The Strange One

4 - I Can't Let That Happen

(Jackson's POV)

Saiki's house exploded! Holy crap, is he okay? I hop down from the roof and run to the house across from the street. I ring the doorbell. Saiki opens the door.

"Saiki! Oh my god, are you and your family okay?" I ask, frantically. "I don't understand what could've caused this. Do you want me to call the police?"

"No, don't call the police. We're okay," Saiki says to me, although he seems pretty unshaken about it.

"Well, my parents aren't home," I suggest. "You and your family could crash at my place tonight if you want. I'll ask my parents about a more long-term solution. They aren't house experts, but I'm sure they can find a solution."

"We're fine, we've-"

"Saiki, I insist."

He's silent for a moment. "I'll go tell my parents."

He goes inside his house. I wait outside the door for him, wishing I could see what was going on inside. He returns moments later with who I'm assuming to be his mother and father. I greet them, quickly and lead them into my house.

"Sorry, it's a little dirty, I was baking earlier," I say, nervously. My parents will be pissed if they find out. "You can have the rest of you want. I can't do too much sweet."

I hold out the remaining cookies and Saiki takes them without hesitation. He must really like sweets, although he blocks literally everything out when he eats. It's funny.

I lead his parents to the guest room. They're asleep pretty fast, surprisingly. I then start taking Saiki to my sister's old room. I don't like looking in there because it brings back too many bad memories from the summer. The lights, the ride, the blood. Saiki enters, quickly, and shuts the door, almost as if he knew what was going on in my head.

Well, I can't sleep, so I'll just write some more. I reach for my laptop, then remember that I have melatonin to take. I head downstairs and open the pantry. Moving the boxes of cereal at the top aside, I get a bit of a peek at the small bottle that holds them. I grab it and dump a gummy into my hand. A full gummy makes me tired in the morning, but half a gummy isn't enough to get me to sleep. I take the full gummy, quickly, then head back upstairs.

It must be midnight by now. It's dark out, but very pretty. There are stars out. I was raised in the city, so I never really get to see the stars. Plus, a horrible ex told me he thinks of me when he looks at the night sky, so I never give it much thought. Unless I'm camping... When I'm camping with my family, the stars are out and so bright. No light pollution blocks it out, so I try to look for constellations. Mostly the big and little dippers and whatever's around at the time. But the stars without the light pollution that comes in the night, they never cease to amaze me. I can say only one person around here is as beautiful as the stars, but I dare not say their name. It brings about bad memories.

Soon, the melatonin starts to make me tired enough to fall asleep. I smile and close my eyes. Almost immediately, I'm drifting off to sleep.

(Saiki's POV)

Good, he's finally asleep. I sneak into Jackson's room and look around for the notebook. All I have to do is make sure he's never written my name in it. That's all. As I'm walking, I see a small box on his floor. I crouch down and open it. Maybe the notebook is in here. Just before I can get a good look, Jackson opens his eyes. It's dark, so he can't see me, but I go invisible, anyways. Getting a closer look at him, I see that his eyes are watering. I get a sudden headache.

Red and blue lights alternate through the house. My parents are holding each other in terror. Jackson's parents, finally home, kick them out, angrily, and start to cry. The police come and take my parents away. They think it was a murder.

I can't let that happen. I only saw the end result, but I have an idea as to how to stop it. I watch as he stands up and starts to walk out of his room. I get up and follow him, making myself visible as I do. He enters the kitchen, not noticing me, and starts to pour himself half a cup of juice. Rather than drink it immediately, he hops up onto the counter and starts playing a certain Micheal Jackson song. The song he's playing is Smooth Criminal. He sings along, quietly, but not happily, although his tone would indicate the opposite. I take a closer look into his mind.

I hope no one's up right now. I have to be quick.

He grabs his drink and downs it all in one gulp, then grabs a knife nearby. He raises it up high above him, his song changing to something I haven't heard before. Judging from his thoughts, he knows every single word to the song. In fact, he seems to love the particular band and look up to them, especially the lead guitarist and lead singer. I guess now is my time to act. I walk up to him and touch his shoulder. He looks at me, not at all startled.

"What are you doing, Saiki?" He asks me, acting like he isn't holding a knife over his stomach. "I thought you were asleep."

"I came down for a snack. What are you doing here?" I respond.

"I was baking."

"You're laying on the counter."

"It's in the oven."

"The oven's off."

"Corre-" He gasps as the knife slips from his hand. Without much thought, I reach my hand out and stop the knife mid-air with my telekinesis before it could hurt him. He stares at it in surprise. "S-..."

I narrow my eyes, then gently set it down next to him. What can I do to cover this up? I teleport back to his sister's room, quickly. Hopefully, he believes that I wasn't there after tonight. If not, then...