I don't remember how much V-10 I took, but I do know that I took a lot more than I usually did. I can barely open my eyes, but I'm awake.
The outside is moving around, doing something, talking to people, but I can't make out what's going on. I don't know how long I've been asleep, but it feels like days.
I was trying desperately to go back to sleep, but I couldn't. I want to go back to sleep.
"How was class today?" Julian asked me as I laid down across his lap on the brown couch in his living room. My eyes looked up into his, sort of like a weird therapist session.
I sighed, "Boring. How was your conference in Keystone?"
"Boring," Julian chuckled as he mocked me.
"Shut up," I laughed, and quickly texted my roommate that I might stay the night at Julian's. "What did you talk about there?"
I sat up, sitting on his lap, and resting my back against the arm of the sofa; Julian quickly wrapped his arm around my back, pulling me close to him.
He explained while smiling, his thumb rubbing small circles on ribs, "We learned about the new software that we would be using in the lab in the coming months, so that I'll be able to create possible faces out of the DNA samples retrieved at a crime scene."
"So boring stuff?" I giggled, and Julian kissed the side of my head softly.
He laughed, "To people who dislike biology."
I rested my head on Julian's shoulder, letting my eyes rest for a little bit. Everything was quiet. "I love you, Julie," I whispered, nuzzling my nose into his neck.
"I love you too, Finn," he smiled, taking my hand into his.
That was the first time I told Julian that I loved him.
Actually, that was the first time I realized that I loved Julian, and I just felt so comfortable spitting it out like that. Why was I remembering that now?
Suddenly, I was awake.
I stood on the top of a very tall building, and yellow lightning ran all around me in a figure-eight. From inside of the lightning, Barry was screaming my name, "FINN!"
Above me, a massive tanker ship floated just twenty feet up from the top of my head. Was I doing this? I couldn't be, I would know if I was.
"FINN!!" Barry screamed as he ran around the roof, "NOW, DO IT NOW!"
Do what?
The massive ship creaked above me, and it looked like it was about to fall any second. I latched my mind onto the ship, pushing up against the force that was trying to pull it down onto the building below.
Suddenly, both side of my head felt like they were going to explode, and my legs shook from underneath me.
The tanker's weight pushed down on my brain, sending pain shooting through my entire body, but the force on the other side seemed to be giving. The ship rose slightly, but every foot that it rose, more and more pain rushed through my body.
My legs wobbled from underneath me, feeling the weight from the ship; my knees buckled, and I was forced down, but the ship stayed put.
"KEEP GOING!" Barry yelled from inside the figure-eight.
I shouted back, clutching my throbbing head, "I can't!"
The ship creaked, as my power dampened, and my entire body shook. I began to feel dizzy, cold, and breathless. My chest heaved in a way I hadn't felt in such a long time.
Then came the coughing, the violent coughing with whoops as I gasped for air. The world around me rocked back and forth, and black spots clouded parts of my vison.
"Let go!" shouted Jesse's voice, "I've got this, let go!" She didn't have to tell me twice.
I immediately released my grip on the boat, and felt the weight of the entire world lift from my body. The ship lurched down, the sirens nearly scraping the roof, so I quickly latched back onto the ship, fearing it would topple the building.
As I pushed the tanker up, I felt the opposing force completely cave, and start to help me push the ship away. Finally, I let go, able to breathe easier.
________
I don't know what happened on the roof before I woke up. I don't know why I was on the roof. I don't know how I got on the roof. I don't know how much V-10 I took.
What I do know is there's a little girl in the Cortex right now who is scared to death and needs somebody she can relate to.
Quietly, I entered the empty Cortex, besides Frankie who was sitting in a chair next to the window in the med-bay. Frankie started down at her hands, picking at her fingers nervously.
I stood in the doorway of the lab, waiting for her to notice my presence, but when she didn't, I gently greeted her, "Hi."
Frankie's head shot up, and she looked at me nervously, trying to smile, "Oh, hi."
"I'm Finn," I smiled at her, pulling a chair. "How are you doing?"
She looked down, and replied quietly, "Just a little shaken up, but I'm fine."
"That's good," I smiled at her in a friendly manor. "I used to be just like you when I was a teenager—dressed the same, acted the same, dyed my hair crazy colors."
Frankie laughed, "Really?"
"Yeah," I chuckled, explaining to her, "For two months in high school, I had firetruck-red hair. My dad made me dye over it when I went to his house for the summer."
"I can really see that," she laughed, warming up to me.
I shyly smiled, and quietly explained to Frankie, "The reason I came to talk to you, Frankie, wasn't to talk about hair. Ever since I heard about you, I felt very connected, because we're both dealing with a lot of the same crap: PTSD, various other mental health issues, and we have similar powers."
"What do you mean?" she asked, narrowing her large eyes at me.
I looked over my shoulder, and on one of the cots was a pillow. "Watch that pillow," I instructed her, and then proceeded to raise the pillow off the bed.
"Wait," Frankie asked nervously, since she already knew the answer, "were you the person pushing the tanker up?"
I nodded my head, replying, "That was me."
"Wow," she nervously chuckled, "you sure put up a fight . . . What else can you do?"
I shrugged, explaining, "Not a lot since I rarely use my powers, but you can do so many great things with yours if you continue developing them."
Frankie smiled, bashfully, "Thanks."
I pulled a prepaid cellphone from my bomber jacket pocket, and handed it to Frankie, "Call us if you ever need anything. Also, there's a panic button on the back of the phone in case you're ever in trouble."
She held the phone in her hand, and refused, "No, Finn, I can't keep this."
"Sure you can," I chuckled, standing up from my chair, "I'm pretty rich, so an extra phone bill is nothing to me."
"Oh my god, thank so much!" Frankie exclaimed, her mouth hanging open.
I grinned seeing her happy for the first time in her life. Maybe I could learn a thing or two from this situation.
______________________________________________________________________________
A little update on my asshole exboyfriend situation: I'm feeling a lot better, but I noticed that he would sometimes stalk my Snapchat and like my Instagram pictures . . . LOOK WHO NEEDS ME NOW BITCH. He's an asshole so don't worry about me crawling back to him, but I still do get really sad a lot and miss him really bad.
I can't wait to start university so I can meet new people and leave all of my bitchy ex-friends/Zack behind.