Convergence - The Last Science #2.2 - Heroes and Villains

B2: Chapter 20 - Retreat - III

  Steven's apartment wasn't very big.

  Even compared to the apartments her dad used to run, it was pretty tiny. One main room and two other rooms splitting off near the back, both of which were closed. Steven made sure they all took off their shoes right away before they stepped onto the carpet (a bad habit Natalie was frequently guilty of), but soon enough they were sitting on the crescent couch surrounding the small TV.

  Right away, Tyler turned it on and loaded up a game. Natalie watched with interest for a bit, while Mitch and Kelsey kept talking about soccer, but it was clear pretty quickly that Tyler wasn't very good at it. He would die over and over in exactly the same spot, and he never tried anything new. Natalie figured out the trick pretty quickly, even though she'd never played before, but she felt a bit apprehensive about telling him.

  Tyler was her least favorite in the group. He was loud and annoying most of the time, and he had the worst know-it-all voice she'd ever heard. She always felt like he dragged the group down whenever he talked. Sure, he was really good at Conquest and no one could beat him (which he reminded them of frequently), but he wasn't really the best at anything else—not that he knew that. If anyone else told him he was doing something wrong, he'd get mad and assume they were wrong instead. Even when it was obvious.

  Quinn was the only one he'd believe on the first try. So when Natalie saw him screwing up the game, too stubborn to figure out his problem, she didn't say a word. He'd figure it out eventually. She didn't want to jump into that potential fire.

  But he did stand up for you.

  The memory swam through Natalie's mind for a second—an image of Tyler standing in front of Blake and Lydia, telling them to leave her alone. Asking them to stop being mean for no reason.

  Telling her she was cool, before they'd even met.

  He's not that bad.

  Natalie was sitting in the far corner of the couch, while the rest of the group gave her a respectable distance. None of them really knew why she and Quinn had asked them to give her space all the time. Quinn barely knew more than they did. And Natalie was never going to tell them.

  The fact that they did so without a single question made Natalie want to hug them all tight. But she couldn't.

  "You guys want anything to eat?" asked Steven, leaning over the kitchen counter. "We've got chips, some Oreos, soda. Whatever you want."

  The rest of the group scrambled up, Mitch and Kelsey practically racing across the room to get there first. Tyler abandoned his game without even pausing it.

  Natalie stayed right where she was, just watching.

  Steven glanced over while they dug through the fridge. "Jenny? Want anything?"

  "...Do you have any orange soda?" she asked. It had always been her favorite, but her dad didn't buy it very often, and she felt weird asking the Laushires for soda. They definitely didn't approve of the drink.

  "Yeah, one sec." He picked out a can and set it on the counter. She didn't recognize the brand, but it was definitely orange soda. "This good?"

  Natalie nodded. A second later, the soda soared through the air and landed right in her lap. She jumped a little as it hit her legs—it was practically frozen.

  "Yeah, sorry. My fridge is too cold a lot of the time," Steven added apologetically. "Should be mostly melted inside though."

  She reached for the top of the can and tried to open it by the tab, but she couldn't. I don't know how this works... She twisted it around a few times, but nothing happened. The others were coming back to the couch with bags of chips and drinks in hand, and she still hadn't opened it. With anxiety mounting in her chest, Natalie flung her mind at the can in a blind panic and pushed down at the spot where she knew it was supposed to open.