"I thought you'd be here when you didn't answer your phone."
Pogue's head turned at the gentle tone.
"Mmh."
"Do you mind?"
He pressed his lips, but got to his feet. Pulling one of his legs up, from its hanging position over the cliff, and making the few steps back. Towards the large, flat, rock where Kate was sat. His arm came easily around her as he joined her, and she curled to him in response. Both of them staring ahead at the sea, like he'd been doing before.
"I'll never know how you don't get scared, sitting so close."
Kate smelled good. Oddly enough she smelled a lot like Tyler. Earthly. But she also smelled spicy, like cinnamon. It was comforting and warm. Pogue resisted the urge to close his eyes and press against her. Up until now, she only suspected something was wrong. But if he did that, she'd be sure. It wasn't like there was much he could tell her about what was wrong. Even if he wanted to. If he told her about Caleb, there was no predicting what she'd do. Tell Sarah was high on the list, and Pogue definitely didn't want that. Imagine what it'd do to Caleb.
He also couldn't talk to her about how close he was to ascending. And that with Caleb's current behavior, batshit crazy behavior, he was starting to wonder if the pain and the charge of Power, were really all he had to worry about.
At least he wouldn't have Chase trying to cut his throat mid-through the whole thing. He stirred. That was another thing he couldn't talk about. Not to Kate. Not to the others. Not to anyone. Tyler would be terrified for him. Reid wouldn't know what to do with himself. Probably threaten to find Chase's boy and torch it again. Which really wasn't what Pogue wanted to hear. And Caleb... Caleb would understand. But Pogue knew deep down, that he couldn't hear it. Not now. I'm so fucking glad you're alive. Those were the words his friend had told him, after kissing him. He wasn't naive enough to think that Caleb was anywhere near ready to hear about Chase. Chase had done horrible things to him. He'd seared pain through his every bone and inch of flesh. Cutting through his muscles until his brain was screaming. In ways, Pogue never knew were possible before that night. And which made his own Power push and pull him through the air, in agony.
Kate's lips on his neck, awakened him back to the present. And he turned his amber eyes to her in relief.
He tried to keep them worry-free, as much as he could. She didn't speak though, puling in him for a kiss, instead. Their lips tangled easily, molding and pressing with familiarity. But Pogue's stomach felt heavy, even as their tongues met. He loved Kate. He really did. Even if he'd never said it out loud. That evening, almost two months ago, he'd hunted Chase out with full knowledge of what he was risking. He would have given his life for hers. And he knew he'd make the same choice if he had to do it again. And yet...
His teeth grazed her bottom lip, and he heard her soft sounds, as he brought his free hand to wrap around her hip and coax her closer. She smelled like cinnamon. She tasted like honey. Caleb smelled like sun-bathed skin.
Kate yelped and pulled back, with a frown, and panting breath.
"Ouch, Pogue!" She complained, pressing a careful thumb to her upper lip. Where he'd bitten down, when his thoughts made him jump.
"I'm sorry, baby." He hurried to say, eyebrows pressed in alarm.
He leaned close, holding her chin gently, to check the damage. Then sighed when he didn't see any blood. He looked up and then dipped in slowly, eyes seeking permission. She let out a soft breath of her own, and put her hand down, allowing it. So he went all the way and pressed a warm kiss over the reddened bit. She murmured, but he hushed her softly. "Shhh... 's all good." He promised her, as he brushed his lips over hers. "Didn't cut."
"What were you thinking about?" She asked, thick lips almost curled in a pout.
He'd always wondered curiously if Caleb's lips were thicker than Kate's. Now he knew they were.
The boy swallowed, as he ran a hand through his hair.
"Nothing. I think-" He glanced away at the landscape, then back at her, a serious gaze. "I think I need to be alone for a little while."
"But I haven't seen you at all in two days!"
"I know..." He held her hands between his and brought them to his lips, skimming them over her knuckles. "I'm sorry. I just need to think for a bit."
At that, Kate nodded. Resigned.
She knew Pogue way too well to know that it was no use to argue. She'd often joke about what a Libra he was, when he'd disappear to process things in his head. Right now, she just felt tired. She missed them. The way they used to be before her illness. And his accident. Sometimes she still couldn't believe. That Pogue had hurried so much to the hospital, to see her, that he'd ended up in a room of it, himself. She gently pushed his soft hair behind his ear, running a thumb over a new small scar he'd gotten on his cheek bone, after the accident. She leaned for a kiss to which he complied, as warm and kind as always. And yet...
I love you.
She wished she could say it. But she knew they were both far too hard headed to risk saying it out loud. To risk everything in one move. They'd been together for almost a year now. But for some reason, she still felt like she did on their first date. Like she wasn't sure where this was going, but just wanted to enjoy the ride. She didn't know how further more that could take them.
Still, she didn't say a thing, as they said goodbye. She'd known what she was doing when she'd sought him out on his special place. Pogue came there, to the lighthouse, when needed to think. He'd sit by the edge of the scarp, like the open air didn't scare him at all. Legs hanging over the cliff. And process whatever was clouding his mind. She couldn't blame him for telling her exactly that. Her hand still felt warm from his as she walked away. And sure enough, when she looked at him again, at the tree-line, he had already moved back to the edge. And she could bet that his eyes were closed, as the wind shifted through his hair.
Maybe after he'd come back to earth, they could talk.
Maybe then, she'd know why she'd had that churning feeling, since she'd woken up from her medical coma. That heavy feeling on her stomach that she'd come back for Pogue. But that, maybe, he hadn't come back for her. Not entirely.
"He sent you back?"
Kate shrugged at her friend's soft question, as she dropped by her side on the diner table. And pushed her bag to join Sarah's on the free seat.
"It was fifty/fifty anyway. I knew what I was doing."
She raised her hand to call the waiter's attention and place her order, Sarah only speaking again when the latter had left.
"I'm sorry, Kate. Can't say that Caleb's been himself, since-"
"That's not surprising." Kate cut in, flipping her thick hair out of her shoulder. A a small roll of eyes, as she glanced over the menu, with dessert already in mind. She'd definitely earned it. "Those four. They're like four pieces of one person. Like some kind of Portuguese man o' war. ...What? My cousin studies those things. But yeah, if Pogue's being somber Pogue, I'm not surprised that Caleb's been weird too."
"Reid doesn't look that impacted."
Kate glanced over her shoulder, to where Sarah was looking. In fact, the blonde boy was sitting on a large table, surrounded by their classmates. And they were all laughing at something he'd just said, or done. Still, as she turned her body to look closer, she could see the small tension line on the way he carried his shoulders. Not all slumped as usual. She shook her head as she turned to back to the other.
"He doesn't look like it. But he is. Trust me." She made a pause, as her order arrived and was settled on the table. And sighed, after thanking the waiter and sipping her drink. "I'd ask him, if I thought he'd actually say anything. They get so weird sometimes, I swear."
"Well... I guess it's normal for them to be a little under the weather, right? I mean, with everything that's happen-"
She paused, and Kate caught it. The brunette's eyebrow cocked up, as she tasted an old bitterness on her mouth. That had nothing to do with her sandwich.
"Everything that happened?"
"Yeah... You know. You. Pogue's accident. Maybe that's what this is all about."
Kate scoffed and shook her head, placing her glass down harder than she needed to.
"Right. Or maybe it's about whatever else damn happened while I was out. Don't- Don't try it. Sarah. I know something happened, alright? I'm not stupid. The doctors said Pogue was dying. That I" her jaw tensed around the words "was dying. They have no idea what brought me to the hospital. Or how I got out of it. And I goddman know that you know something." She spat her words, angrily. But Sarah thought she could hear a vulnerability underneath. A plea.
The blonde resisted the urge to look down. To get away from the other's eyes. Or to tell her friend everything.
"I don't."
Kate shook her head in frustration.
"You know what? I'm not that hungry anymore." She stopped, as she was getting up, and patted on the table once. "You know what I don't get? Pogue, I understand keeping things from me. I've known they've been hiding something from the day I met him. And I get it. It's some stupid guy-friend code, that makes them impossible to talk to, at times. But you? You're supposed to be my friend. You're the one who should be telling me what's going on. Instead. All of you act like I'm some four year old who can't see what you're all doing. And I'm sick of it. When you find my friend? Tell her to give me a call. Until then; I'm gonna bunk with someone who doesn't drive me crazy every time I look at them."
Reid's eyes drained back to blue, as he stared forward for a moment, before pushing away from the wall, around the corner, and continuing his previous way to the bathroom. He needed to make a call. Or three.
"...Sarah ...You know I can't do that. It's Pogue's choice to te- Yeah, I know. But you know how this thing works. No. Of course I didn't just tell you because I thought I was dying. How can you say that? Don't you remember what I said the very first time we went out together? ... Look. I have to go. Yeah. Yeah I'll try. I'll talk to him. It's all I can promise. 'lright? I'll call you tomorrow. Yeah. Me too. G'night."
Caleb put his phone down and sighed, brushing at his eyes as he took in a deep, tired breath.
"You know I've told you to stop rubbing at your eyes like that."
"Yeah, I know."
Caleb glanced up at Tyler, the reason he'd interrupted Sarah's call, as he stood by the doorway. He bit his tongue lightly. Asking him what he was doing there wasn't a nice way to say hello. As much as he wanted to.
"You gonna scratch your corneas out."
"I'll be fine, Ty."
"Everything okay?" The young boy asked, nodding towards Caleb's phone, now resting over the kitchen counter.
"Yeah. It's fine. It's Kate." He explained, a light of understanding sparking on the other's blue eyes. "She won't let go. She knows something happened in August. And now..." He shook his head. "Sarah wants to tell her." he added.
"She can't! That's Pogue's decision to make."
"Yeah, I know. Just. It's hard you know?"
Tyler nodded and the older one offered him a light smile.
"You hungry?"
"Sure." Tyler frowned as he watched Caleb start to move around. Caleb was making him sandwiches. Caleb only did that when he was trying to stall or change subjects. And he didn't seem in a hurry to call Pogue. Let him know what was going on.
"Caleb. What you're doing, man?"
Tyler's tone sounded soft, and disappointed at the same time. Caleb froze, and looked at him again. This time, with intent and attention. Trying to figure out what the other really wanted to know. How much did he already know?
"What you talking about?"
"You know."
The older one paused. Then chuckled. Bitterly. "Reid taught you well." He praised, as Tyler pursed his lips and nodded his head sideways. "But that's not gonna work on me, because I actually don't. So spill it, Ty. What do I know?" He tried again, pretending not to feel his heart stutter. Firming his hands as he cut slices of bread and cheese.
"Well. Pogue, for once."
"It's nothing. We'll figure it out."
"Three weeks it's not nothing, Caleb! God, will you two stop acting like Reid and I are kids?" Caleb put down the knife and his lips parted to talk, as his hands braced him on the counter, instead. But Tyler wasn't done yet. "We know something's up. If you just tell us what it is," He pleaded, leaning over to squeeze Caleb's shoulder, a hurtful expression on his forehead. "We can help."
Tyler resisted the urge to use his new found ability, to shake the ground under them, and see if he could snap his friend out of whatever that was. He could feel Caleb's restlessness under his fingers. His Power prickling his fingertips, like physical anxiety.
I can't. Caleb wished he could tell the truth. It would feel so good to just tell someone, anyone. It would feel good even to know what to tell.
'I can't.' "Not right now..." Caleb shook his head, lightly, as he searched Tyler's eyes, a request on his own. "It's just something I have to figure out on my own." He pulled back, straightening himself, and tensed. "And it's not because I don't think you can handle it." it wasn't really. "It's just that" I don't think I can. "I'm not ready to tell yet. I know." He nodded, stiffened. "That I fucked up with Pogue. I'll fix that. Just. Give me some time. Can you do that?"
Tyler watched him for a few seconds. And Caleb could feel the way his eyes were scanning him, trying to see beyond the flames, into the core. Caleb's shoulders loosened when the boy nodded.
"Yeah. Sure. I can do that. We can do that."
Caleb smiled, lips curling lightly. And nodded back.
"You still hungry?"
Tyler chuckled. "Yeah, actually. Wanna catch something on the TV?"
"Sure. Go find something decent. Be right there."
His eyes followed as Tyler walked away, rambling about a recent movie he was wanting to watch. The older boy nodded, and smiled again, as the younger one stopped by the door. His gaze fell down when he was alone. Hesitating. He picked up his phone and found Pogue on his texts.
'We need to talk. Tomorrow.'
Tyler was already sleeping on the couch, head hanging back, and lips lightly parted, as the movie credits rolled. When he got the answer.
'Follow you home.'
Caleb took a breath, before gently nudging Tyler awake enough to guide him up to the bedrooms. School was going to be something tomorrow.