(REWRITING) The Skylar Experiment : Coveting

12. Oopsies

--One evening at the cabin--

Luc's phone rang and he made it hover to his palm. He dumped the homework from his lap onto the couch, seeing that it was Raymond calling. 

"Hey, man."

"Where are you?" Raymond demanded in an almost frantic tone. "Is your sister with you?"

"I'm home... and Lauren's in her room doing whatever. What's going on?"

His breath sounded heavy and exhausted. "Nothing. Just wanted to know if you guys were... Whatever, it's alright. You're staying in tonight, are you?"

Luc shifted positions on the couch. There was an eeriness to his words that sent a chill down his spine. Was there something roaming outside?

"Dude. Spit it out. You sound all fagged through the phone and I'm not stupid."

"I... lost a Wanderer's track and it's... running through town," he said without recovering his breath. "Stay inside and don't let Lauren go out, I got this. I just wanted to make sure you guys wouldn't cross its path."

Luc stared at the ceiling as he thought of his sister. He didn't understand the fuss about a single Wanderer lurking about; it happened once in a while, hence the reason they had to patrol regularly. But he sighed, glancing back at his homework. There was no time for hiking tonight and Raymond could easily take care of the issue. 

"Sure. Thanks for the heads up."

--Tomorrow at school--

Today was one of those hectic days where everything piled up. 

Lauren, who was enrolled for the school's talent show as a volunteer, had been instructed to recruit more friends to help at the ticket and snacks booth. So far, Ben was busy that afternoon, Devin dismissed the idea and her brother didn't care for it. It was useless to ask the older mutants. They'd treat her like a baby and walk away laughing. 

She invited Emma after catching her in the halls, but the redhead quickly refused and hurried to class, barely giving Lauren a look. She didn't have time to dwell on her evasive behaviour. 

Lauren had to contain Devin in math before she'd go off on a cheerleader for spreading rumors about her. More cheerleaders huddled around to defend their friend, creating a tiny gang fight. Ben flew over to save the day and calm Devin down, but she remained grumpy for the rest of the morning. The three now strolled in the hall after surviving through the first classes.

Raymond hobbled their way. He pulled a smile across his face, changing his pace into a confident stride. Spreading his arms wide as if to sweep the trio off their feet, he bumped into them and held them in place, nearly choking Devin and Lauren on either side of Ben. 

"The hell?" Devin snarled, wiggling. 

Raymond's jaw clenched and his breath stalled for a second, but he continued to smile. 

"Heard about the little disturbance earlier," he said. "Leave the damn cheerleaders alone, will you?"

Lauren opened her mouth to explain, but he shut her down before she even tried. 

"You, whatever you have to say, the answer is no." He looked at Ben. "You're perfect, princess." He looked at Devin. "Fucking smile more, you devil child. All three of you, never do that again, got it? Greg almost had a stroke after knowing what happened."