Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

Sterling wasn’t always a freak. In fact, she’d argue that she used to be the picture of normalcy–a straight A student with a loving boyfriend and a great relationship with her family, especially her twin sister.

But that all fell apart the night of the Lock-In. 

She and Luke had broken up a few days prior–Sterling felt that she needed to explore other options before committing to her long-term boyfriend since 6th grade. Plus, the sex wasn’t great. 

Still, it hurt to see him flirting with other girls at the Lock-In as if she meant nothing to him, especially considering their history together. 

So, she’d fled–snatched the keys from Ellen’s office and stumbled her way outside to sit on a bench and grab some air.

Before she could get out her phone to text Blair, a familiar truck was pulling up in front of her. Her mom rolled down the window and offered her a smile that looked a little tight around the edges, but Sterling couldn’t bring herself to care. She just wanted to go home. 

“Hey, Mom.” she said, already moving to get in the passenger seat. “How did you know I needed a ride?”

Her mom gave a shrug, glancing at her every so often as if Sterling wouldn’t notice. “Motherly instinct, I guess.”

Sterling blinked. That made no sense, but she brushed it off. “Well, I’m glad you showed up when you did. That lock-in sucked.”

“Why’s that?” her mom asked.

“I dunno,” Sterling shrugged. “Things with me and Luke are weird, I guess.”

“Yeah, that makes sense.” her mom responded. “Relationships are hard when they’re so fresh, aren’t they?.”

Sterling stiffened, giving her mom a sideways glance. Her eyes lingered on the chipped green nail polish coating her fingernails and the messy, unbrushed hair that fell into her mom’s hair as she drove. 

“Yeah,” Sterling found herself agreeing, shifting in her seat and faced with a sudden unease. 

Her unease only tripled when her mom didn’t even slow down at the right turn. “Hey, uh, I think you missed the turn.” she said, fidgeting uncomfortably with her fingers. 

“Oh, no Muffin, I actually have a surprise for you,” her mom supplied, giving her a secretive grin. 

“Muffin?” Sterling muttered under her breath, not loud enough for her mom to hear. “Mom, are you okay? You’re acting kind of weird.”

“Yeah, I’m fine,” her mom answered quickly. “Just a little tired, you know.”

“Right.” Sterling replied, brows furrowed. “Are Blair and Dad coming? To the surprise thing, I mean.”

“Yep!” her mom said, glancing between her and the road. “They’re just going to meet us there.”

Sterling bit her lip, sufficiently suspicious. It wasn’t like her parents to separate her and Blair like this, much less have a surprise ready at 11pm for the both of them. 

“What about Queso?” she asked, brows raised. “You know how she gets when we don’t take her on her night walk.”

“Oh, your daddy’s bringing Queso with him.”

Sterling promptly screamed, and the car swerved as she shifted in her seat to get as far away from the woman as possible. “Our dog’s name is Chloe, who are you? ”

“Woah, woah!” the woman yelled, raising a hand. “Calm–calm down.”

Sterling couldn’t even find words, eyes wide as she stared. This woman looked exactly like her mom, down to the crinkle of her eyes when she smiled, but Sterling knew in her heart that this was not Debbie Wesley. 

“What gave it away?” the woman asked playfully, as if she hadn’t just tried to impersonate her mother. She glanced at her hands still clutching the steering wheel. “I bet it’s the nails, right? Debbie has all the money in the world to keep that shit tight as hell, huh?”

“Who are you?!”

“Okay, fine,” the woman sighed, raising a hand in surrender. “I’m your aunt. Dana.”

They were only about ten minutes into the car ride before her aunt Dana was throwing her phone out the window and getting extremely defensive about Sterling checking her purse.

Her purse that happened to hold a gun.

Sterling couldn’t remember the last time she’d felt so afraid. 

She managed to persuade the woman to stop at a gas station, praying to God that Blair noticed the overdraw notification on their bank account quickly enough. But no one even knew she was missing at this point. They all thought she was safe at the Lock-In, and now she had no phone to tell them otherwise. And with Dana watching her every move, it wasn’t likely she’d find a way to contact them anytime soon. 

Still, hoping against hope, Sterling wrote the message on the wall with all the information she knew. Whoever this Levi guy was, he was likely bad news. Maybe a trail to follow or an address to find. 

If Blair even found this message. 

“C’mon, Muffin, hurry up.” came Dana’s voice from outside the restroom. 

Sterling fought back a chill at the pet name, forcing a smile onto her face as she pushed her way out the door. She scanned the parking lot for any means of escape, but there was nothing. No one was out in the middle of nowhere at this time of night, and making a run for it risked Dana using her gun. 

Instead of risking anything, Sterling simply got back in the car and tried her best to keep it together. She had to believe that Blair was going to find her. That someone was going to find her. 

Blair woke up early Saturday morning with a heavy sense of dread lying at the pit of her stomach. 

Something was wrong, but she couldn’t exactly place what. 

That is, until she reached for her phone and found no text notifications. Sterling never went a whole night and morning without texting something. Then she noticed the overdrawn balance notification. 

Something was definitely wrong. 

She searched the numbers of the location into google, finding a rest stop about 20 minutes out of their neighborhood, off the highway leaving the city.

“MOM!” she yelled, stumbling from her bed and nearly throwing herself down the stairs. “I don’t think Sterling is at the Lock-In!”

Sterling was pretty sure she’d been here for at least 8 hours now, tied haphazardly to a kitchen chair with a strip of duct tape across her lips. Her mouth was terribly dry, and her muscles ached from the uncomfortable position she’d been in all night. The sun was barely starting to peek through the windows.

Still, her thoughts lingered on her arrival. The way Dana seemed downright excited for her to be there–the way Levi gave her a wary glance, as if slightly afraid. 

“It’s okay, Levi,” Dana had assured him, pulling Sterling towards the small kitchen. “Once she figures out just how much Debbie has been lying, she’ll be begging to go with us.”

Sterling had frowned, wondering if they were still even talking about her. Dana searched her pockets once she’d been secured to the chair, pulling her pill case from her front pocket. “Oh, wait, I really need those,” Sterling had said, a nearly hysterical chuckle bubbling from her lips. “I forgot to take them last night in all the chaos, but they’re for allergies–”

“You don’t need these,” Dana said, offering her a smile. “They’re just hiding your true self. You’ll see soon enough.”

Sterling didn’t exactly have a response to that, but it didn’t matter, as Dana was already joyfully flushing her pills down the toilet. Sterling really hoped her allergies weren’t that severe. Her and Blair hadn’t missed a day in over 10 years. 

“Okay, baby,” Dana said, turning towards Levi. “No one will know she’s even gone until tomorrow, so let’s wait until those pills of hers wear off and we can leave in the morning.”

“Wear off?” Sterling asked, brows furrowed. “What do you mean–”

“Shut up,” Levi interrupted, glancing between Sterling and Dana. “Fine, we can stay the night, but make sure she stays quiet. And secure. We don’t want any accidents once those things do wear off.”

Which is how Sterling found herself in this position. She’d tried to struggle free, but it was no use. The ropes were tight and the knots secure. She felt a strong anxiety bubbling in her gut, a tension she’d never really felt before. 

The dread that rocked through her very being when she heard Dana and Levi start to pack and get ready was staggering. Tears gathered in her eyes, and she blinked them away, trying to gather her composure. 

She wasn’t sure Blair was going to find her. She definitely wasn’t going to find her if they actually took her to a second location. 

Time seemed to move as slow as possible as the two of them packed, Dana giving her a smile and a wink every so often, as if they were friends. Sterling fought off a sob, ignoring the burning pain in her throat. How had she even ended up here? Only hours ago, her biggest concern had been being a little jealous of her ex-boyfriend flirting with another girl. 

Now, she’d been kidnapped by her psychotic aunt and was seconds from a breakdown. 

The anxiety in her gut seemed to tighten, going taut as if in response to her thoughts. 

Finally, Dana walked over and cut her limbs free of the chair. She kept the duct tape, though, pulling Sterling’s hands behind her back to bind her once again. “Just a precaution, Muffin.” she assured her, and Sterling winced as the ropes tightened around the rope burn already encircling her wrists. “We’ll untie you once we get on the road, but we have to make sure we can get to the car without any unnecessary attention.”

Sterling didn’t bother with a response, doing her best to stretch her legs as she stood from the chair. She’d have to be nimble if she found a chance to run. 

Her eyes lingered on the pistol Levi shoved into the holster on his belt, and tried her best to control her breathing. 

She would get out of this. She had to.

Just as Dana grabbed her arm to drag her to the door, a shout rang out from outside. “Sterling!” Blair’s voice carried into the house, and Sterling couldn’t even control her response. She yanked herself out of Dana’s grasp, thundering to the window and screaming as best she could with the duct tape still across her mouth. 

A hand wrapped around her hair and yanked her violently back from the window. Sterling stumbled, nearly falling over entirely. Levi stepped forward, peeking out the door. He grabbed his gun, jerking it at the two of them. “Go out the back door and get her to the truck,” he said. “I’ll deal with this.”

Sterling’s chest ached when she thought of her sister facing down this man, this man who had a gun and no qualms about hurting other people. She screamed through the duct tape, struggling hard against Dana’s grasp, but she was tired and weak from her night spent on the kitchen chair. 

“Shut up,” Dana hissed, yanking her out the back door. “I’m trying to help. These people are lying to you.”

Sterling just struggled harder, screaming as loud as she could manage as Dana pulled her into the passenger seat of the truck, closing and locking the door behind her. She couldn’t stop the tears this time, nearly hyperventilating as she tried desperately to open the door with her bound hands. “It’s okay,” Dana assured her, eyes alarmed. “We’re not–”

A gunshot rang through the trailer park, and Sterling thought her heart may stop beating entirely. 

Levi threw himself into the back seat, breathing heavily and still holding his gun. “Go, go!” he said, waving at Dana to drive. “I distracted them, but we gotta get out of here.”

Sterling barely even registered what was going on. The car began moving, but all she could hear was the echo of a gunshot ringing in her ears. Her sister was here, and that meant maybe Bowser and her parents were here. Were they okay? 

She sobbed, struggling against her restraints as hard as she could manage, but it was no use. They approached the gate and Sterling was helpless to stop it. She felt the rope cutting into her wrists, but she couldn’t even bring herself to care, too focused on the anxious feeling in her gut that had become something akin to panic. 

“Sterling, baby, you have to calm down,” Dana said, driving past the gate and reaching over to rest a hand on Sterling’s shoulder. Sterling jerked away, shaking her head. “If you don’t calm down–”

All of the sudden, that feeling in her gut went taut, and Sterling yanked. 

For a moment, she was weightless. 

And then the truck slammed into some invisible force and flipped on its head. 

They flew through the air for only a second, and Sterling didn’t even have time to feel scared before the truck came crashing back down. She slammed into the roof of the car as it landed, having not been wearing her seatbelt. 

Everything was silent for a few minutes, and only the sound of heavy breathing and the repetitive beeping of the truck filled the air.

Sterling forced her eyes to open, ignoring the screaming pain from her arms and head.

Her vision was spotty, and the sudden aching behind her eyes was intense. Groaning in pain, she looked around to assess the damage. Dana hung from her seat by her seat belt, a trail of blood dripping down her face and seemingly unconscious. She didn’t even remember what they’d hit, but whatever it was certainly did a lot of damage.

Sterling glanced back at Levi, only to find the man out cold, sprawled across the roof of the truck. 

Forcing herself to move beyond the piercing pain ringing through her head, Sterling turned towards the passenger door and kicked the window as hard as she could manage. It took a couple tries, but the glass eventually shattered, and Sterling stumbled her way onto the dirt road, ignoring the sting of the broken glass. Distantly, she recalled the skip they’d caught only a few weeks ago, wounded by the glass littering the ground after Sterling had shot the lightbulbs above him.

She lay on the road for a second, catching her breath. She was still bound and gagged, but she barely had time to consider how to free herself before she noticed the footsteps bounding towards her. She looked over and found Blair sprinting towards her at full speed, tears pouring down her cheeks. “Sterling!” she cried, slamming onto the ground next to her. 

In seconds, Sterling was free and hugging her sister as though she was a lifeline. Blood poured from the cuts on her arms and legs, and that annoying pain in her head wouldn’t go away, but she couldn’t bring herself to care. Blair found her, and now they were safe. 

“How–the truck just went flying! ” Blair stuttered, wiping the tear tracks from Sterling’s face. 

Sterling just shook her head, unable to find the words. 

“Sterling!” came her dad’s voice from further down the road, followed closely by Bowser and her mother. 

“Mom, dad!” Sterling croaked, fresh tears brimming as she watched them run over. 

The two of them wrapped her in a fierce hug, as if afraid she would disappear at any moment. “We almost lost you.” her mom whispered. “I’m so sorry.”

“It’s okay,” Sterling sobbed, shaking her head in her mom’s shoulder. “You didn’t even know I was gone.”

Her mother pulled back, her mouth open as though she was about to say something, but she was interrupted by Dana. 

“You haven’t told her.” She said, stumbling up from where she’d just crawled out of the car. “You’re lying to her.” 

Sterling just stared at her, surprised that she’d recovered so quickly. Maybe she’d been lying on the ground for longer than she thought. Time seemed a little weird at the moment, and her vision was blurry around the edges.

“Dana.” her mom said threateningly. 

“Should I tell her, or do you want to?”

A silence consumed the dirt road, and Sterling swallowed, trying her best to gather her composure. She still felt that awful churning in her gut, like a tugging feeling that begged for attention and release. 

Dana and Debbie seemed to have a silent conversation, and Sterling wondered for a moment if they also had the same twin telepathy that Blair and she have. But whatever thoughts she had were quickly dismissed when Dana turned to her, a severe look on her face. 

“She’s not your mom, Sterling.” she said simply. “I am.”

There was a brief moment of pause. Sterling felt breathless, as if she missed a step on a staircase, and she could only feel empty air before her.

And then the car let out an angry creak as it was suddenly launched across the road, spurred by some invisible force.  Blair let out a short scream and held onto her sister (?) as the thing slammed into the dirt nearly 30 feet away. Everyone else cowered back, watching the vehicle roll across the road in shock and horror.

Levi. He’d still been in the car. Was he…?

She wasn't a Wesley. Blair wasn’t her sister. Her mom…

Sterling let out a couple breaths, glancing between her mom and her aunt before promptly passing out. 

While she had a pretty severe concussion and a few gashes that needed stitches, her injuries were the least of her worries when she woke up in the hospital the following day. 

“A what?”

Her mom took a shuddering breath, grasping her hand in her own. “A mutant, sweetie.”

Sterling just stared at her in shock. She knew about mutants, of course. Everyone did. But she’d never actually seen or known one. They were just some mysterious part of the community. Dangerous, but subdued in order to protect society. 

It was unheard of in their little rich community in Atlanta.

“But, I’m already seventeen, there’s no way–”

“The pills, Sterling.” her mom interrupted, her voice breaking. “I started you and Blair on the pills once your abilities began to manifest. They suppress the gene.”

Sterling swallowed, shaking her head in disbelief. She wasn’t sure how many more surprises she could take. “But–I…you lied.” she spat, tears brimming in her eyes. “Why–why would you do that? How could you do that to us–”

“I never wanted that life for you and Blair.” her mom explained. “My parents were mutants, and the world hated them for it. They were imprisoned for a lot of their life, and they were so, so happy that me and Dana would never have to live through something like that.”

“But–”

“I was just trying to protect you two.” Debbie continued, wiping her eyes. “But…now it’s out.”

Sterling just stared, and that familiar churning in her gut returned with a fury. It consumed her, tingling and begging and aching to be released. Sterling swallowed, staring down at her hands. There was something moving beneath her skin…

The medical equipment around her began to tremble, but Sterling barely paid it any mind. “How could you?” she whispered, clenching her fists.

“Sterling, please, you have to–”

“ How could you?!” Sterling interrupted, turning towards her mother with rage burning in her eyes. 

Her mother stared back with an expression she’d never seen before. Debbie was scared.

Sterling barely even registered the flurry of movement around her. The medical equipment around her launched against the walls, and the very ground of the hospital seemed to tremble. 

People were rushing into the room, and there was suddenly yelling everywhere, but Sterling could scarcely focus on anything but the angry pull in her gut, the tingling of her fingers and the ache in her chest. 

Her mother lied. She lied to her and Blair for years. 

Debbie Wesley wasn’t even her mom. Sterling didn’t even know her own birthday, or her own last name. 

Her nails dug into the skin of her palm, and the aching behind her eyes seemed to triple as the reality of the situation slammed into her. 

She felt herself threatening to snap, the tenuous control she had over her composure thinning. 

“I…Where is my sister?” Sterling asked, barely able to see the room through her tears. “ Where is Blair?”

“You have to calm down, Sterling–”

“ Where’s my sister?” Sterling cried, her voice cracking dangerously. 

Before she lost her control entirely, she stiffened as a hand suddenly gripped her shoulder, forcefully pushing her back. She registered a slight pinch in her neck, and everything seemed to slow around her. 

“We’ll have to send her to the academy.” came a masculine voice from her other side. Was that her dad? She fell back, her head crashing into the hospital bed pillow. “There’s no way to hide this anymore.”

“Where is Blair?” Sterling managed to whisper through her sudden, aching exhaustion. At least the angry stirring in her gut had stopped. She relaxed into the bed, her eyelids drooping. 

“Don’t worry,” Debbie said, leaning over the bed and grasping Sterling’s hand. Sterling barely even felt it, trying her best to blink away her disorientation. “She’ll be here soon. We’re never going to separate you two. I don’t think she’d let us.”

Sterling released a breath, the tension finally leaving her body. 

“Sleep well, Sterling.” Debbie whispered. “You’re going to be okay.”

The Academy is not what she expected. She’s not exactly sure what she did expect, but a…boarding school wasn’t it. Maybe a prison. Or a big scary facility. 

This place looked downright victorian.

Even if her parents hadn’t wanted her to go, the authorities insisted otherwise. It was the legal procedure with newly identified mutants, especially since they were so rare. Sterling herself was considered one of the more dangerous ones, as far as she could tell with the little information she’d been given. It made sense, though. Levi had still been in the truck when she’d had her…episode. He’d narrowly avoided death. 

Sterling swallowed the familiar guilt that began to crawl up her throat. Levi had been violent and dangerous. He could’ve killed her. 

Back on the pills in order to suppress her abilities (abilities that were evidently very out of control), Sterling felt extremely out of her depth as she stared at the towering manor. Blair nearly buzzed with excitement next to her. 

Unlike Sterling, Blair seemed to possess an immediate understanding of her abilities, adjusting to the super speed as if she’d had it all her life. In a way, she had, Sterling thought. She’d definitely always been faster than most people. 

She seemed downright excited about their…new school, if you could even call it that. Sterling was less enthusiastic. She still remembered the unstable, angry churning in her gut–it felt dangerous, out of control. Sterling never wanted to feel that way again. 

Only after they left the hospital did she learn the damage she did. There was a massive crack in the floor of the room stretching wall-to-wall, and she’d destroyed almost all of the medical equipment in the room.The doctor told her it would’ve been a lot worse if they hadn’t sedated her when they did.

“Hey, you okay?” Blair asked, nudging her with her elbow. Sterling glanced back at her, brows furrowed. It had only been a week since the events of the trailer park, and everything seemed to have changed, while also staying completely the same. Blair was still stubbornly normal, almost unwilling to accept the fact that they weren’t actually sisters. 

Sterling herself couldn’t stop thinking about it. She still had bandages all over her arms and legs, covering the gashes from the glass wounds, and it had taken a few days of bedrest to recover from the concussion. She’d nearly cried when she saw the extent of the damage–she’d always scarred far too easily, and she knew the events of this night wouldn’t fade any time soon. Even her wrists still had angry red marks from the rope burn.

“I mean,” Sterling said, peering back at the manor. It was massive, easily four times bigger than their school back home. “As okay as can be expected.”

“Hey, it’ll be okay,” Blair said, immediately hooking her arm through Sterling’s. “We’ve got each other, no matter what, right?”

Sterling swallowed, gripping the strap of her duffel bag hard enough that her knuckles turned white. “Right.” she replied. “Let’s do this.”

“Welcome to The Academy!” echoed a cheerful voice from just in front of them. Sterling glanced up from her bags, meeting eyes with a beautiful girl about their age. Her hair fell in dirty blonde locks that framed her face perfectly, and her eyes seemed to see through the two of them. She offered them a winning smile, though Sterling sensed it was tight around the edges, as if she wasn’t exactly happy they were here. 

“Hi there.” Blair offered a small wave, adjusting the strap of her bag. “I’m Blair, and this is Sterling.”

Sterling also waved, suddenly even more nervous. “I’m Sterling.” she helpfully repeated. 

“I’m April,” the girl said, glancing between them. “I usually help to show around new people.”

“That’s us.” Blair supplied with a shrug. “Where should we put our bags? This stuff is getting heavy.”

Sterling was inclined to agree. She’d never been the athletic sister of the two of them, and the weight of her belongings was starting to weigh heavily on her shoulders and back. 

April nodded, her smile not wavering. “Let me show you guys to the dorms and you can get settled in.”

The dorms were standard, if a little bigger than a typical boarding school. Sterling wasn’t complaining, though. They clearly had the room to spare. 

“I’m assuming you two are rooming together?” April asked as they finally dropped their stuff, releasing a sigh of relief. 

Sterling nodded. “That’s right,” she said. “We basically shared a room back home, so this isn’t too different.”

“I’m glad to hear that.” April offered, glancing between the two of them. “A lot of our new people have trouble sharing a room, so you’re already one step ahead.”

“Was it tough for you?” Blair asked, stretching her arms as she peered around the room. “Adjusting, I mean.”

April shrugged, but her smile seemed to drop for a moment. “Definitely, at first.” she supplied. “The adjustment is hard on everyone–adding a new roommate doesn’t always help.”

Sterling felt a pang of sympathy as the girl spoke. It sounded like she’d had a hard time when she got here. She could only hope that the same wouldn’t be true for her, but Sterling doubted it. 

“How long have you been here?” Sterling asked, reaching up to scratch her neck.

“Since I was young,” April answered. “Probably about 6 or 7.”

“Wow.” Blair whistled. 

“Well, that was when my abilities began to manifest.” April continued, her eyes narrowing almost imperceptibly. Sterling opened her mouth to ask another question, but April continued before she could. “I’ll leave you guys to get settled in, and then I’ll come by and take you on a tour of the school?”

Before they could even respond, April was already turning tail and leaving, the sound of her footsteps echoing down the hall. 

“She’s weird.” Blair said after a beat. 

“Stop!” Sterling replied, her eyes still trained on the door where she’d left. Then, quieter: “What if she has super hearing?”

“ Super hearing? ” Blair snorted, collapsing onto one of the beds. “Do you even hear yourself?”

“Hey, you have super speed!” Sterling protested, turning back towards her sister. “It’s not that far off.”

Blair sat up, almost immediately offended. “How dare you?” she asked, eyes wide. “Everyone knows that super speed is way cooler than good hearing or whatever.”

“If you say so–”

Before Sterling could even get the words out, Blair was already up and clutching Sterling’s favorite stuffed animal, a wicked smile on her face. 

“Hey!” Sterling protested. “Put him down–”

“Catch me, then!”

And with that, she zoomed out of the room, leaving Sterling standing helplessly in their new room. She glanced around, unease seizing at her chest. 

“Home, sweet home, I guess.”

“This is the gymnasium,” April said, waving to the large court before them. They were in an observation sort of area, a wall of glass allowing them to see down into the gym. “We practice our abilities here–sparring, target practice, hand-to-hand, that sort of thing.” The gym was decorated with all sorts of equipment, ranging from targets to weapons to dummies. Sterling watched, a little transfixed, as two students sparred back and forth, one of them teleporting around the other every so often. “There’s different gyms spread throughout the school catered to different abilities and skill sets, but this is our biggest and most widely used.”

Blair’s smile was wide as ever. “ Awesome. ” she whispered. 

Sterling rolled her eyes. Of course Blair would be most excited about the prospect of beating up other students. There was a reason she’d always enjoyed lacrosse, she supposed. And bounty hunting.

“But you guys won’t be able to participate until the dean thinks you have complete control.” April said pointedly. “We wouldn’t want to risk any accidents, after all.”

Sterling swallowed uncomfortably. The thought of using her abilities at all was daunting, much less against her peers. 

They continued on the tour, passing a number of classes actively in session. There were the normal classes–arithmetic, geography, history–but Sterling was transfixed by the other classes. They seemed more…hands-on. Disaster management, team leadership, and mutant-human relations were some of the main ones that stuck out to her.

It was strange, suddenly becoming a part of an entire community, one she hadn’t ever really registered. She wasn’t human anymore–she was a mutant. She’d never really been human at all. 

“Alright, let me take you up to see the dean and he’ll take it from there.” April said, leading them to a tall set of stairs. “He’ll give you a class schedule and fill in any of the gaps in information that I missed.”

“You were pretty thorough,” Blair said, coming to a stop at the stairs as April slowed. 

“Yes, thanks so much for the help, April.” Sterling continued, offering the girl a genuine smile. 

April narrowed her eyes momentarily, her smile unwavering. “No problem.” she finally replied. “Tell the dean I said hello–he’s just up the stairs and to the left.”

“Got it,” Blair said, already moving up the steps. Sterling watched as April walked away, releasing a heavy sigh. 

“Sterling!” Blair called for her, and Sterling was snapped from her reverie, turning back and trailing after her sister, albeit at a much slower pace.

“Girls, I’m so sorry about all this chaos.” the dean said, his voice low and warbling. His office was exactly what you’d expect from a Victorian manor like the Academy. On either wall, towering bookshelves contained all different sorts of volumes, framing an ornate fireplace on the left wall. The seats they sat in were luxurious leather, and Sterling felt as though she might sink into the chair completely when she sat down. “We normally like to give our students more of a transition period to adjust, but your circumstances are clearly…different.”

Sterling withheld a snort, but Blair just chuckled freely. “You could say that again,” she said, shaking her head. 

“Thanks for helping us with the process, Dean, we really appreciate it.” Sterling said, flashing a warning look at Blair. 

“Of course,” the Dean said, waving her off. “We always strive to help mutants find their place.”

Sterling could barely stop herself from flinching at the word. She remained silent as the Dean searched across his desk and shuffled through stacks of ambiguous paperwork until he apparently found what he was looking for, offering them both a smile before handing Blair the sheet of paper. “Here is a standard schedule for the beginning student, with some special classes for your power category.” the Dean said, his warm smile unfading. “Your ability is super speed, correct?”

“Yes, sir,” Blair said, offering a mock salute. She glanced down at the paper, a smile crossing her face as she took in the schedule. “Gym? Am I already training with the other students?”

The Dean nodded. “From what I’ve heard from your parents and various sources, it seems as though you have a pretty solid grasp on your abilities, and super speed, while powerful if used correctly, is not often harmful to other people.”

“Nice,” Blair whispered, looking back down at her schedule. 

“Now,” the Dean said after a few beats. “If I could have a moment to speak alone with your sister?”

Blair’s gaze shot up, her eyes narrowed. “Why?” she asked shortly, her voice flat and threatening. 

“I just want to discuss her schedule with her.” the Dean offered, raising his hands in surrender. 

Blair glanced over at her, brows raised. Sterling swallowed, her gaze switching between her sister and the Dean before she gave Blair a slight nod. “It’s okay, I’ll be right behind you.”

Blair still seemed hesitant, but after a few moments, she pushed herself off the chair and made her way out of the office. Sterling knew she wouldn’t dare leave her here, not after the trailer park incident. They’d barely left each other’s sides in the week since the event. She took comfort in knowing that her sister was right outside the door, waiting in case anything went wrong. 

“Now, you’re a bit of a mystery.” the Dean said suddenly, breaking Sterling from her thoughts. “Typically, we’re able to sort our students into various categories of abilities, but from what I hear, you’re a bit…unique.”

Sterling frowned. “Really?” she asked. “I…I don’t really have a frame of reference, to be honest.”

The Dean chuckled, nodding. “You wouldn’t, of course,” he said. “Well, you show the indicators of telekinetic abilities, but…much stronger than our other students who display similar abilities. I mean, the first thing you manipulated was an entire truck. That’s extremely unordinary.”

Sterling swallowed, her mouth suddenly dry as she remembered the way the truck had flown into the air, responding to that unmistakable pull in her gut. She didn’t know what to say. 

“Regardless, you’ll definitely need some remedial lessons before you start training with your peers.” the Dean continued. “We don’t know the extent of your power as of now, and who knows? Maybe you have more than just telekinesis–a lot of our more powerful students often possess multiple abilities.”

Sterling did not like the idea of that one bit. The uncontrollability of one power was enough for her. “Sir, I, um, well, I’m on medication right now that–”

“Ah yes, the suppressants.” the Dean interrupted, nodding his head as if he’d just  remembered. “You’ll want to stop taking those for now, we don’t believe in those sorts of medication here.”

Sterling’s stomach gave an uncomfortable lurch. She knew she’d have to stop taking the pills eventually, but for it to be so soon was unsettling. 

“I understand that it’s daunting, but there’s no shame in not having a grasp on your powers.” the Dean said, his tone becoming understanding as he noticed the apprehension on Sterling’s face. “Everyone is on a different timeline here, but one thing you cannot do is hide from yourself.”

Chewing at her bottom lip, Sterling gave a slight nod. “Understood.” she said quietly. “Um, do you have a schedule for me?” 

The Dean shook his head with a smile. “We don’t have it completely finished right now, since yours is a special case, but I’ll have April drop it off tomorrow morning before classes begin.” he offered her. “For right now, just try and get comfortable. Meet some other students, take a walk across the grounds.”

Sterling would honestly like to do nothing less, but she nodded, forcing a smile. “Thank you.” she said. 

“Say goodbye to your sister for me, will you?” the Dean said, sifting through his piles of papers once again. “She’s a protective one, isn’t she?”

Sterling couldn’t help but flash back to the night in the trailer park–the tears and desperation all over Blair’s face when they’d found her, the devastation in her eyes when they’d learned they weren’t actually sisters.

“Yeah,” Sterling agreed. “She’s a good sister.”

Chapter Text

It was hard to find sleep that night. 

She’d talked to Blair about the schedule thing, and after a few too many tears, Sterling felt a little better about her situation. She just wished it could’ve gone more like Blair’s, that she’d known exactly how to control her powers and found them useful and exciting. 

Instead, they were just another source of anxiety. 

Sighing and running a hand through her hair, Sterling stole a glance at her sleeping sister. Blair was always a heavy sleeper, and her snores practically echoed through the nearly-empty room. 

She went to reach for her phone, only to remember that hers was still missing, probably lying in pieces on a random highway in Georgia. Her parents promised to send her a new one when they got a chance, but it would likely take a while, with everything going on. 

Swinging her legs off the school-registered twin bed, she sighed. A walk might help her get rid of all this nervous energy. 

She slipped into the closet briefly to grab a hoodie, a massive thing she’d stolen from Luke and never given back, even after they broke up. He definitely wasn’t getting it back now, considering she now went to a boarding school several states away and he probably wanted nothing to do with her anymore. 

Tucking her hands into the pocket of the sweatshirt, she momentarily mourned the fact that the hoodie no longer smelled like her ex-boyfriend. She’d had it for too long, washed it too many times. 

Shaking her head, she forced her thoughts elsewhere as she closed the dorm door behind her as softly as she could manage. 

The school had a different energy at night. However big it had seemed when she’d arrived, it felt exponentially bigger now – the hallways seemed to never end and the walls stretched so far upward that the ceiling couldn’t be seen. 

Her soft footsteps echoed through the hall as she walked aimlessly from the dorm towards where she hoped there was a common room or something. 

She’d been walking for a while before she accepted the fact that she was lost. When she turned around, she couldn’t even remember which direction her dorm was. 

Shit, she thought, shaking her head. Why did this school have to be so massive?

A sound echoed down the hallway and Sterling jumped, her head jerking towards where it had come from. Distantly, she saw a door begin to open, and, on instinct, she tucked herself into the shadow drawn by a pillar. Sure she was out of sight, she peeked around the corner to see what was happening. 

Slight groaning echoed down the hallway, and Sterling furrowed her brows when she saw a figure slumped in a wheelchair being pushed along by someone dressed in a pair of scrubs. Leather straps fixed his forearms to the chair, and he seemed to be trembling slightly, his hands weakly gripping the arms of the chair as he was rolled down the hallway. 

Sterling blanched when she noticed the trail of dark red blood running from his nose to his lips. 

She could only watch as they faded from view around the corner, her gaze darting between the departing figure and the door they’d come from. 

Some buried part of her, the part aching with curiosity and energy, begged her to open the door, to find out exactly what had been happening. Another, more reasonable part of her told her to just go to bed. 

Before she could act on either thought, she nearly jumped out of her skin at the feeling of a hand brushing against her shoulder. 

Unable to control a slight yelp, she leapt back and turned to find April standing behind her, hands raised in surrender. She seemed almost amused by Sterling’s reaction, but Sterling was too busy recovering from her near-heart attack to be angry. 

“W-Why?” she managed, reaching a hand up to her heart. Distantly, she registered that anxious, pulling feeling in her gut, as if responding to her emotions. Thankfully, her last pill hadn’t completely worn off, so nothing happened. 

“Why are you even out right now?” April asked, her voice quiet but firm. 

“I couldn’t sleep,” Sterling admitted, finally finding some composure. “I wanted to go on a walk.”

“You know there’s a curfew here, right?” April asked, superiority dripping from her voice. “You could get in some serious trouble.”

“I didn’t know that, actually–my tour guide didn’t tell me.” Sterling snapped back, annoyance spiking. “Why are you out, then?”

April shrugged. “At least I know how to avoid getting caught.”

Sterling just stared at her, eyes narrowed. Her eyes were pretty, she noticed, a bright greenish color that seemed to shine despite the dim lighting. 

“Whatever, I don’t care.” Sterling finally spoke, waving her off. “I’ll go back to my room, then.”

She turned to storm off, only to find she had no idea which direction she was supposed to go. Somehow, she’d ended up in the main hall, a huge passageway that ran through the whole school. There were so many offshoots and random turns she’d taken–she was helplessly lost. 

April chuckled behind her, and Sterling narrowed her eyes at the sound. “Yes?” she asked, brows raised.

“You’re so lost, aren’t you?” April asked, a shit-eating grin on her face.

“I don’t remember you being so unpleasant when you gave us the tour,” Sterling sighed, running a hand through her hair. 

If April was hurt, she didn’t show it, just offering her a shrug. “I was on duty.” she offered. 

A silence consumed the hallway, and Sterling glanced in both directions, eyes narrowed. “Fine.” she admitted after a few beats. “I’m so lost.”

She turned to find April giving her a self-satisfied smirk. “Knew it.”

“Hey,” Sterling protested. “It’s not my fault this school is twelve miles long.”

“Whatever, Wesley.” April said, already waving for her to follow. “Let’s get you back to your room.”

Sterling had no choice but to follow behind, a frown pulling at her lips. This was embarrassing. 

They walked in silence for a while, the only sound between them being the soft footsteps echoing through the hallway. 

Only when they turned a corner towards the dorm areas did the energy shift. Suddenly, April whipped around, eyes narrowed as she gave Sterling a look up and down, as if assessing her. Sterling fought back a blush, startled and confused. “Can I help you?” she asked after a few too many beats of April just staring at her. She hadn’t noticed how short she was–Sterling had at least 4 or 5 inches on her.

“What’s your deal, Wesley?” April asked, her voice tinged with suspicion. 

“What does that even mean–”

“Your powers!” April hissed, clearly doing her best to control how loud she was. “Why are you only here now, you’re seventeen!”

Sterling paused, swallowing. Unconsciously, she brushed a few fingers on the knotted skin of the rope-burn on her wrists. “Why do you even care?” she asked, shaking her head. 

“I care because you still don’t have a schedule.” April said matter-of-factly. “Your sister is normal, but you? I’ve overheard the staff whispering about you more than once.”

Sterling stared at her, eyes narrowed. “Okay?” she replied. “I don’t know any more about that than you do.”

“Tell me what happened.” April said forcefully. “Why are you and your sister here?”

Sterling shook her head. “I think I can find my way from here, thanks.” she spat, already storming away. 

“I’ll find out anyway!” April called after her.

Sterling pointedly ignored her. 

Sterling woke with the sun the next morning, taking some time to just lay in her bed and enjoy the rest before she actually started moving. She’d barely been able to sleep last night–instead of getting rid of her nervous energy, her midnight walk and subsequent encounter with April had seemingly doubled it.

She couldn’t get her mind off what she’d seen before April had found her, either. She knew that everyone here was a mutant, and everyone had different requirements, but…

Something about what she’d seen left her with a horrible sense of dread and unease.

She’d been laying in her bed for what felt like hours before a soft sound echoed through the room. Sterling turned to find a sheet of paper had been slid under the door. She waited for a knock or some indication that someone was there, but nothing came.

Unable to contain her anxiety any longer, Sterling finally sat up and swung her legs over the bed, stretching her sore muscles. The bruising from the car crash hadn’t completely faded, even a week later. She glanced at the bandages on her arms and legs, inwardly groaning. She’d have to change the gauze before leaving the dorm today. 

She made her way to the door and picked up the sheet, her eyes training on the bold font at the top of the sheet labeled “Sterling Wesley.”

Her schedule seemed relatively normal, but a note at the bottom corner told her that it was “subject to change upon special circumstance.” Sterling sighed. She could only imagine what that meant. 

It was nice to see that the day would start with normal classes–in fact, from what she’d seen on Blair’s schedule, they seemed to have the same arithmetic class.

She glanced over at her sister, who was still fast asleep even hours after Sterling had woken. Pausing for a moment, she glanced out the window, where the sun was starting to peek through the sheer curtains of their dorm.

She’d have to wake up soon anyway.

A wicked smile on her face, Sterling wasted no time before launching herself towards the bed, leaping onto her sister and yelling at her to wake up. 

Even when Blair spent most of the next hour running annoying circles around her and intentionally misplacing her stuff with her super speed, Sterling didn’t regret it. 

For a brief moment, she even felt normal. 

That feeling quickly faded when she found herself in her first class. She’d had to separate from Blair, something neither of them were very happy about, but they conceded. They had their next class together anyway. 

But Sterling found herself doubting whatever confidence she may have had by the time she walked into her geography class. 

Almost all eyes were on her as soon as she passed the door frame, and she uncomfortably adjusted the hoodie she’d chosen to wear. This was the first school she’d been to that hadn’t required a uniform, but she’d taken Blair’s lead, deciding on a more casual look. After all, she didn’t want any undue attention. 

Her hoodie wasn’t exactly helping her blend in, though. Apparently April wasn’t the only one curious about her arrival, and she pointedly ignored everyone’s stares as she took a  seat near the back corner of the class. 

“Welcome back, I hope you all had a chance to look over your study guide…” Sterling gradually tuned out the professor as he began to talk about the upcoming quiz. She would have to talk to him after class, of course, and try and figure out how she could make up for the half of the year she’d already missed.

She occupied herself by glancing around the classroom. In a weird twist, she found herself comforted by the slight familiarity of the classroom–it was small and dull, just like the ones at her own school. Similarly, there were few students, only about fifteen. Sterling found herself studying them as she glanced around, wondering why exactly they were there. Did they have abilities like her, or were they just as in control as Blair? 

Her eyes caught on a girl across the room. She was beautiful, Sterling thought, her throat suddenly dry. Her hair fell in dark waves onto her back and her jawline seemed sharp enough to cut through rock. And her eyes…

“Hey, newbie,” a voice cut into her thoughts. Sterling tore herself away, glancing over to find the guy next to her leaning over with a small smirk. The teacher had already released them to work on whatever assignment he’d been talking about, but Sterling couldn’t bring herself to care. She turned to the guy, brows raised. 

“What?” she asked quietly. 

“I wouldn’t stare too long,” he said, chuckling a little as she motioned over to the girl. “Ava’s like…a siren.”

“A siren? ” Sterling hissed, eyes wide. “Sorry?”

“Well, close enough,” he shrugged, spinning a pencil between his fingers. “She can… push people. Like, influence them to do whatever, as long as the person is somewhat attracted to her. Or if she catches them off guard, I guess. I don’t really know, I try to avoid her.”

Sterling thought her ears might be ringing. “Somewhat attracted?” she squeaked, glancing back towards the front.

“Yeah,” the guy nodded, turning back to the worksheet on his desk. “She gets a lot of people to do some pretty embarrassing things.”

The guy clearly thought she was more concerned about this random girl’s power than the implications of what he’d just said. Surely Sterling wasn’t…obviously she wasn’t attracted to this person…

“What’s your name?” the guy asked, interrupting Sterling’s crisis of sexuality.

Sterling tried to collect herself, blinking as she registered his question. “Sterling.” she managed, offering him a tight smile. 

“Miles.” he offered easily, and Sterling finally took an actual look at him. He was handsome, with sharp features and a friendly smile that invited conversation. “Don’t worry, not all the classes are this boring. Just geography–you can only learn all the countries and capitals so many times before you lose it.”

“How long have you been here?” Sterling asked, glancing around them. “At the school, I mean.”

Miles shrugged. “It’s definitely been a while–probably 8 or 9 years?” he replied, scratching the back of his neck. “Most mutants begin to show abilities when they’re younger, you know.”

The obvious went unspoken between them, and Sterling nervously scratched at her cuticles. 

“Hey, I know it’s scary at first,” Miles said after a few beats. “But there are some great people here, I promise. You’ll find your place.”

Sterling swallowed, glancing up to find him giving her an encouraging smile. 

“Okay,” she finally said. “Okay, you’re right.”

She glanced down at the blank worksheet before her, brows furrowed. 

“What are we doing, again?”

When class let out, Miles was kind enough to walk her out. Throughout the lesson, she’d found she liked him–he was funny and easy to talk to. He made her feel a bit more normal, which she appreciated more than he’ll ever know.

“Hey, how was class?” came a familiar voice as they walked out of the door. Sterling turned to find Blair waiting against the wall, brows raised and practically buzzing with excitement. “You okay? Did it go well? Was anyone mean, I’ll literally kill –”

“Blair!” Sterling interrupted before she could go off the rails. “It was good, I’m fine, I promise. How was yours?”

Blair seemed to deflate with relief. “It was good, but kind of just as boring as real school, which was kind of lame. But also comforting?”

“Sounds complicated,” came Miles' voice from beside her. Sterling glanced over to find the boy staring at Blair, an awed smile tugging at his lips. 

Blair turned to him, eyes narrowed suspiciously. “You could say that.” she said, pausing for only a moment before grabbing Sterling’s arm and dragging her down the hall. 

Helpless to stop it, Sterling just waved goodbye to Miles with a shrug. 

“I’m Miles!” he called down the hallways. “Nice to meet you–”

“Who does he think he is?” Blair shook her head, her grip on Sterling’s arm tightening. 

Sterling winced as she pushed particularly hard on one of her bandages, but she didn’t show it, simply yanking her arm out of her sister’s grip with a slight chuckle. “He was nice, Blair,” she assured her. “You should’ve said hi.”

Blair finally slowed down, releasing a sigh. “Yeah, you’re probably right.” she said after a few beats. “I think these past few weeks might have made me a bit more paranoid.”

Sterling snorted. “You can say that again,” she agreed, staring around the hallway as the crowd of students started to thin. “Hey, do you know where we’re going?”

Blair stopped, scanning the hallway with a deep frown. 

“Shit.”

Classes passed by relatively quickly, once Sterling adjusted to all the staring and weird looks. Blair and her were practically attached at the hip during the times they could see each other, but by the time it hit midday, they knew they wouldn’t be able to stick together. 

“What does it say instead?” Blair asked, glancing between Sterling’s schedule and her own. Where Blair had gym next, Sterling’s just had a room number. They had a short lunch break, and instead of joining the other students in the dining area, Blair and Sterling had snuck into one of the common areas. 

“Nothing,” Sterling supplied with an uncomfortable shrug. “Just the room number.”

Blair frowned. “Maybe I should–”

“Blair, for the last time, I will be fine,” Sterling said, turning to her sister with an imploring look. “I know you’ve been looking forward to gym all day. Don’t let me stop you.”

“Pft,” Blair said, waving her off. “Not all day.”

“Please,” Sterling continued. “Go to your class and I’ll go to mine. We’ll see each other when the day is over and I can tell you everything. And you can tell me everything!”

Blair paused. “You’re sure?”

Sterling nodded. “Twin swear.”

Blair swallowed, a watery smile making its way onto her face when she heard Sterling’s words. She knew the significance of it, of Sterling acknowledging the fact that they were sisters and nothing could change that.

“Okay,” she said finally. “But I want a debrief when we get back to the dorm, got it?”

“Yes, sir.” Sterling replied, giving her a mock salute. “C’mon, we’re gonna be late.”

Blair gave her a mischievous grin. “Speak for yourself.”

She offered her one more wink before disappearing from the common area in a blur of motion. Sterling stared after her, glancing back around the room.

“That was cool, but you could’ve at least thrown away your trash first!”

It took Sterling an embarrassing amount of time to find the room listed on her schedule. She did end up being late, finally finding her way to the third floor classroom and opening the door as quietly as possible. 

Unfortunately, her presence was immediately noticed–there were only about 4 people in the room, after all. 

Sterling swallowed as all eyes turned to her. “Um, hi,” she offered, giving them all a sheepish wave. “Sorry I’m late.”

“That’s okay,” came a deep voice from behind her. She turned to find a tall man offering her a gracious smile, his eyes crinkling. He was middle-aged, probably around 45-50, with salt and pepper hair and kind eyes. “Welcome to class, I’m Dr. Jordan.”

“Who’s she?” a voice asked as Sterling went to take a seat, shaking off her embarrassment as best she could. She raised an eyebrow, turning to glance at who’d asked the question, only to find a girl staring back at her with suspicious eyes. She was dressed in dark clothing, with all manner of piercings decorating her face–her brows, her nose, and a number on her ears. 

“She’s new.” came a different, more familiar voice from further behind. Sterling swallowed, releasing a heavy sigh when she saw April sitting a few seats behind her, offering her a sneer. She hadn’t seen her when she’d walked in. “Didn’t you hear?”

“ New?” A boy chimed in with a snort. “We never get new kids.”

“Well, now we do.” Dr. Jordan interrupted pointedly. “Everyone, this is Sterling Wesley. She’ll be joining us for the foreseeable future.”

Sterling offered another awkward wave, which no one returned except a cheerful-looking girl sitting a few seats from the front. 

“Okay, as usual, we’ll be going over our management strategies before heading to the gym today.” Dr. Jordan continued, scanning through a series of papers on his desk. He approached and passed out a few files to each student until he reached Sterling, offering her a friendly smile. “You’ll have to sit out this class, but we’ll meet afterwards and have a bit of a…test run to see where you’re at with your abilities.”

Sterling just nodded her understanding, shrinking under the gazes of the others in the class. 

The actual class portion of the period was somewhat boring, with Dr. Jordan walking around the room and making sure everyone understood their assignments and strategies–he asked them about any of their concerns or reservations, but none of them were very forthcoming, practically waving him off. Sterling guessed they were used to this–after all, half the semester had already passed. 

She was really behind. 

She fiddled with her hands as she waited, that uncomfortable anticipation building in her gut. It was such an unpleasant feeling–wild and unmanageable and out of control. 

She’d dealt with it all day, and it was only building, becoming more and more tangible as the pills started to fully wear off. How had she never noticed this feeling before? It was practically crawling beneath her skin, begging to be let loose. 

So far, she’d been able to contain it, unwilling to have another outburst, but it was building. 

Maybe it’d be good to have a chance to use it. 

Before she knew it, the professor was herding them towards the door and they were making their way to the gym. 

She cradled her wrist, a new habit she’d picked up after the trailer park. Feeling the rope burn made it all feel more…real–less like it just happened in her imagination.

“You okay, newbie?” April’s voice whispered mockingly in her left ear, and Sterling nearly jumped out of her skin when she saw April walking right next to her. 

As if responding to her surprise, a crack spontaneously split the hardwood floor beneath them. 

They both just stared at the offending crack, the others continuing to walk ahead. 

“Fine, thanks.” Sterling finally managed, rushing ahead to join the others. 

April caught up to her rather fast, grabbing her forearm to pull her back, out of earshot. “What. The hell was that?” she hissed, glancing between Sterling and the crack. 

Sterling yanked her arm from April’s grip, shifting uncomfortably. “Nothing. Probably a structural problem or something.” she replied weakly, offering a nervous laugh.

“Wesley. You’re kidding, right?” April asked, leveling her with a flat look. 

“What do you even care?” Sterling snapped, turning to face her. “You’re in this class, too, right? Clearly you can’t control your shit that well, either.”

April’s expression soured. “I can control my abilities just fine.” she said. “I choose not to use them.”

Sterling just stared at her. “I don’t care. Whatever.” she finally said. “Just stay away from me.”

Thankfully, April didn’t chase after her after she stormed off to join the others, but Sterling could feel her gaze burning into the back of her neck the whole way to the gym.

It was smaller than the other gyms Sterling had seen, basically just a regular classroom. Near the left, there was a small, shielded observation area. Even from across the room, Sterling noted just how thick the glass looked. The room was mostly empty, but a few practice dummies had been stacked up in the corner and a series of targets lined the walls. Sterling blanched slightly at the burn marks the custodial staff had seemingly been unable to wash off the walls. This was definitely much more low-quality than the gym Sterling had been shown on the tour.

“Ok, who’s up first today?” Dr. Jordan asked, clapping his hands together. “I believe we left off on a pretty positive note with Ezekiel last week?”

Eyes turned towards the boy who had spoken earlier in class, asking who Sterling was. He rolled his eyes before offering an exasperated nod of assent. Dr. Jordan gave him a thumbs up, his face twisting into a smile.

“Okay, everyone, into the fishtank!” he called, motioning towards the observation area.

Once he’d shut the door behind them, they all turned their attention to wear Ezekiel was standing, arms crossed impatiently. “Can we just get this over with, already?” he asked, a flat look on his face.

“Hey, none of that negativity,” Dr. Jordan protested. “Give it your best shot!”

Ezekiel turned to wear targets lined the opposite wall, releasing a heavy sigh before straightening and planting his feet. 

“What’s he going to do?” Sterling whispered to April, almost unable to help herself, transfixed. 

“You’ll see.” April responded after a moment’s hesitation.

Sterling didn’t have to wait long. 

Almost as soon as April spoke, beams of light shot from Ezekiel’s eyes, launching into one of the targets and lighting the thing ablaze. He continued down the line of targets, breathing heavily from the exertion. 

“That’s it, Ezekiel!” Dr. Jordan coached. “Keep it up, you’re doing well!”

Ezekiel managed to get a few targets further, his aim accurate and deadly. Sterling felt her breath catch when he suddenly stumbled to a stop, his legs trembling. 

“C’mon, control it–”

As if on cue, Ezekiel was launched back as the laser became infinitely more forceful. He hit the ground with a grunt, the beam of light immediately fading as he landed.

“So close.” April whispered ruefully.

“That’s okay, Ezekiel.” Dr. Jordan assured him, leaving the room to help Ezekiel back to his feet. The boy dusted off his shirt, a deep frown twisting his lips. 

“Whatever.” he said, shaking off the professor. “I’m done.”

Dr. Jordan watched as Ezekiel stormed into the observation room, shaking his head. He sighed before clapping his hands together. “All right, who’s next?”

Sterling could only stare. “Impressive, right?” April helpfully supplied, her voice low. “He’s one of the more powerful ones here but he can’t seem to get a hold of those lasers enough to get out of the remedial class–they’re too dangerous right now.”

Sterling swallowed, recalling the image of a totalled truck sprawled across a dirt road. “Right.” she said weakly. At least she now had confirmation that she was in a remedial class of sorts, and she wasn’t the only one who didn’t know what she was doing. 

It was comforting, but also terrifying. 

Sterling couldn’t help but wonder more about the girl next to her. What were her abilities? Why in the world was she in a remedial class when she seemed like possibly the most put-together teenager on the planet. 

I choose not to use my abilities , she had said. 

But why?

“Hannah B.?” Dr. Jordan interrupted her thoughts. “You wanna give it a try?”

All eyes turned towards the shorter girl standing next to Ezekiel, rubbing his arm reassuringly. She offered everyone a friendly smile. “Sure.” she said, a lot more cheerful than her friend. “Maybe today’s the day!”

Sterling liked her. 

April rolled her eyes. “She says that every day.” she sneered.

Hannah left the observation area with hesitant steps, steps that betrayed her apprehension more than the resting empty smile that covered her face. Dr. Jordan closed the door behind her. “Ok, go for it, Hannah!” he called, that encouraging smile back on his face as he met Hannah’s eyes through the window. 

Hannah took a deep breath, shaking out her hands before turning towards the window and giving them all a smile. She cupped her hands together, and Sterling watched in awe as a ball of light began to solidify between her palms. The light reflected in Hannah’s eyes as she stared down at the thing, seemingly just as awed as Sterling. 

“That’s it, Hannah.” Dr. Jordan coached. “Now see if you can adjust the size.”

“You might want to shield your eyes for this one.” April whispered. 

Sterling furrowed her brows. “Why would I–”

As if on cue, Hannah shouted in surprise and pain as the ball of light grew exponentially in size and brightness. Sterling winced, immediately covering her eyes at the blinding light. Only after the light faded from her periphery did she dare look up, blinking the spots from her eyes. 

“That’s okay, Hannah,” Dr. Jordan sighed. “We’ll have to work on managing the brightness.”

Hannah was on the ground now, blinking rapidly as tears involuntarily streamed down her face. “What?” she asked breathlessly, blindly reaching for Dr. Jordan’s outstretched hand and missing it entirely.

“Just go sit down and take a breath.”

Sterling watched with wide eyes as Dr. Jordan escorted a blinking and confused Hannah back into the observation room, leading her over to Ezekiel. The boy took Hannah’s arm and guided her to a sitting position next to him. “Does that happen every time?” Sterling asked, horrified.

“Not every time, no.” April replied. “Sometimes the light doesn’t even form. Other times it flies across the room and gets steadily brighter and brighter. But this is usually what happens.”

Sterling gulped, apprehension stirring in her gut. She felt that familiar crawling beneath her skin, as if summoned by her anxiety. 

One of the overhead lights promptly exploded in the gym. 

Everyone jumped, and Sterling shrunk lower in her chair. 

After a few beats, the explosion was dismissed as a product of Ezekiel and Hannah’s trials and Dr. Jordan moved on, reviewing the files in his arms. 

“Was that you?” April hissed. 

Sterling ignored her, dread settling in the pit of her stomach. 

“Wesley.” April pushed. 

“When are you going to go, huh?” Sterling snapped, turning towards the girl with narrowed eyes. “Just mind your business.”

April opened her mouth to respond, her brows furrowed in annoyance, but she was interrupted as Dr. Jordan spoke once again, his cheerful voice breaking through the silence in the room. 

“April, how about you?” he asked, brows raised in a hopeful expression.

Sterling gave her an expectant look, crossing her arms. 

April paused, her expression somehow souring even further as she glanced between Sterling and the professor. “I think you know my answer by now.”

The professor sighed, reaching a hand up to rub his forehead. “April, c’mon–”

“I’m not going.” April said firmly.

Ezekiel rolled his eyes. “I don’t even know why you bother with her every day,” he sighed. “She’s just as repressed as ever.”

“Ezekiel.” Dr. Jordan said sharply.

Sterling watched the exchange with wide eyes, lingering on April’s stubborn expression. What was her problem, anyway?

“Ok fine.” Dr. Jordan sighed after a few beats of silence. “Just…come talk to me after class, okay.”

“I don’t see how that will change anything,” April replied airily. “But fine.”

Dr. Jordan rolled his shoulders in frustration. “Alright,” he said, significantly less cheerful despite the smile still on his face. “Who’s next?”

Sterling was exhausted after watching the class practice their abilities, and she hadn’t even taken a turn herself. Hannah G. had almost gotten a concussion trying to teleport across the room, some random kid named Franklin had nearly fainted trying to telekinetically lift on of the dummies in the corner, and Sterling could only stare when Mariah spontaneously transformed into a fish (she almost suffocated before she managed to shift back).

“Okay, guys.” Dr. Jordan spoke up after about an hour of trials, sounding almost as tired as Sterling felt. “That’s it for today, you’re free to go.”

Everyone began to file out of the room, murmuring to each other and groaning about another day of class. 

“I know it doesn’t always feel like it, but any progress is good progress, alright? Good job today!” Dr. Jordan called after them. 

Both April and Sterling lingered behind, having both been told to stay and speak with the professor after class. Sterling felt her anxiety threatening to boil over at the thought of attempting to use her abilities, but she knew it was inevitable. She just hoped she didn’t hurt anyone. Or herself. 

Again. 

She frowned when she caught April’s eyes catching on her wrists, where the marks from the night at the trailer park just peeked out under her sleeve. She quickly tugged her sleeves down to her palms, crossing her arms and refusing to look at the girl next to her.

“Ok, April,” Dr. Jordan called, waving her over. “Talk to me.”

Sterling tried her best not to eavesdrop, but it was kind of hard to not hear what they were saying in the tiny, completely silent room. 

“You know how I feel, I’m not sure what else there is to talk about.” April insisted.

Dr. Jordan sighed. “Listen, I understand. Your family doesn’t exactly…support our methods, but nothing will come of this program if you don’t try.”

April shifted on her feet, but her face remained unchanged.

“My family was told that this program would help me get rid of these powers–”

“ Manage these powers, April.” Dr. Jordan interrupted, shaking his head. “You know as well as anyone that the mutant gene doesn’t just go away–”

“Well, then we’re at a standstill, aren’t we?” April snapped. “Don’t you get it? My father isn’t going to accept a daughter that’s a mutant. I can’t go home until I’m–”

“What, until you’re human?” Dr. Jordan pushed. “It’s not going to happen.”

“Well, I’m not going to sit here and pretend I’m a mutant, either!” 

There was a beat of silence, and Dr. Jordan ran a hand through his hair, shaking his head. “There’s no pretending, April. You’re a mutant, and the faster you accept that, the faster you can go on living your life. You know you’re stuck here until the academy clears you, and you haven’t moved on from remedial classes in nearly seven years.” The professor took a breath, meeting April’s eyes once again. “Don’t you want more? You aren’t your father, April.”

April didn’t reply, but Sterling noticed the tension in her posture, the slight tremble of her clenched fist. 

“Are we done here?” April finally spoke up.

Dr. Jordan sighed. “Yes,” he said. “But think about it. Don’t let your father’s prejudice stop you from living your life.”

Without another word, April stormed from the room, not even sparing a glance at Sterling, who still stood awkwardly in the corner. Her eyes were wide as she watched April leave. 

Sterling was definitely new to this whole mutant thing, but she had no idea that people could be so… cruel. When was the last time April had seen her father? How long had she gone without using her abilities? If April’s powers were anything like Sterling’s–begging to be released, itching beneath her skin and desperate for an outlet–she would’ve lost her mind already.

Perhaps Sterling was just a special case.

“Sterling?” Dr. Jordan interrupted her thoughts, walking over to her. “You okay over there?”

Sterling shook away her unease, giving the professor a nod. “Yeah,” she replied, a nervous laugh bubbling up. “Just nervous, I guess.”

Dr. Jordan nodded understandingly. “That makes sense,” he said. “Listen, don’t let all that stuff with April bother you. She’s…she’s struggling, but it doesn’t mean you have to.”

“Understood.” Sterling nodded.

“Okay, let’s get right into it.” Dr. Jordan said, clapping his hands together once again. He seemed to do that a lot, as if hyping himself up. “Do you think you understand how to access your power?”

Sterling was immediately conscious of the tugging in her gut. It practically screamed in response to the professor’s question. “Um, yep.” she replied.

“That’s great!” Dr. Jordan said, a smile lighting up his face. “A lot of newer students get stuck there.”

Sterling wasn’t sure how that was the case. It took a lot of focus for her to not explode with her abilities, much less to just access them.

“Right.” Sterling replied, unsure what to say.

“Okay, well, you’re probably unsure exactly how to actually apply your abilities just yet, but the best way to find out is usually through trial and error,” Dr. Jordan explained with a shrug. “There’s no one right way to control it–each mutant is a little different.”

He gave her an encouraging smile, as if picking up on her spike of nerves. 

“So, for now, I’ll go into the fishbowl and you can try and use your powers,” he continued. “Don’t worry about breaking anything or causing any damage–we’re used to it by now. This is the remedial class, after all.”

He chuckled slightly as he spoke, but Sterling couldn’t summon the same amusement.

“The glass…it’s not, I mean, it won’t–”

“Unbreakable.” Dr. Jordan assured her. “We’ve had loads of powers come into contact with the stuff, and not a scratch. Don’t worry.”

Sterling tried to listen to his advice, but it was hard when she felt her powers grow more and more unruly, as if sensing they were about to be released.

“Okay, Sterling,” Dr. Jordan said, already opening the door to the fishbowl. When had he even walked over there? “Whenever you’re ready.”

Sterling swallowed uneasily. Suddenly the gym felt a little too small, her skin a little too itchy. Had it always been this hot? “Um,” she managed. “What do I do?”

“From what I understand, you have telekinetic abilities? Like Franklin?”

“Think so.” Sterling replied, tense as a bowstring. She had seen Franklin’s telekinesis. It didn’t seem very comparable.

“Okay, try your best to move one of the training dummies across the room.”

Sterling’s tenuous control on her abilities was already thinning. It roared beneath her skin, eager to be set free. How had this been within her all this time and she’d never known?

“Um.” she muttered. “Okay.”

She stared over the corner where Franklin had dropped the practice dummy. She recalled his trial–how red his face had gotten, the veins popping in his head and arms, his eyes rolling back as he finally managed to lift the dummy.

Maybe it would be like that?

Somehow, she didn’t think so, because using her powers didn’t seem very difficult. It seemed inevitable.

“Whenever you’re ready.” Dr. Jordan’s voice echoed in her ears. 

Never seemed like a good answer, but she knew that wouldn’t fly. 

Before she could think on it anymore, she extended her hand, focused in on the prone form of the dummy, and finally, she yanked.

For a second, nothing happened. And then Sterling nearly screamed as the dummy launched itself across the room, slamming into the wall with a crash loud enough to make her ears ring. It fell to the ground, split into uneven pieces.

She’d broken the dummy. Great.

“Well, then.” Dr. Jordan said. “That was… good. You’re strong. ”

Sterling shook her head, suddenly overwhelmed. “I can’t do this.” she murmured.

“Sterling, why don’t you try again.” Dr. Jordan said, and if Sterling didn’t know better, he almost sounded… excited. “Try and control the speed and force–”

Sterling stepped back, unease gripping her chest. Almost as soon as she’d taken the step, a crack split the wall next to her, causing her to yelp and jump back.

“Sterling–”

Sterling could barely hear him over the blood rushing in her ear. She couldn’t rein it back anymore. 

The light fixtures in the ceiling shattered, spilling glass all across the gym floor. She stared at the shards, her mind flashing back to the night at the trailer park, the glass digging into her arms and legs and the sheer animal panic she’d felt when the truck started driving away from her family.

Another crack split the wall, the sound of it practically deafening. 

“Sterling, listen to my voice,” Dr. Jordan was nearly shouting now. “You have to calm down–”

Was the room shaking, or was that her? The broken pieces of the practice dummy flew across the room once again, straight into the glass of the fishbowl. Sterling fell to her knees, the yanking sensation in her gut so intense it was almost painful. Glass dug into her knees, but she could barely feel it over the chaos in her head. 

Blair wasn’t her twin, her mom wasn’t her mom, she wasn’t human, everything was a lie–

“Sterling!” Dr. Jordan yelled, and Sterling finally managed to look at him. He was staring at her in shock and horror, his eyes wide and afraid. 

She flashed back to the hospital, to the fear in her mother’s–her aunt’s–eyes when she’d looked at her. 

Another yank tore through her body and a final, deafening crack echoed through the room. 

She looked up at Dr. Jordan once more, only to find his face blurry and nearly indistinguishable. 

The glass between her and Dr. Jordan had been completely shattered, cracks splintering the entire length of the fishbowl.

Sterling could only stare, a sob ripping through her as she took in the damage she’d caused. 

It was only seconds later that she passed out, overcome with a sudden, aching exhaustion. She welcomed the blackness eagerly, shutting out the world and falling into a blissful sleep.

Chapter Text

Sterling woke up in a stiff bed, her head aching and her eyes stinging. She forced them open, ignoring how hard it was. She was staring up at bright, fluorescent lights, and she groaned, unprepared for the harshness of the light.

“Sterling?” a voice echoed through the room. “Are you awake?”

Sterling released another groan, forcing herself to sit up and resting her weight on her elbows. She glanced to her left to find Blair leaning over the side of her bed. Her hair was messy and unkempt, and she had dark eyebags beneath her eyes. “Blair?” Sterling mumbled, reaching up a hand to rub her eyes. “What–where–”

“You’re in the infirmary.” Blair helpfully supplied, picking up on her disorientation. “They said you passed out from exertion during class yesterday–”

“ Yesterday?” Sterling interrupted, eyes wide. She glanced out the infirmary windows, only to find that it was, indeed, around midday, the sun shining bright. “I–oh my gosh.”

Blair chuckled, but Sterling could see the wetness in her eyes, the barely-concealed worry. “Yeah,” she agreed. She must have been here all night, crammed into the tiny plastic chair next to Sterling’s bed. 

Sterling frowned as she started to remember exactly what happened. She glanced down, only to find more bandages covering her knees. 

“You didn’t have to get stitches this time,” Blair said, reading her expression and following her gaze. “Just some surface-level scratches.”

“Right.” Sterling replied weakly, her throat suddenly scratchy. “Did I…is Dr. Jordan–”

“I’m fine, Sterling.” Dr. Jordan’s voice interrupted her, and she turned to find the professor entering the room, a friendly smile on his face. He must have heard their voices from outside

“Oh my gosh, Dr. Jordan, I am so sorry–”

“It’s okay, Sterling, don’t worry,” he assured her, approaching the bed. He seemed to tower over the both of them as he got closer. “I pushed you too hard, I’m sorry.”

Sterling frowned. He hadn’t pushed her. He’d just told her to try and move a dummy and she’d destroyed an entire room. 

“As an update, I’ve discussed your situation with the dean and with our doctors here.” Dr. Jordan continued. “We’ve agreed that you should be taking some sort of suppressant, although it will be much weaker than the pills you’ve been on.”

“A suppressant?” Blair asked, her eyes narrowed. She’d been so angry upon learning what their parents had hidden, that they’d forced them to hide and repress their abilities for so long. “Again?”

“A weak one.” Dr. Jordan repeated. “Right now, it seems like Sterling feels overwhelmed by using her powers, and having to deal with the full scope after not being aware of them for so long is leading to accidents like this one.”

Sterling felt inclined to agree. She could feel it crawling beneath her skin already, apparently not satisfied with the damage she’d already done. 

“This way, Sterling will be able to learn about her abilities and how to control them without fear of exploding like that again.” Dr. Jordan continued. “How does that sound?”

Sterling nodded, biting her lip. She couldn’t tear her mind from the image of the shattered glass–the unbreakable glass–of the fishbowl. 

“Okay,” Dr. Jordan replied. “You’re dismissed from classes today, obviously, but the doctors will be back to change your bandages and give you those suppressants later. If everything goes well, I’ll be seeing you in class tomorrow.”

Sterling felt a familiar dread in the pit of her stomach at the thought of going back to that gym, but she offered her professor a stiff nod. “Thank you.” she managed, her voice sounding quiet even in her own ears.

There was a beat of silence, and the tension was palpable. Sterling could practically feel the suspicion radiating off her sister, but she was in no condition to diffuse the situation. She was barely keeping it together herself.

“Okay, you two.” Dr. Jordan said, giving them both a wave. “Feel better, Sterling.”

With that, he left the room, leaving the two of them in the empty room. 

“He’s weir–”

“He’s nice, Blair.” Sterling interrupted sharply, her throat burning. “It’s not his fault I’m–that I can’t…”

Blair didn’t say any more, but she cradled her sister’s hand as Sterling began to cry.

“Are you sure about these suppressants?” Blair asked her later that night. Sterling had only been cleared to leave the infirmary in the evening, so it was dark by the time they made it back to the dorm. Sterling had been a little fragile and unsteady on her feet, but she refused Blair’s help. 

“Yes.” Sterling said simply, moving to the bathroom to begin brushing her teeth and washing her face. It wasn’t even 9pm yet, but she was still so exhausted. 

“But, Sterling–”

“Blair.” Sterling interrupted, turning towards her sister with a flat look. “I nearly destroyed the gym.”

“Yeah, but it was your first time, and–”

Sterling sucked in a breath as her annoyance spiked. “Blair.” she repeated. “Our powers aren’t the same. I almost killed a professor.”

Blair swallowed and sighed, taking a seat on her bed. She was buzzing with anxiety, unable to sit still after all those hours spent worrying over Sterling at the infirmary. Sterling felt herself soften as she realized just how worried Blair was–it was written all over her face. “I just…I couldn’t imagine being back on those things. It feels like it…buries an important part of me, you know?”

Sterling nodded, deflating slightly as she considered. After a few beats, she finally replied. “My power…it feels so wild right now.” she explained. “I don’t have any control and it feels like this…this thing is under my skin and is begging to be let loose, but every time I do…people get hurt.”

Blair’s face became even more concerned, if that was possible. 

“I need these, Blair,” Sterling said, motioning to the pill bottle the doctors had given her before she'd left the infirmary. “I know they’ll help.”

They left it at that, getting ready for bed in silence. 

Sterling’s head ached as she finally settled down on her bed, exhausted from the day’s events. She pulled her blanket up to her shoulder, turning towards the wall and closing her eyes, but she stiffened when she heard Blair start to speak. 

“I know you don’t want to hear what I have to say.” she said, her voice uncharacteristically quiet. “But I love you, and I’m worried.”

She breathed a shaky breath, and Sterling didn’t move. 

“Just…just remember that our abilities? They’re not…some foreign thing that’s invaded our bodies or something.” she breathed. “They’re us. And they’ve always been a part of us.”

There was a beat of silence. 

“It helped me.” she continued. “When…when everything went down and I suddenly had these powers I didn’t understand. I know you were overwhelmed and you went through a lot more than I did, so I don’t know if our experiences are exactly the same or anything…but it helped. To think of it like that.”

Sterling heard the shifting of Blair’s mattress and blankets, and she didn’t say anymore. 

“Thanks.” Sterling managed after a few moments. 

“Goodnight, Sterling.” Blair’s voice echoed across the room. 

“Goodnight, Blair.”

After the excitement of Sterling’s first day of classes, the next day seemed outright boring. The stares had toned down, though she could hear some whispers about what happened when she’d been in the infirmary. 

All in all, though, it was much less anxiety-inducing than it had been. Although, maybe that was in part due to Sterling’s newfound confidence that she wouldn’t level the building if she got a little scared. The suppressants had done wonders in managing the weighty anxiety that had plagued her since she’d arrived. She even found herself paying attention in class–she was actually engaged when she had a conversation with Miles, even though he seemed decidedly less engaged after catching sight of Blair walking down the hall.

By the time gym came around, Sterling was in a much better mood than she’d been during her first day. She somewhat knew what to expect from the class at this point, and she knew there wasn’t the same risk. 

The class was pretty much the same as the last time, albeit with much less commentary from April this time around. She seemed more subdued today, as if her conversation with Dr. Jordan had upset her more than usual. 

Notably, they went to a different gym today, which led to a few suspicious whispers from the student as they filed into a much bigger, nicer arena-like area.

Sterling tried to keep her face neutral. Of course they were going to a different gym–Sterling had nearly destroyed the other one. 

The other students went one by one, trying their best to use their abilities once more, and when Dr. Jordan gave her a questioning look, silently asking if she was ready to go on another test run, she didn’t feel guilty for shaking her head no. She had already talked to Blair about it–she’d rather try and get a handle of it by herself before continuing in gym class.

She didn’t want to risk hurting anyone. The suppressants were helping, but she could still feel that foreign power roiling around beneath her skin. It was still dangerous, she knew it in her gut. 

She caught April flashing her a look, but Sterling paid it no mind as the students began crowding out of the class, intent on getting on with their day. 

It was in the hallway that April actually caught up to her, reaching out to grab her upper arm. Sterling swallowed, coming to a stop and instinctively staring at the hand wrapped around her bicep. April seemed to realize what she was doing after a beat of silence, jerking her hand back and shaking her head. 

Sterling waited a few more moments before promptly deciding that it had been silent for far too long. “April?” she asked, brows raised. 

April straightened as she seemed to snap out of her reverie. “What–what happened?” she asked, shaking her head again. “I mean, why didn’t you go today? And why was Dr. Jordan okay with it? And why did we go to a different gym, I mean…does that even have to do with you? You weren’t in class yesterday. What is going on?”

Sterling blinked, releasing a heavy sigh as she realized that April wasn’t about to let this go any time soon. “Tell me why you care.” she finally said. “The real reason, not some bullshit about school gossip or being curious or something.”

April swallowed, her eyes leaving Sterling as she considered. The hallway had emptied by then, and it was just them among the dark wood floors and towering walls. Sterling suppressed a shudder at the chill of the school. She still hadn’t quite gotten used to the temperature change, having grown up in such a humid state. 

“I haven’t used my powers in almost 6 years.” April finally admitted. “I…I like to know about everyone else’s powers–or at least how they use them or interact with them or…understand them.”

Sterling abruptly flashed back to her conversation with Blair last night, to her sister’s words about coming to terms with her abilities. They’re us. And they’ve always been a part of us.

From how it sounded, April was dealing with trying to satisfy a prejudiced father while still trying to accept and understand a huge part of herself. 

“What does that have to do with me?” Sterling managed, her voice softer, more curious. 

April frowned, unhappy to be questioned to such an extent. She didn’t seem like a person who was very comfortable talking about her feelings. “Well, you’re new.” she pointed out. “And…you’re one of the only people I’ve seen who…well, you also seem to struggle with your abilities.”

Sterling tilted her head. “You’re in a remedial class. Don’t you see people struggle with their abilities all the time?”

April shook her head, her fists clenched. “No, I mean that you seemed like you also struggled to…accept it all.” she said with a shrug. “I can control my abilities, and I’ve been able to for a long time, but it’s hard for me to just…use them. Like they’re some real part of me instead of a random… thing. ”

Sterling stared at her for a long time. There was more there, more hiding behind April’s blue eyes–eyes that swimmed with some mixture of shame and pride and turmoil and a miniscule hope. 

April needed a friend. 

“I nearly blew up the gym.” Sterling told her. “I shattered the glass, tore holes in the wall, nearly killed our teacher, and then fainted.”

April stared at her, eyes wide. There were a few moments of silence where Sterling swore she felt her heart threatening to beat out of her chest. “Oh.” April finally managed, brows furrowed. “Is that…is that why you didn’t go today?”

“Part of it.” Sterling replied. “They gave me some medicine to…manage it all, I guess, but I’m still nervous.”

“To break stuff?” April asked. “The gyms–they’re meant to be–”

“To hurt someone.” Sterling interrupted solemnly. 

April’s eyes turned downwards.

“Is that it? I need to meet my sister.” Sterling asked, cradling her wrist and nervously fiddling with her fingers.

“Wait,” April said, shaking her head. “What–what are you going to do? About your powers, I mean.”

Sterling shrugged. “I don’t know.” she replied. “I’ll figure it out.”

April stared at her, an unreadable look on her face. 

Sterling stood for a few more beats before she started to get remarkably more annoyed. “What?” she snapped. “Why do you keep just…staring at me?”

“Sorry,” April said immediately, her voice hard. “I was thinking.”

“About?” Sterling pushed, brows raised. 

April considered her for a moment longer before nodding to herself. “Meet me in the common room tonight at 10.”

Sterling just stared at her. “Which common room?” she finally asked. 

“The one on the first floor. Next to the dining hall.”

Sterling gave her a blank look. 

April rolled her eyes. “ Okay, I’ll just come to your dorm at 10.” she conceded, though Sterling could see a hint of amusement in her eyes. 

“Hey.” Sterling protested, still slightly defensive. “This school is too big. It’s bordering on unreasonable.”

“Whatever, Wesley.” April said, turning away from her. “10pm. Be ready.”

“For what?” Sterling called, throwing up her hands at April’s retreating form. 

April didn’t respond, and soon she was disappearing behind a corner, leaving Sterling alone in the hallway. 

She glanced in both directions, frowning. The school really was too big. Sterling couldn’t even see the ends of the hallways from where she was standing, and there were about a million other passageways connecting to this one. 

Which way did everyone go? Which way was her dorm ? 

“Shit.” 

Sterling didn’t tell Blair about her imminent meeting with April. Her sister was perpetually suspicious of nearly everyone here, and her interactions with April thus far had been less than pleasant. Plus, after everything that happened this week, Blair was acting extra protective. She’d escorted Sterling to every class, even gym, and she’d practically refused to leave her alone for more than a class period. 

They’d continued to eat lunch alone, still heavily intimidated by the cafeteria/dining area, but Sterling didn’t mind. She enjoyed the quiet a lot more. 

Instead of talking about her day, Sterling asked Blair about her gym class, something her sister was more than happy to talk about at length. She listened as Blair described the tense environment–apparently everyone took the gym class rather seriously, and the sparring matches between students were handled with care and treated like a real battle. 

Blair herself had yet to be matched up with someone, as she was still working on applying her abilities in a combat setting, but she’d watched the others while they sparred. Her gym period was a lot longer than Sterling’s, apparently, with an hour set aside for practice and warm-up, followed by another two hours of matchups and spars. Blair had to sit out for that portion, but she seemed just as excited to tell Sterling what she’d seen. 

She talked about how a girl with teleportation powers had kicked a guy’s ass, completely dodging all his punches and taking him to the ground within seconds. The guy’s superstrength had stood no chance. However, the same girl met her match when she faced a guy with superspeed (Blair got very excited at this point). As fast as she teleported, he was there, and they matched each other blow for blow. After a very long exchange, the coach finally stepped in and called the match a draw, letting the two of them take a rest. 

Miles was also in Blair’s gym class, and she seemed almost in awe as she described his match with a girl named Marie.

“Dude, he caught on fire.” Blair said, eyes wide with excitement. “Like, he was on fire. Literally. ”

“Woah.” Sterling replied, eyes also wide. 

“He fought this girl who had ice powers, and it was so cool, Sterling!” she continued, practically yelling. “You should’ve seen it.”

“Did he win?”

“No.” Blair replied, a frown replacing her huge smile. “He slipped on some ice and nearly concussed himself.”

“Oh.” 

“He was doing pretty well before all that, though.”

Sterling offered a sly smile. “Did his clothes also catch on fire?” she asked, leaning in and wiggling her eyebrows.

Blair slapped her shoulder, giving her a scandalized look. “Oh my god, Sterling, he was engaged in battle, and you’re worried about whether or not he was naked? ” she asked incredulously. “Priorities!”

Sterling just stared at her, the same mischievous smile on her face. 

“Fine, yes.” Blair conceded. “He was naked.”

“HA!” Sterling yelled, pumping her fist. “I knew it.”

“Yeah, yeah.” Blair waved her off, rolling her eyes.

“Was he hot?”

“ Sterling.”

“...”

“Yes, he was so hot, oh my god.”

Blair passed out by nine, apparently exhausted from her gym class. She hadn’t yet adjusted to how much energy her super speed actually took, and she was prone to pushing herself too hard. By the time it got dark, she could barely stand, lying facedown on her bed and groaning when Sterling tried to ask her a question. 

Regardless of her current boredom, Sterling was glad her sister had passed out so early. She didn’t want to have to explain why she had to follow April to an unknown location after curfew at the other girl’s insistence. 

Sterling paused. When she phrased it like that, Sterling understood why Blair might be a little suspicious. 

She shook her head, dismissing the thought from her mind. April had seemed…genuine. Mostly. If a bit…terrifying. 

Sterling barely had time to consider the hint of fondness she felt at the thought before a quiet knock at the door stole her attention. She glanced at the digital clock beside her bed. 

April was fifteen minutes early, of course.

Before she got up, she stole a look at her sister, making sure she was still dead asleep. Sterling didn’t have anything to worry about. Blair hadn’t even shifted, her snores still echoing loudly through the room. 

She chuckled to herself as she made her way to the door, slipping on a pair of sneakers and absentmindedly grabbing a hoodie. 

April was waiting for her when she opened her door, her arms crossed and her eyes turned towards the hallway. She waved at Sterling to follow, barely sparing her a glance as she started walking from the door.

Sterling rolled her eyes before following the girl, her footsteps echoing loudly across the hallway. She self-consciously rubbed her arms when April gave her a sharp look. Sterling had always been rather clumsy, her footsteps heavy and uncoordinated, but she was trying her best to be quiet. 

She understood why April was insistent on being silent when she heard a sharp bang at the end of a nearby hallway, like the sound of a door being closed. Her mind flashed back to what she’d seen a few nights prior and she dared to approach where the hallway began, intent on getting a peek. 

April hissed at her to ignore it, but Sterling waved her off, peeking around the corner as stealthily as she could. Thankfully, no one was in the hallway to see her, but Sterling spied the same door she’d seen on her first night–the one the boy had been wheeled out of. They must have just gone inside. Was it the same boy? Did he have some sort of special power, or–

“Sterling.” April hissed again, having followed her up to the corner. “What are you doing, come on!”

Sterling tore her eyes from the heavy wooden door, shaking her head. She was being paranoid. 

“Okay, sorry, sorry.” she replied quietly, waving for April to lead the way. “Just…curious.”

April rolled her eyes, turning from Sterling and nearly speed-walking away. Sterling stumbled on her feet in an attempt to keep up.. 

It shouldn’t have been endearing, but Sterling still had to wipe an amused smile from her face when April stole a glance back at her. 

“I’m sorry, are we allowed in here?” Sterling asked, watching as April dug through her bag. They faced the entrance of the biggest gym in the academy, the one for the most powerful mutants, the top students. Sterling shifted nervously on her feet. It felt wrong to be here in broad daylight during school hours, much less nearing midnight after curfew. 

April gave her a satisfied smirk, finally lifting a pair of keys from her bag. “I have the keys.” she replied, already turning away to open the doors.

“And how did you get those?” Sterling asked pointedly. 

“Does it matter?” April asked, exasperated. “Just follow me.”

Sterling followed her into the huge gymnasium, looking around in awe. In the dark, the gym seemed nearly endless, the walls and ceiling towering high above her head. “Are you going to kill me?” she asked, turning to face April once again. “Be honest.”

“God, you’re so dramatic, Wesley.” April replied, not returning her look. “I came here so that you could practice.”

Sterling gave her a flat look, but April was already making her way over to where a dummy stood across the room. “Practice?” she questioned, brows raised.

“You said you wanted to figure out your powers before using them in class, right?” April asked, hauling over one of the dummies. The thing was bigger than April, but the girl didn’t seem to have much trouble carrying it over. “Well, here you go. Now’s a pretty good time.”

Sterling opened her mouth to respond, but she couldn’t find the words. The audacity of this girl…

Damn it, she had a point–she did say she’d figure it out.

She glanced around the gym, her hand encircling her wrist as she shifted on her feet. “There’s no–I mean, there’s no where that you can–there’s no fishbowl thing.” she said eloquently, unable to meet April’s eyes. 

April shrugged. “I’ll be fine.”

Sterling frowned. “Did you even hear what I said earlier?” she snapped. “I almost killed–”

“And now you’re taking that medication, right?” April asked, brows raised. “You didn’t cause nearly as much property damage today.”

Sterling flushed. “I could still hurt you.” she pushed, ignoring April’s comment. “I don’t exactly know my limits right now.”

“If it makes you feel better, I can stand at the very top of the bleachers so I’m out of range, but I really don’t want to walk up all those stairs at the moment.” April said, a hint of a smile tugging at her lips. “Don’t worry. I trust you.”

Sterling frowned, biting her lip as she glanced between April and the dummy. 

“Just…push it a few feet back.” April said, shrugging slightly. “It doesn’t have to be anything huge, we just need a start.”

“Right.” Sterling breathed, turning towards the dummy. “Nothing huge.”

Tentatively, she reached towards that tugging in her gut, taking comfort in the fact that it felt far less…wild than it had. As gently as she could, she yanked, directing the energy towards her target.

The sound of the dummy crashing to the ground in the empty gymnasium was almost anticlimactic. 

Sterling was almost scared to move, afraid that her powers would lash out further. After a few beats, she let out a breath of relief. The tugging in her gut was intense, but manageable–she reeled it in, turning to glance at April. The girl flashed her an impressed smile and offered a few light claps. “Well done.” she said, nodding her head. “You made that dummy your bitch.”

Sterling could help but chuckle, and some invisible tension she’d been holding onto lessened. 

“Okay, now let’s see if you can aim.”

They practiced for a few hours, and by the time it was midnight, Sterling was yawning from all the focus it took, but pleased with her progress. After dozens of tries, she’d finally been able to do something other than aimlessly slap at the dummy. She couldn’t help but cry out with excitement when she was finally able to direct her powers, guiding the dummy along the edge of the wall. 

Exhausted, she was sprawled across the foamy floors of the gym, April lying parallel to her. If she was tired from all the practice/coaching, she didn’t show it. If anything, she seemed more content and satisfied than Sterling had ever seen her. 

“That was really good, Sterling.” April said, breaking the comfortable silence between them. “I know it was hard.”

Sterling shrugged, her eyes trained on the gym ceiling. “I mean, the suppressants help a lot .” she admitted. “I don’t feel nearly as out of control.”

“Still.” April insisted. “This stuff is hard to figure out.”

Sterling hesitated. “If–if you don’t mind me asking,” she dared. “What are your powers?”

April didn’t reply for a long time–long enough that Sterling started to panic.

“Not that you have to show me or anything, I understand that you don’t use them, and obviously it’s none of my business–”

“It’s okay,” April interrupted, slight amusement in her tone. “It’s a normal question.”

“Okay.” Sterling managed, releasing a tight breath. 

“I... basically, I can control the density of my body.” she finally replied. 

Sterling squinted as she tried to conceptualize exactly what that meant, sitting up on her elbows. “So, what does that–”

“Try to hold my hand.” April interrupted, following Sterling’s lead and sitting up. She held out her hand, her face unreadable.

Sterling frowned as she glanced between April’s outstretched hand and her face. “April, I–are you sure?” she asked. “You really don’t have to show me or anything–”

“Try it, Sterling.” April insisted. “It’s fine.”

Sterling hesitated for a moment longer before reaching out a tentative hand and resting it on April’s palm. Instead of the warm, solid contact she expected, Sterling’s hand passed directly through April’s.

“Woahhhhh,” she breathed, eyes wide as she stared at April’s palm, which still looked exactly the same. 

April chuckled. “Yeah.” she agreed, closing her fist. “I just lowered the density of my hand. I can also make it more dense and punch through concrete or rock or whatever.”

“April, that is so cool .” Sterling said enthusiastically, barely able to control her excitement. “What an interesting power! You can do so much with that! You’re basically invulnerable!”

April shrugged. “It’s not bad.” she hesitantly agreed, a soft smile painting her face. “It’s no super-powerful, never-been-seen before telekinesis, though. That’s all you.”

“Speak for yourself.” Sterling snorted. “I’d switch in a heartbeat.”

“Hey, I think your powers are pretty cool.” April protested. “Imagine how useful it’ll be once you get a handle on them. You won’t even have to get up from the couch to get a drink.”

Sterling laughed, the sound echoing loudly through the empty gym. “You’ve got a point there.”

A comfortable silence settled in the air between them. 

“It’s getting late,” April finally spoke up, her voice soft and almost disappointed. “I should get back to my room, and you should too.”

Sterling sighed. “Yeah, probably.” she agreed. “It’s an early day tomorrow.”

“Yeah, but at least it's a Friday.” April argued. “We’ll have the weekend off.”

Sterling hummed. It wasn’t like she had anything to do over the weekend. She supposed it would be nice to have the day to herself–and Blair, obviously. “Can we leave campus on the weekends?” she asked.

“No, unfortunately.” April sighed. “You have to get special permission from the dean–like field trips or doctor’s appointments or stuff like that.”

“Damn, that’s pretty strict.” she said with a frown. 

“You get used to it, I guess.” April shrugged. “And sometimes we have school events like sports games or public matches.”

“Sounds pretty fun.” Sterling replied. 

“Yeah, sometimes.” April said noncommittally. “Maybe we can go to an event one weekend or something.”

Sterling swallowed, her mouth suddenly dry and butterflies stirring in her gut. She fought to keep her face neutral. Why was she reacting like that?

Both of the girls jumped as the training dummy went crashing across the gym once more, the sound of it nearly deafening in the empty silence. 

“Sterling?” April asked, eyes wide.

Sterling could only stare at the dummy. “Um,” she breathed. “Maybe we should go to our rooms. It’s so late, after all–wouldn’t want to get in trouble or anything.”

April’s gaze turned to her, her expression unreadable. “Okay.” she said after a few tortuous moments. “Do you want to meet here tomorrow? Practice again?”

Sterling nodded, trying not to seem too eager. “Y–yep!” she said, standing from the gym floor and offering a shaky hand towards April. “Sounds like a date– A PLAN. Sounds like a plan.”

Letting out a nervous laugh, she avoided April’s eyes as she helped her up. 

“Okay, Wesley.” April said, brows raised. “I’ll see you tomorrow, then.”

“Definitely. For sure.” Sterling said. “In class, and in this gym. Tomorrow.”

April stared at her. 

“I’ve gotta go!”

She nearly sprinted from the gym, turning a corner without even paying attention to where she was walking. 

What was wrong with her? 

It took her walking for nearly five minutes for her to fully realize that she had no clue where she was going. She nearly screamed, throwing her hands in the air in frustration. 

This fucking school.

Chapter Text

The next few weeks passed in a blur. In class, she showed off her powers, now confident she wouldn’t explode the entire room. Dr. Jordan applauded after she moved the training dummy across the room for the first time, and he made her do it about 12 more times before everyone got tired of it. 

Now, she’d moved on to moving bigger items, trying to control the force with which she moved things, as well as the accuracy of her aim. She was getting better, more confident.

She kept meeting with April at night, and the practice time they had helped more than anything. April was…intense, but she was a comforting presence. She was so confident and put together, it was almost like she knew exactly what Sterling was thinking and struggling with before she could even phrase it. 

After a couple weeks working on her telekinesis, more powers began to manifest. She’d nearly screamed when she’d almost torn a door from its frame one morning, immediately running to find Blair. Her sister assured her that it was fine, that sometimes powerful mutants had more than one ability–she’d seen it happen a bunch of times in her gym class. Even the dean had warned her that it might happen, but it didn’t make it any less intimidating.

April said the same thing the next time they met. She seemed impressed as Sterling showed off her new super strength, offering some light applause as Sterling tried to juggle three of the training dummies, holding them in the air as if they weighed nothing. 

“It’s so weird.” Sterling had commented once they’d stopped practicing, laying across the gym floor. “Blair has always been so much stronger than me. And now I can pick up a car.”

April shrugged. “At least it’s a bit more manageable than the telekinesis.”

“Yeah, I guess.” Sterling admitted. “Still… weird.”

Her other powers had come in a less…shocking way. She’d scratched her hand on the edge of her bed one morning, cursing herself as it started to draw blood. Knowing her luck, it would scar, just another mark to match the ones lining her arms and legs. 

She’d come back from class that day only to find that the scratch had disappeared, leaving only unblemished skin. 

“Healing.” April explained later that night. “A lot of mutants have increased resistance and healing–it’s why so many of us can take a big hit and stay standing.”

“Us?” Sterling pushed. “So you have it, too?”

April nodded, but she didn’t say any more. 

And then there was the flying. 

Well, not exactly flying –more like light hovering. She’d only found out she could do it when Blair woke up at 7am, screaming her head off at finding her sister floating in the air above her bed, still fast asleep. 

Sterling had jumped awake, only to fall headfirst into her mattress with a grunt. 

“Sterling, you were FLYING, oh my GOD.”

She hadn’t been able to do that at all outside of sleeping, but she’d taken to tying a little string around her leg before she fell asleep. She was being paranoid, admittedly, but she didn’t want to float off of her bed in the middle of the night. 

April theorized that she wasn’t exactly flying–her telekinesis was acting out while she was sleeping, lifting her body off the bed. 

Sterling happily accepted that theory. At least that meant it was explainable. 

“Hey, but that technically means you can seriously fly,” April pointed out. “You just have to lift yourself off the ground using telekinesis.”

“Oh, is that all?” Sterling asked sarcastically. “I’ll definitely work on that.”

All in all, she was starting to get more comfortable in this new school. She didn’t have too many friends, but that was okay. She always had Blair, and she was confident that she was getting closer to April. She talked to Miles in her other classes, and she heard a lot about how hot he was from her sister.

Then, one weekend, there was an event. 

An event that April asked her to go to. With her . 

Sterling nearly exploded when April had asked, fighting against every nerve in her body to not completely destroy the gym in her excitement and anxiety.

“Yeah, that sounds fun.” she said, completely normally. “I’m in.”

“Sterling, what is going on?” Blair asked after nearly an hour of watching Sterling wrestle over an outfit. “It’s just a school match. I’m going, too.”

“Yeah, but you’re going with Miles, and I’m going with April, so it’s just going to be me and April the whole time, and I’ve never been to one of these things, so I have no idea how to dress, and April always looks so put together and pretty, I just want to make sure I don’t look like an idiot–”

“Sterling, holy shit.” Blair interrupted, eyes wide. “I thought these were just normal Sterling nerves, but oh my god. These are date nerves.”

“No, they’re not!” Sterling protested, whipping around with an indignant expression. “We’re just friends!”

Blair offered her a shit-eating grin, and Sterling knew there was going to be no denying it. “Yes, they are!” she protested, leaping off the bed and nearly buzzing with excitement. She sped towards the bathroom in a blur of motion and returned with a bag of supplies in less than a second. “Sit down, I’m going to do your makeup so you look pretty for your girlfriendddd–”

“BLAIR.” Sterling yelled, and Blair’s eyes widened as the makeup bag she held went shooting across the room and collided with the wall. Sterling blinked. “Sorry.”

“That’s okay, Sterly.” Blair waved off, unbothered. “Tell me more about your date!” 

“One: It’s not a date. Two: I don’t like her like that!”

“Sterling.” Blair replied, face flat. “I watched you date Luke–that poor, sweet, stupid boy–for six years, and you were never once this concerned about your outfit.”

Sterling held her gaze for a long moment before she groaned, throwing her clothes to the ground and launching herself face down onto the bed. “ Fine!” she said, her voice muffled. “I like her.”

“I knew it!” Blair cheered. 

“But what do I do?” Sterling asked, sitting up once again. “I’ve never had a crush on a girl before, this is so scary.”

Blair shrugged. “I’m not actually sure.” she said thoughtfully. “I haven’t had a crush on a girl, either.”

“UGH,” Sterling sighed, collapsing back onto the mattress. “You’re no help!”

Blair laughed, walking over and resting a hand on Sterling’s back. “Hey, I may not know a lot, but it seems like this girl likes you.” she said, her voice soft. “She breaks curfew for you almost every night, and it doesn’t seem like she breaks the rules for a lot of people.”

Sterling sat up again, eyes unsure. “But what if she doesn’t like me…like that. ”

Blair shrugged. “Then she’s a big dumb idiot.”

Sterling couldn’t help but laugh at Blair’s blunt comment. 

“Okay, but we’re not getting anywhere by sitting here,” she continued, pulling her sister off the bed. “I’m going to do your makeup, you’re going to look so awesome and pretty, and then you’re going to wear that tank top and jeans combo you like so much.”

Sterling nodded. “It is a great combo.” she agreed.

“Yeah, and it makes your shoulders look great.” Blair said, walking over to pick up her discarded makeup bag. “Gay girls love focusing on shit like that.”

Sterling couldn’t help but agree. She’d almost sent a practice dummy flying into the bleachers one night because she got distracted by April’s collarbone.

“I’m so screwed.”

“So, what exactly is this?” Sterling said, pulling her cardigan tighter around her shoulders to fight against the chill in the air. April stood next to her in line, clad in a pair of dark pants and a thick jacket. She looked perfect, her cheeks and nose just a little red from the cold. “Like, I know it’s a match, but how does it work?”

They moved up a spot in line, one step closer to getting a couple drinks and some snacks. Sterling was set on getting popcorn after catching a whiff of it in the bleachers. The match took place in the outside arena, an area similar to a school football stadium. Students milled across the grass surrounding the arena, chatting amongst each other and exchanging bets on who would win. 

“Okay, you know how we’re in the remedial class?” April replied, searching through her bag for a couple dollar bills. “Basically, there are different levels of our gym classes, and these matches are between the top students in the top class.”

Sterling whistled a little, reaching for her own wallet as they got closer to the concession stand. “Sounds intense.”

“It is,” April agreed. “That’s why everyone shows up.”

They walked up to order, and before Sterling could open her mouth, April was ordering two drinks and a large popcorn, handing over a few bills to pay. Sterling frowned, stuffing her cash back into her bag. “You didn’t have to pay, I was the one who wanted popcorn.” she said, reaching out to take the lemonade from the cashier. 

“Don’t worry about it.” April waved her off. “I asked you to come.”

The cashier handed them a truly huge container of popcorn, and both April and Sterling stared at it with wide eyes. “Besides,” April managed, grabbing the bucket with both hands and beginning to walk back towards the stadium. “You’re definitely sharing.”

Sterling trailed behind, her eyes unconsciously catching on the sway of April’s ponytail. She couldn’t look away.

She was so fucked. 

By the time they took their seats, the cold of the bleachers burning through Sterling’s jeans as they sat, the match was about to start. Sterling glanced around, taking stock of the audience. A few rows down and across the aisle, Miles and Blair leaned into each other and watched the field. Sterling could practically sense Blair’s excitement and happiness from across the stadium. She smiled, happy to see her sister so content. 

“What’re you looking at?” April asked, bumping her shoulder. 

Sterling motioned towards where Blair and Miles sat. “My sister.” she replied, pointing at the pair below. “She’s on a date.”

April followed her finger, a soft smile resting on her face when she noticed Blair loudly laughing at whatever Miles had said. “That’s sweet.”

“Yeah, I’m happy for her.” Sterling replied. “Besides, Miles has been falling at her feet for weeks–it was only a matter of time.”

“Fair.” April nodded. “It’s kind of sad that this is the only thing they can really do for a date, though.”

“Yeah,” Sterling agreed. “Can’t really go off campus for anything.”

“Maybe there will be a field trip or something soon.” April said, curling further into her jacket as she glanced around the arena. “They happen every few months for some of the upper gym classes.”

“What kind of field trips?” Sterling asked.

April hummed. “They go to the city, usually.” she replied with a shrug. “Usually just walking around and shopping and stuff.”

“Do only the upper gym classes get to go?” 

“Yeah,” April said, rolling her eyes. “They say it's a morale boost or whatever, but it’s really a reward for being so obedient.”

Sterling frowned, glancing back down at Blair and Miles. “Huh.” she murmured. “That’s…lame.”

April laughed. “Very lame.” she agreed.

Before Sterling could say anymore, loud music began blaring through the arena. She jumped at the sudden sound, and April instinctively rested a hand on her back to calm her down. 

Notably, it did the opposite, and it took all her focus to keep from launching the bucket of popcorn from April’s hands as her power tugged in response to the contact. 

“It’s starting!” April said, leaning close to Sterling’s ears so that she could hear over the music. Sterling shivered at the sensation of April’s breath tickling her neck. 

Thankfully, she was saved from providing a normal, coherent response when cheers erupted throughout the stadium. 

“There’s Alana,” April yelled over the cheers, pointing at the small, brunette girl who had just emerged from the side of the arena. She walked onto the pitch, offering the crowd a wave. The audience’s cheers became even louder, and Alana smiled, making her way over to the starting point. “She’s number two out of all the students at the academy.”

The pitch was set up a lot like the gyms, but it had a few barriers and obstacles set up throughout, likely intended to make the matches more interesting. The ground was made up from the same foamy material as the nicer gyms, and a few weapons like clubs, wooden swords, and large weights were strewn throughout the area. 

Alana positioned herself at one end of the pitch, planting her feet within a dark circle.

“So what are the rules?” Sterling asked, eyes still trained on the small girl. 

“They both start on either end of the pitch,” April explained, pointing out the circles painted on the ground. “And they basically just fight until the other one surrenders or they can’t fight anymore.”

“Seriously?” Sterling asked, eyes wide. “That’s…intense.”

“Yeah,” April agreed. “But they’re seriously skilled, and, like I said, they can take a big hit and keep going.”

She pointed towards the sidelines, where some officials were lined up. “There are some healers standing by in case it gets too dangerous, but there haven't been any serious injuries in almost a decade.” she said. “These people know what they’re doing–it’s basically all they train for.”

“So, that’s what the top gym classes are?” Sterling asked, brows furrowed. “Just…fighting each other?”

April shrugged. “Basically.”

Something about that rubbed Sterling the wrong way, but she barely had time to think of it before another student emerged from the side of the pitch. Huge cheers erupted from the crowd, and it wasn’t hard to tell that this was the class favorite. He was tall, with broad shoulders and wavy blond hair that fell slightly into his eyes. 

Sterling jolted when she realized she’d seen him before–he was the boy in the wheelchair she’d seen her first night at the academy. He’d been nearly comatose then, nose bleeding and limbs trembling. He didn’t show it now, looking as strong as ever as he offered the audience a wave and a charming smile. 

He was the top student here? 

He’d seemed so… small that night. 

“Are you okay?” April asked, brows furrowed in concern. 

Sterling shook herself from her reverie, forcing a smile on her face and banishing her 

memory of that night from her mind. It wasn’t any of her business, anyway. “Yeah,” she said, pulling her cardigan tighter around her as a strong breeze blew through the stadium. “Just got distracted.”

April’s expression seemed to sour as she glanced between her and the boy in the stadium below, but she didn’t say any more. 

There was no announcer or anything, but no one seemed to have trouble understanding what was happening. The boy–Sam, she heard one of the other students mutter–came to a stop in the dark circle opposite Alana’s, stretching his arms and planting his feet. 

For a moment, everything was silent, and Sterling swore she could hear a pin drop. The tension was too much for her, and she couldn’t help but reach out and grasp April’s hand, her eyes darting between Alana and Sam. They looked ready to battle, their expressions fierce and determined, and Sterling could almost feel the power radiating off the two of them. 

Sterling opened her mouth to ask April a question, too distracted to even focus on the warmth of the other girl’s hand on her own. She was interrupted by a sudden buzzing sound, and a transparent barrier suddenly rose from the sides of the pitch, separating the audience and the fighters. 

“It’s so they don’t hurt any audience members.” April supplied, her voice quiet and somewhat stilted. She offered Sterling’s hand a squeeze, and Sterling finally registered their position and stole a glance at their clasped hands, unable to control her blush. “Things sometimes get…messy.”

Sterling didn’t have time to ask what that meant before a deafening ring sounded throughout the arena. 

The match had begun. 

Sterling’s jaw dropped as the two students leapt into action. Sam became little more than a blur, launching into the air and flying towards Alana at full speed. He approached at the speed of a rocket, just a blur of color across the landscape. 

Alana didn’t flinch, spontaneously conjuring solid platforms of black energy before her with the slight motion of her hands. She used them as steps, launching herself into the air to meet Sam. 

Sterling held on to April’s hand, sitting up in anticipation. 

Sam went for a punch, but Alana dodged with speed Sterling didn’t expect, jumping back and conjuring another platform to land on. Black energy consumed her fist, and she slammed her hand into Sam’s back as he flew past, timing the hit nearly perfectly.

Sam went crashing to the ground, hitting the floor with a huge grunt, but it didn’t take long for him to recover. He stumbled to his feet, gritting his teeth and looking up at Alana, who still stood on a black platform above him. 

He wasted no time before flying up, punching through the platform like it was fragile glass, sending Alana flying through the air. She barely managed to conjure up another platform before she hit the ground, slamming into the black material with a grunt.

Before she could recover fully, Sam was speeding back down, fist outstretched. Alana extended her hands before her and conjured a shield just in time, launching it up to meet the boy. 

Sam collided with the shield, shattering the substance but losing his speed and trajectory, stumbling in the air. 

Alana took advantage of his unbalance, jumping from platform to platform to reach his level. Her fist was once again enveloped by the same black energy–though significantly larger this time around. She launched herself above Sam, bringing her superpowered fist down on him with as much force as she could muster. 

Sam went careening towards the ground once again, landing with enough force to tear up the foamy substance coating the pitch. 

Still, it didn’t take him long to recover. Sterling was gripped with a sudden unease at the clear rage shining in his eyes. She watched in shock as his eyes began to glow a fierce red, and she barely held back a yelp as beams of light suddenly shot from his eyes, slamming into Alana’s chest with force that seemed to echo through the stadium. 

Everyone watched with bated breath as Alana went flying across the pitch, slamming into the ground opposite Sam. She was still for a moment, a huge patch of burned fabric clear on the front of her shirt. 

Sam approached with a deadly calm, and Sterling swallowed, her eyes focused on the tension in his posture, the clench of his jaw. Something was wrong–he wasn’t just angry. He was furious. 

Alana stumbled to her feet, clearly dazed from such a strong hit. She looked up to meet Sam’s eyes, her face dropping as soon as she saw the boy’s expression.

Sterling’s heart stuttered at the fear shining in her eyes. 

Alana swallowed, planting her feet and forming a few sharp bolts of black energy, launching them at the boy as he approached. 

He swatted them away as if they were mere inconveniences, dodging the ones he couldn’t punch through. His strides became longer, and Sterling felt like she could hear his footsteps through the roar of the crowd. 

“I think Sam’s gonna take this one.” April said, shaking her head. “That’s a shame, I really thought Alana had a shot at–”

Her words were interrupted as Alana shot into action, using her platforms as stepping stones to dodge Sam’s attempted punches. She launched herself above him, forming a huge hammer of black energy and raising it above her head. It was a finisher move, a move that was sure to take Sam off guard–

Sam shot a hand up, wrapping his fingers around Alana’s ankle. Before Alana could strike, he was pulling her down, slamming her into the ground with a huge crash. He didn’t stop, landing a few more brutal punches before the huge bell rang once again, signifying the end of the match. 

Sam seemed to hesitate for a moment, shaking his head as the bell echoed through the stadium. He glanced up, fist still raised, as if realizing where he was. 

Alana wasn’t moving. 

“Is she–” Sterling managed, brows furrowed as she stared at Alana’s motionless form. 

“The healers are coming.” April told her, pointing to the approaching figures as she ran into the arena, but she seemed just as uneasy as Sterling. “I’ve never seen Sam so…angry. Alana is his friend.”

Sterling was staring at him, the roar of the crowd barely registering in her ears. The boy scarcely seemed to notice the chaos around him, his eyes trained on Alana’s prone form. His fist clenched, and he shook his head, as if trying to clear his thoughts. He was muttering something, but Sterling couldn’t hear, could barely even see his lips moving from so far away. 

“There’s supposed to be another match after this.” April told her, giving her hand a squeeze. “If you want to get any more snacks or something, now’s the time.”

Sterling hummed, but she couldn’t tear her eyes from Sam. He was as tense as a bowstring, eyes wide and angry. He reached up a hand, hitting the side of his head. He was yelling, now, his face screwed up in pain and confusion. 

The crowd was starting to notice, too. The cheering had died down, and everyone stared as the victor seemed to have some sort of breakdown, falling to his knees a few feet from where the healers were still trying to help Alana. 

She still hadn’t moved. 

“April…” Sterling murmured, shaking her head. “Something about this is wrong. ”

April didn’t respond, but Sterling knew she felt the same. 

Sam was still hitting the side of his head, and Sterling could only watch as one of the staff members approached, holding out a hand, as if telling Sam to calm down. 

He went to rest a hand on Sam’s shoulder, but he’d barely come within a foot of the boy before he was flying across the stadium from the force of Sam’s sudden strike. 

Sterling stood up, along with most of the other audience members. To hit a staff member with that force, much less a human…

“Sterling, we should…” April said, trailing off and shaking her head. “Maybe we should leave–”

As if on cue, the barrier separating the pitch and the bleachers suddenly flickered. Sam looked up, eyes wild as he took in the flashing colors of the barrier. Sterling swallowed. 

There were a few tense seconds where everyone could only stand and watch the barrier flicker back and forth, threatening to fall entirely. 

And then it did fall, leaving only empty air between the pitch and the audience. Between Sam and everyone else. 

Nobody dared move. 

Sterling couldn’t tear her eyes from Sam. 

And then he looked up at her , meeting her eyes from across the stadium. 

Sterling couldn’t breathe.

The change in his face was nearly immediate. His eyes hardened, his jaw clenched, and he turned his body to face her, his hands closed into angry fists. 

“Sterling–”

Sterling had roughly two seconds to push April out of the way with a powerful shove, gripped by sheer animal panic as Sam stared at her and took a step forward.

And then she was crashing through the back of the bleachers as Sam launched into her with incredible speed, wrapping his hands around her torso and slamming her into the grass outside the stadium. 

Before she could catch her breath, a huge kick to her gut sent her flying across the yard once more. She landed with a grunt, skidding and rolling across the grass from the force of the strike.

Spots darted her vision, and she managed a breath, her ribs screaming in pain. Her left arm was on fire, and it took one glance to see that it didn’t look right, covered in blood and awkwardly crooked. Definitely broken. 

Shit.

Footsteps approached. 

Fuck. 

Sterling pushed through the burning pain, pushing herself from the ground with her good arm and stumbling back when she noticed Sam pacing towards her, his face screwed up with rage. 

“Sam, wait–” she said, stumbling as a twinge of pain rocked through her ankle. Well, that was at least sprained? She could barely take stock of her injuries–everything hurt.

“You.” Sam said, his voice strained and cracking. “It’s you.”

He was getting closer. 

Sterling shook her head, extending a hand in surrender. “Please,” she said, her voice shaky as she tried her best to focus through her disorientation. “We can talk. Tell me what’s happening–what did I do? I don’t even know you.”

Sam didn’t reply, and that decidedly not a good sign for Sterling, especially considering the very small distance between the two of them. 

Before she could think better of it, she screwed her eyes shut, reaching desperately for that ever-present tug in her gut and directing the force towards the boy in front of her. 

She watched in shock as the boy went flying back, clearly caught off guard by the unfamiliar power. 

“Sterling!” a familiar voice echoed through the field, and Sterling turned to find Blair suddenly beside her, having sped over to her as fast as she could. She looked Sterling up and down, eyes wide and tearful as she took in the damage. Sterling was sure she probably didn’t look too good. Granted, she didn’t feel too good, either. 

“Blair, go get help!” she said, pushing her sister away. “Please, he’s not going to stop.”

“I won’t just leave you–”

“Blair, go!” Sterling yelled. Sam was already standing, a new rage burning in his eyes. He could fly just as fast as Blair could run. Sterling couldn’t let her sister get hurt.

His eyes locked onto hers, and Sterling barely had time to push Blair out of the way before the boy was slamming into her once again, launching her painfully across the lawn. 

She groaned as she landed, barely able to find the energy to roll onto her back. 

She just barely managed to dodge another punch as it came speeding towards her face, throwing herself out of the way and ignoring the pain screaming through her body. 

Sterling desperately yanked at her power once more, wildly whipping it at Sam in some attempt to get him away. 

He went flying across the grass once again, but Sterling knew it wouldn’t be long until he recovered. She needed a plan, she needed to do something, but she couldn’t think–couldn’t focus on anything more than the pain ripping through her body. Where was everyone? The staff should’ve already–

“Sterling!” another voice shouted across the yard. Sterling turned to find April sprinting towards her as fast as she could. Sterling tried to shake her head, to wave her away, but it was no use. 

April stumbled to the ground next to her, glancing desperately between Sterling’s broken, bloody form and Sam, who was starting to recover from Sterling’s heavier hit. His nose was bleeding now, but that was the only damage he’d started to show. “C’mon, we have to go.” April said, wrapping an arm around Sterling’s torso and lifting her up with surprising strength. 

“Stop, no .” Sterling protested, but she allowed April to help her to her feet. “You need to go right now, he’ll hurt you–”

“Sterling, you won’t survive this if you don’t–”

She didn’t get to finish her sentence, not when Sam suddenly wrapped a hand around the back of her neck, lifting her into the air. Sterling and April met eyes for just a moment – long enough for Sterling to register April’s shock and terror – and then Sam was launching her across the grass as if she weighed nothing. Sterling could only watch in horror as April flew through the air, landing with a sickening thud almost thirty feet away.

A tense, breathless moment passed.

She didn’t move.

Sterling turned her eyes to Sam, who approached her with that same anger shining in his eyes. 

Something in her snapped. 

Before he could get within five feet of her, Sterling had ripped a chunk of earth from the ground, extending her hand and launching it straight into Sam’s chest with as much power as she could muster.

Sam flew back from the force of the strike, skidding painfully against the ground and crying out as Sterling put more and more pressure on the huge chunk of dirt, pinning him tightly against the grass. 

She approached, barely even aware of the pain radiating through her body anymore. Pure rage gripped her chest, and she forced the chunk even lower, ignoring Sam’s screams of pain. 

Sam’s eyes began to glow a dangerous red, and before Sterling could stop him, he shot powerful beams of light into the chunk of earth pinning him to the ground. The thing exploded after only a few seconds, sending bits of dirt flying all across the yard. 

He stumbled to his feet, turning towards Sterling with the same glowing red eyes, but Sterling was too angry to hesitate. She jerked her arm out once more, lashing out with her power and restraining Sam while simultaneously ripping out another chunk of dirt from the yard. 

She used the chunk as a shield, protecting her from Sam’s laservision while pulling him closer to her. 

Sterling had never used her powers this effectively. It was incredible–she felt so powerful. As if responding to her thoughts, Sam’s bonds became even tighter, and the boy cried out once again. 

Sterling tossed away the chunk of land as soon as Sam was within a few feet of her, and she ducked under his lasers just long enough to stride forward and punch him directly in the face with as much strength as she could muster. 

His restraints held, even as Sam tried and failed to free himself. Sterling didn’t let up, gritting her teeth and raining down more and more blows. Her newfound super strength and her all-consuming rage made for a powerful combination–It only took a few strikes for Sam to stop moving entirely, his face covered in blood and his eyes rolling to the back of his head. 

Sterling couldn’t stop. Tears pricked at her eyes, but she kept hitting the boy, screaming in rage and fear and confusion. He’d tried to kill her–he’d hurt April, he’d tried to hurt Blair. Alana could be dead because of him. 

This fucking school. 

It wasn’t enough that her life had been forever changed, no. People had to hurt her and lie to her and pity her and avoid her and–

Her powers roared, and Sterling didn’t hold back. The boy was thrown across the yard once more, landing like a ragdoll several feet away. He rolled to a stop just in front of the parking lot, and Sterling’s anger spurred her onward–she hardly even noticed that Sam wasn’t moving. 

She finally felt powerful for once. In control.

The world around seemed to tremble as Sterling approached, her eyes narrowed in cold fury. Her power lashed out once more, and Sterling yanked, uncaring of the consequences. 

A chorus of creaks sounded across the parking lot as four of the cars nearest to Sterling began to lift off the ground. 

Sam would pay–

“Sterling!” Blair’s voice seemed to echo directly in her ears. 

She tore her eyes from the parking lot, catching sight of her sister approaching from the east exit. Her eyes shined with some mixture of concern and terror as her gaze darted between Sterling, Sam, and the floating cars. 

“Sterling…” She breathed, her footsteps slowing as she suddenly became unsure. A team of security guards trailed far behind her, covered head to toe in tactical gear and tranquilizer guns held in their grasp. 

It took Sterling less than a second to snap back into herself. 

What was she doing?

Her sister was scared of her. Just like Debbie, just like Dr. Jordan… 

The rage seemed to drain from her body, replaced by a swift and crushing guilt. The cars slammed into the tarmac with a crash, but Sterling barely heard it over the blood roaring in her ears. 

“Blair?” she managed, her voice sounding unreal in her own ears. The aching behind her eyes was becoming harder to ignore, piercing through her head like a hot poker. The adrenaline was fading, leaving only acute, fiery pain in its wake. 

Her arm felt numb, and she stumbled on her feet, glancing around the yard once more. 

April. 

Where was April?

She barely had time to panic before she registered a sharp stab of pain. Sterling looked down, suddenly dizzy as she noticed the bright red dart embedded in the skin just above her chest. 

Her knees buckled, but a pair of arms wrapped around her before she could hit the ground. “It’s okay, Sterl.” Blair’s voice said, but it sounded a million miles away. “I’m here. I’ve got you.”

“M’tired, Blair,” Sterling murmured. 

“I know.” Blair replied, voice cracking. “You can go to sleep.”

“April…” 

“She’s fine.” Blair said. “She’s going to be fine.”

Sterling tried to blink away her disorientation, but it was no use. 

“ Rest, Sterl. I’ve got you.”

The image of Sam’s bloody, broken body was her last thought before everything faded.

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?”

Chapter Text

While her new gym class had a training regimen that kept her in class until late into the evening, Sterling had taken comfort in the fact that she could end the night curled up next to April, sleeping soundly after a day of exhausting physical and mental exertion. 

And then the curfew monitors started acting more like prison guards than people. Sterling received nearly four detention slips in her attempts to sneak over to April’s room at night–to no avail–before she decided to give up. April suggested going to her dorm after dinner and just not leaving, and that worked for a while, but then the hall RAs started taking roll at curfew to make sure everyone was in their own rooms at night.

Sterling got about three more detention slips before she gave up on that front as well. 

Without April’s bed to fall into at the end of the day or their late night training practices to look forward to, it wasn’t long before Sterling sunk into herself once more. It was like those first few weeks after the match, but five times worse. The nightmares had returned with a fury, leaving her exhausted and paranoid every morning. Combined with the insane training schedule required by her new coach, Sterling was running on fumes by the second week. 

To make matters worse, she barely saw April anymore, besides meal times–during which she was often too exhausted and worn out to even hold a proper conversation. 

April didn’t seem bothered by it, just concerned. It was sweet, but it made Sterling feel even guiltier when she thought about the whole situation. She wasn’t exactly being a great girlfriend–or whatever they were to each other. And they were definitely something, considering how much Sterling caught April’s eyes drifting towards her lips or her chest when they ate together. 

She often found herself doing the same, if she was being honest. 

Blair seemed more worried than usual, having easily picked up on how intense the nightmares were. It wasn’t exactly hard to notice when Blair saw her fall out of bed every morning, out of breath and terror hiding behind her eyes. They’d stopped leaving breakable things out in the dorm due to the frequency at which Sterling’s powers lashed out in response to her fear. 

The consistent exhaustion wasn’t doing anything to help on that front, either. Even with the more advanced training and applications she practiced in class, Sterling still felt wildly out of control. 

She did her best to power through, though, and soon she’d found herself in a routine, becoming more comfortable with her intense training and finding some balance in keeping up with her classwork. The nightmares didn’t stop, but Sterling did her best to deal with them and not let them ruin her day or night. 

By the time a month had passed, she had mostly adjusted to her new circumstances, but the consistent exhaustion she felt still weighed heavily on her shoulders. April and Blair did the best they could to ease her burden, trying to keep spirits high when they ate lunch and dinner together and doing their best to be there for her when they could. 

Still, there weren’t enough hours in the day. Her training took so much of her time and energy, it was hard to do anything but pass out after the brutal practices. 

She could feel herself starting to improve, though, and it was one of the only things keeping her going. Her coach seemed to think she had a lot of potential, despite her clumsy tendencies, and she’d started to hold her own against the other students in hand-to-hand combat. She’d even started to build a solid layer of muscle on her arms and legs due to all the exercise she was doing.

April did not waste a single opportunity to hook up with her when they could, dragging her into broom closets and empty classrooms between classes and after lunch. She’d been late to class a number of times because of it, but she couldn’t bring herself to care when her skin still felt tingly where April had grabbed her upper arm and her lips seemed to burn where April had kissed her. 

She was a big fan of Sterling’s newfound muscles.

It all felt mildly manageable, but by the time the second month rolled around, Sterling barely felt like a person anymore, trudging from class to class and rolling into bed right after dinner in some desperate hope that she might have a restful night of sleep. 

And then the nightmares got even worse. 

Suddenly, Sterling felt like she was in hell. 

“Wesley, we need to talk.” April yelled through the door to Sterling and Blair’s dorm as she slammed her fist against the wood. 

She heard some desperate movement through the door, followed by harsh whispers and barely concealed giggles. 

It was hardly a surprise when Miles opened the door, offering her a sheepish, out-of-breath smile as he tugged a shirt over his head. April simply rolled her eyes and pushed into the room, marching past Miles and surveying the room. 

April had been there a few times, though she and Sterling usually spent time together in April’s dorm when they could, considering the frequency at which Miles was over at Sterling’s own dorm. Even with the standard layout, the twins had managed to decorate in a way that was distinctively their own. Random pictures and posters littered the walls in a scattered collage, and April cringed at the meme wall next to the bathroom, where Blair had taken the time to painstakingly print out various twitter reaction pictures and shitposts and tape them to the wall. 

Blair thought it was hilarious, and Sterling thought it was hilarious how much Blair loved it, so she didn’t put up much protest. 

April still plotted to take the thing down one day. 

Despite the strange decor, each twin had decorated their sides of the room vastly differently. While Sterling seemed to opt for a minimalist, simple design, Blair opted for chaos. 

“What’s up, Stevens?” Blair said, walking out of the bathroom and pulling a shirt over her head. 

“I need to talk to you.” April said with a frown, glancing between her and Miles. “Alone.”

Blair gave her a flat look, but April stood her ground. 

With a sigh, Blair shook her head and walked over to Miles, offering him an apologetic smile. “Sorry, dude, but you gotta go.” she said, leaning into him and pressing a soft kiss against his lips. April pointedly rolled her eyes at the exchange, even as her heart ached. It had been weeks since she and Sterling had more than an hour together. 

“Okay, then,” Miles said, only mildly offended as he glanced between them with a shrug. “To be continued.”

“You bet.” Blair responded, wiggling her eyebrows at him. 

Miles flashed them both a parting wave before exiting the dorm, the heavy door slamming loudly behind him. 

Blair turned back towards her, arms crossed as she leveled April with an expectant look. “Ok, now that you’ve kicked my boyfriend out of my dorm–”

“I’m worried about Sterling.” April said, barely able to keep her composure. She’d been keeping it to herself for a while, especially since she was the one who originally encouraged Sterling to take the spot in the top class. She couldn’t help but feel guilty for the amount of stress her girlfriend–maybe not girlfriend–was clearly under. They were barely talking anymore, and when they did, Sterling was clearly too exhausted to engage in more than a surface-level conversation. 

April wanted to be upset about it, about not really seeing her girlfriend (?) as often as she wanted, but she couldn’t bring herself to be anything but worried.

Blair stared at her. “Obviously.” she said after a few beats. “Me too, but there’s not much we can do at this point–Sterling can make her own choices.”

“But she–”

“I know, she’s working herself to death.” Blair said, tone uncharacteristically serious. “But when Sterling sets her mind to something, there’s no stopping her. And every time I bring it up, she gets upset.”

April shook her head. “But why?” she asked. “She can’t be happy with all this–she looks miserable half the time.”

“She is.” Blair said. “But she feels like she has to do this, I think.”

“Why would she think that?”

“Well, for one, you were super proud of her and everything, and she’s a people pleaser at heart.” Blair said pointedly, and April sighed, eyes turning downward. “But Dr. Jordan also told her it’s what Sam would’ve wanted, and she still feels hella guilty for all the shit that went down at the match.”

April shook her head, running a hand through her hair. 

“So, what?” she asked. “She’s punishing herself?”

Blair shrugged. “I don’t think she sees it that way, but, with how hard she’s working, she might as well be.” she replied, shaking her head. 

A silence consumed the room. 

“Listen, I’m worried too, but there’s just not much we can do.” Blair said, “I’m already on thin ice with her for trying to get her to talk about her nightmares, even more for all the times I’ve told her she’s training too much. You can try and talk to her, but I don’t think she’ll be very receptive.”

April groaned, flopping onto the bean bag chair propped up in the corner of the room. “So, we’re just supposed to sit back and let this happen?” she asked, looking up at Blair helplessly. “She’s your sister. She’s my…I really care about her.”

A heavy silence filled the room. 

“She’s…well, she’s definitely not telling us everything.” Blair finally broke the silence after what felt like hours. “Those nightmares…they’re not normal”

April narrowed her eyes. “What do you mean?”

“I’m not completely sure.” Blair said with the slight shake of her head. “They’re just…they’re way too intense to be normal nightmares.”

April waited for her to continue, staring up at her as she collected her thoughts. 

“You haven’t seen her–in the morning, I mean.” Blair said, her voice solemn. “April, she’s terrified. Half the time, she wakes herself up by throwing herself off the bed and screaming.”

April’s heart ached at the thought, her mouth going dry.

“And, sometimes it seems like she remembers parts of them during the day.” Blair continued, sounding uncertain. “She refuses to talk to me about it, but sometimes she’ll just…zone out, and suddenly she’ll look just as scared as she does in the mornings–like she’s remembering something she shouldn’t.”

April swallowed. That sounded very familiar–almost exactly what had happened that day in gym class. “I’ve seen that too.” she said. “Has she told you anything about it?”

“No.” Blair said, shaking her head sadly. “I think…I think they scare her too much, to be honest.”

Before April could reply, they both turned their attention to the door as Sterling started to walk in. 

She paused as she noticed the two of them sitting across from each other, her brows furrowed as she closed the door behind her. “April?” she asked, offering her a confused smile. “What are you doing here?” 

“I just wanted to talk to Blair about a project in one of our classes.” April said, thinking quickly. “But I’m glad you’re here.”

“Yeah, me too, but why are you home so early? I thought Satan didn’t let you out of practice until at least 7:00.” Blair asked, hopping off her bed and moving to dig through the small, school-provided minifridge against the far wall.

Sterling sighed, dropping her bag and unceremoniously plopping onto the beanbag next to April. There was truly no space for the two of them, but April giggled nonetheless as Sterling sprawled across her lap in some attempt to fit. “Coach let me go early for the weekend.” Sterling replied, her voice muffled as she shoved her face into April’s shoulder. “I don’t really know why, but I’m not complaining. I kind of think it was because he was getting bored of watching me run sprints and toss things around for hours.”

“I’m not complaining either.” April said, cuddling closer. She was still getting used to all the casual contact Sterling was so fond of, but she really did like it, especially when Sterling was tired. The girl was like a tall koala.

“You guys are gross.” Blair said, tossing a soda over to April, who barely managed to catch it with Sterling sprawled across her whole body. “But…now we have time for a movie night tonight!”

April smiled, excited at the idea. It had been weeks since she’d been able to spend real time with Sterling, and Blair wasn’t too bad in small doses. 

“I’m down,” Sterling said, still not sitting up. “But you can’t be mad if I fall asleep.”

“We’ll manage, I think.” April replied, laughing a little.

“Also we need snacks.”

“I can raid the vending machine?” April offered. 

“Do you have that much change on you?” Blair asked, brows raised.

April wiggled her eyebrows, raising a hand into the air. “Don’t you remember my powers, Wesley?”

One trip to the vending machine later, the three girls’ arms were full of candy, chips, and drinks, and they all tried their best to hold their laughter as they made their way back to the twins’ dorm. 

“I’m going to go change, but you two better not be making out when I get back.” Blair said when they got back, flashing them a warning glare over her shoulder as she headed to the bathroom.

“No promises!” April called out, settling onto Sterling’s bed and leaning against her shoulder. 

“Hey, it’s cool that you’re using your powers more now.” Sterling said, breaking the silence of the room. “Are you feeling better about it?”

April shrugged. “It’s still…weird.” she admitted. “But, they can be very useful.”

She held up her bag of doritos as evidence. 

“Very useful.” Sterling agreed, tearing open her own bag of chips and digging in. “Movie night isn’t movie night without snacks.” 

“Ew, don’t talk with your mouth full, Sterl,” April said, grimacing at the image.

“Don’t talk with your mouth full,” Sterling mocked with a high-pitched voice, her mouth still full of half-chewed cheetos.

“You’re so gross.” April sighed, fighting off an amused smile. It was nice to see Sterling acting playful again, especially after such a hard few weeks. 

The movie for tonight was a romcom, a cheesy story that arrived on Netflix a few months prior. It wasn’t great, and the acting was overdramatic and cliche, but they all enjoyed themselves, laughing loud enough that their dorm neighbors angrily knocked against the far wall to tell them to shut up. 

They did no such thing, but by the end of the movie, everyone’s energy was shot. Blair was asleep in minutes, snoring softly and making April giggle every time she muttered to herself in her sleep. 

April curled up next to Sterling on her bed, eyelids heavy. She didn’t want to go to sleep just yet, but it was hard to resist. She could see that Sterling was facing much of the same problem, blinking in and out of sleep. 

“This was fun.” she said, yawning and reaching up to rub her eyes. “We should do it again.”

April hummed her agreement, moving closer and wrapping her arms around Sterling’s center. “Agree.” she murmured. “I like you a lot.”

Sterling stiffened only a little. “I like you a lot, too.” she replied, and April could hear the smile in her words.

April hugged her tighter. “Girlfriend?” she asked. She had a whole plan in her head about how she was going to bring it up, about the ensuing conversation, but it all flew out the window at that moment. 

She barely had time to panic before Sterling was laughing, pulling April closer and making herself comfortable. “Girlfriend.” she confirmed, her voice soft and laced with some emotion April couldn’t quite recognize. 

Still, that night, she fell asleep with a smile on her face. Sterling was her girlfriend. 

As she slept, she decided something else. She couldn’t let Sterling go on like this–she would get to the bottom of these nightmares and she would fix this. 

It was her job as girlfriend, after all.

April was a woman on a mission the next day. 

Sterling would be at her Saturday training session for most of the morning before lunch, and April took that time to march over to the twins’ dorm once more. 

Blair did not take kindly to being awoken at 8:30am by thunderous knocks at the door. 

“Stevens, I will kill you.” she said, rubbing the sleep from her eyes. “And I’m not even kidding. Sterling has guns. Probably.”

April decided to gloss over that possibly concerning fact and pushed past Blair into the room. She glanced around, making a cursory check to make sure that Sterling wasn’t there. 

“She left, like, half an hour ago, if that’s what you’re wondering.” Blair said, giving her an exasperated look. 

“Good.” April said, turning towards Blair. “I came for you.”

Blair just stared at her. “Torrid affairs aren’t exactly my style, Stevens.” she deadpanned.

April rolled her eyes, glancing over towards Sterling’s bed. The sheets were rumpled, the bed unmade. Her eyes caught on the string Sterling had tied to the foot of the bed to make sure she didn’t float away in the middle of the night. “Did she have another nightmare last night?” she asked.

Blair nodded, releasing a heavy sigh. “Yeah. It was a bad one, too.” she replied. “It took her a while to realize where she was.”

April swallowed, ignoring the sudden burning in her throat. She had hoped that maybe the movie night would’ve helped, but…

“April, what are you doing in my dorm right now?” Blair asked, plopping onto her bed with a huge groan. 

April loosed a breath, collecting her composure before turning towards Blair once again. “You and I are going to figure out what’s causing these nightmares, or we’re going to die trying.”

Blair sat up, leveling her with an unreadable look for a long moment. 

And then her lips twisted into a wicked smile. 

“I knew I liked you for a reason.”

“Okay, you’re the one who brought up that these nightmares don’t feel normal,” April said, pacing around the room. “What makes you think that?”

Blair shrugged, pulling her blanket closer to her chest. She had yet to move from her bed, not even when April miraculously conjured a whiteboard to prop up on one of the desks. April uncapped the pen and gave her an expectant look. 

“Well, she’s never had nightmares like this. Ever.” she replied. “The most intense dream 

she’s had–that I know of–was a cartoon version of the chase scene from Baby Driver. And I don’t even think she was the one driving.”

April blinked, shaking her head as she tried her hardest to focus on the issue at hand. “Why do you even know– forget it.” she sighed. “Okay, so she doesn’t have a history of something like this?”

Blair shook her head. “She didn’t even have nightmares after the trailer park.” she said seriously. “And that was…intense.”

April nodded, leaning over the whiteboard to write the words no prior history in a neat, straight scrawl.

“Okay, what else do we know?” April asked, staring at the whiteboard with a thoughtful look as she spun the marker between her fingers. 

“They only started after the match.” Blair pointed out.

“True.” April said, moving to write it down. “We also know that she doesn’t remember what the dreams are about when she wakes up.”

“But she has remembered little flashes, I think.” 

“Also true.” April acknowledged with a sigh.

“Has she told you anything about them?” Blair asked. “Anything she hasn’t already told me, I guess.”

April ran a hand through her hair. “I caught her remembering something one day in gym–before she transferred.” she replied. “It kind of seemed like Dr. Jordan was the one who triggered it. She said she saw him and another man, and they were in a lab or something.”

Blair raised a brow. “A lab?” she asked.

“Yeah.” April said. “That’s what she told me, but she seemed pretty shaken up by the whole thing so she wasn’t that eager to really get into it.”

“Yeah, that’s been my experience with Sterling, too.” Blair said with a sigh. 

April hummed an acknowledgement as she wrote Lab, two men - Dr. Jordan? on the white board.

“Do we know anything else?” she asked after a brief silence.

“I mean, we know the obvious.” Blair pointed out. “She doesn’t have any nightmares when she sleeps with you.”

April tried her best to ignore the sudden ache in her chest at the thought. She cleared her throat, shaking her head and writing it on the board. 

“Okay.” she said, crossing her hands as she surveyed what they’d written. “There’s not much concrete information here.”

“Agreed.” Blair groaned, flopping back onto her mattress. “While I appreciate your commitment, Stevens, is there really anything we can do about this? I mean, at the end of the day…they’re just bad dreams.”

April swallowed, releasing a sigh. “I’m not so sure, Blair,” she said. “Like you said, they’re not normal nightmares, and they only started after the match.”

“Which was very traumatic.” Blair replied.

“Very. But so was the trailer park.” April pointed out. “And no nightmares after that.”

Blair nodded, chewing at her bottom lip as she sat up. 

“We can’t eliminate the possibility that someone is…doing this to her.” April said, with a shrug. “Or something concrete is causing it.”

Blair nodded. “Yeah, I guess.” she said. “I just…I don’t want to be disappointed when it turns out there’s nothing we can do to actually help her.”

April sighed. She understood the feeling–it was what kept her from trying to help for a long time. “We have to at least try.” she said. “I’m not sure how much longer she can go on like this.”

Blair sobered at that, glancing back to the whiteboard with a new determination shining in her eyes. 

“So where do we start?”

“April, this is dumb.” Blair groaned.

“What is?” April asked, refusing to meet her eyes.

“Dude.” Blair said flatly. “We’ve been waiting outside Dr. Jordan’s office for hours. He seems pretty normal to me.”

“You don’t know what he’s doing in there.” April protested, crossing her arms stubbornly.

“Yeah, but whatever it is, it’s BORING–”

“Blair.” April hissed, slinking further behind the corner and slapping at Blair’s arm. “Shut up, do you want to get us caught?”

“Caught doing what?” Blair asked, raising an eyebrow. “Standing in a hallway?”

“Okay, you were all for this plan when I suggested it–”

“Not true,”

“–so what’s with all this negativity? Huh?”

Blair sighed, running a hand through her hair. “Sterling’s going to get out of practice soon. It’s almost curfew.” she said. “I don’t really care about getting in trouble, but I don’t want her to come home to an empty dorm.”

April’s face softened. “Blair–”

Before she could say more, the creaking of a door interrupted their conversation. Both of them jolted out of view, leaning against the corner of the hallway. April dared to peek towards the office, spying Dr. Jordan’s silhouette closing and locking the door to his office behind him. His retreating figure cast long shadows across the hallway as he walked away, and April repressed a shudder. She steeled herself, banishing any lingering nerves. 

She glanced towards Blair, brow raised. “You ready?” she asked. 

Blair peered down the hallway. “You’re sure he’s not coming back?”

“Positive,” April replied. “I’ve been watching him for a few days.”

“Creeper.” Blair said, but she retreated from the corner and entered the hallway to approach the office. 

April followed, swallowing that familiar apprehension rising in her throat. 

“How are we going to–”

April didn’t bother to listen to the rest of the question, taking a deep breath and pulling at that vague feeling in her gut. She felt herself become as light as a feather–lighter, even–as she pushed herself towards the door, phasing clean through the wood. 

She suppressed a giggle when she heard Blair’s yelp from the inside of the office.

Unlocking the door and opening it, she found herself faced with Blair’s shocked face. “I didn’t know you could do that–”

“How do you think I got the snacks?” April asked, returning to her normal density as she closed the door behind Blair. 

“Yeah, but that was just your hand, I don’t think I’ve seen your whole body–”

“Focus, Wesley, we’re here for a reason.” April interrupted, rolling her eyes as she approached the computer on the table. “I’ll take the computer, you take the filing cabinets.”

Blair gave her a sarcastic salute, moving towards the corner of the room to search through the files. 

For a few minutes, no sound filled the room aside from the rustling of papers and the sound of keys clicking on a keyboard. April scoured Dr. Jordan’s files, skipping over random documents on school curriculum and scheduling. After a few minutes, she gave up, pulling up his email and searching for anything suspicious. 

“Found anything?” Blair questioned, glancing up from the files. 

“No,” April growled. “Even his email is spotless. What about you?”

Blair shrugged. “I found the students' files, but I can’t find Sterling’s. I don’t think hers is here.” 

April glanced up from the computer. “Really?” she asked. “That’s strange.”

“I know.” Blair agreed. “But it’s just…not here.”

April stood from the desk chair, approaching the file cabinet and crouching next to Blair. 

It was true–there was a gap next to Blair’s file, presumably where Sterling’s had been. She frowned, picking up Blair’s file. She skimmed the papers–it was the usual. Description of powers, school history, events leading to discovery of powers. Further in the file, April found some information concerning Blair’s gym class and her progress in mastering her powers, but that was all. Nothing extremely suspicious.

So why was Sterling’s gone?

She straightened as a thought suddenly occurred. 

“Is Sam’s in here?” she asked, digging through the other files. 

“What’s his last name?” Blair asked.

“Richards, I think.”

“Here is it,” Blair said, pointing across the drawer towards an especially thick file just in front of April’s fingers. 

April wasted no time before snatching the file from the drawer, startled by the weight of it. She opened it, scanning the papers for anything suspicious. At first, it was the same as Blair’s–history, description of powers, progress as the academy. Following that, there were dozens and dozens of reports of some kind. 

April groaned in frustration as she tried to read–except for a few stray words and sentences, much of the papers were blacked out. 

“What’s with all the secrecy?” Blair asked, a worried tone clear in her voice. 

“I don’t know.” April replied. “I bet there are complete digital versions on the computer, but I can’t find any of them.”

Blair slumped, her eyes still trained on the file. “Wait, look at that,” she said sudden;y, reaching out to stop April from turning the page. “‘Project Omega?’”

April narrowed her eyes. “What does that mean?” she asked. 

“I have no clue, but it definitely wasn’t in mine.” Blair said, reaching back down to the file cabinet. “Hold on.”

“Blair, what are you looking for–”

“Alana Chang!” Blair said, triumphantly holding up another thick file. In no time, she had torn open the file and turned towards the back pages. “Look, there it is again: Project Omega.”

“So what’s the connection?” April asked, eyes wide as she took in the similarly blacked-out file. Her eyes focused on the bold text at the top. What in the hell was Project Omega?

“They’re both top students.” Blair said, meeting her eyes. “And now Sterling is one, too.”

April swallowed, looking back down at the file.

Without another word, she was tearing through the drawer. File after file–only the top students had these thick, detailed folders and the mysterious Project Omega designation. 

She shook her head, replacing Lauren’s folder back into the cabinet. “But…why just them?” she asked.

Blair met her eyes with a sigh. “I have no clue.” she replied. “But there’s definitely something weird going on here.”

April stood from the floor, approaching the computer once more. Blair followed behind, brushing the dust off her pants as she did. Sitting in the huge leather desk chair, she opened the computer as Blair leaned over her, her gaze focused entirely on the screen. 

She opened the files again, brushing over the hundreds of miscellaneous files on Dr. Jordan’s homepage. Apparently, he was not a very organized man. She directed the cursor towards the search bar, typing “Omega” into the keyboard.

The result wasn’t exactly what she expected. Instead of a random spread of documents and files–like everything else on this man’s computer–a single folder showed up. 

She exchanged a wary glance with Blair before turning back towards the screen and double clicking the folder.

A password prompt covered the screen. 

Both girls groaned. 

“There’s no point in guessing, right?” Blair sighed.

April shook her head. “No, probably not.” she agreed. “But the size of this folder…It’s huge.”

“What?” Blair asked. “What does that mean?”

“Whatever Project Omega is,” April replied, barely withholding a shudder. “It’s a lot bigger than we thought.”

Chapter Text

We have to tell her!” April insisted, rapidly pacing around the twins’ room. She hadn’t been able to stop fidgeting since they’d left Dr. Jordan’s office, too nervous and amped up after everything they’d found. 

Well, everything was a bit of a strong word. A random name that could possibly mean something was more accurate. But it was still nerve wracking. 

Blair was faring about the same, from what April could see. As much as April was fidgeting, Blair was practically vibrating, her super speed manifesting throughout her nervous tics. Her hands were nothing more than a blur as she wrung her fingers. She’d only just stopped speeding around the room–her pacing was more like running entire laps around the dorm in only seconds.

“We can’t.” Blair argued. “What would we even tell her? We found a folder we couldn’t open and a couple random student files that said the same thing?”

“YES.” April replied, hands spread. “There’s clearly something suspicious going on, and if I was her, I’d want to know, at least.”

“April, she’s not you.” Blair pointed out. “Sterling is jumpy. I don’t want to scare her into doing something rash or stupid.”

“Like what?” 

“I don’t know!” Blair replied, practically yelling. “And that’s exactly why I don’t want to tell her. We barely know anything, and I don’t want Sterling to get hurt.”

April swallowed, shaking her head slightly as she looked up at Blair. “Do you really think she could get hurt?” she asked. “We don’t even know if this is something dangerous or–”

“I don’t care.” Blair said firmly. “It could be. I don’t want to take that risk.”

April didn’t reply, running a hand through her hair.

“April.” Blair continued. “Those nightmares are killing her. We can’t put her under more stress until we know something concrete.”

April met her gaze, and it was clear she wasn’t going to change her mind any time soon. “Fine.” she agreed. “But we better find something. And fast.”

“Agreed.” Blair replied. “She’ll be home soon. We’ll just act natural until we get more info, right?”

April frowned, but she nodded. She didn’t like hiding anything from her girlfriend like this, but it was for the greater good, she supposed. At the very least, she didn’t feel like starting a fight with Blair, especially not when they were so close to finding something. 

They spent the next few days following Dr. Jordan around the school, lingering after classes to see where he went in off-periods, bailing on mealtimes to make sure he was in his office or classroom, and even waking up early to see how he spent his mornings.

April was a woman possessed, tracking his activity like it was evidence and keeping an eye on his every move. 

Blair was less committed, but no less convinced of Dr. Jordan’s guilt. 

What he was guilty of? Neither of them were sure, but they were determined to find something.

“Sterling just texted,” Blair groaned, nearly collapsing into the sandwich in front of her. April raised an eyebrow, leaning over to glance at Blair’s phone. The wind outside whipped her hair every which way, and the chill in the air sent a shudder up her spine. She’d taken to eating at the outside pavilion with the Wesley twins for most meals–as was the case on this Friday. “She can’t make it to lunch–her coach wants to keep practicing her flying.”

April promptly groaned. “Again?” she asked, shaking her head. “That man is working her to death.” 

“Agreed.” Blair replied, taking a huge bite of her sandwich. “Should we go follow dickhead around again?” she asked, her mouth terribly full. 

April barely held back a snarky comment about Wesley table manners, glancing down at her open notebook. She’d been keeping track of Dr. Jordan’s day-to-day activity, recording his schedule as they followed him. So far, he’d been nothing but consistent for almost two weeks. 

She sighed, her eyes scanning the page for his typical Friday activities. She promptly groaned when she found it. “Are you sure?” April asked weakly. “This is the day he goes to the staff zumba class.”

Blair shuddered. “Oh god,” she replied. “I’m not sure I can do that. I never need to see Ms. Robinson in that position again.”

April nodded her agreement, eyes wide. “Who knew our 70-year-old history professor was so…flexible?”

“Ugh,” Blair shook her head, waving her hand at April. “Let’s skip today.”

April scanned the sheet once more. “Wait, actually, I think I saw the flyer for that class a while ago.” she said, recalling the memory. “It’s supposed to be biweekly. Every other week.”

“So what did he do the week before?” Blair asked, leaning over to peek at her notebook. 

April pointed out the Friday, finding only blank paper. “I don’t know.” she replied. “I don’t think we followed him the week before.”

“Really?” Blair asked. “How did we forget that day?”

April tried her best to recall the last two weeks, searching for something other than endlessly following their professor around the academy. Then she remembered–that Friday had been another–

“Movie night!” April exclaimed, finally remembering. “Sterling snuck out of practice early and she wanted to watch a movie with us.”

Blair nodded, biting her lip. “That’s right.” she said with a frown. “She was having a bad day.”

April sobered at the thought, thinking back to that Friday. Sterling had stumbled into the dorm, nearly falling over with exhaustion. Her coach had made her run laps for nearly an hour and she couldn’t take it any more. She waited until he left for a restroom break and then booked it back to the dorm. 

She looked near-breakdown as she came in, her eyes darting between April and Blair. It had become normal for the two of them to hang out, so it wasn’t exactly strange that April was there, but April had still felt guilty under her gaze. They’d been talking about Dr. Jordan (again) when Sterling had walked in. 

Her guilt was immediately forgotten when she saw the clear distress on her girlfriend’s face. “Hey, come here.” April said quickly, opening her arms for a hug. “You’re home early.”

Sterling wasted no time before falling into the embrace, sprawling across the beanbag where April was sitting. “I left.” she murmured into April’s shoulder. “Tired.”

Blair and her exchanged a look, and April was sure her own concerned face mirrored Blair’s. “How about a movie night?” April asked. “We can watch D.E.B.S.?”

Sterling glanced up with a slight pout. “Promise?”

“Yeah, I love watching that gay shit,” Blair chimed in, hopping off the bed and forcing a cheerful smile. “Me and April can take care of snacks while you shower?” 

Sterling gave a slight nod. “M’kay.” she agreed quietly, hesitating for a brief moment before pushing herself off the beanbag and stumbling over towards the bathroom. 

April was surprised she’d forgotten about it. She’d been so focused on following their professor lately–it was easy to forget about the more calm evenings, the nights spent curled up next to her girlfriend watching a movie and munching on unhealthy snacks.

Her girlfriend. It was so new, so different, to say something like that–to call someone that. She’d known she was gay for a long time, having realized around sixth grade that she wasn’t getting the same sort of crushes as her classmates–and she’d long since accepted it. Still, she never expected anything to ever…happen. Much less with someone as beautiful and awesome as Sterling. 

Her chest ached when she thought about it–her heart felt full. Warm. She’d never felt this way about someone.

And she’d never been so worried about someone. 

Sterling wasn’t doing well. She was trying her best to put up a brave front, but she was an atrocious liar on a good day. It was easy to see that she was struggling to keep her head above water. 

Worse, she refused to admit it. Instead of dropping her gym class, she just decided she needed to train harder, get better. Her coach was in her head about all her potential being wasted, and she desperately didn’t want to disappoint anyone. Dr. Jordan had placed high expectations on her shoulders that afternoon he’d shown her Sam in the name of offering closure and encouragement.

Thinking about it now, it seemed a lot more like manipulation than encouragement. 

But that could’ve been April’s suspicion talking.

“So we’ve got to follow him now, right?” Blair asked, tearing her from her thoughts. April swallowed, forcing her mind to move on from worrying about Sterling. Worrying wouldn’t do anything. She needed to find something–she had to help. 

“Yes.” April said firmly, standing from the picnic table and slamming her notebook shut. “C’mon.”

“Wait, I didn’t mean right now, I’ve still got half my sandwich left–”

“Blair, I swear to god.”

“Wait, doesn’t he normally have lunch in his office?” Blair asked, daring to take a peek through the glass on the door to Dr. Jordan’s office. “Yep, definitely no one in there.”

“Yes, he’s normally here right now,” April said, glancing between the empty office and the scrawl in her notebook. “He’s been here every weekday.”

“Huh.” Blair said, furrowing her brows. “So what’s different about today?”

“I don’t know.” April said. “But let’s go check his classroom.”

“Why?”

“If he’s not in his office…” April offered with a shrug. “It’s a start, at least.”

“Sure.” Blair agreed. “You want a ride? I can get us there in less than a minute.”

April offered her a flat look. “Never again.”

“Hey, it wasn’t that bad!”

“Blair, I vomited.”

“...not heavily.”

“Is he in there?” Blair hissed, glancing around the hallway nervously. Unlike the offices, the classrooms were located along a much more open corridor. The two of them felt extremely exposed as they crept up to the door and tried to get a good look inside without revealing themselves. It was nearing the end of the lunch period, which meant it wouldn’t be longer before students began flooding the hallways. 

“I think so.” April said, leaning against the wall as she peeked through the glass. “He’s with someone.”

“Can you tell who?” Blair asked. 

“No, she’s facing away from me.” April replied with a frustrated frown. “She has long, dark hair, but that’s about all I can see.”

“Well, try and see more, Stevens.” Blair snapped.

“Listen, I don’t want to hear it–”

The obnoxious sound of the school bell interrupted her, startling both girls. 

It took only a few beats for the hallways to begin to fill up. April and Blair immediately pulled back from the door, leaning against the adjacent wall and trying to act casual. 

April’s eyes remained steadfastly at the door, though, waiting for Dr. Jordan to leave. He almost always remained in his office between and during classes he wasn’t teaching.

After a couple tense moments, April finally released a breath as the professor finally left the room, shutting the door softly behind him. 

The girl, whoever she was, wasn’t with him. 

“Let’s go.” April waved for Blair to follow as she watched Dr. Jordan walk away, his back to them. “She’s still inside.”

If Blair had any protests against this plan of action, she didn’t voice them, simply shrugging and following April inside. 

The classroom looked empty as they walked in, but a curtain of black hair caught April’s attention as she surveyed the room. In the left corner, a girl sat at one of the desks, her head in her hands. 

She jumped as Blair cleared her throat, looking up at them with wide eyes. 

April felt pure irritation spike as she met eyes with the girl. 

“Ava.” she said, flatly. 

Ava swallowed. “April.” she replied, her voice soft and rich. “What are you doing here?”

“What are you doing here?” April asked pointedly, crossing her arms. “You’re not in any of Dr. Jordan’s classes, so he’s not helping you out with classwork or anything– and yet you two are having private meetings in his classroom during lunch. Should I be worried?”

Ava’s eyes narrowed. “No.” she replied, her tone clipped. “But thank you for the concern.”

Blair glanced between the two of them, eyes wide. “Okay, clearly you two know each other.” she said, breaking the tense silence. “Am I missing something?”

April snorted. “Ava’s a bitch.” she said flatly.

“And April’s a stuck-up.” Ava shot back.

“Riighhhtttt.” Blair said, slowly nodding. “Not sure I want to get into that–”

“Ava has no regard for the people around her.” April continued, staring daggers at the girl in front of them. “She doesn’t care about anyone but herself.”

Ava laughed in disbelief. “This? Coming from you?” she asked incredulously. “That’s rich.”

“Okay, someone has to explain or I’m going to explode.” Blair interrupted the argument. 

“April’s just sensitive about a harmless little prank I pulled on her in middle school.” Ava offered with a slight shrug. “The girl can hold a grudge.”

April scoffed. “I nearly got expelled, Ava.” she said bluntly. “Hell, I nearly got arrested.”

“What was the prank?” Blair asked, brows raised.

“April here is a little…repressed, as I’m sure you know.” Ava explained, a mocking smile playing at her lips. “Poor thing never uses her powers. So everyone in our grade was curious to find out what she could do.”

Blair flashed April an uneasy look. 

“Ava forced me to use my powers on another classmate.” April said, her voice hard. “I gave him a concussion–I almost broke his neck before the staff managed to stop me.”

“Wait, I’m sorry, what?” Blair asked incredulously. “How did she–”

“It’s her power.” April interrupted. “She’s a siren. She can make people do whatever she wants if she touches them.” 

Her gaze shifted downwards. 

“I wouldn’t have let her get that close…but I thought we were friends.” she said, looking back up at Ava with a bitter look. “I trusted her.”

“Your mistake, I guess.” Ava replied, lifting herself from the seat. “Now, if you’ll excuse me–”

“Hey, sit down.” Blair snapped. “You’re not going anywhere.”

Ava raised a brow. “And why’s that?” 

Blair glared at her. “You’re gonna tell us what you talked about with Dr. Jordan.” she replied.

“I don’t think so.” Ava said, moving towards the door. 

April stepped in front of her. “Sit. Down.”

She felt cold hands slide against her wrist. “Let me through, April.” 

Power laced her words, but April knew what it was. Nothing more than a siren’s song. It wouldn’t trick her again. That was the problem with Ava’s power–once April knew what she was doing, once she was on guard–it was useless.

She ignored Ava’s words, reaching a hand up to grab the other girl’s shoulder. Raising the density of her fist, she forcefully pushed the girl back. 

Ava went crashing to the floor, looking up at her with wide eyes. “Are you crazy?” she asked, stumbling to her feet. “You’re going to get in so much trouble–”

April had already moved forward, grabbing the front of the girl’s shirt and slamming her against the wall. “I don’t care.” she replied. “Tell me what you were talking about with Dr. Jordan.”

Ava floundered, speechlessly opening and closing her mouth. She glanced over at Blair, shaking her head. “Are you going to let her hurt me like this?” she yelled.

Blair shrugged, glancing casually at her fingernails. “Hey, it’s just a prank.” she replied, offering Ava a wicked smile. “Don’t be so sensitive.”

April promptly launched her fist into the drywall next to Ava’s head, her hand going clean into the wall as she punched a hole. “Tell me.”

“Okay!” Ava cried, shrinking back and flinching away from April’s fist. “Okay, I’ll tell you–just let me down.”

April glanced back at Blair, who gave her a slight nod. It wasn’t like Ava had anywhere to go. 

April loosened her grip on the girl’s shirt, letting her fall back to the floor but not lowering her raised fist. She raised her brows expectantly. “Well?”

Ava glanced between the two of them, apparently weighing her options. She desperately didn’t want to tell them what she had been talking about with Dr. Jordan–that much was clear–but faced with April and Blair?

“I…we were talking about my powers.” Ava finally stuttered. 

Blair rolled her eyes. “I think we’re going to need a few more details.”

“Agreed.” April said, jaw clenched. 

“Fine, fine–” Ava continued, eyes wide. “He’s…he’s been having me use my powers for a while now–for the academy. He was…making sure I understood what I was supposed to do.”

Blair straightened. “What exactly have you been doing?” she asked, alarmed. 

April’s heart pounded in her chest. They were on the edge of something big. Ava just needed to give them more. 

“Please, I really can’t–” Ava said, her voice nearly shaking. 

April couldn’t bring herself to care. “Tell us what’s going on. Now.” 

Blair stepped forward, her fist clenched. She stared Ava down, as if daring her to run away or refuse to give them what they wanted.

Ava swallowed, shaking her head. “Fuck.” she muttered. “Okay. Okay.”

She paused, either collecting her thoughts or considering all her options. Apparently, she couldn’t think of a clear way out, sighing and looking up at both of them with hesitant looks. 

“For the last couple months, Dr. Jordan has made me go into the Wesley dorm and wake up Sterling.” she said, her words stilted and quiet. “He’s been blackmailing me.”

April felt her heart drop at the other girl’s words. The thought of Ava going anywhere near Sterling…

“Why?” Blair forced out. 

“I don’t know exactly.” Ava replied. “I wake her up, and I tell her to calm down and follow Dr. Jordan.” 

“Where?” April asked, brows furrowed. 

“I don’t know!” Ava snapped. “That’s all he tells me to do. I’ve been doing it for years now. With all the top students. Before Sterling, it was Sam. Before Sam, Alana.”

She swallowed, taking a breath and shaking her head. 

“I just tell them to follow Dr. Jordan, and they usually do–I catch most of them off guard, since they’ve been sleeping. They don’t have the awareness to resist my power after just waking up.” she explained. 

“Why hasn’t Sterling told us any of this?” Blair asked, her voice thick and dangerous. She seemed to be holding herself back, jaw clenched and hands curled into fists.

“He makes me take their memories. Whenever they get back.” Ava continued. “Usually after a few hours, he calls me back to the dorm, and I tell Sterling to forget everything from the past five hours and go to sleep.”

“But she wouldn’t–she knows your power–” April stuttered, shaking her head. It couldn’t have worked for this long, not without them knowing–

“She’s…she’s not in good shape when they come back.” Ava managed, voice soft. “Usually too weak to understand what’s going on.”

Silence consumed the air between them. 

“I…remember.” Blair hissed suddenly, eyes wide and broken as she stared at the girl before her. “You…you told me to go to sleep, to forget…”

“Sometimes you’d wake up…” Ava admitted with a frown. “Sometimes Sterling would freak out and panic and wake you up before I could tell her to go to sleep–”

Blair’s fist collided with her face before she could get another word out. Ava grunted, her head flying back with the force of the punch. “What the fuck–” Ava screeched, reaching her hands up to cradle her now-bleeding nose. 

April barely managed to pull Blair away before she could land another blow. “You fucking bitch!” Blair screamed, voice cracking. “You’re dead, you’re fucking dead!”

“Blair!” April managed to push her back and meet her eyes. She steeled herself, pushing away the storm raging in her head. They both couldn’t afford to lose it, not now. Not when they knew the school was against them. “Calm down.”

“Calm down?” Blair cried incredulously. “This bitch has been hurting my sister for months, and you just want to–”

“Blair. I want to kill her.” April said flatly. “But we can’t afford to do anything rash right now. Use your head.”

Blair just stared at her. A few tense beats passed between them before Blair stepped back, pushing April off of her and shaking her head. “Whatever.” she spat. “Do what you want.” She stormed from the classroom before April could stop her. 

With a heavy sigh, April turned towards Ava once again. She was clutching her bleeding nose, hissing with pain as she probed the injury. April felt a fiery rage burning in her chest as she considered the girl before her. 

“You’re going to tell me everything you know,” April said, stepping closer and leveling her with a cold gaze. “Or you’re going to have a lot more to worry about than a broken nose.”

“Months.” Blair murmured, her eyes trained on Sterling’s unmade bed. April followed her gaze, her heart jolting when she noticed the rumpled sheets. Another nightmare this morning, no doubt. 

Except they weren’t nightmares at all. 

“They’ve been doing this for months.” Blair continued, unblinking as she shook her head. “How - how did I not -”

“Stop.” April interrupted. “There’s no way you could’ve known.”

“But I would wake up–”

“Blair, Sterling doesn’t even know and she’s the one who’s being…experimented on.”

“I’m gonna be sick.” Blair managed. “Is that what you think is happening?”

April swallowed. “It’s gotta be.” she replied quietly. “Ava said she’s gone for hours at a time, and when she gets back…”

“And the lab.” Blair sighed. “She remembered the lab.”

“Exactly.” April said quietly. 

Silence filled the room. 

“What are we gonna do?” Blair whispered. “I don’t know what to do.”

April sighed, ignoring the burning in her throat. She’d pushed away her emotions for too long. The anger, the disbelief–it was starting to catch up with her. She couldn’t tear her thoughts away from Ava, from the face she’d made as she confessed. 

April couldn’t remember feeling more angry than at that moment.

“I…I don’t know.” she replied with a sigh, reaching a hand up to rub her eyes. “This–This is so much worse than I thought it would be. So much bigger.”

“What the hell does Dr. Jordan even want with her?” Blair asked, throwing her hands in the air. “Putting her in the top class? Working her to death and torturing her every night? What is it even for?”

April’s breath stuttered, but she fought off her emotions, pushing them aside. She had to think–she had to see the bigger picture of all this. What was the point? Why Sterling?

“It must have something to do with Sam.” she managed, swallowing the burn in her throat. “The n-nightmares only started after the match.”

“But–but why–”

“Dr. Jordan went out of his way to tell Sterling that Sam suffered a mental break - that he was predisposed to freaking out like that.” she continued, lifting herself off the bed and breaking into a pace around the room. “What if they caused it? The attack? Ava said before they started taking Sterling, it was Sam.”

“That makes sense.” Blair hummed. “I still just don’t understand why?”

April sighed. “I don’t either.” she admitted. “It has to have something to do with Sterling’s power. She’s the fastest student to ever get to a top class, and from what April told me, Dr. Jordan’s been taking her almost every night. They want something. I just don’t know what.”

“It’s not just the experiments.” Blair breathed, shaking her head. “it’s the practices, the coaching, the classes. they’re training her–making her into a soldier. Making all the top students into soldiers.”

April ignored the dread sinking into her gut. “But for what?” she asked, glancing back at Sterling’s empty bed. “She’s not a soldier. It takes two minutes of talking to her to realize that.”

Before Blair could comment, they were both interrupted by the creak of the door opening behind the two of them. They turned to find Sterling standing in the doorway, her gym bag hanging loosely from her shoulder. She looked weak, tired from the workout, but also unsteady on her feet, with empty, weary eyes. She gave them an uncertain wave, almost immediately picking up on the grave atmosphere of the room. Her coach must have let her out on a small break.

April could barely stand to look at her. She was beautiful, but a shell of who she was, who she could be. All because of this damn school and its damn agenda. 

“Woah.” Sterling said, breathing an awkward laugh as she stepped into the room and unceremoniously dropped the duffle bag to the ground next to her bed. “Did someone die?”

April couldn’t respond. The words were lost, stuck somewhere between the mess of her brain and her mouth. What could she say? What could possibly be said to communicate everything wrong with this? Her and Blair had wanted answers…but this?

April  glanced at Blair, only to find the other Wesley sister already looking at her. In her gaze, April found the same hesitation, the same terror at shattering Sterling’s relative peace. 

This would change everything.

“Wait, somebody didn’t die, right?” Sterling asked, the smile dropping from her face as her gaze shifted between her sister and her girlfriend. “Oh my god, who? What’s going on?”

“Sterling…” Blair managed, but April could hear the uncertainty in her voice. She had no idea what to say.

And neither did April. 

Still, she made her way over to her girlfriend and embraced her in a firm hug. Sterling easily reciprocated, and April could’ve cried at the feeling of her arms wrapped around her, of her head resting just on the side of April’s. “Okay, you guys are really starting to scare me.” Sterling said, eyes wide.

April finally managed to pull back, steeling herself before reaching down to grab Sterling’s hands as she met her eyes. “We have to tell you something…it’s about your nightmares.” she managed.

“My nightmares?” Sterling echoed, brows furrowed. “i already told you, they’re just dreams–“

“No they’re not.” Blair interjected, her voice breaking.

Sterling glanced between them, now looking extremely concerned. “April?” she whispered, and April could only shake her head.

“You might want to sit down for this one.”

“Bullshit.” Sterling said firmly, shaking her head.

“Sterling, Ava confessed it to us herself.” Blair insisted, standing from the bed. “And she did not want to tell us.”

“I don’t care.” Sterling replied, pacing across the wooden floor of their dorm. “She must’ve lied or something, I don’t know–”

“Sterl.” April interrupted. “We’re not lying. And you know that.”

Sterling looked up at her, and April’s heart stuttered at the unshed tears shining in her eyes. “It can’t be true.” she whispered. “It can’t be. It’s been months of this.”

A crash sounded from the bathroom, but only April flinched. It seemed Sterling and Blair were used to it by now. 

“I…I was trying so hard.” she breathed, sitting back on her bed. “I thought I was getting better…”

“You are.” April insisted, approaching her girlfriend and taking a seat next to her on the bed. “This doesn’t invalidate all the work you put in–”

“But yes it does!” Sterling interrupted. “God, I’m so stupid.”

“No you’re not!” Blair practically yelled. “You didn’t do anything wrong.”

Sterling just stared at the wall, mouth agape as she shook her head. “This can’t be true.” she breathed. “Would Dr. Jordan do something like this?”

April frowned. “I don’t know.” she said, trying to seem like a more neutral party, even though all of her was screaming ‘yes!’ “We’re just telling you what we found.”

“So, we have to leave.” Blair said. “We can get out, hitch it back to Georgia and go from there–”

“Blair, what–”

“Sterling!” Blair interrupted. “They’re hurting you. We have to go.”

Sterling shook her head, reaching a hand up to cup her forehead. She looked near-breakdown, overwhelmed with all the information she’d been given. 

A brief silence filled the dorm. 

“One more night.” Sterling finally said. “I…I need to know for sure.”

“No way–

“Sterling!”

“This is what we’re doing.” Sterling said firmly. “I don’t care. I have to know.”

“Sterling, you don’t understand–” 

“Exactly!” Sterling interrupted her sister, throwing her hands in the air. “I don’t understand. If this is really happening, I want to know why! Or how–or anything!”

April breathed a sigh, realizing quickly that Sterling couldn’t be swayed. She was stubborn like that. “Okay.” she whispered after a few tense moments, closing her eyes. “One more night.”

“But what about Ava?” Blair asked, eyes wide as she switched between looking at Sterling and April. “She’s going to tell Dr. Jordan that we know.”

April swallowed. “I threatened her–told her not to tell anyone about it.” she said. “We’ll have to hope that works for now.”

“Are you kidding me?” Blair exclaimed, crossing her arms. “This isn’t a game–”

“Blair.” Sterling said sharply. “It’s my decision.”

“Dr. Jordan wouldn’t make a move so soon.” April said, shaking her head. She was almost reassuring herself at this point. “Besides, he doesn’t know that Sterling knows. If everything happens as usual tonight, he won’t suspect it.”

“But he will know that we know.” Blair pressed. “This isn’t smart.”

“One night.” Sterling repeated. “Once we know for sure…we’re gone.”

A heavy silence filled the air. It was hours until curfew. All they could do was wait. 

“I have to get back to practice.” Sterling finally said after a few beats. 

“Sterling, you don’t have to go–”

“No,” Sterling shook her head. “We have to keep up appearances. I don’t want to tip them off or anything.”

April hated it, but she agreed.

“Fine.” Blair sighed. “I still think this is dumb but…I’m with you.”

Sterling managed a smile. “Thanks.” she said, grabbing her bag from the floor and slinging it over her shoulders. “I guess…I guess I’ll see you guys tonight.”

April’s chest ached at the thought. “We’ll see you then.” she said, forcing her voice to remain level. 

Blair gave her sister a small nod, a deep frown tugging at her lips. 

Sterling made her way to the door, but April grabbed her arm, pulling her back. 

“April?” she asked, brows raised.

Without a word, April pressed a soft kiss against Sterling’s lips. “Please be safe.” she whispered, pulling back. 

Sterling offered her a watery smile. “Aren’t I always?” she said, laughing slightly. 

It wasn’t very funny.

April turned away as she left the dorm. 

Silence blanketed the room as Blair and April faced each other.

“Okay.” Blair breathed. “How are we gonna do this?”

April was hidden beneath Blair’s bed.

It was cramped, and April cringed at the brush of Blair’s old lacrosse bag brushing against her leg. Above her, she could already hear Blair beginning to snore. April scoffed.

How she could sleep was a mystery.

Across the room, Sterling lay still atop the twin mattress of her bed. April could tell she wasn’t asleep, even eyes closed and motionless. Sterling was a restless sleeper. She was constantly shifting–April had gotten used to waking up with the other girl clinging to her torso like a koala. 

She couldn’t blame Sterling for not being able to sleep. How could she? It wouldn’t be long now before Ava inevitably came to their room–came for Sterling. 

April herself could barely keep still in her hiding spot. She’d never been this nervous in her life–every part of her wanted to pace, to fidget and twitch.

However, after a couple more silent hours of waiting, she felt herself begin to drift off. 

The sharp rattle of a key in the lock startled her awake, and she just barely caught herself before launching her forehead into the bottom of Blair’s bed. 

Blood roared in her ears, and she forced her breaths to remain even and quiet. Across the room, Sterling was unmoving, quiet snores echoing through the room. She’d fallen asleep. 

The door cracked open, spilling the light from the hallway across the floor and walls of the Wesley dorm. April screwed her eyes shut, clenching her jaw as light footsteps crept through the room–directly towards Sterling’s bed. 

She had believed Ava when she told them what was happening. But witnessing it firsthand was another thing entirely. 

She could only watch as two dark figures approached Sterling’s bed. Ava’s lean, short silhouette was easily recognizable, but April couldn’t place the other person. It looked like a tall, bulky man–likely security for Ava in case things went sideways. 

April had been sure Dr. Jordan would be there, but that didn’t seem like the case tonight.

Ava reached towards the bed, grabbing Sterling’s shoulder and shaking her awake. 

Sterling awoke with a gasp, staring up at the two of them in dazed confusion. She opened her mouth to speak, likely already realizing what was going on, but Ava was already talking. “Wait–”

“Calm down and follow me.” she whispered, her words echoing through the empty room. Blair shifted above April. 

Was she awake? It was probably torture for her, pretending to be asleep while this was happening. April could say the same. She resisted the urge to push herself out from under the bed and show Ava exactly how much damage her powers could do. 

The room became silent once more as the three of them made their way to the door. April worried her bottom lip between her teeth, cringing as Sterling left the room, helpless to resist the lure of Ava’s power. She looked so small, dwarfed by the baggy sleep shirt that hung low enough to hide the shorts covering her thighs.

The door shut behind them, and April loosed a harsh breath. 

Silence blanketed the room for a few tense moments.

“April?” came Blair’s hesitant voice from above her. April wasn’t sure she’d ever heard Blair sound so…small–so scared. 

“I’m here.” she replied, finally finding her voice.

Blair hummed an acknowledgement. The bed shifted, and April sighed, awkwardly pushing herself out from under the bed. 

She stood, stretching her sore muscles as her eyes drifted towards Sterling’s empty bed. The sheets were rumpled, and April was willing to bet they were still warm. 

“Can we watch a movie or something?” Blair asked, and April turned to find her huddled into a little ball at the edge of her bed. Unshed tears shone in her eyes and April’s chest ached at the sight. 

“Yeah.” April breathed. “We can do that.”

They were silent for the next few hours. The sounds of the stupid romcom they’d chosen filled the room, but it just served to make it feel more empty. 

At least they had proof now.

If the sight of Sterling leaving was tough to deal with, her coming back was something April wasn’t at all prepared for. 

It was nearly four hours later–around 4:00 am. April was hidden beneath Blair’s bed once again, her eyelids drooping from exhaustion and her chest aching at the thought of her girlfriend trapped in some sort of horrifying lab in the depths of the school. 

Whatever exhaustion she was feeling, however, swiftly faded when the door handle jiggled slightly. It was their only warning before it practically slammed open, and three or four bodies flooded into the room. 

The bed above her shifted as Blair shot up–there was no way she could pretend to sleep through this.

“What the hell–” Blair practically yelled, but she was interrupted as Ava thundered towards her bed, grabbing her arm before she could register what was happening. 

“Forget this and go to sleep.” Ava whispered forcefully, and April could hear the power echoing through her voice. 

Blair collapsed on the bed once more, and April flinched as the bed creaked beneath her weight. 

“Ok, get her back in bed.” came a familiar voice from the other side of the room. April clenched her jaw as Dr. Jordan fully stepped into the room and softly shut the door behind them. 

Darkness consumed the room once more, and April could only hear slight shuffling and groaning. That had to be Sterling. 

“Get off–” Sterling’s voice suddenly echoed–it was raspy and exhausted. 

April barely stopped herself from yelping in surprise as a body crashed to the floor–Sterling.

She could only stare at her girlfriend. Sterling was facedown on the wooden floor, her eyes screwed shut in pain. She tried to push herself up, only to immediately fall back down, apparently too weak to support her own weight. 

“C’mon, just get her up.” came Dr. Jordan’s voice once again. He sounded impatient, as if this whole thing was one big inconvenience. April could barely breathe. She could only watch in horror as hands wrapped around Sterling’s biceps and forcefully pulled her off the ground and to her feet. Sterling’s knees buckled beneath her, and she nearly fell to the ground again before the security guard grabbed her. 

He practically threw her back into her bed, apparently unmoved by her groans of pain. 

April’s vision became blurry with tears. This had been happening every night?

Ava approached the bed and grabbed Sterling’s arm, ignoring her weak protests. “Forget the past five hours and go to sleep.” she whispered, and April half-wondered if she was imagining the remorse in her voice. 

Sterling dropped against the mattress like a brick, and a brief quiet filled the room. “C’mon.” Dr. Jordan’s voice pierced the air once again. Has he always sounded so menacing? “She needs some time to recover.”

April could scarcely control her rage at hearing that. 

They made their way to the door, leaving the room in silence. April let out a shaky breath. The twins were motionless, knocked out like a light from Ava’s powers. 

Steeling herself, April pushed herself out from under the bed, getting to her feet. She glanced between the sisters, shaking her head. This was so much worse than she could’ve imagined. 

She approached Blair first, resting a hand on her shoulder and giving her a firm shake. 

She didn’t stir. 

April sighed, grabbing both of the girl’s shoulders and shaking her more forcefully. 

This did the trick, but only after April practically tossed her off the bed. 

“What happened?” Blair cried, sitting straight up and almost slamming directly into April’s forehead. “What’s going on?”

“They brought back Sterling.” April replied, jerking back to avoid a possible concussion.“What?” Blair asked, shaking her head. “That can’t be–”

She cut herself off as soon as she noticed Sterling lying motionless on her bed.

“Oh.” she breathed, swallowing. “That bitch.”

April nodded her agreement. “That bitch.”

“So she–”

“–told you to forget what happened and go to sleep.” April filled in.

“Damn it.” Blair hissed, punching her pillow. “I told myself I wouldn’t–”

“It’s okay, Blair.” April interrupted. “There wasn’t anything you could’ve done.”

Blair nodded miserably, but she didn’t say anything. 

April took a breath, turning back to look at Sterling. “We should probably wake her up, too.” she said solemnly. 

“Yeah.” Blair agreed. “She’d want us to.”

April swallowed the dread in her throat, approaching Sterling’s bed and switching on the lamp she kept on her bedside table. 

“Oh no…” Blair breathed, coming to a stop next to her. 

Sterling didn’t look good. Her pale skin was adorned with all manner of scrapes, cuts, and bruises. April could’ve vomited at the dark coloring under her left eye–the beginnings of a black eye were clear. Had she always been this skinny?

Aside from the surface level injuries, Sterling was tense–her limbs seemed to tremble, even as she slept. Her eyes moved wildly behind her eyelids and the occasional jerk of her arms and legs were enough evidence that her sleep was not sound. 

No wonder she’d been so tired for so many months. Tortured every night and only given a few hours to recover. April had no doubt that the evidence of this night would disappear by morning–Sterling’s healing was fast enough. 

April didn’t want to wake her up. She needed rest, she needed to sleep–

“April, we have to leave.” Blair said severely. “Tonight.”

Which meant Sterling had to wake up. April clenched her jaw, steeling herself and resting a gentle hand on Sterling’s shoulder. She shook her hesitantly, not wanting to startle her more than necessary. 

But there was nothing she could do when Sterling jerked away with a slight yelp, snapping her eyes open and throwing herself away from April’s grasp. Her breaths came in short, terrified gasps, and April couldn’t get a word in before she was hugging her knees, cowering at the corner of her bed. 

“Sterl.” April managed. “Sterl, it’s me.”

“You’re safe.” Blair added, and April could hear the strain in her voice–the emotions threatening to overwhelm her. “We’re here. It’s over.”

Slowly, Sterling began to calm down. Her head was still buried in her knees, but her breathing began to even out as the minutes passed. 

Careful not to touch her, April whispered a trail of soothing words as Sterling collected herself. The girl was still as tense as a bowstring, but at least she wasn’t hyperventilating anymore. 

“I’ll get you some water.” Blair spoke up, and April felt a slight breeze against her side as Blair sped towards their bathroom. In seconds, she was back, a full glass of water clutched in her right hand. April was surprised she hadn’t spilled any, especially with how fast she’d moved.

She held it out for Sterling, waiting patiently for Sterling to reach for the glass herself. Sure enough, after a few tense seconds, Sterling hesitantly lifted her head and met their eyes, reaching for Blair’s outstretched hand.

April fought off a shocked gasp as Sterling met their gaze.

Her eyes…

They were still the same bright blue color, but an angry red ring surrounded the edges of her iris. The blood vessels in her eyes had clearly burst at some point during the night. 

Sterling didn’t seem to notice, grabbing the glass and taking a few hesitant sips. 

April turned to glance at Blair, noting that she had a similar look of shock and horror covering her face. April knew Blair was internally asking the same question she was.

What did they do to her?

Chapter Text

It took nearly an hour for Sterling to fully calm down. Even after, she was still incredibly tense, nearly shaking with lingering nerves. She didn’t remember what had happened in the lab at all, but it clearly hadn’t been pleasant. 

Her injuries were starting to heal–the black eye was fading into a light green and her smaller cuts and gashes had already begun to close. Her eyes were just as jarring as they’d been, but April figured they would probably heal within the next couple hours.

Sterling had startled herself when she looked in the mirror, staring at her reflection with an open mouth. “My eyes…” she whispered, her fingers trailing the skin just beneath the bottom of her left eye. “What happened?”

“I don’t know, Sterl.” April said, shaking her head. “Could’ve been too much exertion? Maybe you used your powers too much?”

Sterling frowned. “I hate that I can’t remember anything.” she said.

“Maybe it's a blessing.” Blair said from outside the bathroom door. She was shoving clothes into a duffle bag at incredible speed, packing for both herself and Sterling while April tried to help Sterling relax. “It probably wasn’t something you want to remember.”

“Yeah.” Sterling replied quietly, her hand falling back to her side. “I guess.”

“We’re gonna get out of here.” April assured her, reaching to take her hand. “It’ll be over soon.”

Sterling offered her a slight smile, but it was tight around the edges. 

They didn’t have time to go to April’s dorm to get her stuff–they couldn’t afford to get caught in the school by a hallway monitor or something. Thankfully, April didn’t have anything especially sentimental she was leaving behind. Blair packed some extra clothes in her bag for April to borrow and then they were leaving, creeping through the dark school as quietly as they could. 

It was nearly 6:00 am–only a couple hours before classes were set to start. Hopefully they wouldn’t run into any teachers or administrators who arrived earlier. 

The walk through the school was uneventful, aside from a few close calls with the hallway monitors and a janitor who (thankfully) was wearing headphones when Sterling tripped over her own feet as they turned a corner.

Before they knew it, they had exited the building and were making their way to the outer gate. There was no real exit aside from the main gate, which usually had guards or administrators standing watch, but April was confident they could find a way through–after all, her powers literally let her phase through objects, and, weak as she was, Sterling could definitely still bend a few steel bars. 

Yet, that plan fell apart as soon as they got within ten feet of the gate. 

A slight ringing registered in April’s ears, and she cringed at the annoying sound, reaching a hand up to cup her ear. 

Blair let out a similar wince, but Sterling’s reaction was different. 

She came to a complete stop, her eyes widening with fear. “We…we gotta go, we can’t be here–that sound–”

“Sterling, what’s wrong?” Blair asked, brows furrowed as she turned back to face her sister, who wouldn’t stop retreating from the gate. 

“We can’t–that sound hurts, it’s going to hurt you–”

“Sterling, calm down,” Blair tried, approaching her sister while April stared back at the fence. The sound still buzzed in her ear, and April noted the small speaker attached to the top most part of the fence. They were all along the fence, mounted every ten feet or so. Curious, April tried to use her powers, yanking at that ever-present tug in her gut and willing her hand to become as light as a feather. 

To her surprise, it was much harder than usual. 

So that’s what the speakers were for. 

She turned to find Sterling still muttering to herself while Blair tried to calm her down. The sun was just starting to peak above the horizon, casting bright beams onto the dewy grass on which they stood. 

They were running out of time. 

“Blair, it’s the speakers.” April said, pointing towards the fence. “They block our powers.”

“Hurts, hurts–” Sterling muttered, shaking her head and trembling. She was panicking, barely even aware of where they were.

“Sterl,” April tried, reaching out to take Sterling’s hand. Sterling just snatched her hand back, still shaking her head. “Please, it’s okay. We don’t have to go over there–we don’t have to hear the sound.”

Sterling paused, glancing up at her with a hesitant look. 

“I promise.” April continued. “We’ll find another way out.”

But that was exactly the problem. As far as she could tell, there was no other way out. The speakers were mounted too high to reach and possibly destroy, and Sterling wouldn’t go within fifteen feet of the fence, too afraid of the sound, which meant that it would be a challenge to get her to try and telekinetically destroy the speaker. Plus, she was in shambles–focusing enough to use her powers with any accuracy would be difficult.

“What do we do?” Blair asked, clearly coming to the same conclusion. “I can run around the campus–see if there are any gaps? It would only take a few minutes.” 

April sighed, shaking her head. She doubted there were any gaps in the academy security, especially considering exactly what was going on at this school. But what else was there to do?

She racked her brain for any alternative. They could go back to their room, maybe pretend like nothing happened? Then go from there and plan an actual escape?

But no–it was only a matter of time before Ava spilled her guts. She was too scared not to. 

Sterling had started to calm down, but she still stared at the gate warily, clearly afraid to get any closer. The sound had faded out of earshot, but April still felt it in her head, in her teeth. She could only imagine the pain it would cause in close quarters. 

It seemed Sterling was highly aware of what it could do, which meant she had definitely encountered it at some point. April was willing to bet that it wasn’t a pleasant experience.

“April?” Blair questioned, brows furrowed in concern. 

“I don’t know.” April replied honestly. “I don’t know.” 

Silence settled over the three of them. 

“Blair, run the campus,” April finally decided. “Maybe there’s a weakness somewhere–”

Before she could say anymore, she was cut off as Blair grunted in pain. April turned to find her staring at her arm in shock, where the brightly colored feather of a tranquilizer dart had embedded itself. “Oh shit.”

“Blair–”

Blair dropped like a pile of bricks. 

“I always find it’s easiest to deal with the speedsters first.” Came a familiar, menacing voice from behind them. “They’re a little…hard to get a hold of sometimes.”

April felt frozen in place, too afraid to move. In front of her, Sterling had an expression of pure dread on her face, and she slowly turned to face the voice.

Steeling herself, April forced herself to do the same, unsurprised to find Dr. Jordan walking towards them, a knowing smile on his face. He was surrounded by a squadron of security, each armed with a tranquilizer gun. There must have been at least ten of them, forming a solid mass behind Dr. Jordan as he approached.

“Now.” Dr. Jordan said, tilting his head curiously as he came to a stop a few feet in front of them. “Where do you think you’re going?” 

They stared at each other for a long moment. April stole a glance at her girlfriend, only to find that Sterling was focused entirely on the man in front of her. Her hands were clenched into fists, her legs tensed. She was prepared to run at any moment. 

April ached at the thought. There was nowhere to go. 

“Ava told me about your little investigation.” Dr. Jordan said, offering April a small nod. “Impressive–but ultimately useless.”

April didn’t reply. 

The tension in the air was stifling. 

“Take them.”

April barely had time to register what was going on before Sterling was moving, launching herself forward and ramming her fist into the helmet of one of the guards. She launched another one across the yard with the jerk of her arm, turning to deal with the other one who closed in on her. She really had improved - she moved with a grace and speed that April had never seen from her. In seconds, two of the guards were out of commission and Sterling was already moving to deal with the others. 

She went for a punch, only to come face to face with some sort of gun-shaped device held by one of the guards. Before she could do any harm, the guard had flipped a switch on the side, and April nearly fell to the ground at the sound coming from the end of the device. It was that same sound coming from the speakers at the fence, only five times more loud and intense. 

The guard pressed it towards Sterling’s face and she crumpled, biting back a scream as she desperately reached up to cover her ears. 

April moved to help, only for another guard to shove one of the devices in her face. 

The pain was blinding–the sound pierced her ears and rattled her teeth. It felt as though her brain was melting under the sheer force of it. Unable to hold off a groan, April fell to the grass, uselessly covering her ears in some attempt to block out the noise. 

“Mutants can actually hear at a frequency humans can’t,” Dr. Jordan helpfully supplied, walking towards Sterling. April could barely focus, could barely hear him over the sheer noise in her head. How often had they done this? How often had Sterling been on the wrong side of a device like this?

Dr. Jordan retrieved a small, circular item from his suit jacket pocket as he approached Sterling, who was still spasming underr the force of the device. The guard held it mere inches from her face, keeping her grounded and unable to react. “These devices are so handy, don’t you think? Really makes dealing with mutants a lot easier.”

Through her haze of pain and panic, April could barely make out Dr. Jordan kneeling over Sterling, affixing something to her neck. Was that a collar?

“Gentlemen, enough,” He said, waving at the guards. 

April could’ve cried as the guard stepped back, flipping the switch on the device once more and leaving them in a blissful silence. Her ears still rang, and she just barely managed to get to her feet, unsteady and dazed. 

In front of her, Dr. Jordan was hauling Sterling off the grass, yanking her arm up and pulling her to her feet. 

She wobbled, but managed to stay upright, giving Dr. Jordan an angry glare. 

April’s eyes caught on the sliver of metal encircling the base of her throat. She’d been right–it was a collar. Sleek and thin, but definitely a collar. 

Sterling’s hands reached up to clutch the metal, her eyes widening as she realized what was there. 

Desperately, she tried removing it, ignoring Dr. Jordan as he began to speak. 

“Sterling had been our most promising candidate in years.” he said, turning to face April. “We couldn’t let her get away from us that easily.

“Candidate for what?” April spat, shaking her head. “You’ve been torturing her!” 

“Not torture.” Dr. Jordan corrected, unbothered. “Just…testing.”

“What for?” April practically yelled. 

Behind Dr. Jordan, Sterling was still trying to get the collar off, yanking at it with all her super strength. Nothing seemed to work. 

Giving up, she turned to face April, her face scared and concerned. 

“Do you really think our government would ignore so much untapped power?” Dr. Jordan asked, laughing incredulously. “Sterling has the strength of dozens of regular soldiers, and that’s with her powers suppressed and unrefined. Imagine what she could do with no limits, with no hesitation? Imagine what all you mutants could do?”

April could only stare at him. How had she ever seen this man as warm? As kind? He was insane, his eyes shining with mania as he spoke. 

“April, imagine how that could be used.”

Behind them, Sterling’s eyes had begun to widen. She was starting to panic again. 

“She would never, never help you.” April spat. 

Dr. Jordan only smiled at her, which left April at a loss. What was going on?

“April, you have to run.” Sterling spoke up, her voice raspy and emotional. “Now. Please.”

April turned to look at her, finding her girlfriend staring at her with unshed tears. Her hand grasped uselessly at the collar, but they both knew it wouldn’t be easily removed. “Sterling–”

“No, you have to go,” she said, swallowing as Dr. Jordan approached and reached a hand into his pocket. “I’m going to hurt you, he’s going to make me–”

She abruptly cut herself off with a scream of pain as Dr. Jordan pointed a remote at the collar. Falling to the ground once again, she looked up at the man with pure hatred shining in her eyes, breathing heavily as she pawed at the collar.

April saw red. Had he just shocked her?

“We tried the drugs for a bit,” Dr. Jordan said, smiling as he glanced between Sterling and April. “But they’re so hit or miss–they didn’t exactly work with Sam, made him too aggressive, too angry and unstable.”

“Sam?” Sterling managed. “Is that what happened to him?”

“Not exactly.” Dr. Jordan replied. “He was no longer a viable candidate after one too many doses, so…we decided to use him to test your potential at the school match.”

“That was you.” April breathed. “She almost died, you son of a bitch!”

“On the contrary, actually.” Dr. Jordan said, unbothered by April’s aggression. He knew he had them trapped. “Sterling passed the test with flying colors.”

Sterling was still staring at April, silently urging her to run, to flee while she still had the chance. But April didn’t have anywhere to go. The guard with the device was still only feet away–she doubted she’d be able to get very far before he activated it, and April really didn’t want that to happen again. 

“The drugs fared better on Sterling, certainly, but there were still issues. Side effects. Resistance.” Dr. Jordan continued, clearly committed to the whole ‘evil villain monologue’ thing. “We didn’t want another Sam, so we switched gears.”

He turned to face Sterling, holding up the remote with a gleeful smile. “As it turns out, the collar and the implant are a lot more effective.”

“April, please run.” Sterling was begging her now.

April was starting to get an inkling of what this collar was going to do. Her stomach sank with dread as Dr. Jordan turned to look at her, offering a careless shrug. 

“And what better time to have a field test run,” he said, pointing the remote at Sterling. “Than right now?”

Without another word, he pressed one of the buttons on the remote. 

For a few paralyzing moments, April wasn’t sure what happened. Then she looked over at her girlfriend, only to find Sterling standing ramrod straight, her eyes unfocused and unseeing. Her face was expressionless and she was barely moving. 

Shit.

“Sterling.” Jordan said, a wicked smile on his face. “Can you hear me?”

“Yes, sir.” Sterling immediately replied, her voice cold and emotionless. 

Fuck.

“Your opponent is April.” Jordan spoke, his voice clear and loud. “No rules–fight until one of you can’t go on.”

April had only seconds to register his words before Sterling was shooting towards her, her hands clenched into fists and her face hard and cold. 

April hit the ground like a sack of potatoes, painfully rolling across the lawn from the force of Sterling’s sudden blow to her chest. She groaned, just able to see Sterling approaching from where she’d been standing.

Well. This was maybe the worst thing that could’ve happened.

April clenched her fists, steeling her nerves and pushing herself off the ground. She was going to have to use her powers if she wanted to survive this.

She would have to win if she wanted to survive this. 

Without letting herself think, she threw herself into the fight.

At risk of sounding dramatic, April was getting her ass kicked. 

This was due to a couple different reasons, but mainly just lack of practice. April had never applied her abilities in a combat setting before. Hell, she had just barely started using her abilities to steal some snacks and break into a couple rooms. 

Sterling, on the other hand, had been going through brutal training for months, perfecting this exact skill and style of fighting.

So, yeah. It wasn’t a very even competition. 

It had taken a number of mistakes and trials before April was able to vaguely latch onto Sterling’s rhythm and learn to dodge or phase through her strikes. Going on offense was an entirely different story–the only time she’d been able to land a hit was when Sterling had been close to dropping a hundred pound mound of dirt on her. Call it animal instinct, but her powers had reacted enough for her to wildly strike out at Sterling's leg and break her focus enough to dodge the mound.

She groaned, spitting up a mouthful of blood onto the grass as Sterling continued her onslaught, marching towards her with empty, cold eyes. April’s body was already aching in about twelve different places and she’d lost track of how many times she’d been tossed across the lawn like a sack of potatoes. 

And it was Sterling doing that to her. 

Another reason she was getting her ass kicked was the difference in commitment between the two of them. April’s powers could easily do a lot of damage–that was not something she was concerned about. What she was concerned about was doing damage to her loving, sensitive girlfriend who cried every time she stepped on an ant. 

Unfortunately, that was not the girlfriend who was currently trying to kill her.

Gritting her teeth, she forced herself to her feet and met Sterling’s eyes. They were still that angry red, somehow even more so than they’d been before. Her face was covered in scratches and lingering bruises, and she favored her left leg when she walked – a result of one of the few hits April had landed. 

And yet, Sterling seemed wholly unaffected. Entirely committed to her goal. 

It was kind of haunting. 

And it gave April a fresh wave of motivation. Sterling wasn’t doing this–Dr. Jordan was. And if the only way to get out of this was to win, that’s what April would do. 

Steeling herself, she finally stopped holding back. 

Sterling had her outmatched in a lot of ways–hand-to-hand combat, quick reflexes, familiarity of battle, and especially lack of free thought. 

But if Sterling wanted to do any damage, she would have to catch her. 

In seconds, she had centered herself, fully tapping into that tugging in her gut so that adjusting her own density was as easy as breathing in and out. 

She rushed forward, ducking the swing of Sterling’s fist and phasing through the attempts at her power to latch onto her. After just barely dodging another attempted strike, April found an opening. 

As Sterling lurched forward to grab her, April lowered her density enough to phase through her girlfriend, smoothly emerging on the other side of her strike. Without wasting a second, she took in a breath and forced her arm to become as heavy as a car– as a building. 

Without letting herself think about it, she slammed her fist into the space between Sterling’s shoulder blades with as much force as she could muster.

The hit was enough to send Sterling sailing across the lawn with a cry of pain. April’s chest seized as she watched her girlfriend land in the grass almost fifty feet away, rolling painfully across the ground. 

She didn’t move for a brief, terrifying moment. 

April was already sprinting. 

She stumbled to the grass next to Sterling, her eyes already shining with tears. How–what did she do?

Sterling was groaning, trying and failing to get up. 

But something was different–in her posture, in the sounds she made. It wasn’t the same Sterling who’d mercilessly tried to kill her. 

Somehow, the shock of April’s punch had broken her free of the collar’s control. 

“You need to run.” Sterling breathed, her voice labored and raspy. She kept her eyes pointed towards the grass. “I’m resisting it right now, but it won’t last–”

“Sterling, I won’t leave you–”

“One of us is going to die.” Sterling replied fiercely, whipping her head towards April. Her eyes were wide and crazed, pain clear in their depths. “I’d rather it be me.”

April was at a loss for words, her mouth dry at the intensity of Sterling’s stare. 

“Get Blair and run.” she forced, flecks of blood spilling from her mouth as she spoke. 

Cold realization washed over April as she stared. Sterling was right. This couldn’t end in any way but one of them dying–either at the hands of each other or by Dr. Jordan’s hands once they couldn’t go on. 

Sterling was finally able to lift herself up. “April!” she yelled. “GO–”

Her own scream cut off her words as Dr. Jordan activated the shock collar. 

April barely had time to react before Sterling’s arm lashed out and shoved her back, her superstrength sending April stumbling to the ground. 

The collar had taken control again. 

They’d managed to drift closer towards the stadium, probably a hundred yards out from where everything started. April couldn’t even see where Blair was lying anymore. She had to hope that Dr. Jordan was too distracted with April and Sterling to think about the possibility of Blair waking up. 

Glancing between Dr. Jordan and Sterling (who was approaching startlingly fast after taking such a hard hit), a smirk made its way onto her face. Dr. Jordan was distracted by their fight–distracted enough to leave himself with only a token force of soldiers. The others lingered far behind them, monitoring the lawn to make sure no one interrupted.

Which meant April had an opening.

Without giving herself much time to think, she scrambled to her feet, just barely dodging a kick from Sterling, who seemed almost strained in her movements–as if April’s punch had managed to somewhat disrupt the collar’s influence. 

Or maybe April was seeing what she wanted to see. 

Regardless, she couldn’t focus on Sterling now. Not when Dr. Jordan was vulnerable. 

She dashed over to where the man was standing, meeting his eyes with a slight sneer as she thundered towards him. 

With no time to react, Dr. Jordan was forced to take the fist to the gut, gasping in pain and crumpling to the ground within seconds. 

April’s immediate consequence for that was another device shoved straight into her face from one of the guards. She stumbled, falling to the ground as the horrible ringing filled her ears once again. Her teeth shook, her eyes watered, and the pressure behind her head was torturous. 

She could scarcely pay attention to what was going on around her, too distracted by the piercing pain in her head. Dr. Jordan was speaking, muttering short, angry words into his walkie-talkie, but April couldn’t hear him. 

Yet, she was plenty able to hear his next orders for Sterling. 

“Kill her.” 

Well. Fuck. 

The grasp of Sterling’s telekinesis was nothing short of bizarre. It felt as though real hands were grabbing April’s arms and pulling her up, wrapping around her torso and trapping her within their grasp. 

As Sterling pulled her closer, she was distantly grateful that that godforsaken noise had ceased. 

At least she would die in relative peace. 

Thoughts of her oncoming death consumed as she finally came to a stop in front of Sterling, helpless to do much but watch. Maybe before, she might’ve been able to phase through Sterling’s bonds, but now it wasn’t much use. She could feel how much strength Sterling was putting into making sure April didn’t do exactly that–and April wasn’t entirely sure she had the skill or precision to dodge literal telekinesis.

They stared at each other for a beat, and April’s heart clenched when she met Sterling’s eyes. Still blood red–still empty. 

“Kill her.” Jordan repeated, eyes trained solely on April. 

Sterling didn’t move, and April swallowed, mouth dry with horrible anticipation. “You don’t have to do that, Sterling.” she nearly whispered, trying desperately to find the words. 

Still, Sterling didn’t move. Her limbs seemed to tremble as she struggled against herself. Her face still hadn’t changed, and her eyes seemed just as empty as ever. 

“Kill her!” Jordan hissed, apparently impatient. 

At once, April’s telekinetic bonds became exponentially tighter, and she groaned, uselessly struggling in the air. “Sterling, stop.” she managed breathlessly. 

Sterling did not stop, in fact. She instead raised her hand and slammed April down into the dirt. 

The impact rocked April’s being, and as Sterling approached to finish the job, April knew there was nothing left in her to defend herself. 

Sterling reached down to pick her up by the collar of her t-shirt, and April could do nothing but let her. As she was raised up to eye level, she couldn’t help the tears pricking at her eyes. Sterling would kill her. 

And Sterling would never forgive herself. 

“It’s okay, Sterl.” April whispered, her voice cracking. “It’s not you.”

Sterling didn’t move, but the fist she’d raised didn’t move either. 

Just when April thought it might be the end, Sterling’s fist wavered completely, lowering just the slightest bit, and when April looked up to meet her eyes, Sterling’s were conflicted and emotional. 

“Sterling.” April murmured, an involuntary smile creeping onto her face. 

“Stop.” Dr. Jordan’s demanding voice came from behind, and Sterling stiffened in response. Jordan was approaching, and it seemed he hadn’t seen Sterling wavering–hadn’t seen her inner conflict. 

He thought she was completely under his control. 

“Enough, Sterling.” he said, and Sterling let go of April’s shirt, letting her fall back to the dirt. April, confused, looked up at Jordan with hateful eyes. 

When she met his gaze, she wished she wasn’t so afraid of the menacing edge hovering just behind his smile. 

“For an untrained, useless mutant like you, you held your own for a while.” he said thoughtfully, scratching his chin and looking between her and Sterling. “You could be a good candidate for our program, Stevens.”

April’s heart dropped. 

“Sterling, go ahead and grab her and your sister and bring them to the lab for me.” Jordan said, waving at Sterling. 

Sterling didn’t move. 

“Wesley.” Jordan snapped after one beat too many. “I gave you an order.”

Sterling swallowed, and when she answered, she looked right at April. “I know.” she said, her voice raspy and cold. “I just don’t care.”

Lightning fast, her arm shot out and she wrapped her hand around Dr. Jordan’s throat, lifting him into the air as if he weighed less than nothing. Desperately, he reached for his remote, for some way to stop Sterling, but Sterling was too fast. 

Right as he made to press a button on his remote, Sterling grabbed the device and crushed it between her fingers, letting the remnants fall back to the grass.

The guards made an approach, yelling orders and hefting their guns into the air. Sterling simply threw Dr. Jordan into them, pushing them all back to the ground. 

April watched in horrified amazement as Sterling leapt into battle. As much damage as she’d done during their exchange, it was clear that, despite everything, Sterling had still been holding back. 

Now, though? Now she was letting loose. 

She flew into the crowd of guards, and within seconds, they were either dead or unconscious, their megaphone-devices crushed and destroyed. Jordan desperately tried to crawl away, but it was no use. Sterling simply walked over to him, throwing him onto his back and planting a food solidly on his chest, pinning him to the ground with a hateful glare. 

“Sterling, please.” he begged, and April could only watch with some sort of sick satisfaction, hobbling to her feet and making her way over to the exchange. 

She could see distantly that Blair was beginning to awaken too–those darts normally lasted hours, but Blair’s metabolism moved faster than most. In seconds, she’d joined April’s side to watch the end of this terrible ordeal. 

“I made you perfect.” Dr. Jordan hissed, struggling to escape. Sterling just stared at him. 

“You made me into a weapon.” she replied, her voice soft. “And I’m not going to let you do that to anyone else.”

Sterling crouched down, swiftly and purposely snapping the man’s neck. 

And just like that, it was over. 

They didn’t speak as they hobbled towards the fence. Sterling launched a rock at one of the speakers at probably ninety miles an hour and then they were free. 

Bending the bars of the fence was child’s play, and from there, the world was open to them. 

April was still heavily injured, walking between the other two while relying on their support to stay upright. 

“We need somewhere to rest.” April said after about an hour of walking. “We’re all exhausted, and Sterling hasn’t gotten any sleep for like 24 hours.”

Sterling swallowed and nodded, a frown twisting her lips. 

“Well, we’re all insanely talented mutants!” Blair said with a strained smile. “It shouldn’t be that hard to sneak into a motel or something.”

Hours later, collapsed next to Sterling on a shitty twin bed, April finally let herself relax. “I’m so glad you’re okay, Sterling.” She muttered, confident in the fact that Blair would not be moving from her unconscious state for at least a couple hours–she was the heaviest sleeper April knew. 

Sterling clenched her jaw, not meeting April’s eyes. “I almost killed you.” She murmured. “I’m–I’m sorry.”

April knew this would be a point of argument for them. “You know that wasn’t you, Sterling.” she replied softly. “I know it wasn’t, and I’m not upset about it.”

“But–”

“Dr. Jordan did this.” April said firmly, reaching over to brush the metal collar still locked around Sterling’s neck. “He…he did this.”

Sterling swallowed at the mention of the collar, and she reached up to grab it herself. “Yeah.” she agreed. “But I…I killed those people. I killed him.”

“With reason.” April replied. “They wanted to hurt us.You saved us. And we’ll find a way to get it off.”

Sterling nodded, still looking unsure, and April moved closer, leaning into her side with a sigh. 

“So where do we go now?” April asked, shaking her head. “We’re kind of…alone.”

Sterling shrugged, agreeing. “I guess Georgia.” she replied after a long beat. “That’s where our family is…”

Neither of them mentioned that the school likely wouldn’t let them go that easily. 

“We’ll figure it out tomorrow.” April decided, wrapping her arms around Sterling’s center and breathing a heavy, exhausted sigh. “Right now, I’m just happy we’re all okay.”

“Me too.” Sterling said, leaning closer. “I…I love you, April.”

April allowed a small, overjoyed smile to creep onto her face before she looked up at Sterling. “I love you, too, Sterling.”

Curled up in Sterling’s arms in the middle of a shitty motel room, April fell asleep faster than she had in years. And by the time the morning arrived, she was sure it had been the best sleep of her life. 

If not the best, then definitely the happiest.