Battlefield (8 page)

“Okay, we're in, all right? We should probably put on our mask thingies in case we get caught,” Orlando said.

“There aren't any cameras here, are there? This is going to be awesome,” JD said pulling his out. They'd worn their masks on duty before, he and Cadence, but it wasn't in the midst of anything potentially dangerous. This was much different, and it was making his entire body tingle with anticipation.

“No, no cameras. School's incredibly ghetto compared to Morningtide,” Orlando said as he dug around in his coat pocket for his own mask. JD was impressed he even brought it out with him.

“So,” JD said as he looked around the dark hallway. “If I was a super evil, super bad guy, from another planet, that was trying to wage war on a foreign planet and was using a high school for my base, where would I hide?”

“Well, if we're talking about you...” Orlando ended the thought in a quiet and private mumble. He peered ahead of them. “Why is that door not locked?”

“A lead! Rock on! Let's go look!”

“I doubt we'll find anything now that you've announced we're here to everyone and their mother.”

“Guys, even if there isn't anyone there, it's a start. If they're running, they'll have left everything behind,” Cadence said and moved in front of them.

Slowly the three approached the door. With each step, they slowed and shook until they were stopped right in front of the door. Ironically enough, it was painted black to match the rest of the school spirit decor in the hallway making opening it that much more daunting of a task.

“Ready?” Cadence asked. She looked specifically at Orlando. It made JD's blood boil to have her rely on him, of all people, for protection. He was the only one powerful enough for the task though. JD was worthless, and he hated it.

Orlando nodded, and stood back as she opened the door. JD stopped her before any of them could look inside by gently placing his hand over hers.

“Let me do it,” he whispered. She stared up into his eyes, and their hands lingered for a brief moment. He gave her hand a small and reassuring squeeze; then he put his hand on the door and slowly opened it. The heat from her skin still resonated against his, and he felt like that, in and of itself, gave him some kind of all-powerful super ability.

The room was dark. The only light to be seen came from the crack in the door and the red glow of an exit sign towards the back.
There must be another door over there.
He took a step forward and tried not to shiver at the chaos in front of him. The room was a mess—that much was obvious—because he could make out an overturned table and a mass of papers spread out over the floor.

“Yeah, I think they were in here. I'm turning on the light.” He didn't see anyone in there anymore.

“We're clear,” Orlando said, and JD took that as a sign to go ahead and flip the switch.

“Oh, man,” JD mumbled and stepped further into the room. The mess was a lot more than an overturned table. The room was for the music department. There were large lockers for instruments and uniforms, practice rooms with pianos and music stands, and an office for the teacher. One of the lockers was tipped over, however, and another had a dent. There was a ripped-up piano, more paper than he could possibly have imagined, and a mutilated base drum on the floor off towards the back.

“Looks like there was a fight.” JD was calmed at the lack of blood, but that might not necessarily mean anything good either.

“Fight,” Orlando said with a nod. He was the next to step in, and he took a good look around the room.

“You think it was between Alan and someone else?”

“Who else would it have been?”

JD smirked at him. “I don't know. You do have a reputation to uphold as the new bad boy in town.”

Orlando only rolled his eyes and stepped further towards the back. “This didn't happen during school. I'm pretty sure this was fairly recent, you know, within the past couple of hours at most. People would be talking about it otherwise.”

“I was kidding anyway.”

“I know that. I think there's someone else here though.”

“You got super hearing now, too?” JD quipped and stepped towards Orlando carefully. He didn't want to rustle through the papers too much for fear of slipping, making a lot of noise, or leaving a clue for the police. He'd watched enough CSI to make him paranoid that they'd get caught by the soil residue left from their shoes, or something as equally obscure.

“No, I'm actually not human,” Orlando said. He rolled his eyes. “When your house is as quiet as mine, you learn to pick up on the slightest of sounds. You know, pins dropping, breathing, footsteps. It helps me make sure my secret hobbies stay secret.”

“Do I want to know?” Cadence asked, now finally entering the room as well.

“Ha. Now shut up. I'm serious here.”

All three of them were quiet, each barely even breathing, as they all tried to listen for whatever sound he had heard.

“Orlando, buddy, I think you're hearing things,” JD whispered.

“Maybe if you shut up,” Orlando said and walked through the room, stopping every few feet to extend his ear out to listen better. He stopped between the tipped-over locker and the broken one with the dent. There was one large instrument locker still intact, and he pressed his ear against the door. He made a gesture for everyone to not make any more sound, and once more the air in the room became still. Then he opened the locker. With a sweeping gesture, he motioned for them to take a peek inside.

What they saw was Alan, who stared at the three of them with wide, glossed over eyes. “Carrot,” he muttered to himself.

“What about carrots?” Cadence asked. She leaned into the locker to give him her hand. He didn't answer. “Come on, Alan, let's go home.”

“Carrot,” was his reply. Every action he made was only done because of her leading. Outside of his lack of mental presence, the rest of him appeared to be unharmed. His clothes were slightly disheveled, but he didn't have a cut or a bruise on him from what they could see.

JD put an arm around him and walked with him through the hallway. Alan leaned onto him for support, walking stiffly, as though his knees and limbs were incapable of bending.

“Do you think if we walk him out, everyone will be able to see him? I mean, he's usually invisible to everyone but us, but that might just be his power thingy,” JD said.

“We should assume so. Good thing we parked close, huh? But what are we going to do with him?” Cadence said.

Orlando raised an eyebrow. “I might have an idea. JD, how do you feel about staying over tonight?”

JD frowned. “Like sleep over at your house?” he paused, frowning at Cadence. “Why?”

“So we can have male bonding and prance around in our scantily-clad undies while we beat each other up with big fluffy pillows,” Orlando said with mock enthusiasm. “Why else? I mean, it wouldn't ever be because Alan needs a place to stay, and a guys' night would be a great cover for that sort of thing. Nope, not at all.”

“Why do you have to be such a jerk? It was just a question.”

“Cause that puzzled look on your face is just so cute.” He reached over to give JD's cheek a tweak. “Haul him over to my car. I'm not too far away either. We'll get some food, movies, games. What do I need to bribe you with to get you to do this?”

“Pizza works,” JD said. “Now where's your ride?”

Orlando led them to his sports sedan, and JD had to fight the urge to not drool on the spot. It wasn't necessarily his dream car, but he certainly wouldn't complain if he had one. He helped Alan into the back and buckled him into the leather seat. The empty gaze was starting to make him uncomfortable. JD sighed, shrugging at Cadence. At least she had driven.

“You're okay with this? I don't have to go with him,” he said.

“Are you kidding? If anything, I'm going to be spying on you through the windows at your scantily clad pillow fight,” she teased and gave him a playful nudge before adding quietly, “I think this is a good thing. Alan needs you. Orlando's going to stress him out. Besides, you all need to find a way to get along.”

He gave Cadence a weak smile. She was right, and it wasn't simply because she knew everything. That was his Cadence speaking, the girl he loved and admired as his best friend. “All right, I'll take care of him. I'll let you know if anything interesting happens and make sure to tape anything wild and crazy.” He glanced back at Alan, and prayed silently they'd be able to break him of his trance soon.

“Carrot...”

 

Orlando grabbed a shopping basket as soon as they entered the grocery store. He walked quickly, knowing exactly where he wanted to go. Alan was still having problems moving like a normal human being, so JD had to stay near him to make sure he didn't do something even stranger than continually mumbling the word 'carrot.' This caused Orlando to slow his pace often.

“You know, do you think if we gave him a carrot, he'd stop talking about them?” he called over to them.

JD shrugged and pulled Alan along to catch up. “I don't know. I guess anything is worth a try right?”

“Here Alan, knock yourself out.” Orlando found a bag of baby carrots and threw them at JD.

Alan's eyes focused on the bag for a split second before glazing over again. “Carrot.”

JD opened up the bag for him and pulled one out, putting it underneath the alien's nose.

“Ca...where?” Alan stared at the vegetable and opened his mouth to eat it.

“We're at a food store. And yes, people are looking at you. They can see you. Take it as a compliment. Just hang tight, keep quiet, and we'll be out of here fast. We'll talk more when we get back to my house. Eat your carrots. They're good for you,” Orlando said.

“I should go. I need to get back to my ship,” Alan said. He stood still and closed his eyes as if concentrating. When nothing happened, he frowned. “I do not have my ability.”

Orlando exchanged a look with JD, and he was shaken by the lack of concern. Alan had to know exactly what had happened to him, and why his powers were missing.

“I suppose I will have to stay with you after all. You don't mind?” Alan said.

“It's fine. We need to be fast though. I'd like to try and get back before my sister does. I've got one more week of being grounded, so it'd be a good idea to not piss her off,” Orlando said. He grabbed a bag of fresh, seasonal apples, and put them into the basket. They moved out of the produce section, grabbed a gallon of milk, and then went on to stock up on the junk food.

JD grabbed a box of popcorn and a bag of cool-ranch flavored tortilla chips. “I can make some wicked nachos tonight.”

“I like nachos.”

“You like something?”

“Yes, I do like things,” Orlando said.

“Like the cute, blond cheerleader. You seemed to like her a lot,” JD said with a smirk.

Orlando shrugged. “As much as I like any cute, blond cheerleader.”

“So you admit that she's cute.”

“I think anybody can see she's good looking,” he said, trying to stay casual. He ran his fingertips over his lips. The truth was, not even he knew what he thought about Tait. She was definitely cute, hands down, and he wasn't about to deny he had always had a thing for girls her type. He always liked proportionate and curvy women. Her attitude was what attracted him the most, but it was too soon to say much beyond she intrigued him.

“She's interesting, all right? I figure I may as well have something to entertain myself with now that I can't beat the snot out of jerks who diss my family,” he said.

“Entertain yourself with?” JD smirked.

“I don't—” Orlando waved a hand. “Yes, she's my girl toy. We'll have all sorts of wild fun. Is that what you want to hear?”

“I just want you to admit you like her.”

“I just met her.”

“So? You can still like her.”

“You sound like a girl. Maybe you should stop spending so much time with Cadence,” Orlando grumbled. “Honestly, are we in middle school again? I like peanut butter, that doesn't mean I want to marry it.”

He wasn't interested in dating. That was difficult to communicate to anyone without them getting the wrong idea about him, however. His sister never got it, and when his parents were around, they didn't either; and if they didn't get it, then his classmates definitely never would.

“Dude, where are you going?” JD called after him as he continued to drag a still rather confused Alan along. The alien was taking everything in as they went. He'd stop to look at the items on the shelves every so often. “Alan, it's just a bag of potato chips, all right? It's not that cool.”

“Why does your planet have hunger if you have stores like this all across your nation?” Alan asked while he was pulled around another corner.

“It's kind of complicated. Why are we in the hair products aisle? Are we going to do makeovers tonight, too? And you call me a girl?” JD said.

Orlando had stopped in front of the hair dyes, the unnatural ones, and his eyes wandered over every color of the rainbow. “Sure.”

He ran his hand over his face and moved to grab a few different colors to experiment with. He tossed them into the basket. “Do you have everything you want for tonight? Toothbrush? Deodorant?” JD had picked up a bag briefly after the game, but Alan had absolutely nothing on Earth.

“Clothes? For Alan, since he's still kind of quasi-naked,” JD said.

The alien barely met the shoes and shirt requirement in his sandals, pants, and vest. It wouldn't have been so strange if it wasn't late October. The teens had made an attempt to cover Alan's perfect abdomen in an effort to keep him decent, but it didn't work well.

“I got those. You can borrow something. Also got a lot of toothpaste and floss if you're into that kind of thing, but not so much the brushes. I'm not sure if you do dental hygiene or not, Alan, but if so, speak now or forever hold your peace,” Orlando said. The blank stare was enough to convince him they should just go to the checkout. Orlando whipped his credit card out and handed it over to the cashier.

“Find everything okay?” the middle-aged woman asked him before flipping over his card. “I.D., please...Captain Awesome?”

“Is something wrong?” Orlando said and pulled out his driver's license next.

“Captain Awesome?” she repeated before swiping the card and handing it back to him. “Someone's being a bit optimistic of themselves.”

He took his credit card back and placed it into his wallet before rolling his eyes. “Someone doesn't have a sense of humor anymore. I wonder why.”

JD laughed awkwardly and bagged up their things. “I'd rather leave that one up to my imagination than have you tell me. But seriously, Captain Awesome? Did you actually sign your card like that?”

Orlando shrugged and pulled out the credit card again to show him. “Yeah, so? It works a lot better than ‘Please ask for I.D.'”

JD took the card into his hands and stared at the custom design with a picture of two orange and white kittens making angry faces at the camera. Orlando loved his cats, and it was the only picture the bank accepted from the options he provided.

“You're so...” JD said.

“I know, I'm weird.” They walked out to the car, and he got in soon after. He tapped on his steering wheel as he waited for JD and Alan to follow suit. “Come on, pokey.”

The ride back to the mansion was fast and painless for them all. They somehow managed to hold a decent conversation without wanting to kill one another. Things were fine until they pulled into the driveway, where they saw his sister at the end of her date in the middle of a goodnight kiss at the back door. His hands tightened around the steering wheel to the point where his knuckles were even whiter than usual.

“Not gonna let him touch you, huh?” he snorted and revved up his engine. Lyssa and her date both looked at him. Actually, she was glaring at him and leaned in for one more kiss.

“Looks like you're having a good date,” he said as he got out of the car.

“And I see you broke the rules. I believe you're grounded?” Lyssa said after her lips parted from her co-worker's.

“You said I could have friends over. So I decided to do that, but they don't have a car, and we needed some munchies. I'm also going to dye my hair. Lyssa? Purple sound good to you?” He got out of the car and started walking over.

“That would really make you look emo, but purple?” JD said, getting out of the car as well, with Alan in tow.

“Yeah, you're right. Blue would be so much better, and it would bring out my stunning eyes so well.” Orlando never took his gaze off of his sister, and he watched as she continued to bristle.

Lyssa shook her head and folded her arms in front of her. “Then go inside and make your hair blue. I don't care anymore. You're going to look like a smurf.”

“Think Superman comics. It'll have a nice blue shimmer to it,” he said with a grin.

“Okay, fine. Go away.”

He stared at her and then at her date. The young man, who appeared to be in his late twenties—possibly early thirties—had soft looking dark hair, and he kept it neat and clean cut. His skin was light, his eyes dark, and he was thin; in fact, he looked like a nerdy fellow and perfectly harmless. He wasn't necessarily all that good-looking either. Not ugly by any means, but he wasn't attractive. If anything, he was average. He looked like a nice guy. What was even more impressive was how unfazed he was by Orlando's rebellious antics.

“I should get going anyway. The dog is going to need to be let out.” Her date grabbed onto her arm and leaned in to whisper something in her ear. She looked up at him with a completely dopey and love smitten smile as she nodded. “Good. I will see you at work on Monday, and I'll call you sometime before then. Goodnight.” He paused and nodded at Orlando. “It was nice to meet you.”

The words were not reciprocated, and Orlando watched this man go back to his car. He moved to his sister and raised an eyebrow. “Looks like you two were having a great time.”

“Yeah, we did have a good time. I can't believe you. You're so embarrassing,” she said.

“And you're embarrassing me right now, lecturing me in front of my friends,” he said.

“At this point, I don't care. I think that would make us even. You have no reason to flip out at me. You're so...”

“So what? You think that was bad, it'll be a lot worse next time. And you know Dad would be as bad, if not worse. He never wanted you to date,” he snapped back.

“Glad to know where your sibling loyalty stands,” she mumbled.

“When he comes home, I'll be on your side, but someone has to look after you since he's not.”

“Fine, whatever, but when you get a girlfriend—and trust me, you will get one someday—you're going to get it back ten times worse,” she said.

“I welcome the challenge. Now, I've got some friends to entertain. We'll be in the den doing manly things, so you might want to stay away.” He made a gesture for JD and Alan to follow him.

“I don't wanna be close to you anyway. I'm going upstairs to shower.”

“Wow, that was a little harsh, dude. She not allowed to date or something?” JD said as he grabbed his bag out of the trunk.

“She can, but I don't like it. My parents don't either. She has a tendency to make a lot of bad relationship decisions,” Orlando mumbled as he waited.

“Oh, got it. I'm following now. You don't want her traveling down the broken-heart road again.”

“Right.”

JD carried his things inside and took another good look around. He was clearly already lost just in the entry way. “Where am I going?”

“Straight. On the left is the kitchen, the right is the den. You can't miss it. There's a TV, couches, and floor space,” Orlando said.

“That's probably the size of my house.”

“Probably.” Orlando wasn't proud of that fact though. It bothered him to have so much money compared to everyone else he met. He'd rather not make a show of it, or have anyone else point it out. “Get comfy wherever you want. The couches recline, or I have some mats or air mattresses if you'd rather use those. I figure this was more slumber party appropriate. Besides, I don't think you wanna go in my room.”

“Why not?”

“It's a pit. Unless you want to sleep on top of all of my stuff, the other option is cleaning it for me.” He started to put the groceries, keeping the snacks in the room with them and preheating the oven.

JD helped Alan to a chair. “Do you need anything, man? Water? Food? Clean clothing? You do have clothes he can wear, right?”

“Yeah, I'll get it when I go upstairs to change,” Orlando said. He glanced over at Alan. Finding something for him to wear might be a little difficult. The alien was taller than him by a few inches, and his body in general was wider in proportions.

“Please let me not have gotten rid of those pants,” he mumbled to himself as he went up the stairs to his bedroom.

There was one pair of pants he had gotten for his birthday over the summer, and they were much too large. Sent from his parents from some other country, he had planned on donating them to the Goodwill once Lyssa was done cleaning out as much extra junk as she could. He added them in the pile, but whether or not she got rid of it all already, he didn't know.

They were nice and expensive looking, but at the same time he hated them because it reminded him of just how out-of-touch his parents were from his life. The pants were enormous. His parents couldn't remember how big their son was. Then again, they probably figured puberty had done more for him than it actually had.

He dug around in his walk-in closet. Every piece of clothing he owned was on the floor from the morning, but only because he had to find the match to his lone black sock.

“Why do you have to be so dramatic all the time?” he mumbled some more as he searched. “You gotta just let them in. Be yourself.” But was his self that cynical boy they were so familiar with, or the nice guy he used to be? “You don't always have to put on a show.” Not if he wanted them to trust him at least.

Tossing some more clothes out of his closet, he went through his donation box. “I know it's in here somewhere...” He frowned when he reached the bottom.

“Uh-oh.” But when he stood, he saw the pants set off to the side on a nearby shelf. Lyssa must have done that. He grabbed them and his favorite pajama pants, which were black and covered in Garfield cartoons, along with a white undershirt, before changing. He combed his hair, trying to shake out his nerves. It had been a long time since someone stayed overnight.