A. Knight

"Andy?" I knock on the front door of his house. I wait for about thirty seconds before the door opens and he steps out. He smiles and holds his hand out. I take his hand and he leads me inside. "What's up?"

"I just wanted to see you again. I didn't get a chance to see you over Thanksgiving," he pulls me into a hug. 

"You need to tell me something?" I ask when we pull away. 

"I have to ask a... Difficult question. But please hear me out. Is anyone in the group- would anyone tell people about... You know... The powers?" 

"What? No!" I step back in surprise. "None of them would ever do that," I say protectively. 

"I can't figure it out. Why was I handcuffed, and why did they effectively drain my powers? And I can't touch it without wanting to pass out-"

"Wait, let me see them," I say. He raises and eyebrows and opens a drawer. I walk over and cautiously grabs the metal handcuffs. They feel... Normal. "Do you think it's what the handcuffs are made of?" I turn the cuffs and examine them. "Wait-" I stop when I see something. He stands behind me and wraps his arms around my waist. "Look at this," I point to a small black dot. I feel his breath on my neck when I turn the cuffs to check the other side. I point at another dot. I touch it and it sends a shock through my finger. I flinch and he gasps softly. 

"Awsten?" 

"I'm okay," I answer and touch the dot again. "Do you have tweezers?" I ask. He nods and lets go of me, he walks to another room and comes back, handing me the tweezers. I walk to his desk and sit down, I move the lamp to hover over the handcuffs to give me a better view. Slowly, I remove the black dot. I place it on a paper. I take the other one and put it on the paper, away from the other one. "Andy," I turn and hold out the handcuffs. Slowly, he touches the handcuffs. 

"You did it," he says breathlessly. He holds the handcuffs in his hands. He puts them down and stares at the black circle. "Is it bad that I want to touch it? I want to know what it is," he whispers. 

"Let's wait for Kellin and Vic. They might be able to find something." 

He nods and wraps his arms around me. "Awsten, y-you mean so much to me. I don't think you understand-" 

"Andy, can I-" I hesitantly turn and pulls my arms around his neck. He freezes and watches my eyes. "I missed you," I whisper. 

"I missed you too," he smiles before picking up bridal style and sitting on the bed, placing me down on his lap. He puts his arms around me to keep me steady. 

"You smell like rain," I whisper. He laughs. 

"And you smell like cherry soap," he answers. 

"You remembered!" I exclaim, hugging him and burying my face in his shoulder. "Cherry soap is my favorite soap." 

"I know. But can you explain why I smell like rain?" 

"Because... Oh right, your shampoo always reminded me of rain because I had no clue was rain smelled like, and I just assumed that's what it smelled like, so ever since then, I've been connecting your shampoo to rain." 

"It's nice to know we still remember everything from before," he says. 

"We're not there yet but," I peck his cheek. "it's a start." 

"We should go for a walk. It's nice out and I'm tired of being in here all the time," he says. I nod and move off his lap. 

He leads me out and we start walking to the large park. "This is the only park I haven't walked through yet," he says, subtly grabbing my hand. Instead of letting go, I squeeze it gently. We walk into a secluded area, but it's beautiful. For once, everything looks and feels natural, the trees, plants, animals. 

"HEY!" I hear someone shout. Andy moves in front of me, guarding me. I spot something bounce off the ground. 

"Andy, move!" I grab his arm and jump to the side. The smoke bomb goes off. We let out loud fits of coughs. Then something goes over my head. I let out a shout and Andy shouts. I hear electricity. 

Then someone grabs my arm. 

"You move and he gets shot," the rough voice shouts. It goes silent. Then bag goes off my head and I stare at Andy, his hands up with men in black ski masks holding guns. One grabs his wrists and handcuffs him. Andy hisses in pain. Someone hits me in the head and everything goes black. 

~~~

"Awsten?" I hear a deep voice call. I open my eyes slowly, adjusting to the light. I stare at him and shake my head. 

"Andy? What happened?" 

"I can't remember. I think someone attacked us," he turns and I see the handcuffs. 

"We have to get these off," I look down and realize I'm handcuffed as well. Luckily, my wrists are tied in from of me. "Do you have your phone?" I ask. He nods. 

"Right front pocket," he says. I move and grab his phone. 

"Turn around and hold it," I say, putting the phone in his hands. I dial Vic. 

"Hello-?" I hear him say into the phone. 

"Northgate park, south side, trees. Forest- HELP!" I say while looking around at signs. 

"What- okay," he says. 

Andy turns his head and stares at me. "In all the years I've missed you, I never thought we'd be in this situation," he laughs. I groan and scoot up to a bench, slowly getting up and sitting on it. 

"So this is weird," I click my tongue. He laughs and scoots over to me, leaning his head against my knee. "If we ever have really kinky sex, let's please not use handcuffs. Especially after this," I mumble sarcastically. 

"Ew- no!" He groans and kisses my knee "As much as I really like you, and one day- more than that- I'm not going to... No-" He gags. 

"Andy! Awsten!" Vic runs into the area and stops in front of us. "Holy- okay," he mutters and looks around for the key. He walks back and tries Andy's first. Nothing. He tries mine and it unlocks. "Okay, let's find the other one," he grunts and looks around. 

I hear Andy groan and I turn around. "Andy, what's wrong? You're- You're so pale," I whisper. I help him up to sit on the bench. 

"This-" he holds up his hands. "I-" His voice goes soft and he leans to the side. 

"ANDY!" I shout, holding him so he doesn't fall. 

"Awsten?" Vic calls. 

"Andy passed out- I think it's the handcuffs- Wait. Go to Andy's place and get the key. The top drawer next to the bed- hurry up!" I shout. Vic nods and runs as quickly as possible. 

"Andy, come on, don't fucking die right now-"

"It hurts so bad-" he takes a sharp breath. 

"I know, I know it does- just hang in there," I whisper, holding him. "Vic's going to come soon, and you'll be free," I kiss his forehead. 

"Here," Vic rushes to Andy and grabs the handcuffs. "Ah-" he groans, forgetting how it affects him too. He unlocks the handcuffs and tosses them to the side. Andy groans and opens his eyes. 

"What-? Oh thank god," he shakes his hand out and wraps his arms around me. He plants a soft kiss on my forehead. "Thank you- both of you," he says. Vic nods and helps him up. 

"Let's get you home," he says. Andy gets up slowly, I wrap one arm around his waist and together, we walk to his place. 

"I'll leave you two. Be careful, okay?" He says. 

"Hey, Vic?" I speak up while Andy sits down. "We'll get Kellin out of there. You'll be with him again," I say. Vic sighs and pulls me into a hug. 

"It's been days. He hasn't even been to school and I thought-" 

"He's okay, we'll get him back," I whisper. 

"I should go. Take care of Andy, please?" 

I nod and watch him leave. I close the door and walk to Andy. I sit down next to him and rest my head on his shoulder. 

"Andy? I don't want to keep pushing this off. Especially after today- I don't know what's going to happen tomorrow-"

"Awsten, what's going on?" He says, his voice laced with worry. I kneel in front of him and grab both of his hands. 

"I can't keep lying to myself-" I take a deep breath. 

"Andy, I love you."