The Insiders

Chapter 7*

CHAPTER 7- Amy
I quietly walk into our room and shut the door behind me. Sharlene appears to be sleeping. I should be sleeping. It's already midnight. Should I tell her where I have been? My smile on my face refuses to go away. Whenever I am with Bryce, I can never stop smiling. Even right now, after being with him, my smile refuses to go away. I illuminate my hands with a soft light, so it is not too bright. Training has really helped me gain control over my light; I can control the amount of brightness and the amount of area it covers. With the light guiding me, I run to my bed and lay down. I am already in my pyjamas because Bryce said he did not care what I wore, I would still look beautiful. Sharlene moves in her bed, reminding me of my conflicting thought. Should I tell her where I have been going? I douse my lights deciding I will just sleep in my clothes that I wore today. I feel guilty about leaving Sharlene all the time, but she has Thomas and Coren. She should be fine if I go again. But still, the guilt of it is eating me up. Steve always says how he wants us to be like a family, but keeping secrets is not family like. I will tell her...But is she really awake?

"You awake Sharlene?" I whisper in a spur of confidence.

"Yeah?" She whispers back. If I am going to tell her, now is the time to do it.

"Can I come up there?" 

"What?"

"To your bed." I explain. There is no response for a long time. Did she fall asleep? Am I imagining things?

"Why?" She finally responds. She seems awkward and uncomfortable. I am not sure what to say without telling her right now. I need to build up to it. I need to ease the truth to her. 

"I just want to talk and it's kind of weird talking to the bottom of a matress." I hear her let out a small laugh with relief. 

"Come on up then." She offers. I get out of my bed and begin to climb up the ladder. As I climb, Sharlene turns the lamp beside her bed on. I stop climbing and start to laugh. 

"You realize I could've done that, right?' I joke. I have gotten used to my power. Not so much the physical capability, but I have come to terms with the idea of having it. Once I reach the top, I sit cross legged at the foot of her bed. Sharlene is wearing a white tank top with her legs under her grey blankets, though I am safe to assume she is wearing sweat pants. Her sense of fashion is not the best. Sharlene wears the same clothes almost everyday. I am not judging, but it could use some work.

"Right. Sorry. I forget about our powers sometimes." She replies honestly while looking down at her hands. There is a long noiselessness moment where we both fidget awkwardly.

"So," Sharlene begins. "What did you want to talk about?" I take a deep breath to prepare. I guess I better tell her. I have gotten this far already. I almost forgot what I came up here for. I am so tired, but I need to tell her. 

"I've been thinking about what Steve has been saying; About being a family and all. I guess we're kind of like sisters then, and sisters tell each other everything right?" It takes Sharlene a while to say anything. She seems to become a little uncomfortable. At the word sister, her thoughts seem to go elsewhere, I do not know why though. 

"Yeah, I guess." She finally responds. She does not look at me though. She seems incredibly lost in thought. 

"I have something to tell you," I repeat for the millionth time. "Everyday after training sessions, I've been going on-," On what? What do I call them? 

"Dates? I guess you could say, with Bryce.". The quietness that follows makes me panic. Oh no! She is mad. I have been forgetting about her. I can not help it. Bryce makes me forget everything. He makes me feel like our new lives are normal. The problem is I have forgotten about Sharlene. In panic, I start to ramble. 

"Sorry I didn't mean to make you mad or feel left out but I-".

"You realize I know that, right?."She interrupts. She starts laughing, but I start to panic. 

"Wait, how did you know?" I ask between her laughs. were we really that obvious? We thought it would be better for everyone if we kept it to ourselves. It would make an easier transition for them. How did she know? Who knows?  

"I've seen the way you two look at each other during training," She explains. "It's hard not to notice." She giggles. So, we haven't been as secretive as we thought. Damn it. 

"Well, what about you and Coren? You can't tell me there's nothing going on there." I suggest. Sharlene smiles and looks down. Once again, she seems to get lost in thought, but only for a moment. 

"Nothing near what you and Bryce have." Her laughs have decreased to just a smirk now.

"If it's not that then explain to me what it is exactly?" I joke with her. Those two have some serious chemistry. It is hard to ignore it. 

"I uh-" she begins with a shaky voice. "I have a boyfriend." She forces out. Oh my goodness. I thought I had secrets. 

"Who?" I shout. I spring up to my knees. I grab her by the shoulders and begin to shake her. 

"Sh, keep it down!" Sharlene whispers loudly. She pushes me back to the foot of the bed. 

"Who is it?" I try to contain my excitement. I force my hands together, forcing the excitement into my hands. 

"His name is Peter." She says without any smile on her face. Something on her face tells me that she is not telling me something very important. She is avoiding the truth. She is avoiding the reality of her boyfriend, Peter.

"Why haven't I met him yet?" I try to find the truth.

"He's not here," She does not look at me. "He doesn't have a gift." I am not sure why this came as a shock. Hardly anyone in the world has a power. I do not know who does though. 

"Please, don't tell anyone. " Sharlene spits out of her mouth so fast, I am not even sure it was her who said it. 

"For Coren's and our team's sake, I won't." I reassure her. I feel a little mean for saying it, but Coren needed to be brought up. I feel like he really needs to know, but that is for Sharlene to decide, not me. 

"Thank you." She sighs. What would the team think if they found out? For that reason I will never tell.

"Anyway," Sharlene interrupts my thoughts. "Peter probably thinks I'm dead. Or he's dead. Either way I guess we're kind of over."

We laugh at the dark thought. It's strangely normal. The rest of the night continues like that. The two of us talking about our lives. Eventually we become so tired that we have no choice but to go to sleep, but I fall asleep with one thing in my mind. This was the most fun I have had in a while.