It had been two days since he'd arrived, and there was still no progression. They'd tried the cards, the boxing; he even wore the curoscope thing, but nothing seemed to be working. It was just one long line of failures, and it was making him anxious.

It was lunchtime, and he'd picked up a plate of lasagne, its cheesy taste filling his mouth as he ate. He remembered when his mother used to make it, the smell would waft from the kitchen all the way up to his bedroom where he'd sit, daydreaming about the delicious meal.

"Wow, it must have been really nice." Freya smiled at him as she sat down next to him, her plate also covered in the heavenly meal.

"Hey." Brendan said quietly, stuffing another forkful into his mouth. :You know what they've got in store for me next?:

She shook her head, "I think they've run out of ideas. They've only done thins a few times before."

:Oh that's real comforting.:

"Hey, it's not my fault. Besides, all I did to get here was go to the prom and go to a loon bin for eight years." She smiled again and began to dig into her food.

:I never went to my prom.:

She choked on her food. "Never went to…?"

He finished his mouthful. "Nah. It was too much hassle, plus all the girls were taken. Thought I'd rather stay at home than be one of the weirdoes standing on the sidelines."

Freya stared at him. "Have you ever had a girl friend?"

"Yeah, one or two, but it never got very serious. The longest lasted four months!" he laughed at the memory of the brunet in the black dress leaving him on a park bench, thinking she'd gotten the upper hand. He put his fork down and wiped away the sauce around his mouth with his thumb.

"That's gotta be it," she muttered, staring off into nothing.

"What? Gotta be wha…?"

Suddenly, he found himself in a lip lock, blood rushing to his cheeks, having one of the biggest adrenaline rushes of his life.

:Freya? What the hell are you doing?:

What does it feel like I'm doing?

:It feels like… Wait a sec, did I just…:

It worked! Oh my God it actually worked!

:What? Freya? What's going on?:

The woman removed herself from his mouth and stared excitedly into his eyes. "Hormones! When I went to prom I had a huge rush of hormones! I only got my abilities after that. The only time you get that kind of rush…" is when you come in contact with someone you care about.

"You're a genius!" he exclaimed, smiling widely at her.

Whoa! Glad they're finally…

What just happened?

Aw! They look so cute together!

Did that really just…

What's wrong with him?

Brendan grabbed his ears, his smile gone. It was like he was back in the doctor's office again with that tape playing. Too many voices!

"Block guys." Freya said, putting a hand on his shoulder.

Eventually it stopped, and the only thing he could hear was the shuffling of feet, the clutter of cutlery on plates and the soothing thoughts of Freya.

It's okay, they've stopped, and you don't have to cover your ears any more.

Slowly, he removed his hands, putting them on the table and taking a deep breath. It was a good job he'd finished his lasagne, because he didn't feel very hungry any more.

"I think I'd better leave." :Don't worry, I'm just going to my room.:

She smiled. I'll see you later.

"So, these tests. They're the same ones as before right?"

"Yes, exactly the same, except we'll be able to make quicker progress this time."

Brendan stared at the back of the card.

Square.

"Square."

Michael flipped the card over. It was a triangle.

"You have to do more than just listen, you have to see it through my eyes." He picked up another card.

Circle.

He ignored the word being pushed into his ears and stared at the man in front of him. An image began to form in the back of his mind.

Circle.

It was an image of a star.

Circle.

"A star."

The card was flipped. He was right. He grinned and looked at Freya who was stood in the corner smiling back.

"Okay. Now keep going." Another card was taken.

This went on for the next hour, his ability to name the card increased in speed and clarity. More people were brought into the room to see how he could stand the extra noise. It barely fazed him at all. Just like with his memories, he was able to block them out, focusing souly on Michael. Yet more people came, and he was given more targets, having to see the cards through more than one persons eyes. It took some time for him to adapt, but it felt easy once he knew how. Sometimes he named it before they even knew what they were looking at.

By the end of the session, Brendan felt exhilarated, pleased with himself that he'd done so well, silently thanking Freya for supporting him when things got a bit rough.

"Mister Dean," Jane, the female scientist from before, approached him, "You've done exceedingly well, but we haven't finished quite yet. We'll start on the next stage tomorrow."

He smiled at her as she left, but returned his attention back to the doctor.

"So?" he asked.

"I think you should call it a day Brendan, we don't want to be wasting all that energy all at once do we."

"No." He began to move towards the door, but turned quickly as he remembered something. "You know you said that George had stayed away from home because of his daughter."

"Yes."

"Is it possible that, if two telepaths, Freya and I for example, were in close proximity, our abilities would push the other's to become stronger?"

The doctor thought about it for a moment. "I suppose it's possible. Actually, it's very probable. From what you explained of when you first came into contact with her sounds like what you're saying is true. And if this was the reason why George tried to keep such a distance from his family, I think it's probably as good an assumption as any. We might have to look into that."

"Thanks doc." Brendan left the room and headed to his own, head filled with all that had happened that day, thoughts going through each detail, his mind lingering around that moment during lunch, the moment where he felt… alive.

You know, you're ten years older than me.

:Didn't stop you did it?:

He heard the snigger through his door and opened it to find her waiting for him.

"Didn't stop you either." She grinned at him, backing towards his bed.

Brendan stepped inside and closed the door behind him.