Mind Over Easy (8 page)

"Welcome to Go Home Alien's Treasure Chapter." The perky woman at the table looked proud of every word she'd uttered. "How can I help you, young lady?"

Natalie stood up straight. "I'm Natalie Dormer. I believe you guys are expecting me."

PART TWO

Chapter 12

Natalie realized she must have been a little early to the GHA meeting, as at least a hundred more members showed up to the abandoned factory after she had. She probably couldn't even call it an abandoned factory anymore – after all, the inside looked more like a posh country club than a dilapidated example of the state's crumbling industrial work. The massive space had been broken down into expansive rooms with white walls and chandeliers. She expected the facility would see more wedding guests than factory workers, going forward.

A crowd of parents with their young children gathered around a video monitor. Natalie adjusted her trial member's badge and walked over. The screen showed two teenagers laughing with an upbeat, excessively happy song playing in the background. Natalie recognized them immediately. A graphic on the screen memorialized the Torellos' deaths and intercut a touched-up photograph with the security footage of Ted throwing one of Nigel's goons through the jukebox.

They're teaching everybody to hate Ted
, she thought.

Natalie felt a hand on her back. After suppressing her instinct to punch whoever it was, she turned to find herself face-to-face with Travis Conner.

"I'm in that video, you know." Travis tugged at the bandage on his free hand. "It's being used in every GHA meeting in the U.S. I'm kind of famous."

Natalie wanted to ignore him. She knew exactly how he'd injured that hand, and even though she wasn't speaking to Dhiraj, there was nothing manly about three-on-one odds.

"Fame can be good." Natalie looked away from him and back toward the video, which was starting over from the beginning. "If you're famous for the right reasons."

Travis stood in front of her to block the view. "I've been told I'm supposed to show you around."

"They trust you with that much responsibility?" Natalie let out a chuckle. "You can't even throw a decent right cross."

Travis rubbed his bandage. "You know, I'm surprised you're even here." He placed his hands on Natalie's shoulders. "Using your real name, too. That's bold, seeing as you used to date the 'hero' himself."

Natalie placed Travis' hands back by his sides.

"Trying to be with the new Ted has gotten me stabbed in the back, literally, and double-crossed, figuratively," she said. "I think I'm in the right place."

Travis stuck his lips out a bit as he nodded. "Can I see it?" Travis gestured toward her back.

Natalie raised her eyebrows. "Seriously?"

Travis grinned. "Scars are cool."

Even though she tended to stay away from jocks, the smile helped Natalie understand why Travis rarely found himself without company. The way his face lit up compelled her to comply.

Natalie obliged, turning around and lifting up her shirt just enough to show the scar.

"Ted did that?" Travis asked.

Natalie pulled her shirt down quickly and glared at her peer.

"You know he didn't," Natalie said. "It was Nigel. The murderer who was working with your two friends, one of whom tried to kill Dhiraj with a rock."

Travis looked around in either direction and led Natalie away to a quiet corner. Natalie was surprised to see such concern on his face.

"Hey, you need to be quiet about that kind of stuff here, OK?" Travis looked convinced that someone would discover them at any moment. "I know about Jason and Phil. I realize Ted was only protecting you and your friends."

It didn't seem to add up for Natalie.

"Then why are you here?"

Travis looked at his watch. "We have a few minutes. Why don't I show you around?"

Natalie considered sticking with the crowd. After all, she didn't know what Travis was capable of. Then again, he didn't want to throw her out for speaking the truth about the Torellos. She figured that was a good sign.

Natalie nodded and Travis opened a door to an unpopulated part of the building.

He showed off the building's various renovations, including a state-of-the-art cafeteria, a conference room and several holding cells. The row of cells caught Natalie's attention. With the musty smell and the dim lighting, she wondered if the hall was one of the few parts of the building that had avoided renovation.

"Why would you need these?" she asked.

"If any of our members go out of bounds, we give them a little time to cool off." Travis tapped a metal door with his good hand. "The gentleman who threw the green paint balloons spent a couple of hours in this one."

When they reached the door they'd first entered, Natalie stopped her tour guide by the arm.

"I appreciate you showing me around, but you haven't told me why you're willing to lie about the Torellos."

The mild smile on Travis' face went away. He let a shallow breath out of his nose.

"Jason and Phil's parents needed something to latch onto." Travis paced away from Natalie and back. "I'd been over their house a hundred times. The movement gave them exactly what they wanted: someone to blame. It's a lot easier to blame Ted than something you can't see."

Natalie watched Travis as he moved back and forth. She wasn't sure what made the sympathy rise up inside, but her once-brash tone had faded to sincere.

"I'm sorry they had to deal with that, but why are you here if you know the truth? You know that Ted isn't an alien."

Travis chuckled. When he did, Natalie could see his slightly crooked smile. She found herself kind of liking it.

"I was in kindergarten with Ted. I know he's not an alien. GHA isn't nefarious or evil. It's about pride and safety for people who are afraid of change."

They shared a moment of eye contact before a knock on the door startled the both of them. A scrawny classmate of theirs by the name of Nick poked his head around.

"It's time to meet about Operation Home Front." Nick turned his rat-like face toward Natalie. "What's she doing here?"

Travis walked up to Natalie with a knowing smirk. He took her hand. She felt a pang of nervousness in her stomach. Natalie knew Travis had hurt Dhiraj, but she didn't want him to go away. When he moved his face toward hers, she could have pushed, punched or kicked him so he never tried anything like that again. Instead, she let him. The chance to feel something like she'd felt with Ted was too good to pass up. His lips parted and they shared a deep kiss. Natalie closed her eyes and put her hand around the back of Travis' neck. The way his mouth moved made her feel alive. When he pulled away from her, Natalie kept her hand on his neck.

"She's a special guest." Travis gave her other hand a squeeze. "I've got to meet with some of the higher-ups about an outreach thing. Find you after the meeting?"

Natalie smiled and let a small sigh escape her lips. Travis seemed to enjoy her reaction a lot more than Nick did. The rat-lookalike gave Natalie one last wrinkle of his nose before the two GHA youth leaders exited. Natalie leaned against the wall and tried to dissect what just happened.

He's terrible
.
Why did I even let him near me?

Natalie wondered if Ted was right that being alone was getting to her. She ignored the thought and walked back into the main area. Chairs had been set up for some kind of presentation, and Natalie found an empty one toward the back. The seats were pointed toward a makeshift stage and a man who seemed to think he was important. When he spoke at the microphone, the tone in his voice was one of vanity and self-congratulation.

"Ladies and gentlemen, you have gone above and beyond the call of duty tonight," he said. "Your recent recruiting efforts have gained us more than 200 local members. Give yourselves a round of applause."

To describe the clapping as thunderous would be selling it short. Fanatical might be the better word, with a few hollers thrown in for good measure. The man at the front of the room held up his hand, and the crowd grew silent.

"Since Ted Finley has emerged with powers seemingly plucked straight from the devil, we've lost a local landmark and several jobs in the process." The man moved across the front, as if trying to connect with every row and column of the group before him. "We've also lost two teens who were very near and dear to our hearts."

Natalie wasn't sure if the man had seen much of the last few years at high school, but the closest the Torellos got to most people's hearts was when they were punching them in the chest.

He continued.

"Truth be told, we don't know what Ted can do. We've seen that he can move objects with his mind, turning anything into a weapon. But who knows what else he can do? Can he control people's minds? Turn a safe area into a radioactive wasteland? And if he can do more than meets the eye, how do we know that he's on our side?"

The man stopped his pacing. "Until we know more, Ted Finley needs to go."

The last bit got a rise out of the crowd. Natalie considered how her life in Treasure would change if Ted were gone. She had trouble convincing herself that it wouldn't be much, much simpler.

"I can tell you beyond a shadow of a doubt that with your help, we will get Ted out of Treasure and protect you and your families from the menace that he has wrought."

Natalie joined into this round of applause, which matched the fervor of the first. She wondered what Ted would think if he saw her clapping at a man who wanted to uproot and dispose of him.

She resolved to no longer think of Ted's feelings and sat on the edge of her chair to listen to the rest of the speech.

Chapter 13

Ted flipped through his old social media photos using his mind to control the keyboard. Erica had told him to practice using his powers for fine motor skills whenever possible. She didn't say he couldn't use that practice to look at pictures of his ex-girlfriend. Dhiraj had taken many of the shots during multiple third-wheel date situations. Ted kept flipping back to a picture of Natalie sitting in his lap at a bowling alley with a goofy smile pasted on her face.

We were happy
, he thought.
She was happy.

Ted kept the picture up on his screen and leaned back in his computer chair. While Natalie was his current top concern, he had a lot that he was still trying to process. There was a growing mob of people who hated him and wanted him to get out of town. The federal government was willing to help him deal with the problem if he left his normal life to fight bad guys full time. And he still had yet to secure his girlfriend as his date to prom.

He was so lost in his thoughts that when his mother knocked on his bedroom door, the computer chair fell completely backward. Ted stopped himself from falling before the chair reached the ground. His mother walked in to see him hovering several inches over the carpet.

"You know, I'm not sure if I'm every going to get used to that." Ted's mom picked up a few stray socks and tossed them into the hamper. "I've called you down for dinner three times. What's going on?"

Ted floated the chair and himself back to an upright position and then swiveled to face her.

"Natalie hates me. The GHA hates me. I still need to ask Erica to prom. I'm overloaded."

Ted put his head in his hands and felt his mother walking toward him. She put her hand on his knee.

"Natalie will never hate you," she said. "These GHA people are scared of the unknown. Your father and I are ignoring them, and we think you should, too."

Ted looked up from his lap. "What do you mean you're ignoring them?"

Ted's mom sighed and forced a smile. "There was an incident at your father's job. Some of his co-workers are part of the group and they vandalized his desk."

Ted stood up and set a wide-eyed gaze on his mother. "Why didn't you tell me?" Ted let out a huff. "I can't believe you kept this from me."

As Ted's heart rate increased, his mother's voice softened.

"It was childish and stupid. And as I said, we're ignoring it. No need to get your tights in a bunch."

Ted planted his feet. "I don't have tights, Mom."

"I really think you should take us up on our offer to make you an outfit." Ted's mom kept a straight face. "It would have a cute red T on the butt."

Ted let himself collapse on the bed next to his mom and the two of them laughed. A few minutes later, Ted was in much better spirits as he ate his meatloaf. There were four places set at the table, despite there only being three of them. At the fourth spot was a tablet set up with an app running that displayed Ted's sister, Christina. She and Ted were nothing alike, from her golden hair to her outgoing personality.

She was walking as she spoke to the three of them, and the camera shuddered with every step.

"You still haven't asked her to prom yet?" Christina waved to someone off camera and continued to walk and talk. "It's in a week, Ted. You're being an idiot."

Ted combined the meat, potatoes and peas all on one fork and munched on it.

"I've been busy!" Ted worked the food around his mouth and away from his tongue. "I had to stop a robbery and–"

"Don't talk with your mouth full," his sister and mother said in unison. They chuckled.

Ted chewed his food and swallowed with the help of a gulp of water. "I had this elaborate plan, but it kind of didn't work."

Christina rolled her eyes at her brother. "Guys like you – you know, dorks – are all about these elaborate plans. Popular girls like LaPlante don't care. They're used to football players being like, 'Hey, can I grind on you at the dance?'"

Ted's father laughed at his daughter's imitation before his wife shot him a discouraging glance.

"She's not like that," Ted said.

"Either way. You're not asking someone to marry you. You just want her to go to the prom."

Ted remembered back to when he'd asked Natalie to homecoming. He'd found a company that printed custom basketballs and had one made up just for the occasion. The look in her eyes was one he would never forget.