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  He’d have gone in there, but another student was already taking advantage of the luxury. So he made sure he was comfortable on his desk before beginning. With his eyes closed, Gideon was able to focus on his real work. Because of The Doctor’s special drug he’d received the night of the party, Gideon gained the ability to communicate and enter a computer’s system using just his mind. A handy trick, though it was one that left him feeling a little dirty. Computers were personal, phones doubly so. A mountain of knowledge in a small, plastic case. Information he found could make or break the war effort. And if invading someone’s privacy for a small moment in time ended up saving even one life, it was worth the effort. Right?

  Yes, it is. We all know she’s bad news anyway. I’m not going to search for anything unrelated to the fighting anyway.

  As he tapped into his power, all of the side effects came along with it. First was the drowsy, out of body experience that made him think he was actually floating over everyone. Once he got comfortable with that sensation he was able to open his eyes, figuratively. Gideon could see where he was, but he did so by seeing the electrical pulses of all the machines in the room. Small, blinking lights that flowed through strings of electrical cable or moved in small clumps as the user made their way around the room. After he got his “vision” back, his fingers began to tingle, and that was the sign that he was ready to connect to a device.

  It didn’t take long for him to locate Tait’s cellphone in the room. Each phone was so personalized, the owner’s identity stood out just as plainly as if he were looking right at them. The user settings were always telling of a person. For example, Tait had a sappy pop song for her ringtone, kept most of her preferences set to default, had one game, and a plethora of social media applications. She liked to interact with others on a regular basis and had a surprisingly optimistic viewpoint on life in her status updates. Whatever bitterness she contained in her soul, she only let it out during her work for the Blue tribe, it seemed.

  Even without all of those clear signs, he’d known it was hers just from the electronic signals alone. Her personality was so deeply interwoven with the machine it was frightening. People definitely get too attached to these things.

  Now, let’s see what she’s been up to since her “rehabilitation,” shall we? Rehabilitation, he scoffed at the idea. Alan’s tribe, the red tribe, had attempted to wipe Tait’s memories of the Alturan war and return her to “normal.”

  They’d gotten ahold of a sophisticated device that was considered some kind of Alturan holy relic. This machine allowed users to connect with their brains, search through their entire lives, pick out the information it desired, and move it to storage on its hard drive. In the past, the Alturans used it to document vital events in history. Now, they were using it to safely lobotomize their enemies.

  Only, someone else hacked the computer system during Tait’s turn and the operation had to be shut down partway through. Supposedly, she didn’t know enough to continue involvement with the war. The techs claimed they were able to remove all of the essential details revolving around how to use her abilities and whom she worked for. Gideon didn’t buy it. He had been inside the computer at the same time, and none of her memories were being transferred from her mind to the system. Somehow, the program had been altered, messed around with—hacked. By someone who wasn’t him and who wasn’t an ally.

  First, he searched through Tait’s email. He wasn’t expecting to find much there. Email was too easy for an outsider to observe. Careless. Sending a message through one of the school computers or at home would raise some eyebrows if anyone were to look over her shoulder. Most of its contents were school or cheerleading related. One brief message from Nathan caught Gideon’s attention, but only because it was from Nathan. Tait shouldn’t have been interacting with Nate in school since they were both in different grades. To be fair, however, Nathan was smart, and like Gideon, qualified for higher-level courses. They might share a science class, and they’re both popular, so it’s possible they might have a few mutual friends. It’s not completely ridiculous. But he was at that party…somehow he’s involved too. Gideon made note of the two’s meeting time next week for a “special project,” and moved on to her text messages.

  Like most teenagers, she sent thousands of them a day. Including during class. An active conversation was going on as he snooped—with Orlando, of all people.

  “I’m thinking about dropping Spanish,” Orlando wrote.

  “Why?” Tait replied.

  “Because I suck at it.”

  “Practice more!”

  “It’s going to ruin my GPA. I barely managed an A last semester. Class is breaking my brain.”

  “I could help you. Study date?”

  “Not sure. I have a feeling not a lot of studying will happen.”

  Gideon scrunched up his nose. Walked in at a bad time. She’s hot and all, but he knows what kind of a monster she is. How can he still be into her?

  He opened his eyes and shifted his position to watch the two, trying to get a feel for what was really going on. Deep down, he wanted to believe Orlando wouldn’t fall victim to her female charms, but Tait was indeed charming when she wasn’t acting like a tyrant. Gideon wasn’t sure he’d have been able to resist, especially when she came on so strong.

  She smirked as she typed in her reply. “So?”

  “I want an A,” came Orlando’s short response.

  “You’ll get one, and then some.”

  Orlando’s body tensed up as he read the message and he pressed his lips together. He lifted a finger, ready to type, then suddenly changed his mind and put his phone in his backpack instead. Soon, he had his headphones on and his face buried in a textbook.

  Good, Gideon thought. He’s not completely blinded. There’s hope. Girl is bad news. I should tell him all the crap she’s done to me. He might not know.

  He watched Tait sigh before talking quietly to one of her nearby friends. Now he could dig deep into her messages and take a good look around with that distraction out of the way. He also didn’t have to be quite as careful with his actions. If she wasn’t looking at the screen, he had an easier time maneuvering around the device.

  After Orlando, the next most texted person in her contacts was her cheerleading co-captain, followed by a number of her female friends. Nothing out of the ordinary in those. Then there was her twin brother, Peyton, who used to be a part of the Blue tribe. His rehabilitation had been successful, however, and going through her phone Gideon saw nothing suggesting an attempt to reverse the process. Old messages from months back had meeting times and small subtle chatter about the work they did together. All of the new ones were about dinner and practice times for their extracurricular activities. Texts to Mom, Dad, and her cheerleading coach. All normal.

  Then he saw an unfamiliar name close to her recent contacts: Stas.

  There was no one named Stas at the school. Perhaps he or she was another relative, but the latest message sent to the number didn’t seem too family-like.

  “I told you I have a boyfriend.”

  Intrigued, Gideon read through the history.

  “Had fun at our latest session. Can’t wait to have another.” From the mysterious Stas.

  “If that’s your idea of fun, then you have issues,” Tait said.

  “Every memory I give back, I learn so much more about you.”

  “Duh, they’re my memories.”

  “I think we’re soulmates. :P ;)”

  That was when she’d told him she had a boyfriend. A message she’d sent over an hour ago. A message that was also a lie, last he’d checked, but perhaps she was feeling optimistic over her relationship with Orlando.

  Just then, Stas gave his reply.

  “We’ve been over this before: that’s not going to stop me from trying. Say the word and I’ll back off, but the way you were cuddling with me last night makes me think you like me.”

  Gideon felt nauseous. Not only is she getting the memories ta
ken from her during rehabilitation, but she’s also cheating. Okay, maybe not cheating, technically, since Orlando said they were splitsville. Not the point, though! They’re still emotionally dating. Same thing. What do I do? For the time being, he grabbed Stas's number and saved it in his own phone for further research. It was a place to start if nothing else. I don't think anyone will believe me until I can get more evidence.

  Chapter Two

  Cadence poked JD in the side and whispered, “Stop yawning! You know it’s contagious!”

  “Like cooties,” he teased, whispering back, and then yawned again anyway.

  She frowned, deeply concerned for him. Telling jokes might have been normal for him, but not so much the constant exhaustion. “Is your little brother teething again? Because you’re a lot more tired than usual, and that’s saying a lot since you sleep through three class periods every day.”

  “No, I’m fine. Maybe it’s a growth spurt.” He winked then put his head on his desk. “Wake me up when the hour is over. Okay?”

  “You should go to the nurse,” she urged. “Fake sick and nap there.” Though she wondered if perhaps he was actually ill for a change. Either way, at least he wouldn’t humiliate himself in class.

  He groaned quietly. “Banned from that. Done it too many times this year.”

  Only you, JD, only you. She sighed, deciding to let it go. Their teacher was staring right at them, glaring. Cadence shrugged, unsure of what to do. She could poke and prod JD all hour. If he wanted to sleep, he wouldn’t wake up for anything short of the school burning down, and even then that was questionable. As tempting as it was to text Angela for the favor, she wouldn’t encourage arson. So Cadence went back to doodling in her notebook and pretending to listen to the lecture.

  In truth, she didn’t need to pay attention. She only faked it to keep up the appearance that she was indeed trying hard to improve her grades. Going from D’s and C’s to A’s and B’s would be suspicious if she didn’t show some kind of effort. Thanks to her supernaturally given intelligence, she could pull off straight A’s with ease if she wanted to. Doing so might raise too many questions, however, so she put in the time to give just enough wrong answers to keep her grade curve more gradual—even if it drove her bonkers.

  Inside of her mind were so many facts it made her head spin. Like someone had taken the key to her brain and unlocked it, letting the contents spill out without her control. Sometimes, it overwhelmed her to the point of tears. Cadence did her best to keep those moments at bay as much as possible. Each day it became a lot more difficult to do as she grew into her gift. At first, it’d been exciting and fascinating. Each new subject she explored allowed for more and more knowledge to pour into her. She wondered if she could turn her brain off for just a little while so she could give it a much-needed rest. An impossible task, apparently. The less she had to engage in, the more she thought.

  The onslaught of information was the worst when she was the most bored. Like in classes where she learned nothing—like the one she was in now. Rather than pay attention, she started to worry about JD, because while worrying was fruitless, it beat being assaulted by a new batch of information.

  Despite everything that happened between them, Cadence never stopped loving her best friend so worrying also came natural when she allowed herself to do it. He’s not taking care of himself, and it’s probably my fault. I wish he’d understand. We make better friends than lovers. There’s someone better out there for him than me. Someday he’ll see that. I’m not the girl who is going to make him want to change.

  He had a lot of ex-girlfriends, most of whom he claimed to love like they were “the one.” What made her different? She wasn’t prettier or any better than the others. All she had going for her was that she had known him the longest. Every single thing they did that annoyed her so much in the past, she had done herself once she and JD became involved. And she hated herself for it. It made her easy to replace.

  There was more too it, though. Something was missing and she couldn't quite put her finger on what that was. A near-death experience clouded her judgment. JD had almost been lost to her forever and the adrenaline of it all had her jumping without thinking through her feelings thoroughly.

  Once the moment passed, all of the problems in their relationship became clear. The truth about her feelings for him...she still wasn’t sure what that was. What she did know was she felt better about herself with him as just a friend. She liked herself more, liked him more. He treated her better. As much as she loved him, she needed more time to heal from the hurt before she could allow herself to love him completely. All the more reason for them to be apart. She wasn’t positive and if there was a next time in the future for them, she needed to be sure. I don’t think I’ll ever be cut out for dating, anyway. It’s way too complicated, and that’s not just the bitter part of me speaking.

  At least things were getting better between them. The awkward tension seemed to only occur when they were in the car now. Only then were they ever in close enough proximity to one another. Their best conversations happened when he drove her home, and after he walked her up to her apartment door, she had a hard time not giving him a kiss goodnight.

  She missed the feeling of his lips against hers. Those quiet, shy, moments, where he got flustered and let her see through the walls he’d put up. She loved him most then because that was when he was the most honest. No guessing was needed to figure out what was going on inside of his head. Everything made sense.

  But those moments didn’t equal much in all of their time together. Ninety-percent of the time, she felt as though he were hiding his true self from her just like he did with the rest of the world. I’m an idiot for thinking I could be the one to make him stay. He only wants me now because he can’t have me anymore. Cadence let out a quiet huff and patiently waited for independent work time to begin. Once she had her homework assignment written down for later, she got up to get the hall pass to stretch her legs and get away from JD. She’d spent more than enough time dwelling on a subject she wanted to move past. It seemed the harder she tried to push forward the more the past wouldn’t let her go.

  She took her time walking down the hallways of Morningtide High School. The building was so big in comparison to most schools. Four wings surrounded the central area where the cafeteria and student lounge were located. Each wing had three floors of classrooms and lockers, sans the wing that had the gymnasium and swimming pool. The school was twice the size of her apartment complex. Most of the students who attended were part of the rich elite. The boundaries of the city just barely included JD’s house, while Cadence was supposed to attend Lunar Falls but had opted for Morningtide. What would things have been like if she’d gone there instead?

  Perhaps she’d have fit in better with her classmates, but she was more than happy with her mother’s decision. Morningtide was a fantastic school, and the size made it perfect for escaping. There were plenty of places she could roam in solitude for a few minutes. One thing ruined her grand plan to clear her mind, or rather, one person did.

  Alan.

  Like usual, he popped into the hallway out of thin air. It took a lot of getting used to because he liked to do it at the worst times. The middle of class, into the bathroom while she was in the middle of using it, going home on the bus—and it was always unannounced because he never called in advance. In the past she made the assumption that Alturans had some kind of message delivering system like email or cellphones. If that kind of technology existed, though, she’d never seen him use it.

  Since meeting him, a number of rules had been put into place. No popping into bathrooms anymore, for example. She wanted to ban him from the bedroom, but that was harder to do in the chance her mom might have been home. Alan could make himself invisible to anyone he desired, which was another handy trick, but she couldn’t exactly “talk to herself” in the middle of the living room, all the same. On the plus side, she didn’t have to answer questions like where all of his clothin
g was if her mother couldn’t see him.

  Because another thing Alturans did differently was the way they dressed. Even on the coldest of days, the most she’d ever seen him in was a pair of pants and a vest that showed off his perfectly chiseled tan abdomen. The guy was like some kind of a god with his beautiful smile, blue eyes, blond hair, just perfect to behold—and he didn’t even realize it. On Altura, he was considered unattractive. It boggled her mind.

  One major problem with invisibility, however, was explaining doors opening on their own and knocking sounds coming from nowhere. Her mom would not believe the excuse of ghosts. In that regard, school made for a better meeting spot. There were a lot of places she could conveniently take the hall pass too for a brief conversation when needed.

  Since they were alone in one of the smaller side hallways of the school, she didn’t mind greeting him verbally.

  “Hi,” she said, smiling. He tended to make her want to do that a lot with his gentleness and quirkiness. Those two traits always made everything better.

  He waved. “I wasn’t planning to interrupt your day, but I need your advice. And only yours.”

  “Okay...” She bit her lower lip, trying to thwart the warmth spreading across her cheeks. When he said how much he needed her, she couldn’t help but be flattered. Before she gained her gift, she’d been the school bimbo. It was a nice change to be wanted for her brains. “This sounds serious. I only have a few minutes and then I’m expected back in class.”

  “Right, of course. I just...” He paused, and that wasn’t like him. Alan always had his words carefully planned before he spoke. “This is a personal problem, and I don’t want to make it the entire group’s business. If I asked to speak with you in private in front of anyone else, they’ll wonder. Your mother has been home more in the evenings, so I don’t feel comfortable visiting your house. I’d been hoping since you were in the hall that meant you had time. Stupid of me, since I know your education system demands you be in a desk until the end of your designated shift.”