Sonya peered around the edge of the barn, watching the other children as they played in the large field before her. They had broken up into various-sized groups; most of the boys were kicking or throwing balls, and a few girls were doing cartwheels, landing gently on their feet. Sonya scanned the faces, but didn't see the ones she searched for. Quickly, she slipped from behind the barn and made her way across the field, toward the safety of the house. She had nearly made it to the mansion when something struck her shin, and she pitched forward. Sonya managed to put her hands out in front of her and kept from hitting the ground with her full force, but she also succeeded in scraping her hands on the rough ground. Embarrassed by her fall, she felt her ears growing hot, even as a few chuckles erupted from the kids who surrounded her.

Sonya stood up and wiped her palms on her jeans, looking at the ground for what had tripped her. When she didn't find anything, she glanced at the kids' faces, and her heart sank when she saw a certain girl standing in her way, her thin arms crossed over her chest. A small smile played on her glossy lips, and her dark eyes narrowed as she glared at Sonya.

"You should be more careful around here," the nasty girl sniffed, and her friend giggled quietly.

Normally, Sonya would have simply apologized and taken the long way around the house. She hated confrontations, and would rather do what she could to avoid calling more attention to herself than was absolutely necessary. But not now, Sonya had resolved. It was time she stopped being the easy prey.

Pulling herself up as tall as she could, Sonya glared right back at the girl. "Get out of my way, Cheryl."

Cheryl wasn't impressed. Frowning even deeper, she replied, "You wouldn't speak to me that way, if you were smart."

"And if you were smart, you'd move out of my way."

The girl beside Cheryl suddenly drew in her breath, though she wasn't sure why. Sonya wasn't a threat to them, of that she was certain. Still, she had reacted on a basic level and couldn't explain it.

Still, Cheryl stood there, smirking. A larger crowd had since gathered, and some of them were quietly chanting "Fight, fight" to the girls, but neither of them heard it.

When the other girl refused to move, Sonya simply shrugged and replied, "Okay." Then, her eyes slid closed, and her lips moved silently. Cheryl watched with amusement, even nudging her friend with her elbow, but her friend was still nervous. So, too, were some of the others grouped around the girls. They murmured among themselves, trying to figure out just what Sonya was doing.

Then, a few of the kids gasped and began pointing to the ground at Cheryl's feet. Cheryl herself looked down, and noticed the thick vines wrapped around her ankles. At first, she only laughed and tried to pull herself free, but when she realized that she was tightly held in place, her eyes began to well with tears.

"Let me go, please Sonya! Make it stop!" she cried out, and Sonya slowly opened her eyes and leveled them at Cheryl.

"I'll make it stop. But only if you swear to stop teasing me!" Sonya replied, pushing a stray lock of hair behind her ear.

"Oh, please, if you can't take a little teasing…"

Sonya closed her eyes again, and the vines tightened even more. Cheryl cried out, her hands flapping about helplessly.

"Okay! I swear! I'll stop!"

Sonya smiled happily, and boldly took a step forward. When her lips were quite close to Cheryl's ear, she murmured, "I'll hold you to it. And if you ever do it again, I'll tell everyone that you're in love with Peter."

She moved away, and Cheryl's eyes were wide. "How…?" she began, but Sonya merely tapped the side of her head and began to walk away.

"Wait!" Cheryl called, and Sonya turned back questioningly. "You said you'd let me go."

Sonya struggled with the decision for so long that everyone soon became uncomfortable, wondering whether she would leave Cheryl there or not. Then, after a blink of her eyes, the vines relaxed their grip, and Cheryl nearly pitched forward. Sonya walked away past Logan, who stared at the new and sudden plant life in the middle of the lawn, then turned to follow her.

He caught up to her as she entered her bedroom.

"Sonya, what happened out there?"

She tossed her backpack into the corner opposite her bed, then flopped down on her mattress and shrugged. He noticed that she was once again avoiding his gaze, so he stepped over to her and knelt in front of her. He placed his hand gently under her chin, and she lifted her eyes to stare into his face. At the sight of his honest concern, her own eyes welled with tears, and she reached out for a teddy bear that sat on her pillow.

"I don't want this, Logan. I wanna be normal!" She wailed, burying her face into the bear's fur. Logan stood up, then sat beside her on the small bed, resting the ankle of his right leg over his left knee. He wiped at an invisible spot on his black boots, unsure of what to say to the girl.

"We've been through this before, remember? You're not abnormal. You just have…different talents…"

She waved her hand, silencing him. "I know. But now, instead of thinking I'm an easy target, all the kids are afraid of me. But I just wanted to make her stop."

Logan's brow knitted. "Who?"

Sonya frowned. "Cheryl K. She still harasses me…or, she did, until today."

"What did you do to her?" He asked, almost afraid to find out.

"I 'helped' a bunch of weeds grow out of the lawn and wrap around her ankles. I just thought it would make her stop. I didn't know I'd scare everyone. You should've seen their faces." Then, the tears spilled over onto her cheeks. "You wouldn't understand."

"I wouldn't?" Logan asked. Sonya looked up, curious at his raspy tone. He held up his right hand, knuckles facing her, and then pointed upward. "Care to rephrase that, sweetheart?"

Sonya laughed then, and he chuckled along with her. "Okay, I guess maybe you would. Sorry."

"That's okay. It's a little different when you're 11; I'll give you that." His face grew solemn. "Now, back to business. I understand why you did it, but promise me there won't be any repeat performances."

Sonya's expression mirrored his own, and she covered her heart with her hand. "I swear."

"Good. Cuz I certainly don't wanna piss off the groundskeeper, do you?" He asked, a devilish grin on his face.

"Henry? No. No, I don't."

Sonya seemed a little too serious for his taste, so he suddenly nudged Sonya with his foot, nearly knocking her off edge of the bed. She swatted him with her teddy bear, but he grabbed it away from her. He held it up by one leg and walked over to the window. Flinging it open with one hand, he dangled the bear near the window. Neither of them saw Raven watching from the doorway. She grinned at the ease with which this young girl had seemed to wrap herself around Logan's heart, and all without him even realizing it. After a few moments, Raven left them alone, not wanting to intrude on their father/daughter-type moment.

"Say goodbye, Sonya. Mr. Bear's going on a long trip."

Sonya leapt at him, grabbing the arm that held her toy. "Don't you dare!"

Logan eyed her curiously. "Or what?"

"Or," she thought for a moment. "Or I'll hide all your beers on you. Somewhere you won't find them." She motioned with a jerk of her head outside, where he could see the other kids poking at the huge plant. Henry came around the corner of the tool shed, shouting at them to go away, until they finally wandered off to someplace else.

Logan placed the bear into her waiting hands, then nodded appreciatively at her. "Thinking on your feet. I'm impressed, Sonya."

"Thanks," she replied, tossing the bear back on her pillow. It tipped over and rolled off the bed, landing on the area rug instead. I'll pick it up later, Sonya thought to herself with a shrug.

"Listen, I gotta take care of something in a while, but I promise I'll be back for that…recital thing…you guys are doing. Think you can keep yourself outta trouble until then?"

"Yeah. But do you really have to go?" Her eyes were sad as she spoke, and he nearly gave in and changed his mind.

But he needed some information, and there was only one person he could get it from.

And he didn't live at the school.

"Yeah, I do. But I'll make it back. I swear." He put his hand to his heart, as she had done earlier. Timidly, Sonya reached out and placed her hand over his, then gazed directly into his eyes.

"You better."

He smiled softly. "Or what?"

But this time, she only grew more serious. "My heart will break."

Shaken, Logan reached out and pulled her to himself. He buried his face in her dark hair, inhaling the same scent he had caught in the barn the day before. There were roses, but underneath that was another softer perfume, one he recognized but couldn't remember the name of.

"You wish I hadn't said that," she said against his chest, then sat up. "But I can't help it. I don't know why; I've tried to ignore this feeling inside me, but it won't go away."

She was right, of course, about him wishing she hadn't said what she had, but he could tell she was being honest about the rest, as well.

"What feeling?" He asked.

At first, she shook her head, unwilling to speak. But after a short time in silence, she said, "That we're connected, somehow."

Logan was dumbstruck. He'd had the same feeling the night she had visited his room, though he'd chalked it up to their common fears and insecurities. Now, though, he wasn't so sure if that was it.

Her voice brought him back to reality.

"Why don't you believe in love anymore, Logan?"

He looked up at the ceiling, trying to figure out a.) how to explain the answer to her question, and b.) why he was discussing love with an 11-year-old in the first place.

"Well," he began slowly, "it's not so much that I don't believe in love. It's more like…I'm hesitant to let myself experience such a deep emotion, again."

Sonya gazed at him. "Because of the dark-haired lady?"

Logan simply nodded.

"What happened to her?"

He pondered her question for a moment, before murmuring, "She…was killed. By some bad people."

Now it was Sonya's turn to nod. Then, she reached out and put her hand on his, and said, "Just like my mom."

"I assumed from what you said earlier, that your mom was at your home."

Sonya ducked her head once. "Not really. I miss my mom, because she's…" she couldn't bring herself to say the word "dead", so she simply trailed off. "But my home is my grandma's house. She took me to live with her after it happened."

"I see. How long has it been?" He asked, glancing around the room. His gaze rested on a picture that sat on her dresser. It was turned away from him, but he could see two people in the photo, both with dark hair.

"Six years. It was just after my Kindergarten graduation. Grandma took me out for ice cream, and while we were gone, they…they killed her. Our neighbor found her when she came to drop off a present for me." She seemed to be fighting with herself, trying to stay calm. Trying to be grown-up, for me, Logan figured. Finally, she simply stared at him and shrugged. "I just wish my dad would've been there. He would've saved her."

She'd never mentioned her father before, and her reference of him now both intrigued him, and created a pit in his stomach, though he wasn't sure why that was.

"Who…?" Logan began, when Raven rushed around the corner.

"Logan, we have to go if we wanna catch him," she gasped. When she caught her breath again, she glanced at Sonya and said, "I'm sorry."

Sonya nodded. "That's okay." She turned to Logan, who slid off the bed and stood up. "Be careful."

"I will. You behave, okay?"

"Yep."

After a moment's indecision, Logan bent down and kissed the top of her head. "Bye, kiddo."

When he had gone, she smiled softly and whispered, "Bye."