Disclaimer: I own nothing that is not mine.

Previously:

"You might be a mutant."

I froze. What?

Chapter Three

"What? A - a mutant?" I stammered.

"Yeah," Zack replied calmly.

"You --! How can you be taking this so calmly?" I pushed myself back so I could see his face. His black eyes were level, and he seemed utterly calm.

"One of us needs to be." He replied.

"Haven't you heard the stories?" I asked angrily. "Haven't you heard what happens to people who turn out to be mutants?" I jumped off the couch and started pacing around the wood and glass coffee table in front of it. "I have – they end up in the hospital, or dead and you're telling me to be calm?" I looked at him accusingly.

"I'm not telling you to not be afraid, Lara," he said seriously. "I am telling you to calm down – your emotions affect your powers, even when you learn to control them – although, after you can control them, it's normally just the strong emotions that affect them."

It was true. The conversation I'd barely heard before was now a lot clearer – I couldn't hear everything, but I could hear snippets.

'…wasting his time, she's not gonna …'

'…girls, why'd she get so mad? I …'

I covered my ears reflexively. It still didn't help. It's so annoying, hearing these voices.

"Calm down, Lara. Take a deep breath." I obeyed. "Good girl. Again – in … out." I let out my breath and looked at Zack, who had somehow managed to get up and stand in front of me without me hearing. It's not very surprising, really, after all, people tend to hear one thing at a time, and I was paying attention to those pesky voices.

"Better?" Zack asked with a smile.

"A bit," I admitted. Then I remembered something. "Them?" I asked my eyes wide.

"Yeah. You're psychic, Lara. Telepathic. You read minds. You should be able to project your voice into someone else's head, and move things with your mind – most psychics can." He replied, still calm.

I nodded, processing this. Then something occurred to me.

"How do you know so much, Zack?"

He sighed and ran his fingers through his black hair.

"I am a mutant." He stated calmly, but his eyes were wary.

"You are not." I said stupidly, my voice sounding accusing for some reason. His lips twitched slightly upward in an approximation of a smile.

"Yes, I am." He told me.

"But, but what can you do?" I was still processing this new revelation. Zack chuckled.

"I'm good with plants." He told me simply.

"Is that why the garden at your house is so nice?" I asked in shock.

"Yes," he said instantly, "but don't tell my step-mom, okay? She thinks it's all her." He chuckled again, but it had a bit of tension in it. Understandable, really.

"I thought you didn't like your step-mom." I did my best to sound innocent. Zack wasn't fooled.

"I don't, but that's no reason to be mean to plants." Zack answered me anyway.

I nodded. That made sense. Take your anger out on the one who made you mad, right?

"Okay," I stated. "So. What now?"

"That's a good question." Zack replied. "We should probably do our homework." I groaned. How was I supposed to survive school tomorrow? "Chill." He told me. "It'll be fine. We'll figure something out. Just, not now, alright?"

"Fine." I grumbled.

Homework passed quickly, for once. We hadn't been given much for some reason. The teachers were probably planning to dump it all on us tomorrow so we'd have 'plenty of time over the weekend.' Yeah, right. There was probably a teacher conspiracy. If I could read minds – wait. I can read minds. Okay, this could be kind of cool. I'll have to find out tomorrow if there was a conspiracy. I smiled. Maybe school wouldn't be so bad tomorrow.

"So," Zack said quietly. I looked at him questioningly. "you need to learn control."

"Yep." I replied, popping the p. "I can't go around answering people's thoughts – I've done enough damage already." I chuckled uncomfortably. Zack nodded in agreement, not bothering to hide his smile. Figures. Now he finds it funny. "So, how do I control it?"

The smile on Zack's face abruptly disappeared as he became serious.

"Like I said, right now, you need to get a grip on your emotions – it makes everything a lot easier. After that, well, it varies, depending on the person. Now that you know that it's there, it's pretty easy. The first time your power kicks in is always the worst. After that, as long as you're not afraid of it, it's pretty easy. It's just a matter of focus and will."

"Just?" I asked incredulously.

"It's pretty easy once you know it's there, Lara."

"Really?" I asked sarcastically.

"Really." He replied strait faced.

I sighed. "How do I start?" I was tired just thinking about it.

Before Zack could answer me, we heard a car pull into the driveway. I automatically tensed. A car door slammed, and my heart rate increased.

'… son of a bitch, who does he think he is, talking to me like that?' The thought was full of rage, and definitely a man's. 'He can't do this to me! Anger issues, I'll show him anger issues!' At this, I focused on my breathing, counting my breaths until I was calm. Calmer is more accurate. Being completely calm was a dream with a man like him in the house.

Jim, my mother's boyfriend.

A/N: Yay! New chapter! Tell me what you think, please! It inspires me! You know you want to review!