Deja Vu [DRAFT ONE: UPDATED DRAFT ABOVE]

12: Adam

Winter break offers plenty of free time for those of us with no vacation, no life, and nothing but the tug of the Veins to guide our days. I can't count the number of half-assed excuses I've come up with to get out of the house, and sometimes I leave a note and run for it. I just need to see them again. The rest of my life, subdued family matters and half-memorized school work, feels like a long, tedious dream.

I slip into my outfit as I pass into the Veins. There's a high whine in the backroom, metal on claws, and I smile. I'm not alone this morning.

I lean on the doorframe near our 'training area', where Evan is taking down dozens of masked silhouettes of people. He moves with inhuman grace, wicked with his claws, and a well-aimed blast of fire sends anything he can't tackle to its knees. He pauses when he looks up, grinning, and one of his assailants punches him in the face. He blocks it in midair, still smiling.

"You're here early." I say. "Mission's not for another fifteen minutes."

"I've been here a lot longer than fifteen minutes. Didn't have anywhere else to be." Evan shrugs. "I think I'm done beating the crap out of dummies." He raises a hand, and all of them shatter. He jumps towards the edge of the arena, towards the viewing area, and hoists himself over the bar. He almost falls on top of me, and manages to swerve so that he falls into the seat next to mine.

"So." I say. "What's on your mind?"

Evan smirks. "What do you think I'm thinking about? What's been on your mind for the last week?"

"Dumb question," I say. "How's her jacket?"

"Warm and safe, dependable, and it smells like rain and well-lived in houses." he says. "Speaking of dumb questions, can I steal some clothes off of you sometime?"

"I don't know if you want anything of mine. I wear t-shirts when I can't be bothered to care and buttoned, collared shirts when I can, which I'm already getting the impression you hate."

"How do you breathe?" Evan places one hand close to his throat and makes a choking noise.

"How do you dress up for formal occasions?"

"Me? Formal? One of those t-shirts with a tux pattern. That way everyone knows I'm tacky and broke. Keeps people at a safe distance." he laughs, which trails off into a sigh. "I'll trade you a t-shirt sometime. To give you a fair warning, everything in my wardrobe is black. I'm guessing that's not your color."

"One week into whatever this is, and we're already sharing clothes."

"Ask me if that's before or after first base, and I will tackle you into the ground."

"I don't know. I might be okay with that."

"Shut up." He slams one hand into my shoulder.

"You boys having a good morning?" Megan asks.

"It's better now." Evan says, and I elbow him in the ribs. He coughs and bursts out laughing. Behind Megan, Serena is waiting in the main room. Harper hasn't been able to leave her house, nor find portals, but it's not like we have two weeks to throw away.

"We should go." Megan suggests.

Evan waves her off. "What, do we have to get right to it? I bet the dad cult's on vacation."

---

Apparently the dad cult is not on vacation.

We run into three members walking the halls, all in separate corners of what we've now dubbed the 'outer layer'. The first we take out, no problem, but we don't have time to stick around and interrogate him. If we're not fleeing from robots, it's the building itself, which is not to happy to see us. We free three technicians from their masks in spite of this, the last of whom runs for it before he has the chance to tell us anything.