Stolen Powers: Rise of the NGZ

Chapter Seven: Dancing with the Demons

I laid on my bed, staring up at the ceiling. My head was still hurting from this morning, but after Bailey insisted that I should drown myself in water, I felt better after a few hours.

The sun was sitting on the horizon, and it looked as if it was peeking through my window. The days felt a little shorter, now that the weather was cooling off.

I was startled when a knock came at my door. "Mason? Are you in there?"

It was Bailey, so I relaxed. "Yeah, I'm here." My voice was raspy, so I cleared it.

The door slowly creaked open, and Bailey slipped through. Her hair was all in her face, and it looks like she just finished running a marathon. It was a cute sight to see, nonetheless. The girl left the door just slightly open as she laid herself down next to me.

We were quiet for a few seconds before Bailey turned her head to me. "If something's on your mind, you know you can talk to me, right?"

I sighed. "Yes, I know."

"Then what's going through your mind, Mason?" she asked, almost desperate. "It's killing me to see you like this. It's killing everyone to see you like this."

Hearing that made me feel guilty, but I still didn't care all that much. If my mom was here, she'd know what to say or do. She was the only one that could cheer me up when I was down. Mom was the one there for me when nobody else was. I just wished that-

Bailey suddenly sat up, snapping me out of my thoughts. She leaned down and gently planted her lips onto mine. Her soft lips met mine, and it instantly felt like everything washed itself away. She cupped my face as she continued to kiss me before she eventually let go.

She was crying. I just stared at her with a hot face like an idiot. "B-Bailey..."

She broke down even more as she buried her face into my chest. "Mason, please...you've got to talk to me. I'm worried about you. We're worried about you. You can't hold on to your feelings like this. You'll just make yourself more miserable if you don't."

I felt like a complete idiot at that point. Here I was, staring at my beautiful girlfriend that was literally begging me to talk to her about whatever was on my mind. Tears were streaming down her cheeks like waterfalls. I sighed and extended my arms, wanting her to come here. She did, and we embraced each other.

"I'm sorry, Bailey," I said, almost at a whisper. "I'm just...without my mom or dad here, I just feel lost. It's like I have no guidance. How am I supposed to be a leader if I don't have guidance?"

Bailey sat up but still remained in the security of my arms. She lovingly played with my hair as she spoke. "Well, that's just what being a leader is about. You have to trust your friends to help you know where to go. Being a leader isn't about everyone following you like a herd of chickens, it's all about trust. We can help you make the right decisions."

I was quiet for a few seconds after she said that. Then I looked up at her, and Bailey was looking at me with a mix of emotions. I could see sadness, worry, and even tiredness. It made me feel like I wasn't looking out for her enough.

"Are you okay, though?" I quietly asked, not even above a whisper. "You look exhausted. Is it your parents?"

In case you have forgotten, when this whole ordeal started, the NGZ burned Bailey's house down. Since then, she's been trying her best to contact her parents, with no success thus far. The resistance has also tried their best, but they've come up empty as well.

Bailey nodded slowly. "Yeah. I'm worried about them just as much as I am with you."

"I don't blame you," I said, running my fingers through her hair. She relaxed a little. "When we find them, we'll make sure that Lin will pay for it."