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She scoffed and turned away. “People aren’t drawn to me, Hunter.”
“Hey.” His voice sharpened. “Just because they aren’t nice doesn’t mean they aren’t drawn to you.”
She froze and looked over her shoulder at him, remembering how he said he’d been hassled—to the point that his father had to teach him to physically defend himself.
“Lots of people are bullied,” she said. “Every day. It doesn’t mean they have superpowers.”
He walked back to her. “Not superpowers,” he said softly. “Maybe—maybe just a stronger connection to this element.”
“You felt the power in the sunlight,” said Michael.
Gabriel was nodding, too. “That night in Chris’s bedroom. The fire reached for you—”
“That doesn’t mean anything,” she said. “Nick was making the fire flicker.”
But her conviction was wavering. She kept thinking about the way she’d felt the connection to Nick’s power, that morning in her driveway.
“I knew it right away,” said Hunter. “That night at the party, the way you wanted to help that stupid girl puking in the bushes, or how you wanted to warn Chris about Tyler, or—”
“Maybe I’m just a nice person!” she cried.
Hunter looked startled. “You can’t be both?”
She faltered. This was too much. She couldn’t debate it now. They needed to be looking for Chris and Nick—not arguing over something impossible.
“You saved Chris,” said Michael. “You fought Tyler and Seth for him.”
“But—” She hesitated, unsure whether to give his theory any credence. “I never had some weird event when I hit puberty. I never started setting fires or causing earthquakes or—”
“How about something humanitarian?” said Hunter. “Think back to middle school. Did you volunteer at your mom’s hospital, or in a nursing home, or anything like that?”
“I’m not that nice a person,” she said, making a face. But then she paused, remembering how she used to walk the woods, looking for hurt animals to save.
“You’ve thought of something,” said Hunter.
“It’s nothing. I used to rescue animals. It made my mother crazy. It was just a phase.”
“Aha.” Hunter stepped closer, then spoke low, just for her. “Remember when you kissed me on the dance floor?”
She flushed, then nodded.
“Remember,” he said quietly, “how you felt the power in the room? The connection to the crowd?”
She did. The fire on her lips, the sweat on her body—she remembered it all.
Becca stared up at him.
He must have seen something like acceptance in her eyes. “You believe me. You might not want to admit it yet, but you do.”
“But my parents aren’t like you,” she sputtered. “They’re not—”
“Your mom’s a nurse,” said Michael. “What’s your dad do?”
She bit at her lip, remembering Chris’s comment about Fifths hitting the genetic lottery. “He works with wildlife—”
Casper barked, somewhere in the woods up ahead.
“Come on,” said Hunter. He took off at a run. They followed.
