Chapter 87: I Know

That wasn’t the answer I’d expected, so I asked, “You knew?” Gwen nodded.

“You spent the whole day asking what they’re studying, thinking about where they could work, and listening to everything they said.

I knew there was another reason.” She paused before adding, “And it wasn’t just because they’re pretty.

If that was all you cared about, you wouldn’t be thinking this far ahead.”

That was fair.

I looked at her for a moment before asking, “Then what do you think I’m doing?” Gwen didn’t answer immediately.

After thinking about it, she said, “You want them close to you.” Since she’d already figured out that much, there wasn’t much reason to deny it.

I nodded.

“Yeah. I want them to know me before something changes.”

Gwen’s expression became more serious.

“What changes?” I didn’t answer that part yet.

“Something will probably happen to both of them eventually. If they already know me when it happens, helping them will be easier. I won’t have to suddenly show up while they’re scared and try to convince them that I’m someone they can trust.”

Gwen stayed quiet for a few seconds before asking, “So today was part of that?” I nodded.

“Partly.” She looked at me for a moment, then shifted slightly so she could see my face better.

“You know what this sounds like?” When I asked what she meant, she said, “It sounds like you’re planning to use me so both of them get attached to you.” I raised an eyebrow.

“How did you get there?”

“Because they’re my friends.” Gwen thought for a moment before continuing.

“If something happens to Sara, I’ll want to help her. You already know that. And if you’re the one who understands what’s happening, I’m going to bring her to you because I trust you. You won’t have to convince her.”

I stayed quiet and let her continue.

“If she’s scared, you’ll protect her. If she needs somewhere safe, you’ll give her somewhere to stay. If she doesn’t understand her powers, you’ll help her with that too.” Gwen narrowed her eyes slightly.

“And if I’m already telling her that you’re safe, she’ll be more willing to accept your help.”

That was close enough to what I’d been thinking, so I didn’t interrupt.

Gwen continued, “Then if you keep helping her, she’ll start relying on you more. Eventually, she might start coming to you without needing me there at all.” She paused and looked at me.

“And if she ends up liking you after all of that, you’re definitely not going to stop her.” I considered it before answering, “Probably not.” Gwen immediately gave me a flat look.

“So I was right.”

“I never said you were wrong.” She stared at me for a second before asking, “Do you realize you’re basically telling me that you’re going to let me help two girls get closer to you?” I thought about it before answering, “When you say it like that, it sounds worse.” Gwen didn’t hesitate.

“It is worse.” I almost smiled before pointing out, “You’d still help them.”

Gwen became quiet because we both knew the answer.

Finally, she sighed.

“Of course I would.

They’re my friends.” Her eyes narrowed again as she added, “Which you already knew.” I nodded.

“Yeah.” She kept staring at me before asking, “So what exactly is going to happen to them? You wouldn’t be doing all of this if you didn’t know something.”

There wasn’t much point hiding it anymore, so I told her, “Sara has an inactive X-Gene.” Gwen immediately became still and asked, “She’s a mutant?” I nodded.

“Yes.” Her hand stopped moving against my stomach as she asked, “Does she know?” I shook my head.

“No. As far as I can tell, she has no idea.”

Gwen took a moment to process that before asking, “Do you know what her power is?” I shook my head again.

“No.

I can tell the X-Gene is there, but that’s all.

I don’t know what will activate it or what ability she’ll have when it does.” Her expression changed slightly as she asked, “Is that why you want her nearby?”

“That’s the main reason.” I adjusted myself slightly before continuing, “Her power could be harmless, but it could also be dangerous. If it suddenly activates and she panics, she might lose control before she even understands what’s happening. I’d rather be close enough to help if that happens.”

Gwen became quieter after that.

Her own powers hadn’t come from an X-Gene, but she still understood what it was like to suddenly have abilities she didn’t fully understand.

After thinking about it, she asked, “So you want to be there when it happens.” I nodded.

“Exactly. If nothing goes wrong, that’s even better, but I don’t want to depend on that.”

She thought about that before asking, “And Emily? Does she have an X-Gene too?” I shook my head.

“No.

Emily is different.” When she asked what that meant, I explained, “I’m not completely sure yet.

There’s some kind of dormant energy inside her, but it isn’t the same as Sara’s X-Gene.

I need more information before I can tell what it actually is.”

Gwen frowned slightly.

“Is she in danger?” I answered, “I don’t know.

Nothing has awakened yet, so I still have time to figure it out.” She rested her head against me again while thinking, then asked, “So that’s why you offered both of them jobs?”

“Partly.

I actually need people in those fields, so I wasn’t making that up.

Sara studies genetics, and Emily studies energy.

Both of those fit what I’m building.” I paused before adding, “The fact that hiring them would also keep them close just made the idea better.”

Gwen was quiet for a moment before saying, “You really started planning the moment you noticed something strange about them.” I shook my head slightly.

“Not all of it.

I didn’t even know what they studied until today.” Gwen’s fingers moved against my stomach as she replied, “But once you found out, you added it to the plan.” I thought about denying it, but there wasn’t much point.

“Yeah.” Gwen sighed against my chest.

“You really are horrible sometimes.” I smiled slightly.

“I know.”

She stayed quiet for a little while before asking, “What if Sara actually does get attached to you?” I looked down at her.

“What do you mean?” Gwen lifted her head slightly and gave me a look.

“You know what I mean. You help her after her powers awaken, she starts trusting you more, and then she gets closer to you. What happens if she actually starts liking you?”

I thought about the question before answering, “Then I’ll deal with it if it happens.” Gwen stared at me.

“That’s not an answer.” I shrugged slightly.

“It’s the only one I have right now. I’m not going to decide what I’ll do about something that hasn’t happened yet.” She watched me for another second before resting her head against me again.

“Fine. Then I’ll deal with it if it happens too.”

I raised an eyebrow.

“That’s surprisingly calm.” Gwen immediately answered, “For now.

You still haven’t said yes to me, so I can’t really tell you who you’re allowed to get close to.” She paused for a moment before adding, “Once you say yes, that changes.” There it was.

That sounded much more like Gwen.

I looked down at her and asked, “And what exactly are you planning to do then?” She answered, “I’ll decide what I’m okay with.” That sounded dangerous enough to make me almost laugh.

“So until then, you’re just going to ignore it?” Gwen closed her eyes again.

“Not ignore it. I’m watching.” Somehow, that sounded even more threatening than her getting angry.

After a few seconds, her voice became quieter.

“But Sara is still my friend, and so is Emily. If something really happens to them, I’m not going to leave them alone just because I don’t like the idea of them getting close to you.” I nodded.

Gwen continued, “If Sara’s powers could hurt her, then helping her comes first.

The same goes for Emily if whatever is inside her causes problems.” Her fingers moved lazily against my stomach before she added, “That doesn’t mean I’m going to help you flirt with them.” I smiled.

“I never asked you to.” Gwen answered, “You don’t have to.

You’ll probably do that yourself.” When I told her she had a very low opinion of me, she simply replied, “I know you,” which made it difficult to argue.

She moved a little closer until her head rested comfortably against my chest again.

“Just don’t expect me to make things easy for you.” I told her, “I wasn’t planning to.” Gwen seemed satisfied with that and closed her eyes.

After that, neither of us spoke for a while, and the room slowly became quiet again.

A few minutes passed as Gwen relaxed against me.

Her breathing became softer, and the hand resting against my stomach eventually stopped moving.

I looked down at her once before closing my eyes too.

Apparently, after everything she’d done during the drive and everything we’d just talked about, she could finally sleep.