The perfect timing

“Reece,” I tried after a few minutes had passed, where we were silently walking next to each other.

“You seem to be fine now,” Reece said, ignoring my try to speak about what just had happened or more not happened.

“Maybe you should let Slade look over you again, when you go back to the M.E next time,” he just continued talking, avoiding the topic of our almost kiss at all costs.

I sighed, stealing another glance at him, but he just stared at the front or sometimes at Ares who was walking a few steps ahead of us. If he really didn’t want to talk about it, I will just let it go, even if I knew it was something that was now added to my list of thinking too much about it.

“Fine,” I whispered then, but load enough for him to hear.

A few days passed and today was the day of Aiden’s big game, so I tried for one day to just think about him and support my best friend. It was against the school, which had won the last three years against them, but I was sure they were going to be amazing, because they had been working really hard. But the team wasn’t the only one.

The last few days had been more than stressful because I was trying to solve so many problems. It was getting harder to look positive into Nancy’s future, because with each day that passed the doctors thought that she wouldn’t wake up anymore. Then there was also me trying to find something that lead me to my mother, though I couldn’t find anything and when I asked my aunt about it, she told me that all the pictures were lost in the last few apartments we had lived in. And to top everything there was still the uncomfortable tension between Reece and me.

Even his sister noticed that something was wrong between us because yesterday she suddenly stood in front of my locker and told me that her brother was acting weirdly. More weirdly than he was already and then when she mentioned my name, he became stiff.

I told Kitty that it was nothing to worry about and that Reece and I would be back to normal in a few days because I didn’t want her to worry about us. However I wasn’t so sure of myself if we could get back to normal again. If he was even acting odd around his sister now, how would be react to seeing me again.

“What are you thinking about?” A voice suddenly interrupted my thoughts leaning against the locker to mine.

“Hey Liam,” I said nodding at his presence. “About everything,” I told him honestly, and he chuckled at my truthfulness.

“Don’t think about everything too much,” he advised me and ruffled my hair with his free hand. In the other one he was holding his sports back. Liam was also a part of Aiden’s team, the captain to more specific. But he seemed so calm compared to his teammates, who were quite nervous and anxious about the game today.

“You know if you think too hard about something you head might explode. Not literally, but you will just worn yourself out and in the end it was most of the time for nothing.”

I thought deeply about his words and Liam was right. Even if my thoughts were more important than thinking about a stupid test for example if I stress myself out so much I might get ill again.

“Thanks Liam,” I smiled at him gratefully and he showed me his white teeth in return.

“Nothing to thank me for.”

“Are you excited for later?” I asked him then changing the subject. “I mean everyone is so nervous about it and here you stand in front of me as calm as ever.”

“Well somebody has to be,” he told me before he left to get to his teammates. The whole team had got the day off, for this big day and nobody was jealous or against it, because everyone in this school was counting on them to win. Baseball was in our school the main sport, like football or soccer was in others.

After school the whole school came together to watch the game o four baseball team. Everyone was supporting them either with banners, signs or just by their presence. It had been a long time since I wa sat one of their games and I remembered the last time was actually with Reece. Or more Reece suddenly appeared next to me during a game. And here was I thinking of him again, but instead I should be thinking about Aiden. So I shook my head to get him out of it and continued walking to my place. Kitty and Aiden were already waiting for me and I waved at them as I came closer.

To my utter surprise Reece was also there and the only available seat was right next to him. Kitty grinned at me as she saw me looking at the place next to her brother. She had planned that whole thing and now neither of us could back out. I saw that Reece must have been thinking the same thing because he gave his sister a dirty look.

“Hey,” I greeted them as I took my place and Eric and Kitty greeted me back, but Reece just grunted some kind of hello. This could be interesting.

But my attention was quickly occupied by something else. The team had just come out, and I saw Aiden looking up into my direction. I grinned at him and waved and he gave me a thumbs up and a big smile in return.

Next to me I heard something or someone grumbled something, so I turned my head towards Reece, who was starring at me openly. But more like he wanted to strangle me than anything else.

“What?” I barked at him, because he was acting rude for no reason.

“Nothing.”

“That didn’t sound like nothing,” I commented, looking at the player so I didn’t have to look at Reece directly. Liam just had walked out and waved at me, which I returned with a big smile. I hoped that they would win today because they deserved it. The guys were always working hard and were so passionate.

“Why are you sitting here?” he then asked me and I turned my head towards him in confusion.

“Because this is the place where the audience sits.”

“Well, I’m sure as his girlfriend you could sit with the rest of the team,” Reece then told me bitterly.

“Wait what?” I said, not believing what I just had heard. Did Reece really thought that something was going on between Aiden and me? And was he jealous? No he couldn’t be. Or could he?

“I don’t know what you are talking about Reece. But I’m hundred percent sure that I’m not in a relationship with my best friend,” I told him a matter of factually. At my determined face, Reece couldn’t say anything else and when the game suddenly began, the both of us looked away from each other, watching the game instead. But his words never left my mind.

After that I tried to concentrate on the game and cheer for my best friend and his team and it looked good for them. They were a few points ahead at the moment and Liam and Aiden were amazing. It was now Aiden’s turn again, and I watched him closely. He was concentrating hard, though he was still smiling, enjoying the game.

He was just raising his bat when a voice suddenly echoed through the stadium.

“Ladies and gentlemen, I know you are here today for this game.” The person then made a dramatic pause, and I looked at the others in confusion. But they were only giving me similar looks. Instead of Reece, who was sitting suddenly tensely in his seat, like he was anticipating the next words.

“But a change of plans, this audience will sleep now,” the voice said and the surrounding whispering suddenly stopped fully. I gazed through the stadium and to my utter shock everyone was knocked out or was more sleeping.

“Shit,” I heard Reece curse next to me and he was about to get up, when we were suddenly addressed.

“Celia, Reece, Kitty and Eric,” the voice began. “But for the four of you I have other plans.”

And all of a sudden she was standing there in the middle of the baseball field. Haley. With an evil smirk on her face and when she clapped into her hands the two teams abruptly tumbled down.

Everyone except for us was now unconscious and Haley was standing there like she owned the place. No, this wasn’t how is is going to be. I needed to stop her.

I then got out of my seat and made my way towards her. Followed by Reece and the two others. While Haley was silently waiting for us Reece was whispering harshly at me.

“Celia, don’t do something stupid,” he advised me, taking my arm, but didn’t stop me from walking. I know, I wasn’t going to jump her. She was dangerous and I wouldn’t act this time carelessly. In the end she would use her powers on me and in the end I could be dead. I never thought really about being six feet under, but now it could be an option. No, this wasn’t how I wanted it to be. I need to be strong, for Nancy, my new friends and Aiden as well as Liam, who were lying unconscious on the ground.

By now we were standing just a few feet away from a relaxed Haley. She was just staring at me, with a tiny smile on her lips.

“Don’t worry they will wake up,” she said as she noticed the glances I was giving my best friend. It really looked like he was sleeping though I couldn’t be sure.

“Why are you doing this?” I tried to ask her as calm as I could, but at the end it still sounded bitter. I also tried to gain some time, to come up with a good plan. Out of the corner of my eye I saw that Reece and Eric had positioned themselves on either of my side, taking Kitty behind them. We weren’t powerless, Eric with his speed and strength and Reece with his ordinary abilities.

“Why?” she laughed out load. “Because this is fun, and I didn’t have much time for fun in the last few years.”

“How can this be fun for you?” Reece growled next to me, mentioning at all the unconscious people around me.

Instead of answering Haley did something nobody expected in that moment. She jumped at me while screaming “I show you what else is fun”.

Under her weight I immediately collapsed to the ground and because I didn’t expect her to make a move. With one of her hands she scratched my cheek and left a bloody mark. With all my strength I tried to lift her away from me, using a trick the teachers at the M.E had shown me. We were rolling on the ground like some wild animals, each of us trying to beat the other one.

And when the others tried to help me and get her off of me, she easily moved away from them. Reece tried to get a grip on her, but she dodged him every time. Even Eric couldn’t get her, what I didn’t really understand, because he was faster than anybody else. Every time they almost had her the guys did something that would lead them to fail.

“Celia, are you alright?” Kitty asked next to me, helping me to get up.

“I’m fine. But what are the guys doing?”

“I don’t know, but it looks funny. Like a game of cat and mouse. You know like Tom and Jerry.”

At her words I wanted to look at her funny because she was mentioning a cartoon during a fight. But at her words I finally understood what Haley was doing.

“You are a genius Kitty,” I then exclaimed and now it was her time to look at me in confusion.

I then tried whispered my plan into her ears and told her what Haley was aiming for.

“Of course,” she mumbled. “Why didn’t we see this earlier?”

The both of us then got into action. The others didn’t notice us because they were still fighting with each other and Haley was still a step ahead of them. It was really like the cat and mouse. Every time they tried to catch her, she would use her power and would make them either slower in Eric’s case or let them do something different in Reece’s case.

But every power had its weakness and from watching her I was sure I had found her. She needed to make eye contact with the person, but what I still didn’t understand was why she was using her power only for a few seconds on them and not fully. But now wasn’t the time to solve that problem.

So I run towards them and Kitty made a run to the steps and get as high as possible. She was going to be my observer or more Reece’s, because he was the key. In such moments I wished I was able to use my own power.

The good thing was that Haley was occupied with Eric, so I could tackle Reece to the ground.

“Celia,” Reece exclaimed at my odd behavior and when I covered his eyes with my hands.

“Good job girl, now you are even helping me,” I heard Haley bark out in laughter, though I just ignored her. Eric please distract her for another while.

“Don’t struggle against me Reece. I didn’t change sides, I just need you to be not under her powers. At the end Reece stopped pushing me away and listened. Slowly I took my hands away from his face to look at his eyes. They had their normal color, and I sighed in relief. This could really work.

After that I told Reece my plan as fast as possible, stealing glances at the other two still fighting. Eric was doing an amazing job at distracting her even if he didn’t know about the plan. It was actually easy, with his powers he could hear Kitty from the top whispering and with her being that high up she could see everything clearly and wasn’t going to make eye contact with Haley. Reece was going to close his eyes and listen to his sisters introductions and so he wouldn’t be under the girls control. The guy next to me listened carefully and to my surprise immediately approved of my plan. Forgotten was our earlier argument because this was important and could decide about living for another day.

Abruptly we heard someone falling to the ground, and it was unfortunately Eric, who had been punched by Haley in the face. How she could be so strong for a petite girl, was against me. But it also said you shouldn’t judge a book by its cover.

“Now,” I then told Reece, and he closed his eyes and listened to his sister. They needed to be the perfect team for that and I hoped everything would work out.

Reece then run towards Haley, who had been looking down on Eric. Of course she noticed him, but this time Reece got a hold of her, because she couldn’t tell him with her power otherwise. This time they really fought against each other and Haley had to absorb a few punches. By now she was really angry, and I used this time to get to Eric, who was still lying on the ground. On my way I made sure to not look into Haley’s eyes.

“Are you okay?” I asked him when I crouched down next to him.

“Yes,” he breathed out. “Don’t worry about me. Go and help Reece,” he advised me and I did after I helped him to sit up properly and told him not to look into the girls eyes and why.

Even if Reece couldn’t be controlled by her now, she was still an equal opponent. They were now fighting a row beneath me and I acted out of impulse and jumped onto her back. The moment of surprise helped me because Haley didn’t saw that coming. Nevertheless she still tried to get me off of her, by turning and shaking aggressively. But I also had put my hands above her eyes and without them she was struggling really hard.

Reece used that to his advantage and gave her a sock to the jaw. She immediately blacked out at the blow and I jumped off her before she collapsed to the ground.

I looked up at Reece, who had by now opened his eyes. He was breathing hardly and had a few cuts on his body though was okay otherwise.

“We did it,” he said, and I smiled at him. We did it, but I still had a nagging feeling that this was a bit too easy and something bigger would come.