t planning on doing anything to him now. The guy was a healer. Blaise didn't know any were still around and he would be someone that should know something like that. He was lucky one would show up when he was dying and he wondered if he was an agent. Except if he was sent by Katrina he should have said that by now.

   Blaise could feel an energy going through his body and a lack of pain that he almost never felt. He laid down on the ground to let the healing wash through his body more. He really wished he had met a healer before if it felt like this. No wonder most of them were sent away. It was euphoric and thinking that was a weird thin for Blaise.

   “ I took care of the internal injuries from whatever happened to you today, but the long term issues would take longer and we should get you out of here and covered up,” Ken said bashfully. He was trying to not look at the naked man he was essentially playing mystic doctor with at the moment. Ken took off his Hoodie and tossed it to the guy who still hadn't made a response.

   Blaise put the hoodie on instead of covering his lower half like Ken expected he would. Blaise stood from his spot on the ground and could feel the shift pains a lot less now. He heard Ken’s light whiny sign when he put the hoodie on.Heightened senses were fun sometimes. He never really cared about being seen naked. It might have been an animal thing.

   Ken thought he saw a smirk on the man’s face before he stood up .The angle he was at was going to make things awkward pretty fast. Blaise tried to walk, but was still limping slightly. Ken thought it must be a pain caused by his shifting and not the fight he had. He wasn't sure if that was something he could help with to be honest. He needed to try again.

   “I don’t know why you are still hurt, but come back to my house. I’ll get you some clothes and get you fully healed. My car is nearby.” Ken said as he ran over so that Blaise could lean on him.

   Blaise nodded. He kind of didn't want the healing to stop because of how good it felt. He let Ken help him through the trail and to his car. Luckily there were no other people on the trail on their way. Ken would have not know how to explain the lack of clothes on the guy he was walking with and would probably explode from the embarrassment. At least that’s what he kept thinking as they walked hoping no one would see them.

 Ken drove carefully to his house because getting pulled over would be bad. Ken was really happy that he had his own mini apartment over the garage. It took awhile to convert i from being a storage space a few years before. Now he didn't have to try to dodge his mom or explain the half naked guy wearing his hoodie. Ken was basically dragging him now since he passed out during the ride back.He was barely awake now that they were moving.  Once they got into the room the guy fell onto his bed. Ken really didn't know what to do. His hormones were making his mind go places he did not need it to so he shook it off.

   Ken hadn't turned off his pain sensors so he could still feel the pain, but it wasn't bad enough for him to be non-responsive so Ken guessed that the shifting must tire him out. Ken sat on his bed and started healing him again. He had hoped the first time he had a hot naked guy in his bed would be would be under different circumstances. Not  while waiting for him to wake up from some pretty fatal injuries Ken healed. Ken kept his eyes locked on the guys face. Mainly to not look lower. He shape-shifted from a bird to a human.Ken was wondering if the guy was an alien now. Maybe he was an alien too. He didn't understand why he could heal people and feel their pain among some other things he learned about himself. He didn't know of other people like him.

   He smacked himself lightly to see if he was awake, which was kind of dumb since he could not feel the slap anyway. He only could still feel an ache in his bones that Ken still thought must be from the guy shifting from bird to human. He usually could shut off the sensing, but his head was not allowing him to focus at all. Ken didn't know if he could heal it or not. He could be just pouring energy into the guy for nothing. The ache in his back was starting to be too much though. Ken smiled. Pain never really was a thing for him. He healed so fast so it wasn't like he got injured.Boxing with Alec was always unfair for Alec. Ken could get hit and keep moving like it was nothing.

   Ken decided that he wanted to go wash the blood away that got on him.Plus he kind of just needed a shower to calm himself down. He grabbed a towel and turned back to the guy in his bed hoping he would stay knocked out while he showered at least. Ken entered his  bathroom and quickly turned on the water in his shower. He washed off the blood as quickly as he could.he hoped it would go down the drain with no problem. The cleaner might see it when she came.That wouldn't be good.The heat was not helping his soreness.He hopped into the shower pretty quickly and wondered why he thought his back would feel better. It was someone’s else pain he was feeling. Except there was more pain now, which was strange.

   Ken turned off the water.When Ken stepped out of the shower he immediately heard the footsteps in his room. He grabbed a towel and rushed into his room. He saw the guy he saved at the window crouched down like an owl. It explained the increased soreness. It looked like he was going to change again and Ken knew that would cause them both a lot of pain.

   “Wait, don’t leave! You haven’t healed completely. You should not be doing any changing right now. I know how much pain the changing causes you and that’s not good for you right now.” Ken was trying to befriend the guy who was pretty ready to leave. Blaise stopped and he hopped down from the window sill and just stared at Ken.

   “I’m Blaise. I shouldn't stay here. You don’t want me here.”

       “You can’t leave right now and it’s no trouble if you stay,” Ken said. He tried  his best to come across as safe and friendly.Ken was just happy that he stopped for a moment. He had no clue what to say next. but it was enough that he had stopped.Ken had questions that needed to get answered and if the guy left he wouldn't be able to ask them.

 “I’m a Proteus agent.I'll be fine,” Blaise said looking away from Ken.

   Ken stared at him for a moment. “ I have no clue what that is, but it doesn't matter. You are in no condition to leave.” Ken was honestly confused. What's Proteus just got added to his list of questions to ask Blaise. He was glad he knew the name so he wouldn't think of him as super hot animal guy.  Ken thought if he asked now the guy might run. Ken couldn't let him do that.

   “Can you take the pain in my bones away?” Blaise asked with an eagerness he didn't often have. He hated his shift pains. He was happy to be alive though. He knew some people had worse drawbacks.

   “I’m not quite sure,” Ken replied honestly. Blaise looked back toward the window. Ken wished he had lied. There was no way he could stay. He had no clue who this guy was or who had attacked him earlier. Plus once Katrina tracked him down he wouldn't have a choice. He would normally do his job without any qualms, but the guy healed him. He was thankful for that. He’d have to mention him and that would be bad if he isn't in the system. Blaise knew that so he needed to go now. A bird would be the safest way since he just changed back from one.

   “I’m used to just healing myself. My parents won’t let me heal them. You are kind of the first person other than them I've tried it on this extensively except my friend Alec. I can try though. I healed my friend after he was in a big car accident once. He healed fully. I can still try to get rid of your pain,” Ken rambled.

   “I should leave.It's not safe to be around me right now.” Blaise put a hand to his side again without realizing. He was remembering the attack all over again. Ken could see that.

   “If whatever attacked you comes I have automatic healing. It’s my bodies attempt at keeping me alive forever.Plus I can defend myself. What did attack you? ” Blaise didn't react the way Ken hoped to the question.He was confused and it showed. Ken didn't know why he would be. Ken wondered if Blaise had met others like them before.

   “Sorry, The curiosity has been building up since I felt your pain.” Ken said rubbing his hand through his hair. Blaise’s eyebrow perked up at that. Blaise was confused because Ken had way too many abilities even if they were similar. There was no way he never was noticed by Proteus. Blaise kind of wanted to take him in then. Blaise still said nothing, which caused Ken to keep explaining his powers just to fill the silence.

   “It’s part of my healing. I can share in the pain that someone else is feeling. It’s how I knew what to heal first. The area with the most amount of pain,” he said going to grab another towel from his closet.

   Blaise thought Ken shared way too much, but didn't think any of it was lies. Blaise’s hand was still on his rib. He could still remember feeling the first claw ramming into his side.Blaise felt rude for never thanking Ken in that moment. “Thank you for healing me. I forgot to say that before, but I am really thankful.” Blaise was not fully smiling, but it was enough for Ken to think he had this.

   “You can wear some of my clothes, but I thought you might want to shower first. I did not use up the hot water at all. It’s late and I kind of want to wait to use my healing on you again, ” Ken said trying to keep his stare at Blaise’s eyes and not his toned chest or the very not covered lower half that he hoped he hadn't been caught glancing at several times already on accident. Ken also hoped his neighbors weren't being noisy because he could not explain a naked man crouching down by his window to anyone. Ken was bad at making things up and he knew it.

   “I don’t know if I can. I need to start looking for who attacked me and I wasn't sure that you were not involved until a few minutes ago.” Ken healed him, but it could have been a ploy. Blaise noticed the way ken acted and it wasn't like someone who was trying to trick him. He did seem like he wanted something though.

   “No claws here,” Ken said lifting a hand in the air and smiling. Blaise was confused for a second, but smiled when he realized he was reacting to Blaise thinking he was part of the attack.It was a small smile, but it was a smile again.

   “I don’t have any right now either. but that changes sometimes,” Blaise said. He forced a laugh a bit afterward because he meant it jokingly, but it may have come off threatening.

   “I can’t make you stay, but I should be able to try to get you back to health fully before you have to get out of here, but you still need rest.” Ken tossed him the towel. Blaise  knew ken hoped he could fully heal him though.

   “ Take a shower. The wounds are closed up, but there’s still blood on you.My power doesn't clean things up unfortunately.”

   “You don’t need to help me anymore,” Blaise said.

   “I didn't have to the first time. I want to”

   Blaise could tell he was being truthful. He could hear it in his voice. He went into the bathroom connected to the room he was in. It was huge. It was the size of the suite bathroom at Proteus. He turned on the water and stared into the mirror. His hair somehow stayed in good shape through all the shifting and running. it wasn't hard to maintain the natural curly mess it was on a daily basis anyway. He didn't do much. There wasn't even a scratch on him. He listened to the other room and could hear Ken talking to himself.  He’d probably freak out if he knew that Blaise could hear everything. He stepped into the shower and let the water run over him. He hoped it would help take away the soreness.

   Ken paced a little in his room.“Wow you could have tried so much harder to not stare Ken. You basically were checking the guy out most of the time you were talking to him. Plus you were in a towel too. That could not have helped at all”, Ken said freaking out a little before trying to find clothes in his drawer he thought Blaise could fit. Blaise was an interesting name. 

   Ken  looked around, and was glad there was not blood everywhere like it could have been if he had not closed the wounds before bringing him.That would not be something he would want to explain to his mother. He picked out some clothes he hoped Blaise could fit. He got an extra blanket out and a pillow and put them beside his bed.

     Ken was trying to figure out what questions to ask Blaise first when Blaise came out Ken couldn't help, but stare for a moment. The guy was really good looking.He wasn't overly fit. He looked like he took care of himself. He was in really good shape. He was shorter than Ken. It didn't look like Blaise noticed the stare to Ken. He went straight to the clothes. A black t-shirt and Ken's Pikachu pajamas.

   “These for me?” Blaise chuckled not being able to hide his amusement of the Pokémon PJ’s.Ken nodded and tried to not show his embarrassment. He had changed into sweats and a t-shirt to sleep in before Blaise came out of the shower.

   Blaise dropped his towel and put on the pajamas not even thinking about the fact that Ken just got another eye full. Blaise put on the pajamas and slipped on the shirt easily. Ken thought it looked a lot better on him. It just was filled out more with Blaise’s actual muscles compared to Ken’s minimal muscles. Blaise moved to lay down on the floor and Ken put his hand on Blaise’s arm to stop him.

   “No! I want you in the bed. I mean that you should take the bed. You’re the one still healing.You know I can feel that pain in your bones and all that. you need comfort more,” he said trying to recover from the slip. He was bad at talking to people, but naked bird shifting guy made him even worse. Blaise almost laughed at it.

   “It’s normal after a shift that I had to keep that long. I can’t take your bed.” Blaise said grabbing a pillow and tossing it on the floor and moving it over.

“Yes you can! It’s fine. Please. I’m obligated to do this you're my patient." Blaise gave up because looking at the bed made him tired. He nodded and hopped into the bed. If he was sane he would have already called Katrina to just go back to his house. Letting everyone know he was alive would be good, but he was so tired.The others would yell at him and complain about how he didn't call. They'd probably say it was because of the cute Asian guy taking care of him and honestly that might have been part of it. It's been a while since he'd been around someone interested in him. Being wanted felt good. 

   Ken shut out the lights. Blaise spent the first few moments listening to Ken settle himself on the floor, while trying to smell his surroundings. He could tell there were no weapons ever fired in the house. Ken had no sibling’s probably.Two parents. One was at home and sound asleep in a house close by. That’s how he figured they were in an attachment. A garage was below them based on the car smell. This kid lived a normal life. Blaise wanted to know how, but also wanted to leave it. Just leave after Ken fell asleep and no one would need to know. Except he should be loyal to Proteus and tell them about Ken. It was driving him a little crazy. The push and pull in his head. It was always like that and he didn’t know what he would do by morning.

   “Do you fight others a lot? I healed some injuries that were already healing slowly or did they happen because of the shifting,” Ken asked wanting more info on all of it. He interrupted Blaise out of his thoughts, but gave him more questions.

   “Am I the first person you've met who can do things like us?” Blaise responded not answering the question and asking one of his own instead. He had not even remembered that he had previous injuries that were gone now too.

   “Yes. I always thought it was weird, but my mom told me that I was adopted young so I figured there would be others, but I never thought I’d meet any. My parents tell me not to use it unless absolutely necessary. It’s a rule. They are just too worried about me,” Ken says sounding muffled from the distance.

   “Thanks for thinking an injured bird was necessary. You saved my life.” Blaise had a full smile on even though Ken couldn't see him now. His guard was officially down, and that was not something he did easily anymore. He decided it was okay for a person that saved his life.

   “You have thanked me enough. It wasn't a big deal,” Ken said really hoping his blushing was not visible in the darkness of the room. He didn't know if Blaise would even look at him anyway. He kept his eyes closed now. Trying to keep himself calm.

   Blaise couldn't believe he found someone who stayed out of the system with a power like his. He should be dead right now.en would have been sent away. Ken had Asian features too so he may have come from there. He could be a runaway and not even know it. Blaise wondered if there was something more to it. It had to be something more. Blaise would have to asks Katrina. She would know. Then Blaise thought about how he should be dead after that attack. He would have been.

   Everyone would move up in rank they'd probably be happy. Was it ever safe to go home? Katrina would get him a new one. That wasn't even an issue. Was he going to be able to figure out  why he was attacked? Of course he was. He was a high ranking Proteus agent. He needed to focus on resting. He needed to sleep.He sometimes slept in animal form because it was easier and he wanted to do it now, but the shift pains were not worth it. He just wanted to stop thinking.

   “You’re thinking too loudly. Try to relax,” said Ken from his place on the floor.

   “Sorry. A lot’s happened. It’s kind of hard to sleep. I’m not sure if it’s safe for me to go home first, but I need to find out why I was attacked and who caused it? Your parent’s weren't wrong to worry about you Ken. It’s a dangerous world with people like us out there doing whatever they want,” Blaise said. He was staring back up at the ceiling. They settled into a silence for a moment.

   Ken never thought about people using their abilities to hurt people. He wasn't even sure if there was more than himself until he met Blaise. It made sense though. In every comic book or TV show there were villains. Blaise was attacked in his home . He talked about stopping people who get out of hand. That made him a hero too. Ken wanted to actually be a hero and not just dress up as them during Comic-Con.

   “I can help you. I can come with you. Be your personal healer if you get attacked again, ” Ken said suddenly.

   “I don’t want to put you in danger.Not after you saved me,” Blaise said. He still wasn't sure he wouldn't take him in though so it felt like a lie.

   “ I heal automatically. I’d be better off than you. Give me your hand. You’re anxious. I can sooth people’s emotions sometimes,” Ken said reaching his hand up to Blaise’s arm. It was mostly to get him to agree to take Ken with him.

        Blaise was surprised at Ken’s claim to have more healing capability.He never met a healer in person. The guy could already heal and feel other’s pain.He was connecting them in his head as one thing, but this sounded like more than an extension. Blaise thought that must be why Japan and Europe had all the healers. No one would give that up without good reason to. Blaise reached his hand down. Ken grabbed it. Blaise could feel an energy coming over him not that different from the one before at first, but it shifted. It was so familiar, but way more calming. When Ken let go and Blaise didn't feel anxious anymore. He didn't even know why he was freaking out before. The tranquility was really nice. He wanted more of it.

   “That feels really good.Except for the whole angle of my arm thing.Why don’t you come onto the bed? There’s enough room and I kind of just want you to be more comfortably.”  Blaise  moved over to make room for Ken on the bed.He really had no idea why he said it. It just kind of happened. The feel of Ken’s healing was addicting. He didn't want his judgment swayed, but it was happening and he thought that Ken must know what he was doing. He had to know how addicting the power was. Blaise felt like he was going to regret this. Staying and getting close to Ken. When he mentioned it to Proteus he might get sent away to one of the other countries.Ken was really powerful.

   In reality Ken was freaking out at what Blaise just said and couldn't move at first. Ken hesitantly moved onto the bed and placed his hand over Blaise and into his hand. It started to relax Blaise more even though he didn't really need it anymore. Blaise was getting addicted to the feeling really fast.He was asleep before he could think of anything else.

    Ken had a lot harder time getting to sleep. He couldn't calm himself down with his power. He wanted to know more about his powers. He wanted to know about the organization that Blaine worked for and what they do. He wanted to know if he was human. Not being able to feel pain unless it was someone else's was always weird.

   There was also how much he would glance over at the shirtless Blaise. He wondered if  cuddling would be weird, but they a;ready were kind of. People cuddled with friends and Ken saved his life. Plus while he was checking out Blaise he noticed Blaise check him out a little too before turning back to the window or he thought he did. Ken knew he could have imagined it, but he was hoping he was right.

     Ken knew that finding out more about himself and his powers was his main goal for wanting to get close though. He got over having hopeless crushes a couple years before. He needed Blaise to explain what he is. He thought that maybe it was a gift from God once, but kind of moved away from religion a bit before he came out. Ken had some issues with the views at his mother’s church so that idea kind of fell off. He did think he had his abilities for a reason. He hoped he could find out why now that he finally knew someone else. Ken was thinking about the possibilities the entire time until he fell asleep.