Fire & Ice

ch. 13

JAMIE

By the time Daniel and I finished practicing, the sun was high in the sky. We were both sweating bullets, especially me. The heat energy that flowed through my veins was exhilarating, but it was hot. 

"I wonder if I can help..." Danny said as we walked back to the house. He reached up and created a mini cloud right above our heads, and snow began to fall over us. 

"We're absolutely abusing this power, aren't we," I said, laughing as the light snowfall sizzled against my skin. 

"Yeah, definitely," he chuckled. We approach the house, and he swiped the mini snowstorm away before anyone could see. 

"So we're not telling anyone about this?" 

"No, not yet. Not until I'm sure that no one will want to go running and screaming back to the city once they find out." He shot me a look.

"Oh, come on, Payton's a wuss. She's barely ELITE-friendly." 

"So you're saying that if someone attacks, she's gonna be a wallflower?" 

"Oh, she's way beyond that. She's gonna be a tree frog. She's literally going to stick to the wall, Danny. And I'm not joking." 

"No way. She can't be worse than Eva Martinez. Remember her exam from last year?" 

"Oh, yeah! She had the funniest physical exam I've ever seen! She literally tried to choke a Holo!" 

"The choking was only the beginning--what got me was when she threw her gun at one of the big Holos and it bounced right off and hit her in the head!" 

We were both laughing so hard by then that my stomach was cramping. Adrian, Natalie, and Marco came out of the front door to greet us, looking concerned.

"And where have you two been?" Nat asked, raising an eyebrow. 

"Just sparring," Danny lied smoothly, grinning at me. 

"Well this is a change from the bickering," Nat commented. 

"We can always go back to bickering if you want, Nat." I shot her a sarcastic smile, and Danny elbowed me. 

"While you were out," Adrian said, "there were many requests for weapons and ammunition. You know, just in case we're attacked out here." 

"Oh." Danny stepped forward. "We could probably go back to that store and see what we could find. But let's look around here first. It's a safe house, right? There's bound to be something already here."

"Wait, hey, Marco," my brother asked suddenly. "Where did you get your guns from?" 

"There is a supply in the bedroom downstairs," Marco answered. He continued talking, but before I knew it I was distracted by his mesmerizing accent and the rest of his response faded straight into muffled mumbling. I didn't know what it was about him, but he was charming somehow. I'd gotten pretty used to seeing huge, tall, and attractive ELITE trainees, and I was almost never fazed by them, but he wasn't anything like them. He was...special.

"Earth to Jamie?" 

The sound of my name brought me back to reality. "What?" 

"I said, after we search the house, you and your friends can head to the store for ammo with Nat and Ethan. Is that okay?" 

"Yeah, that's fine," I agreed, starting inside. Marco smiled at me on my way in, but I didn't dare step any closer to him. There was no way I was letting him smell me when I was super sweaty like this.