Chapter 38: Burnin' Up

"All right, the sewer system I saw in Max's head is in the insertdirectionhere part of the city…and to answer your question, you're right. It may be a dead end, but it's worth a shot." Skye murmured to Greg as they walked through Times Square, dodging crazy cab drivers.

Greg sighed, "I keep forgetting you read minds. Why do I even bother talking aloud anymore?" he said wryly, glancing at her sideways and grinning. Skye met his gaze and the looked ahead, a smug smile playing across her lips,

"Because you like the sound of your own voice."

"Oh, ouch. That hurt my pride; wounded me real deep." Greg snickered and punched her arm lightly. Skye was wearing a non-descript, black sweatshirt with the hood pulled up as an extra precaution. She had to agree with Greg, her hair stood out.

Greg had dyed his hair a dark chocolate brown, much like the shade of Max's natural color. He had also left it down, combing it straight out of its natural waves. The actions were simple, but the effect was tremendous; Skye was still doing double takes, and it had been at least three hours since they had set out.

Skye stopped and mock scrutinized Greg and his ensemble,

"You know, if you got a lip ring, wore skinny black jeans, and tight-fitting band T-Shirts, you could make a great emo kid…" Skye smiled to herself and started walking again, pop culture was so easy to keep up with when you could read minds.

Greg punched her arm again, harder this time.

Skye snickered.

-+-

They were three blocks from the Institute when they ran into trouble. Skye spotted the model-like men at the same time Greg heard them. Instantly Greg's hand was around her wrist as he pulled her into the nearest alley.

"Pretend we're making out." He hissed quietly, leaning against the wall and pulling her towards him. He rested his hands around her waist, his didn't need to lean down, they were close enough in height that all he had to do was tilt his head to make the scene look realistic. Skye rested her cheek lightly on his at a slight angle in the opposite direction, effectively hiding both their faces. She listened intently to the Erasers' thoughts. Luckily, the pack didn't give the two the slightest of glances, too focused on the café two blocks up. Once the pack was safely a block away Skye and Greg set out once again, more wary than ever.

"This is it, I'm pretty sure, there should be a—" Skye stopped in mid-whisper. An Eraser gang had just stepped out of a store right next to the alleyway. Skye yanked Greg into the shadows and they assumed the position they had earlier. Skye listened attentively to the Erasers' thoughts once again. None of the gang had seen them—no, one had. Skye saw a picture of them in the Eraser's mind's eye as he glanced their way. She sighed in relief as he looked away, but gasped as he did a double take.

'Those teens…they're in THE alley…what are they…?'

Skye panicked, they didn't look realistic enough, and the one Eraser was now moving towards them, the gang in tow. She felt suspicion roll off the wolf-men in waves, as the silently crept closer. Skye swore in her mind and did the only thing she could think of.

She pressed her lips to Greg's.

Greg stiffened in surprise as Skye's lips moved against his.

'Shit! This isn't going to work!!' Skye screamed mentally as pictures of the Eraser gang tearing them to pieces came to mind.

But then Greg relaxed, angling his head and tentatively sliding his hands down to Skye's hips. Skye's thoughts went hazy for a second as sparks traveled down her spine. She struggled to divide her concentration. The Eraser gang was still advancing, still suspicious. This sent Skye into a panicked frenzy once again as she tried to come up with a solution.

And then it hit her hard; more realistic.



Skye ran the tip of her tongue lightly over Greg's lips, asking permission. Greg complied, and Skye shyly began to explore the roof of his mouth, lightly running her fingers through his hair. She tried hard not to blush at the live video streaming through the Erasers' heads; it sure looked realistic enough. But was she doing this right? All of the times she had made out with Grey (just thinking about Grey made her stomach roll), he had pretty much done all the work. Now she was going by memory—'no, stop, listen to the Eraser's thoughts.' She reminded herself, and concentrated. The Eraser gang had passed, suspicion gone.

'Stupid teenagers, all the care about nowadays is sex, drugs, and money; they're no threat to us.'

Skye caught the lead Eraser's last thought pertaining to them before he moved onto hand-to-hand combat routines.

Skye made sure the Eraser gang was a few hundred feet away, and that none else were coming before focusing on what was right in front of her. Now that the threat was gone, she should stop this, it was wrong to keep this up—

Greg pulled back slightly, grazing her bottom lip with his teeth. When he kissed her again, Greg's tongue lazily traced circles over and around Skye's. Her thoughts got so muddled, Skye wondered if she had passed out.

'What was I thinking…? Oh yeah…wrong…this is…wrong…I should stop…shouldn't…no! Should…' Skye's thoughts were thoroughly jumbled as Greg worked.

Greg was her best friend, like a brother to her.

Except kissing him didn't bring a brother to mind at all.

That thought finally did the trick. Skye opened her eyes and pulled away gently, quickly ducking her head before Greg could open his eyes and see the blush creeping onto her cheeks. She moved away from him (to which her body protested most vehemently), and moved rapidly down the alley. In silence she opened the sewer grate and set it aside.

"Ladies first." Greg murmured, a hint of amusement in his voice.

Skye's face burned.

She was really going to regret this.

A/N: There you go guys, juicy enough for ya? xD Well anyways, I'm off to camp for the next two weeks, so, I hope to write a few more chapters during the down time we have. (: Love you guys, thanks for reading! R&R please!