The Perks of Being a Freak (Editing)

24. My Drug Of Choice

You are such an idiot, Tony was glowering.

How so? I did a huge loop-de-loop in the air. The world was so beautiful when it was upside down.

You just jumped off a roof because you thought that you might be able to fly! Tony sounded very, very angry.

I… yes I did… It was the truth. I wasn’t going to deny the truth.

You could have killed yourself! How was it that Tony could make his mental voice sound like it was on fire. That boy had the power of inflection.

I think what Tony is trying to say, Lia, Benny sounded a lot calmer, but still a little shaken. Is that we’re connected. Whenever one of us gets hurt, the others can feel it.

Unless we block it, I said, dipping downwards in the air, and then climbing. Yeah, I know that.

So what happens if you die? Tony snarled.

That was a good question.

Good thing I’m not going to die, then, isn’t it? My cheeks were hot. How could I have forgotten something like that?! 

Oh well.

Flying was a gift. The wings were a punishment, but the flight was a gift. 

I pushed myself a little higher, hiding my intentions from the others. I really wasn’t in the mood to be yelled at. I was in the mood to forget.

And adrenaline has always been my drug of choice.

Hovering in the sky, the moon was enormous. I breathed in the air, and strained my eyes to see any hint of a star. There were none. Only the huge moon and the clear night air.

I closed my eyes.

Do any of you like rollercoasters? I don’t know why I was smiling. They were going to be mad at me after this. Why was I smiling if they were going to be mad?

Why? Tony demanded just as Benny, Emily, and Rajeev affirmed tentatively.

You’ll see. I let them read my intentions just as I folded my wings against my back and dropped from the sky.