Keaton Will

Chapter 14

I wake up a few hours later to the sun shining brightly and berating on my nerves. Who gave the sun the right to shine so brightly on my face while I'm trying to sleep?! I mean. Obviously, I know that no one controls the sun but still. Rudeness. I sit up and try to let my grogginess pass. Naps always leave me so disoriented... I rub my face and walk to the door. The house is quiet, which is refreshing. The others must still be asleep. I silently walk through the house, looking for something to do in my boredom. The house is pretty much empty. And we don't own anything. My boredom will never be cured! I see Michael on the couch and smirk. He's lost in thought, not that I can hear it since they all have figured out how to block me. They usually keep surface-level thoughts as some sort of annoying song or the same thoughts repeatedly. I'm perfectly ok with it. I don't really want to know what's in their heads 27/7. I stand quietly behind him and wonder how long it's going to take for him to notice. A few moments pass before he starts feeling like he's being watched and turns to see me. I can see he tries very hard not to jump, and I smirk at his surprise.
"How long have you been standing there?" his hand inches to his chest to calm his beating heart, and I feel my smirk widen.
"Only a couple of minutes. I'm seeking something to cure my boredom and found you completely unaware and thought I'd have some fun."
"Scaring people is something you enjoy doing?"
"Yeah, I like seeing how far I can push people before they think I'm insane."
"But aren't you insane?"
"Absolutely.'' My tone is monotone, but I know I look somewhat excited. I never understood in books when they say a character's eyes "sparkle with amusement," and I still don't, but Micheals's eyes are crinkled with laughter lines, and he looks amused. He's now smirking as well. He pats the spot next to him for me to join, and I comply.
"Did you have any siblings?' I shrug and shake my head. "Ah, that explains why you want to test on people so much."
"Oh really? What makes you think I wouldn't test on them and other people to gauge reaction differences? Because everyone reacts differently." he laughs, a deep rumbling sound.
"Yeah, ok, that's fair. I can understand that." A comfortable silence follows our conversation about my sanity. I am perfectly sane.
"Did you have any siblings?" a dark look passes over his previously amused one as he shakes his head.
"No, I think my dad would have lost it. He already hated one child.'' There's a hatred in his tone that makes me wonder how they got on his dark side. I haven't run any missions with him, so I haven't seen him be really dark at all. He's typically easy to interact with and friendly. I nod as if I understand and decide not to press him about his past since I don't want to answer any questions. Instead, I change the topic,
"When are we leaving again?"
"In two days. We'll be going southeast." I nod but am a little confused about his hollow answer. I let that go, too, because they don't want to tell me anything, and that's understandable. I am the one Black wants. He is going to want me the most because of my powers and how easily it seemed I turned the others. So if I do get captured, I won't know the overall plan, and they won't be able to drag it out of me.
"So we're stuck in this house together for another two days?"
"Yep, you'd better get comfortable." a deep sigh escapes me, and I stare up at the ceiling, questioning my life's choices. At least I'll get time to myself in my room.
"Yippee." my dryness earns a snort from him.
"You're not looking forward to testing on all of us?" His teasing tone makes me look at him.
"As much as I love freaking people out, I'm not exactly a people person."
"It doesn't take Sherlock to figure that much out." I huff in response, and he gets the amused look again. "So why did you sign your life away again?" I shrug. I don't really want to discuss this topic, and I can feel my mental barriers going up again. I know he sees my discomfort, but he ignores it.
"I wasn't thinking clearly. I had already been signing a lot of forms, so I didn't notice the one person who was out of place. Next thing I know, I'm being shipped to a compound where people started testing me on pretty much everything." he nods,
"That's pretty much my story too. All of us are similar." I nod and search for something to change the topic with but, luckily, am saved by someone walking in. That someone is Sheldon. I regret my relief. He looks at us then sits on the couch with us.
"Anything good on?"
"Do you know Swedish?" he pauses for a moment and looks at me.
"I'm a quick study."
"You said I had a cold!"
"You were unconscious. What was I supposed to do?"
"Wait till I was awake at least,"
"Settle down, kids. It was a small mistake. Sheldon learns fast but also forgets fast." Micheal finally pipes up.
"Small? I had pneumonia. That's not small."
"Well, we figured that out eventually, now, didn't we?" somehow, his tone really does match a parent while scolding a child. I stare at him for a moment, and Sheldon has the right idea of keeping quiet. I stand up and break the tense silence,
"I'm going to make breakfast. I'll tell you if I need anything." I feel like storming off, but that's childish, and I don't like putting that much force into my steps. I like keeping my movements light and soft; my steps are light, contrary to my football training. I walk silently into the kitchen and get out a pan and butter. I turn the heat up high, get some corned beef hash, and start heating it up. A quick study, yeah, right. I realize after I shove the corned beef hash out of the pan with a forceful stir that I may be too frustrated for this. I take a breath.
Couldn't he have at least listened to my breathing? That would have clued him in that it was more than just a cold. Why am I so upset about this? It doesn't matter. The fires of frustration simmer out of my chest, and I feel myself relaxing again. I've found I can never hold onto emotions long. They tend to come and go. It's useful as an assassin but annoying nonetheless. It means I can't stay mad, and my frustration comes back in force when I least expect it. I have hurt some people with this before, and apologizing is not my strong suit. My train of thought abruptly stops as I feel someone enter the room and watch me. I continue cooking and glance to see who it is. Of course, it's Vivian. I go back to watching the food, and when I think it's done enough, I put it onto a plate and start cooking the eggs and toast. I get out the stack of plates and a bunch of forks and set them out. I glance back at Vivian,
"Need something?" She shakes her head at me and smiles.
"Just enjoying watching you work." she steps closer, "anything I can do to help?" Maybe I want company, or maybe I feel like I owe her; either way, I tell her that she can help by working on the toast. She obliges and starts working on the toast. "How long have you been up?" is she attempting small talk? This is going to go well.
'About half an hour, you?"
"Like ten minutes. I think everyone heard you complaining to Sheldon." I freeze momentarily, then go back to cooking the eggs.
"Sorry if I bothered you." my tone drops to monotone, and she realizes she pushed a button wrong.
"No, you didn't bother me. I wanted to be up anyway. I think today we are just hanging out. We've slept enough. It's time to find something exciting to do." I nod to her and turn off the stove. I start plating so no one takes too much and turn to her,
"Well, any ideas?"
"None that won't be too obvious to someone looking for us."
"You never know; hiking in the wilderness could be fun. There are tons of mountains. I bet there's a lot of trails."
"We don't have any gear."
"You don't always need gear to go hiking. I bet we'll need some cleats or something for slippery spots but other than that, we should just need some food. And it's almost lunchtime now, so we can just bring a bunch of snacks before coming back down for dinner."
"That's not a bad idea; we could totally do that!" I give her a smile and nod. I send a telepathy out to everyone.
Foods ready. I start putting the plates on the table, and Vivian joins me. I put Grunty on the end and Sheldon next to him because they have the most food, then everyone else is normal, so they can sit wherever. I sit at the other end of the table and start eating. People file in and sit and eat. They chat with each other, and I eat my food quietly. Once I'm finished, I step outside to get away from people and breathe. I sit on the patio chair and look out at the mountain and just process what's been going on. It's been about a month since I broke everyone out. Most of that time I was sick and asleep, or unconscious. I still don't know why they haven't left me. Sheldon said it's because they view me as a leader but I am not a leader. I'm not capable of leading. I can be smart but those smarts do not translate into being good with people. If I'm bad at communication, why would I be a good leader? I look out at the mountains to clear my thoughts and prepare for the hike we may go on. I hear someone walk out and look over. Of course it's Sheldon. Once I see that it is him I look back at the mountains. I am suddenly struck with something that feels suspiciously like a water balloon and look only to see the remains of rubber. I give Sheldon a cold glare and stand up. He uses his speed and runs off. What is his problem? Why can't he just leave me alone? I go inside with my shirt slightly wet.
"Where did he find the balloon?" I ask so forcefully without meaning to, I mind control them. They all point into one of the closets and then go back to eating. I grab and prepare a few and put them in a bag. I go back outside and listen for Sheldon's thoughts. He's hiding just out of view around the house. I'm ok with that. If he wants to start a war, a war he shall get. I see a climbable tree and climb it to get a good vantage point. I can see Sheldon from here, I throw a balloon and watch his shock as he gets hit and looks around for where it came from. I shift my position in the tree so I am more hidden. The others realize what is going on and start a water balloon production line to get ready for an actual war. Seeing as we still do not have any real weapons these balloons will have to do for now. I keep to my hiding spot and wait as the others trickle out. I throw my balloons and hit each of my targets. Perks of being a sniper. I run out of balloons quickly because I did not make many and the others see the tree I'm in at this point and Mark-the-Tree-Boy starts climbing up to try and get me. I shift and climb down quickly and run and try to doge the others throwing their balloons at me. I dodge most of them but can't help but cough when one hits me square in the chest and doesn't explode on impact. Ow. I keep running and find Sheldon. I stop and quiet my movements again to sneak up on him. I pick up the one that did not explode on me and go over. He turns at the last second and I can see the shock when he sees me suddenly there.
"How are you so quiet?" he exclaims. I smile as I smash the water balloon on him then duck behind him as the others try to pummel me with more balloons. This is so much more fun than the pillow fight because we are outside this time and water balloons are in limited supply so we have to be careful about how we use them. Since we are trained to handle most weapons, water balloons are like a breath of fresh air, both a toy and a weapon. Now that shaldon is soaked and I am perfectly dry he turns back to me.
"I would prefer that we be friends and not try to kill each other,"
"That'll have to come later. I won't kill you as long as you respect my boundaries and stay out of my way." He seems to think that is a reasonable request and nods before bolting so I am the target again. I glare at him and start dodging balloons. I get hit by a few but dodge most of them which infuriates the others. Then I immediately stop as I see grunty charging towards me. All I can think is that I am doomed. He grabs me and pins me.
"Hey! Let me down!" Someone must have put him up to this because he normally keeps his distance from me.
"Grunty holds Keaton so he can not move! Now the others can play with him!" The realization that now I cannot move and the others are free to hit me now dawns on me and I start trying to squirm out of his grasp but am thoroughly pinned and can barely even stand on the ground. I can't help but yelp and turn away as a stupid amount of water balloons hit me.
"That's for the pillow fight!" I hear someone call out but am too distracted to identify who.
"I stayed loyal jerks! I didn't betray anyone!" I try to plead my case but no one is sympathetic to my cause. Eventually the balloons stop and I am freed. I rub my arms where I was being pinned. That is so going to bruise and be sore... I look around. Everyone is smiling and looks very proud of themselves. I decide to play grumpy to make them laugh more at my misfortune. I glower at everyone.
"I didn't do anything wrong. I may be one man but I will get my revenge!" I say dramatically and with obvious play in my tone. I get a few chuckles then Vivian offers me a clean shirt. When she went to get it I don't know but I take it with a nod. We all go back inside and dry off after our fun with water balloons.

(2624 words)

Well... it's been a long time. Hopefully this long chapter makes up for it. I've had the time to write. Just wrote myself into a corner and I hated what I had so I finally went back and deleted it and came up with this. Writing this I was like "Keatons so moody" but he's still fun. And to be fair they did stay up all night so some grumpiness is normal. But yeah! Finally got something done!