NICKI POV
(A/N: It's going to stay on Nicki's POV this time. I may write several chapter in the perspectives of the same character so that it makes sense. Please be understanding! Thank you!)
I was running through a forest, chasing after someone. Who was I chasing even? Where even was I? Grass tickled my... bare?... feet and I panted, finally doubling over and gasping desperately for air.
"Nicki chan!!"
A girl with long, blue hair and freckles came running back, her smile as bright as the sun. I stared at her as really familiar heterochromatic eyes stare into my deep purple ones.
"M-Michael?"
He giggled.
"Shi no namae ha Mikaeru deha na ku Mikaera desu! Na ze eigo o hanasu no? (My name is Michaela, not Michael! Why are you speaking English?)"
"Why are you speaking Japanese!?" I yelled.
"Ana ta ha oroka desu! Oboe tena into? Watashitachi ha nihon ni sumi nde i ru node, na ze shi ha nihongo o wa sana ino deshouka! (You're silly! Don't you remember? We live in Japan, so why wouldn't I be speaking Japanese?)"
"Ā... Sōda ne... (Oh... Right...)" I replied uneasily.
"Ohhh, you practicing?" He chirped.
"Uh sure," I said with a tense smile. "Michael..."
"MichaelA," He said, emphasizing the ah.
"Michaela, why are you a girl?"
He cocked her head at me.
"Always been girl! How you speak so well English?" She pouted. "No fair!"
"But you speak English fluently too! What's going on?"
She grinned happily, looking so unlike the Michael (or Michaela) I know. So happy and cheerful, not cold and serious.
"Dunno! Let's play hide seek!
"Oh... sure!"
One game of hide and seek isn't going to hurt anyone, even in this dream.
Right?
"'Kay then! I hide!"
She ran off and I can't help but smile. 'She kind of reminds me of Natasha... so carefree and joyful.' I decided to humor her and cover my eyes.
"Now what are you doing?!"
I whirled around, seeing the now present Michael. Hair now short, dirt covering his (her?) features, but a smile gracing his usually scowling lips. I felt something brush against my leg, seeing... a mini me? Maybe me when I was four, five? Running off, laughing.
"Who is she?"
Michael faced me, giving me a little quirky sort of smirk.
"Don't you already know?" He smiled sweetly at me. "That's me."
"But you're a boy! You can't be a girl and a boy at the same time!" I protested, feeling confused.
"Can you?" He said quietly.
"But-But-"
"Ssshhh, no need for you to worry yourself. You're smart. You'll figure everything out, won't you?"
I jolted awake and let out a groan as a stabbing pain assaulted my forehead. A dull ache resided in my wrist up to my shoulder as I sat up.
"You're awake!"
Rachel jumped up, beaming at me as I attempted to sit up. 'Where... am I again?'
"Whoa there Nicki. Don't try to get up too fast, okay? Take it easy."
Luke hovered over me and I grinned up at him, feeling a little bit dazed and just... fuzzy.
"Hey Luke."
"Do you remember anything? What's your name?"
"Nicholas Kaito Whyte," I said instantly.
"Tell me your siblings in order."
"Raina, Matt, Sammy, Sarah, Caleb, Arianna, then me, Nathan, and Natasha."
"How many fingers am I holding up?"
"Gee I don't know, twenty six," I said sarcastically.
"Be serious."
"Eight," I replied with a yawn of boredom.
"Okay then, you passed the "don't-have-a-concussion" test," He said with a sigh of relief.
"Great, can I sit up now?"
"Sure."
I eased myself up to an upright, sitting position, looking around curiously. Rachel caught my slightly confused look.
"We're at some cave. Michael said he's been living here since he came here and it wasn't far away, so we-"
"We dragged your heavy a** here," Michael said, expelling a fine line of smoke from his lips, a cigarette in between his fingers.
I wrinkled my nose, coughing a bit at the smell.
"Ugh, how do people inhale that stuff? Smells disgusting."
"Because some of us have more stress that has to do with getting mugged and finding food rather than getting a b on a test," Michael snapped. "It helps me. F*** off."
"Someone woke up grumpy," Luke teased.
"If you don't want me to snap your neck into tiny little pieces, then shut up Tanea."
I rolled my eyes at the two bickering and looked at my bandaged arm. When I tried to move more of my wrist, I hissed when it sent a whole lightning bolt of pain right up my arm.
"Holy MEGABYTES, that hurts!" I gritted out.
"Oh yeah, don't move that. It's more sprained and bruised than anything, but don't agitate it."
I chuckled to myself.
"At least it's my left hand and not my right."
Then the events of what happened just came rushing back in a huge flood. Us making our way to the building, Rachel and Luke gaining two new powers, fighting those soldiers, then Luke and I chasing after that van containing my brother. My stomach clenched.
"Wait, what happened? Did you guys find my brother? You guys rescued him right? He's just-"
"Nicki," Rachel said, voice soothing. "I'm really really REALLY sorry... but Michael and I were fighting off the guards and Luke was concerned that you might've gotten really injured. He just couldn't leave you in the street and we were already attracting attention since he was sort of flying in the air. We couldn't get to the van in time."
"Are you saying you abandoned him?!" I yelled, on my feet.
Rachel looked near tears.
"No Nicki, we just-"
"You abandoned my BROTHER! MY NII-CHAN! THE ONE THING THAT COULD BRING MY FAMILY BACK TOGETHER FINALLY AND STOP MY PARENTS FROM GETTING A DIVORCE AND YOU-YOU-"
"Whoa whoa whoa, your parents are getting a divorce?" Luke said quietly.
I stopped, realizing my words. I shakily exhaled.
"O-once Caleb had disappeared, Tou-san and Kaa-san got into a huge fight. Then a few weeks later, they told us that they were going to get a divorce and "separate on mutual terms". Do you know how bad that tore me up inside? How much that tore my other nii-chans and nii-sans?! My sister Raina, the oldest of us all, was sobbing. She's the STRONGEST of all of us and she was bawling her eyes out. Now, Tou-san's in Japan and Kaa-san is here and I KNOW they love each other I just do okay? I need Caleb so that the divorce doesn't go through. It'll help them and-"
"Nicki, slow down. You're ranting in Japanese," Michael said, voice surprisingly soft and very kind.
I took a deep breath and my fingers automatically curled into fists.
"You don't know how much I want Caleb. I want to fix my family, okay? And you guys just LET THE VAN GO!"
"Nicki, stop being unreasonable!" Luke yelled back. "We tried our best! Do you think I was going to let you stay there on the streets and get run over by some car? I'm your best friend, Rachel's like your sister and Michael- well, we'll get back to that BUT STOP YELLING AT US! WE WANTED TO HELP, OKAY?"
"THEN YOU WOULD'VE GONE AFTER THE VAN!"
"YOU SHOULD'VE MENTIONED YOUR PARENTS WERE DIVORCING!"
"YOU WOULDN'T HAVE UNDERSTOOD! NONE OF YOU KNOW WHAT IT'S LIKE TO SEE THAT, WATCH YOUR FAMILY SLOWLY BREAKING INTO PIECES AND BASICALLY HAVING A FAMILY MEMBER DIE! WE HAD A FUNERAL, OKAY? THEY THINK THAT CALEB IS GONE! DEAD! SO JUST STOP OKAY? YOU GUYS DON'T KNOW WHAT IT'S LIKE-"
Slap! I touched my now stinging cheek, gaping at Michael. He had tears in his eyes as well, lips twisted into a snarl.
"Don't. You. DARE. Say. That." He pointed a finger at my chest. "Just because they haven't lost a family member doesn't give you the right to blame them for a mistake that was actually your fault."
I scoffed at him.
"My fault?"
"If you hadn't just jumped in there like a d*** maniac then we could've easily snuck in there if you stayed with me! Or if we waited, we would've been able to attack the truck together where there wasn't as many people, so don't blame Tanea, Rachel, or me. Blame it on yourself."
"Michael!" Rachel protested.
"Stay out of this," he growled.
We locked intense glares on each other.
"You don't even have a family. You wouldn't know how I feel right now!" I snapped.
"Rub it in my face, why don't you? I've gotten over the fact that I wanted a family to love me! But..." his voice cracked and got quiet. "I had a family of my own. And not that you even care, but the only reason I even helped you WAS BECAUSE THEY ASKED ME TO! I didn't want to help you, okay? You don't know me, or my problems, or what actual living hell I'm living and trapped inside of!! So don't you DARE say that I've never had a family that I didn't hold dear to me. And if I ever hear those words that "You don't know how I feel" ever out of your mouth again, you better be ready for the fight of the century."
I was stunned into silence as a single tear made its way down his cheek. His lower lip trembled.
"Michael, I'm really sorry. I didn't know-"
"Don't apologize to me," He snapped. "Apologize to someone who gives a sh**."
He stormed off and I turned to Rachel and Luke.
"Guys, I'm sorry. He's right I shouldn't have just said that."
"It's alright," Rachel soothed. "You're going through a tough time."
"Agreed. And we're going to help you get through it and get your brother back, okay?" Luke said firmly.
"You guys are awesome," I said with a grin.
"Of course we are," Luke bragged.
I laughed along with Rachel. If I'd been paying more attention though, I would've seen Michael peeking in on us and smiling.