InvaSUn

32

[One week later]

"Riley!" Natalie screeched as she jogged towards me from our classroom. "We finally got enough signatures! The school is going to get us new textbooks!"

"That's amazing!" I was so happy to see my best friend again. It turns out that she wasn't dead at all. A Criebeast had transformed into her and other students, and the ones they took the bodies of usually were the ones who were left alive. It was a complicated explanation, but it felt so good to see her again.

"Where are you headed?" Natalie pointed at my appearance with amazement written all over her face. I decided to straighten my hair and wear a navy blue modest and simple dress.

"I'm going out to eat with a friend." I shrugged.

"A... BOYfriend?" She smirked at me.

"Um.. uh.." I stammered. I haven't exactly told her that I was dating the janitor at our school yet. I wasn't sure how to tell her. If I did, she would just tease me about it.

"Whatever, just go have fun! I'll meet you back at the dorms later!" She waved and jogged in the opposite direction.

I decided to take a cab all the way to a meet-up spot that I was supposed to go to. When I stepped out and gave the driver some cash, I barely had a chance to turn around before I was hugged from behind.

I panicked and pushed away from whoever had grabbed me, but relaxed when I turned around and faced James. "You look... different." James blinked at me and his eyes shifted from my hair to my body.

"Yeah." I shrugged casually. "I have to wait until I can buy some new clothes. This is the only dress I had."

"Beautiful." James smiled at me and I blushed in embarrassment.

"T-thanks?" I coughed. "Is Aiden and his father here? Where are we going to eat?" I tried changing the subject. I didn't want to get into too much of a romantic mood, since we were also meeting up with Aiden too.

But with James, he made it almost impossible.

James grabbed my hand and lead me over to a familiar-looking building and I stopped immediately. "This is your father's restaurant." I gasped.

"It appears so." He smirked at me.

"You're not taking me to meet with your parents are you?" I huffed. "I can't! I'm not ready!" He was going too fast. It reminded me of when he talked about marriage the other day.

"Relax!" He shrugged. "My mother will come out to eat dinner and my father will be working. They won't pay attention if we're also eating with Aiden and his family."

"You're right." I fanned my face. "I'm just nervous."

"Don't be." He tapped my shoulder and held the door open for me. I walked inside and the place was lit bright enough to see the entire dining area. The restaurant was empty inside, and only Aiden and his father were sitting at a table in the distance.

Aiden waved at us happily. Unfortunately, the two were just coming back from his mother's funeral. During the invasion, many people were mourning the loss of their loved ones.

But it seemed that the government, nor anyone else but us remembered what exactly happened to them. It was bittersweet. Good for people who needed therapy for watching the attack, but bad for those who lost people they loved.

Lu'an probably erased their memories too. I wasn't sure why she left our memories in tact though.

"Hi, guys!" Aiden waved frantically. James nodded at him and pulled a chair out for me. "Dad remember them? The ones who helped me find you?"

"I do." Aiden's father nodded with a smile. "I wanted to thank you both. You really don't have to treat us to dinner."

"It's fine." James held a hand up, stopped the older man from going any further. "My treat. Aiden has been a big help."

"I'm glad you think so. I try to teach my boy to help whenever he is needed. Good to know that he isn't going astray with that." He rubbed Aiden's hair messily, earning a glare from his son.

I heard a soft woman's voice call out in Mandarin, and James whipped his head in the direction of it. He rushed over to an Asian woman who was wheeling her way into the dining room with a smile on her face.

James helped her over to our table, before speaking back to her in their language. When the woman replied, James, pressed his lips together and sat down next to me, and avoided my gaze. I also noticed a faint color of red appear on his ears.

"What did she say?"

"It can't be translated into English." He rushed out and coughed.

"You're blushing, James." I teased him and poked him in the shoulder.

"Don't." He hissed at me and brushed my hand away.

Before I could say anything else, the lights around us shut off. James groaned and I could hear him stand up when his chair slid against the tile. "I just paid the bill." His figure paced around.

"Let's go check the box." I shrugged and stood up too. "I'll help you find it."

"It's around here somewhere." James lead me into another room, somewhere behind the dining area. He bumped into a few things and grunted as he almost fell a couple of times, and I snickered at him.

"Klutz!" I laughed.

"I found it, I need your help." He opened the square lid and uncovered the box to reveal some wiring and switches.

"What do you want me to do?"

"Come closer." I could see him motion me forward in the dark. I took one step closer to him, and he grabbed me by my waist and kissed me, and I pulled away quickly.

"James!" I whined. "Your parents are in the other room!"

"They won't mind if it helps save them money." He cackled and flexed his arms forward. Voltage sparks entwined with his fingers and he touched the electric box, and the lights flipped back on.

The use of his abilities shocked me. "You still have your abilities?" I gasped.

"They never went away." James shrugged. "I just needed a little help to keep the power on for a bit longer." He glided his finger across my lips with a smirk.

"James!" I coughed. But wait, if his power never went away, did that mean mine we here too? I rolled my wrists to try it, and sure enough, my hands glowed red.

James and I glanced at each other with smiles. These abilities were probably left by Su as a gift for escorting her back home. And I was glad she did. They would certainly be handy for future use.

Who knows if we'll face any more alien invasions in the future?