Elemental Forces

Chapter 2 - Alike

Nyah spotted him, jumped into her car and followed him onto an empty street, a rare occurrence in New York City, where he stopped after seeing her. She got out and went to him fearlessly, holding up the feather.

 “You might want to be careful where you drop these, my friend.” she said giving it to him.  He snatched it from her, causing her to narrow her eyes at him in a glare. “You should work on that very nasty attitude of yours, too.”

 “What do you want?”

 “Just to ask you a few questions.”

 “What for?” Nyah rolled her eyes. She went to open the passenger side door for him.

 “Get in. This sun is burning my skin.” Hesitantly, the young man complied. Stunned that he had actually listened, she got into the driver’s seat, turning on the A/C.

 “What do you want from me?”

 “For starters, who were you looking for?”

 “That is not your concern.”

 “So well-spoken and yet such a jerk. My name is Nyah Benjamin. What’s yours?”

 “Nahuel Donovan.”

 “Now, it’s my concern. Is sitting back on your wings uncomfortable for you, Nahuel?” she asked sweetly, knowing she hit the nail on the head.

 “Excuse me?”

 “Take off the coat.”

 “No.”

 “Somewhere more private? I can do that.”

She got a beautiful 2-bedroom apartment  a place she had contacted the day before. The resident super handed over the keys before he mumbled something about young love. Nyah carried up her luggage on her own and opened the door to her room. It was a very modern fully-furnished space and she put her bags on the bed before going back out to the kitchen. Nahuel dumped the picnic basket on the granite countertop.

 “Why did you bring me here? I told you I -” he started angrily, but Nyah cut his tirade short.

 “Enough! I just met you and I’ve already had it up to here with your piss-poor attitude. I try to be nice and you give me the cold shoulder. I try to help you and you start biting my head off.  Let me make this clear to you, Mr. Donovan. I am not an animal, so don’t you ever speak to me like that again.” Nahuel stared at her.

 “Goodbye then, Nyah.” He went to open the door but Nyah was quicker and slammed it shut, raising a brow.

 “Seriously? Sulking? Take off the coat.” she demanded, locking the door.

 “No.”

 “Alright let me try it this way. Please take it off.”

 “No.”

 “Okay. Maybe you’ll respond better to this.” He watched in awe as Nyah unbuttoned her blue cap sleeve blouse in front of him. Her midnight blue b*a caught his attention. Whoa. Those must be Ds. he thought. Unfortunately, Nyah's expression meant that his comment didn't stay in his head.

 “No. They’re mine. Now quit gawking at them. That’s not what I’m showing you.” she paused, waiting for him to avert his eyes and then turning her back to him. “Out. You deserved it today.” Nahuel watched in utter shock as a pair of stunning white wings grew from her back. “Take it off, now.” She turned to him, with her blouse now covering her breasts, and just watched as he took off the coat, as he winced when he rolled his shoulders back.

 “Damn it!” Nyah stood on tiptoe next to Nahuel and gasped at what she saw. The area where his wing met his skin had what appeared to be a poorly healing gash about 2cm long. She touched it.

 “What did you use?”

 “My grandma’s gardening shears.”

 “Gruesome. When did you do this?”

 “A few days ago when I got them.”

 “Hmm. What powers do you have? Can you start fires?”

 “I create storms. Tsunamis, tornadoes and earthquakes and I can electrocute people.”

 “How long have you -? Actually, let me guess. This started when you were six?”

 “Yeah. Two idiots tried to kidnap me from school and they had guns and I got scared. All of a sudden I was looking down at them and their bodies were twitching as though they'd been electrocuted. What can you do?”

 “Start fires, bend water, turn any liquid into ice, maybe even if the only liquid is the sweat beading on your forehead and I’m still trying to figure out my earth power. I torched my sister Simone's lemonade stand after my parents put me in time-out for throwing my food halfway across the room when I didn’t get what I wanted. I barely looked at it and it was engulfed in flames.”

 “Do your parents know?”

 “Yeah and so do my sisters. Does your family know or did you plan on going this alone?”

 “They know, but I still have to do this on my own.”

 “No, you don’t. I want to help you, Nahuel.” she said softly, gazing up at him with sincerity in her hazel eyes. He was floored by the tenderness in her voice when his name came from her lips, but he was going to wind up hurting her if he stayed so he took a big step back.

 “You can’t help me, Nyah. You don’t have what I need.” She followed him after grabbing one of her customized vests.

 “In. Just for a few seconds.” She pulled on the vest. “Out.” She went into what she hoped would be his bedroom and found him sitting on the bed, so she sat beside him.

 “Go away.” he said, his soulful brown eyes boring into hers.

 “Tell me what you want, Nahuel.”

 “I want you to go home, Nyah.”

 “I’m not going anywhere but forward. With you. Whether you like it or not.” Nyah insisted. He studied her intently with an expression in his eyes that she didn’t want to identify.

 “You know, for someone so beautiful, you’re very annoying. Now please leave me alone.”

 “No. Tell me what you need.” He thought about that for a quick second and then he kissed her softly. She felt a current of electricity sizzle down her spine and she pulled away from him. What the hell just happened?! She was beyond audible words.

 “I need to be normal, Nyah. I need to be able to kiss a girl without sending 50,000 volts of electricity through her body. I need to go for a swim and not cause a freaking tidal wave. I wanna jump up and down without inciting an earthquake. I wanna be able to spin around and not create a wind tunnel. I need to be normal and you -”

 “Okay! I get it. Who are you looking for?”

 “Arthur Keegan.”

 “No way! So am I!”

 “Cool. Can you please go now?”

 “Okay, but there’s nothing wrong with being extraordinary, Nahuel. At least you’re not some evil monster.”

 “I feel like one, though.”

 “You’re not. Monsters have no self-control.”

 “Who said I’m in control?”

 “You did. If you were really out of control, you wouldn’t have let me pull away from you just now.” He chuckled.

 “Good point. I’m kind of shocked that you don’t have a boyfriend.” Nyah blinked.

 “Who says I don’t have one?”

 “The fact that you countered with that question says it all.”  She rolled her eyes, standing.

 “Don’t do that again, okay?” Nahuel stood with her.

 “Why not?”

 “Because I don’t really know you. Scratch that. I don’t know you at all.”

 “When this is over you will know me and you won’t stop me from doing that again.”

 “You wish. Do you eat cheese and tuna?”

 “Yes I do. Will you feed me?” He was enjoying this easy banter, but she did not seem to want any part of it.

 “Go wash up. You need clothes. Do you want to go home and get some?” Irrationally, his temper flared up.

 “When did you become my mother? I’ll go home when I feel like it.”

 “Well, excuse me for not wanting you to walk around looking like a hobo! Go ahead! Alienate the only person who knows what you're going through!” Nyah shot back, her own temper heating up. His eyes widened in shock.

 “No one has ever talked to me like that.”

 “Do unto others as you’ll have them do unto you. Do you know that verse? The way you speak to me is very disrespectful.”

 “I’m sorry.” She rolled her eyes.

 “If we’re going to be spending any amount of time together, you’re going to have to work really hard on that attitude you have.” She spun away, her long hair tossing over her shoulder and she started to leave for the kitchen.

 “Nyah, wait! Hang on a minute.” he pleaded, going up behind her. She faced him.

 “What?” she asked, her eyes not meeting his in fear of what she might see in them if she did.

 “Please look at me.” It took her a few seconds but she finally stared at him fearlessly.

 “What?” she repeated.

 “I really am sorry.”

 “You really need to stop saying that you’re sorry if you’re going to keep doing the same thing.” she chided.

 “I know, but I do mean it. I just have a short fuse, I mean, I create storms, it’s how I am and it’s how I always have been. Simple things can get me angry so bear with me, okay? I am working on it.” His eyes roamed over her face where he saw a long, thick eyelash on her left cheek. The next moment, because he couldn’t help but touch her, Nahuel lifted his right hand and swept the lash off with his thumb. It caught on his sweaty fingertip. “Are you wearing makeup?”

 “No. I only wear that stuff for extremely special occasions. But I can’t live without lip gloss.” Why did I say that?!

 “Cool. Forgive me? I promise to keep my attitude and temper in check.” She searched his eyes, which seemed darker now, and found sincerity and the same expression she saw just before he kissed her. She took a step back and he stepped with her.

 “Forgiven.” He grinned, getting closer to her.

 “Thank you.”

 “You’re welcome.” she replied, a small smile appearing without her permission. Suddenly his hands were on her narrow waist, her body was pressed against his and his lips came down on hers softly. Her hands came up to push him away, intended to do it, but they ended up gripping his shoulders. Like the first kiss, this one didn’t last long. He ended it, l*****g his lips because he knew he had her then.

 “Cherry flavoured. I like it. I love a woman with great taste.” There was such double meaning to those words that Nyah blushed. Checkmate, he thought. “I’ll go wash up and then we can get something to eat.” He walked out of the room just as her cell phone rang. It startled her but she knew who it was by the ringtone so she answered accordingly.

 “Hey, Mom.”

 “Are you okay? You sound a little... strange.”

 “I’m fine. Just a little hungry.”

 “Then go eat. Where are you?”

 “At an apartment until this is over. I won’t t-”

 “Nyah, this place has hot water!” Nahuel cried out. She facepalmed.

 “Nyah, who was that?”

 “A guy I met a couple hours ago.”

 “Is he cute?”

 “Very.”

 “And you’re sharing an apartment with him?!” her mother exclaimed.

 “Yeah. We have a lot in common.”

 “Like what?”

 “Well, the things he does are a bit more on the stormy side than mine. He’s mixed. Oh, and he’s after Dr. Keegan, too.”

 “I’m sensing a pattern here, but it may be nothing. It could just be a coincidence. I have to go but make sure you’re protected, baby girl.”

 “Mom!”

 “What?”

 “That was so inappropriate. It’s not like that.”

 “I never said that. I just meant to be careful, Nyah, clearly you’re thinking about the other thing. I totally get it. I felt that way about your father before we got together.”

 “Oh my goodness. Mom, you’ve scarred me for life. Besides, I was born with all the protection I need and I know karate.”

 “Karate can’t stop bullets, baby.”

 “Point taken. Break this to Dad easy, okay? Bye, Momma.” Her mother laughed.

 “Will do. Bye, baby.” The call ended and Nyah sighed. She missed her family already and it had only been three hours since she left. How would she feel in three days? Three weeks? What about three months? Or even three years while she was away at college? Would she still have powers? Would she still have her wings? Would she still know Nahuel in three years? She had no idea. She’d just have to wait to find out.

She went to wash her hands just as Nahuel was leaving the bathroom in his room. She said nothing as he passed her, merely fidgeted with her wristwatch as she tried to take it off. Nyah quickly washed her hands and hurried back to the kitchen only to come up short because of what she was now witnessing. She blinked, watching as Nahuel took everything out of the basket and then begin setting them out. He put the unwrapped platter of assorted triangular sandwiches on the table between two glasses of fruit punch, then he put the fruits into the refrigerator. She smiled. He looked so domestic doing it.

 “Are you like this at home?” she asked softly. He wasn’t startled by her voice or presence but by the way she was looking at him.

 “Only when I want something or if I feel like doing it.”

 “Which one is it this time?”

 “It’s a little bit of both.”

 “Why?”

 "I can tell you miss your family, so I figured I might as well give you one less thing to worry your head about. Plus, I like you and I never thought I would meet a girl who understood me and knew what was going on with me, so I want to keep you for myself.” She blushed.

 “That was a deeper answer than I expected.”

 “Yeah, well, I can get pretty serious when I’m ready. So, a random question. Who do you look like? Your mom or your dad?” Nyah took out her cell phone, unlocked it, put in the password and gave it to him.

 “You tell me. I’m tired of trying to figure it out.” He switched his gaze to the small screen and studied the couple standing between two girls.

 “It’s a tough call. I can definitely see your mom in you, but it’s also mixed in there with some of your dad. Which sister is which?”

 “The one next to my dad is my big sister, Simone, and the other one is my little sister, Dana.”  He laughed.

 “That’s crazy.”

 “What?” They moved to sit facing each other at the dinner table.

 “Well, Simone looks like your dad, Dana resembles your mom and you’re somewhere in the middle.”

 “It doesn’t help that I’m the middle child. Do you have any siblings?”

 “Two brothers. One older and the other younger.” Nyah frowned, her attention caught.

 “How many years separate you?”

 “Three years on both sides.”

 “Cool. What do your parents do for a living?”

 “My mom is a pediatric neurologist and my dad is a partner at a law firm.”

 “Well, it’s obvious you’re mixed.”

 “Does my ethnicity really matter?”

 “No, you're right.”

 “Black mom and white dad. What? You think this has to do with interracial families?”

 “I don't know. Maybe that's just a coincidence. But there’s definitely a pattern here.”

 “I don’t get it.”

 “Don’t you see? Nahuel, these people targeted our parents.”

 “What are you talking about?”

 “Look at the pattern here, Nahuel. We’re biracial, which probably doesn’t play a factor in this. Our parents -”

 “This is an awesome tuna sandwich!” he exclaimed, putting another one in his mouth.

 “Nahuel! Focus please!”

 “Right. Sorry. Go on.”

 “My mom and your dad are lawyers and my dad and your mom are doctors. We’re both three years younger and three years older than our siblings, which may also be a super freaky coincidence. Our moms got prenatal care from the same doctor who dropped off the face of the Earth immediately after our births. How old are you?”

 “I’ll turn 19 in a few months. I started school a year late due to ‘reasons’. I can’t wait to go to NYU. Apart from discovering I’m a freak, I’m having a pretty awesome year.”

 “I’m going to NYU, too. I just turned eighteen a couple months ago.”

 “Okay, thinking about it now, this is super weird. However, this whole biracial thing is most likely circumstantial. I mean, interracial relationships are fairly common now. Maybe this guy just wanted us to be raised with a silver spoon in our mouths.”

 “How do you think he chose our parents? Did he know them in high school or college? How did they not know something was up with us?”

 “Does it really matter why they were chosen? I mean, nothing about this makes sense. None of this should even be possible, yet here we are. Real people with wings and power over the basic elements.”

 “I know that but I just don’t know, you know? I’m starting to question everything and everyone and their motives. What was his plan when he did this to us?”

 “That doesn’t matter, either. Nyah, we just have to get an antidote. Once we have that, all of this will be over and we can about our lives. We’re going to college, we’ll get jobs, maybe have a relationship and everything that comes with it.”

 “It’s like they had our entire lives planned out before we were even born. If they did, I want to know how high this goes.”

 “We can’t trust anyone but ourselves, Nyah. And our families. We need to be mindful of how many details we give them, too.” She frowned.

 “I don’t like keeping secrets from my family.”

 “Even if it was for the best and could protect them? It’s like you just said. We don’t know how high this goes. I mean, how many more kids out there are like us? How many other families did they use? Did Arthur Keegan even exist before this started? We need answers before we can figure out what is safe to tell our families.”

 “That makes sense, but I hate keeping them out of the loop. In. I mean, we tell each other pretty much everything.” There was a short silence until Nahuel broke it.

 “Have you thought about what you’ll do if they can’t get rid of these powers we have?” he asked, staring at her intently.

 “Yeah. Would you stop staring at me? It’s creepy.”

 “My apologies for making you uncomfortable, but I just can’t help it, Nyah. You are a very beautiful woman. I could stare at your face for hours on end.”

 “Then take a picture. They last longer.” she suggested, rolling her eyes.

 “I don’t have my phone with me. Or my canvas.”

 “Too bad.”

 “Are you going to answer my question or not?”

 “Well, my sister was joking around when she said that I could become a superhero, but if this can’t change, I would totally do it.”

 “I would too. We’d have to work on keeping our identities a mystery. Maybe you could wear a mask like Catwoman.”

 “She was caught by her cop boyfriend. You could wear glasses when you’re just going to your 9 to 5 job like Superman.” He laughed out.

 “I don’t get how that worked! Clark Kent wore glasses as his only means of disguise and no one recognized him at all. No way. I would wear a mask.”

 “A full mask or one to just cover your eyes?”

 “Just my eyes.” Nyah suddenly had a thought that sent chills up and down her spine.

 “I want to have a family.” Nahuel’s eyebrows shot up to his hairline.

 “What?” he squeaked.

 “I want a family. I want kids. This might not have occurred to you, but what if we pass this on to our kids?” He had no answer for her and said so. If he joked and said they could be a super family like The Incredibles, she would most definitely m**m him. There was nothing funny about this new unknown, though. No one knew what the future held but they had to consider every possibility. And a house filled with kids causing fires and storms with every tantrum was a possibility that scared them both.