Misfits |ON HOLD|

c h a p t e r e i g h t

"Just to let you know, my parents are probably gonna ask if we're dating," Lucas says. "They really want me to get a girlfriend. I've never had one before."

I glance at him before returning my gaze to the road ahead of me. "That surprises me."

"Why?" Lucas asks.

"Well, you aren't ugly, Luke. And from what I can tell, you're a good guy." Without looking at him, I reach a hand up and ruffle his hair. "And I'm sure your curlies get the girlies."

"Oh my God, I can't believe you just said that." Lucas laughs, and I roll my eyes.

I pull up in front of the address he told me. "Here we are," I say, pulling the keys out of the ignition.

"What do I tell my parents? 'Hey mom, dad, I'm gonna go move in with a group of people I met yesterday, I'll call everyday, bye'?" Lucas starts to get worked up.

"We'll figure it out, okay? Don't tell your parents anything about the Misfits. They can only know after we're sure of what you are." I get out of the car and wait for Lucas to get out.

Lucas gets out and walks by me, gesturing for me to follow him. He unlocks the front door of his house with a key he pulled from his pocket, and we walk in.

His house is a cute little thing, very cozy. There are pictures of Luke as a kid, a few of him just alone, some with a little girl. I smile at one where Luke is holding what looks like a graduation certificate from kindergarten, his cap lopsided on top of all his curls, and a wide grin on his face showing his tongue through the gap where his two front teeth are missing.

A woman comes into the living room holding a basket of laundry. She catches sight of us and smiles, putting the basket of laundry down on the couch. "Lukey!" she exclaims, bustling over to give her son a hug.

"Hi, Mom," Luke says, hugging her back.

The lady pulls away from Luke and turns to me. "Luke, who's this pretty girl? Have you got a girlfriend you're not telling me about?"

I laugh. "No, Ma'am, Luke is my friend. My name is Riley Ryder, nice to meet you." I stick my hand out for her to shake.

She pushes my hand to the side and pulls me in for a hug. "You can call me Julie, honey." She let's go of me and turns back to her son. "Is Riley staying for lunch?"

"Um, actually, about that..." Luke rubs the back of his neck. "Riley's here because I asked her to help me get my stuff. I'm moving out."

"What?" Julie's eyes go wide. "Luke, you aren't eighteen yet! You can't move out! Where would you move into?"

"With me," I say. "Well, not just me, there are more of us. We're all either sixteen or seventeen, except for Sam, our leader. He's 28."

Julie furrows her eyebrows. "Lukey... are you trying to join a cult?"

I laugh. "Oh my God, Julie, no, that's not what we are at all. We're taking Luke in with us because we're doing advanced testing, we see potential in him and think he could do something great with his knowledge, maybe become something similar to Einstein, although it's hard to be that great." Years of living with other Misfits taught me how to lie well.

"Oh, Lukey, I always knew you were smart." Julie hugs her son. "Do you think I could talk with the leader? Sam, you said his name is?"

My blood runs cold. Julie, in the Misfits building? Thank God Sam has an office. "Uh, yeah, I can step outside and call him real quick," I say. "I'll be back in a second."

I pull my phone out of my pocket. "Okay, how do you use this thing?" I'm rarely on my phone, as training, missions, and my friends take up most of my time. "Right, unlock it, press the green phone icon..."