Jodie entered her apartment to find it pitch black and quiet. She threw her bag on the kitchen counter and noticed the glowing numbers on the microwave. It read 10:37. She hadn't realized how late she had worked. She loved her job and never really minded when she lost track of time.
She flipped the light switch on and the living room flooded with light. She jumped when she noticed the figure of a man lounging on her couch. When her eyes adjusted to the light, she smiled.
"Working late again?" the man asked as he stood up. The man was her boyfriend of about 8 months. He was in his twenties and had just quit his job as a watchmaker/repairer. His real name was Gabriel Gray but he insists that everyone call him Sylar. Jodie was the only one he let call him Gabriel. In fact, Jodie didn't even know that people called him Sylar.
Jodie ran over to him and hugged him like she'd never see him again. Sylar hugged back and kissed her gently on the neck.
"I'm so glad you're back!" Jodie practically squealed as they pulled away. "How was Texas?"
"It was…interesting," Sylar said as he continued to smile. "But fun."
"That's good," Jodie asked as she smoothed out a few wrinkles in his shirt. "I was kind of getting worried. You were gone for quite a while."
"Yeah," Sylar said and scratched his head. "Like I had said, I didn't exactly know when I'd be back. We didn't just go to Texas though. We went to Montana and Virginia to meet a few people. I'm going to have to go over to Mohinder's house for a few hours tomorrow to help out with a few things."
"Mohinder?"
"Oh, sorry, he's a co-worker that lives not too far away from here; just further into town. We're working on this project together."
"Okay then," Jodie said and kissed him on the cheek. She walked over to the coat rack and removed her jacket. "Did you bring home any souvenirs?"
Sylar laughed a little. "Well," he said, "you know how I can do things that most other people can't?"
"You mean like, your telekinesis that I totally envy you for?" Jodie asked as she walked back over to him.
Sylar laughed again. "Yes," he said "Exactly."
"Well," Jodie said, "What about it?"
"They're not really souvenirs," Sylar lied "but I can do a few other things as well."
Jodie looked surprised. "Like what?" she asked excitedly and sat down, getting ready to be impressed.
"Well," Sylar said, "I can hear extremely well now, and I can…do this."
Sylar looked around for something he could demonstrate with. He found a pen on the coffee table and picked it up. He paused for a second to think, and then he grabbed one of Jodie's arms. "Come here," he said and lead Jodie to the kitchen sink. Sylar set the pen in the sink. "You ready for this?"
"What are you going to do?" Jodie asked.
"Just watch," Sylar said and put his hand over the pen. For a few seconds, nothing happened, but then the pen burst into a puddle which started to run down the drain.
Jodie stood still in amazement. "Holy crap, Gabe," she said and reached in the sink to stick a finger in the melted pen. She brought her finger up to her face to examine what was on it. She rubbed the thick liquid between her finger and her thumb. "You melted this."
Sylar shrugged. "I guess so," he said.
"How can you do all of this?" Jodie asked, still amazed.
"I guess…they just come to me," Sylar said and glanced at the clock on the microwave. "I should probably get going. I haven't gotten much sleep lately."
Jodie smiled and caressed Sylar's face. "Okay," she said and kissed him on the lips. "Call me tomorrow."
"Alright," Sylar said and walked to the door. He turned around and looked at Jodie. He gave her a small smile and thought about when he should tell her about his "job", or if he should even tell her at all. He wondered why she trusted him so much when she shouldn't even be trusting him at all.
At least I'm not completely lying, he thought. I'm telling her where I'm going, just not what I'm doing.
"What?" Jodie asked, knowing he probably had something to say to her.
Sylar looked at her for a few more seconds then raised his hand and Jodie started to float. She giggled as Sylar made her float over to him. He set her gently in his arms and they stared at each other for a few seconds. Jodie put her arms around his neck and they kissed again. This time with more feeling. Then Sylar set Jodie down very gently and caressed her face.
"I love you," he said and kissed her on the forehead.
"I love you too," Jodie said as Sylar turned and opened the door. He stepped out and closed the door behind him. He knew he wouldn't get much sleep that night either. He had to come up with some way to tell her.