ELECTRIC LOVE; Sam Guthrie

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"Athena, stop!" Sam gripped the wall painfully, his leg throbbing in pain. Athena kept walking till she heard Sam wince in pain. She refused to turn around wiping the tears off her face.

"Are you ok?" Athena mumbled quietly turning around to face him. The out of breath boy looked up sympathetically, cursing himself for glancing towards her lips slightly.

"Fine Thene, are you right?" Sam limped over to her, "Illyana was out of line, she-

-Isn't wrong. He is dead Sam." Athena muttered softly. "Dead because of me Sam, I- I did it. If I had- had just done the mission right I would've." Athena stopped turning her head to wipe her face on her sleeve.

"It wasn't your fault Thene-

Sam groaned when Athena had tackled the tall boy into a hug. He quickly bent down slightly to wrap his arms around her tightly. The pair remained together for a while till Sam spoke up cautiously.

"About the other day-

"It's fine Sam... you were upset." Athena let go of him the two breaking apart. "It didn't mean anything." She ran her fingers through her hair tiredly.

"Right course.. didn't mean anything", Sam murmured, his heart shattering while he forced an uncomfortable grin and nervously massaged the back of his neck.

"I need to go back to sleep if I have any hope of getting up tomorrow, goodnight Sam." Athena sighed slowly leaving Sam alone as she made her way to her room.

She didn't like him back. Sam laid his back on the wall exhausted as he slid down. He needed to get over this crush and fast. Athena was his best friend, how could he just risk their friendship like that. Sam cursed loudly standing as he sulked his way to his room.

—

Athena's paranoia had grown immensely. Her visions had increased and she was now seeing her dead brother daily. She was sure she had finally lost her mind.

She hadn't gotten another opportunity to break the barrier after Reyes had caught the group in the basement a few nights prior. The doctor seemed to be watching the group constantly camping out at the cameras majority of the week.

So, once again Athena was stuck in one of Reyes stupid sessions. One slip and Athena was going to kill her, blow up the entire compound if she had to.

"Today, I'd like to talk about obedience. If you want any hope of moving on... to my superior's facility... it's crucial that I know you can be trusted. Yes?" Reyes stared intently at Athena who stared back heated.

"What if we don't wanna move on to your boss's facility? You know, what if I just wanna go home?" Sam muttered beside Athena, the girl's face softening.

"Sam, you remember what happened. You think they stopped looking for you? If you weren't here, you'd be in prison or worse." Reyes snarked, Athena's fingers cracking tensely as electricity ran under her gloves.

"I was... It was an accident." Sam scoffed, sending a warning glance to Athena. Sam was prepared to uncover the truth but he didn't need Athena's rage to take over.

"You think anyone outside this room would believe that?" Reyes pushed further, Athena closing her eyes tightly.

"I would. Sam is a good guy." Dani rebutted across the room, noticing Reyes hostility.

"Even if I'm not... do I really have to spend... my whole life in here for one mistake?" Sam's face winced, Athena removed her gloves behind her back.

"Once you're better-

"When am I better?" Sam exclaimed, "Look, something's not right. I'm seeing things, terrible nightmares. Uh... When will I ever get better?"

"You're better when I say so." Reyes finished, Sam standing up angrily.

"No, forget it. It's bullshit. You're not listening to me." He cursed leaving the room, giving Athena the green light. The room filled with silence, until the light above them flickered.

"Athena-

"Why would you say that." She stated hatefully at the woman. Roberto and Illyana getting the hint as they shuffled back from the group, Rahne and Dani followed soon after.

"Calm down, or you leave me no choice. My superior will not take out of control experiments" Reyes deadpanned standing up towering over the girl. Athena's face tilted up as she uncrossed her legs standing up.

"Experiments." Athena's eyes widened viciously, her hands sliding in front of her to drop the gloves to the ground. "Do you remember how I ended up here Reyes." Athena walked closer, Reyes looking unbothered.

"Killed and Blew up your entire compound, including your parents." Reyes said tauntingly.

"F*ck this." Athena cursed swinging her spear mere inches before Reyes face, a forcefield trapping the girl, the tip of her spear outside of the barrier. She cursed loudly again, disintegrating her spear placing her fingers against the yellow barrier.

She strained to break it, cracks appearing through the lines. Reyes paled slightly before she reinforced the barrier, Athena's attempts at breaking the first one disappearing.

"Excellent that's solitary for you Athena." Reyes smirked victoriously.