Gabriel closed the book, yawning a little bit. It had taken him two days with no breaks (and no sleep) but he managed to finish it. He jumped slightly when he heard an impressed whistle, turning to see Mike leaning against the doorframe and staring at him with wide eyes. The former guard gestured to the book that Gabriel had just finished.
"Must have been an interesting book," he said. "I haven't seen you put it down in days."
Gabriel shrugged his shoulders.
"It was alright," he said. Mike looked around the area in wonder. Gabriel smiled to himself. He'd always liked to read. He was very glad that Evan had given them a library.
"I've never been in here," Mike admitted. "Never really found a book that caught my attention."
"Ev always says that you were a fan of soap operas," Gabriel told him. Mike made a face.
"How dare you accuse me of such a thing," he said. Gabriel giggled a little bit, his giggles turning into laughter when Mike shook his head. "You used past tense- soap operas are the greatest."
Uh-huh, sure.
Gabriel just nodded at him, feeling a little woozy. Mike walked over to him, getting a better look at the cover of the book. He nodded.
"A book on some of the biggest events in American history," he said. Gabriel nodded, fighting down another yawn. Mike smiled at him. "One of my favorites has always been the Boston Tea Party."
Gabriel nodded absentmindedly, trying his hardest not to fall asleep right there.
"Yeah, where the colonists dumped Britain's tea into the water," he said. He gave Mike a confused look when the older man started giggling. "What?"
"Nothing," Mike said quickly, waving his hand in nonchalance. "Just… you seem a little tired."
Gabriel shook his head.
"No, I'm not," he said. He reached over and grabbed another book from the shelf, vaguely noting how comfortable the chair he was currently in felt… he shook his head, studying the cover of the book. "I'm busy reading… Advanced Air-ith-mah-tic and Quad-rat-tic Formulas."
He had to sound out the bigger words. He'd never seen them before. He opened the book, the numbers and words already beginning to swim around. He cleared his throat a little bit, fighting down yet another yawn.
Mike nodded seriously at him.
"Ah… and what are you gonna do with those quadratic formulas and advanced arithmetic?" he asked. Gabriel was a little annoyed at how easily Mike had said the words, but then again, he was much older.
"I'm gonna… you know, do them," he said. Mike bit his lip and nodded slightly.
"Right… but do you understand it?" he asked. Gabriel scoffed at him, his brain beginning to cloud over. He had no clue what he was doing.
"Of course I do," he said. Mike nodded seriously.
"Ok, then… could you explain 'ax squared plus bx plus c equals 0' to me?"
Gabriel stared at him blankly.
"...no. I can't," he said. Mike tilted his head.
"Why not?" he asked. "I thought you understood it?"
Gabriel frowned at him.
"...you don't have to be mean," he said. "Just tell me you know I'm lying."
Mike winced slightly.
"Sorry, Gabe," he said. He shook his head slightly. "Didn't mean it like that."
"It's alright," Gabriel told him. He rubbed his eyes tiredly. "I know you didn't."
Mike leaned against the chair Gabriel was sitting in, picking up the book of Big American Events and flipping through the pages.
"Why are you reading these books, anyway?" he asked. "I get that you're a bookworm, but you don't have to read stuff that's so…"
He waved the book around a bit, trying to think of the word.
"... advanced, I guess."
Gabriel shrugged, unable to stop his yawn this time.
"I dunno," he said. "The thing with the blender got me thinking…"
Mike raised an eyebrow at him.
"About what?" he asked. Gabriel shrugged again.
"Well, Susie called me in there because she thought I knew how to use it," he said. "But I didn't… so I thought that maybe if I learn everything, I'll be able to help everyone when they don't know something."
Mike blinked at him once.
"So, you're going to try to learn everything about… everything?" he asked. Gabriel nodded.
"Yes," he said, yawning again. His chair was feeling very, very comfortable… he shook his head, trying to get himself to stay awake. "So that I can help everything with anyone."
He frowned to himself.
"...wait…"
Mike chuckled softly, shaking his head a little bit.
"I think you're alright with your limited knowledge," he said. Gabriel turned his frown to the former guard.
"But- "
"Gabe, listen," Mike started. His voice was so soft and soothing… his chair was getting increasingly more comfortable the longer he sat in it. He let out another yawn. "If you try to learn everything about everything, that'll take the fun out of learning it."
Gabriel took a second to process his words. And even once he'd processed them, they didn't make much sense.
But he liked listening to Mike's voice. So calming. So soft.
Mike raised a knowing eyebrow at him, a small smile playing on his lips.
"I'm not sure how lucid you are right now," he said. "But I'll tell you this, anyway- learning this stuff now means that you don't get to learn it later, with your friends. You won't have as much fun, knowing this stuff while your friends are learning about it. Sure, it can be helpful, but where's the fun in that?"
Did Mike's eyes change color? His gaze seemed to drift away, looking at something else. Gabriel chalked it up to being tired and imagining things.
Still, a bad feeling settled in the pit of his stomach. He tried to focus on what the former guard was saying- really, he did- but it was getting harder and harder. He just liked the sound of Mike's voice. Incredibly soft, soothing… a comforting drone. He felt his eyes beginning to droop shut.
Mike's words started blending together, but Gabriel didn't care. The sound of his voice was like a relaxing lullaby, lulling him into sleep. When was the last time he slept? He didn't know. Nothing mattered at this moment.
Something in his sleep-deprived brain registered the fact that something had picked him up and was now carrying him. Mike's continuous drone was beginning to pull him under, but another voice entered his mind.
"Is he alright?"
"Yeah, he's fine, Evan. Just a little tired. I'm bringing him back to his room."
"Oh… ok, then."
Evan…? Why did he sound so… upset?
The droning was back. He felt himself being lowered onto a soft surface. This, doubled with Mike's soothing drone, caused him to fall deeper into his little half-sleep.
He smiled as he felt the blanket being pulled up around him.
"You aren't scared of her?"
"...a little bit. But it's alright. As long as I know you guys are safe and alright, I can handle anything she throws at me."
"Thank you…"
Thank you.
He heard the door being closed and sighed contentedly, allowing himself to fall into a deep sleep.
The next day, he shot out of bed, throwing the sheets to the side as a realization from the previous night hit him.
He had been talking to Mike about the Boston Tea Party.
Mike had joked that he was always interested in it.
The Boston Tea Party, one of the biggest things that led to the colonists rebelling against Britain.
MIKE WAS FROM BRITAIN.
The former guard had completely taken advantage of the situation for the sole purpose of freaking him out once he was no longer loopy.
He almost burst out the door to go complain to the man himself, but held himself back. He thought about it for a moment, then smiled to himself.
This was such an older sibling move. He remembered his own brother doing things like that to him all the time. He shook his head slightly, giggling a little bit.
He'd get even.
The next few days were nothing but a prank war between Mike and Gabriel. Susie and Charlie tried to stay out of it, and Gabriel never struck Mike during his practice sessions with Jeremy. But eventually, Gabriel managed to recruit Fritz to his side while Jeremy and Mike teamed up. Cassidy started a betting ring amongst those who weren't part of the prank war. Susie bet on Gabriel and Fritz winning it. Charlie insisted that Mike and Jeremy would be victorious.
Evan didn't make a bet.
