Deceiving Appearances (On Hold)

Meeting up

The little bell of the door of the restaurant tingles and a boy and a broad man get inside. The boy has dirty looking blonde hair and sly, blue eyes. He is also very tall. The man has dark skin and  eyes. His arms are trice as broad as mine.

I immediately know I don't like the two of them. I slump a little more on the uncomfortable bench and try to look like I am too busy with my chocolate milkshake. Too bad it doesn't have the effect I wanted. The man and the boy both plump down on the bench across from me. I look up and study them quickly. I feel like they're slightly dangerous.

'Can I help you?' I ask, not very politely. I try not to look intimidated. With a little grin the boy leans forward, with his arms outstretched. I sit back a tiny bit, because the boy is far too close to my liking.

'You should come with us, Courtney.' He says. I look at him in suspicion. Something holds me from asking the boy how he knows my name. I definitely don't know these guys.

'Did Beth screw up again?' I ask seemingly annoyed. Bethany is my foster parents' daughter who is always looking for problems. I get seriously sick of the police when they come to me to talk about Beth's behavior. Like I am her mother. Well, I'm not.

The boy shoots the man a glare, who shrugs. Then he looks back at me.

'We're here because of your 'bizarre' talents.' I put my shaky hands on my lap, before they can see my hands shake or before I freeze the table at the spot out of anxiousness. That's why they're here. Because I can freeze and burn things. You might think: Oh wow, that's so amazing! Well, it isn't if you can only use fire when angry and ice when anxious. Not even controllable.

'I'm not interested.' I say, glad my voice is steady. The boy raises an eyebrow.

'I think I didn't quite hear you. You walk with us to the car or he...' He points his thumb to the man, 'will drag you to our car.' I stand up from my bench, careful not to touch anything.

'I really don't have time for anything like this.' When I pass the boy, he grabs my wrist and tries to let me stop. Immediately his hand slowly gets caught in ice. I expect the boy to be slightly surprised or angry, but he is neither of it. His grin only grows bigger and he looks at the man next to him.

'Even more powerful than Connor thought.' I really don't like the way they talk about me. The man growls a bit. I try to free my wrist from the boy's grip, which isn't quite easy. The ice spreads quicker now as I'm getting more and more anxious. Who is this Connor guy? What the hell does he want from me?

'Let me go! I'm making a freaking icicle of you, don't you see?' The boy doesn't seem impressed at all and instead he stands up from his bench and the man follows his lead. Suddenly the little bell of the door rings again and I can't help but look at it. A tall, muscled boy stands in the doorway, scanning the whole restaurant. He has brown, quite fluffy hair and when his eyes catch mine I'm stunned by how beautifully greenish/grey his eyes are. My stomach drops when a thought flashes through my mind. What if he is here to help the other twol? I'm so screwed. One girl against three men. My feeling tells me he isn't that bad though. But I have to be careful. I have another, more demanding feeling that warns me for danger, which he certainly is. His eyes catch the two men next to me and the ice on one of their arms.

'I never thought Connor would allow you on such an important mission.' The guy says mockingly, which makes the boy next to me snarl.

'You better leave, Nathaniel. Connor will be really pissed when you slow us down and you know who he then might send.' The Nathaniel-guy snorts and starts walking towards us.

'Are you seriously trying to threaten me? You know I can be just like him.' The boy seems to remember something, since he loosens his grip on my wrist, which immediately slows down the ice. It already covers the biggest part of his arm. Nathaniel looks at the ice.

'You know, she really is going to turn you into an icicle if you don't let her go. Of course I can heat you up a bit, but I don't think you want to end up like a bonfire.' That pulls my attention. Does that mean he can use fire? That he can control it? I look at Nathaniel, who gives me a reassuring smile. Suddenly the boy who holds my wrist shrieks and releases it completely. I don't waste time looking at him, but I run straight for the door.

'Well, I guess I don't see you guys anytime soon.' I only hear Nathaniel say that, before I dart out of the restaurant, across the parking lot. Better not stay another minute. Pretty soon after, Nathaniel already catches up with me, taking my hand in his and leading the way.

'What do you think you're doing? I don't want to turn anyone into ice anymore!' I try to pull my hand out of his.

'Don't worry. My powers cancel yours at this moment. By the way, did you really want to run home? They're waiting for you there, no doubt.' I abruptly stand still. Nathaniel stops as well.

'They are at my home? But my parents!' The boy impatiently pulls my arm, like a little kid.

'They won't hurt them, because they can easily catch you without any pressure. It's not smart to go back home. You should come with me, so I can bring you to a safe place.' He begs me with his eyes and after a few moments I somehow give in.

'Okay, whatever. I somehow trust you. You better be right about my family.' I let the boy drag me to a black car on the left side of the parking lot.

'You can trust me. They really won't hurt them.' He opens the backdoor and I climb in the car. He quickly seats himself on the passenger seat.

'Drive.' He commands, and now I see the woman on the driver's seat. The woman races away, leaving the restaurant behind. She catches me staring and smiles brightly.

'You must be Courtney. My name's Iona.' I wave awkwardly.

'Where are we going?' I ask, when the woman drives up the highway. Nathaniel answers.

 'We're going to some hotel a little bit away from here. From there they shouldn't be able to trace us.' I nod, even though I don't know how a hotel can make us untraceable. I stare out of the window, the landscape changing the farther we go.