Origin City (TO BE CONTINUED...)

Team Pulse (Chapter Four)

The following day was a Saturday. Yesterday was the last day of school and my father doesn't have work on the weekends. I awake in my bed, grateful that I still have my life and grateful for Jaden. I prepare myself for the day and head downstairs, I then find my father sitting on the couch watching a prerecorded basketball game.

"Hey, Dad, who's winning?" I ask as I approach the kitchen.

"Um...Lakers." He says.

"Why did you have to think?" I laugh.

"I wasn't really paying attention to the game, too busy playing clash." He laughs too. I open the cabinet and pull out a box of Honey Smacks, I pour them into the bowl and sit down to eat. "You ready for high school?" He asked.

"Dad, you already know I'm good," I reply, I check my phone for alerts and see a lot of crime and things going on. I eat one last spoonful of cereal and milk and throw away the plastic bowl. "Alright, I'm heading out dad," I say while walking towards the door.

"Where you headed to?"

"A friend's house. I have the house key, I'll be alright."

"Okay, be safe please."

"Got it," I say, I shut my door and started to make my way to Jaden's house. I approach his door and knock.

"Who is it?" Jaden called.

"Jarahn," I respond. He opens the door and I enter, we then start to talk about the team.

"So...this Lakota...she's in?" I ask.

"Yes, she's working on the suit now. I've seen the progress, you're gonna love it." Jaden pours coffee into the mug.

"Are we gonna have a base?"

"Dang, you want to go all out?"

"Uh...um no. I just thought..." I start to feel nervous.

"Nah man, I'm just kidding. She already has a warehouse ready to be modified. Trust me, she's obsessed with this hero stuff. She loves it." Jaden laughed.

"Okay, how can she make stuff and then have a whole base?"

"Oh yeah, she's rich. Her whole family has a history of wealth." Jaden admits. My heart stops and my eyes widened.

"No way..." I said, still shocked about all of this. Me gaining members, new suit, and now a base? It seems like a dream, seems so unreal.

"Yeah. We haven't exactly decided when you'll receive the suit and the warehouse. She's supposed to send over something to help us travel to her mansion, which is why I invited you. She's inviting both of us. I've been there before but it was a while ago."

"Were you guys a thing?"

"Yeah, we were. But we broke up since I didn't want to wait. She travels a lot. Well used to travel a lot." Jaden explained.

"Why not go for it again?" I ask. I then hear a loud car horn. I look out the window and see a limo.

"Because, I was scared, and I thought she didn't love me anymore." Jaden grabs his house key and we head out.

"Love, very complicated," I say as we enter the limo, I look around and find chocolate, kool-aid, skittles, all types of candies. "Gummy bears? Nice." I say while grabbing a handful.

"How would you know? You got someone in mind?" Jaden asked.

"There's a girl, named Jaliyah. Childhood friend, I love her but she's also my best friend..."

"So, you're afraid to ask?" Jaden finished. I nodded while slightly looking away.

"Dang, that situation is always the worst," Jaden says feeling a bit of sympathy for me. "Teenage love, so sweet, so innocent, but such sad endings. Throws you into an abyss of heartbreak." Jaden says in such a formal voice. I chuckle before I speak.

"Right, you are." After an hour of eating candy and talking about ourselves, we approach a mansion. Which is 4 miles away from Origin City. I walk out first and find Lakota at the top of her long stairs, constantly waving at me. "uh...Hi." I say as I wave back. Jaden then exits the limo and they give each other a nice glance. Even I could feel the chemistry they still have, but they both refuse to date again, I don't know why. You may be asking, how can I tell all of that, it's called Deduction, something I've been studying for a while. They greet each other with a hug, I walk up to her and present my hand, she then gives me a hug as well, along with squeezing me, I wince, and she lets go.

"Ah yes, sorry. I completely forgot about your wound. Man...you really is a superhero." Lakota says.

"There's nothing super about me," I say, I walk past her and proceed into her home. Lakota looks at me and then looks at Jaden.

"What's his deal?" She asked.

"Not sure, whenever anyone calls him a superhero, he takes it personally and replies with the same thing," Jaden answered. "So, um...how are things?" Jaden asked. I walk off into her large kitchen press my hands onto her counter, I close my eyes and I start to remember something when I was 3.

(Flashback at Jarahn's point of view)

At ages 1 to 4 she always called me a superhero...her superhero...

"Aw, look at my little superhero." She says as I stand to my feet after falling. She grabs my small hands and pulls me towards her and kisses my forehead. I smiled at her and she smiled back at me.

(Flashback ends)

Tears filled my eyes and I start to think about how much I miss her.

"Jarahn, everything okay?" Jaden asked while Lakota stood beside me and rested her hand on my shoulder.

"Yeah...just remembering something..." I say as my voice slightly starts to break.

"What's wrong?" Jaden asked.

"My mother, she left me when I was 4. She always called me her superhero when I was younger, then out of nowhere, she was gone, she disappeared. She left me and my father alone, father was barely able to pay rent but then he was able to get a nice job and help me...to this day I still don't know where my mother is. Whenever I hear someone say I'm a superhero or I'm like one...it reminds me of her. And I remind them that there's nothing super about me if there was she'd still be here..." I explain I fight back the rest of my tears and I clear my throat. "But crying will do nothing about it, now let's see the suit," I say as if nothing happened. Jaden and Lakota looked at each other in confusion and Lakota lead the way.