I'll keep it short. REVIEW! :D (PS, listen to Maybe, This Time by Ok Go! when reading this chapter!)
Cassie's POV
"What the fuck took you so long," I hiss through the opening in the door. Xiao is there with three others, two who are typically Aryan, obviously brother and sister, and another boy, who's as dark as the siblings are fair.
"We got laid over. Sorry." Xiao says. "Can we come in?" Do I hint a touch of sarcasm? I let them through nonetheless, rubbing at my eyes. I haven't slept. Nick, however, hasn't woken.
"What happened to him?" The light-haired boy asks, annoyingly.
"None of your fucking business," I snap. The boy raises his hands in surrender, muttering something under his breath. I flip around to face the other two. "If you have anything smart-ass to say, I suggest you do it now and get it out of the way." The girl looks absolutely petrified, a shade away from being white enough to reflect the small amount of light from the lamp. The other boy simply shakes his head, a little smirk teasing his features. I narrow my eyes. He looks vaguely familiar.
Xiao collapses on my bed, stretching out with her arms behind her head. I clear my throat and she pops back up. "Oh, uh, sorry. This is Mira, Lee, and Selby." She says tiredly, waving at the brother and sister first, then at the dark haired boy. "Guys, this is Cassie."
"Which one of you is the Stitch?" I get right down to business. Much to my chagrin, when I checked Nick's wound last afternoon, I found the bullet hole oozing some sort of green goop.
"I am," Selby says timidly, stepping forward. I gesturing towards Nick, rubbing at my forehead.
"He needs Stitched up."
"I-Well, I'm n-not the, uh, the best-"
"Just do it," I growl. His eyes widen and he goes over to Nick, leaning over him so I can't see what's going on.
"And you two must be the Phasers." I say, turning back to Lee and Mira. Mira's color is beginning to return, albeit barely.
"Er, yeah." Mira squeaks.
"Show me," I demand. "There's no one in the room toward the right. Just phase in and back." Mira doesn't look like she can move at all, let alone Phase, but Lee approaches the wall confidently. I watch in withheld excitement as his arm, then his torso, then his whole body seems to melt through the wall. He Phases back seconds later with a smug expression.
"Impressive." I dead pan. "I don't suppose Xiao told you why you're here?"
"Sort of." Selby says from over Nick. I strain my neck around the boy ('boy'; he can't be much younger than me) and see that Nick is half-awake, groggily sitting up as Selby works on his chest. I try to catch Nick's eye, but he avoids it. Even in my insane-lack-of-sleep state, my heart thumps unevenly. "She told us that you're staging a rebellion against the American Division."
"I suppose that covers it, mostly. I've Seen a few people who will be great assets in helping us accomplish this. You have a choice to make, though. Right here, right now." The room falls silent. Even Nick (who's rapidly looking better) seems to stop breathing. "You'll probably be killed if you choose to help us. We'll all probably be killed. It's not a risk I'm not willing to take if it means killing Kira-" Nick's face hardens. "-Taking down the Division." I hurriedly try to cover my mistake.
"You thought you were risking your life before? Joining us means that you'll never be able to lead into a peaceful future. It all ends here." I pause, glancing around the room. It's deathly still, except for Selby's fingers rapidly moving across Nick's skin. "I'm going to get alcohol. Take your time to decide." I finish. "Remember, though. If you accept the challenge, we're all in this together. Period."
I leave before anyone (namely, Nick), can interject anything stupid. Even this early in the morning, Black is bustling with all kinds of unsavory characters. I trace my well-worn path to the bar, plopping down on a stool. Before, I used the alcohol to heighten my visions. Now I use it to dull my feelings. If I'm going to go through with this, there's no reason to have my emotions getting in the way like they almost did back in the room. Okay, if it wasn't obvious enough already, I have an ulterior motive for going along with this 'taking down the Division' thing. I still haven't really figured out why this went from 'find my mother' to 'full-out rebellion.' They must be connected, somehow.
"Same." I tell the bartender. He shoves a dirty glass full of Vodka into my hand. I trace the rim, lost in the thoughts that I've been trying to keep down. No, nothing about how completely stupid it is to be doing this, nor of my plans to sneak away soon and find Mom. No. All I can think about is Nick. Nick and his goofy ideas, Nick and his shiny smile, Nick and his body, his body pressing down into mine, his lips…I shake myself.
"Stop it, Cass. Just stop it," I tell myself. A suspicious looking man glances over at me like I'm crazy. I stick my tongue out at him.
"Hey." Nick plops down next to me. I look at him in shock.
"Nick! Wha-what are you doing here? Are you okay?" I practically yell, then lower my voice to keep the angry patrons from yelling at me. "How's your chest?"
"Didn't know you cared," Nick jokes, again. My back stiffens.
"Yeah, well. You can't exactly get yourself killed, now can you? That wouldn't be very helpful." I say shortly.
"Listen, Cass, I need to talk to you about something."
"Oh, joy." I roll my eyes, downing half of my drink in one gulp.
"That's not good for you," Nick scolds. I flip him off. "Cassie." I look over at him, raising my eyebrows expectantly. "I think you might be wrong about this."
"What are you talking about?" I say coldly. Between his attitude, my lack of sleep, and the vicious Vodka in my system, I'm not in the best mood. And I definitely don't need Nick-Know-It-All fucking with me right now.
"All of this," he sweeps his arms around, grimacing slightly. "I'm still sore from the shot," he says in unwanted explanation.
"You have to be more specific. There's nothing that I can think of that isn't not right."
"Look, you've spent your whole life being right, all the time." I open my mouth to argue, but he raises his hand. "Always. It may not have happened exactly how you expected, but your visions are always right."
"We're not dead."
"Not yet." I fall silent. He may be right, there. "Don't you think that, maybe, this time, you're wrong?"
"There's nothing wrong about what we're doing," I growl. "Do you want the Division to stay strong?" He doesn't say anything. "It's about Kira, isn't it," I ask, the truth clear before he even answers. "That's pathetic, Nick. You're damn stupid if you think that what that is is real. Even I know that."
"You don't know anything, Cass. Not about real life. You're just a kid."
I suck in my cheeks. "Just a kid." I bark out an incredulous laugh. "Don't forget that I'm the kid that saved your sorry ass just a day ago. Ungrateful asshole.
"Nick, you think you're so goddamned great, but you never even stop to think about what everyone else has done for you. Don't you think that, maybe, this time, you're wrong? Or are you too fucking holy to be wrong?"
"Don't act like this," Nick mutters, glancing at his hands, the same hands that cupped my face so gently hours before.
"Fine. I won't. But if you want out, leave now. If you come back to the room, you're as bonded as those other kids. I meant it when I said that it's all or nothing. But I'd rather you leave. Go find Kira all by yourself. Maybe you'll be good enough to join up with the Division." I spit, standing abruptly. "And, if you see her, tell my mother hello." I storm out, leaving Nick, who doesn't even bother to follow me. He's changed a lot since I first met him. He's lost all of that fire that I loved about him.
Loved.
What a fucking notion. I'd have to have only a tenth of a brain to love him.
Okay, so, dears, I got more reviews…well, more than usual within the first few hours of posting, so I guess the threatening to threaten worked? I guess I'm threatening to threaten again. O.o Anyway, what do you think of the OC's? Are they bogging down the story too much? Cuz, if they are, I can cleverly kill some of them off or something. But. Yeah. Keep reviewing! And, I wouldn't mind at all if you told all of your dearest friends to read it. *hint hint* AAAAAAND...I want to do a collab with someone. Not sure what about, but I want to do one. Interested? Pm me.