dIsClAiMeR: Hey! Guess what! This is my FORTH story! Okay, I DO NOT own TDI or the TDI characters! Just this SUPER awesome, ACTION-PACKED PLLOOOOOT! I personally love this one because it has a little more of a fictiony buzz to it...with the powers and stuff. Let me know whatcha think! PEACE :)___________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

WHERE'S MY DELINQUIENT?

Courtney

"Thanks for the night out, Duncan," I said. I snuggled into his arm as we walked across an alleyway to his bright red motorcycle.

"Sure thing, babe." He snaked his arm around my waist and kissed my head. "Glad you had fun." We had gone to a new fancy Mexican restaurant and had had a couple drinks at the bar. The whole time he would just gaze at me and tell me how hot I was.

I flushed as we walked, approaching the bike. Tee hee. He thought I was pretty.

Without warning, he picked me up around the waist as set me on the back of The Beast (that's what he named it – silly, I know).

I giggled as I put my arms around his torso, interlocking my fingers and pressing into his warm back. I inhaled deeply as he kicked the bike to a start, starting off toward my house. While we drove, I was putting thought into what I would say when my parents asked where I had been tonight. Okay, yeah, I wasn't supposed to be out with Duncan. Well, my mother was okay with him...sorta...just not my father. He always ranted around whenever he found out I had a text or e-mail from my delinquent boyfriend. He was always a big, bald tornado of mean whenever I even said the word Duncan – Even if I was saying Dunkin' Donuts or Duncan Hines.

My hands started to get hot as I thought of my father – a mean, mean businessman. The way he went on about Duncan being a devil straight from hell drove me nuts! My hands turned an illuminating, bright orange as my anger towards my father deepened. I should be able to make my own choices! He didn't know Duncan! The most time he's spent with him is when he was yelling at him. God, seeing Daddy yell at him was awful. At least Duncan would ignore him and look indifferent about the whole argument.

I looked around Duncan to watch the road in front of us. That's when I realized I was burning holes through Duncan's shirt. I gasped, trying to settle my anger.

Duncan grunted as if he were uncomfortable and made a hissing sound. Then he glanced down at my hands and yelped, swerving in and out of our lane. "Ow! Jesus, Courtney! Cut it out!"

I released my grip around his waist, still pressing myself against his back to keep from falling off the bike and becoming roadkill. "Sorry, sorry! I can't help it!" I shook my hands and tried to think about something else. "Sorry!"

"Stop thinking about your dad," he muttered, straightening out the bike. He scratched where I had burned him with one hand.

Hmm. I frowned. He totally read me like a book. I stared at my hands while I thought about the way Duncan understood me, watching them slowly return to their normal color. I sighed in relief and wrapped my arms around Duncan again. I really needed to learn more control with my fire-using ability. My hands burst into flames whenever I get angry enough. When Dad got angry about Duncan, I would often ignore him or simply tune him out, like Duncan did, just to keep my powers hidden from him. Duncan was the only one who knew what I could do, how powerful I was. But my dad? No. I could never tell him. He'd think I was a freak and have me admitted. I growled silently to myself. "He'd think I was a freak," I whispered angrily, fire licking its way out between my lips.

"Princess?" Duncan asked over the roar of the bike.

I snapped out of my thoughts. "Yes?"

He was quiet for a moment. "Nothin'."

I was about to demand what he was going to say when he pulled up by my house, behind a big, leafy hedge. He made sure no one inside the house could see us, then he jumped off the bike and helped me down. He bent down and kissed my lips softly. "You should get inside before they lock you up in your room and throw away the key."

I poked my still-warm fingers through the five holes in his skull tee. "Sorry about...that."

"I got a million more," he said with a shrug and a lazy smile. Then he turned serious. "You really gotta learn how to control that."

I shook my head. "I don't know how," I said sadly. "I don't know anybody else with my powers...how am I supposed to learn about it?"

He shrugged again. "I dunno."

I rolled my eyes dramatically. "Thanks for your help." I sighed and looked everywhere but his face.

"Hey," he said, grabbing my chin and pulling my face up to his. He kissed my tenderly, warm and nice. He pulled back an inch and said, "I dunno how you'll do it, but you'll figure it out, like you always do."

I smiled and pulled him in for a hug, inhaling deeply – I just love the way he smells. "I wish we could stay like this forever."

He pecked my head. "But, seriously. You should get inside before they freak or even find us out here."

I sighed, defeated. "Okay." I slowly pulled my hand out of his and started stomping toward the edge of the driveway.

"See you tomorrow?"

I turned but continued to walk backwards. "Definitely." I spun around to sprint for the house when I turned back. "Oh, and Duncan?"

He picked up his bright alien-green helmet and slipped it on. "Yeah?"

"What was it you were going to say to me?"

"When?"

"Right before we got here."

He pulled off his helmet, raking his hand through his hair – a sign of him being nervous. "Nothin'."

"Don't gimme that again," I groaned, stomping back over to him. "Tell me."

He smiled, glancing away. "I just wanted to make sure you knew I loved you, that's all."

I grinned, my hand jumping up for my heart. "Aaw." I grabbed him and squeezed him again. "I love you, too."

He kissed my forehead, and all but pushed me back in front of my house. He said good-bye and sped off down the street on his hot, sexy little motorcycle.

I fingered the keys in my pocket, pulling them out and unlocking the front door. When I got inside, the lights were off. "Mom?" I called. "Dad? You home? I just went to–"

"I know where you were," a voice cut me off from the darkness.

I ran my hands along the wall, finding the switch. I nearly jumped out of my skin when Daddy was standing not six feet from me, scowling from a big armchair. "Oh!" I gasped. "Daddy, you scared me."

"And you scare me." He stood and glared down at me. "I thought I told you I didn't want you hanging around the maniac!"

My cheeks got hot as he mentioned Duncan like that. "You don't know anything about him."

He scoffed. "Really? And what do you know about him?" he asked tauntingly.

I scoffed back. "A hell of a lot more than you!" I tried to calm myself down. My hands were starting to get warm, and my fear of him discovering my secret just stressed me out even more. I shook my head, trying to clear the cloud of anger and frustration that was fogging up my brain and sanity. "I don't want to talk about this." I turned for the stairs, grabbing the rail, but Daddy grabbed my arm.

"Oh, no, no, no, no, young lady. I don't think so. We're not through here."

"Daddy, I really need to go upstairs!"

"Why?" he demanded. "So you can lock the door, sneak out your window, and go party all night with that lunatic? Absolutely not!"

I pulled my arm away, breathing deeply. "You'll never understand him." Small flames slipped out of my lips, but he didn't seem to notice.

Mom peered at us from around the corner to the kitchen with curious, guarded eyes. I ignored her. But, maybe if I focused more on her, the anger welling up in my hands would slither away. I looked around Dad to meet her eyes, sending her a Help Me! message through mine. When she shook her head and ducked back into the breakfast nook, I–

"What's there to understand?" Dad barked. "Why he turned into such an awful criminal of rebellion?"

My hands got hotter. "Don't say that. You don't know anything about him!" I yelled, repeating myself. "And don't say that I don't, either, because I bet I understand him even more than he understands himself!"

"Right." He clicked his tongue. "He needs a big brain to understand a complicated man like himself..."

That did it. The keys that were balled up in my fist melted to a water-like, brass-colored liquid, seeping out from between my fingers. My hands were glowing bright orange again, sparking, ready to burst into flames any minute...no, second. Heck, I wanted them to flame up! I wanted to kick some ass.

Daddy's eyes were dragged from my face to my hands. He gasped, yelping when he fell backwards over the coffee table. "Wha?! What the hell?!"

I looked at him, eyes wide. I hadn't intended for him to see that. I shook my hands, turning around. I thought about Duncan again. That always calmed me down. I thought about the way I felt when he kissed me, when he touched me...

Second by second, my hands started to let the fire bleed out of them. I spun back around when they were a normal color again.

Daddy was staring, gaping, mouth a gate.

"Uuhm..." I rubbed my elbow, biting my lip. "Sorry. That usually happens when I get upset."

"Then how come it's never happened before?" His words slurred as he started to fall back onto the floor. His eyes rolled back in his head, and down he fell.

I rushed over to him immediately, grabbing his hand. "Daddy? Daddy, are you okay?" Though I kind of hated him, he was still my father. The man who's always provided for me, been there to play the role of Dad.

Mom rushed out when she heard the thud. "What happened?"

She kneeled down next to me, touching his face. "Oh my!"

"He's just passed out, Mom," I sighed. "No biggie."

"Yes, but what knocked him out? He can yell for hours without breaking a sweat." She brushed her graying brown hair out of her face, pulling her blue robe tighter around her body.

I can't believe I'm doing this. Seven years of secrecy, down the toilet. I sighed heavily, meeting Mom's eyes. "This." With that one word, I snapped my fingers. It sparked like a match and instantly lit the tip of my index finger with a small flame.

She gasped and gaped at it, as Daddy had done. "Bu... But how?" She grabbed my arm, pulling my hand closer.

"Careful, Mom!" I let go of my relationship to fire for a second to turn out the flame. It vanished without a trace of it's presence ever being there. I laughed shortly. "You almost set yourself on fire."

"Impossible," she whispered. Her head snapped up and she stared at me expectantly. "Do it again."

I took my hand back. "Okay, okay. As long as you promise not to almost burn yourself, this time."

"Please?"

I nodded, snapping my fingers and lighting one up again.

She stared for a long few moments. I rolled my eyes, glancing around the room. "Impossible" she breathed again.

"Mom?" She started falling back onto Dad. I shut off my flame to catch her before she landed on his face and broke his nose.

Well, this evening didn't exactly go as planned.

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