Entangled

By: Anne Olsen and Michele Bumbarger



Chapter Six

As Adam watched Ami leave the coffee shop he couldn’t help but wonder that if Megabyte hadn’t brought the subject of Angel into the conversation so abruptly, they might have stood a greater chance of Ami listening to what they were trying to say. Still there was no point in crying over spilt milk, he supposed. If they were going to work out who or what was behind these dreams, they had to keep focused and work out what to do next.

“That went well,” Megabyte said sarcastically. “She’s certainly touchy about Angel, isn’t she?”

“Well, think about it Megabyte, wouldn’t you be in her situation?”

“Yeah, I suppose. Look I knew as soon as I said that bit about Angel that I shouldn’t have but it was a bit late then. Okay?” Megabyte studied the coffee cup in his hands before continuing. “So onto Plan B now, I’m thinking.”

“Plan B? Megabyte, you sound as though you’ve been watching B grade movies again.” Adam grinned, his friend’s comment had certainly helped to pull him out of the way he had been feeling. He yawned. All the lack of sleep over the last few nights was beginning to catch up.

“Who me? Hey, you can learn a lot by watching those things.” Megabyte felt relieved when he saw Adam grin. He was just as concerned about Ami as the elder Tomorrow Person but Adam always seemed to beat himself up over anything concerning his friends that he had no control over. He almost seemed to feel responsible and to some degree, guilty, when things went wrong. It didn’t seem to matter how much Megabyte or the other Tomorrow People told him that they were all in this together, Adam still took the role of unofficial leader very seriously.

“What about Jade and Kevin? Maybe we should find out if they’re having these dreams as well? If Ami isn’t, maybe it’s just you and me? Maybe the dreams are just nightmares brought on from what happened, you know the whole Angel thing.” Even as Megabyte spoke, he decided he didn’t believe that any more than he knew Adam did.

Adam shook his head. “No, I don’t want them involved. It’s bad enough that Angel knows about the two of us. I don’t want him knowing that there are more Tomorrow People, at least not yet.”

“So I take it you still don’t really trust the guy?”

“I’m not sure, Megabyte. I know Ami does, and her feelings about these things are usually right but at the same time…” Adam changed the subject. “Do you really think Ami isn’t having these dreams? Look at how tired she looked. She might have said she’s sleeping well but she doesn’t look it to me.”

Megabyte agreed. “Yeah, she did look kind of tired didn’t she? No I don’t believe for a minute that she isn’t dreaming the same stuff that we are. We’ve shared dreams before, and Ami’s usually sensitive to that sort of thing. What’s got me worried though, is that if she has been having these dreams, why doesn’t she remember them?”

“That’s one of the things worrying me as well.”

“One of the things? What’s the other?”

“Angel. I can’t get it out of my head that maybe there’s a lot more to this bond than anyone thinks. Even though Giles said that Angel could be trusted, and I believe him…”

“There’s still the fact he’s a vampire, and those weird vibes we get off him because of what he is.”

As Megabyte finished his sentence, Adam reflected again how the American, for all his wisecracks and banter quite often managed to pinpoint what was going through his mind. When push came to shove, that was one of the things he enjoyed the most about being a Tomorrow Person, the fact that he had finally found others who seemed to think the same way he did about a lot of things. He felt as though he had found a family, something he never really had when he was growing up. Sure he still had a family but apart from his sister Karyn, it was one in name only. He racked his hand through his hair as he tried to push away memories he was still trying hard to forget.

“There must be a reason why he appears in all the dreams. At first I thought that it was because of the bond between him and Ami, and now I’m not so sure.” Adam paused, unsure of whether he should tell his fellow Tomorrow Person of the suspicions going through his mind. “If Angel is in these dreams, maybe he’s having them as well.”

“But he’s not a Tomorrow Person,” pointed out Megabyte.

“ Ami is though, and if there’s a link between them…”

“Hey, do you think he could be influencing her dreams?”

Adam hesitated before nodding. “I could be wrong though. It just seems strange that we start dreaming about Angel shortly after he and Ami soul-bond.”

“Yeah, I was thinking that too.” Megabyte looked at Adam, picking up some of worry coming from the Australian. “Look Adam, I’m worried about Ami too. I know you’re not going to like this but I’ve been thinking about Angel. I’m the first to admit I still don’t trust the guy but if he’s involved somehow maybe we need to go and talk to him. If you’re right and he’s having these dreams as well, we need to find out. We can’t help Ami until we know exactly what we’re dealing with here.”

He noticed the look Adam was giving him and continued. “Yeah I know I was the one who suggested putting off seeing him until later, but we’ve talked to Ami, and you don’t want to involve Kevin and Jade. So I think we’re running out of options.”

“Much as I hate to agree with you on this one, Megabyte, you’re right. We could sit around talking about this all day, but it’s not going to help Ami is it? I just wish I knew more about this bond between her and Angel.”

“Right, “ said Megabyte, rising to his feet. “What are we going to tell Angel when we see him?”

“I’ll think about that once I get there,” replied Adam as he followed his friend towards the door of the shop.

“Once you get there? Come on Adam, remember what happened last time? I’m coming with you this time, whether you like it or not.”

“No you’re not, Megabyte. “ Adam’s voice was firm and had that ‘I’m not changing my mind on this one’ sound to it. “I need you to keep an eye on Ami while I’m gone.”

“You don’t think she’s going to do anything silly like jumping off a tall building do you? Well, do you?”

“No, of course not.” Adam didn’t sound convinced. “ I’d just like to think someone was looking out for her, that’s all. There must be some reason why she doesn’t remember the dreams. If someone is tampering with her mind, like Giselle did…” His voice tailed off as he tried not to think about where his suspicions were leading.

“Yeah okay, I get your drift. I’ll become her own personal shadow.” Megabyte’s face brightened. “Hey maybe I can get to know Celia better at the same time.”

“Megabyte…” Adam shook his head, as they paused outside the coffee shop.

“Well, it sounds better than saying ‘hey Ami I’m following you to make sure you’re not losing your mind’ doesn’t it?”

“Well, just keep your mind on the job and don’t get distracted by drooling over Celia.” Adam grinned as he looked around to make sure no one was around to see him teleport.

“Yeah, whatever.” Megabyte watched as Adam disappeared, heading for LA and Angel, and started on his way towards the UCLA campus to find Ami.


*****


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