The late afternoon sunlight slanted through the trees, making the grass dance with dappled shadows, while the clack and scrape of skateboards echoed across the parking lot. From behind the skatepark came the sounds of distant traffic, the ebb and flow of the city of Seattle, but it was muffled by the various buildings and trees around the park. Jerome drummed his fingers nervously on his leg, scanning the parking lot every few seconds. He checked the messages on his phone again to make sure that yes, this was the right meeting place and the right time.

Unable to sit still, Jerome stood up from the park bench and began to pace back and forth along the grass. He kept his head bent, staring at the ground, but every few seconds he looked up to scan the park, before turning back down again.

He was meeting someone. However whether that person was a friend or not was something he quite wasn't sure of. They had been, very good friends too, but that was a while ago now.

He looked up again as he heard his name called from across the park.

"Jerome!"

The man coming towards him seemed both familiar and a stranger. Jerome recognised Matt by the jeans and hoodie he wore, the familiar Wildcats symbol emblazoned on the front. The baseball cap on his head was the same one he had been wearing for years, ever since Jerome had given it to him in ninth grade as a birthday present. However as Matt came closer Jerome realised the clothes were the only familiar thing about the man. His eyes were ringed by dark circles, as if he had not slept in a week. His once jaunting gait was slower and less lively, and he seemed to trudge across the grass.

He slowly walked up to Jerome, coming to a stop a few feet away.

"Matt!" Jerome sprang towards his friend and embraced him in a rough hug. "Man, it's good to see you again!"

"Come sit down." he said, gesturing to a park bench - the kind with the table in the middle where families sat to have their picnics.

"I know you got one hell of a story to tell, so you might as well get comfortable. Four months, with no word - what the hell have you been up to?"

Jerome's grin faltered somewhat at Matt's expression, but he pressed on.

"Were you recruited by the secret service? Were you kidnapped? Were you in prison?" Jerome grinned at him. "Why all the secrecy?"

Matt smiled thinly. "You were kind of right. I was, in a way, kidnapped. And I was, in a way, in prison-"

"Dude, what for? Wait, whaddya mean, 'in a way?"

"You know the DUP?"

"What? Them? HAH! Course I know of them! As if you-"

Matt's expression stopped Jerome in the middle of his sentence. His eyes were both sad and angry, and very, very tired. Jerome swallowed, suddenly apprehensive of what Matt was going to say.

"You don't mean-"

"Yeah, I do."

"Damn."

When Jerome looked back at his childhood friend, it was with none of his usual light humour. He had entered some serious conversational waters now. There wasn't going to be a grand tale of adventure as he had hoped. He didn't say anything more, but stared down at his hands, suddenly uncomfortably aware of how Matt hadn't met his eyes since they had sat down.

"How is everyone?" Matt suddenly asked.

"Hmm? Oh. They're all pretty good, I guess. Nathan was fined for speeding last week..."

"Wouldn't be the first time, eh?" Matt smirked.

Jerome stared at him for a second before laughing too. "Yeah, and it was the stupidest reason. He was visiting his sister in hospital. You remember she was gonna have a baby, right?"

Matt nodded.

"So he had heard she had gone into labour, and he was so eager to see his niece firsthand - well, it doesn't need sayin'." Jerome laughed out loud, and was pleased to see Matt grinning too.

"God, doesn't need much of a reason, does he?"

Jerome snorted. "And the funny thing was, turns out it wasn't even real labour. Just morning cramps or whatever the hell they get."

They both laughed, leaning back on the bench and clutching the wooden table. Matt stared over the park as they lapsed into silence, a thoughtful expression on his face.

"And Katie?" he asked into the silence.

Jerome shifted. "She's with Jakob now."

Matt jerked his head up to stare directly at Jerome.

"What would you have expected, mate? She was so upset. She kept sayin' you would come back, that it was only temporary. But after a while...I guess she stopped believin' it."

Matt, his fists clenched tight in his lap, seemed to be fighting the urge to punch the table.

"It's probably best if you don't go lookin' for her." Jerome said cautiously.

Matt drew a long, shuddering sigh before answering. "Course. Wouldn't want to ruin her life for a second time." His voice was bitter.

For a moment there was no sound except for the distant rumble of traffic. Even the kids at the skate park seemed to have paused.

"I'm sorry mate." Jerome said. "I really am."

Matt shook his head. "Not your fault."

Jerome shifted in his seat, looking out over the park. He sighed.

"Listen, why don't we go into town tonight? Get a couple of drinks, pick up some chicks, it'll be good for you."

Matt frowned, as if the notion of 'picking up chicks' was completely foreign. Jerome grinned at him.

"C'mon man, let's have some fun!" he said, slapping Matt affectionately on the shoulder.

"Did you know, it was Jakob who phoned in?" Matt said, clearly not listening.

"I...what? Whaddya mean, 'phoned in'?"

"He called them, dammit. He called them and told them I'm a...that I'm..."

He found his throat constricted with anger. He clenched his teeth and slammed his fists down on the park bench, making Jerome flinch back and stare at Matt warily.

"And now he's with Katie!"

Matt tipped his head back and yelled. A pair of birds flew startled out of a tree, and the group of skaters had turned their heads to stare at him.

"Uh...dude...your hands..." Jerome stammered.

Matt looked down in surprise. His hands were pressed into the wooden park bench, the boards of which were rotting and warping before his eyes. He quickly drew his hands back, breathing heavily.

"Sorry."

Jerome eyed the hand-shaped dents on the table. "Y'know, I never would have believed it before now."

Matt snorted. "Neither can I, sometimes."

"Kinda cool though, isn't it?"

"...I guess."

Jerome stood up. "C'mon, let's get outta here."

He offered his hand to Matt, who stared at it uncertainly.

Jerome raised his eyebrows. "You may have freakishly awesome powers, mate, but you're still Matthew Warren, and I know your one weakness."

Matt looked cooly up at his friend. "Yeah? And what's that?"

Jerome grinned. "Well that's something you're going to have to decide for yourself, once we get to a nice bar with lots of hot ladies, that is."

There was no hesitation this time. Matt took Jerome's hand and was pulled up beside his childhood friend, now both adults, as they walked together towards the road and out of sight.