Control

prologue | aidan

SHE TOLD ME TO MEET HER HERE AT MIDNIGHT. It was almost midnight.

The rain was coming down hard, thunder cackled in the background. Every now and then, lightning striked. But that didn't scare me. What scared me most was seeing her again, and finding out why she wanted to meet me.

Since Lauren dramatically left the night of the dance, she was all that's been on my mind. Spencer told us how she went back to the Institute. Willingly. After all her attempts of breaking out, she returned in the end.

I pressed the home button on my phone to check the time. 11:56. She'd be here any minute.

It was an understatement saying that I was nervous. The butterflies in my stomach got me good this afternoon, making me sick. I still had no idea why I accepted her invitation. Maybe because it was more like a plead then a request.

I tucked the phone back into my hoodie pocket and started pacing. Was I under the right gazebo? I thought. We spent a lot of time here when we were kids, but how would she know that?

"I wasn't expecting you to come."

I spun around to see who the voice belonged to, but I already knew. Lauren. She was standing right in front of me, not a drop of rain on her. She must've teleported, something I didn't quite think about.

"I told you I'd be here, right?" I said.

"You could've bailed, thinking through everything again," She said in response. "You replied kind of quick, didn't you? Let your feelings respond instead of your logic? You're smart, Aidan. I expected a reply at least a day later."

I didn't respond, just stared. Lauren was dressed in black from head to toe, like she did often, and wore the Institute's logo on her chest like it was nothing. Like it didn't scar her for life. Her hair was pulled back into a braid, loose ends sticking out at the front. Her eyes were the same shade of blue from before, when she first awoke from the coma.

She was beautiful, like always.

"Breathe, Davis."

I did, only then realizing that I was holding my breath. Stop that, I found myself saying.

It was easier said than done.

"What do you want?" I asked her as the wind picked up. The cold got to me, but I knew it wouldn't be long till my body adapted. "Why did you want to talk to me?"

"Come with me," She said simply.

"What?" I said, not understanding her.

"Come with me, back to the Institute," She said again. I couldn't tell if she was joking or not. Her eyes sure didn't look like she was playing around, but that's just her.

"Never," I responded. "I'm never going back. Why would I want to, Lauren?" Her name sounded different coming out of my mouth this time. Maybe it was because we were no longer on the same side in this battle.

"You don't belong here, Aidan. You are one of us. An Evolutian. You can't stay here."

"Why not?" I asked her in disbelief. She couldn't just drag me back there.

"Well... you know..." She was at a loss of words. She opened her mouth, then closed it. Then opened it again and said one word: "Cole."

Cole Garcia. He was dead, and Lauren was still convinced that it was all her fault. But it wasn't, she should understand that. It was Mr. Garcia's fault for pulling the trigger.

But then again, what Lauren told me after the accident could play some part in what she meant by "it was all her fault." The thing is, I didn't understand her ramblings then, either.

I tried to slightly change the topic then. "You know, his funeral is this weekend. Are you coming?" No response. "He'd want you to be there."

"No, he wouldn't," Lauren said. "He wouldn't because I killed him and spared you."

"You aren't making any sense, Lauren," I told her. "Why do you want me to come with you?"

"I'm a monster, and you are too, Aidan." Her eyes looked as if she was begging me to come with her. "You have to realize that sooner or later."

"They're messing with your head, Lauren. The Institute. What they're saying isn't true."

"Aidan, just please come with me," She begged. There was suddenly fear in her voice. Whatever confidence she had escaped.

"Lauren, I'm not coming with you," I said firmly. "But you could come with me. Your dad and Spencer would be glad to see-"

"I'm not going back," She said. "I can't, Aidan."

"Why not?"

"It's complicated."

"Just come, Lauren. You're fighting for the wrong side, Lauren-"

"I'm not."

I closed my eyes and took a deep breath. Then opened them again. "Lauren, if you want to be together-"

"I don't want us to be together." Her words hit me hard. "I just need a second in command."

Isn't that the same thing? I wondered. I'd still be by her side. "Then what do you want?"

"I need you at the Institute."

"You just want us to be together. Just come back to us."

"Not everything is about you, Aidan. I don't want you. I don't need you. You're just another person in my life." She closed her eyes and put her hands behind her neck. She looked like she was in pain. I walked towards her. She stepped back. "Fine, you don't have to come to the Institute. Stay here and try to stop everything on your own."

I still looked at her in disbelief. I couldn't process her words in my brain.

"Just to be clear," She continued. "We're never going to be together. Not now, not ever. Just let go of that dream and find someone else."

"Wait but-"

"Aidan, I know how you feel. First of all-" She paused, biting her lip. "I don't feel the same way. Second, whatever comes out of this, we're never going to happen. It's not possible."

Lauren turned around and started walking.

"Wait, Lauren," I said. "What do you mean? Can you please just say something that I would understand?"

She stopped and looked back. "Ask Tyson if he were to choose one person to spend the rest of his life with, who would it be. Also-" She turned back around. "send emergency crews to the school."

"Wait, what?" I was beyond confused. "Lauren, please just-"

I reached for her arm but it was gone before I could reach it. She teleported out of here, leaving me alone. I pulled out my phone again and checked the time. 12:08. She was barely here for ten minutes.

Lauren Elizabeth Jessica Olsen was a queen when it came to breaking hearts. I just wish I understood what she means.

12:10. There was no point in staying any longer. I was about to teleport back to my room, until a huge BANG! came out of no where.

Our school was up in flames.