Disclaimer: I do not own The Tomorrow People. The CW does. Don't forget to watch this Monday march 24th. Thanks for reading.

John had been taking more risks as of late but it was really worth it, he thought as he waited in the kitchen.

He heard her open the door and then the sound of a familiar voice reached his ears.

"Hey," Stephen said instantly regretting it, as he saw Astrid roll his eyes at him. He couldn't help saying hey and knew she hated it when he greeted her like that. Astrid observed how he looked so hopeful.

Despite all of this she managed a smile and asked him, "How are you?"

"I'm fine. It doesn't matter. I came here to talk to you," he said, his eyes pleading to be let in.

"Well, we were just going to watch a movie. You can join us," she said, stepping aside to let him in.

"We?" Stephen asked confused, and he saw John appear in the hallway.

Astrid noticed the displeasure and disappointment in his blue eyes as they made contact with John's azure eyes. John's eyes had changed too, before they were content and now they were full of irritation. There was definitely some hostility between the two of them she sensed but pushed it out of her mind. She wanted to enjoy tonight and stress was not on her list.

"Hi," Stephen acknowledged John just for the sake of Astrid.

"Hello," John said lowly. Astrid bit her lip as she witnessed the exchange. On the other hand this might've not been a good idea she thought. She could feel the tension, rolling off of them in waves and she wondered if she had any powers since the ill feelings the two were emanating were palpable in the air.

"John, could you excuse us," Stephen said. "I need to discuss something with my best friend."

John stood there for a bit but then teleported to Astrid's room.

Stephen's anger dissipated minutely when John left. "So, you and John huh?" he said, sitting on Astrid's couch. Astrid sat down at the other end of the couch.

Astrid smiled but couldn't help it and she shook her head. "You're blowing me off for him?" Stephen said as calmly as possible.

"I'm not blowing you off for anybody," she whispered, looking at him quizzically.

He wanted to read her mind to explore what she was feeling for John but he had promised he wouldn't do that.

He knew how she felt about him, when he broke his promise and read her mind, I'm in love with you, but wondered if she still loved him like that, and he hoped she still did. He was flattered, of course, however, he didn't want their friendship to get weird, so he tried as much as possible to not have a conversation about it.

"It's not like you don't blow me off," Astrid said after a moment.

"So, I guess we're even," Stephen said, looking at her with a mixture of hopefulness and defeat.

He wanted to get rid of this unshakable belief that started to creep into his mind that he was going to lose her or that he would be replaced. He didn't know why that idea kept percolating around in his head and he wished he could stop thinking that but it was difficult.

"I was never trying to get even," Astrid said. She was just steering clear of him because of all the feelings he brought up in her was making life difficult to bear.

"Can't we just hang out together please?" he begged. He started to regret ever asking if someone could look after her while he was gone, because John had stepped up to the plate and took a bullet for her. That whole situation, where they had saved each other had bonded them, sewn them together in such a way that Stephen could not have imagined. He often wished that it was he who had saved her; instead he had gotten the blame for putting her in danger.

"Yeah," she said, "but not today. I'm not kicking John out."

As Stephen and Astrid had their little chat, John was examining Astrid's room, noticing how her room spoke volumes about her.

Everything from the bright colors, to the light that oozed in through the windows said something about her.

Like the light that trickled in and spread to her bed to the walls, she had managed to get into him and enliven him.

Not only was she the reason he smiled more, but he also had this optimism when he was around her. He was like a candle and she the match that inflamed him.

He stood before her bookshelf and took note of the books. They were special in that each book was rated with a number of stars on the spine. He looked through her photo albums, and pilfered a photo of her (one without Stephen in it) and put it in his back pocket. Then he just sat back in her bed and waited to be called.

The three of them sat on the couch with Astrid sitting in the middle, Stephen was to her right, and John sat to her left.

They settled on the movie "The Human Centipede" but Astrid couldn't really concentrate on the movie because she could feel both guys constantly looking at her.

Stephen's eyes would shift to her and then back to the movie. John did the same but his stare was much more powerful for some reason. Astrid stared blankly ahead at the screen, questioning what they were thinking.

"That would never happen to us," Stephen said, shaking his head as the girl on the screen began to run away. Astrid nodded in agreement as John said nothing.

He was pondering how cheerful Astrid had been when she saw Stephen and he didn't know why but he didn't like it.

As Astrid tried to pay attention to the movie, unbeknownst to her the two of them were arguing telepathically.

Why the hell are you even here? Stephen asked.

Can't I hang out with my friend? John inquired.

Since when is Astrid your friend? Stephen questioned.

Since the day you stopped looking out for her, John thought triumphantly.

Well I have certain privileges, Steven thought as he put his hand on top of Astrid's hand.

As soon as he did that simple act, Astrid couldn't explain a bolt of electricity that crawled throughout her skin.

It sent a thrill inside her that made her feel weightless and excited. She tried to disregard the flutter that he had brought about in her, and saw John's gloomy expression, so she slipped her hand out from Stephen's and placed both hands on her lap.

I don't think she's into killers Stephen goaded as the warmth of her hand left his.

John leapt from the couch, causing Astrid to look up at him in shock as he stood before Stephen.

John's fist hit Stephen squarely in the jaw and he backed away, holding his hand to his jowl, and was about to hit John right back, not noticing that Astrid had got up to put herself between the two of them, and he ended up striking her on the side of her head.

Astrid fell backward, but John caught her, stunned as he staggered back with her in his arms. Stephen looked on flabbergasted, taken aback about what he had done and rushed to her side.

John laid her gently on the floor, tilted her head back and immediately performed CPR but she was still unconscious.

"I didn't mean to," Stephen said, backing away. He started coming toward them again but then stopped, thinking he might hurt her again if he got too close.

Don't worry I'm here," John said, bending down closer. He turned around to find Stephen still there. "What are you still doing here? Call 911 you idiot!" John yelled as he continued CPR. She looked so peaceful and an uncomfortable feeling started to slink into John. This was his fault. He started to whisper her name, hoping she would respond but she just looked like she was sleeping. "You're going to be all right," he said soothingly, caressing her cheek as her eyes remained closed.

He heard Stephen calling the police and he was so puzzled by what happened.

Stephen couldn't believe what he had done. He has just hit his best friend. The girl he has known his whole life. He watched as John continued and each time she didn't respond the more at fault he felt.

John stopped trying when he heard the ambulance coming.

"I care about her," Stephen choked out.

John got up and crossed his arms. "Is this what you do to someone you care about?"

Stephen blinked and he could feel the tears pierce his eyes. "It was an accident!" he said, heading for the door. He took a huge breath and opened it as two paramedics rushed in. "What happened here?" one of them questioned Stephen.

Stephen could not even respond, knowing what it would look like. John wondered what was taking so long for them to get to Astrid so he stood up to get to the paramedics. He related the story quickly as he led them to the living room. Stephen and John's eyes widened as they looked about the room. The paramedics look at each other and then eye the young guys suspiciously.

"Where is the young lady you speak of?" one paramedic asked.

John pointed to the floor where he had placed Astrid and said firmly, "She was right here."

"Well, where is she now?" the other paramedic questioned with an arched eyebrow.

Stephen ran a frustrated hand through his hair. "We swear she was right here," Stephen said, his voice quavering. The paramedics looked at them suspiciously but they decided to search the whole house but there was no sign of Astrid. John and Stephen looked at each other, perplexed and worried about where she could be. The panic that settled over them was a blanket that neither offered comfort nor pacified, but that draped and encased them into a state of uncertainty.