Race Against Time

Heart to heart

I looked up as someone slid down the wall across from me and sat. It was Aiden.

"What are you still doing up?" He asked.

I shrugged. "I could ask you the same thing."

He only nodded, accepting my choice to avoid his question. I put my head back down on my knee. My head was pounding and every pore in my body was screaming at me to sleep, but my brain had other ideas. Instead all I could do was sit here in the hallway and stare at the opposing wall.

Even after what happened in Carl's office with the gold watch and vision, we still had nothing. Tensions were running a little high as Aiden and I had informed the others. I couldn't blame them, really. I would be annoyed too.

"Are we going crazy?" I asked, not raising my eyes from the floor.

He shook his head.

"I mean, are we just reading way too much into something? Are we just hoping for something bigger to be going on so we won't be bored?" My voice was hushed.

There was no answer from Aiden for such a long moment I'd thought he'd fallen asleep. Before I could slap him awake, he spoke. "Do you ever think of your parents? Your home life?"

I nodded. "Yeah. I miss them. I wish I could tell them the truth; they're so proud of me when they have nothing to be proud of."

At that, Aiden glanced up sharply. "You're wrong."

"Am I, now?"

He nodded, scooting to sit beside me. He grasped my shoulder gently to turn me to him, his deep eyes staring into my own.

"They have everything to be proud of. You're extremely intelligent; the first person in a long time to find the secret of my powers. You're compassionate and brave; always running to save those in your vision, even when they are always in mortal danger. You don't know how lucky you are."

His eyes dropped to the floor. It hit me then, that he was thinking of how his parents would be upset about him and his abnormal power.

"Hey," I murmured gently, "you're parents have a lot to be proud of too. You're strong; carrying the burden that if you accidently mess up, you may hurt someone. You're gentle; you wouldn't hurt someone in a million years. You're deep; you have a whole other side to you that you don't let anyone see. You're probably the most loved person in the universe to them."

I smiled slightly-a real smile-not the smirk he usually carries around.

There was another moment of silence, but it was far from awkward. It was the kind of silence where you just have a lot on your mind and you're sifting through it all.

I was deathly aware of the mere inches separating us. Heat from his body was warming me and he wasn't even touching me. I leaned my head against the wall, closing my eyes, though I was still far from falling asleep.

"I'm sorry," Aiden spoke abruptly.

"For what?"

"For acting like an ass when you first got here."

I didn't say anything. I wasn't going to tell him it was ok, because it wasn't.

"Don't worry about it," was what I responded with.

"I wish we were normal," I stated.

He nodded. "Me too. I wish I didn't have to constantly be aware of my temper, lest I kill someone. I can't even have a descent argument."

I nodded. "I wish I didn't have to have these stupid visions. I can't do anything about them, so why do I have them in the first place. The only thing they accomplish is making me feel like crap. You know, most people at my old school think I'm mental?"

He snorted. The casual act was so out of character for him, I looked over, my eyebrows raised. I smiled when I noticed his playful smirk.

"You? Mental? I would have never guessed that." His eyes gleamed with mischief.

"Oh shut up," I said, swatting him on the arm. "I'm the most non-mental person there is."

He rolled his eyes. "Whatever helps you sleep at night."

I groaned. "I'm not mental. You're the mental one."

He rose an eyebrow; that infuriating smirk still playing on his lips. "Oh yeah? How so?"

"You-you're annoying and-and a total loser." I said the last part triumphantly, causing Aiden to fall into a laughing fit so hard he had to lean on me as to not fall on the floor.

"That's the best you can come up with?"

I shrugged. "I can come up with a lot more if you give me a minute."

"Unfortunately, the comeback is only funny if you say it directly after the insult." His voice was annoyingly high and mighty.

"I'm always funny," I retorted cheekily.

He rolled his eyes and leaned his head back against the wall. "You know what we need?"

"Hm?"

"Sleep."

I smiled. "No kidding."

Despite his pronouncement of needing sleep, he made no move to rise. I didn't mind. I found myself enjoying the company.

"What's your favorite time of day?" I asked randomly.

He glanced at me curiously. "Twilight."

"Why?"

"Because it's the time of day where day meets night, and they both rule for a small period of time. It's as if they're united."

I rose a brow. "That was deep."

"What's yours?" he asked.

"Lunch."

"Why?"

I shrugged. "One word. Food."

He snorted. "I should have expected that."

"Should've, could've, would've."

I glanced up as I heard the tell tale sounds of footsteps approaching. Noah, in all his honey blonde glory, was standing in front of us. "Look at what I found," he sung in a cheerful voice.

He held up a bag of Cheetos. I smiled, releasing a breath from my nose as I shook my head in amusement. Aiden sat up straighter, holding out his hands.

Noah tossed the bag to him and I smiled at his childishness. He ripped open the bag just as Sam and Selina appeared from behind corner. "I heard someone say Cheetos."

Aiden handed the girls the bag. I smiled, glancing at the four people around me. I didn't know what the future held, but I just knew that as long as we stuck together, we could get through anything the world threw our way.

Hey guys! I didn't have time to edit this chapter, so it probably has a crap ton of mistakes. If you wouldn't mind, could you point them out to me? Sorry about being MIA for a while, but I plan to be updating regularly for the time being, at least.

See ya next time :)