The Unwanted ~ Book 1

Chapter 11~Flare

"What is wrong with you!" I'm shaking with rage as I stare down at what has taken over my best friend. The Andy I know would never, EVER, have hurt a biblood he was sparring with! He would always hold back just enough that they got a feel of his power to challenge themselves, but he saved his true power for the missions. I'm definitely going to find out what's wrong, this isn't like him!

Andy stares at me with cold eyes that were just filled with emotion until just before the sparring. Poor Cassidy had to fight this? That girl is certainly something special. I remember how she wouldn't let me stop the fight, but I'm glad I did in the end. From the looks of things, she could have been seriously injured!

I think back, but all I can remember is the four of us teasing him like usual. "There's nothing wrong with me. I'm just doing what I set out to do in the beginning when I brought Cas here. Now, are you going to help me figure out her powers or not?" I don't answer, but instead I stare at him hoping that at any minute, he'll apologize for being a jerk. Andy sighs and stands up.

"If you're not going to help me, then I'll just head back to the office and read over the records myself. See you," Andy starts to make his way towards the doors of the gym, but as if I'd let him escape! I use my ability to create a barrier of fire all arounds us, blocking any means of escape for the both of us until this is solved. "There, that should do it!"

Andy raises an eyebrow. "That should do what? Flare, stop being foolish." I start shaking with anger and I can feel my flames pouring out of every part of my body. "Stop being FOOLISH?! Why don't you try telling YOURSELF that?! For goodness sake, the girl was crying, when she left Andy! CRYING! You drove her to tears!" That's when I feel my own tears start rolling down my cheeks, and I start to sob as I think back to the stab wounds on Cassidy's body.

"Tell me, and be honest, have you ever seen her cry before today?" I look up  to see Andy with a shocked expression on his face. For a second he's speechless then he answers me. "Never. From the moment all of this began, she has never shed a single tear, when most people would be crying non stop."

I wipe away my tears with my hands. "I knew it. That girl really is something else." Andy half smiles, and I sigh, relieved, as the emotion starts coming back into his eyes. He then has a look of regret, as he covers his face with his right hand and sighs. He then slowly sinks to the ground in shame, and that's when it hits me.

There was a time when Andy went emotionless just like this back when we just became friends. At that time the four of us were so scared because we barely knew the guy and all of a sudden he had changed. When Andy does this, it's because he does not want to get his personal feelings involved with the work he's doing, particularly when it comes to people he's becoming close to. To him, this is the only way that he can make rational judgements. Back then, it took all four of us to corner him until he spilled the beans and told us about the first dangerous mission the five of us would be undertaking together, that we may not all survive it.

This, of course, resulted in two slaps and two punches from all four of us. I still remember his shocked expression at the time when we did this. The four of us called him stupid; we told him that what he was doing was the wrong way to go about it. There was no need for him to separate his feelings because he wouldn't be making all the decisions alone. The five of us would be going on the mission together, so the decision making would be done by all five of us, together.

"I'm sorry," Andy says softly, then he starts laughing. "What's wrong?" I look at him confused.

"I did it again, didn't I?" I smile and roll my eyes at him. "Yeah, you did. You're such an idiot. How was anything you did in that spar rational?" I start laughing myself, and sink down to sit on the floor beside him. He raises an eyebrow at me. "What, did I scare you, Miss Fury?"He has always called me by this nickname ever since we met, and I will admit that I do tend to flame up pretty easily. "You did actually, sir," I answer honestly, while glaring at him.

He sighs and shakes his head. "I'm sorry, Flare. I didn't mean to go that far," He sighs again. I nudge him in the leg with the tip of my sneaker playfully. "Hey, I'm not the one you need to apologize to. So, you want to tell me what the reason was this time?" I ask as I turn off my barrier, letting us both cool off.

He looks down guilty. "I know, and yeah I'll tell you," He hesitates before he continues. "Go on," I nudge him with my shoe again, and he exhales a breath to start explaining.

"She doesn't deserve this, Flare!" He exclaims, as he throws his hands up in exasperation. I blink a few times as I process this outburst. All I can think to say in response is, "Andy, none of us deserve this! We didn't have a choice! We were all born into this, Cassidy included!" He holds up a hand to stop me so he can explain.

"I know, but that's not what I meant. What I meant was, she doesn't deserve it this way," I raise an eyebrow that says, And what does that mean, but I let him continue. "You saw her today, Flare. She's just a rookie, but the way she used her ability...it was like a pro!" I nod as I think back, remembering how naturally Cassidy had drawn out her ability.

"She's a smart girl, all that's missing is for her to be able to control it and she could be just as strong as us, maybe even stronger!"

"Wait, you mean to tell me that all of that," I wave my arms around to encompass the centre of the gym where they sparred, "That was you trying to help her?! You were trying to get her to control her ability?!" He looks down and I see his ears turning bright red. Hmm, looks like I'm going to have to play some match making. I mischievously smile inwardly.

"It seems like she's growing on me more than I thought," He mutters, but even though I could hear every word, I cup my hand around my ear, pretending I couldn't. "What was that? I couldn't hear you," I smile playfully and he playfully pushes my shoulder, rolling his eyes. "I know you're faking!"

I start laughing and he joins in, the both of us nudging each other like siblings. The five of us have been together for so long that we've formed a second family for each other and I was certain that Cassidy would fit right in.

"I'd better go apologize to Caterpillar," He half smiles as he rises off the ground, dusting off his training shorts. He turns and starts to make his way to the exit.

"Um, Andy?" I call after him and he turns around. He raises an eyebrow, confused. "What?" I point at his clothes, and he looks down noticing his burnt, ripped training clothes. "Ohh." I laugh. "You may want to change out of those clothes before doing anything! Oh, and you should give Cassidy some space for now. I'll talk to her."

He shakes his head, shooting me a half smile. "Girls."

I raise an eyebrow. "After what you did, who knows what she'll do to you with those powers! You do want to keep your Caterpillar, don't you?" He turns away, blushing again. This is pretty fun! I walk by Andy, and go to find Cassidy. Let's hope I'm not the next one Sky needs to heal!