Us Mutants Prefer the Term "Special"

x34x

It didn't take long for me to find Zaine. He had a tech-watch with a tracking device in it that took Jane five minutes to read. But when she and Anthony offered to tag along and find him, Warren stopped them.

"You need to do this yourself," Warren told me when we were alone, outside.

"I know," I muttered, feeling lower than ever. I just ruined everything. I wasn't sulking because I potentially lost my boyfriend. I was sulking because I was trying to make something my business when it wasn't and because I crossed a major line of personal privacy. He didn't deserve that...especially from me.

Warren stared to turn his shoulders, but I grabbed his arm and for some reason his arm arose in flames. When my eyes met his, there was a lack of remorse.

"I'm sorry," I said genuinely with a bit of offense, considering he nearly tried to burn me. He didn't say anything to me and I couldn't read his face. He only looked down and started to enter the house. Great. I ruined two friendships.

=XXX=

By the time I was in the spot where we found Zaine pacing back and forth from, I had walked past the President's speech rally being set up and now I had drifted into a meaningless walk around a park. Why was I so stupid and impatient? I should've just waited until he was ready to tell me.

"Come here," I was ordered while thankfully a familiar person grabbed my hand tightly and towed me away. We had ducked beneath some trees and gone off a trail and found a bench facing a small pond. Zaine gestured for me to sit down and then he joined me when I did.

"I'm so incredibly sorry. I didn't mean to—"

"Who told you about Emma if not Warren?" he asked, sternly. He wasn't using a forgiving, curious tone because he wasn't forgiving or curious. He knew exactly what I asked and he knew that I shouldn't have asked it. That's the end of the story.

"You talk in your sleep and you whispered that you were sorry to her and I—"

He stood up and towered over me.

"So you automatically assume that it means enough to ask Jane and especially Warren about some girl's name—!"

"Obviously it does mean something if you're seriously yelling at me right now over all of this," I interrupted. He had raised his voice before to prove a point, but this was the first time he was actually mad and scolding me. And the pain and anger was on his face. "But considering how yours and Warren's face looks at just the sound of her name is enough for me to just forget about it. I'm sorry for asking about something that I've been asking about since I've known you."

He was mad and as low as I felt right now, I was perfectly fine with him wanting to end this relationship because I deserved it and he didn't need me. I think he understood what I had and then I started walking off. I even crossed the street and intended on watching the President's speech to make some use of being here, other than getting my heart broken by not Zaine, by myself.

There was applause as the President started to make his way on the stage and I decided to clap along as well, even though my attitude didn't want to. Suddenly I looked over and saw the same hooded guy from the burning pharmacy last night and everything sort of slowed down. The clapping was tuned out with the colorful noises everywhere else, and I watched the hooded man step one at a time, walking awfully close to the secret service men who didn't move in the slightest bit. I looked around to see if anyone else saw the man and before I could look back over, there was a gunshot going off and before I could even see the inky black trail behind the bullet, the President was being tackled by a real agent while the hooded man was gone and some "secret servicemen" did nothing but glance around as another shot rang out and then I felt someone brush against me, other than the crowd exiting the place in a stampeded, but I knew it was Zaine because of the electricity.