“Well as long as you’re alright.” A soft chuckle floated from Otis’ lips, a warm breeze drifted in from the open coffee shop door. “I don’t much like to see someone down.” He paused for a moment, rubbing the back of his head nervously. “You don’t come here that often, I mean well I haven’t seen you here before, at all, so I assume you’re not here often.” Otis’ face heated a little from embarrassment, and he slowly moved away from the girl. “I’m Otis by the way, nice to meet you,” he checked his watch. “Sorry to cut this short but I have a book appointment—well I need to see if, I mean I need to go and look at books.” He stumbled out of the door, looking back with a heavenly smile and a wave towards the girl. He could not be late, he had to stick to his daily schedule as much as possible. He was safe that way.
Penny’s face heated up, much to her embarrassment. She watched the boy walk away with a mixture of confusion and hope. He was kind to her, something that hadn’t happened in a while. He seemed…different. Not just because he was kind. There was just an energy, a happiness about him. Maybe he was like her?
No, of course this guy didn’t have a weird talent like she did. That was absurd. At best he was a concerned person and at worst some sort of spy. Maybe if she followed him she could figure out what he was really up to. But that was so beyond awkward. Although, what if he really was different?
Otis promptly made his way to the book shop, at the end of the high street. It was a pleasant brisk walk, his coffee was the right temperature to drink completely before entering the shop. One more hand to carry books!
The clerks were as friendly as ever. The shop was always quiet at this time so conversations were made. They spoke about the newest books to be released, shared their opinions on books they had read, the usual. Of course, Otis purchased another 5 books that he didn’t need, but he was running low on material that kept his mind from the fact he was a freak.
He shouldn’t have spoken to that girl, it had completely screwed his emotions——something he needed to have complete control over.
Penny glanced down the street at the shop the boy had gone into. She really shouldn’t have followed him. Doing so on a stupid hunch was the best way to get found and hunted down, which was exactly what she was trying to avoid. She sighed, a strand of hair blowing in front of her face from the release of breath.
Maybe a quick teleportation wouldn’t hurt? It’d help her get in without attracting attention, granted she didn’t end up right in front of the kid. She was getting better at controlling it, but it still depended partially on her energy level and anxiety. Of course, it wasn’t an exact science. She knew that if she wanted to go into the shop, she wouldn’t end up in Canada, but she couldn’t really tell where in the shop she might be, only guess.
She ducked between buildings, glad no one was around. Then she waited a moment, holding her breath, just in case. When she was satisfied she was well and truly alone, she squeezed her eyes shut and teleported.
When she opened her eyes, she took behind a shelf full of books. She peered around the shelf, she saw several more shelves and around those, a counter where the boy was talking to some others. Perfect. She ducked behind the shelf again, breathing hard for a moment, but also trying to be as quiet as possible in this quiet little shop. She listened, leaning slightly against the books.
Otis could sense another person in the building, one who hadn’t walked through the front door. Strange, he had only counted 5 customers enter and leave in all the time he had been there. He shook his head a little, it was a silly thought after all, and continued his conversation with the clerks.
When it was time to leave, he picked up the bag of books and bid farewell to his friends. They were very understanding of his need to stick to a tight schedule, and were pleased that he came to visit them every day, with the place slowly losing customers it would only be a matter of time before they needed to close down, so for someone to go out of their way to check up on the staff was high appreciated. The only issue is what would happen when Otis found out that they were closing.
Otis was almost back home, but it was then that he realised he had left his satchel at the book shop, and it contained his keys. He only had 5 minutes before he needed to start cleaning the house, it wouldn’t be enough time to run to the book shop and get back in time to start!
After the guy left, Penny decided to head out as well, just walking through the front door and hoping that the other people wouldn’t realize that she hadn’t come in through it. She needed to save her energy in case this boy went somewhere else that she didn’t want to be seen. She followed him at a distance, careful not to lose sight entirely of him but also not to be close enough for him to think she was following him. Her bright copper hair certainly didn’t help in this respect, but it wasn’t something she could change right now.
Penny stopped when the guy did, realizing that he probably lived here. Okay, this was officially getting creepy, as if it wasn’t before. She was done following around random people. She could go get food or something, with her limited funds which she had wasted on coffee to keep her awake. Not for the first time, she wished that she didn’t hate the cheaper black coffee. Whatever.
Penny turned, deciding to head back to her car or somewhere else lowkey when she noticed him. The man looked familiar in that odd way that most of the shadowy people did, because she’d seen him before. He didn’t appear to have seen her yet, though, thankfully. She quickly walked in the opposite direction, hoping to avoid him. All too soon she realized that was the direction of that guy Otis, who she had been keeping tabs on. Shit.
Otis’ hands had become rather restless after making the decision to push his schedule back by 10 minutes. It wasn’t like he hadn’t done it before, but that didn’t make it any less unbearable when he did. He began briskly jogging back towards the book shop, but not before he noticed the girl from earlier.
A strong gust of wind almost knocked him over, but he managed to keep his footing in case the girl happened to notice. “Keep your cool.” he told himself, taking a deep breath. “You don’t want to slip up.”
He noticed the grey clouds drawing nearer in the sky, his anxiety had started building up a lot quicker than he had wanted it to. One wrong move and the sky would cry.
Penny blinked. It hadn’t been windy before, had it? Maybe her suspicions were right, but now was no time to celebrate. She was probably imagining things. Or least that was what she told herself, until she glanced back and saw the man looking right at Otis. “I wouldn’t go that way, if I were you,” she said to him, loud enough for him to hear her easily but still fairly quiet.
Penny internally cursed. Why did she say that? Now he’d think she was crazy and run right into their hands. Or worse, what if he listened to her and she had been wrong about him? Maybe the man mistook him for someone else and this guy didn’t have any weird abilities.
At the girl’s words, Otis froze. The clouds grew darker, the breeze tussled his hair and jacket. “What do you mean?” Was someone watching them? Oh the peaceful life was only too good to be true, he knew someone was watching them at this point. The girl spoke as if she was genuinely warning him about something, and when he glanced from the corner of his eye at the figure not too far down the road, it clicked. Stay calm, Otis, or someone is going to notice the change in weather!
Penny glanced up at the clouds before looking back at Otis. "I'm assuming by the look on your face that you know exactly what I mean," she responded. "We need to get out of here. There's more than just him." She hoped that he could see the fear and sincerity in her eyes. He had trust her. Luckily she didn't say that, as it sounded more than a little cliche, though right now that was the least of their problems.
“I Uhm…” Keep it together, Otis. He took a deep breath once again, allowing his anxiety to take over for a second and a slight drizzle began to fall. He took a quick glance at the figure that seemed to be drawing closer, then looked back at the girl. “Would you like to come back to mine? It uhm.. it is raining after all.”
"It's not safe there," Penny responded, frantic and almost a bit derisive. "They'll find us. We have to throw them off the scent first, and then we can talk for a bit. Just follow me, okay? This way we can hopefully live past tomorrow." She glanced at him before darting into the nearest gap between houses, hoping he'd have the sense to follow.
When the girl started running away, adrenaline crept its way up inside Otis and formed a lump in his throat. She was serious about there being some sort of danger, wasn’t she? Today was not going to plan, at all, and it seemed to all pin down to when he had opened his mouth to that girl. What if she was the danger? Was he willing to take that risk?
He could see the fear in her eyes, so there was a hefty chance that she was sincere. Otis sighed, what more had he got to lose by following her. Clutching the bag of books close to his chest, he proceeded to follow her through the backstreet, and the rain fell a little heavier than before.
Penny smiled slightly when she saw him follow, though the look was bereft of any real joy. “Okay, this might sound weird, but I want you to take my hand,” Penny added, darting a glance to the end of the alley nervously. She was fairly certain which house was his, and it wasn’t too far, so it probably wouldn’t take much exertion. Being cautious, she also made she sure had enough energy left to get away in case this all an elaborate trap, though she didn’t think it was. However, Penny had learned the hard way that things weren’t always how they seemed.
Of course, she had only taken another person with her once or twice, so it might be a bit more effort than she had planned. She just hoped that it worked out, because she certainly couldn’t teleport two people more than once today.
Otis’ eyes narrowed slightly at her request, what effect was holding hands going to have? It certainly wouldn’t make them run quicker that’s for sure. This was all too much excitement for Otis to handle, and as the rain poured heavier he decided to just do as she said. He took her hand, hesitantly, and tried to stop the involuntary muscle movements of his fingers. “What’s going on? I really don’t understand…”
“Hold on,” Penny instructed, glancing at his loose grip. She gripped his hand tightly, concentrating. The anxiety in her stomach was almost as good as adrenaline, and after a feeling like they were about to pass out, they were in his house. Well, she wasn’t sure where in the house they were, but it had to be his house, right?
She studied the decor, figuring Otis would be a bit shaken up from the ride. She’d gotten really dizzy and light headed on her first few teleportations, but it was so long ago she barely remembered them.
When Otis’ form appeared in the room, he stumbled against the wall closest to him before sliding down to the floor. The feeling of wanting to vomit was overwhelming, but he kept his composure so as to not make the ground dirty. When his head cleared, he noticed he was surrounded by the familiar decor of his living room. “Impossible…” he murmured, eyes wide. How were they in his house? His keys were in his bag back at the book shop, and all other entrances and exits were locked. After a moment of sitting still, he pulled himself up and turned to the girl. “Did you do this? Get us inside the house I mean.”
Penny’s lips quirked into a smile. “Well it certainly wasn’t you,” she quipped, looking around. “Nice house, by the way. Based on the fact you’re not running off screaming, I’d bet you can do something too. Or you’re light headed. But still.” Penny paused a moment in her rambling to actually think. Now that she had revealed her hand, she didn’t mind talking a lot. She glanced back at Otis to see how he was faring.
“Thanks…” Otis sighed, the rain outside started to ease up as he laid the books he’d bought out on the coffee table. Two large navy sofas sat in an L shape around said table, and Otis offered for the girl to take a seat. “I’m assuming by “something” you mean.. not normal?” Of course she meant not normal, but he just needed the clarification.
Penny sat lightly, her body tense, as if she would get up and bolt any second. “Yes, that is I what I was referring to,” she responded, doing her best not to add “duh” after it. He was probably new to this crazy world, and being rude about it wouldn’t help anything.
So she hadn't noticed the weather? A soft "Huh." floated from his lips. He looked down at his hands, taking deep breaths to calm his adrenaline and fear, and as the feeling slowly started to fade away, the sun appeared once again in the sky. "What happened back there? You seemed genuinely scared."
“You saw that guy,” Penny responded, a bit annoyed that he didn’t answer her question. She wondered if it was something to do with the strange breeze earlier. “He and others like him have been following me for weeks. They managed to hunt me down and I don’t know who are or what they want me for, just that it’s bad. I think they experiment on people like us, and I don’t want to stick around one of them long enough to find out. He was looking at you, so I was thinking maybe they’re also after you.”
“But why would they have any suspicion of me?” Otis narrowed his eyes, his eyebrows knitted together. His life had been nothing short of perfect, or as much as he had tried to make it. After realising that the weather was somehow linked to his emotions he had tried sticking to a strict schedule in order to keep the natural balance of the weather. “I’m sorry, how rude, I haven’t even asked you your name.”
“Oh, I completely forgot to tell you my name!” Penny laughed, trying not to focus on the negative for a moment, though she knew they would have to have the discussion anyway. “It’s Penny. Nice to meet you! Officially. Anyway, I have no idea. I just got here today! I told you that I’ve been running from them for a while now, and if one of them was looking at you like that—well, it could be a coincidence but I don’t think it’s likely.”
