Winona sat in front of Clarice as the girl attempted to open a portal. Key word: attempted. It didn't work and Clarice groaned in frustration. She took a breath before trying again. Sonya walked over to the two, a smile on her face. The portal dissipated and Sonya's smile fell.

"I keep getting close, and then I just, I lose it," Clarice explained to the redhead. "I know it's hard, but Lorna's counting on us," Sonya said, taking a seat next to Clarice. Winona rolled her eyes. "That's what everyone keeps telling me," Clarice said. "I know. I'm sorry. It's just. She's my best friend," Sonya said. "You have friends?" Winona muttered, her tone mildly teasing. Sonya ignored her.

"What did Johnny say?" She then asked. "Some Mr. Miyagi stuff about focusing on something that's meaningful to me," Clarice answered. "Well, there's, there's got to be somebody. An old boyfriend, maybe, or girlfriend?" Sonya tried, with a small laugh. "Sorry. There's nobody. So you can tell your boyfriend that this plan isn't gonna work," Clarice said. Winona pursed her lips at her friend's words.

"What makes you think that he's my boyfriend?" The redhead asked. Winona scoffed and rolled her eyes again. "Oh, I don't know, the way you look when you talk about him," Clarice began. "How you're the only one who calls him Johnny. I don't think he likes that nickname by the way," Winona added, her tone almost bitter. Clarice looked at her with raised eyebrows.

Sonya hesitated. "I came here as a refugee. When I decided to stay on and help, we agreed that if we were gonna work together, we shouldn't be together," Sonya said. It seems to me that you didn't agree with that decision, Winona thought. "Look, about your portals... Johnny usually knows what he's talking about, so just keep at it," Sonya concluded.

Winona furrowed her eyebrows at the redhead's hesitation. Sonya stood and left the two alone. "Great. Awesome pep talk," Clarice said with a sigh. "Maybe you're thinking about it too much," Winona proposed. "Well I kinda need to concentrate in order to make a portal," Clarice said.

"Not necessarily. Look, maybe you just need to loosen up. Instead of thinking so much about opening up a portal, maybe you should try to feel it. I mean, this power is a part of you. You have to trust yourself enough and just do it," Winona said. Clarice scoffed, "You sound like John."

"Well Johnny usually knows what he's talking about," Winona jokingly mocked. Clarice cracked a smile. "I could always help. Maybe get your mind in a happy place so that you can relax and hopefully create a portal," Winona said. "No thanks. I already had you digging through my mind once. I'd rather not have you do it again," Clarice disagreed.

"Okay I wasn't digging through your mind. I was just--" Clarice cut her off. "Manipulating it?" She asked in an accusatory tone. "No. It's not like that. It was mental inducement. I was temporarily pushing your mind into a wanted state. A calm state. It didn't do any damage and it was only for a few instances," Winona defended.

Clarice chuckled. "Relax, Winnie. It was a joke," she said. "Oh," Winona muttered. The two grew quiet. This tended to happen a lot. "When I was trying to calm you down. You know, before I collapsed and your portals opened up all over the place, I saw some things," Winona began. "What did you see?" Clarice asked.

"Flashes of images. That road, a house, some people, mutants," Winona trailed off. Clarice remained quiet and grew thoughtful. "Was it your foster family?" Winona asked quietly. Clarice shrugged. "Probably," she muttered. "We don't have to talk about it," Winona said.

Clarice nodded and looked up. "All right. I think it's your turn siren," she said. "My turn to what?" Winona asked, feigning confusion. "You know what. I tried opening my portals now it's your turn to try screaming or whatever," Clarice said. "I can't do it in here," Winona protested. Clarice stood from her seat. "Okay then let's go outside," she said. Winona shook her head. "I'm really comfortable right now," she said.

Clarice sat back down and stared intensely at her new friend. "Look, you gotta get out of your head. I get that you're scared and that fear is justified. But think about how you'll feel once you get over that fear. The things you can do with that power of yours. You would be so badass. But you'll stay a loser if you continue to let your fear keep you from unlocking your full potential," she said.

"Now you sound like John. Just more mean," Winona muttered. Clarice grinned, "Sorry. I'm just being honest." Winona rolled her eyes, a sigh escaping her lips. "Can't my telepathy be enough?" Winona complained. "Reading and controlling minds won't be as helpful as the scream in battle," Clarice said.

"They could be. And I don't just read and control minds. I can do other useful stuff," Winona said. "Yeah, like what?" The green eyed girl questioned. Winona looked around before looking back at Clarice. She briefly closed her eyes and focused on constructing a weapon. When she opened them her eyes were glowing their familiar silver.

Wisps of silver energy came out of her hand. Clarice watched in awe. An object slowly began to form in Winona's hand. It was the same silver as her eyes and glowed in her hand. It branched up out of her hand, forming a sharp point. When it formed completely, Winona's eyes returned to their normal brown. She held the object up for Clarice to see.

"What is it?" The girl asked. "It's a psionic knife," Winona answered. "A knife? You just created a knife with your mind!" Clarice said. "Well, it's not a real knife. It's a knife made out of psionic energy which is a kind of psychic energy. But it has the same properties as an actual knife. It can still do damage," Winona said. "That is so amazing," Clarice mumbled. Winona shrugged, "I guess." Clarice watched as the knife dissipated until it was completely gone.

"See, who needs a siren scream?" Winona said.

····

The next time the two friends saw Sonya, they were eating food. The redhead was frantic as she ran up the stairs and to where they were sat.

"Clarice, Clarice. I need to talk to you. Johnny, Thunderbird He's in trouble. They're all in trouble," Sonya rushed out. By now, Winona and Clarice were standing. Winona's eyes were wide in fear. This was not happening. "What?" The two girls inquired. "Look, I There's no time to explain. I need you to make a portal. Get a car off the road," Sonya urged.

"A car? Are you insane?" Clarice questioned. "You have to," Sonya said. "I told you I can't," Clarice replied. Sonya looked to Winona who was staring at her with wide eyes. "Winona, I need you to go outside and wait for us by the main road. And be prepared to use your acoustikinesis. In case we need it," Sonya said.

"I haven't done that in over a year," Winona objected. "Well you might need to use it today, okay? Now go!" Sonya said. Winona nodded her head and headed to the stairs. She quickly descended them, almost tripping as she did so.

She rushed to the doors and exited the building. She ran through the mini forest and stood by the road. She kept glancing behind her to see if Sonya and Clarice were coming. She took a deep breath before releasing it. "Calm down, Winnie. You got this. You can do this. You might not have to do this but if you need to then you can," she muttered to herself.

"They'll be here any second. Get ready." Winona turned to see Sonya and Clarice running to her. "Well, I-I have to be able to see where I'm portalling to. If I can't--" Sonya cut her off. "There. Just get them there," she said, pointing in the direction of the bank. "Remember who you're doing this for. It's for Johnny," Sonya added. "What does that mean?" Winona asked in confusion. The redhead ignored her question.

Winona glared at Sonya before turning to Clarice. "Clarice. Are you sure you can do this?" She asked. "I'm sure," she answered before running to the road, a determined look on her face. Clarice slowly began opening the portal, releasing grunts and pained cries. The portal began to open and it grew larger and larger.

"She's doing it," Winona whispered, a proud smile adorning her lips. A vehicle began driving down the road, followed by two other vehicles. The one at the front sped up suddenly and entered the portal. "Come on," Sonya said to Winona before entering the portal. Winona went in after her and wound up on the dirt road that lead to the bank.

Clarice followed after her and the portal closed behind her. The three girls ran to the vehicle that was temporarily parked. Winona slowed down as they approached John. "Hey! Are you all right?" Clarice asked before throwing herself into John's arms. Winona felt a sudden pang in her chest as she watched the two, her eyebrows drawn in confusion.

"Yeah. I'm fine. We all are," John replied. He seemed just as confused as Winona. His eyes met hers for a brief moment as Clarice started speaking again. "I can't believe it worked. I mean, a freaking SUV?" She said before pulling away from the hug. "I'm so glad it did," she added. Winona broke the stare.

"Go on inside and I'll see you there in a second," John said. "Yeah. Okay," Clarice said as she moved past him. "Yeah," he said. He looked at Winona again and she gave him a smile. He noticed that it didn't reach her eyes. "I'll just go inside too. I'm glad you're okay," she said. She walked past him and followed after Clarice.

When she reached the building, she went inside. She looked around and spotted Marcos with the Struckers. She made her way over to them. "Hey, you guys okay?" She asked, giving Marcos and Lauren a quick hug before standing in front of the group. "Thankfully yes. We got lucky," Marcos said. "It wasn't luck, it was Clarice. I'm surprised she was able to create a portal. She had been struggling to do that all day," Winona said.

"I guess she really didn't want us to die," Andy said. "I guess so. Whatever Sonya said to her must have really helped," Winona replied. "Wait, Sonya talked to her?" Marcos asked. "Yeah. I went outside and waited for them. When Clarice came out, she was really determined and confident," Winona said.

"Must've been some pep talk," Lauren noted. "Yeah, it must've been," Marcos muttered. Winona narrowed her eyes at him and he cleared his throat. "Excuse me," he said before walking away from them. Winona watched his retreating form through narrowed eyes. "What a weird dude," she muttered.

····

Winona laid on the ground in the break room. She was tossing a rubber ball in the air and catching it in her hand. She hummed a random tune to herself as she threw the ball up.

Gravity brought the ball back down and she caught it. She repeated this action a few more times. She tossed the ball up again but this time, it didn't come back down. Winona pushed herself into a sitting position and turned to see John. He was holding the ball in one hand and examining it.

"Give me back my ball," Winona commanded. "Your ball? I'm pretty sure you found this in one of those boxes over there," John said pointing in the direction of the boxes. "You can't prove that," she retorted. He rolled his eyes and sat down in a chair. "Why are you always on the ground? There are perfectly good chairs for you to sit in," John said.

"I like the ground," she deadpanned. He slightly tilted his head to the side. "That's a little strange," he commented. "What can I say, I'm a strange person. But we're all a little weird," Winona replied. After a brief silence, John spoke up. "Are you okay?" He asked and she sighed. "Why do you always ask me that?" She asked back. "Because sometimes you don't seem okay," he replied.

"Is that some sort of sensory perception or something? You're sensing that I'm not okay," she said. "I don't know. You just seemed off earlier," he said. "You mean when you were trying to get me to use a power that I'm not comfortable using?" Winona asked him. He cleared his throat. "No, I mean after Clarice used her portal to rescue us," John replied.

"I don't know what you're talking about. But if anyone was acting weird, it was Clarice. I mean one minute she's struggling to open portals and then the next she's opening them as if she didn't have a problem to begin with. It's weird," she said. "Maybe she just found something to care about," he mumbled.

"Yeah maybe," she muttered, though she didn't believe that that was the case. "Hey, I was wondering about you and your sister," John began, effectively changing the subject. "Me and Elaine? What about us?" Winona asked. "When she found out that she was a mutant, you left home with her," he said.

"Well, she was kicked out and I went with her, yes," Winona corrected, leaving out some details of the whole situation. "How did you know about that anyway?" She asked before he could speak. He shrugged, "I was talking to Clarice--" She cut him off. "Wow, she doesn't know how to keep her mouth shut," Winona muttered. John cleared his throat again and continued. "You didn't know you were a mutant then, did you?" He continued and she shook her head.

"So why did you go with her? Why didn't you push her away like your parents seemed to do?" He asked. "Adoptive parents," she corrected before continuing. "If you haven't realized, I'm black. I've faced discrimination because of the color of my skin. And I hate it. I'm not gonna go and do the same thing to people just because they happen to be mutants. It's stupid. At the end of the day, mutants are people too, just special. Different. And there's nothing wrong with being different," Winona answered. "But the whole thing was a lot more complex than just me going with her," she added. John could tell by the look on her face that she didn't want to talk about it. So he didn't question her.

Instead, a smile overtook John's face as he gazed at her. "Besides, she's my sister. Even if we don't share the same blood. I wasn't just gonna abandon her," she concluded. "You're incredible, you know that?" John said. Winona smirked and playfully flipped her hair, "I know." John chuckled softly, his eyes taking in her features.

"What?" Winona asked when she realized that he was staring at her. He lightly shook his head and cleared his throat. "Nothing," he said before standing up. "I'll, uh, I'll see you tomorrow," he said. She nodded her head and smiled. He bumped into one of the chairs as he was leaving and Winona placed a hand over her mouth to stifle her laughter.

He turned back to her, a mildly embarrassed smile on his face, and sent her a small wave. She waved back and he quickly exited the room. Winona turned back to face the wall and laid back down. "Dork," she muttered. She then sat up abruptly.

"He took my ball."

°°°°

All right, I really enjoy writing this book and I enjoyed writing this chapter. I've been writing so much it's crazy. Anyway, here's chapter eight. I hope you all enjoyed it. Do not comment for me to update, ask me to update, say "please update", or anything along those lines. It's very annoying. And can we talk about The Gifted season finale last night?! It had me shook af. It was truly amazing. Anyway, I hope you all enjoyed this chapter. Bye.