Jordi's POV:

"I thought for sure he'd follow me." I frown and glance around again, searching anxiously for my brother in the crowd of faces milling around the plaza.

"I'm sure he's somewhere around here. He doesn't give me any credit on being a good human being, so he wouldn't leave you alone with me."

"They sure don't let you leave the academy an idiot, do they?" Raori and I both spin around to face an elderly man with a sour disposition.

"Pardon me, sir?" Raori is obviously taken aback and ridiculously confused.

The old man chuckles wryly and leans on his cane. "Or maybe they do."

Raori narrows his eyes at the back of the man's head as he approaches me and reaches for my arm.

"Young lady, thank you for helping a poor old man around." He offers me a toothy grin.

"No problem, sir." I lower my voice and start walking, with the man hanging off my arm and Raori trailing us hesitantly. "Beorn, what are you doing?!"

Beorn's normal voice returns, sounding more than odd in the body of a man who looks at least eighty-five. "Calm down, Jordi. You look like I'm holding you hostage at gunpoint. Act natural."

"Says the man using a twenty year old's voice in a ninety year old body."

"Respect your elders, missy!" He chuckles before continuing. "Anyway, what's this I hear about you moving in with the boy?"

"Don't worry, Pops. You get to come with me." I pat his back, mocking him.

"Like hell I will! I was born in that nursing home and I'll die in that nursing home!" He draws a few stray looks, which I settle with a classic;

"I'm so sorry. He has dementia. He just isn't the same anymore." Fake snivelling, daintily dab at the eyes... BOOM. Looks of disgust and disdain turned to pity and sympathy.

Beorn continues as if nothing happened. "But seriously, why aren't we just going back to your house?"

I look him straight in the eye and pull up memories of seeing my house surrounded by men in bulletproof armor and helmets.

"Oh."

"Yes, oh. Especially since you're the one who saw them in the first place."

Raori comes up in between the two of us. "Okay, change of plans, we're going to have to stop in at the family house."

"Why? Is something wrong?" I look back to Raori with concern.

"I may have forgotten to delete some special footage...my dad says I need to come home now. It could be nothing, but I have a bad feeling." He slips what looks like a phone back into his pocket.

Beorn laughs. "Amateur."

I smack him in the arm before returning my attention to Raori. "Well then, I guess we know where we're heading now."

Raori nods and crosses the path, taking a shortcut through a park. We walk in silence for another few moments before we reach a familiar street.

Time to get ready to face the music.

Raori rests his hand on one side of the door, turning to face me and Beorn.

"You two should probably stay out here."

Beorn laughs loudly. "But I want to see you get in trouble, sonny boy."

I turn my head and narrow my eyes at Beorn. "Cut it out."

He sighs and nods.

"If you two want, you can stand in the entryway to stay mostly out of the way." We nod as he opens the door, following him in.

The house is silent except for the quiet creaking of the floor as Graham approaches us. I quickly make myself disappear, turning to see that Beorn has too.

Graham flexes his jaw before addressing his son. "Raori, we need to talk." His son nods solemnly. Graham turns to near where I'm standing. "Morgan, you too. And the young man behind you." I slowly release the illusion and step forward, my head hanging low in shame.

Graham leads us into the living room, where the entire Albreight family is gathered. The twins purposely look away, and I feel hot tears prick the back of my eyes.

All alone...

I feel a hand on my back and realize Raori's trying to comfort me. I feel a small smile flicker to life on my face.

Thank you.

His face mirrors mine, lit up with a small smile in a room full of scowls.

You....you...are...v...verywel...very...welcome.

Graham sits on a recliner with a heavy sigh, gesturing to a thin screen laying on the coffee table.

"Explanation, son?"

Raori opens his mouth and starts to say something, but I muddle his thoughts and he stays silent.

"Sir, I'm so sorry. This is all my fault. Your son just got caught up in it. Please don't be upset with him. He was just trying to do right by me and my brother." I gesture behind me to my brother, who's angrily staring down the ground.

"Young lady, is your name even Morgan?"

"No, sir. It's not." I let out a quiet sigh as my head sinks lower.

"Then what is it, if I may ask?"

"Jordian. Jordi for short."

His face screws up into a look of pure anger. "No. My wife's name is Jordan. I want your name."

Raori steps in and defends me, somehow having cleared his thoughts. "Her name is Jordian. She wasn't lying. She has an accent, dad. That doesn't mean she's stupid and can't understand you."

"You stay out of this!" He angrily snaps at his son, who takes a step back. "Why is my son part of this now?"

"He...he wasn't supposed to be. He just ended up in the middle of it. I've tried to get him out of it, believe me. One family being hurt by this is enough. Two is unnecessary." I blink repeatedly to kept tears from spilling over.

Out of the corner of my eye, I see Jordan Albreight's face flicker with sympathy before hardening back up.

"Why are you a part of this to begin with, Jordian?"

I take a deep breath and let down my façade of Morgan, earning a few quiet gasps. "My brother... he escaped from a testing facility. He came to me for help a few days ago. Then, the next day, your son came looking for him, me, or sightings of either of us."

Graham turns to Beorn. "What region were you in?"

"D, sir." Beorn's jaw tics.

"What were you in for?"

This.

From the shocked looks around the room, I can tell it wasn't just me that heard Beorn in their minds.

The bouquet of flowers in the vase on the table floats into the air, weaving itself into a crown and floating onto Irene's head. She looks at Beorn in shock, who simply nods and offers her a smile.

Leave it to Beorn to flirt with the daughter of a man who might turn us in.

"What's your name, son?"

"Beorn." He lets a hint of his accent slip through in his voice, making Irene blush. I shut my eyes for a second and resist the urge to smack my brother upside the head.

"Well, Beorn, we know you have special...abilities. What about you, Jordi?"

"I do too. They're just weaker and I don't like to use them as much."

Graham nods and walks back to his chair, grabbing the screen and swiping through several stills of footage. "So, Raori. You let the sister of an escapee into our house, and you're also in a romantic relationship with her."

"No, sir."

"Really? Then please, tell me what I've gotten incorrect."

"We aren't in a relationship."

"Really?" Graham raises an eyebrow and flicks his eyes between Raori and I, making Raori shift his weight uncomfortably. I hear quiet laughs from all the Albreight's except for Raori and Graham.

Beorn takes the opportunity to butt in. "They really aren't. I'll make sure your son ends up in no such relationship with my sister."

Graham raises an eyebrow at Beorn now. "So you flirting with one of my daughters is okay, but my son having a relationship with your sister isn't?  Despite the fact that he has put everything on the line for you two?"

Beorn goes silent, working over Graham's words. "You have a point there, sir."

Graham sighs and gets up again, walking up to his son and resting his hands on his shoulders. "We aren't upset at you anymore, understand?"

"Yes sir."

"We'd just like to know when our son is committing multiple felony offenses, so that we're prepared."

"Okay."

"Just one more thing...do you trust these two?"

"Yes."

I'm moderately surprised he didn't even hesitate or glance back at Beorn before he answered.

"Alright then. I'll delete the footage. In the meantime, I'm guessing you're all going to need someplace to stay for a while?"

I nod and force a smile. "Thank you, sir."

He waves me off. "Don't pretend everything's just done back to normal. I know it hasn't." His eyes flicker between the three of us. "Unfortunately, we only have two guest rooms."

Raori's face quickly starts to look panicked. Whether it's the thought of having to stay alone in a room with me for an undetermined amount of time or the fact that he'll have to deal with my brother during that time, I don't know which is panicking him.

"But we used to have two guest rooms even before I moved out!"

"Well, one of them is Dodge's room now. We still have two guest rooms."

"Dad, there are three of us!" Raori gestures frantically between all of us. "What about Dodge's old room?"

"It's Irene's room now. Moving Dodge into one of the guest rooms let her move back in so she could go to school nearby and not have to pay for a room."

Raori sighs and runs his hands through his hair, pulling it back straight against his head and messing it up. "But dad..."

"Sorry. Two of you will just have to share."

I'm not even Raori, and I'm picking up the signals his dad is putting out. Honestly, I'm starting to think they really do still have a third guest room, but Graham is just trying to help his son get the girl.

I bite my lip and pinch the bridge of my nose, trying to ignore a light headache.

Raori, your dad is trying to help you out.

I feel flashes of confusion, apprehension, and anxiety.

How..?

I take a deep breath, inwardly cringing as a spike of pain radiates from the base of my skull.

He's trying to get you and me to share a room.

I feel as his mind races, mentally testing how to continue on.

Would...would that be okay?

I break away and look at him, nodding slightly once I have his attention.

He sighs anxiously but definitely looks less nervous. "Jordi, would you mind sharing a room with me?" Beorn opens his mouth as if to say something, then stops himself and closes it again.

I shake my head. "No. That's okay."

He nods and smiles, grabbing the bags and starting up the stairs with them.

Obviously pleased with the outcome of the situation, Graham returns to his chair and a book he must have been reading.

I turn back toward the staircase and see Beorn stooped over, holding something. He stands straight and I catch a glimpse of tan synthetic fur.

My bear. It fell out when Raori took the bags upstairs.

Beorn walks over to me and hands it over. I gladly grab it, tucking the fluffy toy under my arm.

"Don't do anything I wouldn't do, okay?" Beorn's face holds an unprecedented look of genuine concern.

"Alright, but that really isn't saying much."

He rolls his eyes. "You know what I meant. Just be my regular, more responsible younger sister."

"Well, in case you didn't notice, that is regular me."

"Yeah. Anyway, you'd better go get situated in your new room." Beorn lowers his voice. "Make sure you get the top bunk. I hear he wets the bed."

I roll my eyes and punch him in the arm. "You're really a jerk."

"Yep, I know. But you really should go and meet up with your boyfriend. I'm sure he misses you already." Beorn mocks me and pats me on the back.

"Be quiet and go talk to Irene." I push him in the direction of the girl and her sister, then jog up the stairs and glance around for signs of Raori.

Suddunly, he appears from around the corner of the doorway I was standing in, running into me but stopping me from falling.

"Sorry about that. I was just about to come downstairs and get you." He smiles a little and takes a step to one side, clearing enough walkway space for me to get past him.

"Here's your new room, AKA my old room, AKA...well, that's actually all I've really got."

A small smile makes its way onto my faca and I nod. "I call top bunk." I jokingly call out to Raori as he goes off into an offbranching room before returning with a stack of extra sheets and a pillow.

"That's fine. I just gotta get this set up..." He flings a blanket down onto the floor, cushioning it with another one before tossing the pillow down and sitting down, leaning against the side of the bed.

I lean over the edge of the bed, my hair swishing against his head as I look down at him with curiosity. "What are you doing?"

He tips his head up to look at me. "Making my bed."

"No. You're not sleeping on the floor. Get up."

Raori laughs and crosses his arms. "Why?"

"I'm going to ruin your excuse for a mattress, because you're sleeping on your bed." I push myself off of the bed and wrap my hands around as much of the blankets as I can, heaving in a failed attempt to pull the blankets out from under him.

"Stop it, will you?" Raori laughs and pushes my hands away from the blankets. "You're the guest, you get the nice bed."

"Which is your bed."

"I got to sleep on that bed for most of my life. It won't hurt me to sleep on the floor for a few nights."

"Just get up." I sigh dramatically and flop to the floor.

The sound of Beorn clearing his throat draws our attention to the doorway.

"Pardon me, I couldn't help but notice that you insist on being a chivalrous sissy. Just sleep on the same bed. No one's saying that you need to do anything together." He shoots Raori an intimidating glare. "Nor is anyone recommending anything."

Raori rolls his eyes and nods. "Thank you for the input." He stands and shuts the door as my brother walks off.

"Your brother needs to take his evil eye down a notch."

I offer a sheepish grin and lay against the ball of crumpled blankets, folding my hands behind my head.

"You're going to sleep on your bed, no matter what. It's. Your. Bed."

He sighs and pinches the bridge of his nose. "Women are so stubborn."

"Yes we are, but I really don't think you have merit to comment, Mr. I-Have-To-Help-The-Total-Stranger-Girl-Who's-Also-A-Fugitive."

He pauses, his shoulders dropping just a little in resignation. "Touché"

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