Chapter Text
The bruises and scratches she’d sustained from the fight had faded by the time she woke up, but her more serious injuries took a few more days. She wore a sling initially to keep the pressure off her broken arm, and the staff was gracious enough to give her a day off of classes to rest and recuperate.
News of the incident had spread far and wide, and whatever feelings of normalcy she’d gained almost immediately faded. People openly stared at her when she walked through the hallways and sat in her classes, and widespread rumors circled the student body about why Sam had attacked her specifically. The most popular theory concerned a toxic relationship between the two of them, labeling Sam a scorned lover looking for revenge.
Sterling herself couldn’t stop thinking about it. Sam’s face haunted her dreams, and she couldn’t stop thinking about his voice when he’d spoken to her.
It’s you.
He’d spoken with need–desperation–but also an intense anger. Sterling couldn’t make sense of it, and it definitely didn’t help with the crippling guilt she felt every time she remembered the image of Sam’s broken body lying on the lawn.
She’d done that. She’d nearly–she would’ve killed him if Blair hadn’t shown up when she did.
April had visited her in the infirmary. She was okay, aside from some pretty intense bruising from her fall, but she waved it off. “I can take a hit.” she had said. It hadn’t exactly reassured Sterling at the time, but when April didn’t want to talk about something, it was pretty off-limits.
They’d cut off their nightly practices. Sterling’s paranoia about her abilities had returned with a fury. She couldn’t stop thinking about the sheer power she’d felt–the control. It had only taken moments for her to misuse it, to hurt someone.
She was having trouble sleeping. At first, just unending thoughts and memories kept her awake. Her sleep was often restless and full of strange dreams, but a few weeks after the fight, the nightmares began.
Always violent, always terrifying. Whenever she woke up, she couldn’t seem to remember anything other than pain and fear.
“Have you been sleeping?” April asked one day in gym class. She hadn’t used her powers in weeks, much less in class. It exploded at random times, lashing out at the smallest moments of anxiety or fear–likely as a consequence of not being used. “You seem–you look tired, Sterl.”
It was Ezekiel’s turn to practice his powers again. His laservision was perfectly on target–he was getting better. She couldn’t seem to tear her eyes from the beams of light.
The singed edges of Alana’s shirt. The glowing of Sam’s eyes as he looked at her.
“Sterling?” April pushed, and Sterling turned to find her giving a concerned look.
“Yeah,” Sterling said, offering her a tight smile. “Yeah, I’m fine.”
April seemed unsure, but she let it slide.
Truthfully, Sterling was tired. She was exhausted. She slept soundly every night, but the nightmares left her feeling panicked and weary every morning, as if she hadn’t slept at all. She’d tried everything–tea before bed, light music playing as she fell asleep, melatonin that promised a dreamless rest. Still, no matter what she did, she woke up feeling just as exhausted as she had the night before.
A month after the incident, Sterling was running on fumes. Blair kept giving her concerned looks when she thought Sterling wasn’t paying attention, but she knew all about the nightmares. Sterling woke up in a cold sweat nearly every morning, gasping for air and barely knowing where she was.
Blair told her she never noticed her tossing in her sleep or anything, but Blair also tended to fall asleep first–she still hadn’t completely adjusted to the toll her super speed took.
Sterling tried her best to shake the whole thing off. All her injuries had healed–with no scars or marks to show for it. Every time she looked in the mirror, she wished her healing ability had manifested sooner. She’d broken her arm, dislocated her ankle, bruised her ribs, and gained a truly shocking number of scratches and gashes from her fight with Sam–yet no scars. Yet her arms and legs were still covered in marks from the night in the trailer park. Even the rope burn left slight scarring–really just light red lines encircling her wrists, but it was still something. It was all still a reminder of the worst night of her life.
“You can’t keep going like this.” April told her as she walked into gym class and practically collapsed in the seat next to her.
“Like what?” Sterling said, leaning back in the chair and closing her eyes. “I’ve never felt better.”
The potted plant sitting in the corner of the room let out a huge crack as the pot split in half. April glanced between Sterling and the plant, eyes wide. “That’s it.” she said. “We’re meeting in the gym tonight.”
Sterling sighed, almost too tired to argue. “April, you know I don’t want–”
“Sterling, at this point I’m not sure if I give a shit what you want.” April said bluntly. “You walk in here every day like you’ve risen from the dead, that’s probably the fifth potted plant you’ve destroyed in this week, and you won’t talk to me. ”
At this point, more people were filing into the classroom. Ezekiel flashed them a suspicious look before taking his seat.
“Talk to you about what?” Sterling hissed, a spike of annoyance driving her words. “There’s nothing to talk about.”
April just let out a humorless chuckle. “Clearly.” she said sarcastically. “You look very healthy and put-together at the moment.”
Sterling couldn’t find the energy to respond. She’d already had this argument five times between Blair and April. They were worried, and she appreciated that they cared enough to argue with her about it, but Sterling just didn’t see the point. There was nothing she could do about it.
She just…she couldn’t get that image out of her head. Sam, bleeding and limp on the grass. Unmoving and helpless.
She would’ve killed him.
These powers were nothing but a curse–she wouldn’t let herself go off the rails again. Not when people kept getting hurt.
April and Sterling had both taken to sitting out of the actual practice portion of the gym class periods. For April, this was nothing new, but Sterling only stopped after the incident at the match.
Dr. Jordan gave her a little disappointed nod everyday, but he didn’t push her.
She couldn’t really bring herself to care.
When they walked out of class, Sterling went to trudge back to her room and desperately try for a few hours of nap time. She stopped in her tracks when April reached out to grab her arm as they both entered the hallway.
She glanced down at the hand wrapped around her bicep, blinking. It reminded her so much of the first time April had done it. Only this time, the hold was gentle, almost reassuring. Sterling swallowed, her mouth suddenly dry as she looked up to meet April’s eyes.
This time, April didn’t yank her hand back–she just moved them down to grasp Sterling’s hands instead.
She ran her thumb across the thin scar encircling Sterling’s wrist, shaking her head.
“I’m worried, Sterl.” she said after a few beats. “Please, I – I’m sorry I’ve been so…aggressive. I’m not the best at communicating my feelings.”
Sterling blinked, unused to such vulnerability from April. “It’s okay.” she managed. “I haven’t exactly been the…easiest to talk to lately.”
“For good reason.” April said firmly. “Just…consider meeting me tonight? I’ll be at the gym at ten.”
Sterling frowned, her eyes turning downwards. She opened her mouth to refuse, but April interrupted before she could get the words out.
“We…we don’t have to practice or anything.” she said, biting her lip. “We can just talk or something. Or we don’t even have to talk. I – I miss you. We used to hang out every night, and now it feels like I haven’t really seen you in a month.”
“We’re talking right now.” Sterling replied weakly.
April shook her head. “You know it’s not the same, Sterl.”
There was a beat of silence where Sterling could only focus on April–the slight green of her eyes, the crease between her brow, the clench of her jaw.
“Just think about it.” April finally said, stepping back and releasing her hands. Sterling almost immediately missed the warmth of her grasp. “I’ll be there.”
Sterling opened her mouth to reply, but no words came. April offered her a slight smile before turning and walking down the hallway, her footsteps fading as she turned the corner out of sight.
Sterling stood in the hallway for a moment, running through the interaction in her head. Her fingers seemed to tingle where April had grabbed her hands.
A huge crack split the wall, causing Sterling to jump back and release a rather undignified yelp.
At least the hallway was empty.
She sighed, making her way back towards her dorm as her head swarmed with endless thoughts of April.
There was no way she was going to get any sleep now.
“That’s great!” Blair said after Sterling had told her about the conversation she’d had with April after class. “So you’re going to go, right?”
Sterling didn’t say anything, but a frown tugged at her lips.
“Sterl?” Blair asked, her voice softer.
“Why do you want me to go, anyway?” Sterling said, making her way over to her bed and flopping down on the mattress. “You weren’t exactly April’s biggest fan when you first found out about our practice sessions.”
“Yeah, but that was when I thought she was a psycho.” Blair said, speeding over and flopping next to her sister on the mattress. “Now I know she’s a psycho, but I also know that you have a huge lesbian crush on her.”
“Just friends.” Sterling pointed out, her voice muffled from the pillow she was pressing her face into.
“Yeah, for now!” Blair said, her sudden movements shaking the whole bed. “But she’s definitely into you, dude!”
Sterling sat up, giving her sister a flat look. “We don’t even know if she’s into girls like that, much less me.”
“Sterling, she’d be an idiot to not be into you.” Blair insisted. “You’re a catch!”
“Whatever.” Sterling said, turning over onto her back and releasing a huge sigh. “I just…I feel like everyone around me keeps getting hurt.”
As if on cue, a few books flew from the bookshelf into the wall.
Sterling didn’t even move, letting out a huge groan.
“Sterling.” Blair said softly. “I don’t…I don’t want to push you, but I don’t think this will get any better unless you face it.”
Sterling did her best to swallow the sudden pain in her throat. “But, April…”
“April will be fine.” Blair said, shaking her head. “She knows what she’s getting into, and she can make her own decisions.”
Unbidden, the image of Sam’s bloody form sprawled across the grass flashed through Sterling’s head.
A huge crash sounded from the bathroom.
“Sorry.” Sterling said, her voice miserable.
“It’s okay.” Blair said, rubbing Sterling’s shoulder. “Look, even if you don’t use your powers at all, I think this will be good.”
“Fine.” Sterling sighed. “I’ll meet with her.”
“Great!” Blair cheered. “So happy for you guys.”
“Nothing’s even happened.”
“But y’all are totally gonna bone.”
“ BLAIR.”
“You came.” April’s voice echoed through the hallway outside the gym
Sterling nodded, awkwardly scratching the back of her neck. “Yeah.” she said, her voice soft.
“I’m glad.” April replied, her gaze turning downwards.
“Me too,” Sterling said, approaching the other girl. “I think. Unless you were playing the long con and you actually are going to kill me.”
April chuckled, reaching into her pocket and retrieving her contraband keys. “Careful,” she said as she unlocked the gym, the familiar click echoing in the empty space. “I’m still considering it.”
They didn’t practice. Sterling was still exhausted, and April didn’t seem all too interested in pushing her. Instead, they talked.
It was nice, Sterling had to admit. She’d missed April, for all the avoiding she’d been doing for the past month. She was funny and cool and this whole thing felt familiar, despite the short amount of time they’d known each other.
There was something more open about April these nights, a part of her she hid from most everyone. Sterling’s chest ached at the thought that she was one of the few people who truly knew this side of April Stevens.
“Wait, so you actually destroyed the car?” Sterling asked, eyes wide as she propped herself with her elbow to better see the girl laying next to her.
“Yeah,” April said with a shrug and a barely contained smile. “No one had any idea that I had powers or whatever, but then I popped all four tires on the car when I got in the back seat.”
“So you just…”
“My body had gotten super dense, so I was heavier than the car could support,” April explained. “What’s funnier is my dad trying to get me out of the car–I’d never seen his face get so red.”
Sterling threw her head back in a laugh, imagining a tiny, confused April watching her father try and fail to pick up his daughter.
April was laughing now, too, the melodic sound loud in the empty gym. “The car completely bottomed out by the time I got out.”
“That’s hilarious.” Sterling replied.
April shrugged, a shadow crossing her face. “Definitely, in hindsight,” she said. “At the time, I just couldn’t understand why my dad was so mad at me. I got sent to the academy a month later.”
Sterling sobered, a frown tugging at her lips as she listened. “I’m sorry, April.” she said after a few beats. “No kid deserves that.”
April shook her head, shrugging again. “It’s okay.” she said. “It was a long time ago, and I learned how to control my powers eventually.”
“Did the classes help?” Sterling asked.
“Yeah, at first.” April said. “But I had to basically teach myself at some point–I didn’t trust myself around any of the professors or students. That’s why I asked you to practice here. It was how I learned how to control my abilities.”
Sterling swallowed, resting on her back once more. “So you’ve been doing this for a while?”
“When I first got to the academy, I went here almost every night.” April said after a few beats. “Once I figured out how to control myself…that was it. I didn’t want to use my powers anymore.”
“ You didn’t?” Sterling asked. “Or was that your dad?”
There was a heavy silence for a moment, long enough for Sterling to hit herself internally. What was her problem ?
“It was my dad.” April said finally, and Sterling released a small breath of relief. She didn’t feel like getting killed tonight. “I just…it was the only way he’d let me come home for breaks and visits.”
Sterling’s heart ached for the girl next to her. Even after finding out the truth about her parentage and her nature, Sterling never doubted for a second that her parents loved her. April didn’t have that.
Her father’s love was always going to be conditional.
“I…I’m sorry.” Sterling managed, reaching over to grab the other girl’s hand. Her words felt so insignificant, but she hoped it helped. Even a little. “If it helps, I like you and your powers. I think you’re awesome.”
April choked a little, and she didn’t respond for a long moment. “You’re not so bad yourself, Wesley.” she finally replied.
Sterling pointedly ignored the flush spreading across her face. “Well, I aim to please.” she murmured, struggling against the overjoyed tugging in her gut.
“Noted.”
Later, the two of them leaning against the far wall of the gym, Sterling jumped as April’s cold hand brushed against her skin. Her fingers softly caressed the scars encircling Sterling’s wrist, her brows furrowed. “How did this happen?” she asked, her voice gentle as she interrupted their comfortable silence.
Sterling’s jaw clenched, and suddenly she regretted wearing the short sleeve shirt she’d chosen. Not only were her wrists visible, but also the lengths of her arms, where scars from the night of the trailer park still marred her skin. “Uh…”
“You don’t have to tell me or anything.” April said, pulling her hand away and looking up to meet Sterling’s eyes. Sterling tried to not miss the sensation of her fingers brushing against her wrist too much. “Just curious.”
April was giving her an easy out–the opportunity to change the subject and move on. Still, as she met April’s eyes, she knew she didn’t want to keep this from her.
“The night I discovered my powers, I was kidnapped by my…aunt.” Sterling managed. “I was stuck in her trailer for a while–the scars are from the ropeburn–before she tried to take me from my family…and I guess I just freaked out.”
April’s eyes were wide as Sterling spoke, lost for words.
“The truck we were in - my powers lashed out and we crashed. It was the first time I used them.” she explained, her eyes trained downwards. “I got all these scratches from the broken glass.”
“I’m so sorry, Sterling, that sounds so awful.” April said, reaching over to wrap her hand around Sterling’s.
Sterling shook her head, blinking away the sudden tears pricking her eyes. She hadn’t talked about it with anyone but Blair, and here was April, giving her the most caring look and squeezing her hand like she might disappear at any moment.
“Well, it turns out it wasn’t really my aunt,” Sterling managed. “She’s–she was– is –actually my birth mom.”
April stared at her. “Wait, so…”
“I was adopted.” Sterling filled in. “Me and Blair aren’t actually twins. We’re not even sisters.”
“Oh my god.” April breathed.
“I know.” Sterling agreed, letting out a humorless chuckle. “My parents weren’t just lying about the mutant thing–they also weren’t really my parents.”
“Sterling, I can’t imagine…”
“It’s okay,” Sterling said, waving her off. “I’m mostly over it. Blair is my sister, no matter what. And I know my parents were just trying to protect me…even if they went about it in maybe the worst way possible.”
“That’s awfully mature of you.”
A training dummy flew across the room, and Sterling laughed as the thing clattered across the gym floor. “Yeah, I’m actually super mature.”
April shrugged. “Hey, if I was you? This academy would already be in ruins–and probably by accident.” she said, nudging Sterling’s shoulder. “You’re doing a much better job than you’re giving yourself credit for.”
“Doesn’t really feel like it.” Sterling muttered, shaking her head. “I almost killed that kid.”
“Sam?” April pushed.
“Yeah.”
“Sterling, he attacked you. ” April said, turning to face her. “He would’ve killed you. He almost did. ”
“But then I–”
“And I’m glad you did.” April said bluntly. “Sterling, you didn’t see yourself. You–you were so hurt. He did that to you. You just defended yourself.”
Sterling swallowed. “I just…he was already unconscious.” she said, shaking her head. “And I was about to keep going. Hell, I was going to drop a car on top of him, April. Four cars. A bit of an overkill if I’m being honest.”
April reached out to grab her hand. “You…you were upset, Sterling.” she insisted. “It’s allowed. And you stopped yourself. That’s what’s important.”
“I wasn’t just upset.” Sterling protested. “I was so angry. The way he just… threw you across the lawn like you were nothing? I thought you were seriously hurt.”
April stared at her, an unreadable look on her face.
“I guess I just lost sight of it all.” Sterling continued. “I forgot where I was. I just wanted…I wanted to hurt him. I never want to feel like that again.”
“I’m sorry, Sterling.” April said, giving her hand a squeeze. “But, for what it's worth, I think you did the right thing.”
She paused, swallowing.
“I thought you were going to die.” she admitted. “You just looked so…you were covered in blood, Sterling, and he just kept coming.”
A brief silence consumed the air between them before Sterling snorted a little. “Hell of a first date, right?”
Her heart threatened to beat from her chest when she realized exactly what she’d said, and she didn’t dare look at April, not as she felt the girl stiffen next to her.
She was so stupid, holy shit.
“First date?” April asked after what felt like an eternity, her voice strangled.
Sterling pointedly ignored the training dummy flying across the room once more as she turned to look at April. “Yeah,” she managed. “Unless…unless that’s not what you–I mean, maybe I misunderstood or something–obviously, it could’ve just been a hangout, but I just thought–well, I really like you, and–”
“Sterling.” April interrupted, and Sterling tried not to melt at the sound of April saying her name. She turned her gaze to meet April’s eyes, absently noticing the height difference between them as she craned her neck downwards.
“April?” she asked, unable to handle the silence.
And then April was leaning forward, her eyes trained on Sterling’s lips. Sterling barely had time to panic before their lips met and she nearly melted.
It felt like the world went silent as they kissed. The tugging in her gut faded, leaving only a pleasant buzz. Her hand reached up to cradle April’s face, and she shivered at the feeling of April’s hand resting on her hip.
After a few beats, April finally pulled back, and Sterling could barely help the way she chased after her, eyes clouded with want.
“I’m surprised you didn’t destroy the gym, Wesley.” April said, breathlessly, her eyes darting all around Sterling’s face, as if trying to commit every detail to memory. “Even the training dummy is still in one piece.”
Sterling shrugged, leaning in once again. “I think I just like you a lot. ”
Sterling woke up to warm arms encircling her torso and a pleasant drowsiness clouding her mind. It took almost five rings for her to register the phone call she was receiving, and she eased herself out of the bed as gently as she could, reaching for the phone.
She answered before she looked at the caller ID, blinking the sleep from her eyes as she did. “Hello?” she said softly, her voice scratchy and slow.
“Sterling Wesley!” Blair’s voice rang loudly in her ears, and Sterling winced as she pulled the phone back from her ear. “Why aren’t you here? I woke up this morning and you weren’t in your bed and you weren’t answering any texts or calls! I was so worried–”
“I’m at April’s,” Sterling interrupted dumbly, glancing over at the sleeping girl still sprawled across the bed.
A gasp echoed from the other side of the phone. “ April’s ?” Blair practically shrieked, and Sterling flinched back from the phone once more. “Did–oh my god–did y’all bone ? I didn’t think it would happen so fast, I’m so proud–”
“Blair, shut up.” Sterling said, shaking her head. “We just slept. She doesn’t have a roommate and it was really late and she didn’t want me to walk back by myself.”
“ Ooooooooh,” Blair whistled, and the rustling in the background was enough for Sterling to know that Blair was practically sprinting around their room. “Using that old Wesley charm–”
“Blair, gross.”
“Wait, but how did you sleep?” Blair asked, a hopeful lilt in her voice. “Any nightmares?”
Sterling paused, considering. A smile grew on her face as she stared at April’s unmoving form, a warm feeling of fondness blooming in her chest. “Actually, no nightmares.” she said, almost disbelieving. “I slept great.”
“That’s awesome!” Blair yelled, more rustling echoing through the phone speaker. Sterling laughed, imagining the blur of motion her sister probably was as she raced around the room in excitement.
Sterling couldn’t tear her eyes from the girl lying in the bed before her. Her unkempt hair, her soft snoring, even the small spot of drool on the sheets beneath her. She was perfect.
“It is awesome.” she couldn’t help but agree, a huge smile on her face.
“I can’t believe we slept in!” April nearly shrieked, desperately rummaging through her bathroom drawers.
“Can we not just skip?” Sterling asked drowsily, having fallen back asleep after her brief but exciting phone call with Blair. She already felt her exhaustion pulling her head back towards the pillow, her eyelids drooping, but April’s responding cry startled her back awake.
“I’ll have you know I’m not a delinquent, Wesley.” April said, pulling a brush through her blonde hair and giving Sterling a playfully judgemental look. “And I didn’t know I’d become involved with one.”
Sterling forced herself to sit up, wiggling her eyebrows suggestively. “Ooh, keep going, I love it when you talk dirty to me,” she teased, and April rolled her eyes, stomping back towards the bathroom.
“You’re ridiculous.” she called back.
“You love it!” Sterling protested, running a hand through her hair as she glanced around the room. It looked different with the natural light flooding through the windows. When they’d arrived last night, Sterling had thought the room looked rather empty and cold, but the sunlight revealed the somewhat cozy interior of the dorm room.
April’s bookshelf was filled with all manner of books and volumes, many of them torn up and worn. Her desk was perfectly organized and nearly spotless–of course– but Sterling’s eye caught on the framed picture resting in the corner, a photo of April and two adults who were presumably her parents. Otherwise, there were few decorations around the room other than a few random posters taped in the corner. The bedsheets were a simple gray, paired with a dark blue comforter.
“Are you going to class?” April asked, running to her closet and stumbling as she pulled a pair of socks on her feet.
Sterling glanced at the clock with a frown. Only fifteen minutes until class, and she still needed to go back to her dorm to brush her teeth and change her clothes. “I think I’ll probably skip my first class.” she replied with a sigh. “Either that or I’ll be like, twenty minutes late.”
April shook her head, pulling her hair back into a high ponytail. Sterling tried not to be distracted by the sway of her hair as she did. “The teachers are going to notice.” she told her. “They’ll probably reach out.”
“And I’ll tell them I accidentally overslept.” Sterling shrugged, standing from the bed and reaching down to grab April’s bag for her. “It happens.”
She handed the bag to April, offering her a cheerful smile to contrast the panicked frown on April’s face. April sighed and grabbed the bag, offering her a rueful smile. “Whatever you say, Wesley.”
Sterling walked toward the door with her, resting a hand on her cheek and leaning in to press a soft kiss on April’s lips. “I’ll see you later,” Sterling said, giggling slightly at the dazed look in April’s eyes. “We can talk more about…this.”
With that, she pushed open the door, offering April one last wave before disappearing behind the corner.
The rest of the morning, she couldn’t wipe the smile from her face, not even when her teacher gave her a pointed look as she walked into her geography class half an hour late.
The next two weeks were some of the most restful and happy days she’d had since coming to the academy. She had started spending her nights with April, resuming their late-night practices and spending the night curled next to her in her shitty twin bed.
It was incredible.
The nightmares had ceased since she’d started sleeping at April’s dorm, and while Blair was a little put-out at the fact that Sterling was never in the room anymore, she started to love it once she realized she could have Miles over a lot more often.
By the time the third week was approaching, Sterling felt comfortable enough to use her powers in gym class. After avoiding any significant outbursts throughout the week, she felt a lot more confident about using them in a more public setting.
Dr. Jordan, strangely, didn’t seem as pleased with her decision as she anticipated. He was in a foul mood on the Monday of that week, barely even paying attention as she used her abilities to move a dummy across the room. The other students exchanged awkward looks as he dismissed them after only thirty minutes, unused to this side of their professor.
Sterling brushed it off, but when his bad mood still hadn’t faded by Wednesday, she questioned what exactly was going on.
The whole thing compounded when he asked her to stay after class on Thursday after he’d dismissed everyone, barely sparing her a glance as he flipped through a couple files.
Sterling exchanged an uncomfortable glance with April, wary of Dr. Jordan’s behavior, but April offered her an encouraging nod, giving her hand a comforting squeeze before filing out of the gym with the other students. She motioned that she would wait outside for her, which helped ease the dread pooling in Sterling’s gut.
“Dr. Jordan?” She asked hesitantly, unsure if she was supposed to initiate the conversation. He was consumed in the file he was reading, facing the corner of the small room. “You wanted to talk to me?”
“Right,” Dr Jordan said, shaking his head and slotting the file into his bag. He turned to face her, his face unreadable. “How are you doing, Sterling?”
Sterling raised an eyebrow. “Sir?”
“How are you doing?” he repeated, a bit more forcefully this time.
“I’m…good.” she replied after a few beats, considering the question. “Pretty great, actually.”
“That’s good to hear.” Dr. Jordan replied, though his lips still tugged towards a frown. “I wanted to talk to you about your future at this school.”
Sterling swallowed. That sounded intense.
“You’re showing a great deal of potential in using your powers, but you’re being limited by your peers.” Dr. Jordan continued bluntly. “You need to be moved from this class.”
Sterling shook her head, eyes wide with shock. “Sir, I’m not sure I’m ready–”
“Sterling, you’re one of the most powerful mutants we’ve had in years, and you’re in the remedial class.” Dr. Jordan interrupted, his voice firm. “You’re so much more than… this.”
Sterling felt a sting of irritation at his insinuation that she was somehow superior to this class, especially considering the amount of damage she’d done with her out-of-control powers. “No, sir, I don’t think I am.” she replied, eyes narrowed. “I still need a lot of practice, and I’ve only just become comfortable using my powers again–”
“ Sterling.” Dr. Jordan snapped, nostrils flaring. “I won’t be taking no for an answer, understood?”
Sterling could only stare. She’d never seen Dr. Jordan act like this, even when Ezekiel almost set the gym on fire that one time. “Sir, I really think–”
“ Enough!” Dr. Jordan practically yelled, stepping forward.
Unconsciously, Sterling took a step back, not really understanding the blatant fear that suddenly gripped her chest.
“You’ve barely paid attention for the past two weeks, you haven’t been participating at all, and suddenly you want to throw away the opportunity I’m giving you to move on to better things?” Dr. Jordan asked incredulously. “You’ve been spending far too much time with April, a different class will do you both better–”
“Leave April out of it.” Sterling challenged, ignoring her instincts telling her to run or panic.
Dr. Jordan stared at her, and for a second, Sterling was sure he was about to explode. Then, he paused, took a deep breath, and forced a pleasant smile on his face. He took a step forward and rested his hand on Sterling’s shoulder. “Okay, we can talk about it tomorrow.” he said, his voice back to normal. “I need to show you something, anyway.”
Sterling swallowed, suddenly deeply uncomfortable. “Okay.” she managed, unable to focus on anything other than the feeling of his hand on her shoulder.
He stepped back, and her skin crawled where his palm had rested.
“I’ll see you tomorrow, Sterling.” he said, offering her a wave. “Remember, you have a lot of potential here. Don’t waste it.”
Something about that gave her pause.
She barely even noticed him leaving the room, too focused on his words. Why did they feel so familiar?
“Sterling?”
“She has a lot of potential.”
“Agreed. Up her dosage–she seems to have a higher resistance than most.”
“But, sir, a higher dosage could have extreme adverse effects. The same thing happened to our last subject–”
“I don’t care. Something about this one feels different.”
“...Alright.”
“Keep me updated on her progress, the Dean wants good news.”
“Understood.”
“Sterling!”
Sterling tore from her thoughts, breathing heavily as she recovered from the memory. Memory? Nightmare? Why had Dr. Jordan been there?
“ Sterling!”
She blinked back into reality, finding April standing in front of her, both hands grabbing at her shoulders. “April?” she murmured, still a little lost. The vision left her reeling–she’d barely even registered the words, could barely hear the voices over the sheer pain and fear she’d been feeling. Her heart was still racing, even now.
“Are you okay?” April asked, brows furrowed in concern. “You…there’s a huge crack in the wall and you barely even heard me when I said your name.”
“Yeah,” Sterling breathed. “I just…I saw something?”
“What do you mean?”
“Um,” Sterling said, still struggling to find some composure. “Dr. Jordan said something, and I think I remembered one of my nightmares? Maybe?”
April paused, reaching down to grab her hand. “Are you sure?”
“I don’t know,” Sterling said, shaking her head. “Forget about it, let’s just go get some dinner.”
“Sterling, wait, what happened? In the nightmare?” April pushed. “Why do you seem so scared?”
Sterling sighed, considering what she’d seen. Well, she’d barely seen anything. Everything had been blurry around the edges. She’d seen blobs in front of her, but they stood tall above her, as if she was on the ground or in a chair. More than anything, she remembered the cold fear that gripped her chest as the two men spoke.
“Um, it was just two men talking.” Sterling said. “Something about a higher dosage and a test subject? I think it was in a lab?”
April still seemed concerned, but Sterling could barely describe what she’d seen more than that.
“Listen, it’s over, and I’m okay now.” Sterling assured her, giving her hand a squeeze. “Let’s just go eat.”
April sighed, but eventually she offered a half nod and let Sterling pull her from the room.
She was able to brush it off for most of the day, but when Sterling laid down to go to sleep that night, huddled close to April, she couldn’t tear her mind from what she’d seen–how she felt.
She never wanted to feel like that again.
The next day, she couldn’t shake off the feeling the vision had given her. She hadn’t had another nightmare that night, which she was thankful for, but she couldn’t get the voices out of her head.
She drifted between her classes, barely paying attention, and Blair and April both quickly picked up on her absent-minded mood, questioning whether she was okay and asking if she’d had another nightmare. April seemed especially concerned, considering she’d seen how afraid Sterling had been after seeing that glimpse yesterday.
She assured them that she was, and she wasn’t lying–she just felt a little off-kilter.
In gym class, she threw the practice dummies across the room with a bit more force than necessary, leaving a couple dents in the walls and some damage on the dummies themselves, but she couldn’t bring herself to care. She was tense, and if the training dummies ended up taking the brunt of her frustrations, then so be it.
It was better than exploding more flower pots.
She exchanged an awkward glance with Dr. Jordan as he wrote a few things down on his notepad. “Sterling, would you please stay after class to talk?” he asked, pushing up the bridge of his glasses and keeping his gaze focused on the paper he was holding.
“Okay,” she murmured, ignoring the looks of the other people in her class, including April. She took a seat next to her, intertwining their hands as Hannah B. stood to take a second turn, having recovered from being somewhat blinded.
“What’s that about?” April whispered, leaning close. “You never told me what you guys talked about yesterday, either.”
Sterling sighed, shaking her head. “He wants me to switch out of this class,” she admitted.
“Sterling, why didn’t you tell me?” April asked, her lips twisting into a proud smile. “That’s great news!”
Sterling shrugged. “I don’t know,” she replied, shaking her head. “I don’t think I’m ready.”
April squeezed her hand. “Look at me.”
Sterling glanced down to meet her eyes, almost immediately getting lost in the pretty green color.
“You’re ready.” she said. “At the very least, you’re definitely ready to leave the remedial class.”
Sterling frowned. “I don’t want to leave.” she admitted. “I like having this time with you.”
April sighed, offering a small shrug. “Well, I’m not going anywhere any time soon.” she said softly, a little sad. “I don’t want to hold you back like that.”
Sterling wanted to protest, to ask her to go with her, to fully embrace her powers, but she knew she couldn’t push April like that. Not yet. Even at their night practices, April was hesitant to use her powers. Sterling had been lucky enough to see it a few times, and she didn’t want to scare April away by pushing too hard.
“You could never hold me back,” Sterling murmured, turning back towards the gym and watching as Hannah guided a bright ball of light around the edge of the gym. She was getting better, blinding herself less and less. Looking between the bright, streaming light crossing the ceiling and Hannah’s flowing movements, the whole thing was even a bit beautiful.
April didn’t say anything more, but the loving squeeze of her hand was enough.
Sterling treasured the warmth in the cold room, dread filling her gut at the thought of her imminent meeting with Dr. Jordan.
“Hi, Sterling.” Dr. Jordan’s deep voice seemed to echo through the empty room. “Thanls for agreeing to meet, especially after I was so…rude yesterday.”
“You weren’t rude, Dr–” Sterling tried, her voice a bit weak.
“No, I was acting immature.” Dr. Jordan insisted, raising his hand. He was back to his normal, charming self, glancing down at Sterling with a kind smile. “I was having a stressful week and I took it out on you. I apologize.”
Sterling swallowed, fiddling with her fingers. “It’s okay.” she offered quietly.
“Listen, I wanted to show you something.” Dr. Jordan said, gesturing towards the door. “If you would?”
Sterling hesitated for only a moment before nodding, following Dr. Jordan out the doors and into the cold hallway. She might have imagined it, but she could’ve sworn she saw a curtain of dirty blonde hair disappear behind the corner–April. She had probably been waiting and got scared off when Dr. Jordan exited before her.
“Where are we going?” she asked, blinking as they started making their way towards a staircase Sterling had never seen. It went down, and the signs told her it led to the basement, which Sterling hadn’t even known was part of the school.
“After the events at the school match, Sam was in bad shape.” Dr. Jordan replied, his voice echoing loudly on the empty stairwell. Sterling’s stomach dropped when she heard his words. “Our healers managed to fix him up in a week or so, but, as I’m sure you’ve noticed, he hasn’t been back to his classes.”
She had noticed. Of course she’d noticed–it was practically the only she’d focused on during those first few weeks after the match. That and the nightmares.
“He’s been down here.” Dr. Jordan said, pushing open a pair of steel double doors and leading her into a laboratory of sorts. It was huge, with hallways that disappeared behind corners and ceilings that stretched far into the air. Scientists and school staff milled around the place, and Sterling felt immediately uncomfortable at the cold, clinical feeling of the whole place. The staff paid them not a single glance as they walked through the facility, and Sterling wished she’d worn a thicker sweater as the chill of the lab seemed to sink into her bones.
She shivered, swallowing her unease as Dr. Jordan led her down an offshoot and approached a huge panel of glass at the end of the corridor. There seemed to be an observation chamber to the right, and the glass looked into a mostly empty white room, aside from the simple twin bed and chair propped up against the far wall.
“During the match, Sam suffered a…mental break.” Dr. Jordan explained. “We think the pressure must have gotten to him. Our top classes can be very…competitive.”
Sterling came to a stop next to her professor, furrowing her brows at the empty room before her. “I don’t–”
Whatever she’d been about to say was interrupted as a blur of motion suddenly slammed into the glass right in front of her.
Sterling stumbled back, nearly falling over herself as she came face to face with Sam once again. He pounded against the glass, his eyes glowing a burning red as he stared at her with nothing but rage. That same, primal fear gripped at her chest once again, but Sterling fought it off, noticing that Dr. Jordan seemed completely unbothered. He simply shook his head, almost sadly, as he watched Sam scream in rage and pound at the glass. It must have been heavily reinforced, to take hits like that.
Sterling could only stare in horror. Why…?
“We’re not sure exactly what triggered it, but our best theory is that something in his brain–his genes– registered you as a threat when he saw you in the audience.” Dr. Jordan explained. “He’s been like this ever since–completely committed to hurting you.”
Sterling’s words caught in her throat as she registered his words. “But…why–”
“Because you’re more powerful.” Dr. Jordan said simply, turning towards her with an unreadable expression. “Sam used to be our top student, and he felt threatened by your presence. ”
She shook her head, stepping back from the glass. Dr. Jordan reached over to a control panel and pressed a button. Sterling could only stare as the glass went black, shielding the cell and Sam from view. If Sterling didn’t know better, she could almost imagine she’d never seen him at all.
“Sterling, you did the right thing–defending yourself against him, I mean.” Dr. Jordan said gently, likely sensing the panic on Sterling’s face, the guilt. “This was inevitable, and you had nothing to do with what happened to him. He was predisposed to have a breakdown like this, eventually.”
Sterling swallowed, offering him a short nod of acknowledgement. It did make her feel slightly better, knowing the cause of Sam’s attack. Made her feel less…guilty.
“I wanted to show you this to…well, to prove that you deserve to be in our top class, Sterling.”
“Top class?” Sterling asked incredulously, eyes wide.
“Yes.” Dr. Jordan nodded, offering her a small smile. “Sterling, you have little to no training, you’re actively on suppressants to control your powers, you were taken by surprise, and you still managed to take on our top student and walk away relatively unscathed.”
The whole thing made her feel a little sick. To imagine the fight they’d had as little more than a match, a way to rank the students. “Unscathed?” she asked, raising her brow. “I broke my arm, bruised my ribs, and dislocated my ankle. Not to mention the blood loss.”
“And that was when he was trying as hard as possible to kill you.” Dr. Jordan insisted.
“I don’t know.” Sterling said, shaking her head. “I haven’t even–I have no clue how to fight, or whatever–”
“I already have an additional instructor lined up to help you reach the level of the other students in the class.” Dr. Jordan explained. “You’ll have to put in a few more hours a day, and it will take a lot of work, but there’s a spot open.”
He looked deliberately at the cell, where Sterling knew Sam was still having a minor breakdown behind the barrier. The guilt hit her like a train once more. She had taken this kid’s life, all his potential–he was stuck here, now.
“It’s what he would’ve wanted.” Dr. Jordan said softly, looking down. “You didn’t know him, but Sam was very popular–he had a lot of friends and he was a kind guy. He would’ve wanted you in this class–to explore your full potential.”
Everything in Sterling wanted her to refuse, to go back to her regular routine and avoid this whole thing…but one look at Sam’s cell, and she knew her decision had already been made.
Plus, April would be excited for her.
“Okay.” she sighed. “When do I start?”