After my fight with Braxton, I spent the remainder of the week cycling between training, mastering my powers and studying for exams. We were heading towards the end of the month and the beginning of May which meant that the ACT was coming up (despite living in a superhuman society, things like the ACT and college still mattered. Weird right?). Between mock tests, last minute assignments and my growing relationship with Yasmine, I was up to my neck in stress. In order to help me better prepare for the ACT (as test taking was my weak point) Yasmine, Becky and Ashley formed a study group with me where we'd go over different materials and each of them would take turns quizzing me on the different subjects of the ACT. My mastery of my powers was slow but I was starting to see results. In the following days I had managed to consistently fire off psionic blasts of energy that were red in color. These blasts could either be fired from my hands or in a concentrated beam from my chest with the latter using up a lot of my stamina and leaving me tired. Another development was my respective relationships with Kato and Braxton. While he wasn't as hostile towards me as before, Kato would still verbally antagonize me when he had the chance but our fight had shown him that I wasn't as weak as he thought. However, it was clear that he suspected something about me. During gym I would catch him watching me, trying to figure out how he exactly lost to me or if I was hiding something. I ignored him most of the time but I was careful not to do anything too flashy that would deepen his suspicion of me. With Braxton, our friendship was becoming rocky. Whereas we used to partner up during gym, now he actively avoided me and worked out on his own. I would find him behind the school trying to perfect some new move or having a mock battle against other students. He was actively pushing him to get stronger than me and it made me uneasy. Despite that, I was still in good spirits because today was Saturday, my date with Yasmine. Originally, we were supposed to go out to eat at a Tex-Mex restaurant but since ACTs were coming up Yasmine had opted for me to come to her house and order takeout while we studied together. Since we weren't going out I decided to just throw on a pair of joggers, a T-shirt with Japanese kanji across the front and a light-wash denim jacket so that I could be comfortable. My phone buzzed and I saw that Yasmine had texted me.
So my mom and the twins are here. Is that okay?
Ignoring my bubbling anxiety, I sent a short reply letting her know that I was fine with that.
I've gotta meet your mom eventually, I responded. No better time than the present, right?
Yasmine read the message but didn't respond which made me worry but I stifled it and headed downstairs to throw on my shoes and head out.
"Going somewhere, young man?" My mom's voice called from the kitchen.
"Studying with Yasmine!" I said back, slipping on my Jordans. "She invited me to her house."
"Don't make me a grandmother too early, Josiah," Mom teased.
I felt my face heat up and my mind immediately flashed to the dream I'd had about Yasmine last night. It had been one of those dreams (and you know exactly what kind of dream I'm talking about) and I had spent the remainder of the night washing my sheets before heading back to bed.
"Not funny, mom!" I shouted before heading out the door.
Based on the directions that she had given me, Yasmine was a twenty minute walk from where I lived which wasn't too bad of a distance. I shot her a quick text to let her know that I was on my way and proceeded to walk down the block towards her house. The weather was fairly cool and sunny since we were in the beginning of autumn and the kids of the neighborhood were playing tag, drawing on the sidewalk with chalk or just relaxing as the colored leaves of fall littered the ground. The girls on the block were playing double Dutch while the old folks sat on the porch and watched, telling jokes and retelling stories from their youth about when they first got their powers.
"Aye yo, Josiah!" One of the elders, Mr Heathers, called out. "How's the family? Tell your dad I said I need my car pulled out the garage. My battery died."
I chuckled. "I'll let him know, Mr Heathers!"
I waved and continued with my walk to Yasmine's house, finally arriving at a large brickwork house that I recognized as the oldest house on the block. It had belonged to a man who could levitate but he had died of old age and left the house to whoever wanted it. Guess Yasmine and her family had been the ones to move in.
"You're here!"
Before I could react I was assaulted by a mass of brown curly hair and wrapped in a tight hug. The owner of the hair was none other than Yasmine, a giant smile plastered on her face as she stared up at me. Yasmine smiled a lot but I had noticed that she tended to smile more when she was around me and it made my heart feel funny. She truly enjoyed being around me or seeing me and I....I felt the same.
Am I falling for her?
"You look nice," Yasmine commented, pulling on my jacket. "Might have to steal this from you."
I chuckled and scanned her up and down. She had on a pair of heather grey biker shorts, a white T-shirt and a pair of white Air Force 1 low tops. The outfit coupled with her hair, was making me remember the dream that had the previous night and I quickly had to shift my mind to other thoughts before I got a bit too excited.
"You look good too," I said, trying to keep the embarrassment out of my voice. "Really...good."
Yasmine smirked, obviously taking note that her outfit was doing wonders for my imagination, but didn't say anything and instead led me inside her house. We took our shoes off at the door then headed into the living room where her mom and twin siblings sat on the couch watching tv. Zachariah and Kennedy were identical twins with the same curly brown hair as Yasmine, milk chocolate skin and the same cognac brown eyes as well. Zachariah's hair was pulled into a loose topknot while Kennedy had her hair styled into two puffy ponytails. Both wore matching jogging suits which I thought was very cute and matching Jordans. Kennedy slid off the couch and ran towards me, wrapping around my leg with a tight hug. I had spent a fair amount of time talking to her on FaceTime whenever Yasmine called and she was just as affectionate as her older sister. She liked giving people hugs, even if she barely knew who they were. Zachariah on the other hand was very reserved and preferred to get comfortable with a person before being affectionate. He did give me a polite wave from his seat on the couch before returning his attention to the tv. I patted Kennedy on the head before turning my attention to Yasmine's mom who had been patiently watching me interact with both her daughters. Mrs Knight was what I assumed Yasmine would look like the older she got. Mrs Knight was just as beautiful as her oldest daughter with just a slightly lighter skin tone than her children. Her eyes were tawny like those of a lioness, her dark brown hair styled into Ghana braids that reached the middle of her back. She was dressed in jeans, a grey long sleeve shirt and black slip on shoes. I noticed she had her wedding band on a gold chain around her neck.
"Hi, Mrs Knight, I'm Josiah Smith. Yasmine's friend," I said, extending my hand for a handshake.
Mrs Knight shook my hand, a smile playing on her lips. "Yasmine talks about you a lot and I can see why."
I glanced at Yasmine who was blushing furiously and purposely avoiding my gaze before returning my attention to Mrs Knight. Her expression seemed curious before she returned it to one of polite interest. She was now standing and I could see that she was around the same height as her daughter if not shorter.
"Feel free to call me Janelle or mom," Mrs Knight said, patting my arm. "I have a feeling you'll be sticking around."
"Mama!" Yasmine exclaimed. "Could you not?!"
Mrs Knight laughed heartily. "Girl, I'm just being honest. He seems like a good young man and I can tell you two are close."
Yasmine fumed from embarrassment and gave her mom a glare that would cut a rock in half. Mrs Knight rolled her eyes at her daughter before looking back at me, staring at me intently like she was picking me apart. She tilted her head, eyes narrowing slightly as her hand remained on my arm.
"Yasmine would you mind going upstairs with the twins. I'd like to speak to Josiah privately," Mrs Knight said finally.
There was a finality in her tone that sent a chill up my spine and made my anxiety return. Yasmine glanced between her mom and I. She opened her mouth to rebuttal but Mrs Knight shot her a sharp glance that left no room for argument. I was helpless as Yasmine scooped up the twins and took them upstairs, disappearing around the corner. Mrs Knight made sure that Yasmine was out of earshot before speaking to me in a calm yet methodical voice.
"How long do you intend to lie to my daughter?" She asked.
I widened my eyes in shock momentarily then tried to fix my face in neutral expression. Mrs Knight wasn't fooled though and took a step closer to me, her tawny eyes narrowed in suspicion.
"My ability lets me find out other people's power through touch," Mrs Knight explained, her voice calm but steely. "When we shook hands I used my ability to see what your power was since Yasmine told me you were a gamma."
Uh-oh.
I swallowed the lump that had formed in my throat and tried to think of ways to divert the direction of the conversation. Out of all the abilities she could've awakened it just had to be an ability that could detect other abilities. I was cornered and I could feel my stress rising as she took a step closer to me and continued her explanation. It was taking every ounce of my mental willpower to keep my powers from going haywire.
Stay calm. Stay calm and breathe.
"For you to be a gamma, you radiate the power of an omega. When I touched you, your power came back as tactile telekinesis. Based on how powerful your aura is, I'd say your power is practically bottomless in terms of its potential. So I'll ask you again. Why are you deceiving my daughter?"
Busted. Now what?
I wracked my brain trying to think of a believable explanation that would get her to trust me. I had my reasons for keeping Yasmine in the dark and it definitely made me feel some type of way that I was essentially lying. But I had to lie. I couldn't afford to have too many people know about my real powers because of how dangerous it could be for me. Taking a deep breath, I looked Yasmine's mother eye to eye.
"I'm sorry for lying to Yasmine but my reasons for doing so are personal," I said as calm as I could. "There was an incident in my past where someone I trusted revealed my powers and it forced my family and I to move here to Charter, Illinois."
Mrs Knight tilted her head but didn't say anything so I continued.
"I have to be sure that I can trust Yasmine not to turn on me like the person from my past. I also don't have full control over my powers yet," I explained. "Currently I can only draw out fifteen percent of my full power but even that causes strain to my body."
Mrs Knight nodded in understanding. "So you're waiting until you can trust her without a doubt and have full control over your powers before you tell her the truth."
"Yes," I sighed. "I know it's not right but.... I care about Yasmine a lot. And I don't wanna ruin our friendship too soon if she finds out the truth when I'm not ready for her to find out."
Mrs Knight eyed me. Her stare didn't reveal much and I could feel my body heating up from how nervous I was becoming under her tawny gaze. It felt like an eternity had passed before she finally spoke.
"Alright. I'm gonna go out on a limb and put my trust in you," she said, eerily echoing her daughter's words to me during our first phone call.
"However," she continued, jabbing her finger into my chest. "Promise me something."
I nodded. "Anything."
Mrs Knight looked at me with an expression that I couldn't quite read before speaking.
"Protect my daughter. Whether it's as a friend or her potential boyfriend. Keep her safe."
Her tone left no room for argument. I felt the weight behind her words and although I felt nervous, I nodded my head.
"I promise."