I'm inside my house already, my breath heaving from having run all the way here. Kevin isn't that far behind me, and he stops near the door while I stand in front of Verdona, who is still waiting for an answer.
"I've made my decision," I say.
Everyone pauses. My parents hold their breath, and my grandma looks at me with a bright smile, like she's expecting a positive answer.
"Great! Let's go; we don't want to waste any more time in—"
"I want to stay here." I lift my head to face Verdona, whose smile has already dropped. "Thank you for the offer; it's more than I could ever wish for, but I've decided to stay."
Verdona plants her feet on the ground and points at Kevin. "Is it because of Curtis?"
"It's Kevin," Kevin corrects.
"No," I quickly say, ignoring the small argument. "I mean, yes, but it isn't just Kevin. Earth is my home. Where my family and friends are, and I like it here."
Verdona sighs, clearly disappointed. A part of me almost feels bad, not just for missing the chance to discover more about my powers, but also because this might be my one chance to actually reunite with my own grandma and bond with her. It's a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity, but I know what I want now.
"I feared it would come to this. It's easy to be emotional when you're young, but I can't just let you do this to yourself."
She claps her hands and floats higher off the ground until her head touches the ceiling. Her eyes glow a bright pink, and her body slightly trembles. And then, in one single movement, her skin...sheds and falls onto the living room floor. My eyes widen, and I stumble back.
Verdona's appearance has changed. She no longer resembles a human; instead, her skin is a dark purple color that reflects all light, and her hair is neon pink, similar to my powers, moving around her as if she is floating underwater.
"You need to see what a wonderful opportunity this is. All I need is to shed your skin and take you to Anodyne, and things will be much clearer then. You'll see."
Verdona moves closer to me while I stand frozen in shock, processing everything. But then Kevin takes a few protective steps and stands in front of me. His body has already absorbed the stone wall, and his fists are clenched in front of his body, ready to attack.
"Listen, old lady, she already said no. Step back if you don't want to get hurt."
Verdona's eyes gleam with mischief, as if she is smiling. She tilts her head to the side like a predator, then points both of her hands forward, throwing a large energy beam directly at Kevin. I gasp. Kevin's body hits the wall of my living room, and in one blink, he ends up sprawled in my garden. The living room wall is broken now, but I don't care about that. Kevin is who I care about.
"Kevin!" I yell out and run to him.
He groans and stands up, the stone material slowly peeling off his body. "Gwen, move back," he says, pushing me behind him.
"You have found yourself a fun one, Gwennie," Verdona says. She floats in front of Kevin once again, and I summon my powers, ready to defend him with all that I have if that's what it takes. "Such a shame he is affecting your judgment."
"Stay away from him, Verdona," I warn.
But she doesn't. And Kevin doesn't look like he's going to back down either. He moves forward, pushing her until her back is nearly touching a tree. She lifts her head towards the sky in clear concentration. The tree behind her and the grass around her feet wilt and dry out. I gasp at this. But this isn't all, much as I wish and hope for it to be. A bright, almost blinding beam of light heads directly towards Kevin. He brings his hand forward to protect himself, and I use all my strength and power to summon a shield to protect him from the deadly attack.
"Gwen, you should stay back!" He stands up once again with a grunt. His face is focused solely on Verdona, and I can practically sense the anger radiating from him.
Verdona doesn't say anything, but a childish giggle escapes her mouth as she leaps closer and closer to me. My fists light up pink, and I'm ready to defend Kevin and myself if I have to. But I'm not going with her. I won't. I refuse.
I hear footsteps, and when I turn my head to the side, Kevin is picking up a giant piece of concrete, larger than his own body, as he gets ready to throw it directly at Verdona. I move to the side, and in one single movement, Kevin throws it. It hits the side of her head, and although she remains mostly unaffected, I can tell it has a disorienting effect on her.
However, this only serves to anger her. Her pink energy is now nearly red, and she is no longer smiling or giggling.
"I've had enough of this game," Verdona snaps. She's more powerful than I expected, and something tells me that she was simply holding back before. My hands slightly shake at the realization that her aim is Kevin. Without giving him a chance to react, she throws a red energy beam at him, and I stand in the way just in time to save him. I use everything I have—all my concentration, all my strength, and my energy with one singular goal: protect Kevin.
My shield starts to crack around me, and my body grows weaker, but I remain standing there with determination. I hear Kevin scream out my name, but I ignore him, not wanting to break my focus. And then, everything stops, and I can finally breathe. I take a few deep breaths and hold my hands against my chest, struggling to calm my racing heart. Verdona hasn't backed down just yet, however.
Her head tilts to the side in a menacing way. If I didn't know her as my grandma, I would be terrified. She is far stronger than me and anyone I know—more powerful than Amperon—and she is unstoppable. She snaps her fingers, and I hear a muffled sound from behind me. Kevin. He is now tied with a pure energy net, and no matter how hard he tries to escape the restraints, he can't. I can't help him either. His mouth is shut with tape, and his eyes are wide as he shakes his head while looking directly at me.
Verdona floats closer to me, and with a lift of her fingers, causes me to fly high in the air with her in front of me.
"Shedding your skin won't hurt. You'll see how wonderful it is to be in your true form. And don't worry, you can build the same skin if you want—or any, it doesn't really matter. It will take some time, but it will all be worth it in the end."
"Stop!" I scream this, and I feel the growl deep in my throat. "I don't want to go with you. I don't. You said Kevin is affecting my judgment? You may be right, but it's not just him."
"Dear, all it wi—"
"No. I want to stay here! I love my family, I love my friends, I like being a girl and kissing boys. I like my studies—I like everything about my life. You mentioned Kevin," I say, pointing at Kevin. "And it's true. I also want to stay because of him, Grandma Verdona. And I can tell you miss it all too; otherwise, you wouldn't be on Earth. You're looking for Grandpa, that's why you're here. You miss it."
Verdona stops. She doesn't speak, she doesn't interrupt, and she doesn't move—just continues waiting for me to finish what I'm trying to say.
"Thank you for the offer. It's more than I could ask for, but I can't go with you. I can't go with you." I emphasize the last sentence.
Verdona sighs. I can sense the disappointment simply from that action. "Very well then. It's a shame, but I suppose you know better."
My feet touch the ground, and there is a small gust of wind pushing my hair to the side. I rush to Kevin's side, who is still on the ground, tied up. I keep a safe distance between the two of us due to my parents watching, but I still touch his shoulder gently. Verdona snaps her fingers once again. The binds around Kevin's body disappear, and my living room wall returns to normal as if it was never broken to begin with.
"Remind me to avoid your family reunions next time," Kevin groans as I help him up.
"Are you okay?" I ask with a stab of guilt. I'm the one who insisted he stay.
"My ego isn't," he says. "Not after being beaten by your grandma."
I scowl and chuckle at the same time at his words. Yeah, he's fine.
"If you ever change your mind, then you can tell me. I'll be visiting from time to time to check on you and your progress," Grandma Verdona says.
I smile at her, genuinely. Even if it's difficult to ignore that she was about to harm Kevin just minutes ago. Or maybe not. I still don't know. "Aren't you going to stay? We can have dinner or something."
"I'm not staying this time," Kevin half-whispers. I gently elbow him.
"As much as I'd like to stay around, I have things to attend to. But I'll come for dinner next time. Natalie," Verdona says as soon as my mom steps outside the house. She winks at my dad, who presses his lips together in a tight line.
"I'll be looking forward to it," my mom says dryly, then looks to the side.
"And take care, Curtis. I like you."
"It's Kevin," Kevin and I both say at the same time, but I doubt she really cares.
"Bye, Frankie." And then, just like that, Verdona flies into the sky until her figure eventually disappears.
I stand there staring for a few seconds, struggling to believe that it's all over so...quickly. My mom clears her throat. My dad looks troubled, but my mom is clearly angry as her gaze travels between Kevin and me. Yeah, I guess there's quite a bit of explaining to do...
"Something tells me I need to stay," Kevin whispers to me.
And he's probably right because I know my parents will demand an explanation for everything. My mom doesn't say anything—which is a really bad sign—and instead gestures for us to step inside, while my dad follows behind her with a troubled and disappointed look. Kevin, on the other hand, looks like he would rather run away.
I know he won't, but I wouldn't blame him if he did. His family is definitely calmer about that stuff, and his mom seemed absolutely lovely and like she knew about Kevin's powers. My parents, on the other hand... I dread setting foot inside my house right now.
"Maybe we should go inside?" Kevin half-asks when he notices I'm just standing here.
I nod, and we walk together side by side. Both of our steps are hesitant, and we both share looks of dread, but for different reasons. It must be worse for Kevin, of course, and it's humiliating that he has to meet my family this way. I thought it was embarrassing the way I met his mom, but this is definitely far worse.
We step inside my house, and my mom and dad are waiting for us at the dining table. My mom hasn't even bothered to tidy up the teacups and plates. Instead, she is tapping her fingers impatiently on the wooden table while her eyes are fixated on it.
I audibly gulp and sit at the table, between my dad and Kevin, who are both silent. My mom doesn't address either of us, but my dad mouths to me that we are going to talk later. At least he isn't angry. But my mom is, which is ten times worse.
"Of all the things you could lie about, Gwendolyn, this is not what I expected," my mom starts. "I knew marrying into the Tennysons was asking for trouble, but this is something else."
"I didn't lie," I say. "I just didn't know how to tell you."
"Did you know about this?" my mom asks my dad. My dad tenses beside me and shakes his head. "And who is this? Have you been lying about him too?"
"It's Kevin," I defend. "And no, he's really my friend who just happens to have powers too."
My mom turns to look at Kevin, and Kevin looks back with surprise, then offers her an awkward half-smile. "Hello...ma'am."
My mom sighs and rubs her temples as if she's unsure how to tackle this. "How long were you planning on keeping this a secret from us? If Verdona wasn't here, would I have ever known?"
"Mom..." My voice trails off, and I think about her question. "It's not something I can just tell you. I was going to, I just needed to find the right time."
Another sigh. "I was prepared for everything when I married a Tennyson, but not my own daughter."
My mom stands up and walks out of the room without uttering another word. I frown, knowing how upset she really is, and I intend to follow her. But my dad stops me.
"Give her some time. She just needs to come to terms with it," he says. I nod.
I know he's right. It's probably not easy finding out something like this, and I'd be angry too if I were her. It's one thing to know that superpowers and aliens exist, and it's a whole other to experience it firsthand—and on top of that, finding out that your own family has been lying and is involved. I rub my temples as well.
"Maybe I should get going now," Kevin says to both me and my father. He reaches a bit closer to me and whispers reassuringly, "I'll call you later."
"Oh, yes, of course. And I'm sorry you had to witness that," my father says in a polite and very matter-of-fact voice.
Kevin simply shrugs at this, reassuring my dad that it's nothing, and then walks to the door.
"Goodnight, Kevin," I say with a smile.
"Night, Gwen."
And with that, he walks off.