Chapter 13: "The Fall Formal"

By the time the big dance rolled around, the whole school was decked out — Storm had provided the mood lighting as always — and everyone came in either gorgeous suits and dresses or amazing costumes.

Chance had worn the basic suit like he'd said, but he was surprised when Jamie had shown up with a nearly backless piece, which… was making it difficult to know where to put his hands. He was trying to be respectful — and to show that he could be level-headed - and basically just trying not to do anything that would make him look like an idiot teenager again.

"Do you ever relax?" Jamie asked him as the two of them hit the dance floor.

He shook his head at her. "That's not a fair question when I've got to prove I can handle the team status by next week."

Jamie let out all her breath at once and rolled her eyes before she draped her arms around his shoulders while they danced. "But you can relax for one night, can't you? Come on. I put in all this effort. Please?"

Chance let out a small breath and nodded, leading her gently into a slow dance that was as respectful as he could make it. After all, it was becoming increasingly clear to him that Jamie was overly interested, and while it was nice to have someone to talk to besides Oliver at the school, he just… wasn't.

James and Vanessa were already at the dance when Chance got there — and the bubbly little blonde was wrapped halfway around James' arm and decked out in a long, shimmering green-to-blue dress that brushed the floor. She was leaning into him and asking who was who as they came in before James finally pulled her around to head over to a table and sit down. The dance floor was overly crowded, and he wasn't much in the mood to fight a crowd over something as minor as space.

Charlie and Sying joined them at the table shortly after their arrival, though obviously, neither of them was wrapped halfway around the other. They'd decided to go as friends, though Charlie was distracted in watching the still-heartbroken half-Kree as she turned her sights toward James and Vanessa. "You two look nice."

"So shocked," James replied almost automatically. "I like your accessory." He gestured at Sying. "Maple sugar star dust is very chic, I'm told."

Sying stuck his tongue out at James. "Yeah, I know I'm cute. Don't be hateful."

"Why would I be hateful of 'cute'?" James asked, wrinkling up his nose. "Cute is like a puppy or a fluffy kitten."

Sying rolled his eyes again at that, though he wasn't paying much attention, obviously looking around the dance floor to try and spot Krissy and Christian — who, unsurprisingly, were dancing slowly and looking very elegant.

"Would you like to dance?" Vanessa asked Sying. "If … Charlie doesn't mind, that is."

Charlie shrugged lightly. "Go ahead. I'd know if you were interested, and you're not, so I don't mind."

Sying seemed to blink for a second and then smiled as he offered Vanessa his hand. "Sure."

Vanessa beamed at him and got to her feet. "I heard you're one of the better dancers. So I hope you don't mind teaching me a little bit."

Sying smiled lightly. "You heard wrong," he said. "I'm one of the best dancers."

Charlie watched the two of them head off before she turned to James with a smile. "I'm glad to see you getting out," she said. "Even if you feel uncomfortable. It's good to get out of the comfort zone a bit — I'm told."

"Yeah? When are you going to try it yourself?" James asked.

Charlie smiled and shrugged. "Whenever the opportunity arises," she said. "I mean, I am planning to go to college after I graduate. Whole campus full of drama. I'd say that counts."

"Probably," he agreed, glancing out over the dance floor at large. "So… who are you interested in that you're not going after? Seems to be the running theme lately."

"Actually, I did like going out with Sying, but he's head over heels for Krissy all over again, so I think this is more a case of 'I've got him but he doesn't want to be had'."

"I don't think he ever wasn't head over heels for her."

"Well, he wasn't head over heels before, or I wouldn't have gone out with him. But it's back in full force instead of a low rumble. So. Here I am."

"Sorry about that," James said.

She gestured openly. "Every power has its drawback. Mine is that it's hard to have fun when I know the second a guy loses interest."

"Yeah, but it saves time," James pointed out.

"Maybe. But it makes dating anyone but whoever I end up with pretty much impossible," she said.

"Sounds like crap to me," he muttered.

Charlie shrugged. "But what about you? You're not sure about this girl; I know that. But you're giving it a try?"

"Yeah … might as well. She's nice, and she's not being deceptive. Dating options are low at the tower unless I decide to develop a thing for older girls. So …" He shrugged. "I guess we'll see."

"It does make things easier when there's no deception involved," Charlie agreed.

"She's got a lot of your similar issues with the abilities," James pointed out. "Hardly ever makes a move unless she knows how it'll turn out. That's … irritating."

"That sounds… overly safe for you," Charlie said.

"Didn't say that I listened," James said.

"I didn't say you did. Because that would be insane," Charlie said with a smirk.

He tipped his chin toward the group at large. "What about the rest of the hunyaks?"

"Where do you want me to start?" Charlie said, the smirk widening. "The Elfling who's too afraid to date the heartbroken Kree? Or my brother, who still hasn't asked Elin out for reasons surpassing human understanding…"

"She probably wouldn't go out with him," James said in a far-too matter-of-fact tone.

"That's crazy. I know she likes him," Charlie pointed out.

"Well that doesn't figure in her personal code, does it now?" James said.

"No Summerses?" Charlie teased.

James smirked and shook his head. "Surprisingly, no. That's not it at all. It's more to do with not dating exes of close friends."

"Not ever?" Charlie let out her breath in frustration.

James shook his head lightly as he rested his chin in his palm.

"So you mean I'm going to spend the rest of my life watching them pretend not to like each other since they were small."

"Unless you can figure out how to change her mind — and get him to kick it into gear? Well… no. She'll probably take off before then."

"Take off?"

"Can't tell me you haven't missed her high misery level lately," James said.

"Um, no, it's fairly obvious."

"Well … she wanted to go up to the cottage that night. She tried to quit the team, too."

"I heard about that part." Charlie shook her head. "I know… she has every right to be miserable after what happened, so I'm not arguing that. But I want them both to be happy, and I know they both like each other, and it's like… watching a slow motion series of falls."

"At this point, I think she is just trying to crush herself with as much as she can," James told her. "She's kinda mad at me, so … I can't talk to her."

"Chance is doing more or less the same thing — too busy to date kind of thing," Charlie agreed, then let out her breath. "Our siblings are nuts, you know that?"

"Yep," he agreed, letting the discussion fall as Chance headed over with his date. "Speak of the moron."

"I like the suit," Chance said James way.

"Still need to keep your hands off," James shot back without missing a beat.

"It's so hard," Chance said, also without hesitating.

"If you can't be a gentleman, then I can't give you anything new," James said with a shrug. "And you know I take issue when guys can't be gentlemen. Dad wasn't mad, by the way."

Chance smirked and drew a halo over his head, and Jamie frowned between the two of them. "There has got to be some kind of joke here," she said.

"Don't worry about it," Chance told her.

"You must be Jamie," Charlie said before her brother could dig himself into anything.

"And you must be Charlie," Jamie said with a smile. "You look a lot like your brother."

"Obviously."

"Charlie…" Chance said in an almost warning tone.

Charlie just smiled at him. "I am being nice."

"Uh-huh."

"Oh, loosen up and have a little fun," Charlie teased her brother, who stuck his tongue out at her for good measure.

When Sying and Vanessa finished their dance, the usually bubbly blonde returned with a little frown, though she quickly put a smile on before Jamie looked up to see the two of them approach — not that James missed it. She smiled at Jamie but took the seat between James and Charlie before she waved her fingertips to say hello.

Jamie smiled sweetly and offered Vanessa her hand. "I'm-"

"Oh, I know who you are," Vanessa said, though she did not take her hand. "I just didn't realize this was happening." The second part she said much lower, and James turned her way and shook his head.

"Always on top of things, see, Charlie?" James said as Vanessa shrugged Charlie's way.

"Do you always do that?" Charlie asked Vanessa.

"I'm getting better about only doing it when it's more important," Vanessa said. "But it's kind of automatic still. Your sister is a saint to work with."

Charlie couldn't help but smile at that. "She is, but I liked working with Remy better." She tipped her head James' way for a moment. "So, how did you two — I mean, I know you work at Stark's together?"

"Tony thinks he's funny," James said. "She's my lab assistant."

Charlie nodded. "So it was a setup," she teased.

"Just a small one," Vanessa said. "It would have gone the same way if he'd gotten the four other interns Mr. Stark had lined up first? This was just quicker."

Charlie raised an eyebrow her way for a moment and then shook her head. "I… need a trip to the ladies room. Come with me?"

For an instant, Vanessa looked a little sheepish, but she nodded and gave James a quick kiss on the cheek before she followed Charlie.

Charlie waited until they were out in the hallway before she turned to Vanessa. "Listen. James is one of my best friends in the world and one of the few people that I can count on to understand - so let's be clear. I want him to be happy. And he can't be happy if you dictate to him."

"I … don't mean to," she defended. "I'm just saying how I see it."

"Which is fine for you, but he has to make his own decisions," Charlie insisted.

"But if it's all the same, what difference does it make?" Vanessa asked with a frown.

Charlie shook her head. "If you have to be told, you don't understand him at all," she said. "You just see what could be in the future — but you're not seeing everything that he's been through. Do you know how many people want to lock him up and make him do their bidding?"

"Yes. I do," she said, nodding. "I've seen them."

"Then use your common sense!" Charlie said, throwing her hands up. "You think that knowing that - you really think that giving him no option is a good way to deal with him?"

"I guess I didn't realize ... " She faded off and frowned to herself.

"That's why I wanted to talk to you," Charlie said. "Like I said: he's my friend. I want him to be happy. And if you really care about him — and I can tell you do, or I wouldn't be helping — then you need to know how to actually make him happy."

Vanessa took just a moment, then grinned widely before she took a step or two forward and simply wrapped Charlie up in a hug. "Thank you!"

Charlie was surprised by the move but returned it. "Oh… I'm not used to this going so well."

"But you're right — and I don't see any reason not to listen when you're right."

Charlie was smirking as she stepped back. "Oh yeah, I like you." She tipped her head to the side. "Can I ask you something now?"

"Of course!" Vanessa was beaming again. "You'd be surprised how rare it is for anyone to actually ask me something."

Charlie smiled and nodded. "You said before when you met my brother and his girlfriend… he doesn't like her, and she doesn't like him — not in that way anyway; it's all lust, no substance — so what, exactly… should I be concerned about my brother?"

Vanessa glanced back at the table. "That girl is not the right girl. At all. But … she'll be around for a little bit. Just a little bit."

"He's dated vapid idiots before," Charlie said.

Vanessa shook her head. "She's … not vapid."

"She's definitely conniving, I'll give her that, but I don't know if she's just…" Charlie shrugged. "As horrible as this sounds, a girl trying to get in my brother's pants is the least of my worries about him."

"What do you want to know?" Vanessa asked low as she took a step closer.

"I just want to know what it is that's 'happening', because it sure seemed like it was the start of something, and I don't trust her to start anything good," Charlie told her frankly.

Vanessa's smile was entirely gone as she met Charlie's gaze. "She will make things move."

"That's… is that a good or a bad thing; I really can't tell? I just know you're being very careful."

"I can't tell either right now," Vanessa admitted. "I need to see a little more first. And that girl complicates things."

"No kidding," Charlie said with a sigh. "He didn't even want to go with her, you know."

"That is a recurring theme there," she said. "The next one will be entirely different. One way or another."

Charlie watched Vanessa for a long moment and then nodded. "Well, thanks," she said. "I know Wiccan has a hard time when people ask about the future, and I can tell you're torn up, but please… if my brother's in danger…"

She smiled her way. "It's easier for me, I think … because I can't see everything like he can. My options are more … immediate most of the time. And … if I catch anything horrible, I'll say so. But unless I'm close? Or they are a person that meshes into my own future? It's harder to tell."

"That makes sense." Charlie gestured to the door. "Come on; they're probably missing us. I can hear Sying pining in there, and I know he could use a good dance."

She grinned. "You should take him this time. He loves dancing with you."

"We're both music lovers," Charlie said as they headed back to the main area. "It's part of why I liked dating him."

She tipped her head slightly. "Yes … but you're so, so close …"

Charlie laughed out loud. "Vanessa, I'm not going to date Sying."

"Oh, no, of course not … and I'm not going to wreck how your love story starts." She gave her a broad smile and used that as her means to slip back over to James.

Charlie shook her head at Vanessa but was sure to offer her arm to Sying — though she hadn't even made it out to the dance floor with him before she got hit with a huge wave of jealousy from her brother and turned to see Gerry and Elin making their entrance. She shook her head to herself and turned her attention back to Sying. "Come on. Let's show them how it's done."

And across the dance floor, Gerry was telling Elin more or less the same thing. "Come on — couplea dances and then we can start people watching and pick apart all of the stupid. You know there's stupid. Two seconds in and I've already spotted Lottie with Sying and he's not even looking at her."

"They're here as friends too, goober," Elin pointed out.

"Oh, I was talking about the stupid from my fellow Hawk that got them there, but yeah, yeah, I knew that."

"Yeah, don't judge, pity date."

"Hilarity date. I thought we established this!"

"You … tried to establish that. I'm still waiting."

He grinned and leaned in a little closer. "I swear, I'm even wearing a tracksuit under this suit, and you just have to say the word and Aunt Kate is going to die."

She tipped her head to the side. "Shut up. You are not."

He grinned even wider and unbuttoned his shirt enough to show her the yellow-lined tracksuit. "I so am."

"You're going to kick off the rumors all over again if you strip down in the middle of the ballroom."

"Oh please. They'll all be too dazzled by me to notice you," Gerry said, already buttoning back up.

"Very likely," she agreed.

"What do you think - get her at the punch bowl? Or wait until my dad shows up and get 'em both?"

"Two hawks with one stone for sure," she said with a nod.

He grinned as he pulled her into a little spin out onto the dance floor. "See? Hilarity date."

"I'll wait and tell you how hilarious it actually is," she pointed out.

He shook his head at her. "Tough crowd."

"And you know we're totally going to clash as soon as you go all … track suit monte on me."

"I know. It's a shame. You'll just have to be gorgeous all on your own while I'm all hideous and weird."

"Yeah … not likely," she said, scrunching up her nose. "But I appreciate the effort in the compliment."

Gerry grinned even wider. "Well, until then, let's do Beauty and the Beast at the end of the movie, and then we'll do the roaring tracksuit beast thing? I lost track of the metaphor somewhere, but I think it still sorta works."

"You're the one leading this freak parade, Sunshine." She rested one hand over her heart. "I am just a passenger here."

Gerry grinned. "Well, get ready to enjoy the ride," he said before he outright picked her up, tossed her in the air, and spun her around in the air.

"Careful with the short skirt, trouble maker," Elin said, shaking her head at him.

"Hey, I am incredibly precise and a pure gentleman. You're fine."

Gerry led their little dance around the room a couple times, even going so far as to dip her once or twice just to do it before his dad came in and he ske-daddled over to change, leaving her alone at the edge of the dance floor.

But she knew what was coming, and it wasn't long at all before she saw Gerry again, this time in his tracksuit, walking carefully along the ceiling until he saw his dad and Kate meet up. He dropped down between them and got the best scream out of Kate and a sort of 'augh' noise out of Clint that had Natasha and Kurt both laughing.

Elin couldn't help but laugh — especially when he got into the 'bro' stage of the joke — and by the time his family had started to back off on giving him a hard time right back, she was headed off of the dance floor on her own.

"Ellie!" Elin hadn't quite gotten to the table with their friends before Krissy teleported over with Christian still holding her hand. "Oh my gosh. That was beautiful!"

"All Gerry — of course," she said.

"He's hilarious," Krissy agreed. "But it's great to see you laughing too!"

"Hard not to when he got the double-hawk jump," Elin pointed out.

"He is such a Barton," Krissy said with an affectionate smile.

Elin was nodding along with a little smile when Gerry caught up to them. "Okay, that was worthwhile, but also your very best gag of the night."

"Not that I'm a one-trick pony or anything," Gerry said with a smirk. "But I'm glad you liked it. Had to do something to break up all of the dancing couples."

"Well, now that you got that out of your system partway — what am I supposed to be?" Elin asked, gesturing down to her short dress.

Gerry tipped his head to the side as he considered her. "Hmmm. I dunno. Pretty girl too good for tracksuits?"

"Well … now you're going to have to make up a backstory," she decided as she took his offered arm.

He nodded seriously. "Yes, alright. Hmm. You… married into the wrong family, and now you're trying to get out of it…" He kept right on talking all the way out onto the dance floor as he came up with increasingly improbable ways that Elin was working against her mob boss husband, which just had Elin smiling despite herself.

And while Gerry and Elin were joking around and having a good time, their fun absolutely hadn't gone unnoticed by Chance, who wasn't dancing with Jamie and hadn't been for a long time.

He wasn't really trying to be rude, honestly — but he couldn't take his eyes off of Elin. He'd always thought she was the prettiest girl he'd ever met, but the fact that she was wearing the dress from Paris and laughing just… he really couldn't concentrate on anything else.

It was, frustratingly, a matter of bad timing. If Jamie hadn't surprised him by asking him to the dance when Elin was planning to go to homecoming with Jacob… They had gotten their wires crossed, and even though Chance knew that Gerry wasn't interested in Elin and had asked her to go as friends, he couldn't help how jealous he felt.

He managed to get a bit of a handle on it, though, when Gerry and Elin finally made their way over to the table of friends, still grinning but clearly a bit tired out from all of Gerry's ridiculousness as they sat down with the rest of them.

"Sorry for the tracksuit disaster," Elin said to the group at large before she finally took the seat that Gerry pulled out for her.

"Hey, it was hilarious," Charlie assured her. "We were all laughing."

"You should take a spin with him," Elin said with a little smirk her way. "He'll tell stories all the way through it if you prompt him."

"I don't believe you," Charlie said with a little laugh that prompted the most ridiculous insulted look from Gerry.

"Oh, suddenly you don't know if I'm lying?" Elin said, frowning her way.

Charlie rolled her eyes. "I mean, there's no way Gerry can actually finish a story."

"She's issuing a challenge," Gerry whispered to Elin low with a twinkle in his eyes. "Should I take it?"

"I think you might have to," Elin said with a nod. "But only if you promise to dip her."

"Oh, definitely," Gerry said, grinning widely at her before he offered his hand to Charlie, and the two of them headed off to the dance floor together — though not before Charlie made it a point to kick Chance in the shin. Hard.

Chance really didn't need the prompt, though, and he turned to Elin with a grin. "Mind if I steal you while your date's dipping my sister?"

"Sure," she replied. "If that's what you want to do instead of making threatening gestures to the tracksuit picking her up. Literally."

"You act like I can't multitask," he said before he offered her his hand to take her out to the dance floor.

Elin gave him an honest grin and nodded. "Got it. Decoy dance."

Chance let out a little laugh and shook his head as he led her out. "What, I have to have ulterior motives to dance with you?"

"No, I just figured that was the way the night was going," she said, shrugging lightly.

Chance shook his head as he glanced over his shoulder to where Charlie and Gerry were dancing. "You know, Charlie can handle herself. Let's just — let's just dance, huh?"

"Sure," she agreed before she slipped around to put her hands on his shoulders. "Lead on."

Chance grinned at her as he lead her through the slow dance before he couldn't help but say, "I'm really glad you decided to come."

"I'm not entirely sure I had a choice the way that Krissy and Gerry double-teamed me, to be honest."

"I know I should probably say something here about how they shouldn't do that, but I really did mean it when I said I was glad you came," Chance said with a little smile. "Sorry."

"No, I'm sorry you guys got arrested over that jackass."

Chance shook his head. "That wasn't your fault. I lost my temper," he said. "Totally on me."

She looked down and shook her head. "Well. I'm still sorry."

Chance frowned and then dipped his head down to catch her gaze. "Hey. As far as I'm concerned, we're fine, okay? And that guy doesn't deserve to make you look like that."

"Sweet Summers," she said with a smirk. "But I know … I know that you've been playing catch up ever since."

He shook his head. "Like I said: that's totally on me. I mean, I just decided to ditch the mask and go out on two different teams — and then I did that? Not exactly stellar hero material."

"Yeah … well, he kind of made sure that the rumor mill was rolling solidly before I guess he had a massive change of heart. He hasn't spoken a word about me at all in over a week. Mysterious."

"One of the world's greatest unsolved mysteries," Chance chuckled. "The world may never know."

"But … it got me thinking anyhow. I think you're on the right track, and I'm going to try to do something … similar. You know. If your dad doesn't stroke out on me."

"Well, he survived me asking. I think you'll be okay."

"I'm going to ask him to let me do our missions without the mask," Elin said quietly. "And I'm going to start wearing my jacket. Everywhere."

Chance looked surprised for a second before he broke into an honest grin. "Hey, I love it!" he said. "Stick it to 'em, right?"

"That's the plan," she agreed. "Just have to wait and see if I get his blessings first."

"I think if you explain it… I could help if you want. I mean, if he'll listen to me? I sort of had Kate and Charlie helping me?"

"I've already more or less made up my mind," Elin said. "Dad is behind me, and I hate to say it, but if he doesn't like it, I'm going to do it anyhow. I just want to give him a chance to agree."

"Good." Chance leaned in with a little smile. "I love my dad, but he needs the push sometimes."

"I think he'll be okay with it," she said, nodding once. "And worst case scenario … well. I did try to quit. I'm not too worried."

Chance shook his head at her and pulled her into a spin. "I don't know why you tried to quit. The team would be lost without you."

"I'm not sure about that," she said, tipping her head toward Sying. "There are plenty of others that can step up."

Chance looked toward Sying for a second and then nodded and turned back to her. "Yeah… but I won't lie. I miss running it with you."

"Well, by the time you figure out if you're both teams or one, we'll get back to our dual thing. It was a lot less stressful."

He let out a breath. "Yeah, I'm having the same problem," he admitted. "But I really want to see this through."

"So see it through," she said simply. "I'm not going to stop you or guilt trip you otherwise."

"I wasn't saying you were," he said quickly.

"No, I know that, but I also know that some people aren't above that," she said.

"You can say my sister when you say 'some people,'" he teased.

She drew in a quick breath and rested one hand over her heart. "But she would never interfere with someone."

He laughed out loud. "I'm pretty sure the rule is 'never interfere with romance', and seeing as I don't want to date Mac…."

"I don't know … has to be a reason Heather has stuck around …"

"Hey, just because he's decent doesn't mean he's my type," Chance teased. "Mine's more… grounded… little more willing to break the rules…" He trailed off and then tried to ignore that his ears were burning.

"And less maple leaf, I hope." She shook her head and smiled a little. "I mean … I'm sure you'll rock the look, but Mac? I mean… come on."

"No, no, I agree. It's the only part of the suit I don't like," Chance said, then paused. "I mean. Well. The specs, anyway. I still haven't gotten to actually fly it."

"Try not to forget to pencil me in for a flight," she said. "Just don't drop me in open water and we'll be just fine."

"I'd like to think I'm not going to drop you at all?" he pointed out.

"Just trying to keep the bar low," she replied with a shrug.

"Hey, this is me you're talking to. Maybe we can raise it a few inches?" he teased.

"I'll let you set the bar then," she agreed. "Dual leadership … shhhh."

He grinned at her crookedly and was about to respond when someone tapped on his shoulder, and he turned to see Jamie with a put-upon smile on her face. "Mind if I cut in?"

Elin didn't look her way before she popped up to give Chance a quick kiss on the cheek. "Thanks for the dance. Have fun."

Jamie watched Elin with a frown until she got back to the table with the rest of the group of friends before she turned back to Chance with her best smile. "It's very sweet of you to take care of your friend like that."

"Yeah, she's my best friend. Since we were kids," Chance said distractedly, almost automatically, though his attention was clearly elsewhere.

Jamie fought the urge to roll her eyes. This had been much easier when they were in Canada and he was too busy to really talk to anyone but her — and only because she made the time to talk to him. Here? It was obvious that he was interested in someone else, and considering all the gossip swirling around… everyone else knew it, too.

She was going to have to stay on her toes the rest of the night or he'd end up pursuing her, and that would wreck all of her plans to work on him and get him to turn her way. Not to mention the fact that the staff was watching — K was chaperoning, and Jamie could feel the woman's eyes on her — and she wouldn't be able to do much with her and Wolverine both glaring at her, not to mention Chance's nosy sister and his overly-involved posse of friends.

She had planned to work slowly, since she had time and she had already spoken with the government liaison office at the school about making sure he stuck around. But at this rate, if she didn't do something bigger, he'd ask the little Howlett girl out by the end of the night — or the next time he came to Westchester. She didn't even have to be a powerful telepath to know that he had been about to do it when she stepped in, either.

He would be a little harder to work with simply because of the training he had. When she'd turned a few others for Hydra and for the department, they didn't have much in the way of psychic defense, and with a little boost, she'd been able to pull them on puppet strings until they were in too deep and she could turn them over to someone else.

That wouldn't work here, and she knew it, so now, the question was how to get his guard down.

The usual way Jamie had been handling things was to let the liaison's office suggest the drugs first — with official assurances that they weren't using an addictive brand, that it was just to help them reach their full potential, yadda yadda, and Jamie would step in if they said no. But she did have some telepathy-branded boost in her car, and she had found long ago that "new" telepaths had absolutely no way to stop her from walking right into the newly opened door to their minds once they had that telepathic channel.

Considering his family, though, she would have to be careful and make sure he thought that she had asked to be let in. As long as he thought he was making his own decisions, there wouldn't be any red flags, and she could steer him away from the Howlett girl — at least for tonight. After that, she might ask the liaison's office for some backup; he really was far gone over that girl, and it was bad enough that she could see in his thoughts that he was already regretting being in Canada without her.

When Jamie caught Chance as he looked over Elin's way once more, that decided it for her. She would have to stage a telepathic intervention or she'd lose two months of work that she'd poured into this boy. And it had to be tonight.