Peppermint

Chapter 22 - Things That Hide Away

***ALEX***

Josh climbs onto my back again for the short flight up to the helicopter. For the benefit of the rescue pilot who wonders why an able-bodied guy can't fly himself, he covers up by explaining that he's a demon. Thankfully, the pilot and copilot both just leave it at that, no other questions asked. And me, I just have to hunker down, hood up, and - in spite of what Bennet said about me having autistic psychic blocks or whatever, though I'm pretty sure that only applies to projection and not garden-variety thought-speech - hope I don't accidentally broadcast the truth telepathically.

It's easier when they're helping me keep warm. Josh too, he's got a blanket on, but he doesn't really need it like I do. He didn't get nearly as wet as I did, and he shook off a good chunk of the frost that attached itself to him when I accidentally teleported us. Me, though, it wouldn't go away, probably because it's my power and all. It's far from the first time ice has tried to get too familiar with me. I haven't forgotten the times - plural now since you may have last heard of such an unwanted incident - I've almost frozen my balls off in the shower.

Good thing I've never dated any girls with the same power as me, because if any such girl were into ice play, I'd have to turn her down until I was a little more confident in my own powers. Fire play, though, I've dreamed of that with Fionna - not in our shared dreams, sadly - and I've been considering asking Kelly about plant play for a while. Maybe our first time going all the way, she can tie my wrists down with vines, help me overcome that particular fear of mine-

"You're turning the air bluer than it already is with those brainwaves, bro."

I turn my head so I can sort of see Josh, even though, with my hood up, I can only do so out of one eye. "Your telepathy keeps changing strength."

"It actually doesn't, but that's just the nature of sex thoughts."

I shrink further into my blanket. "Sorry."

"Don't be. If it eases your stress, it eases your stress. Just don't jerk off in front of me. Or these fine gentlemen. They can go online to witness that sort of shit." He laughs good-naturedly along with the more awkward titters from up front, then changes the subject. "Dude, has anyone ever told you you look kinda like the guy from Mr. Robot? But younger."

I pull my hood off so I can give him a brief glare. Not that I'm actually mad at him, but I need to nip this particular pop-cultural nicknameage in the bud. "They called me that when I was a kid."

"Hmm?"

"Bullies. They'd call me 'Mr. Robot' back in elementary school sometimes."

"Oh..." His face falls as he connects the dots. "Oh, it's 'cause you're...yeah, I'm sorry too. I didn't know." Then he does a double take. "Elementary school? Kids at that age knew what-"

"Gabe and I were the only ones in our graduating sixth-grade class who, at that time, hadn't even seen a minute of Game of Thrones."

He snickers, then winks. "Point." Once both his eyes are open, he rolls them sympathetically. "Kids, right?"

"They're not that bad," I say, thinking of the likes of Luca's or Paul's little brothers. "Kids," though? Gio and Aron are teenagers. Early to mid-teens, yeah, but in my head they're not really kids any more than I felt I was by the time I was fifteen or so. Funny, now I'm seventeen and feel I got seriously lost somewhere on the way to manhood.

I put my hood up and lean against the wall, feeling the charging cables in my pocket. Two of them - no, three, I think. Either way, the infamous Pocket Elves are already at work, tangling them up in hopes of rendering them useless. I extract the knot of cables and work to unravel them. Josh's eyes follow my fingers for a while as I work. Or stim. Whatever I want to call it. Maybe if I were capable of producing anything good from it, I'd take up knitting or something. It'd be pretty hipster of me, but then again I've been known to get mistaken for one already, so why not build that image a little more, am I right? And as long as my writing life's been on hold, I've got to find some other outlet of creative therapy.