The Betrayer (Regenerate #3.5)

IV) The Party

Lorna wakes me up to go to the pizza party. Ever since I got sick, she's been forcing me to rest against my will. Now that I actually want to sleep through something, she's making me go.

Just about the last thing I feel like doing right now is trying to act normally at a party with the girl of my dreams who rejected me last night. Twice.

The beginning of the party isn't so bad. Everyone introduces themselves to the two girls, Vanessa and Mikayla. And then they tell us a little more about themselves.

Vanessa doesn't have any superhuman abilities. But Mikayla has what she calls borrowed muscle memory.

"If I see somebody do something once, I can replicate it," she explains. "I can copy any physical activity. Dances, fight moves, gymnastics routines. Just by seeing it she says."

Loa pulls up a video of a Tongan dance on his phone and plays it for her. After watching the video, she repeats the dance perfectly. That's a nifty little talent, I have to say.

"She has eidetic memory, too," Vanessa says.

Lorna glances at me. I have eidetic memory too, though I don't feel like sharing that with the group.

Of course, now that Mikayla has shown off her powers, everyone else wants to as well. Lorna suggests they go up to the roof, so they don't destroy our entire headquarters with their demonstrations.

Everyone else is headed up the stairs. Lorna looks back at me, but I say, "I think I'll stay. Enjoy some quiet for a minute."

I try to pass it off as residual exhaustion from my sickness, but I think she knows better. She doesn't fight me on it though.

After fifteen minutes, I hear somebody coming back down the stairs. I hope that it's not Thalia, but it is.

She hovers awkwardly on the other side of the room. She's stunning without trying to be. She's dressed simply, blue jeans and a simple blouse. Her hair is stacked in a messy bun on top of her head. And I'm failing at pretending to ignore her.

"Are you sure you don't want to come up to the roof with us?" she asks. "We're having fun."

"I'd rather be alone," I say.

She stares at the floor. "Alone or just somewhere I'm not?"

"Either one," I say.

"I'm sorry about last night," she says.

"That was cruel, you know," I say. "Playing with my emotions like that."

She frowns. "I wasn't trying to play games with you."

"What were you trying to do then?"

"I don't know," she says. "Not trying to hurt you."

I know I should stop myself before I say something I'll regret. Instead I say, "You don't know? You don't know why you kissed me. I guess now I know how much that kiss meant to you."

"You don't know anything," she hisses. "And I already apologized. I don't know what more you want from me. I can't undo what happened."

I wince. She wishes she could undo it. Even being annoyed at her, I don't wish the kiss didn't happen.

I stand up. "Just leave me alone." I waltz past her and out the door. I fly back to my house and retract the Mantis suit so that I'm left in my regular clothes.

All I know is that I'll go insane if I sit around my house. I could go to work, but my mind is too scattered to be productive.

After an hour of trying to distract myself, I realize how ridiculous this all is. I'm supposed to be the most eligible bachelor in LA, aren't I? I grab my keys and drive to a club. I'm not much of a clubber. I can't dance. Not that kind of dancing anyway.

Besides, it's the middle of the day, so there aren't many people here anyway. I take a seat at the bar and order a drink. The bartender delivers, but I just stare into the bottom of the glass.

I'm starting to question what I'm even doing here. Why did I think this would get my mind off Thalia?

A couple stools down from me, I notice a girl watching me. A redhead in a tight dress. She doesn't strike me as particularly beautiful until my eyes meet hers.

She smiles at me and says, "Well you look interesting."

And that's the moment I completely lose my grip.