Code Name: RUSH (COMPLETE)

4. Evan

                   

By the time I sat down in the cafeteria on Monday, I knew that my day was going to continue going downhill. I hadn't managed to find anything else about Project Bluebird or the Colton Inc Laboratories being investigated by the police. There was no news on who was looking for Damion, not even a whisper of it in the hallways, and he had been crashing at Madix's house. A black suburban had become a permanent fixture outside of the latter's house, but none of us dared to call the police. What would we say? There are people started following us after we broke into one of their labs, very illegally, and are trying to arrest us? Scare us?

Someone shoved a spoon in my mouth.

I sputtered and smacked Madix away. "What the hell?"

"What?" he asked innocently. "You looked like you needed help."

"I'm not hungry," I said, and pushed my plate away. Madix winced at the noise the Styrofoam made as it slid, so I nudged it even further.

"Evan? Not hungry? That's a very, very bad sign." Madix smacked my hand when I tried to move the plate this time and I let it got with a laugh.

A tray slammed down in front of us. Damion flopped down without sparing either of us a glance. I raised my eyebrows at him, but Madix seemed just as god smacked as I did. Damion never came into the cafeteria during lunch, let alone to sit with us; whatever was happening seemed to really have him spooked.

There was only a small length of silence before Madix folded his hands gently on the tabletop. "Demon boy," He said evenly with a nod in Damion's direction.

"Elton John," Damion replied just as seriously.

I focused on what was on the plate in front of him despite my protests of not being hungry. The last to days had been weird. Madix had dragged Damion through my living room two hours after he climbed out the bathroom window and proclaimed that Damion's family was being awful and that he needed a place to stay. My dad's reaction had been less than normal. He insisted that Damion go back home and work things out with his parents. When dad's phone rang, Madix snuck upstairs to grab his bag and left with both Damion and I in-tow.

We spent the next afternoon laying on Madix's bedroom floor, doing our respective history projects and listening to Madix's brother talk about how much second grade sucked. Dad never called to ask where I was.

I scratched a cut on my wrist absentmindedly as Damion scarfed his food down at a disgusting rate. I shoved my plate at him as he downed the carton of milk Madix had tossed to him. This had to be the most food he had eaten in months, because the sallow glow had left his skin and he looked a little less sick.

"'M' Not hungry," I said when he stared at me. "You can have it."

Damion hesitated, hovering over the sandwich like he was waiting for me to snatch it back and laugh. I slipped my hands under the table and turned my attention to Madix, who hadn't once looked away from out new companion since he sat down. It was kind of creepy how intently he was staring. Out of the corner of my eye, I saw Damion scarf the PBJ down in three bites.

"So how was everyone's weekend?" Madix chirped after Damion had finished.

Neither of us responded. We had spent the entire time, together, and he seemed to realize it as his face turned red. He looked down from Damion, but his gaze snapped back up in an instant. I knew that determined gleam anywhere; it was the one he got when he was being and idiot and knew it. "Okay, I see no one wants to volunteer. I'll go first."

I sighed and pulled my math book out. I might as well challenge my sanity if he was going to test my patience.

"-find anything else one the Bluebird Project?"