The Perks of Being a Freak (Editing)

74. The Third Time (Of Many) That Tony Is A Jerk

So we just stood there, looking at each other. It was pretty obvious to both of us that we couldn’t fight.

He was still wearing the same T shirt and hoodie. Now that I thought about it, none of them really had more than a few outfits. Jaeb’s hair looked like she cut it herself, and it seemed like Simon didn’t really bother cutting his.

Could they afford it? I wondered. Did they have jobs? Did they have to steal? If they escaped from the lab it’s possible that they never went to school, so I don’t know if they would be able to get a job.

“Lia!” Tony growled. “What are you doing?!”

“I…” I looked from Simon to Tony, who was covered entirely in flames. I could see burn marks on Mitchell’s bare arms.

Suddenly it was too much. All of this. I couldn’t take it anymore. The fighting, the secrets, the powers, all of it. 

“I can’t,” I shook my head. “I don’t want to fight anymore. I can’t do it.”

“What?!” Tony shouted, and then he flew backwards. Mitchell’s fist was still smoking, and his knuckles looked singed.

“Stop,” Simon shouted, rushing forward to hold his friend back. I stumbled to the wall where Tony lay, slumped. Wincing, I fell to my knees and shook his shoulder.

Wake up! I told him. Come on!

Why don’t you want to fight? Benny demanded, walking over as well. Jaeb had moved to stand behind Simon, staring at him incredulously.

I… I’m just sick of this, y’know, I was lying again. I hated lying, yet I was so good at it. Why was that? I don’t want to fight anymore. This freak stuff is hard enough. Maybe if we worked together we could-

Are you sleeping with Simon? Tony’s eyes flashed open, dark, cold, and accusing. I jerked back, eyes wide.

“No!” I blanched when I realized that I had spoken aloud. No! Why would you think that?

You didn’t fight him, Tony stood up, and I matched his movements, ready to try and catch him if he fell. He had been hit pretty hard, and I would catch him even if he was a dick. He didn’t want to fight you. Something is going on between you two.

Or maybe we just both figured out that fighting isn’t getting us anywhere. I bit my tongue and stepped away.

Bullshit, Lia, Tony snickered and shook his head. I knew those rumors were true. 

I’m not going to lie. That stung. A lot. 

Were they true? Was this slutty, pseudo-dating the guy who had tried to kill me and my friends? Was I a whore for liking Simon?

Or was I just forgiving? Too forgiving, maybe, but forgiving all the same.

I slapped Tony.

Don’t ever say that again, I warned him. You have no right to say those kinds of things.

It’s a free country, Tony glared, and looked like he wanted to slap me back. I can say whatever I want.

Guys, don’t fight, Benny pleaded. C’mon… Lia is right. This fighting is pointless. Let’s just go home.

“We’re not going to fight you,” Benny informed them.

“Good,” Simon nodded and then, for the first time, they were the ones to leave. We watched them go for a minute, until not even their shadows were left.

“I’m glad that’s over,” I was really, really cold. Why hadn’t I noticed the temperature plummeting? Jesus.

“We need to get home before we freeze,” I looked over at Benny and gasped. He was in a T shirt and sweat pants. His shoes were untied. Goose pumps covered his arms and shoulders and his lips were tinged blue.

Without even thinking about it, I took off my heavy winter coat and thrust it at him. It left me in only a sweater over my tank top, but it was still more than he was wearing.

“Take it,” I commanded him. “You need it.”

“What about me?” Tony whined. He was dressed similarly to Benny, except that he didn’t look cold in the slightest.

“Set yourself on fire,” I snapped. Benny took my coat and pulled it on. It had been a little big for me, so it fit him decently. He sighed and hugged it around himself. As for myself, I turned and started walking back towards home.

I’ll see you guys later, I informed them, waiting until I was out of the alley to start shivering.

So my snow day wasn’t perfect, but it wasn’t horrible, either. Maybe now I had a black eye and a bruised gut and some pain in my neck, but that was the worst part.

And my day got better later at night, when there was a tap at my window, and I crawled up on the roof to see Simon with a big fuzzy blanket.