The three were on a road. John was in a crouched position on the ground. One hand touched the gravel road as he concentrated. Winona pursed her lips and looked around, her arms tightly crossed over her chest. She turned back to the truck and longed to be sitting down in it.

"This road we're looking for, do you remember anything about it?" John asked, turning to look at Clarice from his crouched position. "No, I don't. You're the one that saw it. I was unconscious," Clarice answered. John released a sigh as he stood. "Okay? I was hoping that I'd able to find something about it in the news, but--" Clarice was cut off.

"Yeah, well, Sentinel Services is pretty good about covering up mutant incidents, so," John walked back toward the truck. "Really, John? Was it necessary for you to say that?" Winona asked, following after him. Her boots slapped against the ground as she stalked after him. He didn't respond.

"Well, then, I appreciate your little quest for redemption, but obviously, this is useless. So take off and chase your next scent, or do whatever it is you do," Clarice said to him, walking past the two and toward the parked vehicle. "Clarice. Come on, let me help you," John said. "No, you can't because there's nothing to track, no trail to follow," Clarice said. She pulled her backpack from the truck and pulled the straps over her shoulders.

Winona wrapped a hand around Clarice's wrist to halt her movement. Clarice stared at Winona, her eyes holding mild anger. She looked down at the hand around her wrist and then back up at Winona who shook her head. "Yeah, maybe, maybe not. You could have a trail inside you," John said. Winona groaned, tilting her head backward in annoyance.

"Yeah, I'm not in the mood for some hippie New Age talk right now. All right?" Clarice said. "Listen to me. When an animal is hurt or scared, their instinct is to take themselves to a place of safety. A nest, a burrow," John began. "I don't have a burrow, okay?" Clarice interjected.

"Yeah, but you did. You had a place where you felt loved and you felt safe. Clarice. Where was that?" He continued. Clarice looked away from him and shrugged impatiently. "I don't know," she said. Winona released Clarice's wrist and crossed her arms over her chest. She allowed her mind to wander to the different possibilities as to where that place might be.

"What about your old foster home?" She asked quietly. Clarice's eyes met Winona's and she nodded slowly. "Maybe," she muttered. "Am I missing something?" John asked. "Quiet John. The adults are speaking," Winona said. John rolled his eyes and turned away from them. Winona allowed a small smile to stretch across her lips.

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The truck pulled to a stop and the three got out of it. They began walking along a dirt road and took in their surroundings. Clarice looked around the area, the gears in her head spinning as she tried to see if she recognized anything. "This kind of looks familiar, but all these roads look the same," Clarice said.

"Well, what did the house that you grew up in look like?" Winona asked. "I don't know. One story. Not too big," Clarice answered. She then looked to John and began speaking again. "It was a home for mutant foster kids. The ones who couldn't pass as human. I was only there for a couple years, back when I was supposed to be in high school," Clarice explained.

"Why'd you leave?" John asked. "The couple who ran it, you know, they took good care of us, but their idea of keeping us safe was to hide us away forever. Which really sucks when you're 15," she answered. The three continued walking. "Wait. That looks familiar," Clarice said before walking ahead of the two and toward a gate. John and Winona caught up to her.

"I remember this gate," Clarice said before grabbing the latch. The gate creaked as Clarice pushed it open and they entered. "That's the farmhouse," Clarice said, a smile coming to her face. She then began running forward and Winona followed after her. She zipped her jacket up as she felt a chill.

"Guys? Maybe you should wait here," John called out to them. The two stopped and turned to him. "What?" Clarice questioned. "Why?" Winona asked. "I think something bad happened," John replied. Clarice froze for a second before turning and running toward the house. "Clarice, wait!" Winona exclaimed, chasing after her.

She ran up the porch steps and Clarice stopped at the door, unable to open it. She frantically turned to John. "Oh, no. Get us in now," Clarice said. John stepped up to the door and punched it. His hand went straight through the wood and he quickly unlocked the door and opened it. The three entered the home and Winona's eyes widened at the sight.

The house was completely trashed. Broken glass littered the floor and crunched underneath her boots. She could feel the fear creep up within her. She could feel Clarice's fear as well. "Carl? Denise?" Clarice called. "Sentinel Services probably searched all the houses in the area," John informed. Clarice walked down a hallway and began looking into rooms.

"Maybe they got away. Right?" Clarice asked hopefully. Winona had a bad feeling. John walked forward and into the kitchen as Clarice came back to where Winona stood. The two slowly followed John into the kitchen. As soon as Winona entered, she wished that she hadn't. Bullet holes were evident in the door that led outside. A lot of them. Pools of blood coated the floor.

Winona took a sharp intake of breath and placed a hand over her mouth. Her wide eyes fell onto Clarice's form. "Clarice, I'm sorry," John said quietly. Immediately Clarice began crying. She tried desperately to stop, Winona could tell. But the tears kept falling. Winona could feel her pain. It was terrible. "Oh, man," Clarice croaked, leaning on the table briefly before standing up again.

Winona could feel the tears rolling down her cheeks as she quickly walked over to Clarice. She grabbed onto her friend's arms and pulled her into her own arms. Winona wrapped her arms tightly around the girl who slowly did the same. Clarice cried silently before taking in a sharp breath. "No, no," Clarice said.

She attempted to pull away but Winona wouldn't let her. She held her tighter, trying to pull her closer. "No," Clarice sobbed before burying her face into Winona's neck. "I'm sorry. I'm so sorry," Winona whispered. Winona looked up, her teary eyes meeting John's eyes. They held sadness, she could tell. He looked as though he wanted to do something. But he didn't. There was nothing he could do.

Winona closed her eyes and squeezed them tightly shut. Her heart broke for Clarice. She hated this. Hated feeling like this. Winona knew one thing for sure. Sentinel Service would pay for this. She would make them pay if it were the last thing that she did.

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Winona and John walked over to where Clarice was stood outside. Winona placed a comforting hand on her friend's shoulder once she was standing next to her. "I found whatever traces I could. Looks like they died defending some of the foster kids that were living there," John told Clarice.

"My portals brought everyone here. This is all my fault," Clarice said, her voice strained. "No it's not. It is not your fault, Clarice. Don't ever think that," Winona said. "Sentinel Services pulled the trigger," John added. Winona nodded stiffly. "You cared about them. I'm sorry," John said softly. Clarice had already begun crying again. This time, it was John who pulled her into a hug.

"I'm sorry," he whispered again. His eyes met Winona's again and she gave him a pained smile. She hated seeing her friend like this. Winona took a deep breath and looked away from them, willing herself not to cry. The two pulled away from each other after a moment. "You know what I said earlier about this not being my fight?" Clarice asked John before pausing.

"I don't know if it was before, but it sure as hell is now," she concluded before walking away from him. Winona slowly followed after her as she walked back to the truck. Clarice slowed down until she was walking alongside Winona. "I know that there's nothing I can say that'll make you feel better," Winona quietly began.

"But I really wish that there was," she paused again and looked at Clarice who remained looking ahead. "I really am sorry that this happened to you. To them. And I know that an apology won't fix anything but I just need you to know that, you're not alone. I'm here for you. Whatever you need, whenever you need me. I'll be here," Winona said.

Clarice stopped to look at her and Winona stopped as well. Clarice attempted to smile but it didn't quite reach her eyes. "Thanks, Winnie. That means a lot," she said quietly. "Don't thank me. That's what friends are for," Winona replied. The next smile that graced Clarice's lips wasn't as forced as the first one.

A smile made its way onto Winona's face as well and she wrapped an arm around Clarice's shoulders. The two began walking back to the truck again.

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When the three got back to headquarters, Clarice broke away from the two. Winona let her go, figuring that she wanted to be alone for a while. She sighed quietly and stopped on the stairs. John stopped next to her, his hand brushing her arm.

Winona looked up and over at him. "Are you okay?" He asked softly. She nodded quickly. "Of course. Why wouldn't I be?" She asked back. He shook his head. "I don't know. I just thought. I thought that. Nevermind," he sighed, his eyes moving to scan the Underground.

"I've never lost anyone. Not like that. I feel for her, I do. I can say that I know how she feels because I could literally feel what she felt. But, I don't truly know how it feels to lose someone like that," she said and he nodded. "It sucks, you know? Not knowing what happened. Not knowing that it happened until it was too late. I wish I could've helped them. I wish I could've helped Elaine too," she continued.

"There was no way for you or anyone else to know what was gonna happen to Clarice's foster family. And there was no way that you could've done anything for your sister either," John said. Winona didn't quite believe that. "Well what's the point of having these powers when I'm never able to use them when they're needed most. I feel so useless. And I'm so sick of feeling useless," Winona said.

John shook his head. "You're not useless. There was nothing that you could've done," he said. He placed a warm hand on her shoulder and she turned to look at him. Their eyes met and a smile stretched across her face. He looked as though he wanted to say something. Do something. But he didn't. John quickly looked away from her. Winona's eyebrows furrow in confusion.

"Are you okay?" She asked after a while. "I'm fine," he answered immediately. He didn't look at her. No, he refused to look at her. "What is it now?" She asked him in exasperation. "What do you mean?" He asked back. "You keep acting so weird around me. It's like... I don't know what it's like," she said. "I'm not acting weird," he denied.

"Says you," she retorted and he sighed. She shook her head and looked away. Slowly, things in her brain began to click together as she thought about the little things that would occur between her and the man in front of her.

"It's like one minute, we're friends. And then the next, you look at me, and it's different. I don't know how to explain it. But I see it. I feel it. Whatever you're feeling, I feel it too. You don't look at me the way a friend does. Unless I'm overanalyzing things and seeing them for what they're not. What I want them to be," she said. John swallowed and looked down.

"Am I seeing things? Am I getting the wrong impression?" Winona asked him. Her eyes bore into the side of his face. "No. No you're not," John said quietly. She released a breath, willing herself not to smile. "But it's complicated," he added. Winona was taken aback. "What do you mean? What's complicated?" She asked.

"I can't. I can't do this right now," he said. "Do what?" She asked next. John shook his head and went to walk away. She stopped him by grabbing his arm. Her eyes scanned over his face as he tried not to look at her. Slowly, she released his arm. "I see what you're doing," she said. "What I'm doing? What exactly am I doing?" He questioned.

"You're closing yourself off. Pushing me away like you seem to push everyone away. You have these huge walls up and you hide behind them. Because you're afraid," Winona said. John scoffed, "I'm not afraid of anything." Winona scoffed as well and shook her head.

"Yes, you are. You're afraid of feeling. Of having some sort of emotional connection to someone. You're afraid that once you get to know someone, that something will happen. That they'll leave in some way. You're afraid that you'll lose them so instead of getting to know someone, instead of having some sort of relationship with someone, and I don't just mean romantic, you push them away.

So that if something bad were to happen to them, it would hurt less because you barely knew them as a person. You're afraid to feel things. That's why you ended things with Dreamer, right? And why you stay away from romance. Not because you don't think it would be a good idea to work with someone and be with them at the same time, because news flash, Marcos and Lorna. But because you're scared," she concluded.

John lets out a short laugh. "You have no idea what you're talking about," he said. "'When you let fear control you, you won't be effective in what you do.' You told me that, remember?" Winona said, quoting him. "So now you're trying to use my own words against me, really?" He questioned. She gave him a curt nod. "You should embrace the things that you have here and now. Because you never know when those things will be taken away from you. And believe me, you'll regret it if you don't," Winona told him.

"Look, I don't know why you feel the need to pry into people's personal lives but it needs to stop. What I do, what I feel, is none of your business. And stop using your powers to dig into me. It's an invasion of privacy and I hate it when you do that," John said, his tone growing angry.

"Okay first of all, I'm right and you know that I'm right so you're resorting to being a dick because you're mad that I am. And second of all, I'm a good judge of character. I don't use, nor do I need, my powers to figure people out. I've been here for weeks now and I've picked things up. Not to mention that you sort of just admitted to feeling something for me and then you just pushed me away. So yeah, that's how I know. So stop accusing me of doing things that you don't even understand," she snapped.

John's face grew hard as he stared intensely at her. She took a few steps away from him and looked away. Suddenly, Sonya walked up to the two, a smile adorning her lips. She didn't seem to notice the tension between the two standing on the stairs as she walked over to John. In fact, she didn't even seem to notice Winona standing next to him. "Hey," she said as she moved over to him. Winona's eyes shifted over to the two upon hearing the redhead's voice. Sonya placed one of her hands on his face and pulled him down to her, kissing his lips with her own.

Winona looked away from the two and took another step back. She shook her head and released a breathy laugh. How could she have forgotten about him and Sonya? That they were rekindling their romance. Sonya pulled away from him and turned to Winona. Her smile faltered slightly. "Oh, hi Winona," the woman greeted. "Hi Sonya," Winona replied, her voice strained. She then turned to John. "So I guess this is why things are 'complicated'. Although, it doesn't seem too complicated to me. It seems that you and Sonya are together after all," Winona said.

"Winnie, I can explain," John tried. Winona just shook her head. "You don't need to. I get it. Let me just go ahead and make things less complicated for you now," she said before turning away from the two. She descended the stairs as John called after her. She ignore him and continued to walk away.

°°°°

Man, I'm-. Let me start by saying that I hated seeing Clarice cry. Like, stop hurting my baby. But damn. Drama with a capital D am I right? So, Winona is obviously a smart and perceptive person. Some of that might have to do with her abilities. So after a while of being confused about her feelings and the whole situation with John, she realized what was actually going on. I wasn't gonna have her be oblivious to it all forever because I don't think that that's the kind of person she is. Obviously John is conflicted and BOOM! You have chapter seventeen. This one was so fun to write and I hope you all enjoyed it. Don't tell me to update because I won't do it. Have a good day.