Hidden and Silent (SpyxFamily)

Ch. 13: Part Five

That had gone way worse than Damian had hoped.

He thought for the tenth time and chewed on his thumbnail. He shifted in his seat again, waiting for class to begin.

His conversation with Demetrius made him think Forger would react the same way, and boy was he wrong. Was she okay? Was their relationship ruined forever? Where had she gone? He hadn't seen her since lunch and she had skipped class. Blackbell didn't know where she was either by the way she'd been on lookout for her friend.

Demetrius had said Forger wouldn't be happy about this, but was it really that big a deal? Did she not trust Damian even when reading his mind? Damian didn't want her in his head and now it felt more difficult than ever to bring it up. If he could even find and get Forger to talk to him in the first place. . .

It bugged him how avoidant Forger was being. It wasn't hard to understand why, but so much had happened and they should be past this already. . .

. . .

He supposed it was those same things that drove her away. . .

But still!! He. Damian Desmond. Had gone out of his way to make friends with her and get along and Forger had ignored, avoided, and rejected him at every turn! It was infuriating! And now this! Of all people, shouldn't Damian learning she was an esper be fine? He already knew about the lab and stuff, knowing about this just made sense, didn't it? Was it really that horrible?

. . .

. . .

Damian sighed, leaning on his desk to hold his face. He suddenly felt ridiculous for thinking such things. Forger had broken down under a table, it was obviously a big deal. She was a freakin' telepath, of course it would affect her that he found out. If Demetrius was any indication, this was a tightly held secret that no one was ever supposed to find out. It was messed up, and he saw the issue with it, especially when he had some idea of how Forger got her abilities, but Damian didn't like how much this incident trumped any frustration or anger he had with her.

He wished she would just talk to him. He could be fine with it.

. . .

. . .

Could be? Was he not fine with it now? Damian considered. Forger was his friend and he didn't want this to hurt their relationship, but. . .was he fine with it?

Damian hadn't given it a lot of thought. He had automatically assumed a position of acceptance when he saw how stressed out it made Demetrius and tried not to think about it beyond that. It was freaky to think they could be in his thoughts all the time and he refrained from thinking about it because there was nothing he could do and what else could he do?! His brother was a telepath and it hurt more to think about losing him than simply accepting he might be in his thoughts. Forger was a telepath and they'd been through too much together for him to be bothered over this. She'd been through too much for him to be bothered over this. It seemed shallow.

Demetrius was an esper. Forger was an esper.

Damian didn't like it.

But maybe he could adjust. He would. Something wriggled uncomfortably in his gut to think that he was entitled to some sort of opinion on the matter. As if he should be anything other than accepting.

This was his brother and his friend after all.

His friend.

He had wondered how she'd take it. Damian had opted to skip morning classes just to avoid the conversation or. . .thoughts? A little longer. Despite his stubbornness to make light of the situation and his frivolous anger, Damian was all too aware of the heavy implications involved. It was simpler to be angry or upset rather than consider them. Or rather than fail to believe everything would be okay after this. How could it be when Forger had run away? She had run away from him. She'd heard him think that stupid word and ran away from him. How would things be okay after this!? Forger would never be comfortable around him again!

Stupid, stupid, stupid! Why did he think that word! He had been so determined not to think that stupid word and give himself away!

And then he saw her and immediately failed.

Damian hated seeing her so scared. He hated to be the one to cause it. He never wanted her to experience it ever again. Not since the lab when she screamed her throat raw as they took her away. It was the most blood curdling thing he'd ever heard. Just the idea that it was because she knew what would happen gave Damian goosebumps and he still couldn't think about it without breaking out in a cold sweat and shaking hands. They were jittery now and he sat on them.

Forger had been so scared that she'd had a panic attack. She'd been so scared that she'd crawled under the table to get away from him. He'd hugged her and it had calmed her down, but he had a feeling it didn't change the situation much.

She had still run.

And he couldn't even be mad about it.