Author's note: Some Bad News about to be revealed...

Maria:

"You have a lot of explaining to do, Mister!", I yelled at James once we got outside.

"Do you have to be that loud though? I already had the dance teacher shriek in my ear once today...", he commented.

"Once I'm through you're going to wish that she was here to defend you! What on earth were you thinking, James?", I stated.

"About what exactly? I'm not sure what you're referring to."

"I'm serious! Not only did you mess with Lydia's feelings...", he interrupted me before I had fully addressed the issue at hand.

"Who is Lydia again?", he smirked as he said that.

Was he that naïve or just immature?

"Let me finish! You have been ignoring me for the past week after we came back from the warehouse. Are you not even interested in trying to go back and help the other kids there..."

"No way in tarnation am I going back there. You go be the Good Samaritan and see where that'll get ya. I'm staying right here where it's safe and sound. I'd rather not put myself in harm's way, thank you very much."

["You've changed a bit since you last said that, haven't you?", Maria asked.

"Yeah, I've matured. So have you though.", I replied.

"Ok. Back to the story."

"You didn't like that I said that..."]

"As for the fact that I've been evading your presence, it could be because I found you irritating, annoying and not very enjoyable to hang out with, you know with all the moping and stuff."

He winced when he said that and that made me suspect he had either been kicked in the groin or he was lying. I hadn't hurt him yet so it had to be the latter.

"At least will we discuss what happened in the warehouse and what those people, AoE, were after? We know they're not good news if they experiment on children."

"Can you just drop it, please?", he sounded desperate, almost like he was begging me to not mention it again.

"I know the experience was quite traumatic, but the only way to move on is to talk about it."

"That's what a therapist would say. What's the real reason you want to speak to me?"

This boy is just now piquing my curiosity. How had he seen through me like that?

"Alright. I thought that we also formed a connection back there, you know, on the journey from the warehouse to here...I thought that maybe I could count you as a...friendly person?", I grinned as I said the word 'friendly'. It was a bit casual, but what else could I call this relationship.

"We're acquaintances, no more.", he responded back and then attempted to walk away from me.

"What? After all we've been through...", I pretended to be hurt and see if he would fall for it.

"I'm not allies with anyone...and I have no friends nor do I want any. Go away before...", he trailed off.

"Before what? Can you please stop all this...this pity-party? I know you come from not having the best parents, but news flash. You can't use your past to justify how you treat people in the future. Who knows? One day, someone could care about you."

"I hope they never do.", he muttered under his breath.

"I heard that! What's wrong with you? Are you some goth emo boy that just happens not to wear black clothing? You act like the whole world's on your shoulders for goodness's sake! Can you be a little less melodramatic and talk to me like a normal person?"

I instantly regretted the word 'normal' as soon as I said it because his face turned red and his eyes...well, for a second there, I thought they turned dark.

I must have hallucinated. No one's eyes turn dark when they're angry, right?

"YOU HAVE NO IDEA WHAT I'VE BEEN THROUGH AT ALL! YOU'RE JUST SOME PERKY GIRL WHO...THERE IS NO SUCH THING AS NORMAL FOR US SUPERS, ALRIGHT? OUR LIVES ARE NOT NORMAL AND WE CAN'T DO ANYTHING ABOUT THAT!", he screamed at the top of his lungs.

Boy, does have unresolved issues, but I have quite a temper so...what happened next was not my best moment.

"YOU JERK! I'LL LEAVE ALRIGHT AND THEN YOU'LL BE ALONE LIKE YOU ALWAYS WANTED! Hmph.", I stepped on his toes on the way out.

"Ow!" He deserved that!

Immediately, I felt remorse and turned around.

"I'm sorry, sometimes I let my anger get the best of me and stuff...can we start again?", I asked.

"I would say you're bipolar, but having a sister who is makes you a better judge of who is and who isn't...so how come you're not still angry at me?"

"Oh. I'm furious, but I'm working on forgiving you plus I was wrong as well for yelling back. If you don't want to spend time with me, that's your choice. I should have left in the beginning and given you space. For that, I'm sorry."

He just stared at me after that. Had he never had anyone apologize to him? What was he looking at?

"Maria!" I heard a call from afar and looked to see who was saying it.

"DAD!", I saw him coming from the other side of the yard towards us.

"Maria! Thank God you're here! I need to talk to you and James...Oh, he's here as well?"

"Yeah...what's this about, dad? Are you going to get deployed again?"

"No. Last time when I was going to get deployed, I heard you were kidnapped and had a buddy of mine, who hadn't been deployed for a year due to his wife's passing, take my place. No, I have some bad news."

"James, we have reason to believe that an assassin called Rush is after you and consequently also after Maria."

"What!", I shrieked.

Author's notes: Now Maria is in Rush's cross hairs. Well, that's just great. Not.