Rob did not want to hear what he was hearing.
"We didn't even think about it until after. I feel so stupid."
"You're not stupid. After everything that's happened the last few weeks, it makes sense that you and Gabriel wouldn't have been thinking about contraception. I wouldn't have either."
Funny that despite the psychic link that bound them together, it was plain old eavesdropping that had led to Rob knowing more than he wanted to know about Kaitlyn's relationship with Gabriel. Not that Rob was eavesdropping intentionally. He couldn't help it if the walls were too thin. He slammed the thick parapsychology textbook close, making as much noise as he could.
"What was it like?" Anna's voice. Hearing her ask Kaitlyn about her intimate relations made Rob feel strange. His palms tingled and his fingers were suddenly too clumsy to open the iJournal of Psychical Research/i.
"It was amazing." He could hear the happiness in Kaitlyn's voice as plainly as he could feel it in the web. "Honestly, I think it was different because we could feel each other's feelings. I didn't have to say anything."
"Yes," Anna said. "Telepathy would make it better."
"Have you ever, you know?" Kaitlyn asked her.
"No. I had a boyfriend once and we made out, but it never went very far."
"You and Rob..."
"He hasn't even kissed me yet."
She sounded disappointed. Rob wanted to kiss her, had thought about it a lot, but it didn't seem gentlemanly when he and Kaitlyn had ended their relationship so recently. He didn't want Anna to think he was the sort of boy who couldn't be trusted with girls. Except it seemed she wanted him to be that sort of boy.
He was both relieved and disappointed when she changed the topic. "You should get a doctor to write you a prescription for the pill," she said to Kaitlyn. "I'll make an appointment for me, too, so no one suspects why you're going."
Kaitlyn was agreeing. "Gabe bought condoms, but I can tell he doesn't like wearing one. And truthfully I like the feeling when he, you know, inside me."
That was too much. "Stop," Rob shouted. He was shouting it telepathically too. iSTOP./i
iRob?!/i Anna was embarrassed, but not as badly as Kaitlyn.
Kaitlyn was trying to apologize, but she hadn't really done anything wrong. The girls couldn't have known that the wall between their room and the library was cheap and flimsy. If anyone was at fault, he was. iI'm sorry. I should have left when I realized what you girls were talking about./i
iThere's no privacy any more,/i Kaitlyn was thinking. It wasn't directed at him. She was very upset.
Anna was shielding her thoughts; Rob couldn't tell what she was thinking. He gathered up an armful of journals. He was going to make Lewis turn off MTV and help him research. iWe'll just all pretend I didn't hear anything, okay?/i
He fled beyond earshot, ruing that he would have to go much, much farther to avoid sensing unspoken feelings and hearing unguarded thoughts. They really needed to break this bond Gabriel had created between them. There was a reason God hadn't made everybody able to see into everybody's else minds. It was too much.
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Kaitlyn was wearing a sweatshirt. In July. She had to, the air was chilly even during summer, this far north. She tried not to imagine what it would be like in wintertime.
iWe're not going to be here come winter, are we?/i Lewis was playing solitaire on his computer.
iWe might. I've been through all of the books Joyce brought - twice - and there's nothing helpful in them./i Rob sounded uncharacteristically frustrated and annoyed. He was sitting with one of the books in his lap, but he hadn't turned a page in the last hour.
The Fellowship had had histories from their homeland and writings they'd collected over the millennia. They'd accumulated invaluable knowledge. Unfortunately, most of those records had been destroyed when Mr. Zetes launched his attack. Kaitlyn and the others had not been able to find any information on how to break their psychic bond.
iIt's a waste of time. These pathetic hippies can't even help themselves./i Gabriel had never forgiven the Fellowship for the way they'd initially treated him. iWhy are we staying in the middle of a godforsaken wilderness babysitting two thousand year old flower children?/i
It was harsh, but not entirely inaccurate. Tamsin and the others might be ancient in age, but often it felt like Kaitlyn and her friends were the grown-ups. Without their leaders and without the crystal, the Fellowship were like lost children.
iThey've helped Bri and Renny/i, Anna pointed out. She was curled up by the window, where the light from the setting sun painted a halo of fire around her. Kaitlyn wanted to draw her, but it would mean untangling herself from Gabriel and going to the other room for her art kit.
iBri and Renny and Joyce can stay,/i Lewis said. iI meant uus/u. We shouldn't stay./i
Kaitlyn took a moment to revel in the joy of belonging. There was an "us." Before, she'd only had her father, who was usually off in his own inner world anyway. Meeting Gabriel and Anna and Rob and Lewis was the best thing that could ever have happened to her. And it was the five-way telepathic link they'd dubbed "the web" that allowed them to become so close.
iYeah, it's been nice,/i Lewis said sincerely. iBut we can't live our whole lives linked together./i
iCan't we?/i It was quick passing thought. Kaitlyn had no idea whose thought it had been.
iI'll tell you what we can do: go back to California and spend some of that money Zetes paid us./i Gabriel threw images of expensive cars and fancy restaurants at them.
iWe do need to finish school and get our diplomas,/i Anna said. iAnd the schools here are probably really different./i
iIf we're voting, then I vote we go too./i Rob sounded more upbeat. He threw aside the book and sprang to his feet, stretching like a big golden cat.
"I said, do you want to drive into town?"
Kaitlyn noticed Joyce for the first time. Bri was with her, too, and Renny. She seemed irritated. Kaitlyn guessed she'd been trying to get their attention for a while. "Sorry, Joyce. We were discussing something."
"We've made a decision," Rob announced.
Now that the decision was made, Kaitlyn could feel how eager they all were to leave Canada and the Fellowship. Lewis and Gabriel were already planning where they were going to go and what they were going to do. They were soon to be eighteen, they had money, and they had each other. Life was going to be amazing.
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Anna loved Christmas. It was only the first of December, but her holiday shopping was almost done. Video games for her brothers; a new VCR for her parents; earrings and Spice Girls CDs for her cousins... Most of her family and friends were easy to shop for. Then there was Gabriel.
The previous two Christmases she'd ended up having Kaitlyn tell her what to get for him, but this year she wanted to select his gift herself. She owed him that. It was his telepathy that linked the five of them together. She, Rob, Kaitlyn, and Lewis had honed their individual psychic abilities and were growing more powerful, but Gabriel's ability was nonexistent outside the web. He seemed not to mind anymore, but Anna was sorry he'd had to sacrifice so much for them.
iI've found the perfect house,/i Kaitlyn broadcasted to them all. They talked aloud less and less. Mind-to-mind communication was so much richer than words could ever be.
iI found the listing online,/i Lewis interjected.
iLewis found a house,/i Kaitlyn amended. iAnd I visited it and saw how perfect it was. Spatially, it's set east-west, so there's great morning uand/u great evening light./i
Lewis hastened to add what he deemed more important, iIt's ten minutes from the beach./i
iHow many bedrooms?/i Rob asked.
The condo they currently rented had three bedrooms. One belonged to Kaitlyn and Gabriel, and one was hers. Rob insisted on sharing a room with Lewis, too much the gentleman to share a room with her, even though he slept in her bed most nights.
iFour,/i Lewis answered firmly. iFive if we convert the attic./i
She could feel Gabriel's amusement. Even Kaitlyn and Lewis thought Rob was silly for insisting on separate bedrooms, but Anna found his old-fashioned sensibilities endearing. That seemed to amuse Gabriel even more. He was projecting a mental image of Rob down on one knee, asking Anna to marry him.
Anna assumed it was simply Gabriel baiting Rob as usual. Their relationship reminded her of a feral kitten she'd rescued as a little girl, before she'd developed her ability. The kitten had loved her dearly, yet it couldn't resist swiping at her ankles with its tiny claws, or biting if she petted it a moment too long.
iGood going, Wolfe./i Rob was irritated. iCan't keep a secret,/i he accused, but it was from him that an image came of a diamond ring. An engagement ring.
iCongratulations,/i Kaitlyn squealed.
"Well, if we're buying a house together, why not get married?" Gabriel said aloud.
The couple at the table next to theirs turned to look at them. Anna realized how strange they must seem: a group of people dining in silence and then suddenly one person randomly answering an unasked question. It was weird even for Santa Monica.
iYes,/i Anna told Rob privately. iI'll marry you./i No one had any doubt about that, but it was nice to observe formalities sometimes.
Rob threw Gabriel a challenging look and slid from his chair. He knelt beside Anna and slipped the ring onto her finger. The restaurant broke into applause, and someone hooted when Anna kissed Rob. Gabriel was laughing, but he didn't try to hide how genuinely happy he felt for them.
Anna knew exactly what to get him for Christmas.
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Lewis was bored. He briefly considered heading into Hollywood and snapping photos of celebrities, but it was over a hundred degrees outside. He couldn't bear to leave the blissful chill of the AC. So no going outside. That ruled out tossing a frisbee in the backyard or watching a baseball game at the nearby park.
He'd bought a new computer recently, but he didn't feel like browsing the internet. He wandered the house aimlessly for a while before flopping on the couch. Mister Snuggles hopped up beside him; Lewis scratched his ears absently.
He missed Rob. Anna, too, but more so Rob. Lydia had emailed him, letting him know she'd be in the area next week and wanting to know if he wanted to get together and do something. He needed to talk things out with a guy friend. Kaitlyn thought he should end his on-again off-again dance with Lydia and find somebody else, but then Kaitlyn had never liked Lydia.
She didn't understand. Lydia knew about the web and what it meant. Things had never gotten serious enough with any other girl to tell them about the web, but Lewis had doubts about how well anyone else would handle it. To know that the person you were with was intimately bound to four other people in a way they'd never be close to you - he knew he wouldn't be able to deal with that if it was him.
Gabriel emerged from the bedroom he shared with Kaitlyn. He patted Mister Snuggles' hindquarter. "Move over, mutt."
The dog complied by crawling into Lewis's lap. Anna and Rob had adopted him, and Kaitlyn had named him, but somehow he'd decided that Lewis was his primary human. Maybe he thought Lewis needed him more.
Gabriel turned on the PlayStation and tossed a controller at Lewis. Lewis caught it and sat up. iTekken 3/i was just what he needed. "Flip a coin for Jin?"
Gabriel just smirked at him and made Jin his character before Lewis could finish fishing a quarter out of his pocket.
Lewis scowled at him and randomly selected a character. They fought in silence for a while. Gabriel had the better character, but Lewis had more experience playing. Not that that was anything to be proud of.
iThe self-pity is getting tiresome, Chao./i
Lewis didn't answer. He knew Gabriel could feel his resentment increasing.
iWe all know you got the raw deal. Me and Kait, Kessler and Anna, and you're the odd man out. If there was something I could do, I'd do it, you know that./i Gabriel's thoughts were gentle and sympathetic, even as his character defeated Lewis's and he let out a triumphant, "Yes! Gotcha."
They'd had no luck breaking the web or altering it. Truthfully, they'd stopped trying. Lewis didn't want to be separated from his friends anyway. He just didn't want to be the third wheel - fifth wheel, rather - anymore.
"Here." Gabriel pulled a paper out of his pocket and handed it to him.
Lewis unfolded it. It was a drawing, one of Kaitlyn's. He stared at it. He could feel himself blushing. He'd seen more scandalous things on the internet, but this was different because it showed uthem/u. Himself, Rob, Anna, Kaitlyn, and Gabriel, all entwined in a way he'd only ever seen in porn.
Gabriel had the highest, thickest mental walls of any of them, but he lowered his walls and shared a memory. Kaitlyn sketching languidly, then suddenly madly drawing one of her visions. Her shock and embarrassment. The way Gabriel had to pry the drawing from her hand, his shock at seeing what she'd drawn. iIt was over a year ago./i
Neither Kaitlyn nor Gabriel had given any hint of it. Lewis didn't think he'd have been able to carry on like normal if he knew about something like this. "Wow," he said aloud. iWow. So we're going to become, like, a five-some one day? Wow./i He didn't feel guilty anymore about the thoughts he'd had about Rob and Kaitlyn.
iSome day./i Suddenly Gabriel smacked him on the shoulder. "Hey, since our resident saints aren't here to disapprove, what do you say me, you, and Kait go to Vegas?"
Lewis had always wanted to pit his psychokinesis against the gambling tables and slot machines of Las Vegas. Rob and Anna would indeed not approve, but Rob and Anna were spending the summer in Haiti helping people.
"Do-gooders," Gabriel said, but there was only affection behind his words.
None of the three had turned twenty-one yet, but Gabriel had a fake ID. And Lewis had PK and Kaitlyn had a sexy little red dress. Vegas was definitely doable.
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iYou look like you belong on top of a wedding cake,/i Gabriel thought at Rob. He tried to put a sneer behind the thought, but after five years, there was no malice. It was simply an observation. Kessler did look like a picture perfect groom, and Anna was a lovely bride. Gabriel himself would have chosen a traditional black tuxedo, but the white dinner jacket suited Rob well. iEver the white knight./i
Rob glanced up from where he stood in conversation with both his grandfathers. iThank you,/i he said to Gabriel. Gabriel could feel his pure joy - and his steadfast refusal to be baited today.
Pity. Verbally sparring with Rob was one of life's pleasures. It was also a comforting pattern, and one he fell back into when he was uncomfortable, as he was now. Gabriel was unprepared for situations like this. His father had been an abusive drunk who'd driven away the rest of their family, and he'd spent his mid-teens first on the run and then in prison. Happy wholesome families were something from television, not reality. He and Kait and the other three had formed a strange little family of their own, but that was entirely different from this.
Loving parents, doting grandparents, uncles rehearsing their toasts and aunts adjusting the flowers to make sure they were perfect - it was a marvel to Gabriel that they were real, that real people actually lived with such light hearts. Of course, Rob and Anna weren't normal. They might like to think they were, but Gabriel knew better. The two of them - and the families that spawned them - were a rarity in this world: wholly and completely goodhearted. The same wasn't true of himself, or even of Kait and Lewis.
"Places, everyone!" someone cried.
Gabriel made his way to stand beside Rob. He'd tried to decline the honor of being best man, but Kessler refused to have it, insisting both he and Lewis stand with him. Gabriel was going to leave the toast to Lewis, however. There were some things he just wasn't suited for.
The pianist began to play the wedding march and one of Anna's little cousins appeared, skipping her way to the front of the chapel and tossing rose petals left and right. Lydia came next, clutching a bouquet of yellow carnations and looking nervous. Gabriel knew Anna had only made her a bridesmaid as a kindness to Lewis and because she needed a second bridesmaid.
Then there was Kaitlyn. iYou are so beautiful,/i Gabriel thought. He could hear Rob and Lewis agreeing with him wordlessly. The shade of blue Anna had chosen for her bridesmaids suited Kaitlyn's red hair and creamy skin perfectly, and the simple Grecian gown she wore made her look like a princess.
iA princess? That's a first,/i she replied. iI used to be the witch./i
Then Kait stood across from him, and Anna was climbing the steps to the dais. Her dress was far simpler than the elaborate gowns Gabriel had seen in the wedding magazines she and Kait had left strewn in every room of their house. It was not very different from the bridesmaids' dress, except in color. And instead of a veil, Anna wore white flowers braided into her long black hair. If Kait was a princess, then Anna was a priestess, glowing with pure goodness.
Kessler was thinking mushy thoughts at his bride even as the minister began the ceremony. Gabriel couldn't really blame him, though, since he knew he would be the same when the time came for him.
His wedding wouldn't be like this. He had no family he cared to contact, and Kait only had her father. It would just be the two of them, and Rob and Anna and Lewis. That was all right with Gabriel, but he wished Kaitlyn could have the big wedding every girl dreamed of.
iDo Vegas,/i Lewis suggested. iHave Elvis marry you./i
iNot Elvis,/i Anna said.
iThat was a private thought,/i Gabriel protested.
iWell, you didn't keep it private,/i said Rob.
iI'd love to marry you in Vegas,/i Kait told him. Like he and Lewis, she was also tightly shielding the memory of the last time they'd been to Vegas.
Gabriel hadn't even had the chance to properly ask her to marry him. But it was no use pointing it out now. iQuiet, all of you,/i he said. iThere's a wedding going on./i
But they'd become adept at living in the real world while carrying on privately and Rob didn't miss a beat before saying, "I do."
There was long evening ahead of photographs, dancing, drinking, and red velvet wedding cake, but Gabriel was already thinking of the honeymoon. They were going to Paris, all five of them. As far as he was concerned, life couldn't get any better.