The Perks of Being a Freak (Editing)

42. Do Not Try And Throw A Girl Off Of A Roof On The First Date, Simon

Getting onto the roof of the high school was a very easy thing to do. All one needed was a bobby pin, a small knife, and a lookout.

From the moment my car pulled to a stop in the parking lot, it took four minutes and thirty-eight seconds to get onto the roof, a new personal best, actually.

Emily, Benny, Rajeev, and I sat on the roof in a circle, drinking soda, watching the stars. There were three or four blankets spread beneath us, and it was a beautiful, peaceful moment. Especially since Tony wasn’t there to mock me or be a dick in general.

The first hour or so was pretty much silent. I thought my own thoughts, walls up. I watched the stars glimmer between the clouds, and wished that I was flying.

But it was nice to just be, y’know. There was no panic, or fear. We were freaks, we had accepted that. freaking out wouldn’t change who we were now. So we just lay, looking out from the roof of our school.

“I can’t tell whether summer is going by quickly or slowly,” Benny finally spoke, cutting through the silence like it was nothing. I smiled.

“I think it’s a little bit of both,” a feeling of curiosity swept over me, so I explained a little bit further. “The bad parts are going by slowly, and the good parts are over quickly.”

“Bad parts like…?” Rajeev questioned.

“Like getting kidnapped, and Emily finding out her father was back, and me being ignored. All of that is taking so long, and the fun things, hanging out, movies, mall, whatever is going by too quickly.”

“I get it,” Rajeev said quietly.

And we were back in silence.

I lifted my shoulders off of the ground, uncomfortable. It wasn’t a great feeling to have my wings squished beneath me, so I got to my knees and turned around. 

It was pure luck that I saw the hazel-ish cat eyes glaring out at me from the darkness. For a second I was frozen, and in that second the eyes disappeared.

No cat was that tall, I realized.

Someone else is up here, I informed the others. Act like you don’t know anything.

“Lia?” Benny asked innocently. I looked at him. “Maybe we should head home.”

“It is getting kinda cold out,” Emily continued, looking sane.

“I have to get back before my mother notices that I’m gone,” Rajeev seemed proud that he managed to lie so well.

“Alright,” I stood, holding my wings even closer. “Let’s head home.”

“Not so fast,” a voice sneered across the roof. Heart sinking, I turned towards the familiar voice.

It was Jaeb.

“What do you want, Jaeb?” I asked tiredly. I wasn’t in the mood to deal with this stupid gangs petty squabbles.

“Simon wants you four gone,” she sauntered towards us, arms crossed.

“Well,” Benny said thoughtfully. “I guess you’re gonna have to go tell Simon to fuck himself, because we aren’t leaving.”

“Wrong answer, kid,” Mitchell and Simon stepped out from the shadow. Now that he was in the light and wasn’t wearing a hood, I could see Simon much better. He had shaggy, golden-brown hair. His bones were tight to his skin. He was still wearing the hoodie, though. It looked cleaner now, as if he had washed it since I last saw him.

All of them look hungry, I realized. “Do you want something to eat?”

It was when every person on the roof looked at me that I realized that I sounded like an idiot. Of course they didn’t want food- they wanted us gone.

And then the weirdest thing happened.

I blinked, and Jaeb was gone.

What? I blinked and spun around, looking for the redhead. 

I found her directly behind me.

And then I was on the ground, and the entire left side of my face was throbbing.

That bitch, I howled, lunging at her. I dove through empty air.

Mitchell, Simon, and Jaeb were all laughing behind me. Benny helped me to my feet, and I blushed darkly. They had just made me look like a fool.

“What are you?” Rajeev asked, two parts curious one part angry.

“We’re freaks, kid,” Mitchell laughed, crossing his huge arms over his huge chest. “Nothing but freaks.”

I guess it was stupid to assume that we were the only freaks in town, but still. This was a surprise.

They’re standing next to a metal hatch, I thought. Em?

Emily grinned, and I didn’t need to look at her eyes to know that she had that crazy, manic look.

“Funny,” she said, soft voice carrying. “So are we.”

A solid beam of steel shot out to wrap around the three, pulling them close. Jaeb looked surprised, Mitchell looked annoyed, and Simon was indifferent.

I saw his wrist flick, and the metal burst, flying off in every direction. 

Telekinesis? He has fucking telekinesis? Benny growled. That is so unfair.

Well Emily and Lia have selective telekinesis. Rajeev said. I saw him shrug from the corner of my eye. It’s not too different.

Maybe we should go, Benny sounded nervous.

We can’t let them win, I growled.

If we let them influence us, we lose, Emily agreed. Jaeb flashed out again, and then reappeared behind Benny. 

Behind you! It took less than a second for him to process the word, and then he vanished. Jaeb stared at the place where Benny had just been in shock.

Raj, get somewhere safe, I instructed. I felt his annoyance and shame, but then he, too was invisible.

Lia behind you, I spun as soon as I heard Emily’s voice to see Jaeb swinging a fist at my head. I duck to the side and brought my leg up to my hip, and then snapped it out into her thigh. With a grunt, Jaeb fell.

Emily look out! Benny called. I looked over to see Mitchell swinging down at her. Emily dove to the side, and his hand collided with the roof.

The concrete cracked.

Don’t… don’t let him hit you. I thought. If he could crack concrete, imagine what he could do to a human skeleton.

Lia, we can’t win against these guys, Benny said, making himself visible behind Mitchell, and smashing a metal bar against the taller man’s head.

Should we run, oh great leader? Somehow Emily made it so these words weren’t sarcastic. I thought.

And then a hand closed around my neck, and my feet were no longer touching the ground. I reached up to grab at the arm, but there was nothing there.

“Lia!” Benny yelled, and then flew forward. Mitchell had hit him. I tried to cry out, but there was no air in my lungs.

If Mitchell wasn’t strangling me, who was?

I looked over at Simon.

And as I flew backwards, all I could see was the raw hatred in his eyes.