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.
It burst inward. The pressurized soda sprayed out in a small fountain, soaking into everything.
"Awesome!" shouted Tyler.
Steven was already rushing back to the kitchen to grab some towels. Natalie started apologizing as the fountain died off.
"You're supposed to use the tab to open it, duh. Then you take it off and throw it away," said Kelsey, rolling her eyes. Mitch immediately took offense to this and started arguing with her over whether or not keeping the tab on the can was acceptable, while Steven returned with towels and a spray bottle.
"Never opened a can before?" asked Steven quietly, while he cleaned up the soda spill.
"...Yeah." Natalie glanced away, her face getting bright red.
"Using the tab's important. It's how it loses pressure so it doesn't explode like that." He shrugged. "I watched a video about it. You used magic though, didn't you?"
"Yes."
"Don't worry about it. I've spilled stuff here before. Probably won't even notice another stain." Sure enough, the carpet already had several blotches over it. Natalie was surprised; Steven didn't seem like the messy type. He was always so careful.
"You should drink that while it's still fizzy," he added, nodding at the can. Natalie quickly grabbed it up and took a huge sip, grateful to have something to do besides talk. To her satisfaction, it was just as great as she remembered orange soda being. She sank into it for a bit, staring lazily out the window at the cloudy sky, the rest of the room fading out into a buzz of noise.
"Could not," said Kelsey.
"Could too!" Mitch shot back.
"What's up?" asked Steven, coming back from the kitchen again. Natalie looked up from her phone. She'd been about to log onto the site, for her usual check on Rachel's account. Natalie didn't like visiting the site much anymore, especially with the messages she kept getting. Hailey was the worst, all the empty apologies after the night Natalie had begged for help, and no one responded but Cinza.
Of course, Natalie knew now that Hailey had been just as trapped, stuck in some bar in Tacoma with guns pointed at her — but it still felt like Natalie had been totally abandoned two weeks ago.
"They're arguing about Jenny," said Tyler, sounding bored.
"What?" Natalie asked, confused. She'd tuned out the conversation minutes ago.
"This moron thinks she can lift the whole couch, with us on it," said Kelsey.
"I bet you all the Oreos left in this box," said Mitch, "that she could do it one handed."
"No way. You're crazy."
"Can you lift it, Jenny?" asked Tyler, looking at her directly. Suddenly, they all were.
Natalie frowned. "I dunno…" She was feeling uncomfortable. Showing off by floating things around was one thing, but having all her friends ask her up front to do magic was really different.
She felt like she could do it. She'd learned strengthening herself from Ryan way back in the early days, and she'd even improved on it herself. It was a bit different than how he did it, 'cause her arms were too small to fit that much muscle growth onto, so she enhanced it with some movement magic too. She couldn't actually push people, obviously, but pushing stuff near them usually worked.
"Come on, you can totally do it!" Mitch added excitedly. "Show them!"
Well, they're all sitting there anyway. Natalie hopped off the couch, murmuring the spell. Her hand latched around the leg of the couch. She took a breath, then pulled it straight up, moving the leg upward with her mind at the same time.
The whole half of the couch lifted into the air. A bag of chips began sliding across to the other side.
Four sets of eyes widened, four jaws dropped.
Natalie grinned and set it back down again. She made a little wave with her hand before plopping onto the armchair next to the couch, curling up slightly. "I want some of the Oreos," she added.
Mitch held them up expectantly. She sighed. Another quick muttered spell and the cookies floated into her palm. For good measure, she had one land right in her mouth.
"That's amazing," said Mitch, totally awestruck.
She shrugged. "I could probably lift more."
"Please don't. My mom would get so mad if the furniture was all rearranged," said Steven. Natalie shot him a grateful look. She didn't want to keep demonstrating for them, although she had to admit it was kinda fun to be the cool one of the group for a while.
There was a squeaking noise from across the room. Natalie looked around. The door to one of the bedrooms had cracked open slightly, and a small tufted face peered out at the group.
she called out.
"...Uhh, what?" asked Mitch.
"Jenny, are you okay?" asked Kelsey, looking genuinely concerned.
"She's talking to Tircar! Look at him!" Tyler cut in excitedly. They all whipped around, looking at the cat, who was sitting quite still in the doorway. He hadn't really responded to Natalie though — just kept staring with a blank face.
"Wait, the talking to animals thing was real?" Kelsey said dubiously. "I thought that was a rumor Blake made up."
Natalie nodded. "I can, but he doesn't seem to like me," she said, a little crestfallen. Not all animals warmed to her, but this was a new level of passive indifference.
"It's not your fault," said Steven. "He really doesn't like new people. It's kinda surprising he showed up at all with you girls here."
"Us girls?" said Kelsey, sounding affronted.
"He probably likes us better," added Natalie.
"What are you saying?" asked Steven, curious.
A case of theft: this story is not rightfully on Amazon; if you spot it, report the violation.
"How are you saying that?" asked Mitch. "That's like, a whole other language."
Tircar looked like he might finally take a step out of the room, but a thump and the slam of a car door from outside sent him scampering back under the bed.
"Aww," said Tyler, who'd obviously been hoping for something more interesting to happen.
"Wait." Steven had just stood up. He looked afraid, which made Natalie afraid. He hurried over to the sliding window door, looking out to the street below. "Oh no."
"What?" asked Mitch.
"My mom's home."
"...So?"
"It's okay," added Natalie. "I'll be fine."
"No, it's not that." Steven shook his head. "I'm not supposed to have girls over. Not unless Mom says it's okay."
"Oh."
"Uh oh," said Kelsey.
"Should we leave?" asked Natalie nervously.
"There's only one staircase. No time." Steven glanced around. "You gotta hide."
"...Hide where?" Natalie scanned the room. There wasn't really anywhere. No closets. No large objects. The cabinets all had glass fronts and were pretty full anyway.
"I… I don't—"
"Steven's closet in his room," Tyler cut in. "In the back behind the hamper under the shelf. My best hide and seek spot."
"That was your spot?" asked Mitch.
"Go!" said Steven. They could hear footsteps outside.
The girls bolted for his room. Kelsey pulled the door shut behind them.
Natalie had never been in a boy's room before, and she didn't really have time to appreciate the experience either. They could already hear the front door opening, and Steven's mom calling out for help with something. She had a brief impression of a bunch of scattered books, game and movie posters, and a computer on a small desk in the corner, before Kelsey pulled open the closet door.
Kelsey was already diving deep into the back, where there was a small shadowy space behind the hamper, under a low shelf. Kelsey squeezed herself in, and there was still just enough room for Natalie to fit too. She took a step forward.
She stopped. She couldn't. It was too close.
It's Kelsey. My friend Kelsey.
She couldn't.
She's been a friend since before I knew her name. All the way back to my first day.
It was too painful. Her entire body refused to let her get any closer.
You can only trust yourself.
Natalie turned and pushed the closet shut from the outside, using magic to make it close completely since she couldn't really pull it from the inside.
"Jenny?" Kelsey whispered.
"Right here."
"If she opens the door…"
"I'll think of something."
Natalie was trying, but the closet didn't really have much else to hide behind. There was another shelf, but it would probably just put her at eye-level with Steven's mom. There were a bunch of clothes hanging from a rack above her, and that was it. She was mostly reduced to hoping that Steven's mom just wouldn't open the door. They couldn't hear anything now, since the room and the closet door were both closed.
Maybe if I… Natalie started murmuring the spell, based on what she could remember from Hailey's notes.
"Jenny?"
"Shh," she hissed back. She was trying to concentrate. Change how the air flows. Change how sound bounces. Sound is little vibrations that move through air. More vibrations means louder. Faster vibrations makes thing sound squeaky. I need to make them get to me before they get absorbed by things.
She felt out the area around her, since she couldn't actually see Steven's mom. She could at least vaguely remember the shape of the room, and a quick visualization of the electrical circuits gave her a better picture. Natalie kept at it, finding the little vibrations and making a sort of current that they could travel on. It weaved under two doors and across the floor of Steven's room, and she had to be careful that nothing caught on the carpet and got absorbed there either.
By the time she could finally make out a few words, it was almost too late.
"Why are there five cans?"
"Mitch was really thirsty," said Steven, but even to Natalie it didn't sound very convincing.
"And whose shoes are these? Steven, don't mess with me today young man."
"I—"
"It's been a crazy day at the office, and now with all this nonsense in the news… I mean, honestly—"
Tyler started coughing, nearly deafening her with the sudden, massive increase in volume. She cut off the spell.
"She's not buying it," Natalie murmured.
"Shit," whispered Kelsey. "What should we do?"
"I… I don't know."
Natalie wished she could fly like Hailey. She could probably get out through Steven's window that way, and maybe even take Kelsey with her. There was no way they could get around Steven's mom in the apartment; there wasn't another way out, just straight through the main room again.
She tried the spell again, only to immediately hear the same gentle squeak she'd heard when Steven's bedroom door closed the first time.
"She's coming!" Natalie hissed.
"Shit!"
Natalie thought desperately. Nowhere I can hide. Unless… but I can't. I have to… What if I could turn invisible?
Cinza could do it all the time. Ruby could do it too. Why not her?
Natalie tried to remember the notes Cinza had left, doing her best to explain a technique she'd learned directly from the book itself. It was always hard trying to explain those methods. Natalie understood that too, every time she tried to explain how she could talk and make friends with animals. It just came to her, as normal as breathing or moving her hands.
But Jessica learned it, and she can't even talk to people. Or read. So there's gotta be a way.
Maybe if I had more than twenty seconds…
She tried to manipulate the light, like Cinza talked. Photons. Little bits of light that bounce off things and end up in your eyes. Different forms of… radiation make different colors. I don't really get it. Sound was easier, and Hailey explained it a lot better.
I gotta try.
Cinza had described making a "wall of false light", where photons passing through would ignore whatever she told them to, so that people looking at her would just see what was behind her instead. It was hard to do, and even harder to make a shape more complicated than a wall or to make it move, but energy wasn't ever Natalie's problem. She was one of the special ones.
Doing this kind of spell in the first place though?
She's getting closer.
Natalie didn't have time to figure it out, and she had no idea how to tell if it was working or not anyway. The footsteps were getting closer to the closet door. As a shadow appeared in the slit of light along the bottom edge of the door, Natalie gave up.
She grabbed at her entire body and hurled herself upward. Too far! A thump as she knocked against the ceiling inside the closet, and nearly cried out in pain — but she was above the doors, in the space where the frame came down below the ceiling about half a foot. She was still in darkness, even as the doors creaked open.
Gravity was already starting to work against her, hard. Natalie was holding herself up in midair with her back pressed against the ceiling, floating above Steven's hawkish mother as she peered into the closet suspiciously. She looked right over Kelsey's hiding spot without blinking.
I can't breathe.
Holding up so much weight, coupled with the complicated act of holding herself in mid air, was causing Natalie to choke up. Her head was pounding. She could hear a faint rushing sound in her ears, and it was getting louder.
Steven spotted her. His mom turned around, and as he looked up at her face, he could see Natalie hiding in the shadows just beyond. His eyes widened slightly, but he hid it well. Tyler and Mitch were nowhere to be seen.
"See, Mom? Nobody. Just Mitch and Tyler."
"And where's Quinn?" she asked suspiciously.
"He's still in San Diego. I think he gets back on Sunday?"
Oh god, please. Get her to go away, Steven.
She turned away. "Do you boys want anything? I've got the rest of the afternoon free."
"No, we're fine. Thanks."
Natalie's vision was fading. A ring of black was inching inward. She could vaguely see Steven and his mom walking out of the room. Are they gone yet? I… I can't anymore.
She tried to let go slowly, but it didn't really work like that. Instead of sinking back down to the ground, it was more like an invisible platform she'd been laying on top of just vanished.
She fell. Hard.
"Jenny!" Kelsey hissed.
"...What was that?" asked Steven's mom, starting to turn around.
Natalie tried to crawl out of sight, but there was nowhere to go. Steven's closet was too clean and empty. The only hiding spot was occupied.
Reluctantly, she turned around, red-faced and embarrassed, to see a narrow-eyed middle-aged woman glaring down at her.
"...And who are you?"
"I… I'm just a friend," she stammered. She sat up. Her shoulders hurt from the way she'd landed. She rubbed at her arms, trying to loosen them up a bit. "You're Steven's mom, right?"
"What were you doing hiding in his closet?"
"Playing a game?" she said. Maybe if we pretend he forgot the rules, she'll let him off? I dunno.
"What sort of game?"
Wait. What if he didn't know we were here at all? Even better. "I was gonna surprise him. They didn't know I was here."
"Yeah," Steven agreed. "Where'd you hide, Jenny? I couldn't see you at all."
"Climbed up to the top."
"Wow."
His mother still looked suspicious. "Jenny? Are you Jenny Heshire?"
"...Yes?"
Her eyes narrowed even further. Natalie watched her pupils flick over slightly, to her left cheek. She probably knows it too, since Steven does. That's not good.
"Steven, come with me." She swept from the room, her son right on her heels with just a quick worried glance over his shoulder. As soon as the door shut, Natalie slumped back. She was still sore from the hard landing.
"Nice save," Kelsey whispered from the dark.
"I dunno…" she whispered back. "I think she's still mad."
"She's okay. She's strict but she's not mean."
"You know her?"
"Yeah. She used to help out with the team, actually." Kelsey paused. "Thanks for not telling on me. My mom would flip if Steven's mom got mad."
"What are you gonna do?"
"Sneak out soon as I can."
"I think if I do that, it'll just make things worse," Natalie muttered.
"You sure? I bet we could both make it out. Especially if you do that floating thing again. That was amazing."
"...Really?"
"Seriously. That was awesome." She laughed.
"But I couldn't hold it."
"So what? You were up there for like two whole minutes! You just got bad luck."
Natalie didn't really agree. If she'd just held on a few seconds longer, no one would have noticed, or even if she'd just managed to let herself down slowly. She'd screwed up, and now Steven was probably in trouble for it.
It's not my fault, right? Steven wasn't supposed to invite me over in the first place.
"What kind of stupid rule is that, no girls over?" Natalie muttered.
"Everyone's got that kind of rule," said Kelsey. "My moms had the same rule. No boys over if one of 'em wasn't home. And always gotta have the door open if we're in my room, and so on."
"My dad never had a rule like that."
"...Your dad?" Kelsey asked.
Natalie hesitated. She'd never brought up her dad with any of her friends. Or her mom, for that matter. But… talking was good. It made her feel a bit better.
"Yeah. I mean, at first he just wanted me to stay away from everyone. But after a long time, he finally let up. Then he just let me go wherever I wanted, as long as I was home in time for dinner. I got to have the whole town to explore."
"Huh. You're from a small town, right? Like, barely any people there?"
"It's not that small," Natalie said indignantly.
"How big was it?"
"I think there was like two hundred people there. It's not a city, but that's a lot, right?"
Kelsey laughed. "That's so small I wouldn't even call it a town. Mom would call that a pit stop."
"Oh."
Tircar peeked out from under the bed, looking at the two of them. Natalie got the impression he wanted them to leave.
"What did you just say?" asked Kelsey.
"Just talking to Tircar," she whispered back. "He wants us to go away."
"Stupid cat."
"Hey, don't say that."
"I hate cats. They're so boring. Dogs are way better."
"They're both good." Natalie realized what she should be doing. If Steven's mom was talking about her in the other room… she wanted to know about it.
"...not about that," his mom said, as Natalie finally figured out where they were. She could vaguely hear some game being played in the main room, while Steven and his mom were in the kitchen area. She was cooking something, if the bubbling sounds and clink of metal were anything to go by.
"It's not?" asked Steven.
"What's happening?" asked Kelsey.
"I'm listening in on them," Natalie whispered. She'd at least figured out how to do directions better, so only Steven, his mom and the kitchen were actually loud. "Shh."
"...heard about that Heshire girl. She's not the sort of person you should be associating with."
"Heard from who, mom?"
"That's not important."
"If it was Mrs. Sinclair, Blake's been a jerk to Jenny since the first week of school. You shouldn't believe anything she tells you."
"Steven, did you see what she has on her face? You know what that means!"
"She… that wasn't her choice. She didn't join."
"Are you sure? Are you willing to bring that sort of thing back into this house?"
"Mom—"
"You remember what happened with your brother. We had to move here to get away from his choices. I won't let you go down the same path."
"Mom! That's not Jenny!"
I didn't! Why isn't she listening to him?
"She thinks I'm dangerous," Natalie murmured.
"Shit."
"Steven, I'm sorry, but she has to leave. I'll drive her home, but she can't come back here."
"Mom, come on—"
She heard movement. I can't tell her where I live. There's nothing there. She'd get even more mad at Steven. But there's nowhere else to take me…
You can't be here. Get out.
"I'm gonna run," she whispered. She dug out her extra shoes in her bag and pulled them on. These are so uncomfortable… Steven can get mine back to me later.
"What?"
"I'll see you guys on Monday."
Kelsey said something in protest, but she didn't hear it. She got up and ran to the window, throwing it open. There was a screen set into it, which Natalie floated out of the frame and out of the way. It was a long drop down three stories to the ground. Good thing I'm not afraid of heights…
She got up on the windowsill. Luckily, she'd never taken off her bag, so she didn't have to go back into the main room for it. There was a fire escape on the opposite wall. She couldn't jump it if she were normal. She wasn't sure she could jump it with magic.
Deep breath.
Natalie leapt for the metal railing, propelling herself with a burst of magic. She hit it hard, sending another spike of pain on the same sore spots she'd already hit earlier, but she clung onto it. She hoisted herself over the railing and started down the stairs, three at a time, while the screen to the window floated back into place and the window quietly swung shut again.