Chapter Two
Dawn ignored Connor all the way back to her house. Annoyingly, he didn't seem the slightest bit bothered, wandering along beside her with his hands shoved into his pockets.
Back at the house she attempted to storm off to her room, but he blocked her path. "Nu–uh. Council meeting in the sitting room."
"Connor Angel Reilly, if I walk in and there's anyone in there..."
"No one's here. It's all on the computer."
Dawn eyed the door to the living room. "Have they all been hanging out on the computer while you've been embarrassing me in front of my friends?"
"Friends? You've never even met Clyde before!"
"Not the point, Connor."
He shook his head. "I texted them on the way here. They're waiting now."
She grimaced, wandering into the living room and dropping into a chair in view of the computer. "I want to complain about Connor," she announced.
"Maybe later," Willow said sympathetically. "Right now, UNIT."
"What about them?"
"They aren't Army," Xander told her. "Hey, Dawnie."
"Hey. Who are they, then?"
"UNIT deal with alien invasions."
"Aliens?" Dawn rolled her eyes. "Right. Whatever."
"We have met aliens," Xander reminded her. "Well, alien."
"From the moon. Not the kind of thing a billion dollar organization worry about."
"They're probably finding demons and just think they're aliens," Connor agreed.
"Either way, Dawn, not someone you want to get mixed up with," Xander told her.
"Oh, come on! The parent of one guy I know used to work for them! It's not like I walked up to their front door or anything."
"Speaking of the guy." Xander folded his arms, studying her. "Did you really spend the night with him?"
Dawn thumped Connor, ignoring his smirk. "In his room. Not with him. Connor won't give me five seconds alone."
"He's not supposed to, sweetie, he's your bodyguard."
"And generally, one doesn't run from a bodyguard straight to the guy he's body guarding you from."
Dawn shrugged. "Luke's not dangerous."
"You don't know that, Dawnie," Willow protested.
"I do know it. Luke's not dangerous, he's just a sweet boy."
"A sweet non human boy," Connor reminded her.
"Half the people you grew up with weren't human!"
"Most of them tried to kill me at one point or another. What's your point?"
"Lorne didn't."
"Lorne didn't look human, Dawn."
"So because Luke doesn't look like a demon, he's evil?" Connor grimaced, and Dawn grinned triumphantly.
"Is she always like this?" Connor demanded towards the screen.
"Pretty much," Xander told him.
"Sometimes worse," Willow agreed.
"Love you too," Dawn said firmly. "Don't call me. Bye." She leaned forward, flicking the screen off.
"Dawn..." Connor said warily.
"He's not dangerous. You can't tell me you've sensed the slightest bit of danger from him."
"He's not human..."
"And you're not that blinkered. He's just a kid here to study. Leave him alone, Connor, I mean it."
"Or?"
"Or I'll tell Rachel how much you love to practise sparring with them."
Connor grimaced. "All right, fine. If I back off, will you start being careful? At least tell me where you're going? Please?"
Dawn grimaced but nodded. "Yes. I will start telling you where I'm going."
"Thank you."
Luke managed to avoid telling Clyde anything else about Dawn or Connor for the weekend, mostly by keeping him so busy seeing 'the sights' that he didn't have time to do anything else. He knew Clyde well enough to know that as soon as he got back Mr Smith would be searching, though, so as soon as he'd seen Clyde off he hurried back to his room. "K9, can you connect me to Mr Smith please?"
"Connecting."
"Thank you." Luke waited patiently until Mr Smith said "Luke. How can I help you?"
"Mr Smith, Clyde's just left me."
"I shall relay that."
"When he gets home, I'm pretty sure he's going to ask you to investigate one of my classmates. Any chance you could lose the request?"
"Your classmate?" Mr Smith repeated. "Would that be Dawn Summers?"
Luke blinked. "Mr Smith..."
"She was on the screen when UNIT came here about the Doctor. And you have mentioned her several times. I have already investigated her background. Do you wish to see my findings?"
"No, and I don't want you to show Clyde, either. Please?"
Mr Smith was silent for a long moment. "Very well. I will keep her information private."
"Thank you."
"Luke, there is information that you should perhaps..."
"She'll tell me if it's important. Thanks, Mr Smith."
K9 cut the connection and Luke sighed, sitting down. "You haven't been poking around her records, have you, K9?"
"I can if you wish me to, Master."
"No. I want you to leave it alone."
"Orders received, Master."
"Good dog."
A few weekends later Sarah Jane arrived for a visit, bringing Sky. Luke greeted them both cheerfully at the gate, wandering across the green with them and pointing out various sights. It was a beautiful day and students and faculty were wandering around, enjoying the sunshine. Luke greeted a few of them, waving at them.
"Mr Giles! Mum, you've got to meet him."
"I'd love to." Sky tripped over her laces and Sarah Jane turned, distracted.
"Mum, this is Mr Giles. Mr Giles, my mother, Sarah Jane Smith."
She turned, smiling, and then tensed, pulling Sky back a step or two. "You!"
"I'm sorry?" He paused, one hand half raised.
"Mum," Luke said warily. Touching Sky's shoulder, he eased her a couple of steps away from the two adults. "It's Mr Giles. I've told you about him."
"Is anything wrong?" Mr Giles asked. He hadn't moved, one hand still extended.
"No." Sarah Jane rubbed absently at her wrist before shaking his hand firmly. "Forgive me. You look very like another man I knew."
"Ah. Well, I would certainly remember meeting you. We're very proud of Luke."
"Yes, he does seem to be flourishing. Oh, this is my daughter, Sky."
"Pleasure to meet you. I hope I'll see you here in a few years. Luke, Dawn tells me you have a review session later?"
"Yes sir, exams coming up."
"Excellent. Well, I hope to see you again, Sky, Mrs Smith."
"Miss Smith. Likewise." She shook his hand again and he headed away.
Luke glanced down at her wrist, reading the scanner easily. "No alien traces. I did check. What's wrong?"
"He looks exactly like Finch."
"Finch. From Deffery Vale? Mr Giles was in America then. Mum, K9 checks for alien activity all the time. I promise, nothing's wrong."
"Even his voice is the same."
"Well, Finch might have copied his pattern. Come on. Lots more to show you before I abandon you."
"So I heard your mom freaked out on Giles."
Luke made a face at his book. "She did not."
"Not the way it's going around campus."
"What are you even doing here, Connor?"
"I studied this stuff last year. Figured I could help." He settled opposite Luke at the table; one eyebrow went up when he noticed Sky. "Kind of short for a student, aren't you?"
"Connor, my sister Sky, she's visiting. Sky, Connor is Dawn's friend, he's visiting her." Not quite under his breath, he muttered, "For the last six months." He liked Connor well enough, but his visit just kept going and going with no end in sight.
"Starting her out young, aren't you?"
"She's just here for the day."
"Are you from America?" Sky asked, wide–eyed. Luke hid a grin; Sky's 'bright eyed and innocent' act was occasionally their best weapon. "Have you ever been to Disneyworld? I really, really want to go there. And Oceanworld. My mum says maybe we can go to Eurodisney for my birthday, but I really want to go to America. I don't speak French. Have you ever been? We could meet Maria, too, if we went to America."
"Maria lives in Washington," Luke reminded her. Connor was looking slightly glazed and it was all Luke could do to keep from bursting into laughter.
"How long since you've seen her?" Connor jumped on the new topic with relief.
"We chat online, and stuff, but...four years."
"Long time."
"What's America like?" Sky asked.
"Not like Toy Story," Luke told her. "Where's Dawn, Connor?"
"Defending your mom's honour. She'll be along."
"Defending what?"
"It just means someone's making fun of mum and Dawn's standing up for her." Luke shoved his books into a pile. "Stay here, ok? I won't be long."
"Where are you going?" Connor asked. Luke gestured vaguely and he laughed. "You think she needs help?"
Luke considered it for a moment. "No, I suppose not."
"You're learning. Sit down and show me where you're at."
"Sky, do you want anything before we start? We'll probably be a couple of hours."
"I am a little bit thirsty."
Luke dug into his pocket, but Connor got there first, dumping a handful of coins on the table. "There. Vending machine right over there." He pointed across the green.
"Come straight back, Sky, ok?" Luke said, flipping through his book.
"Yes, I know." She rolled her eyes, scooping up the coins. "Thank you," she added to Connor.
"No problem." He watched her go, frowning.
"What's wrong?" Luke asked.
"Nothing. Your sister?"
"Adopted. We both are."
"Huh."
He was still watching when Sky came back, passing cans to each of them. "I kind of guessed," she said apologetically to Connor. "I didn't know what you'd like."
"That's fine. Thanks." He took the can, rolling it between his hands.
Sky pulled out her own book and started reading. Luke and Connor were deep in revision when Dawn showed up; Sky introduced herself, since Luke didn't seem to have noticed.
"Nice to meet you." Dawn shook her hand, one eyebrow going up.
Connor was watching when she looked at the boys; he nodded briefly. "Took you long enough."
"I was busy."
Luke surfaced, blinking at her. "I heard. Thank you."
"Eh. Boys being stupid I can handle. Connor, got a second?"
"Yeah." He passed his book to Luke, standing to follow Dawn to the vending machine.
"What's up with the girl?" Dawn whispered.
"You felt it too?"
"Yeah. What is it?"
"I don't know. It's kind of the way Luke feels."
"Weird family."
"Mmm."
Dawn eyed him. "Dangerous?"
"I don't think so. It's hard to tell."
"We talked about this."
"You talked about it. I nodded. I'll agree Luke doesn't seem interested in hurting anyone, but we don't know anything about Sky."
"We know she's twelve."
"We know she looks twelve."
"Suspicious!" Dawn turned away, going back to join Luke and Sky at the table. "Where's your mom now, Luke? I'd like to meet her."
"She went to talk to a source out in the town. She'll be back later on."
"Multi tasking, hmm?"
"Yeah, she's good that way."
"Sky, you think you'll come here in a few years?"
"I don't know. It looks brilliant, but I haven't decided what I want to do yet."
"Plenty of time." Dawn glanced over her shoulder. "Are you coming, Connor?"
Connor scowled, pushing away from the vending machine and dropping to sit next to her. "Shove over. What are you working on?"
Dawn pushed the book towards him. "This is your speciality, not mine."
"What is it?" Sky asked, leaning over Luke's arm to study his book.
"Sociology."
"What's sociology?"
"It's sort of about people and how they act together, and how they make societies and cultures. It's really interesting."
Sky wrinkled her nose. "If you say so."
Dawn grinned. "Yeah, it's not my favourite either. It's important, though."
"If you say so," Sky repeated. "I'm just going to read my book."
"You could have gone with Mum, Sky High," Luke reminded her.
"Even more boring. I'm fine."
He grinned at her, leaning over his book. "You studied this, Connor?"
"Last year."
"Great. Explain this to me."
Sky glanced up some time later, frowning. "Luke, it's getting dark. Shouldn't Mum be back by now?"
Luke glanced around and then at his watch. "Um. Not quite yet. It gets dark early here, all the buildings." Looking around again, he added, "We probably should go inside, though. It's getting cold."
Dawn and Connor were looking at each other, frowning. "When was she supposed to be back?" Dawn asked.
"Um..." Luke looked at his watch again. "Twenty minutes ago. It's no big deal, she probably just got caught up on a story."
"She's always doing that," Sky agreed, rolling her eyes. Dawn smiled at the world weary tone.
Connor was watching the sky. "There's a storm coming in," he said. "Luke, let me walk you guys back to your room."
"What? We're fine. Go home with Dawn."
Connor glanced around, catching the eye of a girl sitting near an entrance. He jerked his head and she packed up her things, coming over.
"Get Dawn back home," he told her, shovelling Dawn's books and papers into her bag. "Dawn, I'm behind you."
"What's wrong?" Dawn protested, rising to her feet.
"I really don't like that storm. Luke, let me walk you back." He glanced at Sky and back at Luke.
"Luke, it's a lightning storm," Sky whispered. "And there's a lot of power in it."
Luke glanced at her, frowning. Sky knew better than to mention things like that in front of people. Her eyes were wide and fixed on the clouds, though.
"Yeah, ok. Come on." He shoved his things together. "Dawn..."
"I'm fine. Go on." She grinned at him, turning and hurrying away with her escort.
"Come on." Connor gestured for Luke's bag. "Hang onto her. What's wrong with her?"
"Nothing," Luke said automatically, glancing at Sky. Her hair was lifting in the current and sparks were flaring along her arms. "Sky!" he hissed.
"I can't help it!" She shook one hand and the sparks dripped off like water.
Luke glanced at Connor, who was completely ignoring it. "Come on, we've got to hurry. Can we ground her?"
Luke shook his head. "She'll absorb it, we just need to hurry!" He wrapped a hand around Sky's arm – the sparks stung, but there was no real pain – and tugged lightly until she started moving.
It wasn't so bad once they got going; the current dropped off and Sky came back to herself enough to follow him. Connor got them in under an overhang just as the rain was starting; it was hitting so hard it rebounded from the ground, soaking all of them immediately.
Luke brushed a hand through his hair, dislodging a shower of water drops. "Sky, you all right?"
"Yes!" Sparks were still dancing on her skin, but the dazed look had faded. "I'm fine!"
"Good girl." He turned to look at Connor. "Connor..."
"Weird effects these storms can have. Looks like St Elmo's fire, doesn't it?" He wasn't looking at them, eyeing the clouds instead.
"Yeah. I suppose it does."
"Come on. We can get back to your room without going outside from here."
"We shouldn't go inside," Luke said, glancing at Sky. "Not until it's under control."
"If you say so." Connor shrugged, leaning against the wall to watch them.
Sky grinned, running one hand over her arm. The sparks gathered in the wake of her hands, dancing. "Pretty."
"Stop that, Sky High," Luke said half–heartedly. "Can you get rid of them?"
"There's too much in the air..." She jumped, turning to look just as a bolt of lightning earthed on a nearby building. The thunder came almost at the same moment.
Luke's phone rang, whined, and sparked to death. He dug it out of his pocket, glaring at Sky.
"That's not my fault! I didn't do it on purpose!"
"Yeah. I bet. Connor, turn your phone off. If the power flares again..."
Sky shrieked as her pocket exploded. Connor was suddenly there, ripping the pocket free and dropping the smoking remains on the ground.
"Sky, you all right?" Luke demanded, dropping to one knee in front of her to examine her. Sky nodded, patting at her hip.
"I'm fine, it didn't burn me, I'm fine. It just surprised me. That's all. I'm fine."
"Sure?"
"Yes, I'm fine. Fine. Cold."
Luke shrugged out of his jacket, draping it around her shoulders. "Here. We just need the storm to die down a bit so we can take you inside, all right? How long do you think it's going to last?"
"I don't know. I think it's going away. It's weird. It's not like a real storm."
Luke nodded. "Sky, have you picked up other storms since you came to Mum?"
"Not like this. I know they're there, but I don't..." She held out her arms, still crawling with electricity.
"Ok." Luke grinned at her, ruffling her hair. "Tell me when it's dying down, ok?"
He pushed to his feet, crossing to stand next to Connor. "Sky's human," he murmured.
Connor shook his head. He was watching the clouds rather than looking at Luke. "No, she's not."
Luke winced. "Mostly."
"I know human, Luke, and I know not human. That..." He gestured to where Sky was still playing with the sparks. "That's not human."
"She's not a that."
Connor eyed him for a moment before looking back at the clouds. "What about you?"
Luke winced again. It felt like a betrayal to say "I'm human."
"Are you?"
"Human. You're taking this very calmly."
"I grew up in LA. Centre of weirdness." Connor glanced at him. "Dawn trusts you, you know. She thinks you're a good man. She's been defending you for weeks."
Luke studied Connor for a moment. Somehow he seemed very dangerous, even lounging against the wall and dripping wet. "Whatever you're thinking, Connor, we didn't come here to hurt anyone. I'm smart and Sky feels electricity. That's all. I swear."
"Your sister thinks this storm is fake. Is she right?"
"Usually she is about electricity, but I'm not sure she's ever been in a fake storm before."
"Luke, it's dying down!" Sky called. Luke waved acknowledgment, watching as the sparks started to die out.
"If it's not a real storm, what does that mean?" he murmured.
"Might mean that someone knows about your sister and wants her outed. Anyone hate you?"
"No one who knows I'm here, and fewer who know about her."
The sparks on Sky's arms faded completely and the clouds overhead began to thin out. Connor watched, nodding. "Definitely not a natural storm. We're going to need to talk."
"Yeah." Luke glanced at Sky, now watching them suspiciously. "Later."
"Later," Connor agreed.
"Sky, you ready to go?" Luke wrapped his coat more tightly around her.
Sky wrapped an arm around his neck, whispering into his ear, "I didn't mean it."
"It's not your fault. You didn't do anything wrong. Don't worry about it."
"But he saw me."
"Yeah." Luke glanced at Connor, waiting patiently for them. "I think it'll be ok. Don't worry. Come on, we're got to go back to my room."
"Why your room?"
"Because K9 can call Mr Smith to call Mom. You're right, she should have been back by now."
"You can use my cell," Connor offered.
"Thanks, but Mr Smith won't pick up to you. He doesn't know you. Are you coming?"
"Yeah. It's dark for you to be out."
Luke raised an eyebrow but didn't ask. "We can go inside now."
"Quicker to cross the green. Got a hold of Sky?"
"Yeah."
"Good. Come on."
"What's wrong?" Sky whispered.
"I don't know. Let's just hurry, ok? We'll be talking to Mum in a few minutes."
Connor hurried them across the green, watching around them carefully. Luke half–watched him; the lazy student had vanished. Connor was moving like an athlete, all flowing movements and no wasted motion. Luke wasn't athletic, but he recognised it in others.
As they neared Luke's building Connor pulled his phone from a pocket, speed dialling. "Dawn? I'm going to be a little while. Don't go outside. Can you talk to the girls? Right. Later."
"She all right?" Luke asked.
"Fine," Connor said shortly.
They reached the building without incident. Connor relaxed slightly when they reached Luke's room; Sky huddled into Luke's coat, perching on his bed. Luke pulled out towels and a set of pyjamas, and Connor walked her to the bathroom to get dried off and changed.
"K9, I need to talk to Mr Smith." Luke shucked wet clothes hastily, pulling on dry ones as quickly as he could. His fingers were numb.
"Connecting." K9 whirred for a moment.
"Luke." It always sounded weird to Luke, Mr Smith's smooth voice coming from K9's speakers. "Are you well?"
"Did you see the storm?"
"Yes. Sarah Jane reports that parts of the town have flooded. She is unable to reach the college. Are you hurt?"
"Just really cold. Mr Smith, Sky reacted to the electricity."
"What do you mean, reacted?" Rani demanded.
"Hey, Rani." Finally dressed again, he flipped on the web camera. "I mean sparks all over. We stayed outside, I didn't dare bring her in. She wasn't hurt, she was playing with them, but...I thought she couldn't do that anymore?"
"She's not supposed to be able to," Rani agreed. "Mr Smith?"
"Sky's ability to control electricity is gone," he agreed. "However, the mechanisms that allowed her to do so without being injured are still in place. It's possible that she instinctively channelled the power from the air."
"Did you get anything about the storm?" Luke scrubbed at his hair with his shirt, getting the worst of the wet out.
"It was not a natural phenomenon. However, I am unable to determine how it was created. I shall continue to analyse the records."
"Thanks." Luke glanced over his shoulder at a noise in the hall. "Rani, I have to talk to Connor..."
"Connor?"
"Long story. Can you talk to Sky for a few minutes?"
"Yeah, 'course. Everything all right?"
"It's fine." He smiled quickly, standing as his door opened. "Sky, come talk to Rani."
"Hi Rani!" Sky clomped across the room – Luke's pyjamas were far too big on her – and dropped awkwardly into the desk chair. "Did Luke tell you about the storm?"
"Mr Smith picked it up. Looks like you got caught."
"We weren't even in it! The rain was bouncing."
Luke backed up to the door, where Connor was watching. "I can find you something to wear..."
"I'm not staying."
"Sure?"
Connor eyed him. "You're both human?"
"Yes."
"And not about to take over the world?"
"I...wasn't planning on it."
"What's up with Sky?"
Luke glanced automatically over his shoulder. "Nothing's up with her. She feels electricity. That's all. She can't use it for anything, she can't throw lightning bolts, nothing like that. She just feels it."
"And you?"
"I'm smart. And my reflexes are higher than normal. But I'm human and so is she."
Connor nodded sharply. "I'll be watching you."
"That's good too."
He glanced past Luke to where Sky was still chatting to Rani. "See you around, Luke."
"Hey," Luke called after him. "What are you?"
"I'm Connor." He loped down the corridor, vanishing into the stairwell before Luke could ask anything else.
Luke grimaced, rubbing his face briefly before heading back to join Sky in front of the computer.
"Luke!" Rani said cheerfully. "Sarah Jane's completely stuck, she can't get back to the college. She's going to come back here and try again tomorrow, if you're ok with that."
"Yeah, of course. That's fine." He glanced at Sky. "I'd better cancel that big party I was going to have, I suppose."
"Very funny," Sky sniffed. "You weren't going to have a party."
"No, I wasn't going to have a party," he agreed. "But I could if I wanted to."
"You're just not the party type," Rani said sympathetically. "Never mind, though, we love you anyway."
"Goodnight, Rani," Luke said firmly.
"Love you!" she chirped. Luke grinned, flicking the computer off.
Connor was soaking wet by the time he reached Dawn's. One of the girls was on guard at the porch – Lisa? He could never remember all the names – and she nodded briskly as he passed her. "All quiet around here."
"Good," he said absently. "Any news?"
"The girls flushed two vamps from the centre of campus. They're working their way out now."
"Thanks." He headed inside.
Dawn was in the sitting room, staring at one of her textbooks. Connor started to sit opposite her before realising he was still soaked. "Got a towel?"
"Yeah." Dawn threw it at him hard enough to smack him in the chest. "Do you want to tell me what's going on?"
"Sky channels electricity."
Dawn blinked, studying him. "What?"
"Electricity. That storm threw off enough that it was dancing on her arms. Sparks." He gestured loosely, scrubbing the worst of the wet out of his hair. "It was...weird. But kind of cool."
"Could she control it, or..."
"No, I don't think so. Luke says not, and she didn't do anything like that. Just sparks. We stayed outside, but..."
"No wonder you're soaked. Was there a point to that or did you just feel like pneumonia?"
"I'm not going to get pneumonia. And it was Luke's idea, he said we should stay outside. I guess he was afraid she'd blow the power."
"What about Luke?"
"He says he's smart. Which you can't prove by his language skills, but he picks up everything else pretty quickly, so...He says they're both human. He's very insistent."
"In denial, or else he really doesn't know," Dawn mused. "If he grew up in a human family without knowing what he is..."
"Yeah, but he's not the same as Sky. What kind of family accidentally adopts two different kinds of demons without realising?"
"Maybe the family knew." She studied him for a moment. "Have you decided he's not dangerous?"
Connor shrugged. "More or less."
"That's a change. Why?"
"Mostly the way he was with Sky." He shrugged, giving up on the towel and slumping onto the couch. "Plus, we've been watching him for six months and he hasn't done anything. I don't know any demons with that kind of patience. Not the evil ones, anyway."
"And he doesn't feel evil," Dawn said pointedly.
Connor rolled his eyes. "And he doesn't feel evil," he admitted. "Off, still, weird, but not evil."
Dawn grinned triumphantly. "Told you."
Connor rolled his eyes again. "Yes. Have you spoken to Willow?"
"No. Why?"
"That storm wasn't natural. It flooded out the roads and exposed Sky but it didn't do any real damage. It blew up too quickly and dispersed too fast to be natural."
"If it didn't do any harm, what was the point?"
"Sort of what I wanted to ask Willow."
Dawn glanced towards the door. "And the vampires?"
"I dunno. The girls found two. I didn't sense any more than that. Maybe they just wandered onto campus. Honestly, I'm surprised there aren't more here, college full of students."
"The old Council kept the town pretty clear. They trained a lot of their Watchers here. I guess the vamps just stopped coming."
"Well, they've started coming again." He shrugged. "Maybe it was a one off."
"You're about to try and impose rules on me, aren't you?"
Connor shrugged again. "Just a curfew. Or, if you're going to be out after dark, call me or one of the girls."
"That's it?"
"That's it. You have enough experience to manage yourself. I just want to know where you are after dark."
Dawn nodded reluctantly. It was a lot lighter than she'd been expecting. Without Connor, the girls probably would have put her under house arrest by now. "You know, considering they're not even here for me, they're very gung ho about protecting me."
"Well, yeah," Connor agreed. "You think any of them want to find out where the Council will place them if they let anything happen to you?"
"They're not even supposed to be watching me!" Dawn sighed. "I knew I should have gone somewhere else. Too many Slayers here."
"That's what happens when you go to the council's old university," Connor agreed unsympathetically. "You knew it would."
"I knew Buffy would saddle me with a real team otherwise," Dawn told him. "This was the best way."
"Yeah, well, you're here. Curfew. Yes?"
"Yes. I agreed already."
"Good. I'd hate to have to ground you."
"You are one year older than me, Connor."
"Yep, and that makes me the boss."
"In your dreams."
He eyed her until she blushed, grinning. "If you like."
"Shut up," she muttered. "And get off my couch, you're dripping." Connor grinned, heading upstairs to get changed.