Continued. . . .

It all falls into place as he steps out into the room.

His closed off and hesitant attitude whenever either Dravin or MidKnight are part of a conversation topic, the way he defends MidKnight, or even Dravin whenever someone mentions something offensive about them.

Of course. He's known all along.

Zack walks towards Dravin and Riley, and like Riley, he doesn't seem to notice me. Though, unlike with Riley, I get the feeling he doesn't actually know I'm here. "I came as soon as I could escape. You wouldn't believe how hard it is to evade both my mom and-Oh!" His gaze suddenly snaps over to me, a bewildered and surprised expression falling across his face as his steps come to an abrupt standstill.

"Uh, hey, Heavyn. Um-how. . . What?" He blinks, holding his hand up in a small wave. He looks nervously between Dravin and I. "Fancy seeing you here." He chuckles awkwardly, looking away as he rubs the back of his neck.

Dravin blows a irritated breath out, tilting his head back to look at the ceiling. "Let's just make it a freakin' party why don't we?"

Zack hesitantly walks over to Dravin and Riley, still staring at me like he can't believe I'm actually here. "Um, guys. You are seeing this right? She's here. Standing in your secret basement, staring at us while you're-" He looks Dravin over. "Shirtless and bleeding?" It comes out more as a question then a statement.

He raises an eyebrow at the state Dravin's in, letting a low whistle out. "Damn, they got you good," he says, looking over his bloodied upper body. Dravin scowls, looking like he'd punch Zack if he was closer and he wasn't looking like he's about to pass out.

"You don't say?"

Zack's gaze moves back to me. "But seriously, how'd she get here?" He blinks, moving his glasses further up his nose. "And she knows?"

Obviously.

Riley seems to almost chuckle at the questions, back to moving around as he seems to gather a few items up. Dravin makes a sweltering face, glancing over at me. "Yeah, she knows. She's the one who helped me get back here." His gaze softens to almost gratitude. "I'd probably still be dying in an alley if it wasn't for her." He says so softly I almost don't hear him.

I smile inwardly to myself, that feeling of butterflies starting up in my stomach.

Realizing the lack of conversation in here is only intensifying, I perch myself on the edge of the seat on one of the chairs. "Zack, you've known about Dravin this whole time?" I question, raising an accusing eyebrow up at him looking between the two as I realize something else. "And you're friends?"

He slowly nods. "Yeah. I made friends with him when he first started attending school. Once I figured out his secret we decided to cut all ties whenever we're out in public." He splays his hands out. "You know, keeping his identity secret and all that," he shrugs, crossing his arms over his chest.

"And now you're bleeding all over the floor," Riley butts in, appearing a bit miffed now as he stares down at the large puddle directly under Dravin. Dravin raises his less injured hand up in defense. "I said I was sorry, Ry. I didn't have any other choice."

"Well, if only you'd stop being a jackass and wear a stupid vest-"

"Riley, I've already said-" Dravin abruptly breaks off as huge, body-shaking dry coughs, like the other day in school, begin to wrack his lungs, eyes closing in pain as he practically keels over in his seat, blood pooling even faster with the sudden movement.

Riley's face goes from hard and frustrated, to one of a concerned mother hen. He places a hand on Dravin's shoulder as he continues to cough those horrible sounding coughs that make my own chest hurt at the sound. Zack sets his jaw, stepping closer to Dravin as he hovers next to him protectively.

  Riley straightens up as Dravin finally regains control.

"Alright, clear out. I can't work in these conditions, and really, I don't think you guys exactly want to see me digging in layers of bloody skin and tissue for bullets!?"

Now Zack holds his hands up. "Okay, okay. We're going, Riley. You're the boss," he salutes Riley, who responds with an eye roll, stepping closer to Dravin. "Hey, man, get better. I'll see if I can make it over again tomorrow." They do one of those manly handshake things, a small smile on Dravin's, creased in pain, face.

"I assume you've already got the cover story ready for the aunt?" Zack questions, stepping back. Dravin nods. "Of course. Don't I always?" He cracks another smile, like it's some inward joke only they know, slowly rotating his left arm. "It looks like the flu got to me early this year," he shrugs like it's a terrible thing, and Zack grins.

Aunt? Flu?

"Wait," they all look over at me. "You expect to cover this," I motion to him, "up with the flu?"

Dravin raises an eyebrow. "Is there a problem with that?" He says slowly, making my hackles rise. I huff indigently, crossing my arms. "No. Not at all."

Only that this is much, much worse than the flu.

"Alright, if y'all are done now, please leave," Riley snaps, obviously getting fed up with all this talk. Zack smiles, patting Dravin one more time on the shoulder before waving a goodbye to Riley.

"Good luck. I'll see ya soon." He walks over to me, latching his hand around my arm and pulling me along with him towards the elevator. "I'll leave Heavyn in the lounge room."

"Hey, wait a moment. I'm not done!"

Zack ignores my complaints and half-hearted struggles, continuing to pull me along without a word.

I glance back towards Riley and Dravin. Dravin is in the middle of 'trying' to lay back while Riley pulls on a pair of rubber gloves, neither of them appearing to be very ecstatic about what's coming next.

Can't say I blame them.

I pull my arm away from Zack as the elevator doors shut. "Zack, he was my way of getting answers," I growl, suddenly feeling very irritated. Zack leans back against the wall, chill. "Relax, Heavyn. You'll get answers. Right now just isn't. . . appropriate I guess." He shrugs.

I scowl, but remain quiet.

Once the doors open, I follow Zack across the gym room towards the small lounge area set up in the corner of the room. He motions towards the sofa, and I plop down on the edge, arms still folded.

"I can feel the waves of hostility running off you."

"You should."

Zack sighs, running his hand through his short hair. "Look, Heavyn. It's not like I didn't want to tell you about Dravin. I couldn't." He stands a few feet in front of me. "How do I, even now, know you're going to keep his secret anyway?"

I gesture around me. "I don't see any cops or reporters around."

"You know what I mean."

I clinch my jaw. "I've already discussed this with Dravin. I'm not looking for a story," I lower my voice. "Not anymore."

His gaze significantly softens. "I believe you." I snap my eyes up to his, surprised. "You do?" He nods, shifting his feet. 

"And hey, uh, thanks for helping Dravin out. He doesn't have many people he can count on," he mumbles, rubbing his upper arm. I relax a little, feeling the fight and anger begin to drain out of me.

"Well, I'm not one to leave people hanging," I admit, feeling a smile tug on my lips despite myself.

"Already knew that," Zack says, a smile in his voice. "Glad to have you on our little team." He spreads his arms wide, making his voice deep like an announcer. I chuckle softly, realizing it's hard to stay mad at Zack long.

I blink as a sudden thought hits me.

"Zoey doesn't know, right?"

Zack's face falls slightly. "Uh, no." Now I raise an eyebrow. "And why not?" I dare him to answer, staring at him so hard he has to look away.

"Well, one, she has like a major crush on MidKnight, which is just, yuck. So no way. Two, Dravin likes to keep the amount of people that know about him to a minimum of, like, two. Zoey would blabber it to the whole world before she even realized she said anything."

I wince at that, fully aware that he's right.

"Alright, I suppose I see your reasoning for that." I cross my legs. "But how did you find out?"

He smiles coyly. "You remember when my sister got kidnapped last year?" I nod, recalling the story. "Well, let's just say it all wraps in with that."

I frown at his vague answer, opening my mouth to retaliate when a sudden beeping noise emits from his left wrist. He looks down, using his right hand to switch the alarm off.

"Welp, I've gotta go." He takes a step back. "If Mom, or worse, my sister and Dad, find out I left the building, they'll kill me themselves." He hesitates, not meeting my eyes.

"Thanks again, Heavyn."

He clears his throat. "But, uh, make yourself at home. They'll probably be out within the hour. I'm sure you won't be leaving until you see him again."

"You got that right."

He grins, waving. "Catch ya tomorrow at school."

Then he's disappearing down the flight of stairs, leaving me alone in the huge room with nothing to do.

*Time Skip*

"Well don't you just look at home?"

I glance up from the tv that's currently playing some reality tv show, taking in the now dressed in a fresh, long sleeve black t-shirt and grey sweats, Dravin as he stands to the left of the tv.

I raise an eyebrow. "I am rather comfy, actually." I sit up from my reclined position on the sofa, pulling my legs up so I sit Indian style. Dravin studies me from his spot, bright blue eyes seeming to see right through me.

Please tell me he doesn't have x-ray vision?

My mind transports me back to that night not too long ago; a warm body holding me close, glowing eyes staring down at me with so much intensity you could light a fire, a cloud of dust blowing out around from behind us, two hearts beating in synch-

I quickly pull my thoughts away from that horrible, yet exhilarating night, fully aware that my cheeks are probably a scalding pink now.

That, I know now, was Dravin.

I clear my throat, looking away. "So you going to take a seat, or just stand there like you're about to pass out?" Dravin raises an eyebrow, clearly noticing my sudden flustered behavior.

"Am I allowed?"

I snort. "It's your sofa. Do as you please."

Dravin waits three beats before slowly walking/limping the few feet towards the sofa. He carefully lowers himself down on the middle cushion a foot away from me, and I can't help but notice how his shirt hangs off his frame.

My mind once again flashes back to an hour ago; his bare upper-body.

I swallow, bringing my mind back to the present, but not before one thought filters to the front of my mind.

He looks skinnier than what would be considered healthy. . . Minus the whole muscular physique part.

Silence lapses between us, the tv the only background noise as we both stare at the screen. Now that I have him to myself, I can't seem to get my questions out of my mouth.

"Um, I'll get you a new jacket by the way." Dravin suddenly speaks up, shifting in his seat with a wince. "Riley threw yours away. It was beyond repair, sorry." I shrug, not really caring. "It's fine. It was just one of my random jackets I had laying round."

I see him frown from the corner of my eye before letting it go.

I let another minute or silence go between us before speaking the question that's been bothering me.

"You used yourself as a shield earlier this morning, why?"

Dravin looks confused. "Because it was the only thing I could do to keep innocent people from getting hurt."

"But you could've died - you almost did. Your identity could've been discovered."

His jaw tightens. "But those things didn't happen."

"But they could've."

He turns to looks at me. "Are you trying to irritate me?"

"I'm trying to understand."

"Yeah, well, join the party," he crosses his arms, but the tough charade is mildly upset as he winces again.

"Are you saying you don't care about your own health?" I question, an inkling of suspicion causing a hole of worry to open up as I think back on my hypothesis on him being too skinny.

He doesn't take care of himself.

Sure being a Celestial - a superhero, keeps you busy. But still, even combined with school and daily life he should still be able to keep up with his own maintenance.

"Are you trying to say you care about my wellbeing?"

I scowl. "Sue me."

"Maybe I will."

"I was being sarcastic."

"I wasn't."

We stare at each other, a mere foot of space between us. I catch a whiff of vanilla and pine needles, almost making me frown in confusion until I realize it's Dravin's natural cologne after remembering the smell from a few other close encounters with him.

Then a throat clears from behind us.

Both our necks turn so fast to the left Dravin sucks in a sharp inhale of pain. Riley stands a few feet behind the sofa, looking like he's just come from the 'secret' elevator from across the room.

This is embarrassing.

  "Am I interrupting something?" He questions, an amused smirk at the corner of his mouth as he looks between us both.

"Of course not," Dravin tells him, frowning. Riley nods, walking forward. "Ah yes, of course," he dryly says, obviously not believing him one bit. He walks around to the front of the sofa, eying me before sitting down on the other side of Dravin.

"What crappy show are you watching?" Riley gestures over to the tv, turning his head to face me with a, 'what were you thinking' expression splattered across his face.

I stare at his odd eyes a little too long, and he looks away, uncomfortable. He reaches into the front pocket of his jeans, pulling out a few of what look to be large paperclips.

Dravin silently observes Riley like he's looking for some sign only he knows.

"Um, yeah, sorry. I was too lazy to look for anything else." I shrug, leaning back against the sofa. I peer a little closer at Riley, once again matching up both their similarities.

"How come you don't attend Eleanor Roosevelt? You look old enough." I scrutinize him again, definitely gauging him to be old enough to be attending high school.

Heck, he just operated on his brother for heavens sake.

Riley squirms in his seat, suddenly appearing uncertain and fidgety compared to when he was dead serious, preparing to pull bullets out from his many layers of skin.

Geez, if I thought Dravin was skinny, this guy must be nothing but skin and bones.

"I-I'm homeschooled," he mutters, glancing up at me before looking away just as quickly.

I lift an eyebrow, focusing on Dravin, who appears to be almost dozing now, eyelids droopy. "And you're not?"

Dravin waves the question away, obviously getting a bit loopy. "Not anymore," his voice turns solemn, and I decide not to probe too deep at the moment.

"So, how do you attend school with the High Rise Detectors then? They're supposed to go off anytime a Celestial gets within fifty feet of the building."

Dravin nods, then a small, impish grin grows on his lips. "Ask Zack. He's the one that messed with them about a year ago."

My jaw hangs open. "Zack hacked the Detectors?!" I blink, snapping my jaw shut. "But what about before Zack knew about. . . you?"

He shrugs. "That's a question for Zack. And as for the second question, they originally didn't have High Rise Detectors. It was simply a less modified version that was designed to repel Celestials. But obviously they didn't work like they'd hoped-"

He cuts himself off as more of those horrible coughs wrack his body, his face scrunching in pain as it irritates his fresh wounds. He holds his right fist up to his mouth, bending his upper body over his lap.

Riley immediately hovers over him, face pinched in concern. I bite my lip to maintain my own concern, averting my eyes towards the tv until his coughing subsides.

"I think that's enough talking for you today," Riley says as Dravin leans back against the sofa with a tired sigh, hands back to fiddling with his handful of paperclips before he suddenly leans forward and pulls Dravin's shirt up to inspect his wounds.

I divert my eyes away again, trying to think of something else to say.

I frown. "Is all this coughing from the other day? The burning building?" I question, hating the fact I'm suddenly feeling very sympathetic for him.

I'm supposed to hate him right now.

Dravin opens his mouth to answer, but Riley beats him to it, never looking up from his hands after finishing his inspection. "He inhaled too much smoke even for a Celestial with super healing like himself. Just like with a regular human, inhaling smoke-"

"Thank you, Riley. But we don't want, or need, a lengthy explanation. I've already got a headache, and I think she gets the gist of it; I inhaled too much smoke, my lungs are still healing, blah, blah, blah." Dravin runs a hand down his face, eyes literally fluttering now.

Riley only looks mildly upset Dravin interrupted what I'm sure would've been a very nice lecture about smoke inhalation, continuing to twist and pull on his paperclips with fingers that move faster than a pro typer.

"Why don't you sleep? Clearly you're not thinking properly, which may have or may not have something to due with the fact I 'accidentally' injected too much anesthesia into your IV." Riley smiles sheepishly at the sudden glare Dravin directs at him, shrugging as if to say, 'what can I say?'

Dravin breathes in deeply, leaning his head back against the back of the sofa. "Nah, I'll be fine."

Five minutes later and he's passed out cold, his body having already fallen to his left, or more precisely; Riley's shoulder, from the lack of consciousness.

And I'll have to admit, sitting here, watching a sappy reality tv show with Dravin passed out against his brother almost makes me feel like this is like any other day. That I'm just hanging out with friends, chilling.

When in reality, I'm sitting next to someone who could potentially be one of the most powerful Celestials recorded in history.

And yet, digging deep inside myself, I can't seem to find any distrust towards him, any actual hate or loathing. I feel almost. . . peaceful.

I snap my gaze over to Riley as he suddenly clears his throat, something I'm learning he does a lot.

"So, um, I'm sure you've already heard this, but thanks for bringing my brother back," he whispers, glancing down at the passed out Dravin against his shoulder with the softest expression I've yet to see on his face.

"I don't know what I'd do if. . ." he trails off. "If I lost him." He looks up at me, meeting my eyes and holding them for five seconds before I look away this time.

"Yeah, don't sweat it." I wave my hand. "I knew something was up and, being the stubborn person I am, I couldn't leave it alone." I almost laugh at myself, finding it to be the truth.

Riley shrugs, holding up a 3D version of a star - those exist? - he made out of a few paperclips to inspect closely.

Geez, this kid is way too knowledgeable for his own good.

"Well I'm glad you did, because, in all seriousness, if there wasn't someone to help him every now and then, he'd be walking around with his head on backwards."

I crack a smile at that, feeling my fondness for Riley grow despite the fact I first thought he was, I'll admit, a little odd and standoffish.

Maybe Riley isn't such a bad character. I can see he caries the same hostility his brother has, yet they each appear to have a soft heart despite all their outwardly appearance would show.

"True that," I agree, and I'm almost shocked to see a genuine smile grow in his lips. Slowly standing from my seat, as not to wake the sleeping bear, I stretch before turning to face Riley.

Riley places his star down in his lap, hands already moving to pick up a few more paperclips, hands never seeming to be still.

"Well, I'll be going." I take a step. "Tell him I said bye," I say as an afterthought, turning and quickly walking towards the stairway.

"See you tomorrow."

I stop, preparing to answer Riley until I realize he worded it as a statement, not a question. And as I search through myself, I find I've already made my decision; I'm coming back tomorrow.

I look back, a shiver running down my spine at Riley's deep skill of perception. He seems able to read you like he's reading a very basic book, and, seeing as he's Mr. know-it-all, that might not be too far fetched. He's still focused down on his hands, not seeming to perceive his own. . . interesting skill.

"Right," I mutter, waving and turning simultaneously.

Shutting their front door behind me, the best I could with a busted door handle, I walk down the few steps, stuffing my hands in my front pockets. I immediately frown as I feel a rough piece of paper grate against my fingers, and I pull it out.

Frowning, I unfold the small square of paper, feeling my heart flutter oddly in my chest as I read it.

Happy birthday. And Thanks again ~ D

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A/N

(PLEASE VOTE!! ⭐️⭐️⭐️)

Well look at that! Finally an update! I'm so sorry for taking so long, but I was having major writers block. 😭

But anyway.

Questions:

1.) What do y'all think of Riley so far? I'm planning on him being a big part of this series. 😉

2.) Any thoughts on Zack and him knowing all about Dravin all along?

3.) Anymore thoughts on Dravin? Good, or bad?

Alright, as I said up there, please, please VOTE!! It seriously helps to motivate me. Feel free to comment!

Next update; I'd like at least 3 votes before I update again! Until then!

And no, all the big secrets are not out yet!

Maggy