Rescue- Runaways 2

Chapter 8: Peyton

"Girl, I don't understand how you can wear that shirt when it's so hot outside," Skye teased lightheartedly. It was almost ten and we were just hanging out before turning in for the night.

I blushed. "You're the one in black jeans," I pointed out jokingly. She rolled her eyes.

"Yeah, I don't have a choice though. You have a tank top on under that." Well maybe I should have kept my shirt buttoned up so she wouldn't have questioned it, but at least I was a little cooler this way. I shrugged.

"I just prefer to wear this over it, I guess." Skye shook her head in disbelief.

It wasn't like I was going to tell her the truth. She hadn't earned the right to know. None of them had. Marcus, Aaliyah, and Luke had all gained enough of my trust to know, but that had taken time. I had serious trust issues.

I fingered my wrist, rolling up my sleeve a little bit but covering the cuts with my hand. Maybe I shouldn't be so self-conscious about them, but I was. I hated being seen as weak, even though I knew I was mentally ill.

"Peyton?" Aaliyah nodded towards our bedroom. The four of us all shared a room, even though we'd barely been able to cram all four cots into it. There was less than two feet of space between each one. "We're heading to bed." I nodded.

"Okay. I'll be in there soon," I replied. I turned back to Skye.

"You say you have memory erasing ability, but what exactly can you do?" I asked tentatively.

"Oh, we call it that, but a broader, more appropriate term would just be mind control. Also, it sounds less threatening. We didn't want you to think we were going to manipulate you in any way. And that's just what we use most often, but it's not necessarily removing something from someone's memory rather than replacing it with a fake memory. We can also manipulate emotions, which Reese and I are especially good at, we can manipulate actions which is something Colin and Micaiah are better with, and we can dig through someone's old memories."

"Creepy." At that, I decided to head back into the bedroom. "Glad I understand now though." She nodded.

"No problem. 'Night."

"'Night."

I think Skye and I were the last ones to go to bed. Micaiah and Reese had gone to bed around 9:30 and Colin had retired for the night a few minutes before Aaliyah, Luke, and Marcus did. When I walked in, I found that I had the cot on the far-right wall. Great.

I tugged off my long sleeves, rolled up my jeans to the best of my abilities, slipped off my socks, and climbed into it. There was no bedding other than the makeshift pillows and a couple of thin sheets I could cover up with if I wanted to, but it was still more than we'd had for weeks prior.

☁

Tonight, I had no idea where I was. It was less of a place and more of an abstract idea. The edges were blurred unlike the normal locations I dreamed of that were crisp and clear. I wanted to see Eli again, if it was even truly him, but chances were slim.

I looked down at my clothes, finding that I was wearing all black. The gashes on my arms looked exactly the same with a lot on my left arm and a few on my right, which was strange because I knew I hadn't had them last night when I was dreaming. Maybe I was sleeping lighter tonight.

"Peyton?" I turned around to see Eli standing behind me. He was a faint outline rather than the seemingly solid form he'd taken the night before, but it was him.

I smiled. "Good to see you." He pursed his lips thoughtfully.

"Don't do that," he gestured to my arms gently. I immediately tried to cover them up out of habit. "Don't do that because of me or Aaliyah or anyone else, not even yourself. And Peyton, it's okay if you're queer. I know I was mad at first, but I just didn't know how to react. I'm sorry about that."