Brief.

"C'mon, new girl, wake up," a girl's voice was saying. Something was shaking me. I opened my eyes. "Took you long enough." A girl wearing all black (to match her long, black hair) was standing next to me, shaking my shoulder with her foot. I saw Eric sitting on the ground a few feet away, rubbing the sides of his head and wincing. "Up," the girl commanded, grabbing my arm and pulling me up.

"See, Luna? Mind powers are very powerful," the blonde woman said again. Eric snorted. "Jeff, would you like to demonstrate your power too?" The boy who had gasped my name earlier jumped up eagerly. Before I could process what he was doing, his hands were on the sides of my head, and the room faded.

I was reliving old memories. The day I met Emma. One day when one of my classmates pushed me down the stairs, and the pain went away when I was with Emma. All the time Emma and I had spent together as kids. Watching Emma leave me. Emma saving me. And the night Emma flew. That last memory lingered longer than the others. I could feel my heart rate speeding---

And then the room suddenly reappeared. Eric was pulling Jeff away from me. "Not every memory is yours to see!" he spat at the boy. I was suddenly amazed by Eric. Why was he so concerned with protecting me and my privacy?

"Mr. Hain! Jeff was helping teach. Are you trying to hinder Miss Zane's learning?" the blonde woman asked Eric.

"You're mental." Eric seemed to be listening to her thoughts for a moment. "What? No. I won't do it." Pause. "Stop trying to blackmail me, Notting." Pause. "No, that's not possible." Pause. "That's none of your business!" A longer pause. "I'm done with all of that." Long pause again. Eric sighed. "It's just not right any more." Pause. "Maybe I just grew a heart finally." The two just looked at each other for awhile longer. It was silent.

"If that's your choice, Eric, I can't stop you," the woman sighed finally.

"It is. Try to see it through my eyes, Notting." Their conversation was over. Notting, the woman, turned to the other students.

"Pen. Paper. Take notes." And then she launched into a long lecture about how mind powers work, and whatnot. It was all way too confusing for me to take in, so I just wrote down as much as a possibly could for the rest of the day.

Scream.

Eric winced as he walked in behind me. "Dammit, Shout, stop thinking at me!" What??

"Sorry, Probe. Can't control this thing, ya know?" A girl's voice laughed sarcastically from a dark corner.

"Yeah right."

"Marissa, please refrain from using your power maliciously without permission," a young, blonde woman said as she walked in the room. "Hello, Miss Zane. Send your mother my regards."

"Zane?!" a boy, probably only 12, gasped to my left. "You're Zane?" A murmur flew through the room. My face burned.

"Please, Jeff, do not gawk. She is just as human as you are." Why was everyone staring at me now? My name was important somehow?

"Your mother is a bit famous in our world," Eric said quietly to me. "Research and whatnot. They'll get over it soon."

"What's your name, dear?" the blonde woman asked.

"Luna," Eric and I said simultaneously. She smiled.

"Are you taking her as your charge then, Mr. Hain? Perhaps you'd like to be the first to help with her initiation?" Eric glowered at her.

"I'm not mind-raping anyone without their consent." He pulled me back and stepped in between the woman and me, practically growling. She rolled her eyes.

"Luna, would you kindly tell Mr. Hain that he has the right to use his power which he happily uses all the time anyway?" Eric was obviously trying to protect me from something, but I had no idea what or why.

"He can do whatever he wants," I said.

"And I don't want to force my way into anyone's mind," Eric growled.

"Oh well. Marissa?" The blonde woman smiled calmly at the dark corner she had scolded earlier. "Miss Zane needs to learn why we are superior. Why mind powers are the strongest and most powerful. Go ahead." The dark corner laughed darkly.

"Sure thing, Notting." And then I saw a glint of eyes in the corner light up at the same moment the screaming started. I covered my ears instinctively, and the sound was just as loud and clear. My head started spinning and pulsating painfully.

"Stop!" Eric roared suddenly. The screaming stopped just as suddenly. I was dizzy and fell over. I couldn't focus on anything. My head was still ringing. Then I blacked out.

Zip and Probe.

"Okay, okay," Seamus said once we were out of the hall. "We could walk and go all slow and stuff and blah blah blah boring, or you can let me show you what fast really is." He flashed a wide grin, clearly hoping I'd choose the latter.

"Whatever," I muttered. Before a full second had even passed, Seamus picked me up in his arms, and was smiling down at me, looking extremely victorious. "What the hell???"

"Hold on tight!" I barely had a chance to react as we suddenly rocketed forward, up the staircase, down a hallway, up another, left here, right there . . . I couldn't keep track. It only lasted a few seconds, and then we suddenly stopped outside a room that I Alejandro had tried to point out to me the day before.

"Holy crap," I managed to say, clinging onto Seamus's neck for dear life. I knew if he set me down, I'd fall. I was just too dizzy. Everything was spinning all around me. I could tell that he was grinning like crazy though. Clearly, my reaction had been what he was hoping for.

"Have fun?" he asked, sitting down with me now on his lap. The spinning had slowed considerably, and I loosened my grip on him slightly.

"I'm dizzy." He laughed at that.

"But was it fun?" I groaned my protest, and pushed my self off of him. I definitely couldn't stand, but sitting by him was better than being on him, holding on like I'd die if I let go. "Aw, c'mon, Luna. Admit it! It was at least a little fun."

"If I wasn't so dizzy, maybe," I grumbled. Honestly, it was at least a little cool . . . Okay, so it was seriously just freakin' awesome. And I didn't really mind Seamus carrying me . . .

"New girl liked it, Zip. In more ways than one." A guy I thought I had met the day before winked at Seamus as he walked up.

"Hiya, Probe!" Seamus said brightly, standing up.

"'Sup, Zip? You walking your girl to class?" He paused, then rolled his eyes. "Running her to class. Same difference." He paused again, and this time following the pause with a huge laugh. "That's the cutest little thing I've heard all morning, Zip. Congrats." I was starting to think he was talking to himself. "Oh, she's wondering why the hell I'm talking to myself." He looked at me and smirked. "Now she's wondering who I'm talking about. Isn't that right, Luna?" I gaped at him. Was he . . . reading my thoughts?

"Yep. That's my power. Name's Eric, by the way. We met yesterday, but you were a bit busy contemplating murder and Emma. By the way, she doesn't like him like that, so you can quit worrying." I gaped at him. He had been reading not only my thoughts, but Emma's too? What about Alejandro? Obviously, he--

"Chillax. He's just a dick who has the hots for some grandma. His powers are lame anyway. You don't need to get all worked up over him. Zip, you're gonna be late."

"Oh, right," Seamus said. "Yeah, I'll just be going now. Have fun, Luna! See ya, Probe!" A split second later, Seamus had vanished.

"C'mon, new girl, class time." Eric smirked and held open the door to our class.

Breakfast.

"EMMA!" I screamed. ABC. Airway, breathing, circulation. Her airway looked clear, she had circulation, but she wasn't breathing. My mind was racing. CPR! What was it? 3 breaths and 20 pumps, right? Mouth-to-mouth. The words echoed weirdly in my head as I hurriedly tried to breathe air into her lungs. Still not breathing. Pump her chest. No breathing still. I breathed more air into her lungs, this time, causing her to start coughing and then finally breathe again. She looked at me for a moment, opened her mouth to speak, and then closed it.

"Lu--" she managed to say.

"Are you okay?" Her eyes glazed over. She wasn't seeing me now. "C'mon, Emma! Stay with me!" She was breathing at least. Weakly, but she was breathing. Emma coughed suddenly, and her eyes returned to normal. "Emma?" She closed her eyes and shook her head.

"Sorry," she muttered, sitting up. "I need to sleep." I helped her get up, and then she collapsed onto the bed and fell asleep. Her skin felt cold.


Emma was just as bubbly as ever when she woke up the next morning, as if nothing had ever happened. She was going on and on about how she wondered what classes were going to be like today, while I tried to get ready, when there was a knock on our door. I let out a growl of irritation, thinking it must be Alejandro once again. Emma quickly finished putting her clothes on and then opened the door in her way-too-cheerful way.

"Alice!" Emma gasped. A happy surprise though. Happy for me too. At least it wasn't Alejandro.

"Er, hi," Alice said nervously. "I, uh, figured since, you know, it was your first day today and all, I'd help you, you know, show you where you're supposed to be. I know Alejandro gave you that tour and stuff, but he did that for me too, and I couldn't remember any of it." Emma grinned even more.

"That would be great! Thanks, Alice!" she said cheerfully. Alice grinned back happily too. I tried to smile, but I was worried about Emma. It didn't seem right that she would be this happy after last night. Oh well.

"So it's about time for breakfast right now. Are you guys ready to go? I can wait."

"I'm all ready. Luna?"

"Give me a minute," I grumbled, stalking off into the bathroom as the two of them started talking about trivial things. It took me only a few minutes to finish getting ready though, and we were on our was to breakfast in no time.


"There's always food in the dining hall," Alice said as she led the way downstairs. "Clayton - he sleepwalks - said he woke up in the dining hall eating strawberries at 3 in the morning once. Oh, by the way, if someone comes to your room in the middle of the night, it's probably Clayton. Apparently, he has prophetic dreams, which is why he sleep walks."

"Prophetic dreams?" Emma asked, as we stepped into the the massive dining hall.

"Yeah, it's weird. Sees the future and stuff. Get whatever you like," Alice nodded to a long counter along the side of the room. "It's all free and you can have as much as you like." She quickly piled food on a plate and sat down at one of the round tables behind us. Emma and I got our food and then joined her at the table. "Anyway, Clayton has to go to the people in his dreams, I guess. Like if he was going to have one with you in it, he has to go to you while he's sleeping. His last roommate got so fed up with the sleepwalking thing though, that he just up and left."

"Hey, Alice!" A boy, probably the same age as Emma and I, waved at our table as he walked in. A minute later, he sat down across from me. "So you gonna introduce me to your new friends, Alice, or do I have to do it myself?"

"Seamus, this is Emma and Luna. Emma, Luna, this is Seamus." Seamus stuck out his hand, which Emma shook and I just ignored. "Today's their first day here. I was going to show them around to where they're supposed to be. You know Alejandro's tours are always horrible." Seamus and Alice both laughed.

"So what class are you guys in?" Seamus asked.

"Uh, I'm with Alice," Emma said. "I think Luna's in the same class as that Eric or whatever his name was guy."

"Eric? Woah. Wait, what am I thinking?" Seamus stared at me intensely, like he was trying to burn into my skull.

"Seamus!" Alice gave him a dark look.

"What?"

"Even if she was a mind reader, that's rude. And she probably isn't one, right Luna?"

"What? No. I just move stuff," I blurted.

"Woah! Sweet! Like with your mind? That's awesome!" Seamus was practically bouncing in his seat. "Alice, can I take her? Pleeeease? I have to go over that way anyway and you and Emma are on the other side, so it'd just be logical to do it that way. And---"

"Ask her, not me," Alice said. Seamus looked at me expectantly. I shrugged, and he nearly flew out of his seat bouncing.

"Are you ready? I'm ready!" Seamus squealed. I shrugged again. He stood up, and I followed suit. "Bye Emma! Bye Alice! See you later!" Emma and Alice waved back at us, and Seamus grabbed my hand and pulled me out of the dining hall.

Tension.

My cheery mood had vanished very quickly and I was so busy wanting to break something, particularly Alejandro's face or maybe his stupid face, that I paid absolutely no attention to the tour. I couldn't explain my sudden change of mood, but that didn't stop me from feeling it. I utterly hated Alejandro for irrational reasons. I hated the sickening sound of his voice, so clearly fake. Every word he spoke felt like a lie. And Emma just stood there, stupidly taking in his words like they were the friggen Bible or something. And that stupid smile of his! Stupid fake smile. He kept looking at her and smiling that stupid fake smile. He was practically staring at her nonstop. And his stupid, stupid, stupid hand! I wanted to break it off. He wouldn't stop touching her shoulders, her back, her hair.

As if him being a complete fake wasn't enough, Emma looked like she was totally buying all of it. She kept smiling up at him and nodding and getting closer to him and ARGH! I wanted to break his face in. It would be so easy too. I could just throw him right into one of the big, fancy chandeliers he was telling Emma allllll about. Who cares about some stupid chandelier? I would have thought Emma wouldn't, but she just seemed totally mesmerized by his every word that no matter what he talked about, she probably would have listened.

I was at the very limit of my self control by the time the tour was over. Once Alejandro was out of our room, I quickly shut the door.

"Wow. This place is amazing, isn't it, Luna?" Emma was grinning like crazy, which softened my rage slightly. I was in no mood to be chipper and bouncy like she was though, so I just smiled and then threw myself onto the massive bed and buried my face in the pillows. My mood must have caught Emma off guard as she was silent for a few minutes. Good. She wouldn't be bugging me with her annoying bubblyness.

"Hey, Luna?" she said quietly after a few minutes.

"What?" I grumbled into the pillows.

"POUNCE!" She landed on my back with a thud, knocking the wind out of me for a moment.

"Ow! Ah! What the hell, Emma?" I pushed her off of me and sat up. She had some stupid grin on her face, once again weakening my bad mood.

"I'm a ninja!" she announced cheerfully.

"Uh, I don't think real ninjas tell other people they're ninjas."

"Exactly! See, now you don't believe I'm a ninja just because I told you! So that means I AM a ninja!" I couldn't possibly stay grumpy at that arguement. I just started laughing. "Hey! Don't laugh at me!"

"Rawr!" I pinned her down and started tickling her. "Take that, you ninja!"

"Aaaahhh! Nooooooo! Not the tickling! It's my weakness!" Emma laughed melodramatically. She squirmed around for a few minutes, acting as if I was killing her or something, and I could feel her body heat going up quickly. If I wasn't used to her always being exceptionally warm, I would have thought she had a fever. I had to admit she made a very good heater, better than using those stupid electric blankets too . . .

"Superninja catches the Tickle Monster off guard!" Emma giggled, pushing me off of her and jumping back on top of me.

And then my heart started pounding like crazy and I couldn't explain why. I felt weird. My mind seemed to have shut off. I was just a crazy mess of emotion with no logic left. Emma's laughter stopped, and she sat up, looking at me curiously. I thought I should say something, but it was almost as if language had never existed. I shifted my weight around and managed to sit awkwardly next to Emma. Neither of us said anything. Emma looked away from me and started at a painting on the wall. Her hand twitched next to me, and I impulsively grabbed it. She looked back at me, and I let go.

"Sorry," I muttered. This time, I stared at the painting, hugging my knees to my chest. She pulled my arm away from my legs and took my hand in hers awkwardly. I didn't want to look at her. She squeezed my hand, let go, and then stood up.

I don't remember how long she stood there, just staring off into space while I watched her carefully, but I do remember seeing her knees buckle in slow motion. I remember my body instantly springing up and catching her before she hit the ground. I remember seeing how empty and dead her eyes looked. And I remember hearing her breathing suddenly stop.

The Mansion.

Somehow, the boy had convinced my mom (I think she just gave up trying to stop us from leaving) that she didn't need to drive us to the school (which, Emma had explained, was some sort of secret school for teenagers with powers). We were just going to walk. Yeah right. Once we were out of sight of Franklin's house, the boy teleported Emma and I into some huge hall that was ornately decorated everywhere. I was dizzy from being teleported, so I nearly fell over, gaping at everything. I didn't have the chance to even look at everything though, because the boy grabbed my arm and pulled me and Emma into a room on our left. He bowed upon entering and Emma and I nervously did the same.

"Will you inform Master Timblewood I have brought Miss Emma and Miss Luna and will be giving them a quick tour now?" He said respectfully to the beautiful woman sitting at the desk in front of us. I suddenly remembered how utterly amazing I thought his voice was.

"Of course, Alejandro. Did you have any troubles attaining them?"

"No ma'am." He bowed again.

"It's no wonder Master Timblewood sent you. You are rather convincing." The woman smiled slyly and winked at him. Then she looked straight at me and smiled sweetly. "You look so much like your mother, dearie." I smiled back. "No doubt just as zany as well." Then an unexpected surge of annoyance swelled up in me. I didn't know why, but I felt angry towards the woman. "Why don't you take these lovely girls to their rooms, Alejandro?"

"Yes, ma'am." He bowed again and silently led Emma and I out of the room and down what I supposed was the main hall.

There was a ginormous staircase at one end which Alejandro led us to. Silently, we went up 3 massive staircases and the finally turned off to the left, walked down a long hall, and then entered a room at the very end. I gaped stupidly we stepped in. Inside looked like it had to be the master bedroom.

"You shall have to share a room. I hope that is okay with both of you, Miss Emma, Miss Luna." He smiled nervously.

"It's fine with me!" Emma said happily. Whatever stupid shock I had been feeling the moment before vanished and I suddenly felt just as happy as Emma clearly was.

"Just dandy!" I giggled.

"I imagine you would like some time to settle in, correct? I shall return in a little while to show the two of you around, but first, make yourselves at home." Then, I kid you not, he blushed and bowed. Emma and I nodded and he hurried out. Then Emma smirked.

"I guess I'm never getting away from you, am I? You realize you are the absolute most clingy person in the world when you sleep, right?" I felt my cheeks burn and turned my attention to the bookshelf behind me.

"Gee, look. Books!" I felt Emma roll her eyes from behind my back.

"Nice subject change, Loony." I ignored her and grabbed a book off the shelf.

"Oh, look. It's the Idiot's Guide to RAWR!" I turned around and attempted to scare her, but tripped instead. Emma literally fell over laughing and then I started laughing too. We kept laughing until our stomaches hurt too much and we couldn't laugh anymore.

"You should write the Idiot's Guide to murdering your best friend's side by to laughing way too much," Emma said when we had finally stopped laughing.

"And you can write the Idiot's Guide to making your best friend fall over laughing at your face!" I laughed back. Emma snickered. You fell for me, hahahaha, I could practically hear her say. I rolled my eyes. In your dreams, I would have said.

"Miss Emma? Miss Luna?" I felt myself blush as I remembered how amazing Alejandro's voice was. He knocked softly on the door. Emma scrambled up, pulled me back on my feet, and opened the door. He smiled at her and bowed then did the same to me. The next time he spoke, his voice no longer seemed amazing. It sounded too sweet, too fake, and I suddenly wanted him to disappear. "Would you like to see the rest of the mansion?"

"That would be great!" Emma said, practically bouncing. I gritted my teeth and nodded. The Alejandro gestured for us to step out (which we did) and then placed a hand on each of our backs as he led us out to begin our tour.

Depature.

Zomg, zomg, zomg, BREATHE. Relax, Luna. Just act cool. Stay cool. Don't be an idiot. "So what do you think?" He smiled straight at me. I froze and managed to prove my idiocracy but mumbling some nonsense that even I had no idea what it meant. He just smiled some more, probably trying not to laugh at me. "Miss Emma?" He turned to Emma, who looked like someone had stuck a carrot up her nose, judging by the look of pain (and confusion) on her face. Hey! Back off! He's mine! Look at me again!

"Er, well . . ." Emma said slowly, turning to look at my mom instead of him.

"I think it may be a good thing to get the two of you out of this house," my mom said. "Lord knows you've both been stuck inside far too long. And I trust the principal to care for you."

"Please, ma'am, Mister Timblewood is not a prinicipal, he's a--"

"It's up to Emma and Luna. They have my permission to go." Go? Wait, where are we going? Crap, I wasn't listening to what he had actually been saying, just that he had been speaking in the most amazing voice EVER. And that he had the most amazing eyes EVER. And zomg, zomg, zomg. BREATHE.

"Misses Emma and Luna?" The beautiful boy said, awaiting our repsonses. I think I managed to open my mouth, but it just hung open like the retarded mouth it was. "Miss Luna, are you feeling well?" He looked thoroughly concerned. Zomg, he looked even more amazing like that. Then he looked at Emma and he looked even more concerned. Hey, no, don't look at her! Look at me! But the look on his face made me look at her too. Crap, she looked even paler than usual and was holding onto her head tightly, a green glow surrounding her hands. "Miss Emma? Miss Emma! Why, you don't look so well either!" She groaned painfully. My mom looked at me suddenly.

"Luna, go to my room," she said, looking slightly horrified. There was no way I could argue with her and quickly got out of the room.

I sat down on the foot of my mom's bed and sighed. What was up with Emma? And what had made my mom look so horrified and send me here? I waited only a few minutes before my mom came in, looking slightly less horrified now.

"Emma's okay now," my mom reassured me. "She just had a headache. She's getting her things right now and I'm going to drive her to the school." So that's what he had been talking about. . . . Wait, she's leaving?!? "I'll be back in a few days. There's plenty of leftovers so you and Franklin won't starve." My head suddenly hurt. Leaving . . . again . . . Hadn't we already been through the whole I-don't-exactly-do-well-with-Emma-leaving thing already? "If you need me while I'm gone, I'm taking Franklin's cell phone with me." She kept going on and on as if there was no question that Emma was leaving, but I didn't hear anything else she said. I was too busy trying to process the idea of Emma leaving. Again. Just the other day, she was acting like she would rather shoot herself than be away from me, and now she was disapearing all over again. Like I'd stay here while she went off to some weird place with that creepy guy. He was probably a rapist. No way I was letting her go off anywhere without me.

"I'm going too," I announced, standing up. My mom looked confused for a moment.

"Why? It's just a long car ride. It won't be any fun."

"I meant to the school. You said it was up to me and Emma if we wanted to go. I want to go." She gaped at me. Clearly, she hadn't been listening to my mind at all. Which, I decided, was a good thing. I liked my thoughts being just that: mine. She opened her mouth to argue, closed it, repeat.

"You can't," she said finally.

"Tough luck. I'm going. You said I could, so I'm going." Her face went cold suddenly.

"You only want to go because the two of you are attached to each other way too much. You both need to learn how to be apart. You can't spend forever with her!" She was standing up now too, looking way serious and scary. I had forgotten how scary she could get. Then, just to make the situation even more *insert adjective here*, Emma and the boy walked in. Okay, he wasn't really a boy. He was probably 16 or 17. Older than me, that's for sure. He had his hand on her shoulder and Emma's face was screwed up in pain.

"What in the world are you two screaming about?" Emma groaned. Jeeze, she looked terrible. And why was he touching her like that? Ugh. Stay away from her!

"Why don't you go finish getting your things, Emma," my mom said in a suddenly kind voice.

"Ma'am, Miss Emma has already gotten her things. She is prepared for departure," the boy said in that amazing voice of his. Zomg, zomg, zomg. BREATHE. Okay, can you say mood swings? What was with me? One minute, I'm all pissy at my mom, then I'm getting ultra jealous, then I'm turning into a giddy little girl over some guy who I had just decided was probably a rapist.

"Let me just finish saying goodbye to my daughter."

"I'm going," I announced. Emma smiled slightly through her look of pain. The boy looked pleased.

"Very well then. We can all go together," the boy said (in his amazing voice). My mom scowled, but didn't argue.

Defiance.

"Luna," Emma's voice hit me like a jolt of electricity. She had some stupid, cocky grin on, and there I was, curled up in her arms like a little child. I was sure her grin was just her way of stifling her laughter at how child-like I looked. Note to self: Emma is not to be used as a blanket. "How'd you sleep?"

"I didn't," I growled at her, "I thought you were asleep though."

"No way. You think I could sleep when I'm busy plotting sneaking you out of this place?" My jaw dropped. Sneak me out? And do what? Go where? Plus, there was the whole deal with avoiding being seen by "bad guys." She seemed un-phased by my obvious confusing and hesitation. "Get up," She whispered in my ear. The sound sent a chill down my spine and made the hairs on my back of my neck stand up. Emma just laughed, grabbed my hand, and led me right to the kitchen and out the window. I didn't know why I followed her; she was making me pretty nervous.

"What's this all about, Emma?" I hissed. She grinned stupidly at me some more.

"What if I told you I could make you float like you do to me?" No way. I gaped at her. There was just no way.

"What are you talking about?"

"I'll show you. Don't let go." All that did was confuse me more. She grabbed my arms and made me hold onto her neck and she wrapped hers around my waist. "Smile." My heart beat had to have been clearly audible. I tried to smile and barely succeeded. She smiled back and I suddenly realized our feet were off the ground. I locked my arms in a death grip around her neck as a sick feeling exploded in my stomach. Ground. I wanted to be on the ground. No wonder it had freaked her out so much when I first started using my powers to lift her off the ground.

"Oh my God," I whispered. We were higher than the treetops now. And suddenly I felt a tightness in my stomach release. I had been scared for no reason. Every single night when she'd start to float, I was sure something horribly wrong was happening to her. But how could flying be wrong. I started crying and tried to hide my face on her shoulder so she wouldn't see.

"Luna?" It didn't work. I shook my head ad smiled at her. I could see relief hit her suddenly as she saw I was smiling.

"I was so . . . worried about you. I thought I was doing it on accident at first. And then when I realized it wasn't me . . . " I shuddered, remembering how she looked when she'd stop defying gravity. "I was scared, Emma. I didn't know what to do. You looked so scared . . . "

"I'm not scared anymore. I can fly!" She shouted and suddenly suffocated me in a giant hug. After a long silence, she spoke again, "Luna?" 

"Yeah, Em?"

"Can I ask you something?" I wondered what in the world she wanted to ask and nodded. "You've always said I'm warm all the time . . ." I felt my face suddenly start burning and she laughed and put on another stupid grin. "So what's it like having your own personal heater?" We both laughed and then, all too suddenly, we were sneaking back into the house and our room.

Attached.

My entire life changed. My mom and I moved in with Emma and the man she had apparently been living with. Franklin was his name. Emma and I shared a small room with on mattress on the floor to serve as a bed with just one thin blanket. I didn't really mind, and she didn't seem to either. Actually, to be honest, I more than just didn't mind; I liked it. It was warm; she was warm, just like she always was. Who needed a lousy blanket when you could just cling to your own personal, human heater all night?

Neither of us went to school anymore since my mom homeschooled us everyday. The man, Franklin, helped Emma and me learn to control our powers. Emma ended up doing most of the cooking since Franklin and I both had the cooking skill of a pebble and my mom had other things she needed to do when she wasn't busy homeschooling Emma and me.

I was happier than ever there. For the first time in my life, I felt special, important. I could move things with my mind. And I got better at it really fast. Within just 2 days, I was able to keep Emma suspended in the air whenever I wanted, which was always. She got nervous and started freezing everything near her the first few times as she got used to not having the ground beneath her feet. Then it became second nature for both of us. I even did it accidentally sometimes. Having Emma floating off the ground really annoyed my mom though and she demanded that I stop. The demand didn't last long though. I turned to keeping Franklin's and her feet off the ground along with telekinetically messing up her hair constantly and she changed her mind within a few minutes.

It helped, too, that Emma couldn't figure out how to control her powers unlike me. I knew it was horrible to be happy that she was failing, but she had done everything else in our lives nearly flawlessly while I blundered it all, so I was glad to finally be the flawless one while she blundered. Just a bit of balance was all I wanted. She could keep the good grades, the perfect charisma, the beauty I wanted. I could move things with my mind and I was good at it. And, best of all, my mom was proud of me, no matter how annoyed she was with having everything floating.

The homeschooling aspect of my new life was a bit of a buzzkill though. It reminded me that Emma was smarter than me. She understood everything the moment she was told it and I had to hear it what felt like 20 times before I could understand. And while I would get to the point that I just wanted to scream in frustration, she just sat there, completely calm and cool. Just as I was about to act like a little kid losing Monopoly and throw everything, Emma would silently place her hand on my back and quietly explain what had been confusing me and my frustration seemed to vaporize. I didn't get how she could just stay so calm whenever I'd get so frustrated. I wasn't sure if I envied her or admired her for that. Probably a mix of both.

Sometimes, I couldn't understand Emma at all. I clung onto her, physically and emotionally, because she was warm and had always been able to comfort me since the day we met. I felt safer and happier with her arms around me and her voice in my ear. And, most of the time, she acted like she wanted me around just as much as I wanted her around. But there were exceptions. Sometimes, she seemed to be afraid of me.  And her fear was tangible. The heat in her would fade and everything around her would start to freeze. I felt guilty whenever she acted like that. I assumed that I had done something wrong, something to scare her. I got to close or something. She distanced herself and I mimicked the action. Then, out of nowhere, she would act like the Emma I was used to again, my Emma. I was always too afraid to ask her why she had been acting strange in the overwhelming fear that I might remind her of whatever I had done wrong and she would distance herself again. 

Then, when she started floating away from me as she slept and I tried desperately to cling to her warmth, I was even more confused. The first few nights this happened, I thought I was accidentally doing it. I was angry with myself for literally forcing her away from me and leaving me with only the thin blanket to keep me warm. She was annoyed with me when she'd wake up suddenly, fall out of the sky, and land painfully on the mattress which wasn't exactly soft. At least the first time. But I told her I didn't mean to, and she believed me. 

I stopped being able to sleep after a few days of this, too afraid that I would unconsciously lift her into the air yet again, and, still, she would end up floating up, despite my deliberate focus not to. Slowly, I realized I wasn't doing it and it only made my fear worse. Something was wrong with her, not me. I didn't know how to help her. I left our room before she'd wake up often, not wanting to hear her groan of pain as she smashed into the mattress yet again. 

I didn't avoid it completely though. She woke up in the middle of the night, suspended in the air, and fell crashing down onto the mattress beside me, making me jump. It caught me off guard and I couldn't form any coherent words. I was scared, and crawled into the corner, terrified I might do something to make it worse for her. She looked confused, scared, and in pain, but fell asleep quickly. 

Much later, when I was sure she was asleep again, I crawled back over to her, wrapped my arms weakly around her neck, and rested my head against her shoulder. I started crying suddenly and was unable to hold back my tears any longer. I selfishly wanted to wake her up so she could comfort me, but I knew that, for once, she couldn't comfort me. I was scared for her beyond reason. I knew she was scared just as much as me, if not more. That wouldn't help. What I needed was to understand what was going on and for her to no longer be scared either. 

I was so absorbed in my worry for her and my crying, that, at first, I didn't notice her arms had moved to hold on to me as she slept. But when I did, my tears slowed and I lifted my head to look at her face. She looked happy. More than just happy, actually. She must have been having an amazing dream. Her hand touched my hair softly and then I felt her start to float into the air. Instinctively, I tightened my grip on her. My arms clung to her neck for dear life and my legs and wrapped themselves tightly around her waist. Logic occurred to me a moment later though and I let go, falling to the mattress while only a few inches above it, while she continued to float higher and higher. 

Was it selfish to let go like  that just because I knew I'd get hurt when she woke up and gravity pulled her to the mattress? No, she would have been more hurt had she hurt me too. And I wasn't helping her by clinging onto her like that. I hadn't wanted to let go. I shook my head angrily.

Morning came before I knew it and my mom came in quietly, obviously because I wasn't up yet. Immediately, she jumped to the conclusion that I was making Emma float, just as I had originally assumed. I hadn't expected her to be surprised though, since I was sure she had already read my thoughts. She figured it out quickly though, just as Emma suddenly woke up and fell to the mattress with a thud! Somehow, though, this was funny to my mom, who began laughing as Emma turned bright red. I felt the mattress begin to freeze and the air in the small room followed suit.

"Emma!" I said quickly. I could see my breath. And still my mom was laughing. The room warmed again and I relaxed a bit.

"You do realize you're completely mental, right, Emma?" my mom laughed even more. I couldn't understand what was so funny, but quickly followed her out after she mentioned Franklin burning breakfast. 

Emma seemed to be much more cheerful mood for the rest of the day, which I was thankful for. It wasn't until later that night, after I had assumed Emma was asleep, that I found out why she was suddenly so cheerful. 

Warmth.

Emma sank to her knees a moment after walking in and whispered something.

My mom ran over to me quickly and tried to break the chains. No use. They wouldn't break.

"Emma," My mom said, "freeze the chains, we might be able to break them if you do." Emma nodded and came over.

"I shouldn't have left . . ." She whispered. /You shouldn't have come back either/, I thought meancingly The chains grew colder, but not enough to break them. Emma swore and my mom grabbed her arm and yanked her back.

"She's faking it!" my mom realised. I sprung up, freeing myself from the chains and used my mind to send both of them flying into the wall behind them. Emma jumped up immediately and checked to see if my mom was still alive. She was just knocked out. I silently walked up behind Emma.

"Come to pretend to be a hero again, Emma?" I snarled in her ear. She spun around. "Just like when you attacked me in the alley and made it look like someone else did it?"

"What?!?" She said, trying to act innocent. I knew better though.

"Oh, don't play dumb, Emma. I know it was you. Trying to look like a hero, but you're not. Ever since second grade, you've always been trying to act like your a better person than everyone else, but you're not!" She stumbled backward and fell. "Oh, poor Emma fell? Guess what? I don't care! I HATE YOU! I'LL KILL YOU!" Then I lunged at her, ready to strangle her. Ice appeared out of nowhere between us though and I smashed into it. I saw stars for a split second, but shook them away.

"Luna--" She said, now standing.

"What? You have to use ice to protect you? Ha! Won't work." I used my mind to send the ice flying at Emma. She put up her arms and shot flames out of her hands, melting the ice and burning my shoulder.

"Sorry! You okay?" She said, trying to act like she was a hero still. I scanned the room for something to mentally throw at her. There was a knife on the floor and sent it right towards her head. She ducked and it pierced the wall. "Have you lost your /mind/?!?" Emma screamed.

"No, but you're about to have no need for one. Once I KILL YOU!" I lunged at her again and she pulled me down to the ground with her.

"Luna!" She yelled back, pinning me to the ground. "Why the hell are you trying to /kill/ me?!? I'm your best friend!" Her words hit a nerve.

"No, you're not!" I screamed, tears leaking from my eyes. I tried to hit her as hard as I could, still screaming. "You're not! You're not! You're not!"

"Luna--" She was looking at me like she actually cared and I couldn't figure out if she was faking it or not anymore which only made me madder.

"SHUT UP! I HATE YOU!"

"I'm sorry!" She screamed in my face.

"No, you're not! You're just a stupid liar!"

"I was trying to protect you!" She lied. But part of me didn't think she was lying. I stopped screaming as much.

"Ha! Yeah, right. From what?"

"From me! And from someone taking you to get to me." She stopped. She seemed to be thinking, then whispered quietly, "'Let me feel you, carry you--'"

"'--Higher. Watch our words spread hope like--'" I continued. It was a song that we used to sing together all the time. I stopped hitting her and started crying even more. I missed her and I felt stupid for trying to kill her.

"--Fire.'" Bright orange flames lit up in her hands for a brief moment. "I shouldn't have left like that, Luna. I'm sorry. Can you forgive me?" I nodded and she stood up then helped me to my feet too.

"As long as you can forgive me for trying to kill you," I muttered. She laughed and nodded then walked over to my mom. My mom woke up a moment later and looked between Emma and I quickly.

"It's okay now," Emma said.

"Sorry, Mom," I muttered.

"Don't worry about it, Luna," my mom said. "Let's get Franklin and get out of here." She got up. Emma put her hand on my burnt shoulder as we walked out and the pain disappeared.

A man I didn't know was limping in as we walked out. "Oh, you already got Luna?" he said. I noticed another man who loked almost exactly like him, frozen solid. Emma must've done that.

"Emma got her," my mom said. "Let's get out of here before your brother and his friend defrost." The we walked outside with him. The man who had taken me and talked me into wanting to murder my mom and best friend was lying on the ground in an awkward position, also frozen. I realised Emma probably could have easily stopped me when I was trying to kill her. She could have been mad, but she wasn't. Her arm was over my shoulder and I could feel her warmth. I smiled as we walked down streets I didn't know to a place I didn't know, but I wasn't scared.

Murder Plot.

"Wakey, wakey, little moon girl," the cold voice from before laughed menacingly. Chills went down my spine as I woke. I was in a dim room, my wrists and ankles tied together by thick rope. The ground I was sitting on was filthy and a man with dark hair and bright green eyes was smiling terribly at me. I glared at him as darkly as I could. He laughed. "You're exactly like your mother. Want to throw me into a wall? Try it, go ahead." He laughed again and the hairs on the back of my neck stood up. "It won't work. You can't use your powers, can you? Mommy let the bad guys take you away and now you can't escape. Poor little moon girl."

"Whadyawanwime?" I said. He laughed again. I realised I could barely move my mouth and tried to move my arms. They moved sluggishly. My head seemed cloudly.

"Like the drugs? Your entire body has slowed down. If we gave you any more, it could kill you because your heart wouldn't beat fast enough." Anger surged through me, though rather sluggishly too, and he stumbled backward a step or two.

"Let . . . me . . . go," I forced myself to say slowly. He snarled then began laughing again.

"Moonshine, don't you see? I did you a favour. They never cared about you. Mommy and your so called friend both left you," he hit a nerve and my anger towards Emma and my mom exploded inside me. "Mommy let us take you. She doesn't want you. Niether does your little friend. And daddy's dead. Why would you want to go back?" He knew he was getting to me and smiled cruelly. Then I realised he was just trying to turn me against them.

"You liar. . . . They care . . . about me," my anger was giving me more strength to speak. "My mom loves me." He looked at me sadly.

"Mommy sent your friend away. Mommy could have stopped me from taking you very easily, but she didn't. And your friend could have saved you too, but she left instead."

"You're lieing. Emma . . . would never . . . leave me."

"And yet she did, didn't she? She doesn't want to be around you. She hates you. She hopes I'll kill you."

"Shut up!" I screamed, starting to cry.

"All she cares about is herself and that boy."

"SHUT UP! I HATE HER! I WANT HER DEAD!" My face was drenched in tears and hate was boiling through me.

"She'll be here soon enough, to make herself look like a hero and 'save' you even though you clearly don't want to be saved. Mommy got her buddy who's going to electrocute you after they save you. Mommy and Emma will look like heroes, saving you, then their friend will kill you 'accidentally.' That's their plan, at least. But you can kill them first, right, my little moon girl?" I nodded darkly. There was a crash outside and voices. One, I recognized as my mother's and more hate boiled within me. Someone shouted Emma's name.

The man untied the ropes around my ankles and wrists and motioned for me to get up. I did so and he walked me over to a wall with chains on it. "These are fake and you can open them with your mind anyway." He "locked" me to the wall. "Focus your mind. Your mom can hear your thoughts. Don't let her." I nodded and tried to make myself think I was miserable and wanted to be save. "I've got to 'fight' them. You kill them though." I nodded. He ran out and I hear more crashes, shouting and waited for Emma and my mom to come in. I sent random objects in the room flying while I waited.

Then they walked in.

Lightning

"Luna. Luna. Luna! Wake up!" I was back in my room. Everything was still scattered everywhere, and everything was broken. My mom looked extremely worried. "Luna, we need to get out of here." I heard a thud from the front of the house. My mom looked back suddenly then turned back to me, looking even more worried. "Get up!" She grabbed my arm and flung me out of my bed. "Don't hesitate to use your powers; they already know."

"What?! Powers?!"

"Telekinesis. Moving things with your mind. That's why your room and half the city looks like a tornado came through it right now. C'mon, we need to get out of here, Luna." She ran out, dragging me along with her. There was another thud thuding. She pulled me against a wall just outside of the entry room and covered my mouth and eyes. The hairs on the back of my neck stood on end.

Another thud and the door must've broken. Heavy footsteps ran past us. A man ran toward my room, as if he knew exactly where it was. My mom grabbed my arm again and pulled me out of the house and down the alley. It was almost dawn. Lightning shot out in front of us. My mom flung out her arm to stop me from running into it. It disappeared a moment later and then she pushed me forward.

"RUN, LUNA!" My mom shouted. Another flash of lightning lit up a older man's face. The lightning seemed to come straight out of his hands and hit my mom in the chest. I saw her lit face tighten determinedly and then the man's hands jumped towards his head as more lightning shot out of them. He screamed in pain. The man that had run into our house ran back out toward me. He leapt in the air at me and sudden fear hit me. A split second later, he shot backward and hit our house with a crack. A hand grabbed my forearm and started pulling me down the alley. A moment later, another flash of lightning and my mom, the one who had grabbed my arm, fell to the ground.

"Mom!" I quickly knelt down beside her and tried to pull her up. Then I saw more bright light and felt myself knocked backward and electricity shoot through me. I screamed just as a hand closed around my wrist and pulled me straight off the ground.

"Don't worry, little girl," A cold voice snarled above me. "We don't want mommy. We just want you." Then a foot smashed into my skull and I blacked out.

Moonlight.

The moon moves oceans. The moon is the constantly scapegoat for abnormal events. The moon brings light to the otherwise black night. The moon silently guards in the darkness. but the moon could not light our way without the Sun to reflect the light from. My name is Luna, or "moon."


The first time it happened was in second grade. We were playing dodgeball. Jeremy, the hardest thrower, threw the ball straight at me. I froze and the ball stopped an inch away from me. It stayed hovering in the air for a moment before dropping to the ground in front of me. Jeremy ran away screaming things about me being a witch or the devil and the other kids all followed. I started crying and decided I was going to run away. Then a girl in my class who no one talked to sat down right next to me.

"He's just mad he didn't get you," she said quietly and put her arm over my shoulder. "They're all just jealous." She didn't say anything else after that. I just cried for the rest of recess and she just sat there with me. And after that day, she became my best friend.


Nothing weird happened again for years. Sometimes, I'd feel like things around me would move on their own, but I didn't pay attention. It all started again 6 years later though.

I had been having the worst week of my life and didn't want to go home, so I asked my best friend to stay after school with me. I wish I hadn't though. Everything changed that day. She changed.

My house was down an alleyway and she always refused to let me walk down it alone, especially that day because it was already dark out and the alley was even darker. I don't really remember what happened. We were attacked by someone and whoever it was knocked me out. I don't remember anything until the next day. My mom told me Emma (my best friend) had saved my life that night and I don't doubt she did, but I wish I could remember it.

Emma wasn't the same after that though. She had hurt herself really bad and fractured her skull while protecting me, so my mom decided she could stay at our house for a few weeks. It was a dream come true to live with my best friend. At first. But she started acting weird. She stopped sleeping and eating. She'd stay up all night writing things and then ripping them up and throwing them away. She wouldn't talk to me or look at me in the eyes anymore either. I knew something was wrong, but she wouldn't tell me anything. She just kept telling me she couldn't tell me and it was for my sake that she wouldn't tell me anything.

Then she left. I don't remember what we said, but she finally told me she was leaving in the middle of the night, got up, and left. I ran after her and she wouldn't listen to me. I screamed, "I HATE YOU!" as she ran away from me, but she was gone.

I ran back in the house and into my room, wanting to break everything in sight. My clock lept off my night stand and flew across the room and crashed into the wall. My lamp flew in another direction. Everything in my room started flying into walls. My sheets tore themselves apart. Then I was knocked over. Everything in the air fell straight down and stopped flying everywhere.

"Luna! Are you insane?!" My mom yelled at me. I scrambled back to my feet.

"She's the insane one! SHE JUST RAN OUT!" I screamed at her, tears suddenly streaming out of my eyes.

"I know."

"EMMA LEFT!" I screamed some more. She hugged me and I tried to get away, but her grip on me was too strong. "I HATE HER!"

"No, you don't," she said softly, still not letting me go. "She didn't want to leave, but she had to. She's been risking our lives by staying here and she would have risked yours even more if she told you anything." I stopped struggling.

"How did you know she didn't tell me anything?" I looked at her suspiciously.

"She promised."

"Wait, this is your fault, isn't it? YOU MADE HER LEAVE!" I wrenched myself out of her grip and started hitting her as hard as I could.

"Luna, she'd be dead if it weren't for me. She nearly killed herself trying to save you."

"LIAR!" She suddenly flew across the room and struck the wall with a thud. It was like glue was holding her suspended off the ground on the wall. For a moment, she looked terrified, then she closed her eyes. A moment later, I felt my head explode and fell to my knees, clutching my skull. She fell to the ground. The pain in my head stopped.

"Luna, calm yourself." I looked up. She was walking towards me slowly. She outstretched her hand towards my head and I sprung up and ran out of the house, everything around me flying and crashing into walls again. I ran through the alley, just as Emma had done not long before me. Everything kept crashing. The moon was shining brightly and my mom was running after me, shouting things, but I didn't listen to her. It was like a moonlit tornado was surrounding me, destroying everything in my path. My mom caught up to me just after I got out of the alley and grabbed me. Then I fainted.