C0NV3RG3 (Sequel to M3RG3)

Chapter 26

"Hey, Oliver," I smiled, playfully punching his shoulder.

"Hey, Arista." He replied, pulling down on a lever as the garage doors creaked shut. "I see you brought a new friend with you today."

"Yeah, this is Magnus." His eyes instantly narrowed as he glared at the figure behind me. I waved a hand at him. "Yes, that's Kyle. We're on good terms now."

"Did you forget who he was?" He whispered furiously. "He's-"

"A Republican that roots out infiltrates. I know." I said. Kyle studied his shoes with the utmost interest. "But he's changed. He even risked his identity to come here." Oliver's eyes were still narrowed and I sighed.

"Look, when I came here, you didn't know anything about me. At least give him a chance, okay?" I quickly glanced at Kyle, who shuffled his feet awkwardly.

"He murdered Anthony. " Oliver stressed.

"Um, maybe I should leave," Kyle muttered, slowly turning on his heel.

"Nonsense!" I intervened. "We're just having a slight miscommunication here."

Why was Oliver so adamant on hating Kyle? I had forgiven him and I was the one that watched Anthony die. Oliver's eyes remained narrowed, his shoulders tense.

"Oliver, we all make mistakes. I made one which almost got you, Karen and Lydia killed. I even made Caelan die because of it." I let out a heavy sigh then forced a smile. "But you still forgave me, didn't you?"

Oliver's lips formed a hard line. I tried again. "He's made his mistakes, but he doesn't remember any of it. Give him a chance, please."

"This isn't you trying to make him like you, is it?" He retorted, biting back a smirk.

"You're horrible!" I gasped, punching him in the stomach. "Of course not!"

When both of us finally regained our breath, Oliver let out a sigh. "Fine. I'll send a message to Karen and tell her we have a new addition to our team. But he still needs to do 'the test'."

"Arista, I have a problem." Kyle interrupted, tapping me on the shoulder. "Jamie's waking up."

"Ask him to nicely back off. You should be fine for a few more hours." I glanced at Kyle, trying to spot the usual phasing symptoms: The sudden rigidity in shoulders, the spine stiffening, the eyes blanking out... For now, he looked fine.

"Well," I grinned at Oliver. "Kyle's already done 'the test'. We jumped off the building together."

"It's different for every person." He insisted, his eyes glittering with malice.

"Oh, stop being so mean, will you? What did he ever do to you?" I poked him teasingly. His frown deepened, but he was no longer glaring at Kyle.

"Are you sure we can trust him?" He asked. A smile spread across my face. Even though he didn't trust Kyle, he trusted me. And that said enough about him.

"Yes. If he betrays us, you can put me on trial first. You have my word." A loud moan interrupted my thinking. I swivelled around to see Kyle on the ground, his back hunched. "Kyle, you okay?"

"Jamie's giving me a headache." He groaned, rocking himself back and forth. "He can't take no for an answer."

An idea quickly formed in my head. "Tell him that Natasha thinks he's cute and won't be friends with him if he doesn't back off." Then, a devilish idea emerged in my head. "Oh wait, emphasize that she won't take him out on a date if he doesn't listen to you right now." Next to me, Oliver stiffened at the mention of Natasha's name, his lips deepening into a scowl.